Final Thoughts

I want to start off by saying that this plane was a labor of love. I built it from start to finish in under 3 weeks. While I'm sure that this is not a record for the build, it went together much faster than most of the other builders that have websites following the build. I was fortunate that I was on a summer job for the Navy prior to an assignment and had ample time to get this plane completed expeditiously.

This was in hindsight not an easy build, but it should be something a novice could do. I have build numerous model airplanes, and while I felt that the instructions may have been adequate, I went off the pictures, and basic knowledge and understanding from other builders, as well as the 4 drawings supplied with the plans.

Here are some pointers that I offer, in absolutely no order.

• When painting the parts, I do not think it was cost effective to use spray paint. I went through 6 cans of chrome at $7 a pop, before landing on a single can of chrome brush-on paint. using a cheap roller, you can almost make panel lines using a smaller roller, making it appear more scale. Even if you do one of the other paint schemes with a set of stock decals, this is a good tip.
• If you have all the tools for this job, you can come in WAY under what I spent to finish this project. I think the total cost came in just under $800. I was not careful in planning the paint, and I ended up with a lot of extra paint. Paint is expensive folks!
  
• Keep your reciepts. When you buy too much, or break something, most hardware stores have a great return policy. I recouped some of that $800 this way.
• Use birch plywood if possible. It may need to be special ordered. It is a denser wood that is less likely to spinter. This is also the kind of ply that is offered through the websight if you elect to get the precut peices.
  
• If you don't have a drill press or lathe, I really have to recommend going with the Zinger aluminum spinner and cutting it with some Wiss snips. It saves A LOT of time. I've read that the spinner was the most labor intensive portion of the build. I had mine cut and fine tuned in about an hour all together. Its fairly intuitive to attach everything, and with a Dremel tool, cutting the indents for the prop was a cinch.
• Bondo. I know it's a kids toy, but this covered a lot of blemmishes much better than the wood filler.
• Gorilla glue, if used, fills in a lot of cracks, but don't use it for a filler intentionally.
  
• Mistakes will likely happen along the way. I made a few. Some I caught before it was too late for the glue, but others I was not as lucky.
• Use 5 minute epoxy on the friction pulley and metal pedals. I tried regular glue, and it became impossible to cure. Also, do not leave the rubber band that goes from that pulley to drive the propeller on, as the tension will make it impossible for any glue to cure.
• Make a seat out of foam. At least a cushion for the butt. Enough said.
• Sanding is much easier if you use a palm sander. While you could hand sand, that would add hours to the build
• Build this outside in a shed or barn. If you have a detached garage, that would be good too. The saw dust in my shed was in places at leats 1/4" after a day of sanding.

• If you order parts from Aviation Products, Inc., remember; it's first come, first serve. I got lucky becuase he had one P-51 parts kit left on his shelf. It can take a few weeks for him to fabricate things, so if you are in a time crunch like I was, you may not get as lucky as I was! Thanks again Gary for your help!

I write this from Pensacola, Florida; where I am awaiting classing up fro flight training for the Navy. I am 900 miles away from the pedal plane for now, which is sitting in storage. I am already planning on building another when the time permits, albeit at a slower pace. I very much enjoyed the build, and I will enjoy watching my daughter pedal around in her very own P-51, engaging in mock combat manuvers while I watch her in envy and enjoy her fun vicariously. Her smile should say it all, and have made this build all the while! Thanks for checking out my build!

SUCCESS! Photo opportunity completed!
I could not be more pleased! Dr. Hunt, the Military Aviation Museum's Director, was a great help in making this all happen! Please stop by the museum if you are in the Virginia Beach area. The staff and volunteers are all very pleasant, and the aircraft and grounds are just awe inspiring.

More Progress

June 1, 2009

Ideally less than 30 days left (July 1st may be my move day!) to get the picture taken. I now suspect I will be short the metal kits, but I'll do my very best to get everything as close as I can to finishing.

Well, since only one person (Jason) answered my call for advice, and I get 51% of the vote, I decided to split the difference between the two tails. I sanded the taller tail down some so it was a compromise between the two. I just don't like the "stubbiness" of the "D" tail in this kit, but on the real deal, I like the "D" over the Cavalier's. Interesting.

