SW51 Replica: Budget-Friendly P-51 Mustang Alternative
Have you ever dreamed of flying a real war bird? How about owning one? Well guess what aviation fans, there’s a new P-51 Mustang replica in town, the SW51. Not only does she look and sound like the original, but she flies like one too. While it’s not an original, it’s the next best thing. And it’s ‘better’ for your budget.
Welcome to the world of replica aviation. For years many have tried to create a true to life P-51 Mustang kit. Now a German company, Scale Wings has a kit of their own. The Scale Wings SW-51 is a 70% scale carbon fiber master piece.
Carbon Fiber can be stronger than aircraft metals. Not to mention that it is so much easier to shape. The result is a lighter weight aircraft that becomes dangerously close to looking like the real thing. Can you imagine flying over your neighborhood in an old war bird?
WHAT THE SW51 HAS TO OFFER
The SW51 features such amenities as fully retractable landing gear, a ballistic parachute and a canopy that not only slides, but it also flips open from the side. This allows easy access for your passenger in the rear seat. That’s right! She’s a two seater!
The cockpit measures 23 inches wide and is designed for pilots up to 6.5 in height. Each seat is rated for up to 220 lbs and comes with a headset connector for communications. The seats are made of high quality military brown leather. These seats can also have custom designs sewn into them such as logos or Call-Signs.
In addition the seats feature a five point restraint system. Talk about class and reliability. For additional safety features there’s an optional GRS Ballistic parachute and spring loaded landing gear, which lower during power loss situations.
The SW51 features a full Carbon Fiber body. This allows for amazing details to be captured accurately. There are over 100,000 fabricated false rivets built into the skin of this airplane. With such exacting detail, this feature makes her look just like the original!
THE SW51 IS LIGHT STUNT RATED
Yes, you can do light stunts in her. This war bird does loops and barrel rolls. Who would want a P51D Mustang replica that couldn’t? She is a very stable light weight airplane. Those who have flown her say there is very little flutter with this particular aircraft.
The Rotax 915-IS Turbo puts out an easy 141+ horsepower. This gives the SW51 over a 2,000 foot per minute climb out rate. The combination of Carbon Fiber body and the Rotax engine translates to positive 6 and minus 4G capabilities
The SW51 is 8.9 feet in height and has a span of 25.9 feet. She also has a 22″ X 22″ X 22″ luggage storage area. The SW51 sports a weight of 1,278 empty, with a max capacity of 1,873 lbs. That’s a useful load of 650 lbs.
In her current configuration, the SW51 carries two forty-eight gallon internal wing tanks. She consumes approximately 7–9 gallons per hour at a cruise speed of 155 knots. She has a range of 1,000 miles and can fly approximately three hours.
The SW51 requires approximately 950 feet of runway for take off. She also requires approximately 1,150 feet for landing. She has a performance ceiling of around 50,000 feet, where she can obtain a cruise speed of 185 knots. Not bad for a Rotax 915-IS Turbo engine.
THE SW51 CAN EASILY HANDLE CROSS WINDS
According to several pilots, the SW51 is a dream to land during cross winds. At a 1,873 Lbs max capacity, she’s a lighter aircraft. But the locking tail wheel holds her steady on the runway. This is a safety feature even the most seasoned tail draggers will enjoy.
Landing gear safety is not an issue with the SW51. Unlike the original P-51 Mustang, the SW51 uses electric motors instead of hydraulics. The SW51 also features a double locking gear system. Once they are down, you would literally have to break the air frame to experience a gear failure.
Fail Safe Landing Gear Too
Want to talk about safety? Scale Wings has created a winding spring system within the main gear. When the gear is raised by it’s motors, it automatically winds a release spring. One flip of a switch, and the spring unwinds, deploying the landing gear.
THE SW51 KIT PLANE IS AFFORDABLE
Now let’s take a look at what you get in your SW51 build kit. Basically the plane comes much like the model kits of the 1980’s. It takes an estimated 1,500 hours to build this kit if you are a beginner. The kit costs $158,000.
Completing the build will cost you approximately $300,000. A full scale mustang is a million dollar adventure. It also costs $800.00 per hour to operate! Now you can fly the SW51 for a fraction of that cost. Picture yourself rolling down the runway in this beautiful war bird replica.
WHAT THE KIT INCLUDES
As you can see above, the SW51 Kit includes quite a lot. It’s quite reminiscent of the model airplane kits from the 1980’s. The main fuselage comes fully assembled from the fire wall to the tail. The main wings come in several pieces. The canopy and air intake scoop also come fully assembled.
The only things the basic kit doesn’t include is the Power Plant, Avionics, the GRS Ballistic chute and the optional cock pit and leading wing edge heating systems. With easy to build form, an experienced kit builder can have her together in under 900 hours.
At the end of the day, the SW51 is the answer to your WWII fighter plane dreams. It looks, feels and sounds like a famous fighter plane. The costs of owning one is even cheaper. Yet you get to enjoy the safety and security it provides. We have provided a link for further information on the SW51 kit.
