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P-51D Mustang

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
Can't be, a Merlin would not fit in one of those scaled down Mustangs. If you look closely at the cockpit, you will see these are not full size 1 to 1 replicas, but scaled down versions!
 

TXFlyGuy

Practically Family
Messages
970
Location
Texas
To answer the above...

The engines available are two V6's, a Suzuki and a Honda, plus the BMW (Rolls-Royce) V12. And the newest one is the 350 Chevy V8.

The Mustang is a 3/4 scale, with 28 foot wingspan (new, high speed wing), and a 24 foot fuselage. Tandem seating and you can fly it from the back seat.

Our aircraft will have a far better power to weight ratio than the original P-51. We will have the LS3 6.2 V8 Chevy engine. 350 HP AT 4,500 RPM.

The first Mustangs were powered by Allison V12's. Later the Merlin V12 built by Packard was introduced.

Titan does indeed have a full scale model under construction. And they have the Allison V12 to be installed in the Mustang when ready.
The full scale Mustang will run in excess of $500,000. The 3/4 scale can be built for 100 to 200K, depending on options.
 

Big J

Call Me a Cab
Messages
2,961
Location
Japan
Flyguy, I think what you guys are doing is amazing.
Like a lot of people (I guess) I dreamed of one day being wealthy enough to own a restored or repro P-51 (if you're a Brit, I'm sure you dreamed of tooling around in your own private Spitfire). Especially since these days the industry for getting these things flying seems to be pretty strong.

Then I realized that being a millionaire wasn't enough. Vintage warbirds have massive running costs, and require expensive routine maintenance by highly skilled professionals.

Of course, in the war this was all on the governments dime, but now you'd still have to be Tom Cruise to indulge that fantasy. I can't imagine I ever will.

But scaling down the design and using modern engines and stuff really puts it back within reach. Maybe one day, after the kids have grown up, I could downsize the house and treat myself. Although I don't know how the locals would feel about it!
 

TXFlyGuy

Practically Family
Messages
970
Location
Texas
You have got to have a dream Big J! and who knows what the future can bring you, eh?. Good luck.

Everything starts with a dream. My current job was a dream decades ago. Owning and flying a Mustang was also a long time dream.

I have flown the T-51D Mustang. With the V8 engine, the acceleration was unbelievable! Like a lightly loaded B-757 taking off at full power! The airplane handles like a dream. Easy to fly. But we are getting the new wing which has not flown yet. It should be flying by August. Can't wait to see the performance from this.

The saying is that this Mustang is 10% the cost of a full scale P-51, but 90% of the fun. The real Mustang sells for 2.4 million.
 

TXFlyGuy

Practically Family
Messages
970
Location
Texas
I have uploaded a few more videos. All very good. Check out the one with Bill Koleno flying at Sun 'n Fun. You get a first hand view of what it's like flying the Mustang.
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
Everything starts with a dream. My current job was a dream decades ago. Owning and flying a Mustang was also a long time dream.

I have flown the T-51D Mustang. With the V8 engine, the acceleration was unbelievable! Like a lightly loaded B-757 taking off at full power! The airplane handles like a dream. Easy to fly. But we are getting the new wing which has not flown yet. It should be flying by August. Can't wait to see the performance from this.

The saying is that this Mustang is 10% the cost of a full scale P-51, but 90% of the fun. The real Mustang sells for 2.4 million.

I remembered, back in the 80s, my boss wanted a full size P-51, so I went looking for one. I finally found a B model for $350,000, I also found a Seafury with a spare Bristol Centaurus engine for only $125,000. He ended up buying a Lockheed PV2D Harpoon, which was a lot of fun to fly. Who would have thought $350,000 would be the good old days!
 

TXFlyGuy

Practically Family
Messages
970
Location
Texas
I remembered, back in the 80s, my boss wanted a full size P-51, so I went looking for one. I finally found a B model for $350,000, I also found a Seafury with a spare Bristol Centaurus engine for only $125,000. He ended up buying a Lockheed PV2D Harpoon, which was a lot of fun to fly. Who would have thought $350,000 would be the good old days!

In the early 70's, you could buy a P-51 with a spare engine for $50,000. In the late 50's, they almost gave these things away. I know of one that sold for $150.
 

Stearmen

I'll Lock Up
Messages
7,202
In the early 70's, you could buy a P-51 with a spare engine for $50,000. In the late 50's, they almost gave these things away. I know of one that sold for $150.

I once mentioned to my Mother, that Canada was selling their P-51s with a spare engine for $1,000 in the early 60s, she just said, "who had a spare thousand dollars lying around!"
 

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