OT - Aviation: Gathering of Mustangs and Legends
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OT - Aviation: Gathering of Mustangs and Legends
I know there are WWII aviation buffs here, so I thought I'd pass along this link.
http://www.gml2007.com/index.asp
Next weekend at Columbus Ohio, they're going to have a gathering of over 100 P-51 Mustangs, and 50 aviation legends. In addition there will be P-38s, a P-47, B-17, B-25, P-40, P-63, and others.
I plan on being there. If any levergunners plan on going, let me know. I'll be there at least Saturday, and I'll be the guy wearing a brown A-2 flight jacket and a Cleveland Indians cap.
~Michael
http://www.gml2007.com/index.asp
Next weekend at Columbus Ohio, they're going to have a gathering of over 100 P-51 Mustangs, and 50 aviation legends. In addition there will be P-38s, a P-47, B-17, B-25, P-40, P-63, and others.
I plan on being there. If any levergunners plan on going, let me know. I'll be there at least Saturday, and I'll be the guy wearing a brown A-2 flight jacket and a Cleveland Indians cap.
~Michael
That would be something to see for sure. I didn't know there were that many Mustangs left.
I found this story pretty cool from Slick13's link:
http://www.gml2007.com/h_p51-remembered.asp
Spending alot of time at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ as a kid, I got to be around a good number of Mustangs and other WWII warbirds. I felt just about like the author above....the awe of seeing them in action and knowing the men who flew them was incredible.
I found this story pretty cool from Slick13's link:
http://www.gml2007.com/h_p51-remembered.asp
Spending alot of time at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ as a kid, I got to be around a good number of Mustangs and other WWII warbirds. I felt just about like the author above....the awe of seeing them in action and knowing the men who flew them was incredible.
There are 5 P-51s within a short drive of here, and I used to see one or more in the air at least once a week and often more. One of the guys would give us impromtu air shows, doing low flybys and performing fast aerobatics overhead. The sound of a Packard Merlin is not ever forgotten.
In 1957, my dad and I went to Mather Field to check out the Mustangs that were being sold. Freshly reconditioned and overhauled P-51s were going for a bit over a thousand, but it might as well have been 10 Million to an 11 yr old kid. Several years later, the RCAF sold their remaining Mustangs for as little as $500. Nowadays, you'd have to fork out around 1 Million bucks for a good P-51. Fuel and insurance are extra.
In 1957, my dad and I went to Mather Field to check out the Mustangs that were being sold. Freshly reconditioned and overhauled P-51s were going for a bit over a thousand, but it might as well have been 10 Million to an 11 yr old kid. Several years later, the RCAF sold their remaining Mustangs for as little as $500. Nowadays, you'd have to fork out around 1 Million bucks for a good P-51. Fuel and insurance are extra.
BTTMike D. wrote:There are 5 P-51s within a short drive of here, and I used to see one or more in the air at least once a week and often more. One of the guys would give us impromtu air shows, doing low flybys and performing fast aerobatics overhead. The sound of a Packard Merlin is not ever forgotten.
In 1957, my dad and I went to Mather Field to check out the Mustangs that were being sold. Freshly reconditioned and overhauled P-51s were going for a bit over a thousand, but it might as well have been 10 Million to an 11 yr old kid. Several years later, the RCAF sold their remaining Mustangs for as little as $500. Nowadays, you'd have to fork out around 1 Million bucks for a good P-51. Fuel and insurance are extra.
If we only would have had a little foresite to preserve these pieces of history. My Dad was stationed at Mather AFB and also Travis back in mid/late 50's, where all of my brothers were born. Hope to get up there someday to have a look.
I was afraid of that. Only a couple of remaining B-36's too, none flying. THAT would have been something to see in action as well.Mike D. wrote:It has been turned into a County Park, Chris. Some business and freight aircraft still call it home. Same goes for McClellan. All AFBs except Beale are long decommed, and Beale is barely hanging on.
I look at the 51 & can't help but think it was the highpoint in pistonpounder fighter aircraft, BUT wonder why we had to go with the Rolls-Royce Merlin powerplant. What was defficient about the Allison? But then maybe I just answered my own question, didn't I? I mean, what more is there than Rolls Royce? I'll appreciate any feedback, jd45
The Allison is a good motor, but the Merlin outperforms it by an order of magnitude, especially at altitude. The engines were built under license here in the states by Packard. I have to stay away from airshows or I'll go into deep depression. I miss my Hiperbipe. http://musclebiplane.org/htmlfile/dkoch.phpjd45 wrote:I look at the 51 & can't help but think it was the highpoint in pistonpounder fighter aircraft, BUT wonder why we had to go with the Rolls-Royce Merlin powerplant. What was defficient about the Allison? But then maybe I just answered my own question, didn't I? I mean, what more is there than Rolls Royce? I'll appreciate any feedback, jd45
Here is a good site about the Merlins:
http://www.aviationshoppe.com/Rolls-Royce-Merlin.html
No matter what anyone says, those P-40's and P-38's still impress the heck out of me when they take off. I think the Mustang overall was just a superior design which complimented a more powerful and precise engine. More horsepower and ability to transfer the horsepower into speed through superior design. From reviewing the website above, it looks like they got less performance with the Allison's Turbosupercharger at high altitude, which was powered by exhaust, versus the mechanically supercharged Packard-Merlins which did better.
