P-51 Mustang Diary, page 2

Retrospective: Handles and levers

Saturday, 7th December, 2013

In my last blog I looked back on the construction and fitting of the engine control quadrant. Also prominent inside the cockpit are what the...
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Retrospective: Control quadrant

Wednesday, 4th December, 2013

In posting these pictures of the Mustang’s throttle quadrant, I propose more to show what was involved in its construction than to go into detail...
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Retrospective: Cockpit floor

Thursday, 26th September, 2013

Unlike the Spitfire, the P-51D has a cockpit floor. It extends from the engine firewall, aft under the pilot’s seat to the bulkhead that forms...
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Departure Day

Saturday, 7th September, 2013

So ends another chapter... My P-51D departed from Whaddon on the morning of September 3, 2013 on the 150-mile journey to the Royal Air Force...
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Retrospective: Rudder pedals

Sunday, 7th July, 2013

In this series of retrospectives, I look back at some elements of the model that were either omitted from this diary or undertaken before it...
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Retrospective: Fuselage frames

Tuesday, 2nd July, 2013

Way back at the conception of this project, I sourced a number of P-51D manufacturing drawings from the Smithsonian in Washington DC.  Among them were...
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Retrospective: Tail wheel strut

Thursday, 28th February, 2013

The P-51’s tail wheel assembly, which incorporates the aircraft’s steering mechanism, is a complex item to model. Most of it is hidden deep within the...
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Retrospective: Main landing gear

Thursday, 28th February, 2013

I designed the landing gear of my P-51D to be strong, a wise precaution given the model’s inexorable increase in weight as it progressed through...
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Retrospective: The chin scoop

Wednesday, 27th February, 2013

The P51’s chin scoop is one of the trickier parts of the airframe to model, but fortunately its subtle curves are captured in NAA cross...
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An end in sight

Monday, 25th February, 2013

With the fitting of the dummy tyres in February 2013, my model is almost complete. There remain minor finishing touches, including a few additional stencils...
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