Comments on: Warbird Bleg

By: Sharon Vincent

Sharon Vincent — Fri, 18 Dec 2009 14:18:38 +0000

A chum urged me to check out this post, great post, interesting read… keep up the good work!

By: PressingTowardTheMark

PressingTowardTheMark — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 20:00:33 +0000

When I was a kid (circa 1968), I found a P-51 manual in the main county library in Fairfax, VA. Checked it out a couple of times and read it cover to cover. I seem to remember something about a wire that had to be broken to get WEP and a time limit like 5 min. I also remember a warning about a time limit for inverted flight, something about starving the oil pump.

By: xformed

xformed — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:43:26 +0000

first owned canopy was a dyed surplus C-9…with suspension lines.

RW? We just looked at the pics in Parachutist and fell out of the Cessna 182 or 206 trying what we thought they were doing….:) First 3 way as Rick closed in at 3000′…so we…well…you know…initiated opening IAW BSRs if anyone asks.

By: Swoop

Swoop — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 13:17:11 +0000

heh, small world innit lads?

By: virgil xenophon

virgil xenophon — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 12:27:16 +0000

JackSprat: Old Ike personally polished the leading edges with shoe polish for greater airspeed, IIRC–he credited that as well as the water injection (and luck–not to mention his skill) with giving him the edge. He was on the deck and feinted a turn one way, went the other and nearside zero’s wing-tip hit the water attempting to turn inside and cartwheeled. Offside zero was too far out of position once the turn was made…

By: CJ Martin

CJ Martin — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 11:44:00 +0000

It’s funny when different threads in ones life intersect…I spent many years running with that combat flight sim crowd, even to the point of joining the game biz for several years. The above mentioned F-15 driver is a bud and former virtual “squadron” mate of mine.

The thing to remember is the main arena in Ace High skews everyones perception. Opposing fields are practically a stone throws apart (actually a short tank drive for those so inclined). Each team can fly virtually any plane (late war stuff is somewhat restricted) so you end up with P-51 on P-51, etc. Most fights are below 10K as few bother climbing up to the nosebleed seats from rear area fields (unless you are flying a bomber). So fights are lower, matchups are not historic, and many of the great WW2 planes strengths aren’t obvious. The P-47 is a great example – in a historical event where fights are at 20K+ feet, it is a superstar. Down on the deck in the main arena, it is a grape.

AH does limit WEP use a bit, but there are no restrictions on max throttle as noted. This suits the arenas well, but does teach bad habits. Historical events are where it is at…I’ve had the great honor of “flying” with members of the Tuskegee airmen during one such event. I’ve lead a formation of B-17′s from the 303rd BG to the subpens at Kiel, Germany. Shot up, I managed to limp home escorted by a gaggle of “little friends” (P-51′s). I’ve felt the rush spotting a formation of B-17′s below our gruppe of FW-190A-8′s, with not an escorting allied fighter in sight. When we hit them, it was like a puppy getting smacked by a truck. I’ve bravely run away from incoming zeros over Henderson Field in my Iron Dog (P-39)…only to turn around and charge into another group of zeros chasing our B-25′s. Etc, etc. Good times.

Swoop, tell Hitech Smut says hello.

-CJ