WA

RR

AN

TY.....Top F

lite Models guarantees this kit to be free of defects in both m

aterial and workm

anship at the date of purchase.T

his warranty does

not cover any component parts dam

aged by use or modification.

In no case shall Top Flite‘s liability exceed the original cost of the purchased kit.

Further, Top F

lite reservesthe right to change or m

odify this warranty w

ithout notice.In that Top Flite has no control over the final assem

bly or material used for final assem

bly, no liability shall be assumed

nor accepted for any damage resulting from

the use by the user of the final user-assembled product.

By the act of using the user-assem

bled product the user accepts all resultingliability.If th

e buyer is n

ot p

repared

to accep

t the liab

ility associated

with

the u

se of th

is pro

du

ct,the bu

yer is advised

to im

med

iately return

this kit in

new

and

un

used

con

ditio

n to

the p

lace of p

urch

ase.

Top

Flite M

od

els• 3002 N

Ap

ollo

Drive S

uite 1 • C

ham

paig

n,IL

61822 • Techn

ical Assistan

ce Call (217)398-8970

• pro

du

ctsup

po

rt@to

p-flite.co

m

RE

AD

TH

RO

UG

H T

HIS

INS

TR

UC

TIO

N B

OO

K F

IRS

T.IT

CO

NTA

INS

IMP

OR

TAN

T IN

ST

RU

CT

ION

S A

ND

WA

RN

ING

S C

ON

CE

RN

ING

TH

E A

SS

EM

BLY

AN

D U

SE

OF

TH

IS M

OD

EL.

TOP

Z2000 for TO

PA0700

V1.0

Entire C

ontents © C

opyright 2003

Wingspan:

84.5 in [2145mm

]W

ing Area:

1245 sq in [80 dm2]

Weight:

19–24 lbs [8620–10890g]W

ing Loading:35–44 oz/sq ft [107–134g/dm

2]

Length:73 in [1855m

m]

Scale:

19%R

adio

:6 to 9-channel w

ith 10 to 11 servosE

ng

ine:

2.1–2.8 cu in [34.5–46cc] two-stroke glow

, 2.5–4.3 cu in [41–70cc] spark ignition (gas)

�G

IANT P-5G

IANT P-51D M

UST

1D M

USTANG

ARFANG

ARF

TAB

LE

OF

CO

NT

EN

TS

INT

RO

DU

CT

ION

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2S

AF

ET

Y P

RE

CA

UT

ION

S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

DE

CIS

ION

S Y

OU

MU

ST

MA

KE

. . . . . . . . . . . . .4E

ngine recomm

endations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Radio equipm

ent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Retractable landing gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

AD

DIT

ION

AL

ITE

MS

RE

QU

IRE

D . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Hardw

are and Accessories

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5A

dhesives and Building S

upplies . . . . . . . . . . .5

Optional S

upplies and Tools . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

KIT

INS

PE

CT

ION

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6O

RD

ER

ING

RE

PL

AC

EM

EN

T PA

RT

S . . . . . . . . .7

AS

SE

MB

LE

TH

E W

ING

S . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8

Hinge the ailerons and flaps

. . . . . . . . . . . . . .8M

ount the servos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10H

ook up the servos . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

Mount the retracts

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13M

ount the landing gear coversand w

heel covers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

Install the air lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

Join the wing

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16Install the fixed landing gear

. . . . . . . . . . . . .18A

SS

EM

BL

E T

HE

FU

SE

LA

GE

. . . . . . . . . . . . .19H

inge the elevators and rudder . . . . . . . . . . .19

Glue in the stabilizer

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Install the cockpit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21M

ount the tail gear doors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23M

ount the retractable tail gear . . . . . . . . . . . .24M

ount the fixed tail gear . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

Hook up the elevators and rudder

. . . . . . . . .26M

ount the engine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .27

Mount the cow

l . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .28

Install the air tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Install the fuel tank . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .30

Hook up the throttle

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .31H

ook up the air lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Mount the kill sw

itch . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32

Finish the engine com

partment

. . . . . . . . . . .33M

OU

NT

TH

E S

CA

LE

DE

TAIL

S . . . . . . . . . . . .33

Radiator air scoop

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33W

ing fairing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34

Wing fillets

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35M

achine guns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .35

Engine exhaust . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Canopy and pilot . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

Apply the decals

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .37G

ET

TH

E M

OD

EL

RE

AD

Y TO

FLY

. . . . . . . . . .37

Com

plete the radio installation . . . . . . . . . . . . .37

Balance the m

odel (CG

) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38

Balance the m

odel laterally . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Check the control directions . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39

Set the control throw

s . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39B

alance propellers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40C

hecklist . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40P

RE

FL

IGH

T . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Identify your model

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41C

harge the batteries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

Ground check

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41R

ange check . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .41

EN

GIN

E S

AF

ET

Y P

RE

CA

UT

ION

S . . . . . . . . . .41

AM

A S

AF

ET

Y C

OD

E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

IMA

A S

AF

ET

Y C

OD

E . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

FLY

ING

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43Takeoff

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44F

light . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Landing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44

Engine m

ount template

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

INT

RO

DU

CT

ION

Congratulations and thank you for purchasing the Top

Flite G

iant P-51D

Mustang A

RF.W

ith the high quality oftoday’s A

RF

s, it was only a m

atter of time before Top

Flite w

ould develop an AR

F w

arbird of their own—

andw

hat better place to start than with the m

ost popularW

WII w

arbird of all time—

the P-51D

Mustang! T

heM

ustang’s streamlined appearance com

bined with Top

Flite’s

engineering expertise

makes

this one

sweet

model! If you are new

to giant-scale warbirds, once over

the initial apprehension of flying a valuable giant-scalem

odel you’ll realize its stable flight qualities and findyourself enjoying it for m

any flights to come.A

lthoughthis M

ustang is an AR

F, it is giantand it is scale, so it’snot exactly going to be ready to fly overnight! For thefastest,

most

pleasurable assem

bly experience,

becertain to read all of the instructions and read eachstep before proceeding

.If you have w

eb access, visit the Top Flite w

eb site atw

ww

.top-flite.com for the latest technical updates or

manual corrections.

Open the “A

irplanes”link, then

select Giant P

-51D M

ustang AR

F.

If there are anychanges or updates a “Tech N

otice”box w

ill appear inthe upper left corner of the page.O

pen the box to viewthe inform

ation.

IMA

A

The Top

Flite

Giant

P-51D

M

ustang A

RF

is

anexcellent sport-scale m

odel and is eligible to fly inIM

AA

events.

The

IMA

A

(International M

iniatureA

ircraft

Asso

ciatio

n)

is a

n

org

an

izatio

n

tha

tp

rom

ote

s n

on

-com

pe

titive

flying

o

f g

ian

t-scale

models.If you plan to attend an IM

AA

event, order acopy of the

IMA

A S

afety Co

de

by contacting theIM

AA

at the address or telephone number below

, orby logging on to their w

eb site atw

ww

.fly-imaa.o

rg/im

aa/sanctio

n.h

tml.

IMA

A

205 S.H

illdale R

oad

Salin

a,KS

67401(913) 823-5569

SC

AL

E C

OM

PE

TIT

ION

Though the giant P

-51 is an AR

F and m

ay not have thesam

e level

of detail

as an

“all-out”scratch-built

competition m

odel, it is a scale model nonetheless and

is therefore eligible to compete in the Fun S

caleclass in

AM

A com

petition.In F

un Scale, the “builder of the

model”rule does not apply.To receive the five points for

scale documentation, the only proof required that a full

size aircraft of this type in this paint/markings schem

edid exist is a single sheet such as a kit box cover froma plastic m

odel, a photo, or a profile painting, etc.If ablack-and-w

hite photo

is used,

other w

rittendocum

entation of color must be provided.C

ontact theA

MA

for a rule book with full details.S

ee page 3 for theA

MA

contact information.

If you would like photos of the full-size P

-51D M

ustangfor scale docum

entation, or if you would like to study the

photos to add more scale details, photo packs are

available from:

Bob’s A

ircraft Docum

entation3114 Yukon A

veC

osta Mesa, C

A 92626

Telephone:(714) 979-8058 Fax:(714) 979-7279e-m

ail:ww

w.bobsairdoc.com

- 2-

1.Your Top F

lite Giant P

-51D M

ustang AR

F should not

be considered a toy, but rather a sophisticated, working

model that functions very m

uch like a full-size airplane.B

ecause of its performance capabilities, the G

iant P-

51D M

ustang AR

F, if not assembled and operated

correctly, could possibly cause injury to yourself orspectators and dam

age to property.

2.You m

ust assemble the m

odel accord

ing

to th

ein

structio

ns.

Do not alter or m

odify the model, as

doing so may result in an unsafe or unflyable m

odel.In a few

cases the instructions may differ slightly

from

the photos.

In those

instances the

written

instructions should be considered as correct.

3.You must take tim

e to build straight,trueand strong.

4.You m

ust use an R/C

radio system that is in first-

class condition, and a correctly sized engine andcom

ponents (fuel tank, wheels, etc.) throughout the

building process.

5.You

must

correctly install

all R

/C

and other

components so that the m

odel operates correctly onthe ground and in the air.

6.You m

ust check the operation of the model before

everyflight to insure that all equipm

ent is operating andthat the m

odel has remained structurally sound.B

e sureto check clevises or other connectors often and replacethem

if they show any signs of w

ear or fatigue.

7.If you are not already an experienced R

/C pilot,

you should fly the model only w

ith the help of acom

petent, experienced R/C

pilot.

8.W

hile this kit has been flight tested to exceednorm

al use, if the plane will be used for extrem

elyhigh stress flying, such as racing, the m

odeler isresponsible for taking steps to reinforce the highstress points.

9.W

AR

NIN

G:

The cow

l, radiator air scoop, ando

the

r p

arts

inclu

de

d

in

this

kit a

re

ma

de

o

ffiberglass, the fibers of w

hich may cause eye, skin

and respiratory tract irritation.Never blow

into a part(air scoop, cow

l) to remove fiberglass dust, as the

dust will blow

back into your eyes.A

lways w

earsafety goggles, a particle m

ask and rubber glovesw

hen grinding, drilling and sanding fiberglass parts.V

acuum the parts and the w

ork area thoroughlyafter w

orking with fiberglass parts.

Rem

emb

er:Take

you

r tim

e an

d

follo

w

the

instru

ction

s to en

d u

p w

ith a w

ell-built m

od

elth

at is straigh

t and

true.

If you have not flown this type of m

odel before, we

recomm

end that

you get

the assistance

of an

experienced pilot

in your

R/C

club

for your

firstflights.

If you’re not a mem

ber of a club, your localhobby shop has inform

ation about clubs in your areaw

hose mem

bership includes experienced pilots.

In addition

to joining

an R

/C

club, w

e strongly

recomm

end you join the AM

A (A

cademy of M

odelA

eronautics).AM

A m

embership is required to fly at

AM

A sanctioned clubs.T

here are over 2,500 AM

Achartered clubs across the country.

Am

ong other

be

ne

fits, th

e

AM

A

provid

es

insu

ran

ce

to

itsm

embers w

ho fly at sanctioned sites and events.A

dditionally, training programs and instructors are

available at AM

A club sites to help you get started

the right way.C

ontact the AM

A at the address or toll-

free phone number below

:

Acad

emy o

f Mo

del A

eron

autics

5151 East M

emorial D

riveM

uncie, IN 47302-9252

Tele.(800) 435-9262Fax (765) 741-0057

Or via the Internet at:http://w

ww

.modelaircraft.org

NO

TE

:W

e, as the kit manufacturer, provide you

with a top quality kit and great instructions, but

ultimately the quality and flyability of your finished

model depends on how

you build it;therefore, we

cannot in any way guarantee the perform

ance ofyour com

pleted model, and no representations

are expressed or implied as to the perform

ance orsafety of your com

pleted model.

PR

OT

EC

T Y

OU

R M

OD

EL

,Y

OU

RS

EL

F &

OT

HE

RS

FO

LL

OW

TH

ES

E IM

PO

RTA

NT

SA

FE

TY

PR

EC

AU

TIO

NS

- 3-

Fu

nctio

n. . . . . . . . . . . . S

ervos req

uired

Elevators

. . . . . . . . . . . . 2 (min.50 oz-in torque)

Rudder

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 (min.50 oz-in torque)

Ailerons

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 (min.50 oz-in torque)

Flaps

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

Tail steering. . . . . . . . . . 1

Throttle

. . . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Air control valve

. . . . . . . 1

Optional K

ill switch

for gas engine. . . . . . . . 1

Total:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10-11 servos

A receiver battery w

ith a minim

um of 1,000 m

Ah

is recomm

ended for flying the giant Mustang.

Inthe

model

shown

in this

instruction m

anual a

Fu

tab

a

NR

4F

1

,50

0

mA

h

ba

ttery

pa

ck(F

UT

M1285) is show

n.A

dditionally, the batteryvoltage should be checked before every flight tobe certain it has enough “charge.”

In addition to the servos (and Synchronized S

ervoR

everser if used), the following item

s (or similar

items)

are also

required.T

he order

numbers

shown (in parentheses) are for F

utaba servos.

❏(2) 24" [610m

m] servo extension w

ires for theaileron servos (F

UT

M2721)

❏(1) D

ual servo extension cord for aileronservos (F

UT

M4130)

❏(1) Y-harness for flap servos (H

CA

M2751)

❏(4) 6" [150m

m] servo extensions (battery-1,

aileron-1, elevator-2) (HC

AM

2701 for Futaba)

Note:

The length and quantity of servo extensions

and Y-connectors may vary depending on the brand

of radio you are using and the radio installation.

prevent accidental starting.T

he switch m

ust beo

pe

rate

d

ma

nua

lly (w

itho

ut

the

u

se

of

the

transmitter)

and accessible

by the

pilot and

assistant.If using a spark-ignition engine, refer toM

ou

nt th

e kill switch

on page 32 for details anda list of item

s used.

RA

DIO

EQ

UIP

ME

NT

The radio equipm

ent and number of channels

required to fly the Top Flite G

iant P-51 depend on

the capabilities of your transmitter and how

theservos w

ill be connected.Two servos are required

to operate

the elevators.

How

ever, the

servosm

ust move in opposition, so linking them

with a Y-

connecter will not w

ork.The elevator servos m

usteither be electronically m

ixed using an additionalchannel,

or be

linked by

a device

such as

aF

utaba®

SR

-10 S

ynchronized S

ervo R

everser(F

UT

M4150)

that w

ill m

ix the

servos w

ith the

capability of reversing one of them.

The rudder servo and tail steering servo have the

same requirem

ent, so they too must either be

ele

ctron

ically

mixe

d

thro

ug

h

an

a

dd

ition

al

channel, or connected via a Futaba S

ynchronizedS

ervo Reverser.

The G

iant P-51 requires a servo to operate the air

control valve if using retracts, a throttle servo, two

flap servos and two aileron servos.S

ervos with a

minim

um of 50 oz-in [3.9 kg-cm

] of torque arerequired for operating the elevators, rudder anda

ilero

ns.

Sta

nd

ard

se

rvos

may

be

u

sed

everywhere else.If using a spark-ignition engine,

a servo-operated electronic engine kill switch m

ayalso be used (this w

ould be in addition to theIM

AA

-required, m

anually operated

engine kill

switch).A

servo-operated kill switch is only really

necessary for engines that do not reliably shut offby closing the carburetor, but could also serve asa backup.

This is a partial list of item

s required to finish thism

odel that

may

require planning

or decision

making before starting to build.

Order num

bersare provided in parentheses.

EN

GIN

E R

EC

OM

ME

ND

AT

ION

S

When considering engines for this m

odel, refer tothe engine size recom

mendations on the cover of

the m

anual.S

park-ignition (“gas”)

engines are

most popular w

ith large-scale warbirds such as

this.

On

e

ad

van

tag

e

of

a

ga

s e

ng

ine

is

economy—

gas engines tend to consume less fuel

than glow engines.G

asoline costs less than glowfuel as w

ell.Additionally, gas engines deposit little

exhaust residue

on the

model.

Am

ong other

engines, this model w

as flight-tested with a U

.S.

Engines

™41cc

engine.T

he U

.S.

41 provides

adequate power and flies the P

-51 in a scale-likem

anner, but

pilots w

ho w

ish to

perform

more

aggressive maneuvers should consider engines

nearer the upper end of the recomm

ended range.

No

te:Instructions for m

ounting every possibleengine cannot be incorporated into this m

anual.A

lthough there are several glow engines suitable

for powering the giant P

-51, the U.S

.E

ngines41cc is featured.

Modelers using another engine

may

refer to

the instructions

as a

guide for

mounting their engine in a sim

ilar way.If using the

U.S

.41, the following item

s will be required:

❏G

reat Planes G

asoline Engine M

ount (GP

MG

2000) ❏

(4) 1/4-20 x 1-1/2" [38mm

] hex-head boltsand 1/4" [6m

m] flat w

ashers ❏

Prop R

eamer (G

PM

Q5005)

Per

the IM

AA

S

afety C

ode, m

agneto spark-

ignition engines

must

have a

coil-groundingsw

itch o

n th

e a

ircraft to

stop

the

en

gin

e a

nd

DEC

ISION

S YOU

MU

ST MA

KE

- 4-

AD

DIT

ION

AL

ITE

MS

RE

QU

IRE

D

HA

RD

WA

RE

AN

D A

CC

ES

SO

RIE

S

In addition to the items listed in the “D

ecision

s You

Mu

st Make”

section, following is the list of hardw

areand accessories required to finish the Top F

lite Giant

P-51D

Mustang A

RF.O

rder numbers are provided in

parentheses.

❏R

/C foam

rubber (1/4" [6mm

] (HC

AQ

1000) or1/2" [13m

m] (H

CA

Q1050)

❏2’[600m

m] large silicone fuel tubing for glow

engines (GP

MQ

4133)❏

3’[900mm

] gasoline fuel tubing for gas engines(G

PM

Q4135)

❏W

illiams B

ros.#625 3" (1/4-scale) standard pilot(W

BR

Q22625)

❏M

odeling paints and paint brushes for painting pilot❏

Propeller and spare propellers suitable for

your engine

AD

HE

SIV

ES

AN

D B

UIL

DIN

G S

UP

PL

IES

In addition to comm

on hobby tools and householdtools, this is the “short list”

of the most im

portantitem

s required to build the Top Flite G

iant P-51D

Mustang A

RF.

