Delighted

[Craiglxviii]

You quoted before I updated…

It is the Wyvern but it’s in Hall 3 (Arc Royal Mock-up) now. I didn’t take a pic of the display so you geekiness use still intact

The Ark mock-up is brill. Especially the heli ride to get there

 

[Craiglxviii]

I have been to farnbourgh many times as kid with my old man prior to public open days quite something and 3 trips to oshkosh. The nicest sounding aircraft I ever heard is the corsair. And my favorite book. Skunk works. Ben Richie I no yank fan but those guys were special.

Today I have had a P-51 Mustang, and a Hurricane fly over the house. No Spitfire sadly.

 

[Blobcat]

Today I have had a P-51 Mustang, and a Hurricane fly over the house. No Spitfire sadly.

Had a Spitfire doing aerobatics around Portsmouth last week

 

[Blobcat]

A mere 3,200 hp
46ltr and 24 cylinder

Good to see how they saved weight on the exhaust system…

“Can you do me something with open headers please”…

 

[Craiglxviii]

Had a Spitfire doing aerobatics around Portsmouth last week

We get the two-seater Mk.IX from Sywell aerodrome over most weeks. Which is nice.

 

[flying haggis]

I wonder how loud it is when your sitting in the cockpit just behind the engine?? LOUD would be my guess...

 

[ajlsl600]

P

Today I have had a P-51 Mustang, and a Hurricane fly over the house. No Spitfire sadly.

P51 was useless till fitted with merlin. And was designed for brits n flew of drawing board.. yanks had no initial interest in the aircraft.
Mitchell was special, designed a special aircraft but was an order of magnitude more hassle to maintain. Potential handicapped by initial fabric covered control surfaces

 

[ajlsl600]

My grandfather flew mosquitoes in ww2 for pru and pathfinders. Died a few months ago. I am getting his log books. A real interesting gent with many a tale, but like many, never proffered a story.

 

[A.J.]

My grandfather flew mosquitoes in ww2 for pru and pathfinders. Died a few months ago. I am getting his log books. A real interesting gent with many a tale, but like many, never proffered a story.

When I worked in Welwyn Garden City a few years back we used to get a Mosquito fly overhead quite regularly from Panshanger. Quite a unique sound

 

[ajlsl600]

OK was not aware any in flying condition in UK!! Liv n learn. There was at least one complete rebuild one flying in the states. No idea now.

 

[A.J.]

OK was not aware any in flying condition in UK!! Liv n learn. There was at least one complete rebuild one flying in the states. No idea now.

This was back in the mid/late 70's so perhaps it has now been put to rest.

 

[Craiglxviii]

P

P51 was useless till fitted with merlin. And was designed for brits n flew of drawing board yanks had no initial interest in the aircraft. Mitchell was special, designed a special aircraft but was an order of magnitude more hassle to maintain. Potential handicapped by initial fabric covered control surfaces

Not quite true. The P-51 (actually the North American NA-73, or Mustang I) was actually designed as a counterpart to the Curtiss P-40,

which most certainly was not useless! It came about because Curtiss could not produce the volume of P-40s we wished to buy (in 1938) and North Anerican offered to design, build and sell to us a “better” aeroplane than the P-40, using the same engine, for the same money ($40k each in 1940). That became the Mustang I as fitted with the Allison V-1710 engine- which did not have a supercharger.


Same engine as fitted on the P-38 Lightning by the way although that ship did get intercooled turbochargers fitted into the booms.


As the war progressed the P-40 started showing itself obsolete against the Bf.109s in North Africa although it continued to give sterling service in the jungles of Borneo and Malaya.

So, as the war progressed to mid-1943 and the daylight bombing campaign kicked off, the need for escort fighters became evident. The P-47 could do the job and well, but it was a fuel pig and there were major constraints on the production of its turbocharged radial engine. Something else single-seated & engined was needed.

