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The Lanier P-51 Sport ARF is one of a series of four (4) Sport Almost Ready to Fly models produced by Lanier RC. All of these planes have essentially the same 45" fuselage and the same 63" fully symmetrical wingspan. Due to the airfoil, they are all advertised as sport/pattern planes and is by no means a first plane trainer. As this was the first ARF, there was no way of knowing what to expect. The parts in the box were very well wrapped for protection and no damage was noticed. There are two rolled plan sheets included. One sheet is a full size side and top view of the plane and the other sheet is a 21 - step instruction sheet. There is not a list of materials, but by going over the instruction sheet, it can be determined if everything is in the kit. The only hardware is the ABS parts, balsa strips for the aileron and elevator attachment, elevator and ailerons, and aileron and elevator control wires. All control rods, horns, etc., has to be purchased separately. This helps keep the price down for those on a budget. The airplane comes 90% completed and can be ready to fly in as little as 10 hours. The fuselage is vacuum formed ABS plastic bolstered by installed plywood crutches. The horizontal stabilizer and wing halves are molded foam pre-covered with fuel proof Aero Sheet, an adhesive backed thin ABS plastic. The wings have plywood spars and landing gear blocks pre-installed. The only adhesives needed are the supplied solvent (Air-O-Cement) used to bond the ABS parts together, 5 and 30 minute Epoxy. The fuselage has pre-marked areas which need to be cut out for the engine and wing. The 21 - step instruction sheet is well drawn but experience and interpretation is required for some procedures. The horizontal stabilizer slides into the fuselage and is glued in place with Air-O-Cement. The same is true with the vertical stabilizer. The only work to be done to the elevator is to hinge it to the stabilizer with the joining wire. The rudder is hinged with a brass rod and is held in place with epoxy at the bottom of the rudder with the tail wheel wire. The 3/4" pre-installed plywood engine mount is spaced for a .45 size engine and so it was necessary to trim it to fit an OS 60FP. There is plenty of room in the fuselage for a standard servo tray and servos. The only work that has to be done to the wing is to attach the center trailing edge ABS piece with the aileron control rods, pre-installed in the ABS trailing edge, and the ailerons. The leading edge ABS doubler is bonded to the center of the joined wing with Air-O-Cement. Then the plywood wing hold down block is epoxied to the leading edge doubler. The plane comes ready to rubber band the wings on but the instructions show how to convert it to bolt on wings. Because of a concern with the way the leading edge hold assembly was attached, a 1/4-20 hold down bolt was added to help hold the wing in place. The pre-formed landing gear slides into 5/32" holes and are expoxied in place. An OS 60FP with a Master Airscrew 10X8 prop was installed to provide power and a Futaba 6XA with 4 servos provides control. There appears to be room to install retracts and possibly flaps. As stated earlier, the plane can be ready to fly in as little as 10-12 hours but this one took considerably longer. The whole plane is white so the fuselage and wings were painted with LusterCoat Flight Aluminum and the nose was trimmed with a red checkerboard pattern. The aft end of the fuselage and the tail feathers were painted red. Since the P-51 is flown off of a grass field, Great Planes 3 1/2" treaded tires and a 1" tail wheel were installed. One problem that was found with the plans is that no CG is shown. The main spar was used as the balance point and it balanced fine. After the big was started, some taxi tests were done. The rudder throw was not adequate as turns were very large. The wind was from the north at about 7-8 with gusts to 12-15 so plane was taxied to the south end of the grass strip and pointed into the wind and power was applied. The plane tracked straight with just a little rudder input. The tail rose immediately and the P-51 was airborne in less that 25 feet. After climbing to about 150', the plane was trimmed for straight and level flight. The P-51 Sport is very agile and sensitive to any control input. Landing was easy. Base and final legs were made at about 50 feet. Once the model was lined up about 300 feet out, the throttle was reduced to idle and the P-51 settled in for a smooth touch down on the mains. The Lanier P-51 Sport and the other models in the series are recommended as a good inexpensive introduction to pattern flying. Even though the plane is essentially ABS plastic is very sound and solid. |
