P51 Mustangs are pure sex with wings (pics & video

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My Pilot Log book entries:

5/31/14 P51C Intro Flight. Ground Taxi. Take Off. Climbs. Steep Turns.
Rolls. 4 Point Roll. Loops. 1.0 hour

6/2/14 P51C Move to Minden. B25 B24 Formation. Stall. Pattern. 1.2
hours

It all started with a $2,200 donation to the Collings Foundation which
affords you 30 minutes flight instruction in their dual control P51C
razor back Mustang named Betty Jane... sure that is pricy but it
actualy cost over $4,000 per hour to keep this one of a kind dual
control P51C flying... The 1450 hp Rolls Royce Merlin burns 65 gallons
per hour of 100LL at $6.32 per, mercy that's $410 per hour... Besides
I think Razor Back Mustangs are pure sex with wings and guided by
Chief pilot Jim Harley I lived my dream of yanking and banking my
brain loose like a WW2 Fighter Pilot... I logged maneuvers such as a
barrel roll and a 4 point hesitation roll... I dove to 375mph and then
pulled over 4Gs performing a loop... I pulled a tight turn to the left
and then rolled nimbly to right and pulled another tight turn... mercy
me, being in control of a 1450 HP North American gun platform is
terribly addictive and a true mind altering experience... yes sir,
flying a Mustang is everything they say it is and then some...

The originals screws were lost so in the spirit of keep'em flying I
machined a set of custom canopy screws out of Stainless Steel for the
Collins Foundation... they are small but important enough to
effectively ground Betty Jane...
P51CanopyScrews7_zps6e2ebd9a.jpg


Chief P51 pilot Jim Harley and his future wife Andrea... she is a
commercial pilot and flys co pilot in the B25...
P51BettyJane104_zps2492bce4.jpg


Andrea is looking to own a Ducati and confesses a growing love for
motorcycles... she has sport in her blood...
P51BettyJane110_zps5067c28a.jpg

P51BettyJane109_zps2bc48f71.jpg

P51BettyJane108_zps7e88c8b9.jpg


Chief pilot Jim Harley is a lucky guy with a one of a kind job... he's
logged 1100 hrs in Betty Jane... For me it was a mind altering
experience to just log 2.3 hours
P51BettyJane65_zpsc94b2dd5.jpg

P51BettyJane44_zpsd1fddc27.jpg

P51BettyJane91_zps4c1c73e8.jpg


You strap on a parachute and a 5 point harness flying back seat in Betty Jane..
P51BettyJane88_zps455aa30f.jpg


Hand on the stick and feet on the rudders I love flying Betty Jane...
P51BettyJane29_zps174796a3.jpg


I pulled over 4Gs in loop at 325 MPH...
P51BettyJane83_zps883961ba.jpg


Prop hug I'm in love with Betty Jane
P51BettyJane74_zps49a78e03.jpg

P51BettyJane076a_zps94a5c304.jpg


In appreciation for my custom machine work I was awarded back seat in gaggle of
Collins foundation warbirds departing McClellan AFB enroute to Minden Nevada...
P51BettyJane114_zpsf97c8992.jpg



B25 and P51C Betty Jame in formation heading towards Tahoe...
P51BettyJane101_zpsfa840446.jpg

P51BettyJane115_zpsbe6674c1.jpg


We flew so close to the B25 I could count the rivets
P51BettyJane13_zps06e3cdfe.jpg

P51BettyJane8_zpsa14b359f.jpg



Buzzing between the peaks of the Serra Nevada mountains
P51BettyJane25_zpsec403510.jpg

P51BettyJane26_zps10e8e1dd.jpg

P51BettyJane0101_zps765c81a3.jpg



Jim had to drop the flaps a notch to match the speed of the climbing B24...
P51BettyJane22_zps02a022f3.jpg


We barrel rolled over Tahoe... I was just giggling in my flight suit like
a kid...
c2e22613-8816-407c-956c-34b3a2bd3ddf_zps439011fa.jpg

P51BettyJane103a_zpsdbeb9109.jpg



Jim wanted a custom Go Pro mount to fit the tail of Betty Jane so I designed
and machine this example out of black Delrin...
P51GoPro8_zpsc32fcdf7.jpg


WW2 WarBirds Air Foils comparison... the Mustang's laminar flow wing
was a success and its performance in the air war is now history... In
cross section the wing is slightly thicker than its rivals but the
maximum thickness is further back from the leading edge, being near the
center of the cord, and the bottom trailing edge is cusped... The
shape of this NACA 66 series air foil permitted the transition from
laminar to turbulence flow to be generated further and thus reduce
the profile drag or air resistance by a great margin than previous air
foils available in 1939 by friend or foe...
WarBirdAirFoils_zps95c3edc0.jpeg



My video of the Collings Foundation P51C Betty Jane among a gaggle of B25 B24
B17 from McClellan AFB to Minden Nevada...
 
