Best P51 homebuild??

[jbDC9]

The Titan looks great, but thats about it. I saw it as Oshkosh a couple years ago and was in love with it until I heard it flying. It sounded like a flying weedeater. I wish they'd design it to have at least an O-200.....

Or perhaps even bigger, maybe a 180 hp O-360... but that probably wouldn't fit in the cowling. I gotta agree with you, it's a great looking little ship, but with only 100 hp dragging around a fairly large airframe, the performance numbers look pretty tame. Performance wise, my 180 hp RV-8 will blow the doors (canopy?) off that thing for roughly the same amount of money to build. The Titan would cost over $70K by the time you add engine/prop/instruments to it, while my quick build RV-8 cost roughly $60-65K.

Cool thing about the RV-4 and RV-8, they have a bit of a P-51 look to them; taildragger, bubble canopy... only thing missing is the belly radiator scoop. Quite a few guys paint their RVs like P-51s... here's a few pics;
[FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva]http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0931771/M/
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva]http://www.airliners.net/open.file/1112206/M/
[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva][FONT=ARIAL, Helvetica, Geneva]http://www.airliners.net/open.file/0907518/M/[/FONT][/FONT][/FONT]

 

[sstearns2]

The Stewart mustang, S-51, is the closest thing to a real mustang you can get. They basically copied the structure of a real mustang at 3/4 scale. There are some around for sale. The kit is built for an iron big block V-8, which is a project in itself.

If you want a nice, fun airplane that you will finish in the next decade, then get an RV with the quick build option. If you want a lifetime project, get the S-51.

Scott

 

[Low Pass]

The Stewart mustang, S-51, is the closest thing to a real mustang you can get. They basically copied the structure of a real mustang at 3/4 scale. There are some around for sale. The kit is built for an iron big block V-8, which is a project in itself.

If you want a nice, fun airplane that you will finish in the next decade, then get an RV with the quick build option. If you want a lifetime project, get the S-51.

Scott

You got it right on re. the S-51. I believe that's what a couple of guys are building at my field. Beautiful work of art. But not sure I'd want to fly it after the thousands of man-hours of work. They are about 80% complete, with at least 80% to go!

I'm sure the S-51 will be a hit at the airshows. But nothing beats an RV for being able to fire up and go get upside down burning avgas for 30-40 minutes or pack up for the weekend and take a 500 mile trip.

 

[MarineGrunt]

Here's a few others:
http://www.falconaravia.com/
http://legendaryaircraft.com/

Info:
http://www.seas.ucla.edu/~osmith/s51/kits.html

 

[StaySeated]

I had a legendary aircraft guy in our jumpseat two days ago. He owns the mold or something like that and is starting up a company that will build the plane for you. I think he said they would run 250k for a vfr version.