Geedee's P-51D Cockpit Project

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Good finds there Gary, and I think you might be needing a bigger 'shangar' - Andy's right, you need a wing to go around the ammo chute, and some .50 cals to go in the wing. And whilst you're at it , you might as well add a fuel tank, fuselage, tail unit .........
 
So maybe I'm the last to know but I didn't know there was such a thing as a tail warning bell on the Mustang. More details on this?
 
Tail warning radar. It sounded a bell when another aircraft was directly behind you. P-51's with it had these antenna on the tail.
 

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Cheers Glenn

Piccie showing where it sits in the cockpit, Bottom right hand side of first picture in post 481

And trust me...its LOUD :)
 
Hey Gary,
awesome work!
do you have a plan from NAA for the dimensions of the armor Plate??

best regards

HeinzAero with Louisiana Kid
 
hello there Mr. GEEDEE,i am new to this forum and greatly admire your p-51 cockpit and would love to design one of my own but i'm having trouble finding the correct measurements,would you be willing to provide me a few like the height of the wall to the floor,the spacing to the spares inside the cockpit and the correct size of the electrical control panel and well all the other panels.and perhaps even a diagram,anything will be helpful if you will do me this honor,thanks-valerobowie
 
valerobowie said:
hello there Mr. GEEDEE,i am new to this forum and greatly admire your p-51 cockpit and would love to design one of my own but i'm having trouble finding the correct measurements,would you be willing to provide me a few like the height of the wall to the floor,the spacing to the spares inside the cockpit and the correct size of the electrical control panel and well all the other panels.and perhaps even a diagram,anything will be helpful if you will do me this honor,thanks-valerobowie
Click to expand...

Hi valerobowie

I'm sorry but I cannot provide you with the measurements you are asking for.

You haven' said what you are going to to 'design' it out of ?... wood / aluminium / plastic / fibreglass.... nor have you said what version you you want to end up with. The drawings are aimed at maunfacture from aluminum...you would not be able to get the exact dimensions in wood or fibreglass due to constrains of the materiels used.... and there are major differences in the strcuture from the early A/B/C models to the later D / H models. These differences also extend to the internal fittings and placement so what may be in one model might not necessarily be in another.

I'm not trying to be unhelpfull, but you realy need to decide on what version you want to build...not design as thats already been done by the helpful chaps at NAA..., what you want on the inside, and what you want to actually work !.

My suggestion to you is to get from E-bay...like I did !... a copy of the relevant parts manual for the version you want (This will show you in graphic details the structure and part numbers for each item you will have to make) and also a set of NAA drawings (these will give you the exact dimensions for each item in the parts catalogue). This will also help you with the correct terminology to use when refering to specific parts....wall = Fuselage ?, Spares = Rib's ?

My reason for not giving you exact dimensions is because the manufacture of set items to make the cockpit alone are extremely complex. You have asked for the 'height of the wall to the floor' You will know that the Mustang has an internal floor placed above the wing section, and the fuselage skin has a break at the centre of the top longeron. The panels that then fit from the lonegron, upwards are not symetrical due to the rake required for the canpoy to slide backwards and upwards, and then there are the panels that go up and around the windshield area. Its not like building a simple box (I wish it was sometimes :) ) with everything square.

Have a look at the NAA drawing for the front windshield support, and side skins in post No 218. There is no way I could break those down into something that you could try to make.

What I can tell you is that if you decide to build a D model cockpit section (like mine), the footprint is approx 6 foot long, and just over 3 feet wide ...remember that the fuselage is not straight sided, it curves (Making the ribs is test of patience !!!) so is narrower at the top than at the bottom ! and don't forget the Firewall slopes backwards ! :) .

Get yourself the parts catalogue and the drawings and then get stuck into making your project. Look out on e-bay and aeromarts / aerojumbles for original items such as instruments and controls and before long you will have soon have the pleasure of knowing that out in your workshop / garage / shed, you have something that will be instantly recognisable and that you have built from scratch. That is a very powerfull feeling to have, trust me !.

Please do keep us posted on how your build progresses as there are a number of us here that are building full scale stuff and will have probably encountered and overcome any manufacturing / sourcing issues you may come across and can help / advise on the ebst way forward.

And remember, there is no such thing as too many Mustang's...so get building !!! :thumbleft:
 
first of all i will be focusing on the P-51D version,but for right now i am trying to figure out how big the cockpit switch panels were,is there anyway you can help me out with that.Now i found several P-51 manuals on e-bay but i am not to sure which one specifically you are referring to.I really appreciate all the help and fully understand ,thanks again-Valerobowie
 
Well, after stripping her out completely for winter maintenance....in the best tradition, didn't get around to doing anything at all !.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago, and suddenly, she's got to be back in one piece ready for her first official outing this year at a Royal Aeronatical Society lecture at RAF Boscombe Down (where I work) with Tony (who's doing the presenation !)

Following some frantic spannering, she's back together and I thought I'd post a quick vid of her as she is now in the shangar.

First off, apologies as I've probably missed a whole heap of stuff from the proper startup procedure, but hey...I'm out of practice !. Secondly, nothing apart from the throttle actually works on her at the moment.

I am working on resolving 1 and 2 above so more to come in the next few months.

And I should set the volume on the on-board speakers to LOUD before I start hert next time.

I is happy !! :)


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jxJWI5AFyo
 
Last edited:
I am glad you are fine, Gary!
Nice vid. I had thought it a BBC documentary :)
 
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