P-51D Project


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Dane McGee
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2548 P-51D Club Project

Post by Dane McGee »

I presented the 2548 scale combat concept at the latest local rc club meeting and some of the club members expressed an interest in building a 2548 scale combat fighter. We dedcided that the P-51 would be great plane to start with and that a photo build along for anyone who needs a reference while building would be helpful.

I started the project by printing and cutting the outline. Printable PDF or cad files are available here: http://www.rccombat.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=10968


The paper outline is glued onto aluminim flashing with spray adhesive then cut out with metal snips.


The aluminum templates are screwed to 4"foam blanks (made from joining two 2" width pieces with sray adhesive) and cut out with a hotwire scroll saw made from Ed Kettlers plans available here: http://rccombat.net/forum/viewtopic.php ... lit=scroll

Don't sweat it if you do not have a hotwire foam cutter. A band saw works great too.

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I cut a 1/4" ply firewall and glued to the fuse with probond and began shaping the fuse using a sharp knife and a 80 grit sanding sponge.

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The sanding sponge makes short work of the foam and in about 10 minutes or less you have a nicely shaped fuse. At this point the weight is 9oz
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Dane McGee
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P-51D Project

Post by Dane McGee »

More progress.......

I routered out a groove for the fiberglass rods for the fuse and glued them in with probond.......fg rods, probond and 1/8 ply tail plate added another 2oz and brings us to 11oz so far


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The coro tail sections cut with a bandsaw...........weighs 1.75oz

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A coro ripper makes easy work of cutting the coro flute for elevator hinging..............

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Last edited by Dane McGee on Wed Nov 16, 2011 3:10 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Ed Kettler
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Post by Ed Kettler »

Lookin' good, my man! Please keep us informed on the weights, as this is a slightly different build method then we've previously used.

Way to go, Dane!

Ed
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Post by Rabbit Leader »

Kickin' butt, buddy!! Good job so far, looks great!!

Cash
billymyers
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Post by billymyers »

This looks good. I cannot wait to get started.
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Dane McGee
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Post by Dane McGee »

Welcome to the RCCA Combat site Billy!! I have just a little trimming left on the wing cores and then you can get to building your bird! I can't wait!!
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Post by Hat Trick »

The fiberglass rod reinforced foam idea has been around for a long time! There are a couple of articles in the shop section by Jim Bodner on how to go about it. Basically what is shown above. If you do just a few things right you will have a very light and very strong airframe! This is similar to how I produce my kits except the fuse is hollowed out and the airframe shape is already there! Unless you intend to use a bladder tank you might want to hollow out the tank area before you glue the 2 blocks of foam together! I also extend the rudder down to the bottom of the fuse. The elevator is in a slot in the rudder. This way there is more than just a but joint holding the rudder on. They have a tendancy to get knocked off in combat!

Like I always say There's an airplane in every chunk of foam! You just have to let it out!
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Dane McGee
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Post by Dane McGee »

Next I hollowed out the area of the fuse for the fuel tank.

Thanks for the comments Doc. Yes, as I found out, it would have been easier to hollow out for the fuel tank before I glued the fuse together.[:I]

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The tank was installed with a thin piece of foam covering the opening. The tank and fuel hoses added 1.25oz

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I then used strapping tape to help secure the firewall to the fuse. I also ran a strip of strapping tape on top of each fg rod, and then wrapped tape radially around the front of the fuse.

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The ply tail section plate is held down with strapping tape too.



Bidi tape is then wrapped around the fuse to help prevent fg rod blowouts. Strapping and Bidi tape added another 1.25oz



I decided to lock in the firewall to the fuse by shrinking a 2 liter pop bottle over the front portion of the fuse.

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By using heat gun and a little care the pop bottle shrinks onto the fuse and molds itself around the firewall

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This dude isn't going anywhere! The pop bottle ring weighs about 1/2 oz. The total weight at this point is 14oz

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Next is the wing. Here is a Roy Appleton epp enhanced core set before trimming. After trimming the cores weigh 4.5oz
The wing is constructed using the Texas combat method.

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It will be covered with low temp film and painted with lustercote as needed.
Last edited by Dane McGee on Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:47 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Ed Kettler
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Post by Ed Kettler »

I've got my son working through a couple of bottles of Coke this week to get the last two cowlings ready for you. One is already done. Keep up the great work!

Ed
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Post by Hat Trick »

I did the pop bottle on the nos for a while but I found then the fuse broke where the bottle ended. Without the bottle the firewall gets broken off. I found it easier to replace the firewall with some probond than to try to repair the busted fuselage. I haven't found a need to run bidi over the fuse rods. It probably doesn't hurt but that area almost never fails. I just wrap the fuse at the firewall and just in front of the wing saddle and that seems to keep everything together very well. Bi-di gets heavy pretty fast!
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Dane McGee
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Post by Dane McGee »

For covering we used a silver color low heat film applied to the foam with 3M super77. Engine, cowl and servos have been installed and wing finished.

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Test flight report soon.
Last edited by Dane McGee on Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:48 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Dane McGee
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Post by Dane McGee »

My brother Shane test flew the 2548 P-51D today and here is a pic just before maiden. We are waiting to get a canopy pulled and to get the markings finished, but decided to fly it without.

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Final weight not including canopy and cowl is 3#6oz.....cowl and canopy should weigh an ounce or less.
Engine and gear: New OS 25fx with baffle installed, 3.75" spinner and 10x3 apc prop, 4 GWS mini standards, electron 6 rx, 350mah nimh batt pack, clunk tank and 15% powermaster.

After checking throws, we adjusted the cg by moving batt and rx rearward in the fuse to just above the wing te.
CG was set at 2.5" from center le(roughly 25%)which turned out to be just about right.

The first flight began with an easy underhanded launch and the mustang pulled straight away at a steep climb. After a couple laps and trim adjustments, we knew right away that we had a great flying fighter. Loops were tight even at 50% and rolls were insane at 75% rates so we switched to low and she grooved right along. These birds need little ailerons deflection to get the desired results. After 7 1/2 minutes she ran out of fuel and made a long glide and a smooth landing in the hay patch we use as our run way.

It looks like we have an excellent flier to start scale combat at our club. Ok Guys, its time to get to building and lets tie on some streamers[:D]

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Last edited by Dane McGee on Wed Nov 16, 2011 2:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Rabbit Leader »

Dammit Dane, that thing's just purty..can't wait till the 12th!!

Cash
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Ed Kettler
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Post by Ed Kettler »

Dane, I got the new vacuform box and frame made today, so I may have the canopies pulled, shipped and in your hands by this weekend.

Ed
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Dane McGee
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Re: P-51D Project

Post by Dane McGee »

Bringing this back to the top for easier reference.
Dane "Mad Max" McGee
Greenville, Texas
RCCA Vice President 684
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