In my continued quest for the ultimate P-51 homebuilt explication, I came across the latest incarnation of a kit that I remember as exquisitely designed from decades ago – the Stewart S-51. It’s a 70% scale all-metal P-51 built to be powered by a 500(ish) horsepower big-block V-8 which I remember first seeing at least twenty years ago as an under-construction project. They have always been a long-term building commitment – more complex than a typical kit project, and require a bit more builder originality and ingenuity to complete.
The latest iteration is being spearheaded by Bill Hudgens under the name of Stewart 51 Partner, LLC. He now owns the rights to the design, and is working and to develop the capability to produce complete kits. The airplane has two seats, although the rear is a bit confined. He estimates that you could probably build a flying airplane for a bit over $300K – a fair piece of change, but if you really, really want a replica Mustang, you might find a way to make it happen.
We are hoping to do an in-depth review sometime soon, especially since that usually involves flying the airplane… something that any pilot who looks at it will probably want to do!
It is my understanding that due to aerodynamics (ie Reynold’s Numbers) scale models do not have the flying characteristics of the original. And due to the fact the pilot cannot be miniaturized, the cockpit and canopy distort the profile. So why do people build scale model Mustangs: they don’t look, sound and more importantly don’t fly the same. For the time, money and effort spent, they can build a much better plane. (WWI replicas are another story – safety requires modification)
It’s like building one of those fiberglass replica Ferraris built on a VW Beetle chassis.
Barry, Mr. Stewart understood Reynold’s Numbers and scaling issues. The Stewart S51 is not a 1:1 scale down. Tail surfaces, for instance, are closer to 80% scale while the fuselage is just over 70%. I’ll soon post a short article written by a gentleman who has around 2,000 hours in real Mustangs and owned a Stewart for a while. We think you will be interested in his comments comparing the two aircraft. Bill Hudgens.
Thank you; looking forward to reading your comments. A scale airplane that has the look, sound and feel of the original is an interesting concept as it is a real airplane.