This morning I put the dado cuts in the parts that needed them. I used a scrap piece of ply and two bar clamps to hold it in place while I used my Dremel routing bit and guard. I don't remember the depth but it was basically 3/16" deep.

Cutting the "Dado's" with the Dremel

That went well, so I decided to move on to the steaming of the fuse to get the bends in it. This was just like bending balsa wood to make model airplanes, and that was fairly straight forward. using an ordinary iron that you use for cloths on the highest setting (with steam) I ran the iron over the wood and slowly the weighted ends started dropping. I used some brute force after a while but it all went well to get the shape. I used some of the remaining floor tile, floor sealer bucket, and a bucket of water to keep the weight on to hold the bend.

Steaming the fuselage

I was a little impatient with this process, after about 4 hours, I took it off the mold and let one side dry on the porch while I did the other side. After another 3 hours, and extra steam from the iron, I removed the other side and let it dry on the front porch too.

While those were both drying, I sanded the "flight" surfaces and rounded the edges as described in the plans. I noticed some blemishes that were missed in sanding, and I'm opting to not fill them in right now, as before I apply the sanding sealer and primer, I plan on scraping some Bondo on everything as suggested by my uncle Jason, and as seen on that plane the other day. It's a toy, and it will get beat up, but I'd like it to look good for a few days!

Using Gorilla Glue, I carefully glued the tail together. I forgot that the glue expands as it cures, but luckily I had rags close by.

Gotta Love Gorilla Glue, if not just for the name!

No word from Zinger Propellers on the spinner, but I will still go with that over turning one. This will save me A LOT of time and aggravation, and will look great too!

Before calling it a day, I assembled the P-51 for "shiggles" without glue or screws.

I still have to cut out the air scoop under the fuse and drill a bunch of holes for dowels and screws, and sand down other things, but I can see it all coming together finally!

P-51 Pedal Plane Build

May 20, 2009

A Pedal Plane for Jocelyn.....Ok, it's more for my enjoyment but for her to enjoy!

A few years ago while walking around the NAS Oceana Airshow in 2003, my girlfriend at the time and I came upon a children section that had a few different types of airplane toys, and one of the toys that the kids were playing with was these unique pedal planes! The Christian Eagle one is most appealing, as is the Taylorcraft and Cub, (not on the website, but I've seen the pics! Beautiful!) but I want a Warbird. Being the giant airplane geek that I am, I decided then that I would build one for my child when the time comes!

That time is here! My daughter is expected on September 19th, and while I was rooting for a boy on the first try, I'm sure my daughter will get a kick out of this plane once she is old enough! Reality is I could wait until she is 3-7 (the recommended age) but I have a special paint scheme in mind and I want to have this plane completed before my move in July. I have the house about ready, so why not!!??

I must confess, I actually first learned of these pedal planes when I was in my teens. I remember thinking how I wish I had one when I was a kid. I thought that too about Power Wheels. I decided that I would wait until after I finished college to start this project, since being active duty Navy, married with a kid on the way, and 28 is enough to balance at once.

Onward to the project!

I wanted to catalog the build on a web page, so I decided Blogger might be the best route. I found a VERY informative builder website here and found it informative and comprehensive, but even with the directions and these references, I sometimes found myself scratching my head at these instructions and plans. I decided to catalog the build, explain some parts of the build that seemed vague to me, and hopeful help out others that might have had the same questions. Another good site that covers some of the build (pictures are a little small) can be found here.
After viewing his web page, I decided that if he could do it with little woodworking skills, so could I!

The P-51 Pedal Plan plans, and a variety of other planes, are available from Aviation Products, Inc. of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. You can also purchase various hardware kits are available direct from them as well, which would cut the build down in time, but not expense. You can also find these plans from Other sources as well, including Cherry Tree Toys, EAA, and Aircraft Spruce. The plans are around $22. depending on the retailer you purchase them from. I purchase the plans today, so hopefully they will arrive soon! Stay tuned!