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That is totally awesome!!! Are the machine guns still operational? If flying is as exciting as you describe, firing on to something must be 10x greater.
 
Lost me with the whole look at what I'm marrying portion....pretty self absorbent. Rest of it is [censored] amazing! A lot of history behind what your flying.
 
Originally Posted By: BISCUT
Lost me with the whole look at what I'm marrying portion....pretty self absorbent. Rest of it is [censored] amazing! A lot of history behind what your flying.


That's the pilot's future wife, not the OP's.

The pics are awesome. So is that plane!

Are you certain that it's a Rolls engine? Not a Packard?
 
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Try this...

P51H model, only one in North America...

When Chanute AFB in Illinois closed in 1992, most of the static display planes were transferred to the new on base museum.

The P51 that was there was discovered to be an extremely rare "H" model, not a "D".

P51H
 
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With out doubt they are beauties and what an experience. Who hoo!!!! Money well spent.
 
Originally Posted By: Astro14

Are you certain that it's a Rolls engine? Not a Packard?



The original rolled off the assembly line with a Packard built Rolls Royce Merlin but I'm
not sure what Betty Jane's current engine is...
 
Great pics, thanks for posting them. The P51 is my favorite WWII airplane. So much history.
 
YES!!! P-51's are sexy, awesome and beautiful. I have a special place for the B-24's. My Dad was a tailgunner in the Naughty Nan, 8th Army Air Force, 460th Bomb Group, 761st Bomb Squadron. Many times when he talked about the War he always remembered how beautiful those P-51 escorts were.
AWESOME PICTURES!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank You for sharing them!!!
 
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Originally Posted By: BusyLittleShop
Originally Posted By: Astro14

Are you certain that it's a Rolls engine? Not a Packard?



The original rolled off the assembly line with a Packard built Rolls Royce Merlin but I'm
not sure what Betty Jane's current engine is...


My purely speculative guess is that it's a licensed Merlin design produced by Packard...
 
Originally Posted By: mattwithcats
Try this...

P51H model, only one in North America...

When Chanute AFB in Illinois closed in 1992, most of the static display planes were transferred to the new on base museum.

The P51 that was there was discovered to be an extremely rare "H" model, not a "D".

P51H


Interesting. The P-51H was more or less highly tweaked improvement over the D's, and was almost a new airplane when it came to design and parts. The near complete defeat of the Luftwaffe by 1945 and the advent of the Jet Age made it moot and rendered unnecessary. But it was quite a performance boost over the P-51D's...
 
Originally Posted By: CT8
With out doubt they are beauties and what an experience. Woo hoo!!!! Money well spent.
I had to look at the pics again It was a great deal for the experience [again]
 
I don't think we have seen the end of the P51 / F8 Bearcat / Skyraider propeller planes.

Drones are becoming more commonplace in the military, and the next stage of development after the Reaper is faster, more capable planes that can lug ordnance to the enemy cheaply and efficiently...
 
Originally Posted By: OneEyeJack
Larry, did you ever see Art Scholl fly a Chipmunk like yours?


Oh yea Jack... I use to hang out at FlaBob while stationed at Norton
AFB and found Art easy to talk with... I caught his Chipmunk routines
at Norton AFB and at USGP of MotoCross Carlsbad and at Reno Air Races... I
was just mesmerized by his signature "Lomcovak" maneuver where he tumbles
the Chippy out of control... I was just devastated when Art spun in
during the filming of Top Gun... fitting they dedicated the movie to
Art...

One of Art's Super Chipmunks is on display at the EAA museum...
DSCF0190_zps71f57c69.jpg


The other one hangs at Air & Space Museum Near Dulles Airport
DSCT0573.JPG
 
P-51H considered by many to be the ultimate Mustang but arrived to late
for WW2 and did not serve during the Korean war...

NAA released this photo to the press to illustrate weight savings.

Distinctive features to note are lack of leading edge kink... revised
vertical fin... lengthen radiator fairing...

Performance wise in a dive the P-51D would porpoise at Mach .74 whereas the P-51H
could go to .80 Mach...

P51H_zps7a651c1c.jpg
 
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