P-51D Mustang First Flight (2/3 scale) - Camera Stabilized Version 

Most people have no idea how much engineering, dedication and work would go into a project like this. Your craftsmanship is marvelous, your dedication was spot on, and your P51... well what could I say other than, _"enjoy the splendid fruits of your labor man!"_

It was inevitable - an rc model big enough to get it! Looks and sounds FANTASTIC!

Mad respect to this guys grandpa. The P51 Is also my favorite war bird!

I wish every R/C flyer, Builder or enthusiast would be required to see this video. The Modelers are building their models bigger, bigger every year, to out do each other. Its so ridiculous. This video of your project makes me feel real good to watch. Its a real achievement.

I believe the best part is the enthusiasm, of family and friends for the pilot’s successful flight. A fantastic accomplishment by all involved.

Hats off to your dad for building a successful plane. He's got tons of guts to go up in that thing. Tons of it!

I clicked on this thinking it was a 2/3 scale R/C plane.

best authentic looking 2/3 I've seen yet ..... GREAT SOUND out of those pipes sounds like a Mini Merlin .....She's a Beauty!

I have to say this is one gorgeous bird! The sounds of that LS-1 engine, has to be churning out at least 325 hp, or more. Congratulations on a long and hard working accomplishment. I admire and respect a man that sets his sights on a dream and stays with it to completion. Thank you for sharing a tidbit of your pride and joy.

I'm just amazed. I'm not saying that in the over-used way millennials say it; I really am amazed at the dedication and craftmanship of this gentleman in creating such an incredible replica of an awesome warbird. The level of skill and research it must have taken to build this fabulous airplane from nothing floors me. Well done, Sir; _extremely_ well done! Bravo!

My father worked at North American at the very plant that built these wonderful planes. Thank you to your father for honoring that great company.

Wow. I can't even fathom the amount of technical hurdles to overcome, and the faith in your own craftsmanship to take a maiden flight in something I built. Incredible. Really impressive.

I'm like some of the other commenters. I thought this was going to be a giant RC project. What a wonderful surprise. Just an absolute beautiful job. Can't believe that anyone would give you a "Thumbs Down".

What a Beautiful smile on Grandpa's face, and well worth it. The airdraft is Beatuiful also..

What a wonderful moment for him after years of desire, work, money, skill, will, and a barrel load of dedication, he finally accomplished his dream. Plus his wife is so proud of him! Congratulations!

Big thumbs up for the accurate 4 blade prop! Beautiful bird!

I sat here and watched in aww, he had a dream and he worked, and he worked, and the day came, and he made it come true. I had such a smile on my face when I heard his wife yelling with pleasure to share in his joy. I want to thank you for sharing the video, it certainly made my day to see a fellow man bring his dreams to fluition ! I must say it was very moving .

That's absolutely awesome.! I am extremely envious, I love P51's and would love to be able to fly one, but building a 2/3 scale replica and flying it is something I would have never considered. Congratulations to your father!

This is one of the coolest planes I've ever seen! It looks SOOOO real & with only a little distance, it looks full size.

Just Awesome, I appreciate the time, skill and dedication it takes to complete a project like this. Thanks for sharing I really enjoyed seeing the joy it brought your family.

Sounds BEAUTIFUL, and it looks amazing too. I'm sure you're glad to be his son, what a work of art.

Such an incredible story and homage to arguably the greatest fighting aircraft in history. My Uncle flew in the 351st Fighter Squadron during WW2 and had dozens of missions in the P-51. He started in training with P-40, etc., then got the Mustangs when he went to Europe. He upgraded to the P-51K 44-11565 JY which he flew through the end of 1944 until his final mission on 02/24/45 when he was actually flying a fellow pilot's A/C "Mr. Gary" 44-14949 because his a/c was in for repair from anti-aircraft flak the day before, in which he had Ground Looped in France. My Uncle, 1Lt Raymond Hilgenberg was KIA on that mission in "Mr. Gary" after a very successful escort and strafing mission over Germany. Once again fuc8king Nazi flak hit his plane and before he could make it to friendly territory he lost the plane...and his life. Anyway, I tell his story whenever I get the chance because he was a hero, with Nazi kills and 41 missions. He was just 21. So, back to this 2/3rd Mustang, I love it, as would have my uncle, I'm sure. Peace.

Simply beautiful. I'm so glad that your dad got to fly and enjoy the fruit of his labors. From a distance it appears to be the full sized version. Great job!

What a joy it is to see a man set a goal and see it through to its realization! This is a beautiful airplane - my absolute favorite of all the WWII fighters; nothing could touch her. Gobs of kudos to your dad, and congratulations, also. Damn what balls! You got 'em, Mr. Hoyle! It also made much common sense to install that Corvette engine in her; even though the original engine would have in no way fit, of course, they could be very finicky, and just completely stop. Again, a beautiful plane, sir. Hello to the clouds from me!

just beautiful! Thank you for all that work, and for letting us share watching a perfect flight

Who the fuck is downvoting this? Ah, I got it. People that get the whole misery of their lives in their faces daily... Such people cannot stand people that make something great. Man, great job. When I was a kid I always dreamed of building me my own plane. You are awesome!

