Official FMS 1400mm P-51D V8 Thread

[wrongroad]

G'day Shirty,
Some of those 'lady boys' are very convincing:s:D
Now back to our regular program :p
I am going to try and get to the Tingalpa [Brisbane for our O/S crew] warbirds day but of course I need to get a leave pass. This is on the 13th March and is usually a great day of flying, bull dust and lots of fun.
I flew the Duchess last year and will take her again this year if I can get away.
Other than that. the calendar might be a bit thin for major events for me this year, but it is worth it.
Forecast for this weekend is good so I might get in some serious flying on Sunday. If I am not too much under the weather as we are having our boy, Johnathan, baptised this Saturday and I have been saving a very special [50yo] bottle of scotch for a special day.
And it is my 53rd Bday as well....oh the pain, the pain!!!!!
Regards and respect
Daryl

PS, a low pass will be a looowwww pass.
BTW, I am usually a tea total kinda bloke but...........................

[Shirty]

Happy birthday for Saturday buddy. Hope you have an awesome day mate. :)

[Starck Mad]

Happy Birthday Daryl! I ain't far behind you...:dodgy:

[olwarbirds]

Happy B-day brother, The hardest one for me was 50 after that .......

[wrongroad]

Happy B-day brother, The hardest one for me was 50 after that .......

Is that because it is all down hill from there???:p:D
Regards and respect
Daryl

[Rex09]

Happy birthday WrongRoad, another 3 years & you will catch me, wish the wind would go away, still windy up here in Toowoomba, I'll try & have a fly to celibrate your birthday with the Red Tail, if not one of my heli's :p

[olwarbirds]

Daryl, your already downhill from me dont push it, you know what flows downhill :) .... I am in process of moving so no flying, but with our weather I would not be flying anyways...windchill in the single digits next couple of days, plus snow and freezing rain, I am for sure a fair weather flyer.... Not sure if I had told yall yet or not but I have finally made my choices...going with the FMS for my P-51B and going with the FW for my p-51D. Then I will be able to do a very fair side by side comparison. Plus I am getting the FL P-38 and P-40 so some serious amount of tweaking and maidens coming up.

[Shirty]

Cool mate. Nice choices. Looking forward to your flight reports and maybe some vid if we are lucky? Good luck on the maidens buddy. :)

[wrongroad]

G'day gang,
As this is a set of questions that I do get asked a lot and it is something I see asked a lot on the various forums so I am preempting the questions just a little.
My transmitter is a Futaba 8J on mode two and all the settings are obviously from that unit.

I set all the control rod as such.
On the servo arm the rod goes in the outer most hole. The furthest from the centre pivot point.
On the clevis horn, I set the control rods to the outer most hole. Furthest from the control surface with the exception of the flaps and there I place the rod closest to the control surface.

I set the end point adjustment for the ailerons at 80%.

For the rudder at 140%. This is to aid the ground steering. When possible I try to turn to the left and use the natural torque of the propeller to help turn the machine. The Mustang is not known for a tight turning circle but some will turn better than others. I find all three of my P-51's turn better to the left than to the left. Even then I still forget from time to time and turn the wrong way and I then have a bit of a walk to pull them out of the long grass.

And for the elevators 140% for the up and 100% for the down.
I fly off grass at every field that I visit and the 140% of up is to help prevent nose overs. Even with this, the odd nose over does still happen every now and then if I hit a rough bit of grass or a divot.:dodgy:

I use 25% expo on the ailerons only.

I do not play with high and low settings. These are a set of good all round settings for scale like flight. If you want to go harder you will need to experiment with what works for you.

Flaps are set to around half travel for the first position and for full deflection at flaps two. The equates out to around 20* at one and 45 at two. The angle of the rod as the flaps move equates for the difference.
I do not use flaps for take off as this can get the model airborne before the wing is at flying speed and any wrong move can get you into big trouble.

For landing I use no flap in a stiff breeze [what the wind is doing is completely your judgment]. Flap one in any light to moderate breeze and flap two if it is dead calm. Something that I rarely see. I have gone to full flap if I am running out of runway to help stop but I am not sure if it works or just looks like I know what I am doing. Perhaps just a bit of lair as well.:D:D

I have 160 metres of close cropped grass to take of from and I use about eighty metres to get off the ground. I am careful with the throttle until I have the machine rolling straight and then ease the throttle on until I have the tail up in the flying position and onto full power and then rotate with just a breath of up elevator.