Great P

lanes P

ro™

CA

and Epoxy

glue are recomm

ended.

❏30-m

inute epoxy (GP

MR

6047)❏

1 oz.Medium

CA

(GP

MR

6008)❏

1 oz.Thin C

A (G

PM

R6002)

❏C

A applicator tips (H

CA

R3780)

❏C

A A

ctivator (2 oz.[57g] spray bottle (GP

MR

6035)or 4 oz.[113g] aerosol (G

PM

R634)

❏T

hreadlocker thread locking cement (G

PM

R6060)

❏H

obby torch or soldering iron❏

Silver solder w

/flux (GP

MR

8070)❏

Drill bits:1/16"

[1.6mm

], 3/32"[2.4m

m], 7/64"

[2.8mm

] (or 1/8"

[3.2mm

]), 1/8"[3.2m

m], 3/16"

[4.8mm

], #9[5.0m

m], 1/4"

[6.4mm

], size “F"

[6.5mm

] (or 17/64"

[6.8mm

]), 17/64"[6.8m

m]

(or 9/32" [7.2m

m])

❏S

mall m

etal file ❏

Acrylic paint and paint brushes for painting pilot

(found at craft stores)❏

Stick-on segm

ented lead weights (G

PM

Q4485)

❏#1 H

obby knife (HC

AR

0105)❏

#11 blades (5-pack, HC

AR

0211)❏

#11 blades (100-pack, HC

AR

0311)❏

Non-elastic string for stab alignm

ent (such as K&

S #801 K

evlar thread (K+

SR

4575)❏

Fine-point felt-tip pen (Top F

lite®

Panel Line P

en(TO

PQ

2510)❏

Masking tape (TO

PR

8018)❏

Curved-tip canopy scissors for trim

ming plastic

parts (HC

AR

0667)❏

Alum

inum paint and airbrush or paint brush (for

painting cockpit)❏

Robart S

uper Stand II (R

OB

P1402)

OP

TIO

NA

L S

UP

PL

IES

AN

D TO

OL

S

Here is a list of optional tools m

entioned in them

anual that will help you build the Top F

lite Giant

P-51D

Mustang A

RF.

❏R

/C-56 canopy glue (JO

ZR

5007)❏

CA

debonder (GP

MR

6039)❏

3M 77 spray adhesive (M

MM

R1990)

❏E

poxy brushes (6, GP

MR

8060)❏

Mixing sticks (50, G

PM

R8055)

❏M

ixing cups (GP

MR

8056)(C

ontinued on page 8)

RE

TR

AC

TAB

LE

LA

ND

ING

GE

AR

The Top F

lite Giant P

-51 AR

F m

ay be assembled

with

either the

included fixed

landing gear

orretractable landing gear.

If fixed landing gear isused no other item

s will need to be purchased to

install the gear.If you w

ish to install retractablelanding gear, this m

odel is designed for Robart

pneumatic retracts.F

ollowing is the com

plete listof item

s required to install the Robart retracts:

❏(1) R

obart #622-5 Top Flite P

-51 pneumatic

retractable main landing gear (R

OB

Q1635)

❏(1) R

obart #160LWC

retractable tail gearassem

bly (RO

BQ

2225)❏

(1) Robart #157V

RX

Large-Scale D

eluxe Air

Control K

it—includes pressure vessel, air line

tubing, variable-rate air valve, T-fittings(R

OB

Q2305)

❏10’[3.5m

] red & purple #169 P

ressure tubing(R

OB

Q2369)

❏(1 pkg.) #190 A

ir Line Quick D

isconnects(R

OB

Q2395)

❏(2) D

u-Bro N

o.500TL Treaded lightw

eightw

heel (DU

BQ

0847)❏

Size “F

”[6.5m

m] or 17/64" [6.8m

m] drill (to

enlarge the hole in the wheels for the axles)

❏1-3/4" [45m

m] tailw

heel (GP

MQ

4220 –2/pkg)

No

te:There m

ay be other main w

heels that couldbe used w

ith the Robart retracts, but the D

u-Bro

wh

ee

ls liste

d

ab

ove

are

th

e

on

ly o

ne

srecom

mended because they are narrow

and will

fit in the wing.

An air pum

p will also be required to pressurize the

air tank.The R

obart hand pump could be used,

but is not practical because of the large capacityof the air tank in this m

odel.A sm

all, 12V electric

pump is recom

mended and can be purchased at

any automotive or hardw

are store.

- 5-

KIT

INS

PE

CT

ION

Before starting to build, take an inventory of this kit to

make sure it is com

plete, and inspect the parts to make

sure they are of acceptable quality.If any parts are

missing or are not of acceptable quality, or if you need

assistance with assem

bly, contact Product S

upport.W

hen reporting defective or missing parts, use the part

names exactly as they are w

ritten in the kit contents liston this page.To

p F

lite Pro

du

ct Su

pp

ort

3002 N A

po

llo D

rive Su

ite 1C

ham

paig

n,IL

61822Telep

ho

ne:

(217) 398-8970Fax:

(217) 398-7721E

-mail:

PAR

TS

PH

OTO

GR

AP

HE

D

1.Fuselage

2.Rudder

3.Canopy

4.Fiberglass cow

l5.F

iberglass air scoop6.F

iberglass wing fairing

7.Cockpit parts

8.Tail gear doors9.W

ing joiner10.Landing gear covers

11.Wings w

ith flaps & ailerons

12.Horizontal stabilizer w

ith elevators13.(2) F

iberglass wing fillets

14.(2) Plastic m

achine guns15.(2) P

lastic engine exhaust outlets16.(8) E

ngine mount spacers

17.Wheel covers

18.Servo hatches

PAR

TS

NO

T P

HO

TOG

RA

PH

ED

sheet-m

etal screws:

(34) #2 x 3/8" (24-wing servo hatches, 6-landing

gear covers, 4-wheel covers)

(28) #4 x 1/2" Phillips-head (24-all control horns

except rudder, 4-tail gear mounting)

(8)#4 x 5/8" P

hillips-head (4-rudder control horn,4-cow

l mounting)

(12) #6 x 1/2" (landing gear mounting)

(8)#2 x 1/2" (2-landing gear covers, 2-fuel tankfloor, 4-forw

ard servo tray)(8)

#2 x 3/16" (canopy mounting)

mach

ine screw

s:(4) 2-56 x 3/8" (tail gear door brackets) (4) 4-40 x 3/8" (4-cow

l reinforcement glue on)

pu

shro

ds:

(4) 4-40 x 4" wire pushrods (2-ailerons, 2-flaps)

(3) 4-40 x 36" wire pushrods (2-elevators, 1-rudder)

(6) 3/16" pushrod guide tubes (5-factory-installed infuselage, 1-throttle)

(1) 36" white, plastic pushrod (throttle)

(1) 2-56 x 4" pushrod (air valve)

nylon

hard

ware:

(7) large control horns (2-ailerons, 2-flaps, 2-elevators, 1-rudder)

(2) 1/4-20 x 2" nylon wing bolts

(1) ball link (throttle)(2) nylon clevis (1-throttle, 1-air valve)(14) pinned hinge points (for ailerons and flaps)m

etal hard

ware:

(7) 4-40 threaded metal clevises (2-ailerons,

2-flaps, 2-elevator, 1-rudder)(7) Large solder clevises (2-ailerons, 2-flaps,

2-elevator, 1-rudder)

- 6-

12

12

5

3

415

16

179

14

14

13

818

610

11

11

7

- 7-

nu

ts:(11) 4-40 hex nuts (7-clevis jam

nuts, 4-cow

l reinforcements)

(6) 1/4-20 blind nuts (factory-installed – 4-enginem

ounting, 2-wing bolts)

(4) 2-56 hex nuts (tail gear door brackets)(3) 0-80 hex nuts (2-ball link balls on tail steering

arm, 1-throttle on engine)

wash

ers:(6) #2 w

ashers (4-wheel covers, 2-fuel tank floor)

(4) #4 washers (4-cow

l mounting)

(4) #4 lock washers (4-cow

l mounting)

oth

er:(2) 3/8" [9.5m

m] heat shrink tubing (for servo

extensions) (1) 1/2" [13m

m] heat shrink tubing (for servo

extensions) (16) silicone retainers (clevises)(1) 2" x 9" [50 x 230m

m] C

A hinge strip

(3) 0-80 ball link balls (2-tail steering arm, 1-throttle)

(4) size 10 rubber bands (tail gear doors)(1) 32 oz.[960cc] G

reat Planes fuel tank and

hardware

(2) #64 rubber bands (for fuel tank mounting)

(1) 2-56 x 1" [25mm

] threaded rod (throttle pushrod)(2) D

ecal sheets(1) V

elcro®

strap(2) plyw

ood air tank mounting rings

(1) plywood air tank form

er(2) 2" x 2" [50 x 50m

m] plyw

ood wing bolt plates

(w/1/4" hole)

(6) plywood air line guides

(1) plywood air valve m

ount(6) 1/16" x 7/8" [1.5 x 22m

m] plyw

ood cowl

reinforcements (for m

ounting screws)

(6) 1/2" x 13/16" x 13/16" [12 x 20 x 20mm

]hardw

ood cowl m

ounting blocks(8) 3/8" x 13/16" x 13/16" [10 x 20 x 20m

m]

hardwood servo m

ounting blocks(8) 1/2" x 1/2" x 7/8" [13 x 13 x 23m

m] w

heel coverm

ounts (4 req’d., 4 spares)(1) hardw

ood “L”block (for tail gear door)

(2) 1/16" [2mm

] plywood large rubber band hooks

(with spacer)

(2) 1/16" [2mm

] plywood sm

all rubber band hook(w

ith spacer)(2) 3/8" x 1-3/4" [10m

m x 45m

m] hardw

ood w

ing dowels

(2) plywood aft servo trays

(2) plywood forw

ard servo trays(1) plyw

ood fuel tank mount

(2) bent aluminum

tail gear door brackets(4) nylon pinned hinges (for tail gear doors)(1) 1/8" x 1/4" x 2" [3 x 6 x 50m

m] balsa stick (for

gluing on instrument panel)

(1) 1/4" x 1/4" x 12" [6 x 6 x 300mm

] hardwood

stick (for forward servo tray)

(1) 1/16" x 3/8" x 1-9/16" [1 x 10 x 40mm

] plywood

tail gear door stop(1) 1/8" x 12" hardw

ood dowel (for cow

l mount blocks)

(2) 3/4" x 3/4" x 7" [20 x 20 x 180mm

] balsa sticks(for gluing on engine exhaust stacks)

Co

ckpit p

arts (ph

oto

grap

hed

)instrum

ent panelfloorseat bottomseat backright panelleft panelw

ing joiner

Pu

ll/Pu

ll cable co

nten

ts:(1) S

teel cable(4) C

opper tubes (swages)

(2) 2mm

metal clevises

(2) 2mm

brass couplers(2) 2m

m nuts

Fixed

land

ing

gear co

mp

on

ents:

(2) 5" [125mm

] main w

heels(2) landing gear m

ounts(4) m

etal straps(8) 3 x 10m

m screw

s(2) m

ain landing gear wires

(4) 6mm

wheel collars

(3) 1/8" wheel collars

(8) 3mm

set screws

tail gear mount

tail gear wire

2" [45mm

] tail wheel

steering arm1.5m

m hex w

rench

OR

DE

RIN

G R

EP

LA

CE

ME

NT

PAR

TS

To order replacement parts for the Top F

lite Giant

P-51D

Mustang A

RF, use the order num

bers in theR

eplacem

ent P

arts List

that follows.R

eplacement

parts are available only as listed.N

ot all parts areava

ilable

se

pa

rate

ly (a

n

aile

ron

ca

nn

ot

be

purchased separately, but is only available with the

wing kit).R

eplacement parts are not available from

Product S

upport, but can be purchased from hobby

shops or mail order/Internet order firm

s.H

ardware

items (screw

s, nuts, bolts) are also available fromthese

outlets.If

you need

assistance locating

adealer to purchase parts, visit w

ww

.top

-flite.com

and click on “Where to B

uy.”If this kit is m

issingparts, contact P

rod

uct S

up

po

rt.

RE

PL

AC

EM

EN

T PA

RT

S L

IST

Descrip

tion

Ho

w to

pu

rchase

Missing pieces . . . . . . . .C

ontact Product S

upportInstruction m

anual . . . . .Contact P

roduct Support

Full-size plans

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Not available

Co

ntact yo

ur h

ob

by sup

plier

to p

urch

ase these item

s

TOPA

1650 Fu

se set(fuselage, w

ing fairings, tailw

heel doors, brackets, etc.)TO

PA1651 W

ing

set(ailerons, flaps, fiberglass airscoop, guns, w

heel covers)TO

PA1652 Tail set

TOPA

1653 Co

wl (w

/exhau

sts)TO

PA1654 C

ockp

it kitTO

PA1655 D

ecal setTO

PA1656 C

ano

py

(Continued from

page 5)❏

Scale W

arbird Template (TO

PQ

2187)❏

36" [1m] m

etal ruler (HC

AR

0475)❏

Hobbico D

uster™

can of compressed air

(HC

AR

5500)❏

Denatured alcohol (for epoxy clean up)

❏R

eceiver mounting box (G

PM

M1010)

❏S

witch &

Charge Jack M

ounting Set

(GP

MM

1000)❏

Fuel filler valve for glow

fuel (GP

MQ

4160)❏

Fuel filler valve for gasoline (G

PM

Q4161)

❏R

otary tool such as Drem

el ®

❏R

otary tool reinforced cut-off wheel

(GP

MR

8200)❏

AccuT

hrow™

Deflection G

auge (GP

MR

2405)❏

CG

Machine

™(G

PM

R2400)

❏Laser incidence m

eter (GP

MR

4020)❏

36" [910mm

] bar for incidence meter

(GP

MR

4021) ❏

Precision M

agnetic Prop B

alancer™

(TOP

Q5700)

CO

VE

RIN

G TO

OL

S

❏21st C

entury®

sealing iron (CO

VR

2700) ❏

21st Century iron cover (C

OV

R2702)

❏21st C

entury trim seal iron (C

OV

R2750)

No

te:T

he stabilizer

and w

ing incidences

andengine thrust angles have been factory-built into thegiant M

ustang.H

owever, som

e technically-minded

modelers m

ay wish to check these m

easurements

anyway.To view

this information, visit the w

eb site atand click on “Technical D

ata.”D

ue to manufacturing

tolerances which w

ill have little or no effect on thew

ay the model w

ill fly, there may be slight deviations

between your m

odel and the published values.

AS

SE

MB

LE

TH

E W

ING

S

Hin

ge th

e aileron

s and

flaps

Start w

ith th

e left win

g so

you

rs match

es the

ph

oto

s the first tim

e thro

ug

h.

❏❏

1.Lay a few

paper towels on top of each other

and cut them into sm

all squares.These paper tow

elsquares w

ill come in handy for w

iping away excess

epoxy throughout the assembly process (and w

illsave you from

wasting w

hole paper towels!).

❏❏

2.S

eparate the aileron and flap from the w

ingby

peeling off

the m

asking tape

holding them

together.U

se a paper towel square dam

pened with

naphtha lighter fluid or similar solvent to rem

ove anyglue left from

the tape.

❏❏3.

If necessary, use a covering iron with a covering

sock to go over the wing, flap and aileron to rem

ove

1/64" = .4mm

1/32" = .8mm

1/16" = 1.6mm

3/32" = 2.4mm

1/8" = 3.2mm

5/32" = 4mm

3/16" = 4.8mm

1/4" = 6.4mm

3/8" = 9.5mm

1/2" = 12.7mm

5/8" = 15.9mm

3/4" = 19mm

1" = 25.4mm

2" = 50.8mm

3" = 76.2mm

6" = 152.4mm

12" = 304.8mm

15" = 381mm

18" = 457.2mm

21" = 533.4mm

24" = 609.6mm

30" = 762mm

36" = 914.4mm

METR

IC C

ON

VERSIO

NS

To convert inches to millim

eters,m

ultiply inches by 25.4 (25.4mm

= 1")

The Top

Flite

Giant

P-51D

M

ustang A

RF

is

factory covered with Top F

lite MonoK

ote®

film.

Should repairs ever be required, follow

ing is alist

of colors

used on

this m

odel and

ordernum

bers for 6’[1.8m] rolls.

❏A

luminum

TOP

Q0205 (base color)

❏F

lat olive drab TO

PQ

0510 (anti-glare)❏

Black

TOP

Q0208 (rudder,

nose checkers)❏

White

TOP

Q0204 (nose checkers)

❏True red

TOP

Q0227 (pin striping)

- 8-

wrinkles.

The best w

ay is to glide the iron over thecovering until the w

rinkles disappear, then go over thearea again, pushing dow

n on the iron to bond thecovering to the w

ood.If the wrinkles don’t go aw

ay, thebalsa in that area m

ay be bending inward.

If this ishappening, don’t press dow

n.Sim

ply let the heat of theiron shrink the covering.

If the wrinkles m

omentarily

disappear, then imm

ediately reappear, the iron may be

too hot,

thus causing

air bubbles.

Lower

thetem

perature of the iron or use a sharp #11 blade topuncture several holes in the covering, then reheat.T

hesuggested iron tem

perature is around 360 degrees F.

❏❏4.

Cut the covering from

the holes for the hingepoints in the trailing edge of the w

ing and the leadingedge of the flap and aileron.T

here are three holes forthe aileron and four holes for the flap.N

ote that theholes in the flap and aileron are elongated.

❏❏

5.S

horten one of the pinned hinge points bycutting the last segm

ent off one end.This hinge w

illbe for the outerm

ost hole in the aileron.

❏❏6.

Without using any glue, install three hinges into

the aileron.T

he one shortened in the previous stepgoes in the hole nearest the outer tip.

