The Stewart S-51D Mustang is an American aerobatic

homebuilt aircraft Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

that was designed by Jim Stewart and produced by Stewart 51 of

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the county seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. According to the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,354. Nicknamed "The Hibiscus City", Vero is situated about south ...

, introduced in 1994. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.Purdy, Don: ''AeroCrafter - Homebuilt Aircraft Sourcebook, Fifth Edition'', page 260. BAI Communications, 15 July 1998. The S-51D is a 70% scale version of the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

P-51D Mustang Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts. Allison-engined Mustangs NA- ...

fighter aircraft Fighter aircraft (early on also ''pursuit aircraft'') are military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domina ...

Design and development

Designer Jim Stewart took a leave of absence from his employer,

Pratt & Whitney Pratt & Whitney is an American aerospace manufacturer with global service operations. It is a subsidiary of RTX Corporation (formerly Raytheon Technologies). Pratt & Whitney's aircraft engines are widely used in both civil aviation (especially ...

, in 1989 to work on the S-51D's tooling and design. The prototype took flight on 30 March 1994 and by late June had completed its 40 hours of test flying. The S-51D Mustang features a cantilever

low-wing A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple wings. A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing config ...

, a two-seats-in-

tandem Tandem, or in tandem, is an arrangement in which two or more animals, machines, or people are lined up one behind another, all facing in the same direction. ''Tandem'' can also be used more generally to refer to any group of persons or objects w ...

enclosed cockpit under a bubble canopy, retractable

conventional landing gear Conventional landing gear, or tailwheel-type landing gear, is an aircraft Landing gear, undercarriage consisting of two main wheels forward of the Center of gravity of an aircraft, center of gravity and a small wheel or skid to support the tail ...

, and a single engine in tractor configuration. The aircraft is made from sheet

aluminum Aluminium (or aluminum in North American English) is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol Al and atomic number 13. It has a density lower than that of other common metals, about one-third that of steel. Aluminium has ...

. Its span wing mounts flaps and has a wing area of . The cabin width is . The acceptable power range is . The specified propeller is a diameter, constant speed four-bladed

Hartzell Propeller Hartzell Propeller is an American manufacturer that was founded in 1917 by Robert N. Hartzell as the Hartzell Walnut Propeller Company. It produces composite and aluminum propellers for certified, homebuilt, and ultralight aircraft. The co ...

unit, that is driven by a spur gear with a (2.13:1) reduction ratio. The S-51D Mustang has a typical empty weight of and a gross weight of , giving a useful load of . With full fuel of the payload for the pilot, passenger, and baggage is . The standard day, sea level, no wind, take off with a engine is and the landing roll is . The manufacturer estimated the construction time from the supplied standard kit as 2000 hours. A fast-build kit was also available.

Operational history

By 1998 the company reported that 72 kits had been sold and two aircraft were completed and flying. In March 2014, 12 examples were registered in the United States with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

, although a total of 19 had been registered at one time.

Specifications (S-51D Mustang)

References

External links

Photo of a Stewart S-51D Mustang
{{North American P-51 Mustang family

1990s United States sport aircraft Single-engined tractor aircraft Low-wing aircraft Homebuilt aircraft Aerobatic aircraft Replicas of North American P-51 Mustangs Aircraft first flown in 1994 Aircraft with retractable conventional landing gear Single-engined piston aircraft

Design and development

Operational history

Specifications (S-51D Mustang)

See also

References

External links