Type History : Cavalier Mustangs
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In 1957, the last of the active duty F-51s were withdrawn from ANG service. This released many F-5 to the civilian market. David Lindsay, a newspaper publisher, formed Trans Florida Aviation with the intent of refurbishing the ex-military P-51s into well-equiped civilian business aircraft.
Lindsay purchased surplus P-51s (mostly P-51D) and began a restoration process. They would strip out all the military equipment, add a second seat behind the pilot, add extra fuel capacity (some models), update the avionics, install a tall tail like the P-51H, plush out the interior to provide the most comfort possible and finish the job with a civilian paint scheme.
One of the P-51s main attributes was its great range. The first P-51 conversion, named Cavalier, was in 1958. Orders trickled in for the first few years. The models offered were all relative to the range of the aircraft. The model numbers (all prefixed by Cavalier) were 750, 1200, 1500, 2000 and 2500. The longest range Cavalier, the Cavalier 2500, included
110 gallon wingtip fuel tanks. With the second seat, the fuselage fuel tank was removed .
Trans-Florida was renamed Cavalier Aircraft Corporation and purchased the rights of the P-51 design from North American Aviation. In 1967, the USAF contracted with Cavalier to produce the F-51D for export to South America under the Military Assistance Program (MAP). These aircraft were given new serial numbers starting with the first, 67-14862 and named Mustang II. In 1967 a total of 9 were built. These aircraft went to Bolivia.
Cavalier also repaired and retrofitted existing P-51s that eventually went down south. Several P-51s were sent to TFA (Trans Florida) from South America for repairs and upgrades.
Changes to the Mustang II were made for increased loads. The wing was strengthened to carry a total of 4,000 lbs of ordance and additional weapon hard points were installed, up to six under each wing. A rear seat was installed in these models, for observers. A new Merlin V-1650-7 was installed and these Cavaliers also received the taller H tail. In 1968, two of the new Mustang IIs went to the USAF as chase planes. These were serialed 68-15795 and 68-15796.
More orders were placed in 1972 for 6 aircraft under MAP for export to Indonesia. The Mustang IIs did not have wingtip fuel tanks.
With new ideas of how to keep the P-5 1 Mustang alive and in service, David Lindsay wanted to try replacing the long-standing workhorse Merlin V- 12 with a turboprop. Lindsay preferred the Lycoming T-55 but had difficulties obtaining a copy. They were able to get a Rolls Royce Dart 510 Turboprop and installed it in civilian P-51 N6167U. This mod was not funded by the USAF, but by Cavalier.
The new modification was called the Turbo Mustang III. Cavalier tried to get the USAF and other air forces interested in the project but no sales were made. Later, Cavalier sold the project to Piper and it later became the PA-48 Enforcer. The Enforcer had little in common with the original P-51.
The USAF, under pressure from Congress, did order two prototype PA-48 from Piper. No other orders were placed and the project died. The two PA- 48 Enforcers do exist today at USAF Museums. Many Cavalier Mustangs are still airworthy today.
Specification:
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CREW: 1
ENGINE: 1 x Packard Merlin V-1650-7, 1264kW
WEIGHTS:Take-off weight 5488 kg
Empty weight 3232 kg
DIMENSIONS:Wingspan: 11.28 m
Length: 9.83 m
Height: 2.64 m
Wing area: 21.65 m 2
PERFORMANCE:Max. speed: 703 km/h
Ceiling: 12770 m
Range w/max.fuel: 3347 km
ARMAMENT:6 x 12.7mm MG, 454kg of bombs
The models:
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Effects:
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-On startup there is automatic engine smoke.
-Then follow the exhaust flames with smoke.
-Wing vortex effect appears by default at 2.5g or quick roll rate.
-Continuous blue flames with smoke if engine is running .
-You have WAR emergency power with the WEP gauge.
-Wing cannon with flash, smoke and falling cartridges can be triggered with the standard Strobe key (O).
It is much nicer however if you put the FS2004/FSX standard Strobe key (O) to the trigger from your joystick.You can change this in the Key menu.
It is a good idea if you replace the standard (L) key for lights by the L+CTRL, (normaly activating the landing lights only). This avoids you having to have all lights on when pulling the trigger.
Installation:
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You get two models, one with tip tanks and a clean version without tip tanks. The last version can easily be repainted like the many Cavaliers sold for private use or to many South American countries.I hope some artists will find the planes interesting enough to create new textures for all us visual pilots to enjoy.
(outside.bmp is used for the canopyframe and the radio support, guns.bmp for guns, inside cockpitframe and radio).
-Unzip " P51 Cavalier Mustang" into a temporary file and move the "P51 Cavalier Mustang" folder into the main Aircraft directory.
-Attention...the panel.cfg files are different for FSX and FS2004.
-For FSX,change the FSXpanel.cfg into panel.cfg and let it replace the first one.
For FS2004,change the FS9panel.cfg into panel.cfg and let it replace the first one.
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-Read instructions carefully when installing the P51d.gau , say YES...when asked if the gauges sources should be trusted. If you say no....most of the gauges are not going to work !
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-Leave the Cavalier map in your panel folder.
-Put the P51d.gau into your Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\gauges folder.
-Copy the effects into the Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\effects folder.
-Add the 20can.wav in your Microsoft Games\Flight Simulator X\sound folder.
Flying the model
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This plane is a fair, non critical but very powerful flying machine.
-CTRL+E opens the canopy
-Cockpit door is opened by the Spoiler key.
-Radiator flaps are opened by the close cowl key.
-To fire guns activate O-key or trigger.
-The misc_popup button shows/hides the gunsight.
TAKE-OFF :if you have manual rudder enabled, be ready to apply right rudder and brake when you hit the throttle !
Better apply throttle proportionaly and slowly at first.
1.Parking brake on, start engine, 1/4 flaps
2.Disengage parking brake
3.Hold enough rudder, brake to keep the aircraft straight
4.Take off at about 100 Knots, let speed build up, as the plane at first sinks back to the ground, wheels and flaps up at 130 Knots.
5.Approach at 25% flaps, wheels down at 120 Knots.
6.Touchdown at 70-80 Knots.
CREDITS
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Special thanks to :
-GMAX for the drawing program and Microsoft for their makmdls.mdk.
-Mike Hambly for his sound file.
-Ivan Hsu for the MDLC model converter.
LEGAL:
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The project is released as freeware. You may modify it and repaint it. Therefore I include the GMAX source files. You may upload this file to another website as long as it is not for profit.
You need the written permission of the original authors to use any of these files for commercial purposes, otherwise a simple credit would be nice. Non commercial repaints-remakes are welcome but I would appreciate very much receiving a copy of your model.
This file should not cause any problems with your computer, but I accept no responsibility if you think it does
Happy Landings!!
A.F.Scrub
September 2008
Email: af_scrubbypc@hotmail.com