What a cool freaking airplane! Not to mention the acomplishment. Just outstanding. Hats off. I'm with Gunther, I too thought this was going to be a big ass r/c plane, that would have been cool enough. I'm stunned. Great video. Great build. All of it amazing.

Glad you did the camera stabilization version. It was a must in order to capture the beauty of this plane in flight. Very nice job.

OMG - best sounding plane. Especially when taxiing. Congratulations! An old friend's father built a 2/3 scale ME-109. Odd, because he was a WW2 pilot, and may have been shot down by one. His POW photo was incredible. The SOB had this smug grin on his face! Now that's a survivor. He did all the blueprint reductions himself, and built the whole thing. And had to remove part of a wall to get it out of his basement. You guys building these planes are the best!

This warms my heart more than you can imagine!! I am only 44 years old, but I am absolutely in love with the old warbirds, especially the F4U Corsair (Thank you Black Sheep Squadron!). I hope he's had many MANY good flights in that beautiful piece of flying artwork! Well done!

Took me from 1979 to 2004 to finish my Bakeng Duce. so I can appreciate his efforts. Takes a lot of determination to build an airplane, especially one as beautiful as this one is. Great job, Cliff!

What a great video! I can feel the excitement and tension as it gets ready, takes off, test flies and lands. Couldn't stop smiling throughout the video.

Last year, while sitting in Township Park in Geneva on the Lake ,Ohio, looking out at Lake Erie I heard a loud roaring coming from my right . Before I could get my phone camera out two of these came flying right in front of us ( me and my wife ) . They were so low we could see the pilots. IT WAS AWESOME. I described what had happened and posted it to Facebook. I got a reply from a person in Erie PA. that said there was a rumor of a husband and wife that flew these two birds out of an airstrip somewhere along Rt 90. It was a great experience.seeiing them.

I love that ladies enthusiasm as much as the plane!

"Pretty amazing"? There's an understatement. Congrats to your Dad...and your Mom.

Reliving a much slower paced time indeed, that flight did tug at the ole-heart strings. Thanks for sharing it, respectfully John

Awesome aircraft, pilot, and builder of that sweet machine. Nothing but respect for all those involved.

That man knows his stuff. You can tell he's deliberately trying to contain his excitement by performing all the pre-flight and run-up in a very professional manner. Does all the in-flight characteristics checks then greases an absolutely perfect landing in an entirely unfamiliar aircraft. When you work that hard and long to fulfill a dream you deserve nothing but complete success. Kudos to the gentleman .... and his very supportive family.

Your folks are quite a pair, I'd say (he, patient with the build and she, patient with HIM). Very exciting - congrats to all of you!!!

Ye HaH!!! Hell of a ride! What an excellent landing. Perfection. God bless your heart and hard-earned pleasure. Excellent. Thank you. When I was in HS 62-66 I read every Flying Ace of WW II book I could get my hands on. The P-51, P38 - airplane dreams for this old boy. Thanks again. That was sweet.

Oh boy! That thing is so cool, it must be a blast to fly and super agile in the air. It sounds like a Beast! Love it (0:

What a wonderful thing to hear when you've landed and shut down..."woohoo yeah it works"

Wow guys! What a great job. Engine sounds fantastic. A superb build. Enjoy it for many hours of flight. 2 thumbs up and a very well done. Thanks for sharing your victory with us.

That’s the biggest RC plane I have ever seen. It can even carry people.

Fills me with hope that one day I can build and own a 2/3 scale F-14D Tomcat without the Defense Department showing up and seizing it.

I know this may seem like a simple thing to you because you got it right! It amazes me how people with big budgets restore warbirds and get the markings wrong... all out of corporation. You got your rondel spot on! I've seen million dollar P-51s and B-17s that look like hell because they didn't do their research and find out what the ratios are suppose to be! GOOD JOB!

What a beautiful aircraft! I retired as an aircraft electrician 6 years ago after crawling around in airplanes for about 40 years. You did a pristeen job on the Mustang. Absolutely my favorite airplane.

Not an aircraft freak but I totally enjoyed this video, not least for the sense of real joy from Mrs Hoyle. This left me smiling - thank you.

Glad you could see the project through to a state of completion and enjoy it! :)

I can only imagine how thrilling it must have been for this man to realize his dream. Congratulations, and safe flying forever!

Your dad did such a great job and he flew it so nicely. He looked so calm cool and collected.

My late Uncle, career fighter pilot (35yrs USAF) Retied Colonel Ewald Glenn Kruggel flew the P-51 almost right out of high school. Him and his buddy would take his buddy's dad's crop duster and buzz the high school for kicks in Beaumont Ca....so...he had the right stuff. Back then if you could fly a plane...you became a USAF Pilot. In the 70's he would do a speed pass over our house in Cucamonga in his F-4 Phantom to let everybody know he was back in town.....sounded like a missile about to impact....never took out any windows though. It made the news. Bought a Decathlon when he retired and took me flying and golfing once a week for a long time out of Redlands Ca. This while building an R-V 4. He fashioned an air scoop (oil cooler) like the P-51's between the mains just for kik's. If you research his name you'll find his history. Named my youngest son after him....a great pilot, story teller and gentleman.

