T-51D "Sentinel" Trainer

[John Howling Mouse]

Hey, never let working on one project interfere with starting three others:

My concept dwg of the T-51D "Sentinel" Trainer (T-Tail, Turboprop two-seater).

Hurrayyyyyy--- I get to make another canopy master!    

Well, I AM considering reworking a T-33 canopy to match.

I also like the Ching Kuo (SP?) canopy from my 1:48 Zhengdefu kit.

I think a Tomcat's canopy is too big and too sleek.

 

[John Howling Mouse]

Yes, the tricycle landing gear means I get to:
a. completely rework the nose (which, you may have noticed, I've lengthened by 2 scale feet);
b. relocate the main gear wheel wells farther aft on the wing (will rip two kits to do this);

Tail is modified too.

Will be white with red tips and flash (typical believable trainer scheme):  USN, USAF or yet another CAF scheme?

[John Howling Mouse]

Sort of aft view.

At least I don't have to fit in scratchbuilt wing spars!!!    

[John Howling Mouse]

If this works, I plan on doing a second, COIN version with tiptanks and full armament/ordnance in two or three-tone camo.

[Ollie]

The paint scheme?  It should be automatic Barry!

RCAF!!!

Nice job!!

Can't wait to see it done!

   

[retro_seventies]

yes yes YES!  

GREAT idea Barry - and i'm with young Olivier on this one, CAF would be the way to go, to be sure!

maybe in one of the old t-33 schemes?

COIN version should be promising - New Iraqi Airforce?

LOVE it Baz    

[Captain Canada]

or yet another CAF scheme?

Blasphemy ! You say it like it's a bad thing !



The all-white with red tips makes me think about an early Snowbird !



Can't wait till she's all done, Bear ! Must be nice to have 'time' !

   

[John Howling Mouse]

Shortened version.  One of the hardest conversions (for me, anyhow) is to shorten a tapered shape since the cross-section plug you remove leaves you with too uneven lengths to try to mate back up.

But something about the slender tail on the mock-up makes it look too long and unbalanced.  It's keeping me up at nights.

Normal length or shortened----any preferences?

[Ollie]

The T-28 is not a close cousin to the P-51, even though they are both angular.

The canopy on the T-28 is a huuuuge piece of equipment, separated in two and it uses hydraulic pressure to move around.  I'd go for a side opening thing like you see on the Harvard II and its big brother, the PC-9.

They made tests on a P-51 with a T-28 as a chase plane and the Mustang couldn't turn with the T-28, nor match its initial climb rate and diving velocity (up to the red line).

And if you can, make your trainer smaller than the T-28, that thing is just too damn big!

 B)    

[Tophe]

    Wonderful! Our friend TSR-Joe had imagined a T-tail P-51 (below) a long time ago but this new one is not the same at all, inventing all over again! And actually built as a model! Great! Thanks!

[nev]

You.  Are.  Crazy.


 

[John Howling Mouse]

You.  Are.  Crazy.

You. Got. That. Right.

 

[Spellbinder99]

You ever see a picture of the Mustang that was being converted to use a Dart turboprop in Australia? They gave up halfway through and the aircraft ended up being restored back to original, but it looked very different with the honking great Dart on the front and no belly scoop.



Would probably work well in the context of what you are doing here.

Cheers

Tony

[John Howling Mouse]

You ever see a picture of the Mustang that was being converted to use a Dart turboprop in Australia? They gave up halfway through and the aircraft ended up being restored back to original, but it looked very different with the honking great Dart on the front and no belly scoop.


Cheers

Tony

Hey, Spellbinder99 (Tony), in case no one else has already done so: welcome aboard !

Great shot of that unique conversion---never saw that before.

Man, who has the guts to do our form of kitbashing in 1:1 scale using what most would consider to be invaluable icons---I mean, messing with a Mustang?

That takes some balls.

[Tophe]

You ever see a picture of the Mustang that was being converted to use a Dart turboprop in Australia? They gave up halfway through and the aircraft ended up being restored back to original.
Tony

Yes Tony, I had seen one picture (different from your one, thanks for this second ) of this very one before: page 130 of the book "Mustang" by Stewart Wilson, Sovereign Series, Aerospace Publications, 2001. The text was this: "Apart from Cavalier's Turbo Mustang III, another Dart-Mustang conversion was performed in Australia during 1971-72, again using a powerplant from a Viscount. The privately performed conversion of an ex RAAF CAC built aircraft was very similar to the Cavalier aircraft and was completed, although it never flew in the new configuration. It was subsequently restored to standard."
Well, the shape was so close to the Turbo-Mustang III that I did not include a special drawing of it in my "Virtual Mustangs" book, especially with no name for it...