I had to think seriously about sharing this article,yes in my opinion I built a sweet looking plane but the maiden  didn't end so well.I have no flight footage,only pictures,a damaged but not lost plane... and am more than a little frustrated !!

So why share then ?  Well if like me,you consider yourself a Scratch Builder or even want too start Scratch building then this article is for you.I've been Scratch Building planes for nearly 2 years and the thing about this hobby,probably the most frustrating thing I have learned is you are more likely too have far more failures than flights when you are building an unproven design.

Look on You Tube,forums,anywhere really and you will see hundreds of successful maidens....this doesn't happen without practice,just remember every process is a practice for your next build.

So onto my build....

  The P51-B

Wingspan 1150mm

Fuselage 1000mm

AUW 1330grams

E-Power BL2815 Brushless Outrunner Motor 1400KV

80Amp ESC

4x E Power 8.5g micro servo

2x E Power 20g micro servo

3 blade 11x8.5 prop

3s 25c 2200mh Gens Ace

There isnt really any build shots,but I will show what I got :)

 Along side a Spitfie for size comparison

 I even achieved the elusive leading edge on the wing,not something many have tried too recreate.Working flaps are also included :).

Control surfaces via 'Snakes'...Shall cover them later...!!!

Battery access

Canopy

The inspiration....

Painted....

Double skinned tail surfaces....

So did she fly ? perfectly,even the CG was spot on then after roughly 2 or 300 yards she went down,belly landing on the road and stopping when she hit an imovable object :(

The cause....a faulty piece of kit...

This is the Elevator control snakes,it broke right behind the alloy insert causing me too lose control :(

The damage wasn't too bad to be honest,however I do need too redesign my tail surfaces and think about better linkages

The strange thing is I cant figure out how the tail sheered across the foam like this,there is no damage too the tail or underside of the fuselage and it never hit anything upon landing...or well ....crashing :(

The only damage is the control snake that snapped ??

Oh and I bent the motor shaft....but all in all this bird will fly again.And when she does ....there will be video :D

I guess this isn't a typical article showing resounding success,it's more of a sob story :) but one I'm sure many of us have experienced and no doubt many new comers to the hobby shall too.

The moral is tho things like this do happen,yes it is frustrating and yes it does make you wonder why bother sometimes.Then the day comes when your design,your build,your work flies off into the sky...then lands successfully.This is the reason we do what we do....

It is an incredible memory :)

Thanks for reading

Scottie

P.S.

Since I wrote this article,I've made another fuselage,the mk2 :).

It flies,build article too follow but for now a happy ending after all.....

the video......

http://youtu.be/URjMfs0OpQo