Maiden Flight- 6-24-2023

It’s been a long time coming since I was given this rather large P-51 Mustang wooden kit by the former President of the Camarillo Fly Circus. I was given the kit for helping a highschool student with his project at my studio. It wasn’t expected but Robert Wagner just sort of sprang it on me.

At the time when he asked me if I liked P-51 kits I didn’t realize he had planned to give me this kit. It was a kit from the 90’s that had never been built.

Over time I slowly collected the many parts needed to complete it. Everything from the motor to the retractable landing gear servos and more I bought for it.

It took some time in my busy schedule to complete it. You probably saw me here from time to time post progress. I built so many planes this size and larger in my 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60’s but as I get older it’s a little harder to tackle these large models. None the less I did finish it enough to see how she flies and on Saturday the 24th she had her first flight.

As always even after flying for 38 years there is always a bit of trepidation about that first flight. You have put a lot of time, money, and hope into that marvel of technology and craftsmanship. Sometimes things just go wrong. Being as careful and relying on your years of experience sometimes isn’t enough. A simple servo or component can fail, radio signal problems, or structural failure can end your dream pretty quick. But for the most part these planes perform well with little trouble.

I taxied her out onto the runway, eased throttle on until she was rolling straight. I gave her a bit more power correcting with my rudder. The tail came up on the step, I pulled back smoothly on the elevator and I smoothly brought up the power as she went straight down the runway and started to lift from the tarmac. 

She climbed and I made the base turn and she was as smooth as glass. The plane needed little trim and I flew her for about 3 minutes and brought her in for a nice controlled landing in the center line and rolled to a stop.

The club members there at the field cheered and clapped. They are my friends and they know well what it is to experience that maiden flight.

I flew her again for 5-6 minutes and landed. She’s a keeper. It’s hard to describe the feeling of accomplishment for building and successfully flying such a plane. To say the least I was thrilled.

Next up is to finish the plane. Markings, details, pilot, and a red tail.

Thanks to Sam William (our club president who took these pictures) for the support and pictures. It was a good day at our field.