The Packard Automobile Company had spare engine production capacity and was used to Vee configuration. Rolls-Royce was willing to grant a license for the Merlin, which was designed from the start for a 3-stage supercharger. The Merlin and V-1710 were of equivalent frontal area (Merlin was a bit smaller) and the Mustang had excellent internal tankage, and was also highly economical in the cruise due to its laminar flow wings. So Packard got the contract to supply Merlins (labelled V-1650) and North American developed the Mustang into the better-known P-51D

which did such good work in the skies over Germany.

Contrary to popular thought the Spit was not a pig to maintain (the Bf.109 was another matter however). The main issue was to do with combat damage repairs to the stressed-skin fuselage, which admittedly were more involved than to previous fabric covered machines or indeed the Hurricane.

NB literally every fighter started the war with fabric covered control surfaces, so the Spit wasn’t alone there. The Spit’s main drawback was that it’s wings were a pig to build.

 

[ajlsl600]

Built. Very very quickly, to brit air ministry spec by at the time, a minor American aircraft builder
On spit I aware that near all aircraft started out with fabric control surfaces. I merely pointed out the fact on This aircraft it degrades aircraft performance in this case. And was rectified as a result of pilot requests and later became std. I old. but vaigely remember? Douglas Bader asking supermarine to do it and it much improved the dog fighting performance. Rate turn rate roll ect as fabric obviously flexes
Ref P51 I watched a lengthy film on that so I pretty sure I accurate ref conception, design and early usa lack of interest. I think prototype design was set in 90 days. But I not certain of that.. Pretty much all else interest

 

[ajlsl600]

At time spit was fast and fabric controls ex Wright brothers in fact, wing warping to start with, then ww1.. speeds of post 1935 aircraft required control surfaces that did not distort. Hence all metal skins on later spits and near all else and spit mainainenace was aggrivated by the skill set mostly being of fabric experience at start of ww2 in fact many were when practical flown or transported back to factory until front line guys became familiar. A lot were flown to from the factories by the very able girls. Fair play to them, anyway that's end of my debate ref spit n p51

 

[Craiglxviii]

At time spit was fast and fabric controls ex Wright brothers in fact, wing warping to start with, then ww1.. speeds of post 1935 aircraft required control surfaces that did not distort. Hence all metal skins on later spits and near all else and spit mainainenace was aggrivated by the skill set mostly being of fabric experience at start of ww2 in fact many were when practical flown or transported back to factory until front line guys became familiar. A lot were flown to from the factories by the very able girls. Fair play to them, anyway that's end of my debate ref spit n p51

The biggest issue with fabric skinned control surfaces wasn’t flexing but their tendency to balloon in high speed dives, which destroyed their effectiveness.

Aileron trim on later Spits was accomplished by gluing lengths of 1/4” cord on…

 

[ajlsl600]

Either way fabric covered controls were no where near as effective as alli skinned controls in any any way. Except possibly weight.

 

[Blobcat]

Either way fabric covered controls were no where near as effective as alli skinned controls in any any way. Except possibly weight.

They also increased speed when they switched from domed to flat rivets

 

[Craiglxviii]

They also increased speed when they switched from domed to flat rivets

Howard Hughes and his H-1 Racer pioneered this. 15mph increase from reduction in parasitic drag.

 

[ajlsl600]

Not on Spitfire didn't ref alli control surfaces . I guess supermarine (Mitchell) may have "dragged" it over schinder trophy design.
Domed to flush riviting think Yr right.

 

[ajlsl600]

A good read on the merlin. "not much of an engineer" Stanley hooker.
Until around 42ca merlin cud not out dive a 109. And carb design of merlin would actually cut out. A mod, orifice, then diaphragm design fitted to float Chambers resolved this. Not an issue for 109vas fuel injected. Well known fact to 109 pilots to evade spit was to roll/dive, where a spit doing so wud put itself in a bad place in the sky, some 109 guys got a bit of a shock in 42