Note that the

pivot pointof each hinge must align w

ith the centerof

the radius

on the

leading edge.

To achieve

thisalignm

ent the hinges will be fairly deep in the aileron.

Also note that the hinges m

ust be perpendicular to theleading edge.If necessary, use an electric drill to run a3/16" [4.8m

m] drill bit into the holes to achieve this

alignment.

Be careful not to drill through the sheeting

over the top and bottom of the aileron.

❏❏

7.A

gain without glue, test fit the aileron to the

wing.

Move it up and dow

n a few tim

es to align thehinges—

it doesn’t have to move very far—

only 3/4"[19m

m] up and 3/4" [19m

m] dow

n (measured at the

widest part of the aileron at the trailing edge as show

nin the photo).If there is too m

uch resistance, or if youare not able to m

ove the aileron up and down 3/4"

[19mm

], widen the gap betw

een the aileron and thew

ing by pulling the aileron from the w

ing slightly, orenlarge the hinge openings in the aileron.

❏❏8.

Still using no glue, test fit the flap to the w

ingthe sam

e way.

2-1/8" [55mm

] of down deflection is

required (measured at the w

idest part of the flap).

We’ll g

lue o

n th

e flap an

d ailero

n sep

arately.Th

isw

ay you

will h

ave plen

ty of w

orkin

g tim

e for

the ep

oxy.

❏❏

9.R

emove all the hinges.A

dd a small

drop ofoil to the pivot point on the aileron hinges.

3/4"

3/4"

HIN

GE

PIV

OT

PO

INT

- 9-

❏❏

10.M

ix up

some

30-minute

epoxy and

microballoons (if using m

ixing cups, approximately

1/4 oz.of m

icroballoons added to 1/8 oz.of m

ixedepoxy is recom

mended).

Use a piece of m

usic wire

to tho

rou

gh

lyapply the m

ixture in the holes in thew

ing and aileron.Use the w

ire to get the epoxy out ofthe opening of the holes in the aileron so it doesn’tget into the hinge pins.W

ipe away any epoxy around

the outside of the holes with a couple of the sm

allpaper tow

el squares.

❏❏

11.U

se the wire to apply epoxy to the ends of

the aileron hinges that go into the aileron.Insert eachhinge and w

ipe away any epoxy that squeezes out of

the holes.

❏❏12.

Apply epoxy to the other end of the hinges.

Join the aileron to the wing, pushing the hinges only

about 3/4 of the way in.U

se small strips of balsa or

toothpicks to wipe aw

ay epoxy that squeezes out,then fit the aileron the rest of the w

ay in.

❏❏

13.M

ove the aileron up and down a few

times

to align the hinges and make certain you are getting

enough deflection.U

se a small piece of m

askingtape to hold the tip of the aileron in alignm

ent with

the tip of the wing.A

llow the epoxy to fully harden.

❏❏14.

Mix up another batch of epoxy and m

icroballoonsand join the flap to the w

ing the same w

ay.

❏❏

15.A

llow the epoxy to fu

llyharden before

moving the aileron or flap.

After the epoxy has fully

hardened, “break”

them

loose by

rapidly m

ovingthem

up and down a couple of tim

es.

❏16.

Join the right aileron and flap to the right wing

the same w

ay.

Mo

un

t the servo

s

❏❏

1.U

se a straightedge and a hobby knife to cutthe covering approxim

ately 1/4" [5mm

] inside theedges of one of the openings for the servo hatch inthe bottom

of one of the wing halves.(You can save

the piece of MonoK

ote you cut out for small patches

or repairs.)

❏❏2.

Slit the covering up to the corners (indicated

by the arrows).

❏❏

3.C

ut the

remaining

three servo

hatchopenings the sam

e way.

❏❏4.

Use a trim

iron to iron the covering to the edgesof the openings and to the plyw

ood ledge inside.- 10

-

❏❏

5.Notice the correct locations of the aileron and

flap servos on the inside of the hatches (indicated bythe dashed lines).R

efer to these photos when m

ountingthe servos to the hatches in the follow

ing steps.

Now

it’s time to

mo

un

t the servo

s to th

e hatch

covers.Start w

ith th

e left aileron

servo.

Refer to

this p

ho

to fo

r the fo

llowin

g seven

steps.

❏❏

6.M

ake a one-arm servo arm

by cutting off theunused arm

s.(The outer hole in the servo arm

must be

at least 3/4" [19mm

] from the center of the output shaft.)

❏❏

7.P

lace the servo on the aileron hatch covera

s sh

own

, th

en

p

lace

th

e

arm

o

n

the

se

rvo(rem

ember, this is for the left

aileron).

❏❏8.

Take the servo off the hatch cover.Position tw

o3/8" x 13/16" x 13/16" [10 x 20 x 20m

m] hardw

oodservo m

ounting blockson the servo (one of the

blocks may have to be trim

med to accom

modate the

servo wire w

here it comes out of the servo).T

he wood

grain in the blocks runs vertically.

❏❏

9.P

lace a piece of thin cardstock (such as fromthe header card that som

e servos are packaged on)under the servo and betw

een each mounting block and

the servo.Later, the cardstock w

ill be removed, thus

providing adequate spacing for vibration isolation.

❏❏10.

Drill 1/16" [1.6m

m] holes through the blocks

for the mounting screw

s.M

ount the servo to the

blocks with the screw

s that came w

ith the servo.R

emove the cardstock spacers.

❏❏

11.M

ount the left flap servo to two m

orem

ounting blocks the same w

ay.

❏❏

12.M

ix some 30-m

inute epoxy for gluing them

ounting blocks to the hatch covers.Sm

ear a thin coatof epoxy on the inside of the hatch covers in the areaw

here the mounting blocks w

ill be glued.Thoroughly

coat the ends of the blocks that contact the covers.Wait

a few m

inutes for the mounting blocks to absorb the

epoxy, then recoat with the epoxy.P

osition the servosw

ith the mounting blocks on the covers so the servo

arms are centered

in the openings.U

se clamps or

weights to hold the m

ounting blocks to the hatch coversuntil the epoxy hardens.

❏❏

13.A

fter the

epoxy has

fully hardened,

temporarily rem

ove the servos from the m

ountingblocks.A

dd a few drops of thin C

A to the screw

holesand allow

to fully

harden.Rem

ount the servos to theblocks w

ith the screws.

- 11-

❏❏

14.P

lace the hatch covers with the servos in

the wing.B

e certain the hatch covers are positionedcorrectly as show

n in the photos back at step 5.Drill

six 1/16" [1.6mm

] evenly spaced holes through thehatch covers into the w

ing.Enlarge the holes

in th

eh

atch covers o

nly

with a 3/32" [2.4m

m] drill.

❏❏

15.C

onnect a 24" [610mm

] servo extensionw

ire to the aileron servo.Cut one of the pieces of 3"

[75mm

] heat shrink tubing supplied with this kit in

half.Slip the tubing over the connection betw

een theservo and the extension w

ire, then carefully shrinkthe tubing by heating w

ith a heat gun.

❏❏16.

Use the string in the w

ing to pull the aileronw

ire through the wing.

Mount the aileron hatch w

ithsix #2 x 3/8" [9.5m

m] screw

s.

❏❏

17.G

uide the flap servo wire through the w

ingalongside

the aileron

servo w

ire.M

ount the

flaphatch w

ith six more #2 x 3/8" [9.5m

m] screw

s.

❏18.

Mount the aileron and flap servos and hatches

in the right wing the sam

e way.

Ho

ok u

p th

e servos

Do

the left ailero

n first.

❏❏1.

Referring to the photo above, cut the ailero

np

ush

rod

to the correct length, then solder it to ala

rge,

no

n-th

rea

de

d

me

tal

clevis u

sing

th

etechniques described in the follow

ing Ho

t Tip

.

This is w

hat a properly soldered clevis looks like—shiny solder w

ith good flow, no blobs, flux rem

oved.

2.A

pply a few drops of soldering flux to the end

of the pushrod, then use a soldering iron or atorch to heat it.

“Tin”

the heated area with

silver sold

er(G

PM

R8070) by applying the

solder to the end.T

he heat of the pushrodshould m

elt the solder—not the flam

e of thetorch

or soldering

iron—thus

allowing

thesolder to flow

.The end of the w

ire should becoated w

ith solder all the way around.

3.P

lace the clevis on the end of the pushrod.Add

another drop of flux, then heat and add solder.T

he same as before, the heat of the parts

being soldered should melt the solder, thus

allowing

it to

flow.

Allow

the

joint to

coolnaturally

without

disturbing.A

void excess

blobs, but make certain the joint is thoroughly

soldered.T

he solder

should be

shiny, not

rough.If necessary, reheat the joint and allowto cool.

4.Im

mediately after the solder has solidified, but

while it is still hot, use a cloth to quickly w

ipeoff the flux before it hardens.Im

po

rtant:

After

the joint cools, coat with oil to prevent rust.

No

te:D

o not use the acid flux that comes w

ithsilver solder for electrical soldering.

1.U

se denatured

alcohol or

other solvent

tothoroughly

clean the

pushrod.R

oughen the

end of

the pushrod

with

coarse sandpaper

where it is to be soldered.

HO

W TO

SO

LD

ER

- 12-

❏❏2.

Thread a 4-40 nut and a 4-40 m

etal clevis tothe other end of the pushrod.C

onnect the pushrod tothe aileron servo arm

and to a large co

ntro

l ho

rn.

Position the horn on the aileron directly behind the

arm.T

he base of the horn should be set back fromthe trailing edge of the w

ing 1/4" [6mm

].D

rill 3/32"[2.4m

m] holes into the aileron for the horn.M

ount thehorn w

ith four #2 x 1/2" [13mm

] screws.

Adjust the

length of the pushrod by turning the clevis so theaileron w

ill be neutral when the servo is centered

(this will be fine-tuned later w

hen setting up the radio,so there is no need to tighten the 4-40 nut to theclevis until then).

❏❏3.

Hook up the flap the sam

e way.N

ote that theflap is retracted (“up”) w

hen the servo arm is rotated

aft (not when the servo arm

is centered).Be certain

the control horn is set back far enough so it will not

contact the wing at full flap deflection.

❏❏4.

One last IM

PO

RTA

NT

step;remove the screw

sfrom

both servo hatches and both control horns.Add a

few drops of thin C

A to all the holes, allow

to fullyharden.R

emount the hatches and horns.

❏5.

Mount the hatches and hook up the aileron and

flap on the right wing the sam

e way.

Mo

un

t the retracts

Install th

e left retract first.

❏❏

R1.

The sam

e as the covering was cut from

theaileron hatches, cut the covering from

the landing gearopening 1/4" [5m

m] inside the edges all the w

ay aroundthe opening.U

se a trim iron to iron dow

n the covering.

❏❏R

2.E

nlarge the hole in the Du-B

ro 5" [127mm

]w

heels (not included) with a size “F

”[6.5m

m] (or

17/64" [6.8mm

]), drill (size F w

ill provide the best fit,but a 17/64" hole is suitable).

❏❏

R3.

Cut the 1/4-20 bolts that com

e with the

Robart retracts to a length of 1-3/4" [45m

m].S

lip the

washer follow

ed by the wheel and a nut onto the bolt.

Add a sm

all drop of threadlocker to the nut, thentig

hte

n

the

a

ssem

bly to

th

e

retra

ct stru

t,sim

ultaneously adjusting the spacing of the nut sothe w

heel will roll freely.

❏❏R

4.Test fit the retract unit w

ith the wheel into the

wing.P

osition the retract so the wheel is centered in the

wheel w

ell.It w

ill probably be necessary to raise thestrut into the retract body approxim

ately 1/8" [3mm

] toachieve the correct spacing all the w

ay around.

No

te:S

teps w

ith an

“R”

are for

mounting

retracts.S

teps with an “F

”are for m

ounting theincluded fixed landing gear.

The fixed gear w

illnot be installed until after the w

ings have beenjo

ine

d.

If m

ou

ntin

g

the

fixe

d

lan

din

g

ge

ar

proceed to “Join

the w

ing

s”on page 16.

- 13-

❏❏

R5.

Extend the retract.

View

the wheel from

directly above.Adjust the strut so the w

heel has zero,to one degree of tow

-in.Lock the strut in position bysecurely tightening the bolt on top of the strut.

❏❏

R6.

Double-check to be certain the w

heel will

fully retract into the wing.

Extend the unit to m

akecertain it does not interfere w

ith any part of the wing

and the unit is operating smoothly.

❏❏R

7.H

old the retract body in the wing.U

sing them

ounting holes as a guide, drill 7/64" [2.8mm

] (or1/8" [3.2m

m]) holes into the rails.C

AU

TIO

N:

Do not

inadvertently drill into the air cylinder when you get to

the middle hole! M

ount the retract with six #6 x 1/2"

[13mm

] screws.

❏R

8.R

eturn to step R1 and m

ount the other retractin the right w

ing the same w

ay.

Mo

un

t the lan

din

g g

ear covers and

wh

eel covers (for retractable landing gear only).

❏❏

R1.

Mark, but do not drill, the locations of the

four screws w

here shown in the photo that w

ill beused

for m

ounting the

landing gear

covers (the

locations are indicated by the arrows in the photo).

Use a fine-point felt-tip pen to draw

reference marks

on the wing, noting the locations of the screw

s.

❏❏

R2.

Install the 1/16" [1.6mm

] plywood landing

gear cover.D

rill 1/16" [1.6mm

] holes through the coverinto the w

ing where the m

arks would cross.R

emove the

cover.Enlarge the holes in the cover only

with a 3/32"

[2.4mm

] drill.M

ount the cover with three #2 x 3/8"

[9.5mm

] screws and one #2 x 1/2" [13m

m] screw

.

❏❏R

3.P

lace two hardw

ood wh

eel cover mo

un

tson the strut.

Mark the angle of the w

ing onto them

ounts.N

ote:

Only tw

o mounts per w

ing half arerequired

(but extras

are provided

in case

youaccidentally cut one too short or at the w

rong angle).

❏❏

R4.

Cut or sand the m

ounts at the angles youjust m

arked.

The w

heel covers on this model represent the

ones on the full-size P-51, but are not 100%

scale.T

hey achieve the best of both worlds in

tha

t th

ey h

ave

a

scale

a

pp

ea

ran

ce

with

simplified

assembly.

Fully

scale, operating,

sequencing doors could have been featured onthis m

odel, but would require above average

building skills and detract from the every day

flying utility of this model.

- 14-

❏❏

R5.

Use

coarse sandpaper

to thoroughly

roughen the inside of the fiberglass wheel cover

where the braces w

ill go.C

ut two b

racesfrom

a3/32" x 1/4" x 19-1/2" [2 x 6 x 500m

m] hardw

ood stickto the length show

n in the photo.Use m

edium C

A to

glue the braces into position.The braces should be

inset 1/16" from the edges of the w

heel cover.

❏❏

R6.

Reposition the m

ounts on the strut.Place

the fiberglass

wh

eel cover

on the

mounts.

The

wheel cover should be even w

ith the bottom of the

wing.

If necessary, make adjustm

ents to the anglecut on the m

ounts until the wheel cover fits.

If youend up cutting the m

ounts too short, try again with

the extras provided.

❏❏R

7.T

he same w

ay you drew the reference m

arksfor drilling the holes in the hatch, m

ark and drill theholes in the w

heel cover and the wheel cover m

ounts.

❏❏

R8.

Mount the w

heel cover to the mounts w

ithtw

o #2 x 3/8" [9.5mm

] screws and #2 w

ashers.

❏❏

R9.

Use

a 1/2"

[15mm

] strip

of coarse

sandpaper to

remove

the paint

and roughen

thestruts w

here the mounts go.

❏❏R

10.W

ith the wheel covers still attached to the

wheel cover m

ounts, glue the mounts to the struts

with 30-m

inute epoxy.Use m

asking tape with pieces

of R/C

foam underneath to hold the m

ounts to thestruts and to hold the w

heel covers in position.

❏❏

R11.

After the epoxy from

the previous stephas fully hardened, rem

ove the tape and extend thegear by hand.M

ake certain that the gear can operatefreely and that there is no interference betw

een thew

heel cover and the wing.

If necessary, trim the

wheel cover for a good fit, and/or adjust the height

and angle of the wheel cover by gluing thin balsa

“shims”

to the top of the wheel cover m

ounts.

❏❏

R12.

Use one of your paper tow

el squaresdam

pened with denatured alcohol to w

ipe the referencedraw

n on the bottom of the w

ing.R

emove the w

heelcover.A

dd a few drops of thin C

A to the holes in the

wheel cover m

ounts.Rem

ount the wheel covers.

❏R

13.R

eturn to step one and repeat the procedureto m

ount the hatch and wheel cover to the other gear.

Install th

e air lines

❏R

1.B

efore installing the air lines, cut the coveringfrom

the hole in the front of both wing halves for the

3/8" [10mm

] win

g d

ow

els.G

lue the dowels in w

ith30-m

inute epoxy.(The w

ings in the photo are joined,but your w

ings should not yet be joined.)

Now

to th

e air lines (start w

ith th

e leftw

ing

)…

❏❏

R2.

Rem

ove the retract hatch and the retractfrom

the left wing.A

dd a few drops of thin C

A to the

screw holes.

❏❏

R3.

Cut the covering from

the holes in the topof the w

ing for the servo wires and the air line tubing.

- 15-

❏❏

R4.

Cut a 21" [530m

m] piece of red

air linetubing and a 16" [400m

m] piece of p

urp

leair line

tubing from the tubing included w

ith the Robart A

irC

ontrol Kit (not included).C

onnect the red line to theo

uter

fitting on

the air

cylinder and

connect the

purple line to the inn

erfitting (the one directly on the

end) on the air cylinder.

❏❏R

5.U

se a piece of music w

ire with a hook bent

on the end or something sim

ilar to pull the air linesthrough the w

ing.N

ote that the purple line goesthrough

the sam

e hole

that the

air cylinder

fitsthrough, and the red line goes through the roundhole behind it.

❏❏

R6.

Guide the air lines out the front hole in the

top of the wing and guide the servo w

ires out theother hole.

❏❏

R7.

