Sunday, December 31, 2017

Pure Beauty


7 comments:

  1. If I recall correctly, you had to be 5'9" or shorter to fit into the cockpit. Which wouldn't have worked for me, but it was lethal art.

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    1. I'm 6 foot and a tad more so that eliminates me from squeezing in, LL. But I still love the sweet Lightning.

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    2. Charles Lindbergh flew them and was sent out to the SW Pacific to teach proper fuel/engine management for long flights. He was 6'3" and though it was a tight squeeze for him, he did fit.

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  2. Well that lets me out too.
    When I was a kid my Old Man took me on a tour of the NAA plant. I got a chance to sit in the cockpit of a Mustang. Not sure I could do it now.
    =TW=

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  3. The XP-38 was destroyed in a crash having lived only 16 days

    From http://www.aviation-history.com/lockheed/p38.html

    During the flight, the average airspeed was 340 mph (547 km/h) and a heavy tailwind provided a groundspeed of 420 mph (675 km/h). Two refueling stops were made at Amarillo, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. However, on approach to Mitchell Field, Kelsey pulled back power and stalled the right engine, sending him into a steep right turn. Kelsey cut the throttle again and the plane slipped down and sheared off the tops of trees bordering the field. The undercarriage caught in a 35 foot (10 m) tree, and the plane plunged down into a sand pit on the Cold Stream Golf Course, 2,000 ft. (610 m) short of the runway. An Army investigation attributed the engine failure to carburetor ice.1 Kelsey survived and remained an important part of the Lightning program, but the airplane was a total loss. Despite the crash, the Army felt the aircraft showed promise and Lockheed received a contract for thirteen YP-38s along with the usual list of improvements. The XP-38 crashed after only 16 days with an airtime of 11 hours and 50 minutes.

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    1. for something designed from the outset to be THE high altitude long range interceptor aircraft for the USAAF, MAJ Richard Ira Bong would use one to dogfight Mitsubishi A6M Zeros and blow them out of the sky using skillful airmanship, tactical maneuver and firepower.
      it was also used in ground attack/close air support, photorecon, day bomber, pathfinder, and night fighter with a radar operator sitting behind the wing center section where the boarding ladder was (P38M).
      even with all these attributes, it was not the best at it's job. it was really really good, to be sure. the P51 was better. but the P38 did it with style.

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  4. Not sure about the height restrictions, but Charles Lindbergh allegedly flew one and he was 6'3"....

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