Mustang musings: what it’s like to fly the
legendary P-51
9 min read
Several years ago my close friend Lewis Shaw and
I took a trip south from Dallas to Encinal, TX, in his North American P-51D
Mustang. We were flying to the remote and little-known town to visit with an
associate who was a serious collector of warbirds. He was looking to buy a
second Mustang to add to his collection and Lewis was looking to sell his—a
polished aluminum beauty that was an exquisite example of the legendary WWII
fighter in every way.
Neither Lewis nor the interested buyer were new
to the Mustang world. Lewis had owned two beautiful Mustangs prior to this one
and the interested buyer had one already in his stable and a number of other
perfectly restored and flightworthy warbirds to boot. I had arranged the
meeting between the two and was invited along for the ride to handle
introductions.
Acceleration in a North American P-51D is rapid
and seriously forceful.
Acceleration in a North American P-51D is rapid
and seriously forceful. If you’ve ever put the pedal to the metal in a
high-dollar sports car, no further explanation is required. During the first
few seconds following brake release, the pilot has no direct forward view.
Because the tailwheel is still on the runway, all Mustang (and taildragger)
pilots must momentarily compensate by developing a peripheral sense of where
the airplane is heading. Once a little forward stick is applied (which,
incidentally, also unlocks the tailwheel from the rudder) and the tail lifts,
the view forward is excellent. At that point, the mission objective becomes
simply keeping the airplane on the centerline while it accelerates to takeoff
speed.
During acceleration, engine power is metered out
in measured quantities. Too much torque can be a dangerous thing when airspeed
and lift are marginal, so max power (approximately 40 inches of mercury at
3,000 rpm) isn’t applied at the very beginning of the takeoff roll. It is, in
fact, eased into at a somewhat conservative pace using a good mix of
experience, book learning, and common sense.
Staying centered is no overly simple task; the
P-51D’s Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and Hamilton Standard four-blade propeller
develop a lot of torque. Right rudder in serious quantities is required to
offset the pull to the left (five degrees of right rudder are, in fact, pre-set
by the pilot prior to takeoff to ease rudder pedal forces), but once the
airplane’s airspeed gets to the point where the rudder and vertical tail have
acquired some authority, the pilot can reduce the right rudder input and start
concentrating on other things.
Read more: https://airfactsjournal.com/2021/10/mustang-musings-what-its-like-to-fly-the-legendary-p-51/
YouTube P51 Flight 1: https://youtu.be/zQyDaMtjhfc?si=ceFpF0D8i44IL_X4
Flight
2: https://youtu.be/4z1Z-WEZZGM?si=HfU568PACEbLz9qW
YouTube: Tom
Cruise in the P51 https://youtu.be/v1iZtBM23bY?si=7sPTMqB1AtY_N4vH
No comments:
Post a Comment
All comments are self moderated and published. I ask the author to identify name. (This policy is subject to change if comments get vulgar or personal).