I had the pleasure of checking out this new plane at SEFF. I know some people are unhappy that it is essentially a rerelease rather than a completely new model, but I am still very excited about it.

Here are some pictures I took:

Here is what I learned from talking with some ParkZone reps at SEFF:

The plane should be out in 5-7 weeks. You can order it online, but planes will be sent to LHS's a week before internet orders go out, so you might get one sooner from your LHS.

Cost will be $179 for the bind and fly version.

Good new: It has a brushless 480 motor--same as in the Corsair. It also comes with an AR5000 receiver. The airframe is slightly small and lighter - and much sleaker - than the T-28 or Corsair. Edit: Another plus is that the plane is made of 100% z-foam instead of the original's vinyl-covered foam.

Not so good news: To keep costs down, PZ made some compromises. First, it starts out as a three-channel model, but they give you the equipment to add rudder control and it should be a very easy mod. Second, it only has an 18 amp ESC. Third, the battery is only a 3S 1300 mA--same as the new Super Cub LP. Finally, it has been propped down slightly from the T-28/Corsair.

Personally, getting one of these is a no-brainer for me. I had already been close to buying their old P-51, ripping out the guts, and installing a BL motor, ESC, and 2.4 GHz receiver. PZ has now basically already done that for me.

My PZ Corsair has a Power 15, 40 amp ESC, and is running on 4S lipos. The problem is that the airframe and wing design limit to plane's top speed to some extent. From what I've heard, the T-28 can be made even faster than the Corsair (but the Corsair is far cooler looking .

I'm going to put the Power 15 in the P-51. With the lighter and sleaker design, it should be much faster than my Corsair. (I can put the BL 480 from the Mustang in my Corsair, but I also have a new Park 480 BL which should be a bit quicker.

I'm going to fly the P-51 on my 4S lipos. The set-up was generating over 500 watts in my Corsair. I think I will upgrade to an ESC rated for even more anps than the 40-amp one currently in the Corsair. Then I should really be able to prop the P-51 even more aggressively for speed. Probably need at least 60 amps, maybe more. I'll have to get some help calculating the best prop/ESC combo for the Power 15 and 4S batteries.

Speaking of 4S lipos, I picked up 2 new one's at SEFF. One is a no name 18 C made in Korea -- hopefully a cut above China cheapies. I won it in the raffle (along with a $70 set of Mercury CAs in a caddy .

Even cooler is the 4S 2250 mA ThunderPower I picked up for half price. They had a special deal offering 50% any battery if you turned in any old lipo--any brand, any condition. I didn't know about this before I went, but a very nice older gentleman gave me one of his worn-out batteries so I could take advantage of the deal. Anyway, I asked for the 30C version. It lists for $100, but I got it for $50. Even sweeter, when I left the booth I realized they had actually given me a 40C pro version. I don't think this has officially been released to the public yet, but apparently they were sold out of the 30Cs. Sweet!

Finally, I might do something about the nose art. I'd rather have an attractive young lady instead of a short, fat "gunfighter."

Does anyone know if this thing has a spare in the wing? The original had nog FG or CF but a foam one. W/out it thats another mod.

Here is video of the PZ P-51 I shot at SEFF on Friday, May 1, 2009. The quality is not perfect -- I've learned the need to manual focus to infinity, among other things, but still some video is better than nothing. It was fairly windy during the demo, yet the Mustang seemed to handle it pretty well--probably better than the T-28 or Corsair.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MgSuHXBSfe0

brati, I vaguely remember them mentioning a spar when I asked about the possibility of retracts or flaps, but hopefully someone will know for sure.

Speaking of flaps, anyone think that they would be a good addition? I'm guessing the plane could come in a bit hotter than my Corsair, especially with the set up I propose above, so flaps might really help.

IMHO, flap mods would just add weight to a light weight plane. i traditionally use spoilerons to bleed speed of if needed. Another side benefit would be added washout at the wing tips since the ailerons would be up making the plane more at slower speeds. When I had my old PZ Mustang I felt it was unneeded.

Originally Posted by brati4

IMHO, flap mods would just add weight to a light weight plane. i traditionally use spoilerons to bleed speed of if needed. Another side benefit would be added washout at the wing tips since the ailerons would be up making the plane more at slower speeds. When I had my old PZ Mustang I felt it was unneeded.

You make a good point, brati. Without one in hand, I haven't weighed stock versus my proposed set up, nor for that matter the difference in speed between stock and my set up -- though I tend to think mine will be a little faster!

Programming in spoilerons would certainly be much faster to try, and if it works, there's no need to cut into the wing for flaps.

As for a spar, I'm probably going back to the SEFF field for a little early flying, so I'll ask. Does the T-28 have one BTW? My guess is that if the skipped a spar in T-28s, they might leave it out of the P-51 too. The curves in the Corsair wings probably made spars a necessity.

Originally Posted by dabesq

You make a good point, brati. Without one in hand, I haven't weighed stock versus my proposed set up, nor for that matter the difference in speed between stock and my set up -- though I tend to think mine will be a little faster!

Programming in spoilerons would certainly be much faster to try, and if it works, there's no need to cut into the wing for flaps.

As for a spar, I'm probably going back to the SEFF field for a little early flying, so I'll ask. Does the T-28 have one BTW? My guess is that if the skipped a spar in T-28s, they might leave it out of the P-51 too. The curves in the Corsair wings probably made spars a necessity.

The T-28 does have a spar in it, it is a FG one and not CF. Please ask the reps, if the motor mount is the same as the T-28. I have a after-market motor and speed control sitting in the drawer. It was from my now retired T-28.

I will ask about that too, but -- just guessing -- it would probaby make sense for them to use the same mount since it is the same motor.

I'll let you know what I find out.

I'll be the first to admit I was a little let down when the news was passed down, but the more I look at the Gunfighter, the more I'm liking it. The main thing I'm thinking of is making a Pylon Racer out of it, bigger ESC, prop and 2200 3S. But I'll give HH a thumbs up for this, poor 'ol Frankie's been in need of an update for awhile now, and this'll fit the bill nicely.

By the way, if you squint between the crowd at the end of the vid up top, she slows to a crawl before she plops down, so flaps really arn't needed.

Originally Posted by dabesq

I will ask about that too, but -- just guessing -- it would probaby make sense for them to use the same mount since it is the same motor.

I'll let you know what I find out.

Thanks for the information. Does it have some place to grab it underneath for launching like the FW190 and Spitfire?

Any reason they refuse to put landing gear on these planes so you can take off? I hate hand launching.

Originally Posted by Gohmer

Thanks for the information. Does it have some place to grab it underneath for launching like the FW190 and Spitfire?

good point

From the looks of the fly by on the HH page site, no. But it does look to have a slide plate under the nose and covering the scoop on the bottom of the wing, that may be enough to use as a grip.

Another minor concern...is the plane going to include a pair of covers for the wing servo horns? My club field's grass gets a little high between cuttings, and I've stripped my fair share of servos snagging the grass.