Mount the retract in the w

ing.Use a sm

allscrew

driver to move the end of the pushrod com

ingfrom

the air cylinder in the retracted (up) position sothe gear doesn’t flop around w

hile joining the wings.

Install the hatch.

❏R

8.H

ook up the air lines in the right wing panel

the same w

ay.

Join

the w

ing

No

te:K

eep the retracts (if installed) in the retracted(up) position so they do not extend and retract asyou handle the w

ing.

Because the angle of w

ing joiner and the angleof the ribs on the end of the w

ing panels isfactory-set, checking the dihedral, as w

ould bedone on a built-up kit, is not necessary.H

owever,

for those who insist on checking the dihedral

anyway, this m

ay be done by test fitting thew

ings together with the w

ing joiner.Tightly tape

the wing halves together.T

he joining ribs on theend of both panels should fit w

ell with no gap.If

the wing halves do not fit w

ell, remove any glue

blob

s o

r o

the

r o

bstru

ction

s th

at

may

be

interfering.Once the joining ribs of the tw

o wing

halves fit well, lay the w

ing upside-down on your

workbench.

Measure the distance betw

een thetop of the w

ing and the workbench at the leading

edge.Also m

easure the distance from the top of

the wing and the w

orkbench at the trailing edge.T

he sum

of

these tw

o distances

should be

5-3/16" [130mm

] plus or minus 1/2" [13m

m].

- 16-

❏1.

Test fit the win

g jo

iner

in one, then the otherw

ing half.The plyw

ood side goes forward.Test join

the w

ings w

ith the

joiner.M

ake any

necessaryadjustm

ents so the wings fit together w

ell.

❏2.

Gather everything required for gluing the w

ingstogether including 30-m

inute epoxy, mixing sticks,

epoxy brushes, a 12" [300mm

] piece of wire or a

small dow

el (for spreading epoxy), small paper tow

elsquares,

denatured alcohol

(for epoxy

clean up),

masking tape, #64 rubber bands and m

ixing cups.

❏3.

Mix up 2 oz.

of 30-minute epoxy.

Working

quickly, pour a generous amount into one w

ing halfw

here the

joiner goes.

Use

your w

ire or

dowel

tothoroughly

distribute the epoxy, coating all surfacesinside the w

ing.Coat the end of the w

ing and the half ofthe joiner that goes in the w

ing with the epoxy, then

insert the joiner.Proceed im

mediately

to the next step.

❏4.

Coat the other side of the joiner and the inside

of the other wing the sam

e way.Join the w

ings, thenstand the w

ing on-end with one of the tips resting on

the floor (use a piece of R/C

foam or som

ethingsim

ilar to cushion and stabilize the wing tip so it w

on’tslide around).

❏5.

With the w

ing resting on end, use paper towel

squares to wipe up excess epoxy as it squeezes out.

Wrap #64 rubber bands around the trailing edges of the

wing inboard of the flaps and around the w

ing dowels.

A clam

p could be used at the wheel w

ells also.A

ddseveral strips of m

asking tape to tightlyhold the w

ingstogether as you continue to w

ipe away excess epoxy as

it squeezes out.B

e certain the leading and trailingedges of the w

ing accuratelyalign.D

o not disturb thew

ing until the epoxy has fully hardened.

Perfo

rm

step

R6

on

ly if

you

h

ave in

stalledretracts.

❏R

6.Join the m

atching air lines from each w

inghalf w

ith a couple of T-fittings that came w

ith the aircontrol kit.

Cut tw

o 10" [250mm

] pieces of air line(also from

the air control kit) and fit each line to the“T

”fittings.

Connect one quick-connector w

ithan

O-ring to one of the lines and one quick connector

with

ou

tan O

-ring to the other line.This w

ill preventim

proper connection to the quick-connectors on theair valve w

hen mounting the w

ing to the fuselage.

No

te:W

hen joining critical components such as

the wing, it is im

perative to coat all join

ing

parts

with epoxy.In other w

ords, don’t coat only one ofthe contacting end ribs.

Coat the end ribs of

bo

thw

ing panels.S

imilarly, don’t just coat the

joiner.A

lso coat the insides of the wing w

herethe joiners go.

- 17-

❏7.

Since the aileron servo w

ires already haveextensions

on them

, they

only require

a short

Y-connector such as the Futaba

®dual extension cord

(FU

TM

4130).Longer w

ires are needed for the flapservos, so a H

obbico®Y-connector (H

CA

M2751) w

asused there.

Secure the connections w

ith a small

piece of heat shrink tubing included with this kit.

❏8.

Cut the covering from

the holes in the top andbottom

of the wing for the nylon w

ing bolts.

The

radiator air

scoop and

wing

fairing w

ill be

attached later.

If you’ve installed retracts, proceed to “AS

SE

MB

LE

TH

E F

US

EL

AG

E”

on page 19.

Install th

e fixed lan

din

g g

ear

❏F

1.U

se a rotary tool with a cutoff w

heel or a metal

file to grind a flat spot near the end of both prebentm

ain lan

din

g g

ear wires

for the set screw in the

outer wheel collar that holds the w

heels on.

❏F

2.T

he same as the covering w

as cut from the

aileron hatches, cut the covering from the landing

gear openings 1/4" [5mm

] inside the edges all thew

ay around the openings.U

se a trim iron to iron

down the covering.

❏F

3.P

lace both fixed landing gear m

ountson the

landing gear rails.The m

ounts are the same, but the

part with the straps goes tow

ard the leading edge of thew

ing.Using the holes in the m

ounts as a guide, drill six7/64" [2.8m

m] (or 1/8" [3.2m

m]) holes into the rails.

❏F

4.M

ount each main landing gear w

ire in thelanding gear m

ount with tw

o metal strap

sand four 3

x 10mm

screws.

Fasten the landing gear mounts to

the rails with six #6 x 1/2" [13m

m] screw

s.

❏F

5.M

ount the wheels to the landing gear w

ith aw

heel collar on both sides of both wheels.

Use a

small drop of thread locking com

pound on all the setscrew

s and make sure the set screw

in the outerw

heel collars that hold on the wheels is keyed into

the flat spots.U

se the included 1.5mm

wrench to

tighten the set screws.

❏F

6.R

efer to steps R1 and R

2 on page 14 to fit andinstall the plyw

ood land

ing

gear covers.

The

radiator air

scoop and

wing

fairing w

ill be

attached later.- 18

-

AS

SE

MB

LE

TH

E F

US

EL

AG

E

Hin

ge th

e elevators an

d ru

dd

er

❏1.

Cut tw

elve 1" x 1" [25 x 25mm

] CA

hinges fromthe supplied 2" x 9" [50 x 230m

m] C

A hinge strip.C

utoff the corners so the hinges go in easier.

❏2.

Test fit one of the elevators to the stab with four

hinges.If the hinge slots are too tight, they can be

“loosened”by inserting a hobby knife and m

oving itfrom

side-to-side.N

ote that it’s the back side of theblade that does the w

ork.

❏3.

Make a sm

all slit in the elevator and

stab onboth sides of all four hinges.

These sm

all slits will

indicate the ends of the hinge slots.

❏4.

Rem

ove the elevator.C

ut a small strip of

covering from

each

hinge slot

in the

stab and

elevator between the slits.D

rill 3/32" [2.4mm

] holes,1/2" [15m

m] deep in the m

iddle of all the hinge slots.A

Moto-Tool w

ith a cutting bit works w

ell for this.

These “tunnels”

will allow

the CA

to fully penetratethe hinge slots w

hen it’s time for perm

anently joiningthe elevators to the stab later on.

❏5.

Prepare the rest of the hinges and the hinge

slots in the stab and the other elevator and therudder and fin the sam

e way.

Do

no

tglue in the

hinges until instructed to do so.

Glu

e in th

e stabilizer

Before proceeding, a building stand is required for

working on the fuselage.In the R

&D

shop we prefer

the Robart ®

Super S

tand II (RO

BP

1402).

❏1.

The sam

e as you did the wing, use a covering

iron to remove any w

rinkles in the fuselage, stab andelevators.

Rem

ember to press dow

n over sheetedareas (except w

here the wood bow

s inward).

Hin

t:Use a pin to poke four or five holes beside each

rib in the top and bottom of both elevators to allow

airto escape w

hile shrinking the covering.

Note:

The follow

ing three steps describe how to

prepare the hinge slots for gluing in the CA

hinges.T

his procedure may appear to be “m

ore involved”than one w

ould prefer for an AR

F, but you will be

rewarded w

ith close, clean hinge gaps and free-m

oving,securelyhinged surfaces.

1"

1"

NO

TE

S A

BO

UT

CA

HIN

GE

ST

his kit

is supplied

with

CA

hinge

material

consisting of a 3-layer lamination of M

ylar andpolyester

specially m

ade for

hinging m

odelairplanes.W

hen properly installed, this type of CA

hinge provides the best combination of strength,

durability and easy installation.Your giant P-51 and

other giant warbirds like it have been thoroughly

tested with these hinges, but it is

essentialto installthem

correctly.Follow

the hinging instructions inthis m

anual for the best result.T

he techniquesshow

n have been developed to ensure thoroughand secure gluing.

- 19-

❏2.

Cut the covering from

the openings in bothsides of the fuselage for the stabilizer.

Also cut the

covering from the elevator pushrod tubes on both

sides of the fuselage and from the rudder tube on the

leftside of the fuselage.

❏3.

Slide the stabilizer into the fuselage.C

enter thetrailing edge of the stab in the fuselage by takingaccurate m

easurements along the trailing edge.

❏4.

Insert a pin through the top of the fuselage overthe m

iddle stringer at the firewall.T

ie a loop in oneend of a 60" [1.5m

] piece of non-elastic line such asm

onofilament or K

evlar line (K+

SR

4575).S

lip theloop in the string over the T-pin.

❏5.

Fold a piece of m

asking tape over the stringnear the other end and draw

an arrow on it.S

lide thetape along the string and align the arrow

with one

end of the stab as shown in the photo.

Sw

ing thestring over to the other end of the stab and hold it inthe sam

e position.K

eeping the trailing edge of thestab cen

teredfrom

side-to-side, move the stab tips

forward or back as necessary until the arrow

alignsw

ith both ends of the stab.

❏6.

Use a fine-point felt-tip pen such as a Top F

lite®

Panel Line P

en (TOP

Q2510) to m

ark the outline ofthe fuselage on the top and bottom

of the stab.

❏7.

Rem

ove the stab from the fuselage.U

se a sharp,new

#11 hobby blade or use the following H

ot Tipto cut

the covering from the stab along the lines.U

se care tocut only into the covering and not

into the wood.

Cutting into the balsa w

ill weaken the structure.

❏8.

Peel the covering from

the top and bottom of

the center of the stab.Rem

ove any ink from the stab

and fuse with a paper tow

el square dampened w

ithdenatured alcohol.R

e-seal the ends of the coveringto the stab w

here it may have lifted w

hile peeling offthe m

iddle.

On

e mo

re align

men

t pro

cedu

re befo

re glu

ing

the stab

into

the fu

selage…

To avoid cutting into the balsa, use a solderingiron instead of a hobby knife to cut the covering.T

he tip of the soldering iron doesn’t have to besharp, but a fine tip does w

ork best.Allow

the ironto

heat fully.

Use

a straightedge

to guide

thesoldering

iron at

a rate

that w

ill just

melt

thecovering and not burn into the w

ood.T

he hotterthe soldering iron, the faster it m

ust be moved to

melt a fine cut.

HO

W TO

CU

T C

OV

ER

ING

FR

OM

BA

LS

A

- 20-

❏9.

Bolt the w

ing to the fuselage with tw

o 1/4-20 x2" [50m

m] nylon w

ing bolts.C

enter the stab in thefuselage.

Stand approxim

ately ten feet behind them

odel and view the stab and w

ing.If the stab and

wing align w

ith each other, proceed to the next step.If the stab and w

ing do not align, but are close, placea sm

all weight on the “high side”

of the stab to see ifyou

can bring

it into

alignment.

If w

eight is

notenough,

remove

the stab

from

the fuselage

andlightly sand the slots in the fuselage as necessary toalign the stab w

ith the wing.

Reinsert the stab and

check the alignment.

❏10.

When ready to perm

anently glue the stab intothe fuselage, w

rap one side of the stab with a plastic

bag or wax paper.

This w

ill protect the stab fromepoxy w

hen sliding it into the fuse.

❏11.

Th

oro

ug

hly

coat the slot in the fuselagew

here the stab fits and the top and bottom of the

stab w

here it

joins the

fuselage w

ith 30-m

inuteepoxy.

Slide

the stab

into position.

Rem

ove the

protective plastic wrapped around the stab in the

previous step.Wipe off excess epoxy.

Recheck the

stab alignm

ent the

same

as w

as done

in the

previous steps.D

o not disturb the fuse until theepoxy has fully hardened.

❏12.

Stick a T-pin through the m

iddle of four hingesto keep them

centered.A

fter the epoxy on the stabhas hardened, join the elevators to the stab w

ith thehinges and rem

ove the T-pins.M

ake a small gap

between the stab and elevators—

just enough to seelight through or to slip a piece of paper through.A

llowing enough tim

e between drops to allow

the CA

to soak in, add six to eight drops of thin CA

to bo

thsid

esof all the hinges.H

int:

Use a C

A applicator tip

so the CA

can be applied directly to the hinges.

❏13.

Join the rudder to the fin with the hinges and

glue them in the sam

e way.

Install th

e cockp

it

Refer to

this p

ho

to w

hile w

orkin

g o

n th

e cockp

it.

❏1.

Use sm

all scissors or curved-tip scissors (suchas K

yosho®

or Great P

lanes) to cut out the cockpitsid

es.Do not cut the lip

from top.Trim

the aft edge(the edge w

ith the angle) of both sides so they will fit

between the form

ers in the cockpit.

Installation of the included semi-scale cockpit kit is

optional.If you prefer not to install the com

pletecockpit, all that has to be done is to paint theexisting balsa cockpit area and add the instrum

entpanel

decal.S

hould you

decide to

install the

cockpit, keep in mind that although this m

odel is anA

RF, the included cockpit kit is a starting platform

.S

hould you wish to add m

ore detail, study photosof a full-size P

-51 cockpit, then decide how to

proceed.Many of the m

echanisms can be added

or enhanced simply w

ith a fine paint brush and aselection of plastic m

odel paint.Whatever pilot you

decide to use should be test fit before gluing any ofthe

cockpit parts

into position

in case

anym

odifications are required.

- 21-

❏2.

Cut out the in

strum

ent p

anel.T

here is no liparound the top.Trim

the sides as necessary to fit inthe fuselage.

❏3.

Glue the 1/8" x 1/4" x 2" [3 x 6 x 50m

m] balsa

stick to the balsa instrument panel in the fuselage.

Temporarily fit the cockpit sides and the instrum

entpanel into position.

❏4.

Use sm

all scissors or curved-tip scissors torough-cut out the can

op

y.The best w

ay is to do it inthree steps—

each time getting closer to the finished

outline.F

irst, cut away the biggest pieces.T

hen cutcloser, but no closer than 1/8" [3m

m] from

the finalcut.F

inally, cut to the final shape all the way around,

then true the edges by sanding.

❏5.

Cut out the co

ckpit flo

or

to fit between the

formers.C

ut out the seat back,leaving a 1/8" [3m

m]

lip all the way around.From

inside the fuselage, raisethe floor up to the cockpit sides.H

olding the floor inposition,

lower

the seat

back into

the cockpit.

Temporarily place the canopy on the fuselage.M

akecertain there is approxim

ately 3/16" [5mm

] clearancebetw

een the top of the seat back and the top of thecanopy.Trim

the seat back if necessary.

❏6.

Now

that you understand how it all fits, sand the

edges of all the cockpit parts straight and true.A

ddany additional details you prefer, then use m

ediumC

A to securely glue in the cockpit parts.

❏7.

Add any other final details to the cockpit you

prefer.On our m

odel we added 600-grit sandpaper to

the cockpit floor aft of the seat.- 22

-

If installin

g fixed

land

ing

gear,

skip to

“Mo

un

tth

e fixed tail g

ear”o

n p

age 26.

Mo

un

t the tail g

ear do

ors

❏R

1.C

ut the covering from the tail gear opening in

the bottom of the fuselage.

❏R

2.M

ake two larg

eand tw

o smallru

bb

er ban

dh

oo

ksby gluing together the 1/16" [1.6m

m] plyw

oodpieces as show

n.

❏R

3.U

se medium

-grit sandpaper to roughen one sideof all four nylon pinned hing

esso glue w

ill adhere.C

arefullyoil the hinge pin area w

ith a small

drop ofhousehold oil or a sm

alldab of petroleum jelly.

❏R

4.U

se medium

CA

to glue two of the hinges and

one of the small

rubber band hooks to the leftdoor

as shown.T

he hook should be 2" [50mm

] from the

front of the door and the tab on the hook should beraised from

the surface so a rubber band can behooked around it.A

lso note that the pin portion of thehinges is on the outer edge of the door as show

n inthe close up photo.

❏R

5.P

repare the other tail gear door the same w

ay.

❏R

6.M

ove the hinges back and fourth severaltim

es.If they are difficult to move, use a hobby knife

to pick out any CA

that may have gotten into the pin.

❏R

7.G

lue the large rubber band hooks to thetriangular balsa stick inside the door openings w

herethey w

ill align with the sm

all hooks on the doors.P

hotos in the following steps show

the hooks.

❏R

8.H

olding the left door up to the wheel opening,

mark the locations of the hinges on the edge of the

opening.Cut 1/16" [2m

m] notches at the m

arks andbevel the tri-stock so the hinge pins w

ill be even with

the bottom of the fuselage.

Fit the right door the

same w

ay.

❏R

9.Test fit both doors in the opening.

Make

certain they will not interfere w

ith each other when

permanently glued into position.

Make adjustm

entsw

here necessary.- 23

-

❏R

10.O

ne at a time, glue the hinges on the doors

to the fuselage.There m

ust be a 1/32" to 1/16" [1 to2m

m] gap betw

een the top of the doors and thebottom

of the fuselage.

