thePMFC.co.uk: feature

The Hangar 9 P-51 Trainer.  by Jonny Spall

OK, now I'm no kid, I am slowly gaining my 34 hours to gain my own PPL (Private Pilots License), am studying for exams in meteorology, VFR, aerial map rules and flight engineering and think I have a good understanding of the rules of flight. Just thought I would point out that I'm not an 8 year old with a thirst for speed!! Anyway, I spent months choosing a good trainer to learn the art of model aircraft flight. I am a WW2 enthusiast (inherited from my father I guess) so why would I choose a plane that looks like the box it came in when there was the option of the new Hangar 9 P-51 Trainer? God no. After reading the publicity from Hangar-9 - That was the one for me!

I enjoy the building as much as the flying - so the "almost ready to fly" P-51 was a good choice. Gave me the chance to assemble the mostly ready parts and install all the electronics and power unit. I spent every day for about 4 weeks building this aircraft (ask my girlfriend!) but it was fun. Every attention to detail was looked at and this plane was gorgeous to look at with it's "Operation Overlord" markings! (the small arrows to the left will help you to scroll through this review by the way)

I took advantage of the rare good weather one weekend in December to take my new creation to our fantastic airfield at Parham to subject the plane to its maiden flight.

Me? A total novice? Take it up I hear you say? Oh no! – leave it to the professionals I say! Colin Hostler – who is grade E – whatever that means – and could probably fly a tractor if it pleased him - kindly agreed to fly my shiny new plane.

At take off, one of the wing attachments instantly fell off – more about this in a moment. These pieces of plastic are attached to each wing to slow the plane down, to add lift and help a novice by adding drag and creating a slow, cumbersome effect on the flight - together with the “airbrakes” on the landing struts. But instantly, we were in trouble with one wing trying to go slower than the other - and efectively, one wing just simply fell off! The rules of gravity instantly took over.

Colin immediately said “let’s bring this straight back and have a look” but it was apparent we were about to land sooner than we hoped from the minute we took off. How Colin managed to get this P-51 on the floor within walking distance I will never know. The plane was totally uncontrollable – not responding to the controlls at all. Inevitably, but close to the landing strip, I struggled against the mud to collect my £600 plane from its resting place - but I am so thankful I had a pro at the controls which undoubtedly lessened the damage. A bit of glue and time would soon have this P-51 back in the air!

The P-51 is not a trainer, and after talking to many experts, this is a gorgeous scale model (which is basically a superb Hagar-9 P-51 scale model) and once you strip off the “beginner aids” is a superb airplane, but NOT a trainer. I totally do not blame anyone for my P-51’s early problems – if Colin Hosler can’t fly it – it can’t be flown! In fact – thank you Colin – the repair cost will be around £30 instead of £300 thanks to you!

In conclusion, don’t let your enthusiasm run away with you. The Hangar-9 PTS P-51 is a bad trainer airplane. I have now stored the repaired P-51 for when I’m more advanced or small enough to sit in the cockpit and have bought 2 new plane models – one is a Cessna 310 twin engine project that I will work on in my workshop for a few months while I learn to fly on my other purchase, a Tiger Thunder 60 Trainer (which is perfect for my current engine). OK so it looks like a box – but I bet I will come home from the airfield a little happier next time!

Just one additional point – my Saito .82a 4 stroke engine was leaking fuel/oil big time during my initial flight – this loosened the adhesive for the wing attachment. This is now being replaced. A £200 engine that lasted less time than Beta max video? – Jonny Spall.

Since November 21st 2006