http://www.aviationshoppe.com/Rolls-Royce-Merlin.html
No matter what anyone says, those P-40's and P-38's still impress the heck out of me when they take off. I think the Mustang overall was just a superior design which complimented a more powerful and precise engine. More horsepower and ability to transfer the horsepower into speed through superior design. From reviewing the website above, it looks like they got less performance with the Allison's Turbosupercharger at high altitude, which was powered by exhaust, versus the mechanically supercharged Packard-Merlins which did better.
My pic? I took that this spring.(?) It's these guys. http://www.warbirdsoverli.comjd45 wrote:BTW, is that Chuck Yeager's Mustang in the pic? What a beauty! jd45
Last edited by cas on Thu Sep 20, 2007 8:51 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Mike........NO KIDDING!!! An EXCELLENT article on Wickipedia???? I'll have to check it out!! Seriously, tho, what is the powerplant on that HYPERBIPE? Could it be an 8cyl, such as I saw on a Piper single-engine monoplane several years ago at Midway Airport in Chicago. I think the displacement was 300 cu. in. The guy took us for a ride & made a low pass over the field at 200 knots. The tower warned other aircraft in the area that a TWIN was producing this airspeed, about which our pilot corrected him. We got a good laugh out of that one
The Hiperbipe had an O360 Lycoming when I had it. The new owner put an I0-360 200hp in it. It weighed 1160# empty so even with 180hp was quite the performer. I've heard of them being built with the IO540 but never ran across one. I was considering building a hopped 540(I was in regular communication with the owner of that website back then and he'd gotten to 450hp out of a 540 with perfect reliability). When the business started going south, I had to sell it.
PS the Brave spray plane behind it in the one photo does have the IO720(the number is the displacement) 400hp 8 cylinder engine in it so I know them pretty well.
Not a Mustang by any means but fun all the same.
PS the Brave spray plane behind it in the one photo does have the IO720(the number is the displacement) 400hp 8 cylinder engine in it so I know them pretty well.
Not a Mustang by any means but fun all the same.
Here is an interesting little story. While we were busy putting a man on the moon, apparently the Central Americans were shooting each other down in our old planes:
http://militaryhistory.suite101.com/art ... in_the_air
http://militaryhistory.suite101.com/art ... in_the_air
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Insufficient super charging. The Allison had a single stage, two speed supercharger. The Merlin used in the Mustang and later Spitfires had one two speed super charger feeding another two speed super charger. It could suck plenty of wind well above 30,000 feet. The Allison was pretty well tuckered out by 20,000.jd45 wrote:I look at the 51 & can't help but think it was the highpoint in pistonpounder fighter aircraft, BUT wonder why we had to go with the Rolls-Royce Merlin powerplant. What was defficient about the Allison?
The early Allison engined P-51s (P-51, P-51A, A-36) were good planes though, and don't deserve the bum rap they always get in print and TV programs. The Allison engined aircraft were 500 lbs lighter than the Merlin engined AC, and could fly circles around them below 15,000 feet. The A-36 had a single speed, single stage super charger optimised for 5,000 ft, and it would go like mad at low alt.
As for the P-51 being the high point of piston engined AC, if the P-47 had legs, you'd never have heard of the P-51. Range is the only big advantage the P-51 has over the P-47.
~Michael
Well, that just shows you how much I know about WWII fighter aircraft!. I should say, I love the JUGS, too! Especially their amazing ability to absorb battle damage & keep on with the mission. Didn't some of them see use, after being souped up, as Buzz-bomb chasers? And I'll bet the Tuskeegee Airmen loved them, too! I understand it was their weapon of choice for bomber-escort duty. jd45
Speaking of Jugs, my Uncle Jim was friends with a Jug pilot by the name of Roger Copang, IIRC. Used to come up to Hayward, Wisconsin, back in the early-mid '80's, for a couple weeks in the summer, & have dinner at my uncle's supper club, the Tally Ho. Roger was a member of an elite group called the "Caterpillars", who were fighter pilots who had been shot down & captured by the Germans during WWII. I don't know if they were just Jug pilots or they flew other types of fighters, tho. jd45