1/5th scale P-51D

[Colin1]

Any of you guys bored?

Giant 1/5 Scale P-51D Mustang Plans,Templates,Instruc on eBay, also Aircraft, Radio Control Vehicles, Radio Control Control Line, Toys Hobbies (end time 14-Jun-09 01:56:06 BST)

[Airframes]

Now that one would be grounds for divorce! Er...but I'm already divorced...where's me cheque book?!!!

[vikingBerserker]

Holy crap, might as well build a full size one!

[Sweb]

I build quarter scale. Giant Scale models must be quarter scale to qualify in that category. I'm currently building a quarter scale SPAD XIII as a flier with plans for another museum quality static example at 1/3rd scale. Each rib, longeron, web, stringer and every other part must be fabricated to scale down to the rib stitching. It's building at these scales that are very satisfying for me from a (complete) scale perspective. Detailing the cockpit of a 1/48th scale model begs the question: Why? You can't see the dang thing after it's enclosed in the fuselage halves; especially single engine fighters.

[vikingBerserker]

That's awesome, you have any pics?????????

[Sweb]

Originally Posted by vikingBerserker

That's awesome, you have any pics?????????

I have posted some somewhere here on the lay-up of the wings. At the moment I'm waiting for some stuff to arrive related to the radio servo linkages for the ailerons. I'm bashing the plans a bit and trying to duplicate the way the original pushrods and mechanisms were installed in the bottom wing to control the ailerons in the top wing. In other words, I'm tying to stay as scale as possible. The airfoil is significantly taller than scale on this plane to make it an easy flyer. Even the full scale replicas have taller airfoils for the same reason. The Original SPAD was a bit of a handful to fly. It had to be kept fast or it dropped like a stone. I'm redesigning the landing, flying and bracing wire fittings and attach points to more closely resemble the real plane. The plans show using soldered up music wire. I'm using scale diameter cable and turnbuckles instead. I'm also waiting on raw stock to arrive to fabricate the turnbuckles. I'll follow up with the metal cable and landing gear brackets and fittings. I had to draw all that stuff up which took much time from the build. I need it to begin construction of the fuselage. It's a long process for a 1/4 scale WWI flying warbird. I think the next flyer I build will be a WWII type. They're much, much simpler. To transport these birds to and from the flying field you have to build into them a method for quick disassembly/reassembly that doesn't show externally. That means a lot of thinking and sketching for this SPAD's disassembly method. The plans method is pretty cheesy with non-scale visible hardware everywhere. I've come up with my own system but it took a lot of time and experimenting with materials and jigs. The WWII birds simply have a couple wing/fuselage nylon bolts and servo wire connections and you're flying in no time - or going home. If you don't design a clean system for a WWI type you'll end up with a tangled mess of struts and wires. Anyway, I'm babbling on. I'll try to get some pics up here soon.

[Wayne Little]

Sweet!