Mo

un

t the retractab

le tail gear

❏R

1.R

emove the steerin

g arm

from the R

obart#

16

0LW

C

retra

ctable

ta

il g

ea

r a

ssem

bly (n

ot

included).File a flat sp

ot

near the top of the shaft forthe set screw

in the steering arm to lock onto.M

ountthe

steering arm

to

the shaft

with

a drop

ofthreadlocker and the set screw

.

❏R

2.F

ile another flat spot near the bottom of the

shaft for one of the set screws in the stru

t.Tighten

both set screws w

ith a drop of threadlocker on each.B

e certain the steering arm and the axle in the strut

remain parallel w

ith each other.Make adjustm

ents tothe flat spots if necessary.

❏R

3.If necessary, enlarge the hole in a 1-3/4"

[45mm

] tail wheel (not included) w

ith a #9 [5.0mm

]drill.C

ut the axle included with the R

obart retractabletail gear to the correct length, then file a flat spot onit and m

ount it to the assembly.

❏R

4.F

it a 0-80 ball link ball in the middle hole in

both sides of the steering arm as show

n in the photoat step 8.

Secure each w

ith a drop of threadlockerand an 0-80 nut.

❏5.

Use w

ire cutters to cut the supplied braid

edcab

leinto tw

o equal lengths.S

lide a small co

pp

ertu

be

(called a swage) over one end of one of the

cables, then guide the end of the cable back through.

❏6.

Guide the cable the other w

ay back through the sw

age.

❏7.

Use pliers to pull the short end of the cable until

the sm

all loop

doubles-over at

the end

of the

swage—

but don’t pull too hard or you’ll pull the cableback through.

- 24-

❏8.

Snip off the short end of the w

ire at the swage.

Slip the loop over one of the ball link balls on the

steering arm.T

ighten the loop until it is small enough

to remain secu

reon the ball, yet m

ay still be priedoff.S

queeze the swage w

ith pliers.Connect the other

cable to the other ball link ball the same w

ay.

❏R

9.M

ark the bent aluminum

tail gear d

oo

rb

rackets“R

”and “L”

as shown in the photo.

(The

dashed lines in the photo note the bends in thebrackets w

hich will help identify the right one from

the left one.)

❏R

10.M

ark, then drill two 3/32" [2.4m

m] holes

through the right side of the tail gear for mounting the

right bracket.The m

etal is hard, so be patient while

drilling.Use a m

etal punch if you have one to dimple

the hole locations first.

❏R

11.M

ount the right bracket with tw

o 2-56 x 3/8"[9.5m

m] screw

s, a drop of threadlocker and 2-56 nuts.

❏R

12.M

ount the left bracket the same w

ay.

❏R

13.C

onnect 40" [1m] of red air line to the aftfitting

on the tail gear air cylinder and 40" [1m] of purple air

line to the forward

fitting on the air cylinder.There is not

enough air

line leftover

from

the m

ain gear,

soadditional line w

ill have to be purchased separately(R

obart #169 Pressure Tubing).

❏14.

Place the tail gear retract in the fuselage w

hilesim

ultaneously guiding the pull/pull cable through thegray plastic guide tubes and guiding the air lines upthrough the fuselage.

❏15.

Drill four 3/32" [2.4m

m] holes through the rails

for mounting the tail gear.

If your drill bit is not longenough

to reach

the rail

nearest the

top of

thefuselage, use m

edium C

A to tem

porarily glue a 3/32"[2.4m

m] drill bit in a 1/8" [3.2m

m] brass tube.

After

drilling the holes, the drill can be removed from

thetube by heating.

❏16.

Mount

the tail

gear w

ith four

#4 x

1/2" [13m

m] screw

s.

❏R

17.G

lue the hardwood “L”

blo

ckdirectly to the

aluminum

frame of the retract.G

lue the 1/16" x 3/8"

"L" B

LO

CK

RE

TR

AC

TF

RA

ME

- 25-

x 1-9/16" [1 x 10 x 40mm

] plywood tail g

ear do

or

stop

to the inside of the sheeting on the bottom of

the fuselage.These w

ill keep the doors from closing

too far.H

ook two sm

all rubber bands included with

this kit onto both pair of rubber band hooks.

❏R

18.U

se the air pump that w

ill be used topressurize the air tank or a can of com

pressed air toretract and extend the tail gear a few

times to m

akesu

re

everyth

ing

o

pe

rate

s co

rrectly.

Ma

keadjustm

ents where required.S

kip ahead to “Hook up

the elevators and rudder”on this page.

Mo

un

t the fixed

tail gear

❏F

1.C

ut the covering from the tail gear opening in

the bottom of the fuselage.

Refer to

this p

ho

to fo

r the fo

llow

ing

three step

s.

❏F

2.F

ile flat spots on the tail gear wire for the set

screw in the outer w

heel collar that holds on the wheel,

and for the set screws in the w

heel collar steering armthat hold the tail gear w

ire in the tail gear mount.

Mount

the tail wheel w

ith two w

heel collars and set screws

using a drop of thread locking compound.

❏F

3.E

nlarge the holes in the steering arm w

ith a5/64" [2m

m] or 3/32" [2.4m

m] drill bit.M

ount a 2-56ball link ball to each arm

with a 2-56 nut and a drop

of threadlocker.

❏F

4.A

ssemble the tail gear.

Be certain to use

thread locking compound on all the set screw

s.Also

note that the steering arm should be perpendicular to

the tail wheel.

Perfo

rm step

s 5,6,7 & 8 an

d step

s 14,15 & 16 o

np

ages 24 &

25 to co

nn

ect the p

ull/p

ull cab

les toth

e steering

arm an

d to

mo

un

t the tail g

ear in th

efu

selage.W

hen

finish

ed,

pro

ceed to

“Ho

ok u

pth

e elevators an

d ru

dd

er.”

Ho

ok u

p th

e elevators an

d ru

dd

er

Refer to

this p

ho

to fo

r the fo

llow

ing

three step

s.

❏1.

Cut 6" [150m

m] from

the unthreaded end of two

36" [910mm

] wire pushrods.

Connect the pushrods

to the middle hole in tw

o nylon control horns with a

4-40 nut, threaded clevis and a silicone retainer.S

lide the pushrods into the elevator pushrod tubes inboth sides of the fuselage.

❏2.

Mount the control horns to the elevators the

same w

ay you mounted the control horns on the

flaps and ailerons (by drilling 3/32" [2.4mm

] holesand using #4 x 1/2" [13m

m] screw

s—don’t forget to

harden the holes with thin C

A after

first installing,then rem

oving the screws).

❏3.

Prepare the rudder pushrod and m

ount thecontrol

horn the

same

way,

only use

#4 x

5/8"[16m

m] screw

s instead of 1/2" [13mm

] screws.

- 26-

❏4.

Glue together both 1/8" [3m

m] plyw

ood aftservo

trays.Test fit the two elevator, one rudder and

on

e

tail

wh

ee

l se

rvo

in

the

tray.

Ma

ke

any

adjustments required so the servos fit.

❏5.

Place the servo tray in the fuselage.

Refer to

this p

ho

to w

hile h

oo

king

up

the servo

s.

❏6.

Place all four servos in the servo tray.

Make

three one-arm servo arm

s and one two-arm

servo

arm from

the arms that cam

e with your servos.P

lacethe arm

s on the servos as shown in the photo.

❏7.

The sam

e as was done for the aileron and flap

pushrods, mark the elevator and rudder pushrods

where they are to be cut for soldering on the clevises.

One at a tim

e, unthread each pushrod from the clevis

on the control horn, remove the pushrod from

thefuselage, cut it to the correct length, then solder onthe clevis.R

einstall the pushrod from the front, then

connect them to the servo arm

s and control horns.D

on’t forget to use a silicone retainer on all theclevises and to install 4-40 nuts on the pushrodsahead of the thread-on clevises.

❏8.

Connect the tw

o clevises with the threaded,

brass couplers and nuts on them to both ends of the

tail steering servo arm.P

ut a small piece of tape on

one of

the pull/pull

cables com

ing from

the

tailsteering arm

.Center the tail w

heel and slide the tapealong the cable to m

ark where it w

ill be looped-overto go into the brass coupler.

❏9.

Take the servo arm off the tail steering servo

and disconnect the cable from the ball link on the

steering arm.

Pull the cable up through the guide

tube.Use the tape as a reference for w

here to bendthe cable to loop it through the brass coupler.S

ecurethe cable to the coupler w

ith a swage.

❏10.

Guide the looped end of the cable back dow

nthrough the guide tube and reconnect it to the balllink ball on the steering arm

.M

ark and connect theother cable to the brass coupler on the other side ofthe servo arm

same w

ay.

❏11.

Mark the hole locations for the servo m

ountingscrew

s on the servo tray.Rem

ove the servo tray, thendrill 1/16" [1.6m

m] holes at the m

arks.S

crew, then

remove a screw

in each hole.Add a few

drops of thinC

A and allow

to harden.

❏12.

Securely glue the servo tray in the fuselage

with 30-m

inute epoxy.M

ount the servos in the trayand hookup the pushrods.

We’ll fin

ish u

p th

e rest of th

e radio

installatio

nan

d m

ou

nt th

e com

po

nen

ts for th

e air systemafter th

e eng

ine h

as been

mo

un

ted.

Mo

un

t the en

gin

e

The follow

ing instructions illustrate how to m

ount aU

.S.

Engines

41cc gas

engine.A

G

reat P

lanesG

asoline Engine M

ount (GP

MG

2000—not included)

and the parts included with this m

odel will provide

the correct alignment and spacing.

If not using aU

.S.

Engines

41cc engine,

use the

appropriatehardw

are to mount your engine (or engine m

ount)centered on the horizontal and vertical alignm

entm

arks on the firewall.

Note that the back of the

spinner backplate should be 7-1/2" to 7-3/4" [190 to200m

m] from

the firewall.

❏1.

If using a U.S

.E

ngines 41cc engine, use theen

gin

e mo

un

t temp

latein the back of the m

anual tom

ark the engine mounting bolt locations on a G

reat- 27

-

Planes G

asoline Engine M

ount.Drill 17/64" [6.8m

m]

(or 9/32" [7.2mm

]) holes at the marks.

Cut off the

bottom of the m

ount as indicated on the template.

Mark the to

pand fro

nt

of the mount as show

n.

❏2.

Rem

ove the muffler and carburetor from

theengine.

This w

ill facilitate mounting the engine and

fitting the cowl.

❏3.

The

U.S

.E

ngines 41cc

is to

be spaced

approximately 7/8" [22m

m] fro

m th

e mo

un

t(not

from the firew

all).If your U.S

.Engine cam

e with the

1/2" [13mm

] black, plastic engine mount spacer, glue

together three

1/8" [3mm

] plywood en

gin

e mo

un

tsp

acers.If your U

.S.

Engine did n

ot

come w

ith theblack, plastic spacer, glue together seven

1/8" [3mm

]plyw

ood engine mount spacers.T

his is most easily

done by lightly coating the spacers with 30-m

inuteepoxy and using the bolts that cam

e with the G

reatP

lanes Gasoline E

ngine Mount to bolt the spacers to

the engine—

do not

over tighten

the bolts,

thusdeform

ing the plywood.

No

te:The straig

ht

edge ofthe spacers goes on the right side of the fuselage.

❏4.

After the epoxy on the engine m

ount spacerhas hardened, rem

ove it from the engine and sand

the edges even and smooth.

❏5.

Use 1/4-20 x 1-1/2" [40m

m] bolts and 1/4"

[6.4mm

] washers (not included) to m

ount the enginew

ith the plywood spacers and the plastic spacer (if

included with the engine) to the engine m

ount.B

oltthe engine m

ount to the firewall using the rubber

bushings, washers and bolts that cam

e with it.

Mo

un

t the co

wl

Refer to these photos for the follow

ing two steps.

❏1.

Use a hobby knife and sandpaper to shape four

of the six supplied 1/2" x 13/16" x 13/16" [12 x 20 x20m

m] hardw

ood cow

l mo

un

ting

blo

cksto m

atchthe shape of the fuselage and the cow

l.

❏2.

Th

oro

ug

hly

roughen the firewall in the four

locations where the cow

l mounting blocks w

ill go.C

oat the end of the blocks and the firewall w

ith 30-m

inute epoxy.Allow

the epoxy to “tack up”so the

blocks won’t fall off, then place them

on the firewall.

Continue to m

onitor and reposition the blocks asnecessary until they w

ill stay in place.A

llow the

epoxy to fully harden.

❏3.

After the epoxy from

the previous step hashardened, drill tw

o 1/8" [3.2mm

] holes through theblocks

and the

firewall.

Cut

eight 1-1/4"

[30mm

]pieces from

the 1/8" x 12" [3.2 x 300mm

] hardwood

dowel.

Coat

the dow

els and

the holes

in the

mounting blocks w

ith 30-minute epoxy, then use a

hamm

er to tap the dowels all the w

ay in.- 28

-

❏4.

Mark the center of all four m

ounting blocks with

a pen.Lay a sm

all ruler on the fuselage with one

edge over the mark.U

se a felt-tip pen to draw a line

directly on the fuselage along the ruler.Mark another

line on the fuselage 2-1/2" [65mm

] as shown from

the center mark on the m

ounting block.W

hen thecow

l is in place the lines and measurem

ents will

pinpoint the center of the blocks under the cowl.

❏5.

Mark the rem

aining three cowl m

ounting blocksand the fuselage the sam

e way.

❏6.

Slide

the cow

l over

the engine

onto the

fuselage.Use a D

remel tool w

ith a cutting bit to trimthe cow

l where necessary so you can get it to fit over

the engine.A

t this stage the cowl shouldn’t require

much trim

ming since the carburetor and m

uffler havebeen rem

oved.

❏7.

If necessary,

use a

prop ream

er or

theappropriate-size drill to enlarge the hole in the propfor the crankshaft (or propeller bolt).

❏8.

Temporarily m

ount the spinner backplate andpropeller to the engine.

Mount the spinner cone to

the backplate with the 3m

m screw

s.

❏9.

Use tape or have an assistant hold the cow

l inposition.B

e certain to provide clearance between the

cowl and spinner—

1/8" to 3/16" [3 to 5mm

] should beadequate.A

lso be certain the checkers on the top ofthe cow

l are centered on the checkers on the top ofthe fuselage.

❏10.

Mark the cow

l 2-1/2" [65mm

] from the m

ark onthe line indicating the center of one of the cow

lm

ounting blocks.D

rill a 3/32" [2.4mm

] hole throughthe cow

l into the mounting block inside.

❏12.

Temporarily fasten the cow

l to that mounting

block by partially installing a #4 x 5/8" [16mm

] screw.

Drill the rest of the holes the sam

e way.

❏13.

After all four holes have been drilled, rem

ovethe cow

l and enlarge the holes in th

e cow

l on

lyw

itha 1/8" [3.2m

m] drill.M

ount the cowl w

ith the screws.

❏14.

Rem

ove the spinner, prop and cowl.W

ipe thealignm

ent marks from

the fuselage using one of thesm

all paper towel squares dam

pened with alcohol.

❏15.

Drill a 1/8" [3.2m

m] hole through four of the

supplied 1/16" x 7/8" [1 x 22mm

] round, plywood cow

lrein

forcem

ents.

Align

the hole

in one

of the

reinforcements

over the

hole in

one of

the cow

lm

ounting blocks as shown in the photo.

If necessary,trim

the aft edge of the cowl reinforcem

ent so it will not

interfere with the fuselage w

hen glued inside the cowl.

❏16.

If necessary, trim the rem

aining three cowl

reinforcements the sam

e way.

❏17.

Roughen the inside of the cow

l around the screwholes.

Add

a dab

of petroleum

jelly

or a

drop of

household oil to the threads of four 4-40 x 3/8" [9.5mm

]screw

s and 4-40 nuts.Glue the cow

l reinforcements to

the inside of the cowl using the screw

s and nuts to holdthem

until the epoxy hardens.

❏18.

After the epoxy has hardened, rem

ove thescrew

s.R

edrill the holes with a 1/8" [3.2m

m] drill,

then mount the cow

l with four #4 x 5/8" [16m

m]

screws, #4 flat w

ashers and #4 lock washers.M

ountthe spinner and prop to see how

it all looks.- 29

-

Install th

e air tank

Refer to

this p

ho

to w

hile in

stalling

the air tan

k.

❏R

1.G

lue together the two 1/8" x 3-3/8" [3 x 85m

m]

O.D

.plywood air tank m

ounting rings.Glue the rings

to the ring that’s part of the instrument panel form

er.

❏R

2.T

here should

be tw

o pieces

of air

linerem

aining that are approximately 24" [610m

m] long.

Connect one of the pieces to the air tank.

Slip the

1/8" [3mm

] plywood air tan

k form

eraround the air

tank, then place the assembly in the fuselage.

Use

medium

CA

to permanently glue the air tank form

erto F

-3as show

n, or if you prefer to make the air tank

removable, use #2 screw

s (not included) to hold theair tank form

er to F-3.

❏R

3.U

se a few dabs of R

TV

silicone or epoxy toglue the air tank into position.

Install th

e fuel tan

k

No

te:The included G

reat Planes 32 oz.[960cc] fuel

tank is suitable for both gasoline and glow fuel.

Refer to

this p

ho

to w

hile p

reparin

g th

e fuel tan

k.

❏1.

Assem

ble the fuel tank using the hardware and

included fuel-pickup line that goes inside the tank.Be

certain the clunk cannot contact the back of the tank.O

therwise, it m

ay become stuck above the fuel level

and discontinue fuel flow causing the engine to quit.

Note:

The fuel tank setup in the m

anual uses threelines.T

he line connected to the fuel pickup in the tankgoes to the carburetor.T

he line connected to the fittingon the top of the tank is for fueling and defueling.T

heline connected to the m

iddle fitting on the tank (which

must be drilled out w

ith a 5/64" [2mm

] drill) is the ventline.A

three-line setup eliminates the requirem

ent for afuel filler valve.If you prefer to use a filler valve, a tw

o-line setup m

ay be used.

❏2.