Landing is just like this......
On the upwind pass on the final circuit, I drop the landing gear and look to make sure it is down. The dirty pass also pleases the crowd:p. On the down wind leg, I deploy flaps to one [if required] and then check the speed and height.
The cross wind is usually flown as a continuing turn but this is when I start to descend and really get a handle on the approach speed. This is the easiest time to judge the speed as the model is going across your line of vision.
Roll out onto final approach is done with myself standing completely side on to the approach [facing the runway] and looking over the appropriate shoulder. This [nearly] always puts me on the centre line at any field that I fly at.
I only use rudder to correct any drift on final approach and I try to have the machine about two to three metres high just before the threshold.
A good tip here is to use the shadow of the model to judge your position in relation to the runway. Of course this only works if it is sunny:rolleyes: and remember the angle of the sun.
I dial in some nose down trim on the down wind leg to help with a positive rate of descent. The rate is then easy to control with throttle and elevator. I like to keep about one third throttle on during the descent. War birds handle so much better with airflow over the control surfaces. A gliding style landing is a good way of pranging your nice silver Mustang, although gliding in will work for some pilots but I think that it is a bad habit to get into.

Once the model is about two feet of the deck, slowly close the throttle and hold off with up elevator and I try to land with the aircraft on about a 45* angle from my position. If I have not been able to touch down before the model gets in front of me, I will go around. I do not try to 'make it in' after this point. The FMS warbirds all roll out much further then people realise and I have had a few pilots telling me to cut the throttle only to see that the throttle is the way closed.
I have let two other pilots fly my Mustangs and they have been surprised at the length of the roll out required to stop. I also have bronze bushes in the wheels as well so everything rolls smoother.

I found that all three of my machines, needed up trim if I set the elevator level by eye and with a straight edge over the tail plane. Other than that, I needed a little trim here and there to fly hands off. There were no desperate moments for any of the maidens.

The factory nominated CG is very neutral and I find the model is very docile to CG chances.
With a 3300 mAh battery installed, each model needed 146 grams of ballast to balance on the nominated CG point and this was with the battery all the way forward.

General flight is good even with the OEM power plant but better with any of the modifications done by a good number of pilots.
I fly with 580 donks in each but I am about to go to the 650. I will be interested to feel the result.

The only part of the Mustang that I feel lets it down is the single push rod to the elevators. Even though the connecting bar is quite solid, I feel it allows the aircraft to roll to the right during a loop as the left hand elevator gets lazy and lays back just a fraction. Application of the rudder at the right time does take care of this but not too much or the model will wag its tail like a Labrador dog looking for a chocolate!

Things to look for are the Phillips Head screws in the oleo legs. Even though I have used Lock Tite on them I still check them before a day of flying or after three flights on a day.
The grub screws in the oleos as well are prone to coming loose as well check them on a regular basis.
It is also wise to check the screws in the prop blades after a few flights. You might get a surprise as to how they have come loose. I find that once they have been redone, they stay tight.
Keep a close eye on the C clips on the axles. These can, and do, cut into the plastic wheel. This causes all sorts of handling problems on the ground as the wheels do not track straight.
And it is a good idea to check the wing bolts from time to time as well. The model will not keep flying if the wing comes off. Funny about that!!:angel:

Unfortunately, the Aussie dollar is making the FMS product a bit expensive here, however, even at around the $500 dollar mark landed at the front door, it is still reasonable value.

It is not a newcomers machine, nor, I believe, even a second model but a nice model to consider for a third or forth model.

Hope this helps anyone with questions.

Regards and respect
Daryl

[Shirty]

Well... That's the end of this thread....

