Chris Freeman 3 Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 Being a cheap modeller I often get things that I might use one day, one of these was a local Mustang fuselage based on the old Byron kit. I managed to borrow a foam wing and stab from a Byron kit and then made my own wings and stab that was sheeted in balsa and then glassed and filled. The wings were made for Robart retracts to be used, the Top Flight kit is about the same size so these retracts were the ones used. For some reason I then stopped work on the mustang after all the building was done and packed away. Byron was at a loose end after the MB 5 was returned to me when I needed to get it ready for flight and said he really enjoyed working on it so I suggested he take the Mustang and do some work on that. He has done a great job so far and I think this airframe will be great to take to the flying field with the MB 5 so people can see the difference. The wings on real Mustangs were filled and painted to improve airflow on the wings and fuselages left in bare metal so our model will be the same. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon H Posted March 20 Share Posted March 20 37 minutes ago, Chris Freeman 3 said: I often get things that I might use one day Dont we all. Looks great though, whats going to make it go? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 The Mustang was originally set up for a 45cc Super Tigre but we changed our minds to try it as electric. It is strange how on a project like this you start doubting some of the work done as I had made up my own templates for the wing section, retract mounts and then CG. I had no plans only the original foam wing which was not cut so an exact replica was not easy to make. The stab was also changed to make it more scale. The Byron is a 40 year old design that originally had a Quadra 35cc on a gear drive with big plastic 4 bladed props. I decided to get the airframe flying to see if it all worked out. CG was a little forward according to my calculations but close to what Byron recommended. As you can see we are now mid winter in South Africa so the ground is very hard and dusty with lots of grass fires. v=x_L5NluJFGw Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_L5NluJFGw 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James Green2 Posted July 23 Share Posted July 23 That's lovely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted August 8 Author Share Posted August 8 Byron is busy adding detail to the cockpit, he enjoys this type of work. 9 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted August 8 Share Posted August 8 that is gorgeous ,what is the covering ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted August 14 Author Share Posted August 14 The covering is a metal tape that Byron got from his work which is an airline. The tape is used for emergency repairs and is known as speed tape, really sticks and is very thin and quite light. A real sod to work with. The roll of tape is quite wide at 30cm so better than most other metal tapes on the market. Byron is making good progress with the fuselage and I have been making fiberglass moldings for the guns and drop tanks. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted August 15 Share Posted August 15 certainly produces an excellent result in Byron's hands I can well imagine it is difficult to work with at 30cm, one slip and it would be ruined Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted August 26 Author Share Posted August 26 Byron spent the weekend painting and got a lot done. All sprayed, no stickers used. He made his own masks for the painting. I think it looks stunning. 12 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted August 27 Share Posted August 27 absolutely stunning work Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted August 30 Share Posted August 30 Superb looking plane huge skill and great work. One question I have is what is done about receiver positioning when using metal tape covering as I imagine it would affect the signal. Do you use an external antenna? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted August 30 Author Share Posted August 30 We have a Futaba FAAST receiver in the aircraft with the normal spacing on the antenna's and had no problems so far. There is no Carbon in the fuselage so this will also help. One aspect I do enjoy when building a scale model is reading up about the aircraft and the pilots, this aircraft's story is quite interesting. I found it in a Flypast Magazine. We also do not fly any competition so we build and finish to what we like or want to try. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted September 2 Author Share Posted September 2 Byron delivered the airframe back to me on Friday so that I could double check all the equipment that had been refitted and also for the tapping of the bolts for the spinner. All work done on Saturday so we went out early yesterday to fly again. The question from Tim regarding the potential interference had me doubting so we did additional range checks to ensure all was well. I had also reduced the forward rake on the undercarriage as the ground handing was not as good as the MB5. I am glad to report that all went well and we had 2 flights, this is a very smooth flying aircraft with plenty of power. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Flyer Posted September 2 Share Posted September 2 Great to hear . Superb model! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Freeman 3 Posted October 14 Author Share Posted October 14 We flew at a scale fly in 2 weeks ago and had 2 flights with the Mustang, the first time it has flown from tar runways. It was quite hot and gusty so not the best of flying conditions but the Mustang did well. The video is good but my technology skills are not great so I am not sure why it is a reduced screen! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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