Drill 3/32" [2.4m

m] holes through the m

arksnear the aft edge of the plyw

ood fuel tan

k floo

r.Use

two #64 rubber bands to hold the fuel tank to the fuel

tank floor with a sheet of 1/4" or 1/2" [6 or 13m

m] R

/Cfoam

in between.

❏3.

Connect the external fuel lines to the tank—

usesilicone fuel line for glow

engines and use neoprenefuel line for gasoline engines.

Leave the lines extralong so that they can be guided through the firew

all.T

he lines will be cut to the correct length later.

❏4.

Drill holes through the firew

all for the fuel lines.T

he size of the holes will depend on the size of the

fuel line you are using.Be certain to drill the holes so

that the lines will not interfere w

ith the engine orengine m

ount and so they will not becom

e kinkedbehind the firew

all.

❏5.

Fit the fuel tank w

ith the fuel tank floor in thefuselage w

hile guiding the fuel lines through the holes.N

ote that the frontof the fuel tank keys into the groovebetw

een the balsa sticks on the back of the firewall.

❏6.

While you still rem

ember, w

rite the name of

each fuel line (“carb,”“vent,”“fueling,”) on the firewall

near the hole where the line com

es out.T

his way

you’ll know w

here the lines go when it’s tim

e toconnect them

.

❏7.

Using the holes near the aft end of the fuel tank

floor as a guide, drill 1/16" [1.6mm

] holes through thesm

all hardwood blocks that support the rear of the

floor.Fasten the floor to the blocks with tw

o #2 x 1/2"[13m

m] screw

s and #2 washers.

- 30-

Ho

ok u

p th

e thro

ttle

Note:

If using a spark ignitionengine, be certain to

maintain

a m

inim

um

d

istance

of 12"

[300mm

]betw

een electronic parts of the radio system (servo,

receiver, battery, etc.) and the engine.Also, never use

a full-length, metallic pushrod to operate the throttle.

Refer to

the fo

llow

ing

two

ph

oto

s wh

ile ho

okin

gu

p th

e thro

ttle.

❏1.If using a U

.S.E

ngines 41cc, move the ball link

ball that was factory-m

ounted on the bellcrank to them

iddle hole.Connect a 0-80 ball link ball to the outer

hole on the other end of the bellcrank with a drop of

threadlocker and a 0-80 nut.

❏2.M

ark the engine mount w

here the throttle pushrodshould go through to connect to the bellcrank.

❏3.R

emove the engine from

the engine mount.B

oltthe m

ount to the firewall w

ithout the engine.B

eing

certain n

ot to

drill in

to th

e fuel tan

k, drill a 3/16"[4.8m

m]

hole through

the engine

mount

and the

firewall at the m

ark for the throttle pushrod.Enlarge

the hole in th

e eng

ine m

ou

nt o

nly

with a 1/4"

[6.4mm

] drill.

❏4.R

emount the engine to the engine m

ount.

❏5.

Cut tw

o 4-3/4" [120mm

] forw

ard servo

trayrails

from the 1/4" x 1/4" x 12" [6 x 6 x 300m

m]

hardwood stick.

Securely glue the rails to the m

ainside stringer as show

n.

Refer to

this p

ho

to w

hile in

stalling

the fo

rward

servo tray.

❏6.

Glue together both plyw

ood forw

ard servo

trays.Place the forw

ard servo tray on the rails.Drill

four 1/16" [1.6mm

] holes through the servo tray andthe rails for the m

ounting screws.Take out the servo

tray and enlarge the holes in th

e servo tray o

nly

with a 3/32" [2.4m

m] drill.M

ount the tray to the railsw

ith four #2 x 1/2" [13mm

] screws.

❏7.C

ut the 3/16" x 24" [4.8 x 610mm

] gray pushrodguide tube to the correct length for the throttle.

Use

coarse sandpaper to roughen the tube so glue will

adhere w

here it

goes through

the firew

all and

formers.S

lide the guide tube into position.

❏8.

Fit the throttle servo in the servo tray.

Cut the

white, plastic pushrod to the correct length so it can

be connected to the throttle servo with a nylon clevis

and to the bellcrank with a nylon ball link.

❏9.T

hread a 2-56 x 1" [25mm

] threaded rod intoboth ends of the throttle pushrod.C

onnect the nylonball link to one end of the rod, then slide the rod intothe guide tube from

the front.

❏10.

Connect the nylon clevis to the threaded rod

on other end of the pushrod.C

onnect the clevis tothe throttle servo arm

with a silicone retainer.

Use

medium

CA

to glue the guide tube to the firewall and

the formers.

❏11.

Rem

ove the forward servo tray.

Add a few

drops of thin CA

to the holes in the servo tray railsand allow

to harden.Mount the throttle servo to the

tray as well.R

emount the servo tray.

- 31-

Ho

ok u

p th

e air lines

Refer to this photo w

hile hooking up the air lines.

❏R

1.U

se epoxy to glue the plywood air valve

mo

un

tto the forw

ard servo tray.A

fter the epoxyhardens, m

ount the air valve to the air valve mount.

❏R

2.Use the rem

aining air line and two T-fittin

gs

to connect the fill po

rt, check valve

and pressu

reg

aug

e(optional) to the air tank.

Also connect the

qu

ick disco

nn

ectsto the air lines com

ing from the

tail gear air lines via two T-fittin

gs.T

he remaining,

open end of these T-fittings will be connected to the

air valve.

Connect

another line

to the

T-fittingbetw

een the fill port and the check valve.This line w

illbe connected to the air valve.N

ote:

Use the plyw

oodair lin

e gu

ides to keep the air lines neat and tidy and

away

from

other w

orking com

ponents (such

asservos, pushrods, etc.).

❏R

3.M

ount the fill port and pressure gauge (ifused)

to the

fuselage side.

The

fill port

can be

mounted flush to the outside of the fuselage via a

mount m

ade from plyw

ood (not supplied).

❏R

4.Connect the air valve servo to the air valve using

a 2-56

x 4"

[100mm

] pushrod

and a

nylon clevis.

Connect the pushrod to the servo arm

with a “Z

”bend.C

onnect the remaining air lines to the air valve.

Mo

un

t the kill sw

itch

(for sp

ark ign

ition

eng

ines o

nly)

As stated in the IM

AA

Safety C

ode, all magneto spark

ignition engines must have a m

anually operated, coil-grounding

switch

to stop

the engine

and prevent

accidental starting.A

.3 Am

p slide switch, 16 gauge

wire and tw

o spade terminals w

ere purchased at thelocal R

adio Shack

®for this purpose.T

hese comm

oncom

ponents should also be available at any hardware

or home im

provement store.

❏1.

Mount the sw

itch in a location where it w

ill beeasily accessible from

outside the model.

❏2.

Determ

ine the

correct length

of the

wires

knowing that they m

ust not contact the muffler or

engine.C

ut the wires to the correct length, then

solder the wires to the sw

itch and spade terminals.

❏3.

Connect the term

inals to the engine, making

certain the wires w

ill not contact the engine or muffler.

BO

TTO

M O

F S

WIT

CH

SO

LD

ER

TH

E

WIR

ES

WH

ER

ES

HO

WN

- 32-

Fin

ish th

e eng

ine co

mp

artmen

t

❏1.

Use a high-speed rotary tool w

ith a carbidecutting

bit to

cut the

hole in

the cow

l for

thecarburetor.F

or the U.S

.Engines 41, this procedure is

made easier if the m

uffler and venturi are removed.

Slip the cow

l into position, then, carefully viewing the

cowl and the carburetor inside and out, m

ark theapproxim

ate location of the cutout.Rem

ove the cowl.

Cut inside the lines starting w

ith a small hole.F

it thecow

l, redraw the lines, then rem

ove and cut the cowl

again.C

ontinue to “zero-in”on the correct size and

shape of the cutout by fitting, marking and enlarging

the cutout in small increm

ents.M

ount the venturiafter the cow

l has been fit over the carb.No

te:T

he

venturi must be rem

oved whenever the cow

l requiresrem

oval or installation.D

uring initial engine tuningand break-in it w

ill be best to leave the cowl off the

model until all adjustm

ents have been made.W

hensatisfied w

ith the performance and reliability of the

engine, the cowl can be installed.

❏2.

Cut the fuel line that goes to the carburetor to

the correct length, then hook up the fuel line.Drill tw

oholes through one of the rem

aining 1/2" x 13/16" x13/16"

[12 x

20 x

20mm

] hardw

ood blocks

toaccom

modate

the fuel

lines.Trim

the

block to

asm

aller, finished shape, then use epoxy to glue theblock to the bottom

of the firewall.G

uide the fuelingline and the vent through the holes in the block.

❏3.

Cut any other necessary holes in the cow

l forthe ignition sw

itch, engine exhaust, fuel lines, etc.

❏4.

If you haven’t already done so, remove the

engine and coat all bare wood parts (such as the

engine mount, engine m

ount spacers, cowl m

ountblocks, etc.) w

ith 30-minute epoxy or fuelproof paint.

Allow

to dry, then remount the engine.

MO

UN

T T

HE

SC

AL

E D

ETA

ILS

Rad

iator air sco

op

❏1.

Mount the w

ing to the fuselage with the w

ingbolts.P

lace the fiberglass radiato

r air scoo

pon the

wing.

Place a piece of thin cardstock betw

een theback of the air scoop and the fuselage.

Use a fine-

point felt-tip pen to mark the outline of the air scoop

onto the bottom of the w

ing.

❏2.

Carefully cut the covering 1/32" [1m

m] inside

the line.Be careful not to cut into the balsa.P

eel thecovering from

the wing.

❏3.

Glue the plyw

ood win

g b

olt p

latesto the

bottom of the w

ing with 30-m

inute epoxy using thew

ing bolts to hold them dow

n.(Although the covering

is still on the wing in this photo, the covering should

be removed from

your wing under the air scoop.)

- 33-

❏4.

Use a fine-point felt-tip pen to m

ark small lines

directly on the wing, noting the location of both w

ing boltplates.R

eposition the air scoop on the wing, then m

arkthe sam

e lines on both sides of the air scoop.

❏5.

Cut the inside of the air scoop at the lines to

accomm

odate the wing bolt plates.

❏6.U

se the same procedure to m

ark the location ofthe w

ing bolts on the air scoop.Using the m

arks onthe scoop as a guide, cut 1/2" [13m

m] holes through

the bottom of the scoop for w

ing bolts.

❏7.R

oughen the lip around the base of the scoopso glue w

ill adhere.P

lace a sheet of wax paper

between the w

ing and the fuselage.

❏8.G

lue the air scoop to the bottom of the w

ing with

30-minute epoxy m

ixed with m

icroballoons.Hold the

air scoop down w

ith weights and use paper tow

elsquares dam

pened with alcohol to clean up epoxy

that squeezes out.

❏9.

Unbolt the w

ing after the epoxy hardens.S

lippieces of fuel tubing over the w

ing bolts so they don’tfall out.

Win

g fairin

g

❏1.

Bolt

the w

ing to

the fuselage.

Test fit

thefiberglass w

ing

fairing

to the wing and fuselage.

Trim the w

ing fairing as necessary to fit.

❏2.Trace the outline of the w

ing fairing onto the wing.

Cut aw

ay the covering 1/32" [1mm

] inside the line.

❏3.

Roughen the inside of the w

ing fairing aroundthe edges w

here it will contact the w

ing.Holding the

wing

fairing in

position, glue

it to

the w

ing w

ithm

edium C

A.

- 34-

Win

g fillets

❏1.

The sam

e as the air scoop and wing fairing,

position the fiberglass wing fillets on the w

ing andfuselage and trace their outline onto the fuselage.R

emove the w

ing.Cut the covering on the fuselage

1/16" [2m

m]

inside the

lines and

peel off

thecovering.

(Cutting 1/32" [1m

m] inside the lines w

asappropriate for the air scoop and w

ing fairing, but1/16" [2m

m] is better for the w

ing fillets.)

❏2.Lay a sheet of w

ax paper or a plastic film (cut

from a plastic bag) over the top of the w

ing to protectit from

glue.Mount the w

ing.Use coarse sandpaper

to tho

rou

gh

lyroughen the inside surface of the w

ingfillets w

here they contact the fuselage.

3.Without using any glue, test fit one of the fillets to the

fuselage and wing.

Press the fillet to the fuselage

noting where pressure w

ill be required to make it fit

best when actually gluing it on.R

emove the fillet.

❏4.A

pply a bead of medium

CA

all the way dow

nthe w

ing fillet approximately 1/8" [3m

m] from

the topedge.

Apply another bead of m

edium C

A dow

n them

iddle.Do not apply any C

A near the bottom

of thefillet so glue does not drip out (although it w

ouldn’t bea disaster as the w

ing is protected).

❏5.R

est the fillet on the wing about 1" [25m

m] aw

ayfrom

the fuselage.T

hen, working quickly, slide the

fillet up to the fuselage tightly holding it down to the

wing and to the fuselage.

Do not relieve pressure

until the CA

hardens enough to securely hold thefillet it in place.

❏6.

Glue the other w

ing fillet to the fuselage thesam

e way.

❏7.R

emove the w

ing and place the fuselage upside-dow

n in your building stand.Apply m

edium C

A to any

gaps between the fillets and the fuselage sides.

Mach

ine g

un

s

❏1.C

ut out the molded plastic m

achin

e gu

ns

firstby cutting 1/8" [3m

m] outside the m

olded-in cutlines,then by cutting on the lines.True the edges w

ith a barsander and 180-grit sandpaper.

Sm

ooth the edgesw

ith 400-grit sandpaper.

❏2.T

he same as w

as done with the other m

oldedparts, position the m

achine guns on the wing 4"

[100mm

] from the “break”

in the leading edge, tracetheir outline, cut and rem

ove the covering, then gluethe m

achine guns to the wing w

ith medium

CA

.

4"

- 35-

En

gin

e Exh

aust

❏1.

Cut out the m

olded plastic eng

ine exh

aust

pip

esleaving an approxim

ately 3/32" [2mm

] ridge allthe w

ay around.True the edges w

ith a bar sanderand 180-grit sandpaper.S

mooth the edges w

ith 400-grit sandpaper.

❏2.U

se medium

CA

to glue a 3/4" x 3/4" x 7" [20 x20

x 180m

m]

balsa stick

to the

inside of

eachexhaust pipe.

❏3.Trim

the balsa sticks until they are even with the

gluing surface of the exhaust pipes.

Refer to

this p

ho

to fo

r the fo

llow

ing

three step

s.

❏1.

Test fit one of the exhaust pipes to the cowl

where show

n in the photo.Use coarse sandpaper to

sand the cowl w

here the balsa inside the pipes will

be glued on.

❏2.A

pply a coating of microballoons m

ixed with 30-

minute epoxy to the balsa stick inside one of the

pipes.Position the pipes on the cow

l and hold themdow

n with rubber bands or m

asking tape.Wipe aw

ayexcess epoxy before it hardens.

❏3.A

fter the epoxy from the previous step hardens,

glue the other set of exhaust pipes to the other side.

Can

op

y and

pilo

t

❏1.D

etermine how

you will be m

ounting the pilot.Inthe m

odel depicted in the manual, a W

illiams B

rother’s#625 3" (1/4-scale) S

tandard pilot (WB

RQ

22625) was

used and mounted to a m

ounting plate made from

1/8"[3m

m] lite-ply (not included) that w

as painted black.Testfit the pilot and place the canopy on the fuselage.M

akecertain the pilot does not contact the canopy.

Make

adjustments as necessary.

❏2.

Paint the pilot and m

ounting plate if used.A

crylic modeling paint (found at hobby shops and

craft stores) is suitable.

❏3.S

ecurely

mount the m

ounting plate and pilot inthe cockpit.

- 36-

❏4.

Wash the canopy in w

arm, soapy w

ater, thendry it off.

Place the canopy on the fuselage.

Be

certain it is centered from side-to-side.

Temporarily

tape the canopy into position.Drill four evenly spaced

1/16" [1.6m

m]

holes through

both sides

of the

canopy and the cockpit sides.Take the canopy off

and enlarge the holes in th

e cano

py o

nly

with a

3/32" [2.4mm

] drill.Mount the canopy w

ith eight #2 x3/16" [4.8m

m] screw

s.

❏5.R

emove the canopy and screw

s.Add a few

dropsof thin C

A to the holes to harden the threads.A

llow the

CA

to fully harden, then remount the canopy.

Ap

ply th

e decals

1.U

se scissors or a sharp hobby knife to cut thedecals from

the decal sheets.Where possible, round

the corners

so they

won’t

catch and

lift w

hilecleaning and handling the m

odel.

2.Be certain the m

odel is clean.Prepare a dishpan or

small bucket w

ith a mixture of liquid dish soap and w

armw

ater—about 1/2 teaspoon of soap per gallon of w

ater.S

ubmerse one of the decals in the solution and peel off

the paper backing.Note:

Even though the decals have

a “sticky-back”and are not the w

ater transfer type,subm

ersing them in soap and w

ater allows accurate

positioning and reduces air bubbles underneath.

3.P

osition the decal on the model w

here desired.H

olding the decal down, use a paper tow

el to wipe

most of the w

ater away.

4.Use a piece of soft balsa or som

ething similar to

squeegee remaining w

ater from under the decal.

Apply the rest of the decals the sam

e way.

❏N

ote:To apply the stars and

bars on the bottom of

the right wing, rem

ove the aileron servo hatch.Apply

the decal.S

queegee the water out, then cut along

the edges of the hatch.Position the hatch.A

pply thecut off portion of the decal to the hatch.

GE

T T

HE

MO

DE

L R

EA

DY

TO F

LY

Co

mp

lete the rad

io in

stallation

❏1.

Mount the receiver on/off sw

itch in a strategiclocation w

here it won’t interfere w

ith anything insidethe fuselage and w

here it will not get coated w

ithengine

exhaust outside

the fuselage.

Due

to the

higher levels of vibration from som

e gas engines, two

switches m

ay be used for redundancy.If using tw

osw

itches, solder

the w

ires together

as show

n.A

Great P

lanes Sw

itch & C

harge Jack Mounting S

et(G

PM

M1000)

was

also used

for charging

andvoltage m

onitoring from outside the fuselage.