One piece of great history built by an experience pilot himself. I salute you, Sir! Wish I have a Curtiss P-40 Warhawk in that scale flyin' in the air..... just a dream, just a dream

Well if that ain't the cutest avenger of Europe I ever seen.

Congrats PaPA! Great flight. Big smile on my face.

Wow. Sounds great, looks absolutely flawless. CONGRATS to your Dad!!!!

Very very cool. Amazing job and congratulations on an amazing achievement. Also, the LS sounds pretty good as far as being authentic. Nothing sounds like those big old v12s, but I was impressed. Thanks for sharing and best of luck on all of your future endeavors! Very cool. Sure would like to know some more technical specs. As a corporate pilot of a Challenger 350 I’m always craving as much knowledge as possible about anything aviation and certainly have a passion for old warbirds!

As Darth Vader said: "IMPRESSIVE...MOST IMPRESSIVE!" Awesome job ! Love it.

Awesome! Congratulations on building this beauty and taking it up. That had to be a thrill of a lifetime.

This is sick buddy - hats off to your dad for sticking with it and building this beauty!

Wow'' what an amazing build'' Well done! It's not a Merlin but it still sounds great...

I love these planes they sound Great they are the best old aircraft ever the sound of them is amazing

Absolutely Awesome! I can't believe I am just now seeing this, being an avid Mustang fan myself. I know it's late coming, but Congratulations Papa!

Thanks for posting! Glad to be in the audience watching the 'American Dream' in action!

Having a hard time figuring out how you could "dislike" this.

"Honey? I shrunk the Mustang.." Joking aside, this is a massive achievement, engine sounds nice, well flown, respect.

A project of epic proportions. What a wonderful sight, flight, and mission.

Please tell me this absolutely astonishing piece of craftsmanship is here to stay.

Can't imagine the CAA in UK allowing one of those. They're affectionately known as the Campaign Against Aviation

Glad I fond this video! Everyone that had a hand in building the plane should be very proud!

WOW !! Nice. Very nice. Thanks for sharing with all of us.

What a fantastic achievement! Very, very well done.

Man, that's a great accomplishment! Building something to fly is so much work and everybody is a critic.... But once it flies no one can take that away from you

I'm curious as to how he set up the cooling system. Beautiful bird, and awesome build. Thanks for the video.

Brilliant! Absolutely brilliant! Fantastic accomplishment by your father.

Beautiful airplane! What a lovely and smooth landing.

It's an RC plane you control from the inside.

That engine sound is awesome! Sounds like a 427 cobra!

beautiful build, hope she will fly for a long time. love these war birds. the look the sound, the smell................

just beautiful. Takes a specific kind of man to step up to something like that. Absolutely beautiful war bird!

Very cool!

Damn! The 'extremes', that some "scale modelers", will go to!

Always good to see the first. Beautiful!!

i know it's been 6 years now, but this was awesome. Was glad to have seen it. I hope he had many more successful flights with it.

what a beauty/ good on ya'

A Mini P 51 , Amazing The Engine Sounds like that Olds Delta 88 my Father used to have back in the late 60s. My mom hated that Car...

Nothing short of fantastic !!! - This isn't a kit... This person built the whole airplane from scratch, didn't he ? Sincere congratulations !

Terrific! What a beautiful plane. Glad you stuck with it for all those years and happy for you that you finally got to take it into the air. Congratulations.

Outstanding! What's next? Hopefully a P-38, my next favorite plane. Wouldn't that be something to see...

You should invest $100 bucks in a generic off the shelf backup for cars camera system available from practically anywhere. Mount the screen in the cockpit, and the camera pointing forward under the nose, so he can see while taxiing...

Very nice, I love aviation! This made my heart smile! Congrats.

GLAD SOMEONE FINALLY DID IT. I have seen so many videos of scale model planes and have thought " if you are going to go through all the work to build one, why not build one big enough to fly yourself instead of remote?" YOU DID IT! CONGRATULATIONS!! NICE!!

Wow! This is amazing! This video has inspired me to someday build a 2/3 scale P-51! May I ask how he built it? Was it from a kit or did he buy the plans and have to order each individual component? Thanks!

Whom ever said, "no question is a dumb question," was wrooooong. Please read these questions you aerophiles and try not to shake your heads in disbelief. P.S. I'm a former pilot and hold an A&P certificate. I would like to say Captain Hoyle, that this aircraft is pretty enough to walk up and lick. Wonderful job sir.

Sweet and good job sir! My uncle Dent in Georgia built and flew several kit built aircraft, one of them being the 2/3 scale Mustang. Remember sitting in the cockpit when i was 8 years old when it's construction was almost completed.

Could not sound better! Awesome! Congratulations!

I thought, "Huh? 2/3d scale? You could fly in an RC that big."

The P-51 was probably the most beautiful and most capable piston-engined airplane ever built.t

What a fantastic work of art!! Congratulations on the beautiful airplane.

I can't believe he did that, a young voice shouts. Thanks for your confidence Son.