In service throughout WW II and into the Korean War, the P-51D Mustang is probably the world’s most recognized plane, and Model Tech has reproduced one of the most attractive versions- the Short-Fuse Sallee. The full-size Short-Fuse Sallee still flies over Minneapolis, MN, and is owned by Bill Bruggeman.
  With its .46 ARF, Model Tech has done a fine job of reproducing the feel and look of this great fighter plane. This sport-scale model maintains the scale outline of the full-size plane and has an enhanced airfoil that provides outstanding performance.

Takeoff and landing
 On the ground, this is probably one of the most docile RC P-51s. You need to be quick on the sticks during takeoff to prevent it from nosing over because the tail comes up as power is applied. This gives you very good rudder control right away. I needed only a little right trim and down-trim to get level flight.
  The P-51 is a breeze to land, especially on a calm day. On final approach, the throttle should be at ¼; once the plane has passed the end of the run way (ideally, about 4 to 6 feet above the ground), chop tile throttle to idle. Use the ailerons to keep the wings level with the runway and the rudder to keep the plane on course down the center; then let the plane settle onto the runway. Just before the wheels touch the ground, add a little up-elevator for a 3-point touchdown.

Slow-speed performance
 The slow-speed characteristics of this plane are great! When you do get it to stall, it will do so straight ahead without any tendency to drop either wingtip, and it will recover quickly. Control responses are not quite as quick as they are at higher speeds, but the plane is extremely stable and responsive at slower speeds. With a little up-trim, I easily maintained level flight at 1/2 throttle and had very good control at ¼ throttle.

High-speed performance
 With the Magnum XL .61RFS up front, the plane was not over-powered, but it did have a very realistic, scale, flight performance with regard to speed and sound. A continual 30 degree climb is no problem but a vertical ascent will quickly slow the plane until it falls out of the climb. If you really want to hot-dog it around the sky you will need a stronger engine, but if you enjoy its scale flight performance, this engine is perfect.

Aerobatics
 This plane can do a wide variety of aerobatics in a scale-like manner. Loops, rolls, hammerheads, tail slide and snap rolls are all easy to do. Rolls are very axial and require just a little elevator input to maintain level flight. Inverted flight requires some down-elevator to keep the plane level. I was even able to get the P-51 to do a Lomcevak (not as well as a stunt plane can do it, but it did look good). The large rudder made it easy for me to hold a knife-edge for the full length of the field.
  The model is built up entirely of balsa and ply wood, the wing panels are fully sheeted, and the model is entirely finished with iron-on covering. A full hardware package, fuel tank, retractable and fixed landing gear, decals, a tailwheel and a polished chrome spinner are also included. There are various molded-plastic parts and an excellent 63-page manual with building checklists, photos and drawings that cover all aspects of the construction.

Assembly
Wing. I started by test-fitting the wing panels to each other with the dihedral brace in place. I had to sand the dihedral brace a little to get a perfect fit. When the joint was tight, I applied a generous amount of 30-minute epoxy to the wing roots and dihedral brace. After I had made sure that I had a tight joint, I held the assembly together with 1 1/2-inch-wide masking tape until the epoxy had dried, then I installed the leading-edge plywood- support brace with 5-minute epoxy. The brace helps to support the wing dowels and the leading-edge fairing that is installed later.
  I mounted the wing on the fuselage. After measuring the locations of the wing- mounting bolts on the wing, I aligned the wing with the fuselage in the wing saddle and taped it into place. I carefully drilled two, 3/16-inch pilot holes through the wing and into the fuselage plywood blocks. I removed the wing and enlarged the holes in the blocks to fit the two supplied blind nuts. I removed just enough covering around the bolt holes in the wing to glue the doubler over the holes to reinforce that area. When all the wing alignments checked out, I installed the radiator scoop. The instructions suggest that you use epoxy to attach the wooden braces inside the plastic parts, but I decided to use canopy glue, and that really holds all the braces on the plastic, even when the parts flex. I held everything in place with masking tape until it had dried. With the plastic scoop mounted and the wing bolted to the body, I moved on to the tail feathers.