- 37-

❏2.S

ecurely mount the receiver and battery using

1/4" or 1/2" [6 or 13mm

] R/C

foam rubber to protect

them from

vibration.The included V

elcro strips may

be used to secure them w

here preferred.O

n theprototype test m

odels the battery was m

ounted tothe top of the w

ing bolt plate in the fuselage and thereceiver w

as mounted to the forw

ard servo tray.If

preferred, the battery location could be determined

wh

ile

ba

lan

cing

th

e

mo

de

l, th

us

red

ucin

g

or

eliminating any additional ballast required to get the

model to balance.

❏3.

Connect the battery, sw

itch(es) and servos tothe receiver.

Use servo extensions or Y-connectors

where necessary (on the m

odel shown in the photo,

6" or

8" [150

or 200m

m]

servo extensions

were

required for each elevator servo, and for the batteryand the aileron plug in the receiver.

❏4.

Make a strain

relieffor the receiver antenna

from a leftover servo arm

.Install the strain relief near

the end of the antenna where it enters the receiver.

Drill 3/32" holes through a few

of the formers to guide

the receiver

antenna aw

ay from

the

servos and

wires.

Guide

the antenna

through a

hole in

thefuselage insulated w

ith a piece of leftover air line orfuel tubing.C

onnect the end of the antenna to a pinstuck into the fin via a rubber band and a h

oo

km

adefrom

another leftover servo arm.

Balan

ce the M

od

el(C.G

.)

The m

odel should be in ready-to

-flycondition w

ithall of the system

s in place including the landinggear, engine, propeller, spinner, etc.It is advisable tohave tw

o people to balance the model—

one to holdthe m

odel (or place it on the balance stand) and oneto view

it from the side to see if the stabilizer is level.

❏1.If using a G

reat Planes C

.G.M

achine to balancethe m

odel, set the rulers to 4-9/16" [116mm

]and

adjust the bases so the upright rods are spacedapproxim

ately 22-1/2" [570mm

] apart (to support thew

ing at the “break”in the leading edge as show

n inthe sketch).

If not using a C.G

.m

achine, accuratelym

ark the C.G

.on the top of both sides of the w

ing 4-9/16" [116m

m]

from the “break”

in the leadingedge w

ith a fine-point felt-tip pen.Connect the m

arksw

ith a strip of 1/8" [3mm

] (or narrower) tape.(You w

illbe able to feel the tape line w

hen lifting the model

upside-down w

ith your fingers.)

More than any other factor, the

C.G

.(balance

point) can have the greatest

effect on how a

model flies and m

ay determine w

hether or notyour first flight w

ill be successful.If you value thism

odel and wish to enjoy it for m

any flights, DO

NO

T

OV

ER

LO

OK

T

HIS

IM

PO

RTA

NT

PR

OC

ED

UR

E.

A

model

that is

not properly

balanced will be unstable and possibly unflyable.

- 38-

❏2.W

ith the wing attached to the fuselage, all parts

of the model installed (ready to fly) and an em

pty fueltank,

place the

model

upside-down

on the

CG

Machine, or lift the m

odel upside-down w

ith yourfinger tips on the tape line.

❏3.

When view

ing the model from

the side, thehorizontal stabilizer should be level.If the tail is low

,the m

odel is “tail heavy”and the battery pack and/or

receiver must be shifted forw

ard or weight m

ust beadded to the nose to balance.

If the tail is high, them

odel is “nose heavy”and the battery pack and/or

receiver must be shifted aft or w

eight must be added

to the tail to balance.If additional weight is required,

Great P

lanes (GP

MQ

4485) “stick-on”lead m

ay be

added where necessary.

If nose-weight is required

attach it to the firewall (don’t attach w

eight to thecow

l—it is not intended to support w

eight).If tail-

weight is required it could be attached to the inside

of the fuselage through the tail gear door opening.Ineither case, do not rely upon the adhesive on theback of the lead w

eight to permanently hold it in

place.O

ver tim

e, fuel

and exhaust

residue m

aysoften the adhesive and cause the w

eight to fall off.Instead, use #2 sheet-m

etal screws, R

TV

silicone orepoxy to perm

anently hold the weight in place.

❏4.IM

PO

RTA

NT:

If you found it necessary to addany w

eight, recheck the C.G

.after the w

eight hasbeen installed.

Balan

ce the M

od

el Laterally

❏1.W

ith the wing level, have an assistant help you

lift the model by the engine propeller shaft and the

bottom of the fuse under the T

E of the fin.

Do this

several times.

❏2.

If one wing alw

ays drops when you lift the

model,

it m

eans that

side is

heavy.B

alance the

airplane by

adding w

eight to

the other

wing

tip.W

eight may be tem

porarily adhered to the bottom of

the wing tip w

ith the adhesive foam tape that com

esw

ith it, then permanently glued inside after doing the

necessary in-flight checks to determine the exact

amount of w

eight necessary.A

n airp

lane th

at has

been

laterally balan

ced w

ill track better in

loo

ps

and

oth

er man

euvers.

Ch

eck the C

on

trol D

irection

s

❏1.Turn on the transm

itter and receiver and centerthe trim

s.If necessary, remove the servo arm

s fromthe servos and reposition them

so they are centered.R

einstall the screws that hold on the servo arm

s.

❏2.

Adjust the length of any pushrods necessary

and the pull/pull cables on the tail wheel by screw

ing

the clevises in or out.S

ecurely tighten all the 4-40jam

nuts on the 4-40 pushrods to lock the clevisesdow

n.This w

ould also be a good time to study the

insta

llatio

n

of

all

the

syste

ms

to

ma

ke

sure

everything is

secure and

connected properly

(airlines, servo w

ires, receiver antenna, etc.).

❏3.

Make certain all the controls respond in the

correct direction.If any of the controls respond in thew

rong direction,

use the

servo reversing

in the

transmitter to reverse the servos connected to those

controls.B

e certain

the control

surfaces have

remained centered.A

djust if necessary.

Set th

e Co

ntro

l Th

row

s

Use

a G

reat P

lanes A

ccuThrow

(or

a ruler)

toaccurately m

easure and set the control throw of each

control surface as indicated in the chart that follows.

NO

TE

:The throw

s are measured at the w

idest p

artof the elevators, rudder ailerons and flaps.

This is w

here your model should balance for the

first flights.Later, you may w

ish to experiment by

shifting the C.G

.up to 5/16" [8m

m] forw

ard or5

/16

" [8

mm

] b

ack

to

cha

ng

e

the

flyin

gcharacteristics.

Moving

the C

.G.

forward

may

improve the sm

oothness and stability, but them

odel may then require m

ore speed for takeoffand m

ake it more difficult to slow

for landing.M

oving the

C.G

.aft

makes

the m

odel m

orem

aneuverable, but could also cause it to become

too difficult to control.In any case, start at th

ereco

mm

end

ed b

alance p

oin

t and do not at anytim

e balance

the m

odel outside

the specified

range.N

ote:

If flying the model at the forw

ardC

.G.

location, you should land with the elevator

throws (provided on page 40) set to the h

igh

rate.If

the m

odel is

nose-heavy the

low-rate

throws m

ay not provide enough control to flairupon landing.

- 39-

Balan

ce Pro

pellers

Ca

refu

lly b

ala

nce

yo

ur

pro

pe

ller

an

d

spa

repropellers before you fly.A

n unbalanced prop can bethe single m

ost significant cause of vibration thatcan

damage

your m

odel.N

ot only

will

enginem

ounting screws and bolts loosen, possibly w

ithdisastrous effect, but vibration m

ay also damage

your radio receiver and battery.V

ibration can alsocause your fuel to foam

, which w

ill, in turn, causeyour engine to run hot or quit.

We

u

se

a

Top

F

lite

Pre

cision

M

ag

ne

tic P

rop

Balancer

™(TO

PQ

5700) in the workshop and keep a

Great P

lanes Fingertip P

rop Balancer (G

PM

Q5000)

in our flight box.

CH

EC

K L

IST

❏1.F

uelproof all areas exposed to fuel or exhaustresidue

such as

the cow

l m

ounting blocks,

wing saddle area, etc.

❏2.C

heck the C.G

.according to the measurem

entsprovided in the m

anual.❏

3.Be certain the battery and receiver are securely

mounted in the fuselage.S

imply stuffing them

intoplace w

ith foam rubber is not sufficient.

❏4.E

xtend the receiver antenna and make sure it

has a strain relief inside the fuselage to keeptension off the solder joint inside the receiver.

❏5.

Balance the m

odel laterallyas explained in

the instructions.❏

6.Use threadlocking com

pound to secure criticalfasteners such as the nuts that hold the w

heelaxles

to the

struts, screw

s that

hold the

carburetor arm (if applicable), set screw

s thathold the tail gear com

ponents, etc.❏

7.Add a drop of oil to the axles so the w

heels will

turn freely.❏

8.Make sure all hinges are securely

glued in place.❏

9.R

einforce holes for wood screw

s with thin C

Aw

here appropriate

(servo m

ounting screw

s,cow

l mounting screw

s, etc.).❏

10.Confirm

that all controls operate in the correctdirection

and that

the throw

s are

set up

according to the manual.

❏11.

Make sure there are silicone retainers on all

the clevises

and that

all servo

arms

aresecured to the servos w

ith the screws included

with your radio.

❏12.S

ecure connections between servo w

ires andY-connectors

or servo

extensions, and

theconnection betw

een your battery pack and theon/off sw

itch with vinyl tape, heat shrink tubing

or special clips suitable for that purpose.❏

13.Make sure none of the servo w

ires or air linesinterfere w

ith any moving parts (servo arm

s,pushrods, retracts, etc.).

❏14.

Make sure the fuel lines are connected and

are not kinked.❏

15.S

ecurely tighten the propeller nut.R

emove the

3mm

screws that hold the spinner cone to the

backplate.A

dd a small drop of thread locking

compound to the screw

s, then reinstall the screws.

During the last few

mom

ents of preparation yourm

ind

m

ay b

e

elsew

he

re

an

ticipa

ting

th

eexcitem

ent of the first flight.Because of this, you

may be m

ore likely to overlook certain checksand procedures that should be perform

ed beforethe m

odel is flown.To help avoid this, a checklist

is provided to make sure these im

portant areasare

not overlooked.

Many

are covered

in the

instruction manual, so w

here appropriate, refer tothe m

anual for complete instructions.B

e sure tocheck the item

s off as they are completed (that’s

why it’s called a check list!).

IMP

OR

TAN

T:T

he

To

p

Flite

G

ian

t P

-51

DM

ustang AR

F has been exten

sivelyflow

n andtested to arrive at the throw

s at which it flies best.

Flying your m

odel at these throws w

ill provideyou w

ith the greatest chance for successful firstflights.If, after you have becom

e accustomed to

the w

ay the

Mustang

flies, you

would

like to

change the throws to suit your taste, that is fine.

How

ever, too much control throw

could make the

model difficult to control, so rem

ember, “m

ore isnot alw

ays better.”

These are the recom

mended control surface throw

s:

Hig

h R

ateL

ow

Rate

EL

EVA

TOR

9/16" up3/8" up

[14mm

][10m

m]

9/16" down

3/8" down

[14mm

][10m

m]

RU

DD

ER

1-1/2" right1" right

1-1/2" left1" left

[38mm

][25m

m]

AIL

ER

ON

S:

3/4" up1/2" up

[19mm

][13m

m]

5/8" down

3/8" down

[16mm

][10m

m]

Half R

ateF

ull R

ateF

LA

PS

:1-3/16" [30m

m]

2-1/8" [55mm

]

No

te:If

flying the

model

at the

forward

C.G

.location, you should land w

ith the elevator throws

set to the hig

hrate.If the m

odel is nose-heavy thelow

-rate throws m

ay not provide enough control toflair upon landing.

- 40-

❏16.B

alance the propeller and spare propellers.❏

17.Place your nam

e, address, AM

A num

ber andtelephone num

ber on or inside the model.

❏18.C

ycle the receiver battery pack (if necessary)and m

ake sure it is fully charged.❏

19.If you w

ish to photograph your model, do so

before your first flight.❏

20.P

erform a range check w

hen you get to theflying field.P

RE

FL

IGH

T

Iden

tify You

r Mo

del

No m

atter if you fly at an AM

A sanctioned R

/C club

site or if you fly somew

here on your own, you should

always have your nam

e, address, telephone number

and AM

A num

ber on or inside your model.

It isreq

uired

at all AM

A R

/C club flying sites and A

MA

sanctioned flying events.Fill out the identification tag

on page 47 and place it on or inside your model.

Ch

arge th

e Batteries

Follow

the battery charging instructions that came

with

your radio

control system

to

charge the

batteries.You should always charge your transm

itterand receiver batteries the night before you go flying,and at other tim

es as recomm

ended by the radiom

anufacturer.

NO

TE

:C

hecking the

condition of

your receiver

battery pack is hig

hly reco

mm

end

ed.

All battery

packs, whether it’s a trusty pack you’ve just taken

out of another model, or a new

battery pack you justpurchased, should be cycled, noting the dischargecapacity.

Oftentim

es, a weak battery pack can be

ide

ntifie

d

(an

d

a

valu

able

m

od

el

saved

!) by

comparing its actual capacity to its rated capacity.

Refer to the instructions and recom

mendations that

come w

ith your cycler.If you don’t ow

n a batterycycler, perhaps you can have a friend cycle yourpack and note the capacity for you.

Gro

un

d C

heck

If th

e en

gin

e is

new

,fo

llow

th

e en

gin

em

anu

facturer’s

instru

ction

s to

b

reak-in

the

eng

ine.A

fter break-in, confirm that the engine idles

reliably, transitions

smoothly

and rapidly

to full

power and m

aintains full power—

indefinitely.A

fteryou run the engine on the m

odel, inspect the model

closely to make sure all screw

s remained tight, the

hinges are

secure, the

prop is

secure and

allpushrods and connectors are secure.

Ran

ge C

heck

Ground check the operational range of your radio

before the first flight of the day.With the transm

itterantenna collapsed and the receiver and transm

itteron, you should be able to w

alk at least 100 feet away

from

the m

odel and

still have

control.H

ave an

assistant stand by your model and, w

hile you work

the controls, tell you what the control surfaces are

doing.Repeat this test w

ith th

e eng

ine ru

nn

ing

atvarious speeds w

ith an assistant holding the model,

using hand signals to show you w

hat is happening.If the control surfaces do not respond correctly, d

on

ot fly!

Find and correct the problem

first.Look forloose servo connections or broken w

ires, corrodedw

ires on old servo connectors, poor solder joints inyour battery pack or a defective cell, or a dam

agedreceiver crystal from

a previous crash.

EN

GIN

E S

AF

ET

Y P

RE

CA

UT

ION

S

Keep all engine fuel in a safe place, aw

ay from high

heat, sparks or flames, as fuel is very flam

mable.D

onot sm

oke near the engine or fuel;and rem

ember

that engine exhaust gives off a great deal of deadlycarbon m

onoxide.Therefore

do

no

t run

the en

gin

ein

a closed

roo

m o

r garag

e.

Get help from

an experienced pilot when learning to

operate engines.

Use safety glasses w

hen starting or running engines.

Do not run the engine in an area of loose gravel or

sand;the propeller may throw

such material in your

face or eyes.

Keep your face and body as w

ell as all spectatorsaw

ay from the plane of rotation of the propeller as

you start and run the engine.

Keep

these item

s aw

ay from

the

prop:loose

clothing, shirt sleeves, ties, scarfs, long hair or looseobjects such as pencils or screw

drivers that may fall

out of shirt or jacket pockets into the prop.

Use a “chicken stick”

or electric starter to start theengine.D

o not use your fingers to flip the propeller.M

ake certain

the glow

plug

clip or

connector is

secure so that it will not pop off or otherw

ise get intothe running propeller.

Make

all engine

adjustments

from

behind the

rotating propeller.

The engine gets hot! D

o not touch it during or rightafter operation.

Make sure fuel lines are in good

condition so fuel will not leak onto a hot engine,

causing a fire.

To stop a glow engine, cut off the fuel supply by closing

off the fuel line or following the engine m

anufacturer’srecom

mendations.

Do not use hands, fingers or any

other body part to try to stop the engine.To stop a

gasoline powered engine an on/off sw

itch should beconnected to the engine coil.D

o not throw anything into

the propeller of a running engine.

Failure to follow these safety precautions m

ayresult in severe injury to yourself and others.

- 41-

AM

A S

AF

ET

Y C

OD

E (excerp

ts)R

ead and abide by the following A

cademy of M

odelA

eronautics Official S

afety Code:

GE

NE

RA

L1.

I w

ill not

fly m

y m

odel aircraft

in sanctioned

events, air shows, or m

odel flying demonstrations

until it has been proven to be airworthy by having

been previously successfully flight tested.

2.I

will

not fly

my

model

aircraft higher

thanapproxim

ately 400 feet within 3 m

iles of an airportw

ithout notifying the airport operator.I will give right

of way to, and avoid flying in the proxim

ity of fullscale aircraft.W

here necessary an observer shall beused to supervise flying to avoid having m

odels fly inthe proxim

ity of full scale aircraft.

3.W

here established, I will abide by the safety rules

for the flying site I use, and I will not w

illfully anddeliberately fly m

y models in a careless, reckless

and/or dangerous manner.

7.I w

ill not fly my m

odel unless it is identified with m

ynam

e and address or AM

A num

ber, on or in the model.

9.I w

ill not operate models w

ith pyrotechnics (anydevice that explodes, burns, or propels a projectileof any kind).

RA

DIO

CO

NT

RO

L1.

I w

ill h

ave

com

ple

ted

a

su

ccessfu

l ra

dio

equipment ground check before the first flight of a

new or repaired m

odel.

2.I w

ill not fly my m

odel aircraft in the presence ofspectators until I becom

e a qualified flier, unlessassisted by an experienced helper.

3.I w

ill perform m

y initial turn after takeoff away

from

the pit

or spectator

areas, and

I w

ill not

thereafter fly over pit or spectator areas, unlessbeyond m

y control.

4.I w

ill operate my m

odel using only radio controlfre

qu

en

cies

curre

ntly

allow

ed

by

the

F

ed

era

lC

omm

unications Com

mission...

