Mustang (oz9078)

About this Plan

Mustang. Control line stunt model.

Quote: "It's not just another P-51 - it's a superior stunting machine capable of holding its own with the best competitors, and in addition it has the eye catching appeal of outstanding scale appearance in civilian colors! P-51 Mustang Stunter, by Michael Gretz.

I can almost hear it now. Someone out there must be saying: Why build another Mustang? That airplane is more overworked by model builders than it was by the Air Force.

Looking back now and trying to pinpoint why I chose it as a stunt subject is a perplexing problem. And trying to explain why the P-51 holds so much appeal for all model builders is even more difficult. It's hard to come up with any definite answers. It's like trying to explain in a few words why the Model-T Ford is a classic, or why modeling is a great hobby, or why you married your wife. I guess that it's because they can meet all the requirements.

The P-51 Mustang was flown, at one time or another, by the air forces of the U.S. and most of its allies. Over 15,000 had been built before the end of WWII. Some of them were still in service during the Korean war, and even later were used by the Air National Guard. During the 1960s they were still considered, and used, as first line equipment by some South American and South Pacific countries. Today, almost 30 years after the last one was built, there are over 100 airworthy Mustangs in the US being flown by air racers, showmen and courageous sport flyers.

The Mustang's straight lines, smooth curves, personality and record of performance fit just about everyone's notion of the ultimate mean machine. Add to this an almost endless variety of color schemes from the military, civilian and racing versions, and you have an airplane with a unique adaptability to modeling, All of these characteristics of the Mustang seemed to fit my specifications for an appealing yet very basic stunt ship.

I think that it is generally accepted (but not always admitted) that Control Line Precision Aerobatics is one of the most disciplined and demanding events with regard to the per-formance of both the pilot and the airplane. One pilot and one airplane, alone, must put together a polished, winning performance. The airplane must be capable of doing consistently perfect maneuvers with a dependability that allows the pilot to channel all of his efforts to the execution of each maneuver. It has to have adequate durability, without being heavy, to allow the pilot hundreds of flights under many different field and weather conditions. And it must also have enough visual impact to hold the attention of a judge who has already watched other stunters going through the same maneuvers. Even if you aren't involved in competition flying, you still need an airplane that can meet these requirements if you want trouble-free enjoyment of your flying time.

The Mustang Stunter has proven itself on all these counts. I am not making any claims about its being the ultimate stunt ship, be-cause there is no such animal (if there were, we could all stay home), but its flight per-formance is equal to the best competition ships, and I don't think that anyone will deny the appeal of a scale like model with an eye-catching color scheme. There are other stunt ships around that are more true to scale, but this airplane was designed to fill the needs of the average flyer. It is a basic and straightforward aircraft that is noticeably free of unnecessary gadgets and gimmicks. Overall, the airplane is slightly smaller than the average stunt ship in order to give a better power to weight ratio with a .35 engine..."

Mustang, MAN, May 1975.

Direct submission to Outerzone.

Supplementary file notes

Article pages, thanks to RFJ.

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