The Man, Myth, Legend

I’ve been trying to pace myself in building this plane, but it is just so much fun to get all the pieces working properly that I have made large strides towards completion. To date, I have completed the following tasks in preparation for a maiden flight:
Joined wing sections
Installed aileron, rudder and elevator control surfaces and servos
Installed engine mount and engine
Main landing gear has been installed and adjusted (they retract- it’s very cool)

All that is left is:
Install throttle assembly and servo
Install fuel tank
Attach cowl over engine
Attach canopy and misc details
Break in engine

After pouring over the instructions all last week, I finally started on actual construction this past weekend. The aileron servos and control surfaces are now installed, the wing sections have been glued together, and the retracting gear and servo are operating smoothly. I hope to work on the rudder and elevator controls and possibly the engine mounting next week. I’ll post some pictures of all this when I get a chance. I’m guessing (optimistically) I’ll have it all completed in a month. The only concern I’ve had so far is whether the servo control arms on the ailerons are long enough, or if I’ll need to find some a little longer. Stay tuned….
~Dave

Since Frank doesn’t seem as interested in planes as I am, he passed on to me the kit plane given to him by one of the local club members. In addition, another club member donated a .60 size trainer to me that I’m hoping the wife might learn to fly with. But the biggest surprise came this weekend when my dad came up on Friday to spend Easter with us. He brought with him an F4U Corsair that our good friend, Bruce had given him to give to me. Needless to say, I was blown away. I remember years ago when I first showed interest in R/C planes that Bruce had built one, and he was happy to share his interest in the hobby with me. Now, he has given me an awesome surprise. One that I still am overwhelmed by. I can’t wait to build it and take to the skies with this vintage warbird. I’ll post on my building progress, as well as my flying abilities.
Bruce- Thank you.

We had a great weekend with my dad. He played poker with “the guys” on Friday night, and we shared a wonderful Easter Lunch/Dinner with the in-laws here in town. I’m always glad when he comes for a visit, if even only for a weekend.

Since I last posted, I have made multiple flights with my Mustang. I have tucked a full blown crash, and one “hard landing” under my belt as well. Additionally, I have added a camcorder into my cockpit for aerial video. The wife videotaped me last Saturday, and I edited the two onboard videos to come up with this:

R/C Flight at Satellite Lake

As you can see, I am really enjoying flying. One of the R/C club members has graciously given me a high-wing trainer to fly in addition to my P-51. I need to get an engine for it, but I should have that one in the air sometime this month. Stay tuned as our intrepid R/C pilot takes to the skies yet again this weekend!