Scale Don Smith P-51 Mustang

Hey Bill, good to hear from you. Hope you have had a great Christmas. The gear are Sierra Giant Scale. Very nice gear from what I can see and the reviews people that have them post. I have heard only one issue about them, however don't know that for fact. That said, "GOOD LUCK" getting hold of Darrell at Sierra. I wish you better success than I since my purchase of the gear two and a half years ago. I'm thinking if I ever have any problems, I might as well attempt growing wings on my back and flying to Mars.

 

"SHE'S GOT LEGS...SHE KNOWS HOW TO USE THEM".....
And the work continues. Three long days at the building table has produced great results. I've made a lot of progress. It doesn't seem like it, but actually... considering the amount of work that goes into these monsters, what is knocked off the list to complete is now accumulating. Air line and servo lead tube installed in the right wing half now. Along with air lines for the gear and the servo leads for the ailerons and flaps. shear webs in place along with tri-stock re-enforcement in the corners of the load bearing areas. Servo doors are also completed. Today was spent entirely on getting the ribs cut and sized for the gear rails to be installed. Once that was done, the rails were epoxied in place and the right main gear fitted and placed in proper location. Holes for the gear bolts drilled. I will probably go back and do a little re-enforcing to insure the integrity of the gear rails. Last thing I want is the load bearing ribs and structure to not be able to withstand the weight or the forces upon landing. There is still plenty to do to this wing before it is ready for sheeting. I have still not decided on functional trim tabs. If I do, it will require much more work and serious calculations. Hitec, (My preferred brand of servos) makes some really small and compact servos. If I do incorporate the functional trim tabs, I will probably place the "MICRO" servos in the ailerons, elevators and rudder. With a small "scale" type linkage, I will make the connection to the trim tabs much like the full scale Mustang. Just a matter of if it is worth the amount of work that needs to go into this facet of the build. Functional trim tabs would be smashingly cool...and my MZ32 is definitely not shy on channels to support that function, but the question is.... will all that extra building and setup really be worth it? Guess we'll wait to see where this goes. LOL.

For now however... a few photos of the progress over the last couple or so days. Not sure if I will have time to get to the Behemoth Stang tomorrow...but if I do, I will do my best to get more photos. The fuse seriously needs her wings....!!!

 

That's the thought Snoopy.... See what I am thinking.... Hitec has a really great "Micro" servo that would work great for this. The "D89MW" is a high voltage, metal geared servo that delivers 118 in. oz of torque. It is 1.14" (29mm) x .51" (13mm) x 1.18" (30mm) This is more than sufficient for the trim tabs on a Mustang this size. Yes, once the plane is trimmed, they will probably never need any further adjustment. But the precision of the plane will be greatly enhanced and balance will be outstanding in flight. Trim tabs as we all know counter act the unbalanced and odd load of planes in flight. When a "control" surface is used to "trim" a plane, it depreciates the accuracy of the flight characteristics. Mainly because the plane is constantly "fighting" a control input to keep itself correct in flight. In a landing situation, the elevator trim tabs can be adjusted for landing and allow for the elevators to do their job at "flare". The control surfaces are large enough to house the micro servos. Besides being very cool to have functioning and remotely adjustable trim tabs, they will also enhance the scale appearance of the plane. Not sure yet if I am going to build them in. At this point, it is just a thought more than anything else.

I did get a little bit more done today on the wing. Built in the back of the wing where it will mount and bolt to the aft part of the wing saddle. A lot of work but well worth it. I also took a little time to do a weight check of the Monster Stang. Fuse is sitting at 7 pounds, 9 ounces. Wing at present is 13 pounds, 15 ounces. Tail surfaces are sitting at a little over 2 pounds. So at present stage of build, the DS Mustang is sitting at 23 pounds, 5 ounces. Considering the 150cc engine, the weight of the servos, wiring, hardware, prop, spinner and a variety of other things, I still think I can make that mark I projected so long ago. My friend in North Dakota says his DS Mustang hit the scales at 67 pounds. He says his flies great. If I can get in around 50-55 as hoped, this thing should be a sweetheart to land and a rocket to ride to the moon at full mash on the gas pedal. We'll see when that time comes.

 

Yeah, tell me about it brother. I started cutting the excessive fatty foods, extra helpings and meals...between meals back on Sept. 21st. I figured with the way this year has been going, I could at least attempt to end it on a positive note. So, here I am down 43 pounds with 20-25 to go. I have been stuck there for the last 3 weeks to a month. UGH... HARD TO GET OFF? Yeah, you know it. LOL