A small syndicate of 'older' pilots have a T51 in progress at Ardmore, NZ. It is not an easy build and the basic kit leaves a lot of work if you want a finish and build quality anything more than basic. Originally the factory quoted 600 hours to complete; this was revised to 1600 hours a couple of years back. We are 1900 hours and counting, but we are trying to build a more maintainable, shiny version without the pop rivets.
There are some quite decent photos of the last year of build progress here :
Picasa Web Albums - Ken - NZ Warbirds T...
We are using the Rotax 912 ULS and the standard 4 bladed CS prop and have a projected basic weight of 880 lbs which will allow this to comfortably fly as a microlight under NZ rules. At 12 lbs per HP and 11 lbs per Sq Ft she should perform quite nicely once the gear is up - we shall see. Certainly the 20L / Hour fuel flow is the consolation.
The biggest concern is CofG which naturally falls too far aft - no problem if you are using the manufacturer's MAUW of 1450 Lbs but as a ML at 1200 lbs this is a waste at best. 30-40 lbs of nose ballast is not really on, so we have taken the radiators out of the dog box and put them under the engine; where there is room for a single bed anyway. This mod scored another weight bonus as it dispensed with 4 x 13ft runs of tubing and associated fluids.
Size wise she is a squeeze in the back cockpit for a 6 footer, but we have dumped the center tank and used the space for a rear seat footwell and put the rear pedals there rather than alongside the front seat. It is now quite an acceptable perch for a 6+ footer without getting terminal cramp after 15 minutes. This also allowed slightly wider and more comfy seat pans.
The scale is 75% overall with 24.5ft wingspan. This is functionally identical to the Thunder's scale. So much so that we have used the 'dog box' mold from a Thunder for our underbelly scoop as it a better scale shape than that supplied - plus ours is now a lighter shell; not having to house anything other than an air ram for cockpit ventilation.
Currently we are looking at a Christmas roll out, but we are not betting on which Christmas
