North American P-51D Mustang (oz17012)

About this Plan

North American P-51D Mustang. Free flight scale model for rubber power. Wingspan 10-3/8 in.

Quote: "Mustang Fighter, by HK Weiss. After a lapse of several years we again present our popular 'Minute Models'.

HERE'S one of the super-fighters of the war: a ship that was in it from the beginning and grew to tremendous stature before it was over - the North American Mustang. The Mustang in its various verkions has seen service in all theatres of the war from France to Burma to Poland. Limited to a cruising range of only 600 miles back in 1940 when it first rolled off the drafting board, by 1945 it was flying bomber escort from England to Poland and back. It has been powered by the American Allison engine and the British Merlin. It appeared as a low altitude fighter, high altitude fighter, dive bomber, attack plane, and even as a two place trainer. It has carried as armament, rockets, wing bombs, fire bombs, and an arsenal of .50 caliber machine guns.

Finally, North American designers must have decided that the only thing better than a single Mustang was twins, because the P-82 - latest Mustang, developed too late to reach combat - was built up from P-51H parts with two almost standard fuselages, two engines, and two rudders, coupled to a single wing only 25% larger than a P-51H wing. The curious looking combination can be used as a night fighter with radar, attack plane with 14 machine guns for ground strafing, and a long range super escort fighter which will accompany its 'Big Friends' anywhere in the world. And it can do all this at 475 mph!

Our model however is the P-51D, one of the most highly developed of the single seaters. It can be distinguished from its predecessors primarily by its dorsal fin and bubble canopy. It's a small ship but ruggedly built, and a natural flyer, thanks to the original Mustang proportions.

WINGS AND TAIL: The wing is the starting point of construction. It is best assembled right over the plan, with a piece of waxed paper between the frame and the plan to keep the frame from sticking. The left half of the wing is course a mirror image of the right, dimensions can be transferred to th half directly from the right.

First cut out the ribs from 1/32 balsa. Cut leading edge, main spar and trailing edge from medium balsa, and taper them to fit the ribs. Pin them in place over the plan and cement the ribs firmly in place. It is a good idea to go over each cemented joint twice. Cement the additional piece of balsa that serve as wing fillet to the leading edge at the midsection.

When the frame is thoroughly dry, remove the pins and crack the spars carefully at the midsection so the tips can be raised for dihedral. Pin the frame down again, but this time with the tips each 1/2 in above the table top. Cement the mid-section carefully where it was cracked. While waiting for this to dry you can cut the wing tips from 1/16 sheet and cement them in place. When all the cement is dry loosen the frame, round off the leading edge, and trim the trailing edge to a thin line. If you've been careful about cementing all joints you'll have a rigid wing frame that you can work with easily. Finally, sand the whole frame carefully so the joints of ribs and spars are smooth and will not cause bumps under the tissue when the frame is covered.

The tail surfaces are 1/32 sheet balsa, carefully cut out with a razor blade and sanded smooth. The stab is made in one piece ane, as two 1/32 by 1/16 stiffeners cemented to it to keep it from warping or cracking.

FUSELAGE: The fuselage is built up right on the wing. Start by cutting two halves of each fuselage bulkhead from 1/16 or 1/8 sheet as indicated on the plan. Cement the halves together and re-inforce each bulkhead by two strips of 1/32 by 1/16 balsa cemented crosswise. You'll probably find it tedious to add these little strips, but they keep the fuselage from being easily crushed by rough handling (why do people like to squeeze fuselages?) and are well worth the trouble of putting them in.

Cement bulkheads C, D and F firmly to the wing centersection and add the two main 1/8 x 1/16 side stringers. The remaining bulkheads are added to these stringers, then the 1/16 sq stringers are added. The stringers are all trimmed neatly at the tail, and the 1/16 by 1/8 tailpost added. The side panels of 1/32 sheet which form the belly airscoop are added, together with the airscoop front spacer of 1/8 by 3/16 balsa..."

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Update 21/9/2026: Added complete article, thanks to MikeKelly.

Update 21/9/2026: Have resized this plan down to the original scale as printed, with wingspan 10-3/8 in.

Supplementary file notes

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