Mike, thanks.  yea, I put on a gloss black and after it flashed I followed with the chrome so I would have the very best adhesion.  The problem is that the chrome can not withstand any rubbing or masking, so it has to be clear coated.  When I put the clear coat on, it developed a very bad orange peal and delaminated when I tried to put painting masks on.  It pealed off with ease.  The reflective properties of the chrome kind of just sit on top like a delicate powder.  The orange peal effect I got with the clear seemed to be created by a static repelling force kind of like how a waxed car hood beads water.  In the end, it still turned out great with the silver paint.

Ryan

Thanks, Jiri!

I would have to say your accessories help put the icing on the cake for sure!  Thanks!

Ryan

I do have a video I can share as an update:  

https://youtu.be/8pzC2eDlB4w?si=UmA3zRTgYBjQctwg

I am currently waiting on the weather to cooperate here in North Carolina for the Maiden.  In the mean time, as a part of my pre-maiden check list, I wanted to do some taxi testing.  I was unprepared for an interview, so I stubble through it some, but the video starts out as a discussion between me and the video guy.  At the end of the clip you get to see some taxi runs up and down the runway.  Hopefully I'll have a maiden video to share soon.

Ryan

Needless to say it was quite exciting.  I want to make a point that I know for certain the CG is correct.  My main problem is power or lack there off.

Long story short I had two problems: 1 - the wheels I was using were just too rubbery and they were rubbing the struts (acting like brakes on the ground).  This was not visible from just spinning the wheels by hand, but I could visibly see where the paint was being rubbed off of the struts.  This has been rectified with some harder wheels.

2 - in order to keep the engine and muffler inside the cowling I purchased a B&B muffler for the DLE-85.  This muffler was restricting the engine and I was not getting enough RPM's.  I'm not even sure why B&B even sells this muffler for this engine.  I have a Bisson muffler for another DLE-85 Z P-40 that I am building so I decided to mount it to the P-51 to see if it would fit.  It actually fits except for the can is too long on one side.  With lead times being what they are for RC nowadays, I have decided to build my own muffler and have a friend of mine weld it up for me.  Below I am going to start documenting that muffler build and progress to getting the bird back in the air.

For now the P-51 is grounded until I can get engine performance (SPEED! )

In these photos you can see the muffler fits but needs some modification to fit within the cowling and deflect exhaust properly.

In case I were the one doing the welding, I went with a light gauge steel.  Luckily I know a guy who does repair welding for a living and he is going to weld it for me.

Using the Bisson muffler as a guide, and the modifications I need to make, I almost have the new muffler parted out.