Tail feathers. I knew that the wing alignment was correct, so I used it as a reference point to line up the stabilizer. When I was satisfied that the stabilizer was centered, I secured it in place with T-pins. I used a marking pen to draw lines to indicate where the stabilizer would exit from the fuselage on the top and bottom, and I removed the covering between these lines. If you use a hobby knife to remove the covering, use just enough pressure to cut through the covering; don’t cut into the wood! I inserted the stabilizer into the fuselage, right up to the bare wood. I spread the epoxy over the stabilizer and slid it back into place so that all of the lines matched up with the fuselage. After locking the stabilizer down with T-pins, I rechecked Its alignment and removed the excess epoxy with alcohol and a paper towel.
  After the stabilizer epoxy had dried, I started on the vertical tail fin. Again, remove the covering where the fin fits into the slot in the fuselage. I liberally applied epoxy to the slot and inserted the fin into it, checking to make sure that the fin was 90 degrees to the horizon tale stabilizer. At this point, I installed the control surfaces with the CA hinges provided in the kit. I drilled a small hole through the middle of the hinge slot to help disperse the CA to the back of the hinge.

Electric conversion When Jim Bianner first heard about the Model Tech P-51D, he said he knew that it would be an ideal plane to convert to electric power with very few modifications. In Jim's model, an Aveox 27/39/2 motor and an MEC Superbox 60/20 gearbox spin a 4-blade, 15x11 APC prop at 6,300 RPM! Two MEC sport Packs with 18, 3000mAH NiMH cells and an Aveox SH-40 speed control allow the motor to produce 3/4 HP and an estimate 7.7 pounds of thrust-more than enough to muscle Jim's 8-pound, 3-ounce plane through the sky with plenty of power and speed. A full article on Jim's electric conversion will appear in a future issue of Model Airplane News; stay tuned! the Aveox 27/32/2 motor with the Model Electronics Corp. 60/20 gearbox is a light powerhouse that produces appro-ximately 3/4 HP on 18, 3000mAh cells.

To properly position the gearbox output shaft in the Mustang's nose, you must raise the assembly slightly. Hardwood blocks screwed into the engine bearers work well for this. Note the cooling air holes in the firewall.

Jim Blanner holds his electric conversion of Short-Fuse Sallee in front of the real thing! This beautiful Mustang is owned by William "Bill" Bruggeman who flies it out of the Janes Field/Blaine Airport in Minneapolis, MN.

Installing the retractable landing gear is simply a matter of removing the covering, screwing in the retracts and attaching the wheel wells to the wing. The retracts have performed flawlessly for more than 30 flights.

Retracts. I moved back to the wing to install the retractable landing gear. The kit comes with fixed and retractable gear, but this P-51 deserves retracts! I installed the recommended Cirrus CS-100 low-profile retract servo first, then I removed the covering from the two landing-gear mounts and wheel wells. Before I drilled holes in the gear mounts for the retracts, I set the plastic wheel well in place and attached the wheels to the landing gear. Then I was able to move the gear back and forth until everything lined up. Next, I drilled the pilot holes for the screws and, confident that everything was in the correct place, I screwed the retracts into place.   I routed the pushrods to the retract servo and attached them with adjustable servo connectors. It is important to bend the pushrods at the servo as shown in the manual. This ensures that the wires clear each other when the servo travels as the gear goes up, and it gives some flexibility to relieve the stress on the retracts. I used canopy glue to seal the plastic wheel wells into place, and when the glue had dried, I trimmed the wells flush with the wing.

The cowl needs only minimal cutting to provide adequate cooling.

