Well the T51 serial 70 flew on the 9th March 2010. After 4 years building she flew very nicely. The CSU didn't - so speed was restricted by RPM, but that is a simple fix. The first flight was a gear down, couple of circuits anyway. No handling issues, no cooling issues - nothing fell off
What more can you ask for ?
25 hours of flight testing / proving ahead for certification and she is done. I am looking forward to the flight testing as I am very keen to get some solid performance numbers on this (basic) T51 powerplant setup and see if our 'clean' airframe will give us a performance improvement relative to the amount of extra work involved. I doubt it - but she sure looks nice.
If the next few flights prove the cooling system is sound - it is a novel approach with both radiators up front in a 'managed flow' scoop - then we will not need to make any mods to the cowl openings and that final bit can have some paint.
So that is the end of the build phase, 4 years / 4500 man hours aghhhhh. Hopefully we can now get down to some flying...
Now about that 1/2 scale Mosquito
Movie at VIMEO.COM - search for T51 Mustang Ardmore. I have only just uploaded it, so I don't know what the quality is like. I will replace it on the same tags if it is a dud.
Unfortunately I was not there to see the first flight as I am up to my armpits doing the test acceptance on a new 777-300 CAE 7000 Sim. Never mind I will get my hands on it this weekend....
MG