Sin

ce the G

iant P

-51D M

ustan

g A

RF

qu

alifies asa “g

iant scale”

mo

del an

d is th

erefore elig

ible tofly in

IMA

A even

ts,we’ve p

rinted

excerpts fro

mth

e IMA

A S

afety Co

de w

hich

follow

s.

IMA

A S

AF

ET

Y C

OD

E (excerp

ts)

Defin

ition

:

For the purpose of the follow

ing IMA

A S

afety Code,

the term G

iant Scale shall refer to radio controlled

model aircraft, either scale or non-scale, w

hich havea w

ingspan of 80 inches or more for m

onoplanesand

60 inches

or m

ore for

multi-w

inged m

odelaircraft and have a ram

p weight (fueled and ready to

fly) of 55 lbs.or less.

Sectio

n 1.0:

SA

FE

TY

STA

ND

AR

D

1.1 Adherence to C

ode:T

his safety code is to bestrictly follow

ed

1.2 The m

ost current AM

A S

afety Code in effect is to

be observed.H

owever, the com

petition sections ofthe code m

ay be disregarded.

Sectio

n 3.0:

Safety C

heck

3.4 Flight Testing:A

ll Giant S

cale R/C

aircraft are tohave been flight tested and flight trim

med w

ith am

inimum

of six flights before the model is allow

ed tofly at an IM

AA

Sanctioned event.

3.5 Proof of F

light:T

he completing and signing of

the Declaration section of the S

afety Inspection formby the pilot (or ow

ner) shall document as fact that

each aircraft has been successfully flight-tested andproven airw

orthy prior to an IMA

A event.

Sectio

n 5.0:

EM

ER

GE

NC

Y E

NG

INE

SH

UT

OF

F(kill sw

itch)

5.1 All m

agneto spark ignition engines must have a

coil grounding switch on the aircraft to stop the

engine.This w

ill also prevent accidental starting ofthe engine.T

his switch shall be readily available to

both pilot and helper.This sw

itch is to be operatedm

anually and without the use of the radio system

.

5.2 E

ngines w

ith battery

power

ignition system

sm

ust have a switch to turn off the pow

er from the

battery pack to disable the engine from firing.T

hisw

ill also prevent accidental starting of the engine.T

his switch shall be readily available to both pilot

and helper.This sw

itch shall be operated manually

and without the use of the R

adio System

.

5.3 There m

ust also be a means to stop the engine

from the transm

itter.The m

ost comm

on method is to

close the carburetor throat completely using throttle

trim.

How

ever, other methods are acceptable.

This

requirement applies to all glow

/gas ignition enginesregardless of size.

Sectio

n 6.0:

RA

DIO

RE

QU

IRE

ME

NT

S

6.1 All transm

itters must be F

CC

type certified.

6.2 FC

C Technician or higher-class license required

for 6 meter band operation only.

Ad

ditio

nal IM

AA

Gen

eral Reco

mm

end

ation

s

The follow

ing recomm

endations are included in theS

afety Code not to police such item

s, but rather tooffer basic suggestions for enhanced safety.

Servos need to be of a rating capable to handle the

loads that the control surfaces impose upon the

servos.S

tandard servos are not recomm

ended forcontrol surfaces.S

ervos should be rated heavy-duty.F

or flight-critical control functions a minim

um of 45

inch/ounces of torque should be considered.T

hisshould be considered a m

inimum

for smaller aircraft

- 42-

and higher torque servos are strongly encouragedfor larger aircraft.

The use of one servo for each

aileron and one for each elevator half is stronglyre

com

me

nd

ed

.U

se

of

du

al

servo

s is

also

recomm

ended for larger aircraft.

On-board batteries shall be 1000 m

Ah up to 20 lbs.,

1200 mA

h to 30 lbs., 1800 mA

h to 40 lbs.and 2000

mA

h over 40 lbs.flying weight.T

he number and size of

servos, size and loads on control surfaces, and addedfeatures should be considered as an increase to thesem

inimum

s.Batteries should be able to sustain pow

er tothe onboard radio com

ponents for a minim

um of one

hour total flying time before recharging.

Bo

th

red

un

da

nt

an

d

fail-sa

fe

ba

ttery

system

s are recom

mended.

Th

e

use

o

f a

nti-g

litch

device

s fo

r lo

ng

le

ad

s are recom

mended.

There is no m

aximum

engine displacement lim

it, asit is the position of this body that an underpow

ereda

ircraft

pre

sen

ts a

gre

ate

r d

an

ge

r th

an

a

noverpow

ered aircraft.

How

ever, the

selection of

engine size relative to airframe strength and pow

erloading m

andates good discretionary judgment by

the designer and builder.C

urrent AM

A m

aximum

sfor engine displacem

ent are 6.0 cu.in.for two-stroke

and 9.6

cu.in.

for four-stroke

engines.T

hesem

aximum

s apply only to AM

A S

anctions concerningcom

petition events (such as 511, 512, 515 and 520)and, as such, the m

aximum

s apply.A

ll IMA

A (non

competition) events should be sanctioned as C

lass“C

”events, in which these engine size m

aximum

s donot apply.

Generally, it is recom

mended that no attem

pt shouldbe m

ade to fly a radio controlled model aircraft w

itha gasoline engine in w

hich the model aircraft w

eightw

ould exceed twelve (12) pounds (underpow

ered)per cubic inch of engine displacem

ent, or be lessthan five (5) pounds (overpow

ered) per cubic inch ofengine displacem

ent.E

xample:

Using a 3 cu.

in.engine, a m

odel would likely be underpow

ered at an

aircraft weight greater than 36 pounds.

With the

same

engine, an

aircraft w

eighing less

than 15

pounds would likely be overpow

ered.

Servo arm

s and wheels should be rated heavy duty.

Glass-filled

servo arm

s and

control horns

are highly recom

mended.

Co

ntro

l su

rface

s lin

kag

es

are

liste

d

in

ord

er

of preference:

1.C

able system

(pull-pull).

A

tiller bar

is highly

recomm

ended along with necessary bracing.

2.Arrow

Shaft, fiberglass or alum

inum, 1/4" or 5/16"

[6 or 8mm

] O.D

.bracing every six (6) to ten (10)

inches is highly recomm

ended.

3.Tube-in-tube (nyrod).Bracing every few

inches ishighly recom

mended.

Inner tube should be totallyenclosed in outer tube.

4.H

ardwood dow

el, 3/8" O.D

.bracing every six (6)

to ten (10) inches is highly recomm

ended.

Hin

ge

s sh

ou

ld

be

ra

ted

h

eavy

du

ty a

nd

ma

nufa

cture

d

for

Gia

nt

Sca

le

use

p

rima

rily.H

om

em

ad

e

an

d

orig

ina

l d

esig

n

hin

ge

s a

reacceptable if determ

ined to be adequate for theintended use.C

levis (steel,

excluding heavy-duty

ball links)

andattachm

ent hardw

are should

be heavy

duty 4-40

threaded rod type.2-56 threaded size rod is acceptablefor som

e applications (e.g.throttle).

Clevis is to have

lock nuts and sleeve or spring keepers.

Propeller tips should be painted or colored in a

visible and contrasting manner so as to increase the

visibility of the propeller tip arc.

FLY

ING

The Top F

lite Giant P

-51D M

ustang AR

F is a great-

flying model that flies sm

oothly and predictably.The

Mustang

does not,

however,

possess the

self-recovery characteristics of a prim

ary R/C

trainer andshould be flow

n only by experienced R/C

pilots.

Fu

el Mixtu

re Ad

justm

ents

A

fully

cowle

d

en

gin

e

may

run

a

t a

h

igh

er

temperature

than an

un-cowled

engine.F

or this

reason, the fuel mixture should be richened so the

engine runs at about 200 rpm below

peak speed.By

running the engine slightly rich, you will help prevent

dead-stick landings caused by overheating.

CA

UT

ION

(TH

IS

AP

PLIE

S

TO

ALL

R/C

AIR

PLA

NE

S):If, w

hile flying, you notice an alarming

or unusual sound such as a low-pitched “buzz,”this

may indicate control surface flutter.

Flutter occurs

when

a control

surface (such

as an

aileron or

elevator) or a flying surface (such as a wing or stab)

rapidly vibrates up and down (thus causing the

noise).In

extreme

cases, if

not detected

imm

ediately, flutter can actually cause the controlsurface to detach or the flying surface to fail, thuscausing loss of control follow

ed by an impending

crash.The best thing to do w

hen flutter is detected isto slow

the model im

mediately

by reducing power,

then land as soon as safely possible.Identify which

surface fluttered (so the problem m

ay be resolved)by checking all the servo grom

mets for deterioration

or signs

of vibration.

Make

certain all

pushrodlinkages are secure and free of play.

If it flutteredonce, under sim

ilar circumstances it w

ill probablyflutter again unless the problem

is fixed.Som

e thingsw

hich can cause flutter are;E

xcessive hinge gap;N

ot mounting control horns solidly;P

oor fit of clevispin in horn;

Side-play of w

ire pushrods caused bylarge bends;

Excessive free play in servo gears;

Insecure servo

mounting;

and one

of the

most

prevalent causes of flutter;Flying an over-pow

eredm

odel at excessive speeds.

- 43-

Takeoff

Before you get ready to takeoff, see how

the model

handles on the ground by doing a few practice runs

at low

speed

son the runw

ay.Hold “up”

elevator tokeep the tail w

heel on the ground.If necessary,

adjust the tail wheel so the m

odel will roll straight

down the runw

ay.If you need to calm

your nervesbefore the m

aiden flight, shut the engine down and

bring the model back into the pits.Top off the fuel,

then check all fasteners and control linkages forpeace of m

ind.

If possible, takeoff directly into the wind.T

he Giant

P-51 handles crossw

ind takeoffs well, but taking off

directly into the wind is usually desired—

use therudder as necessary to m

aintain heading.W

henready, advance the throttle and hold a bit of upelevator to keep the tail on the ground to m

aintaintail

wheel

steering.A

s the

model

gains speed

decrease up elevator allowing the tail to com

e off theground.

One

of the

most

important

things to

remem

ber with a tail dragger that has a large engine

is to

always

be ready

to apply

righ

trudder

tocounteract engine torque.

Gain as m

uch speed asyour

runway

and flying

site w

ill practically

allowbefore gently applying up elevator lifting the m

odelinto the air.

At this m

oment it is likely that you w

illneed

to apply

more

right rudder

to counteract

engine torque.Be sm

ooth on the elevator stick andretract the gear w

hen comfortable.A

llow the m

odelto establish a g

entle

climb to a safe altitude before

turning into the traffic pattern.

Flig

ht

For reassurance and to keep an eye on other traffic,

it is a good idea to have an assistant on the flight linew

ith you.Tell him to rem

ind you to throttle back oncethe plane gets to a com

fortable altitude.W

hile fullthrottle is usually desirable for takeoff, m

ost models

fly more sm

oothly at reduced speeds.

Take it easy with the M

ustang for the first few flights,

gradually getting

acquainted w

ith it

as you

gainconfidence.A

djust the trims to m

aintain straight andlevel flight.A

fter flying around for a while, and w

hile

still at a safe altitude with plenty of fuel, practice slow

flight and execute practice landing approaches byreducing the throttle to see how

the model handles

at slower speeds.A

dd power to see how

she climbs

as well.

Continue to fly around, executing various

maneuvers

and m

aking m

ental notes

(or having

your assistant write them

down) of w

hat trim or C

.G.

changes may be required to fine tune the m

odel soit flies the w

ay you like.Mind your fuel level, but use

this first flight to become fam

iliar with your m

odelbefore landing.

Lan

din

gO

ne of the keys to landing a giant-scale model is to

maintain sufficient airspeed throughout the landing

ap

pro

ach

.A

n

unu

sua

lly h

igh

a

irspe

ed

is

no

tnecessary, but those unfam

iliar with landing giant-

scale m

odels are

sometim

es deceived

by the

model’s larger size.

Larger models often appear to

be closer than they actually are.A

dditionally, most

giant-scale models slow

down rapidly, thus causing

the uninitiated to land short.To avoid this initial

illusion, make your landing pattern closer than you

normally m

ight for a .40-size sport model.A

lso, don’tpull the throttle all the w

ay back and leave it therethe w

ay you normally w

ould.Instead, m

omentarily

pull the throttle all the way back, but then advance it

a “click”or tw

o to keep the engine RP

M up and

maintain airspeed.

Once over the runw

ay you cancut the throttle the rest of the w

ay and the model w

illslow

for the landing flare.

The P

-51 may be landed w

ith or without flaps.F

lapsincrease lift and drag, so the plane m

ay be landedslow

er, thus reducing rollout after touchdown (not as

much of a factor on grass runw

ays).To initiate a

landing approach, lower the throttle w

hile on thedow

nwind leg.If using flaps, allow

the model to slow

before extending them.C

ontinue to lose altitude, butm

aintain airspeed by keeping the nose down as you

turn onto the crosswind leg.

Make the final turn

toward the runw

ay (into the wind) keeping the nose

down to m

aintain airspeed and control.If using flapskeep a few

additional “clicks”of pow

er so the model

doesn’t slow to

om

uch.Level the attitude when the

model reaches the runw

ay threshold, modulating

the throttle as necessary to maintain the glide path

and airspeed.If overshooting, smoothly advance the

thro

ttle

(alw

ays re

ad

y o

n

the

rig

ht

rud

de

r to

counteract torque)

and retract

the flaps

when

enough airspeed

is gained.

Clim

b out

to m

akeanother attem

pt.When the m

odel is a foot or so offthe deck and you are ready to m

ake the landingflare, sm

oothly increase up elevator until it gentlytouches dow

n.Once the m

odel is on the runway and

has lost flying speed, hold up elevator to hold the tailon the ground, thus m

aintaining tail wheel steering.

No

te:If ever the occasion arises w

hen a dead-sticklanding m

ust be performed, do not extend the flaps

until certainthe m

odel will be able to reach the

landing zone (on dead-stick landings it is comm

on toland w

ith no flaps at all).Without engine pow

er, flapscan unexpectedly reduce the m

odel’s range, thuscausing you to com

e up short of the field.

One final note about flying your G

iant P-51.H

ave a goalor flight plan in m

ind for every flight.The goal could be

learning a

new

maneuver,

perfecting know

nm

aneuvers, or learning how the m

odel behaves incertain conditions (such as on high or low

rates).This is

not necessarily to improve your skills (though it is never

a bad idea!), but

more

importantly

so you

do not

surprise yourself

by im

pu

lsivelyattem

pting a

maneuver

without

any planning.

Every

maneuver

should be deliberate.For example, if you’re going to do

a loop, plan it out—check your altitude, m

ind the wind

direction (anticipating rudder corrections that will be

required to maintain heading), rem

ember to throttle

back on the down side, and m

ake certain you are on thedesired

rates (high/low

rates).

A

flight plan

greatlyreduces the chances of crashing just because of poorplanning and im

pulsive moves.R

emem

ber to think!

Have a b

all! Bu

t always stay in

con

trol an

d fly in

a safe man

ner.

GO

OD

LU

CK

AN

D G

RE

AT

FLY

ING

!

- 44-

- 45-

Economical gasoline pow

er for quarter- and giant-scale.

Boost realism and cut fuel costs! The 41cc burns an inexpensive

blend of unleaded gasoline and 2-cycle oil for fuel; plus, theincluded spring-starter m

akes an electric starter, starter batteryand glow

starter unnecessary. Other features: Internal, solid

state electronic ignition; smooth, dynam

ically balanced flywheel;

chrome-plated cylinder bore; full roller bearings; engine m

ount;and a 2-year w

arranty.

U.S. Engines

�41cc 2.5 R

/C Engine (U

SEG0041)

Great for alm

ost any rechargeable R/C

battery!

It weighs barely a pound and m

easures only about the size of athick paperback book - but the Triton is so versatile, you can useit w

ith lithium-ion, lithium

polymer and lead-acid batteries as

effectively as NiC

d and NiM

H cells. It w

ill peak tiny park flyerpacks and 24V car batteries alike - and can discharge as w

ell ascharge, cycle packs from

1 to 10 times autom

atically, mem

orizepeak

and average

battery voltages

for each

cycle, and

constantly display battery capacity, voltage, current and time as

each cycle progresses. 1-year warranty.

Great Planes

®ElectriFly�

Triton�

(GPM

M3150)

Com

puterized DC

Peak Charger/D

ischarger/Cycler

- 46-

More value for the dollar - m

ore possibilities for the pilot!

With a 9C

, the sky's the limit - and D

ial N' Key program

ming puts

it within easy reach. There's a rotary dial for finding functions,

push-buttons to do everything else, and more possibilities than

you'd ever imagine. Experim

ent with triple rates. See the travel

of each servo on a bar graph and reset the limits of any you w

ish.D

elete an auxiliary function and substitute a custom m

ix, orassign it to a different knob or sw

itch - even to one of the two

proportional slider switches. Factory program

ming enables the

transmitter to be used for airplanes, helis or sailplanes.

Receiver: R

149DP

Servos: (4) S9001Tx N

iCd: 700m

AhR

x NiC

d: 1000mAh

Band: 50, 72M

Hz

Modulation: PC

M

Futaba®9C

9-Channel R

adio System (FU

TJ88**)

For precise dual servo control without m

ixing!

With the SR

10, you can control two servos on a single channel

without special m

otors or mixing. Easy to install, sim

ple to trim -

and equipped with an R

F noise filter for signal clarity. Ideal forcars, boats or tw

o-servo control surfaces on large-scale craft. 1-year w

arranty.

Futaba®SR

10 Dual Servo R

everser (FUTM

4150)

- 47-

U.S

.41ccE

NG

INE

MO

UN

T T

EM

PL

AT

E

Cut out or m

ake a copy of this identificationtag.

Fill in the appropriate inform

ation andplace it on or inside the m

odel.

This m

odel belongs to:

Nam

e

Address

City,S

tate Zip

Phone num

ber

AM

A num

ber

This m

odel belongs to:

Nam

e

Address

City,S

tate Zip

Phone num

ber

AM

A num

ber

- 48-