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| STANDARD DATA: Seats 2. Gross wt. 2,960. Empty wt. 2,200. Fuel capacity 70. Engine 400-c.i.d. 300- 600-hp liquid-cooled automotive V-8. PERFORMANCE: Top mph 265. Cruise mph 235. Initial climb rate 2,380. Ceiling 23,600. Range 660. Takeoff distance (50′) 1,370. Landing distance (50′) 2,080. |
The S-51D is the culmination of over 25 years in development. Jim Stewart’s dream was to develop the most accurate reduced-scale P-51D to hit the homebuilt circuit. Many times the project was put on hold due to many obstacles that producing an aircraft of this type can throw at you. Stewart, an aeronautical engineer by trade, made great strides to make the S-51 as close to the real thing in looks, structure, and performance as possible. Stewart chose aluminum for the entire airframe. Stewart also quickly realized that a kit was required to market the aircraft because very few homebuilders had the tools or the talent to form all of the compound-curved panels. All of the panels in the kit are hydro-formed to obtain the distortion-free curves that make this kit a successful endeavor. Kits are available in a variety of packages to save time and/or money for the builder. The basic kit requires about 3,500 hours of work, and a fast-build kit reduces the required time by about 1,200 hours.
