8 June 2021
German company Scalewings has successfully flown the first production version of its Rotax 915iS powered Mustang replica.
The Scalewings SW-51 is a 70% scale version of the iconic WWII fighter and will be sold as a factory-built aircraft.
The first batch of 20 will be produced in a special 750kg national class in Poland, where Scalewings has its production facility. After that, Scalewings hopes to have EASA type certification under CS-23 by mid-2022.
ScaleWings said, “The SW-51 Mustang is a true-to-scale high performance replica in 70% to the original P-51 Mustang aircraft dimension and an all-carbon fibre design.
“More than 100,000 details such as rivets, textiles, covers, etc. were meticulously handcrafted into all manufacturing moulds. This unique feature, combined with a highest quality chrome finish, allow all serial SW-51s to identically mirror the original´s aluminum appeal in an unprecedented form.”
Equipment includes a Garmin G3X glass cockpit, electrically driven retractable landing gear (main gear and tail-wheel), and a ballistic parachute system (BRS) by Galaxy GRS.
The turbocharged Rotax 915iS Turbo is claimed to give a climb rate of more than 2,200ft/min. Ceiling is 15,000ft and Vne 216kt.
The aircraft price and other details will be revealed in August but Scalewings says, “The SW-51 Mustang costs less than 10% in acquisition, less than 1% in maintenance and burns less [fuel] than 15% of the original P51 Mustang aircraft.” So that’s around 250,000 euro, then.