Engine installation. Mounting the engine is pretty straightforward. I used a Magnum XL .61 RFS to power my Mustang. I installed the spinner backplate and prop on the engine and used that to line up the engine on the hardwood beams. Then I drilled pilot holes, secured the engine in place with four wood screws and rechecked its alignment. I removed the engine, flowed CA into the screw holes to strengthen the wood, drilled a hole for the pushrod (leaving enough space for it to clear the tank) and then reinstalled the engine. The Magnum XL .61 RFS is a very tight fit in the engine compartment, so it took some work to route the pushrod past the tank and to the carburetor, which is right next to the firewall. When I had bent the pushrod correctly, however, everything worked great. I mounted the tank using silicone sealant to secure it to the fuselage and to seal the tank hole In the firewall.

Radio gear. I installed the servo trays In the fuselage and wing with thick CA. I test-fit the servos first and then removed them, wicked thin CA into the servo-screw holes and installed them permanently. The rudder and elevator have small pushrod tubes that are guided through the fuselage by larger pushrod-housing tubes. I inserted the plain end of a threaded wire (along with some CA) into the end of the small pushrod tube so that the tube would have threads for the clevis. Two of the wires slid into the pushrod tubes with no effort, but the third was a very tight fit; I could get it only halfway in. I managed to slide it the rest of the way by holding it in the chuck of a variable-speed drill and slowly rotating it as I gently pushed it in. If you need to use a drill, don’t run it at high speed because the plastic pushrod tube will melt. With the servos installed, all that was left to do was to add the canopy, cowl and trim.

I added a little paint to my model's canopy. I also installed a scale pilot in the cockpit and used canopy glue and screws to fasten the canopy in place

Final touches
 The canopy needed to be painted, so I masked It off with a thin strip of electricians’ tape and used aluminum and black LustreKote to match the model’s color. I installed a Cermark pilot figure (be sure to use screws to hold it in), and I secured the canopy to the fuselage with canopy glue and four screws. I also used canopy glue to attach the wing fairings to the wings. I used a rotary tool to make the cutout In the cowl for the engine head, the muffler and the needle valve. The cowl is held In place with four flat-head screws, and I mounted the prop and included aluminum spinner on the engine to complete the construction of the front of the plane.
  I applied the decals by removing theft backing paper and dipping them in a tray of water containing a few drops of dish- washing liquid. This solution allowed me to slide the decals until they were in the right positions. I used my hand and a cloth to squeeze out the air bubbles and flatten the decals.
  I wrapped the receiver and battery in foam and moved them back and forth in the roomy fuselage to balance the air plane. The CG is 4½ inches back from the leading edge of the wing. By moving the receiver battery toward the back of the fuselage, I achieved the proper balance without adding weight. For the first flight, I set the rudder, elevator and ailerons to the recommended control throws.

Conclusion
 The Model Tech P-51D Mustang is an excellent flyer. Its scale outline and silver and black “invasion" stripes really stand out when it’s in the sky. The sound of the 4-stroke engine and the gear folding up into the wing also adds to the plane’s scale realism. If you enjoy watching a P-51 doing a low flyby and pulling up into a victory roll (who doesn’t?), you will want this plane.
  Once you start to fly it, you will realize that you can never do too many low flybys with a Mustang.

Airtronics (714) 978-1895;
www.airtronics.net

APC Props; distributed by Landing Products
(530) 661-0399
apcprop.com

Aveox Electric Flight Systems
(818) 597-8915
aveox.com

Cirrus distributed by Global Hobby Distributors.

Global Hobby Distributors
(714) 963-0133
globalhobby.com

Great Planes Model Distributors
(800) 682-8948
greatplanes.com

Hitec RCD Inc.
(858) 748-6948
hitecrcd.com

LustreKote distributed by Great Planes Model Distributors

Magnum distributed by Global Hobby Distributors

Model Electronics Corp.
(206) 440-5772
modelelectronicscorp.com

Model Tech distributed by Global Hobby Distributors

Powermaster
(800) 847-9086
powermasterfuels.com

Zinger distributed by J&Z Products
(310) 539-2313
zingerpropeller.com