P-51 C and P-51 D Mustangs
Jun 10, 2023 15:32:01 #
imagemeister wrote:
I like the nice artistry of the B&W rear view ! .......thanks for sharing
Thank you, kind sir. YOU HAVE MADE MY DAY. That shot, somehow and in some fashion, strikes a chord in myself that I can't quite put my finger on. I've wanted to make a shot like this for a loooong time. It wasn't just the plane or the sky, it was something else. I damn near fainted when it fell into my lap.
Tom
Jun 10, 2023 15:43:00 #
One of the all-time great aeronautical designs in my opinion, especially the D model.
Jun 10, 2023 16:07:38 #
Jun 10, 2023 16:21:27 #
FL Streetrodder wrote:
One of the all-time great aeronautical designs in my opinion, especially the D model.
Can't argue that. The laminar airflow design of the wings was a monumental jump forward. When the airframe was matched with the British Merlin engine, it became a world beater.
Jun 10, 2023 16:23:02 #
Jun 10, 2023 19:41:25 #
Jun 10, 2023 19:51:35 #
black mamba wrote:
As like many folks who are into WW II military air... (show quote)
Excellent photos. Do you have any idea as to how many P-51 (F-51) planes were restored? I got a few pictures of this plane back in 2017 when it was visiting the Olathe, KS New Century Airport (Originally the Olathe Naval Air Station), This plane has the "bubble" canopy and this picture is of the plane landing after giving a paying customer a ride.
Jun 10, 2023 21:54:50 #
flyboy61
Loc: The Great American Desert
flycaster wrote:
The pilots had a lot to do with giving the German jets a real fight.
Chuck
Chuck
Jun 10, 2023 22:28:04 #
Jun 10, 2023 22:33:21 #
Frank 2012 wrote:
Excellent photos. Do you have any idea as to how many P-51 (F-51) planes were restored? I got a few pictures of this plane back in 2017 when it was visiting the Olathe, KS New Century Airport (Originally the Olathe Naval Air Station), This plane has the "bubble" canopy and this picture is of the plane landing after giving a paying customer a ride.
I believe it's right around 150 that are still flying....that includes everywhere.
Tom
Jun 10, 2023 22:37:36 #
sabfish wrote:
My Wife's Uncle flew a P51 in WWII. By Christmas eve, 1944, he had fulfilled all his required missions and could have gone home, but he volunteered to fly an additional mission that night. He became engaged in a dog fight with a German and was shot down and killed on Christmas eve. He is buried in the Netherlands.
That's a sad story. Sorry to hear it.
Tom.
Jun 10, 2023 22:52:43 #
flycaster wrote:
I think the P-51 was/is one of the sexiest airplanes ever. There's a story about a test pilot who was pushing the then-new P-80 jet fighter at max speed. Chuck Yaeger flew a P-51 alongside it and asked the pilot "can't you push that thing any faster?", then sped up past the jet!
Chuck
Chuck
The P-80 was not a very good aircraft. It was slow to spool-up and get to speed....not the best handling thing either. Richard Bong, America's top ace in WW II with 40 confirmed kills, was killed while test flying the P-80.
Tom
Jun 10, 2023 23:13:30 #
flyboy61 wrote:
Marvelous pictures of a great aircraft! I think th... (show quote)
Thanks.
The C model was indeed the first to get the Merlin. If the Brit's had not experimented with the conversion to the Merlin. the story of the P-51 would be entirely different.
The first German jet fighter, the ME-262, was about 100 mph faster than the P-51. The best chance the P-51 had against them was to catch them when they were either taking off or landing. They were at a relative slow speed then....about 200 mph....and they couldn't accelerate quickly. Chuck Yeager was one of the first to kill an
ME-262 and that's exactly how he got the kill....caught it taking off.
Jun 10, 2023 23:20:32 #
flycaster wrote:
The pilots had a lot to do with giving the German jets a real fight.
Chuck
Chuck
See my response to flyboy. Hitler made a big mistake early with the ME-262. He envisioned it as a light bomber. Despite request by Herman Goering and others, he stalled on the issue. Had he unleashed it as a fighter and put a bunch of them in the air, the outcome of the air war could have been a lot different.
Jun 11, 2023 02:30:09 #
TheShoe
Loc: Lacey, WA
black mamba wrote:
As like many folks who are into WW II military air... (show quote)
The D model had more than better visibility. It had the Merlin engine which gave it superior high altitude performance, 6 50 caliber machine guns as opposed to 4 30 caliber guns. Undoubtedly, the bubble reduced the weight which also improved the range and probably the maneuverability. There may be other modifications, but the hour is late and I am winding down.
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