;)

[farmflyer]

That was a thread on its own. Lol

[Starck Mad]

Well said Daryl. That should be a good starting point for anyone looking to get their first 1450mm Mustang. And it will probably help a fella or two that doink the ones they already have more often than they should as well...:D

[Konrad]

Rolls to the right on pull up (Loop) sounds like a mass issue, heavy right wing. Application of rudder (yaw) to correct sounds like "P" factor (asymmetrical thrust, from the prop) if it is to the right for clockwise rotating props. (All references are made as if seen facing forward from the pilots perspective) If it was a roll I'd think application of aileron would be needed to correct the induced roll.

I really like to use this chart in chasing down my trim issues.

http://www.wtp.net/DBEST/trimchrt.html

All the best,
Konrad

[heliboy]

hello guys, i have a quick question. I have the BBD V8 mustang, and the other day i came in for a landing and the wheel assembly came off. Apparently there is suppose to be a set screw in there to keep it from coming apart and i had no clue.....any tips?

[xviper]

hello guys, i have a quick question. I have the BBD V8 mustang, and the other day i came in for a landing and the wheel assembly came off. Apparently there is suppose to be a set screw in there to keep it from coming apart and i had no clue.....any tips?

Compare it to the other side to see what's gone missing. It's likely that it's the set screw that acts as a guide for the suspension to slide along and to prevent the suspension from coming apart. You can use the one from the good side to get another set screw to match it. When you put it back in, use a little Loctite on the threads only. If you can't find a similar screw from your LHS or from Home Depot, then you'll have to buy a complete retract strut.

http://www.motionrc.com/fms-1400mm-p-51-main-landing-gear-struts-new-version/

[Shirty]

Or, if you are just talking about the wheel itself, it's held on with an e-clip. You can get these at any hardware store. I think (I'm not 100%), but I think it's the 3mm ones you need. Could be 2.5mm, it's one of these two anyway. You can get a box of assorted sizes for a few dollars, but better to pull one off the other wheel and get a packet of the size you need. If you fly off grass, chances are one day a eclip will come off.

Edit: just checked my flight box, I've got both 2.5mm and 3mm in there, (probably because I wasn't sure what size so bought both, but it's the 2.5mm that's opened so I'm going with 2.5mm). If it's not just the wheel, likely is the screw in the strut that viper is talking about. Hope it helps. :)

[wrongroad]

G'day Konrad,
Yeah, I hear you on the factors involved and if it was just the one unit I would agree with you on the the heavy wing [not saying that I do not agree either:D]. I have three Mustangs and they pretty much handle the same in a loop.
The roll out is mostly at the top of the loop as I power off over the top of a loop while keeping the aerodynamic loads of the loop.
My other FMS birds with the elevators actuated on both sides do not have the same issue.
Most of the P-51 boys who have stiffened the link have reported that the problem goes away once the two sides fly equal.
I have not done this as I can control the tail via the rudder and I like doing it that way. I do not use any mixes as I like to do all the work.
The first time it happened, I had no idea and thought that I had simply not carried enough speed and had stalled out.
I have also wondered if I happen to impart a slight roll by not pulling directly back on the stick and causing some aileron deflection. I am well prepared to admit to that if I can prove that fact.
I managed five good flights today even though the wind was up around 20 / 30 km/h for most of the day.
One landing into the south, I was laying off about thirty degrees just to keep a straight approach into the runway.
The wind managed to come from all points of the compass with one take off into the north and the landing of that flight into the south. It never ceases to amaze me how quickly the wind can completely switch direction and then switch back again.

Hey Shirty, The GOF was not flying today and none of the followers showed up either. The strange part was no one crashed a model today. I rest my case m'lord.:)

Regards and respect
Daryl

[Shirty]

All my fms birds (except the zero), need a touch of rudder to perform a perfect loop. I think most people notice a touch of tail-wag in these fms foamies, I put it down to the foam flight surfaces flexing. (Very noticable in one of my foamy 3D birds, give her a bit of throttle on the ground and half of the elevators bends down just from the prop wash).

Thank god for no gof. ;)

[Rex09]

Wrongroad, we at TARMAC (Toowoomba) are having a warbirds day up here on ANZAC day, your welcome to bring a Mustang or two & join your clubs two Red Tails, & many other war planes normally a good day, last year there where 20+ planes & my MD500MD some times a few jets

[Shirty]

you are most welcome in qld anytime daryl, wear that blue jumper you are so fond of.... ;)