Mustangs

[Bunkerbarge]

A few shots of a beautiful pair of Mustangs at the East Kirkby air show this August

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[eddiesolo]

Beautiful piccies Richard, even now I think WWII aircraft have that beauty in design yet packed a deadly punch.

Si

 

[Bunkerbarge]

An interesting note was that when they flew past the crowd you could very clearly hear the whistle of the wind going through the gun ports and out of the cartridge eject holes, very similar to a set of Pan Pipes and quite spooky. It reminded you every time just what these aircraft were built to do.

 

[yak face]

Great pictures Richard thanks for sharing . I only found out about the East Kirby airshow a few days after it happened , i was told by a work colleague who said it was excellent, i think he went in the cockpit of the lanc. I would have definitely been there if i'd known , theres always next year (and i'll be sure to keep a look out for someone dressed as a U boat captain!!LOL!!) cheers tony

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Hi Tony, they do "Taxi Rides" in "Just Jane" to help raise the funds required to get her back in the air. We booked ours for next May, nearly a year ahead at the time we booked.

The air show was way above what I expected and a fantastic day out. Firstly the organisation was superb, with even the parking carefully controlled and the marshalling spot on. This is in no small way as a result of limiting ticket sales so they know exactly what numbers to expect and are ready for them. The events were way better than I was expecting with the place all opened up for the public, no huge lines for toilets and food and the aircraft were very close when parked and did a display so close you felt you could touch them. I will post some more pictures later of Just Jane and some of the other aircraft.

 

[Sky Raider]

Nice pics Richard, good to see you back home again. Its been a while.

Andy

 

[AlasdairGF]

I was reading in another thread a while back where someone recommended that a modeller not set the flaps in the 'down' position for a parked aircraft as they would certainly not be left like this. Just reminded of it here as the first photos above show both planes with flaps down!

 

[Polux]

Very nice pics Richard!

Was funny.....when I see the photos of them flying I remeber the movie of Spielberg..... Empire of the Sun

Yeeeahh!! (sorry I'm like a child)

 

[AlasdairGF]

Yeah... awesome scene...

 

[flyjoe180]

The procedure for some low-wing aircraft is to lower the flaps prior to or just after shut down. It prevents people standing on them by accident if they inadvertently leave the walkway. Some aircraft with hydraulic flap systems will gradually lose line pressure after shut down. This can take anything from minutes to hours, and the flaps will lower naturally. Some flap droop is normal, but ground crews also selected the flaps to the down position for better access to panels and to prevent anyone walking into the trailing edges. Much in the same way as the German crews pushed the leading edge slats back into the wing leading edge on the Bf109.

The P-51D has a 1,000psi system from which the flaps are also operated.

Lovely photos Richard, sounds like you are having fun out there.

 

[Vaughan]

Just caught up with these Richard some lovely shots. The two Mustangs live just down the road from me they are part of the Hardwick warbirds collection. I went to the Hardwick Hanger dance earlier this year, all their planes including the Mustangs were parked on the grass runway.

 

[stona]

e pilots were instructed to raise the flaps after landing. This would prevent damage when taxying. A loss of hydraulic pressure, either over time or by intentional release did not cause the flaps to bleed down. Later Mustang flaps had a step built in to aid access and could be pulled down.

Here are the relevant sections of a couple of different Mustang pilot's notes that I have.





Anybody can pose their model how they like. There are situations in which a Mustang might be parked flaps down. A lot of photos show them down which might support Vaughan's contention that they were intentionally lowered. My WWII photos show a mixture of both. Oddly, in Korea, nearly every P-51 is parked with flaps down.

You pays your money and you takes your pick!









Cheers

Steve

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Both these Mustangs were actually only parked up briefly so, for whatever reason, the flaps were either dropped intentionally or simply left in that position between flights because they couldn't be bothered raising them again!

 

[Bunkerbarge]

Both these Mustangs were actually only parked up briefly so, for whatever reason, the flaps were either dropped intentionally or simply left in that position between flights because they couldn't be bothered raising them again!

 

[stona]

They might even have taxied in with them down Richard. After all, nobody is going to bust them for not following notes issued to service pilots seventy years ago

Cheers

Steve

 

[Bunkerbarge]

I actually took enough photos that day to see the whole sequence through so from:

1) At rest getting ready for the flight

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2) Engine Running and warming up

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3) Taxi run to the strip

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4) Taking off- note few degrees of flap

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5) Landing- Note full flap

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6) Taxi run back to the stand

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7) Further along the return to the stand

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8) Back on the stand

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It looks fairly obvious to me the flaps are deliberately lowered when parked up rather than fall of thier own accord. This may instigate further discussion or it may help. As Steve says you could display your model either way, no one could say it is wrong.

Also interesting to note that the elevator seems to droop at rest.

 

[stona]

Also interesting to note that the elevator seems to droop at rest.

Probably because the pilot pushed the stick forward to make it easier to get out. If they were flying frequently, and the weather was decent, they wouldn't have fitted control locks between flights.

That is an excellent series of photos, thanks for showing us those

Cheers

Steve

 

[Andy2035]

Maybe they lower the flaps for ease of climbing onto and off the wings, 'tis just a thought...

Great photos too, thank you for sharing them...

Andy...

 

[stona]

I have read accounts of a kick step in the Mustang flap to help get up but I haven't noticed one in any wartime photo. Maybe its a later modification to help the rather more mature pilots who tend to fly them today

The latest handbook or pilot's notes I have is for the P-51 D and is late or immediately post war.This is how it tells the pilot to enter the cockpit.



Cheers

Steve