Warbird Information Exchange

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed on this site are the responsibility of the poster and do not reflect the views of the management.
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 10:52 am

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Classic Wings Magazine WWII Naval Aviation Research Pacific Luftwaffe Resource Center
When Hollywood Ruled The Skies - Volumes 1 through 4 by Bruce Oriss


Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 26 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2
Author Message
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2022 2:14 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 12:51 pm
Posts: 1185
Location: Chandler, AZ
I'm going to go out on a limb here

The P-40 is a Marylin Monroe of fighters. Brash, not as sophisticated as people think, an icon, but often overwhelmed by circumstance. But the dilettantes choice.
The P-51 is Elizabeth Taylor. Anglo-American Beautiful even before her career started in earnest, continued to get better, went though kind of a 'plush' phase and spent some time overpolished and flashy before settling firmly into classicism.
The P-47 is Jane Mansfield - 'nuff said

_________________
Lest Hero-worship raise it's head and cloud our vision, remember that World War II was fought and won by the same sort of twenty-something punks we wouldn't let our daughters date.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2022 4:07 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jan 14, 2006 7:18 pm
Posts: 1933
Location: Meriden,Ct.
Anything with a Pratt & Whitney in it... :P

Phil

_________________
A man's got to know his limitations.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2022 5:16 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:31 pm
Posts: 1650
Hah - amusing!

It depends on the job. In 2018 I flew a Spitfire across most of the continent and back. It would have been much easier in a P-51. The Mustang is a great cross-country airplane -- like a Bonanza on steroids. Fast, with big tanks, an open comfortable cockpit, great heating and ventilation, and it laughs at crosswind landings.

The Spitfire is better for flying an airshow. It's low-speed capabilities and benign stall characteristics mean you can keep it in front of the crowd. It also accelerates when you unload with the power up, almost as fast as the Mustang -- like an arrow out of a bow, in fact. You can get the 220 mph you need to add a vertical component after a very short geographic transit of the infield.

The P-40 is just as good for airshows, and better if you need a rolling component. You can do a double-roll on a pass and not need to push negative G. It tends to flick wildly during an accelerated stall, but gives lots of buffet-warning first. It takes longer to get the speed up than the Spit, but it's plenty fast enough. And the engine burns less gas than a Merlin and is built from a lot less parts.

For short rough strips, the Hurricane reigns supreme. The thick wing generates lots of lift, the gear is sturdy, and the tail doesn't want to lift if you squeeze the brakes. Operate from 2500 ft of dirt? The Hurricane is your choice. However, the Merlin's updraft carb sucks up weeds, seeds, and dust, so a green field -- lovely sweet grass, is nicest.


Last edited by Dave Hadfield on Sat May 21, 2022 5:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat May 21, 2022 5:18 pm 
Offline
Long Time Member
Long Time Member
User avatar

Joined: Wed Jan 19, 2011 12:27 am
Posts: 5228
Location: Eastern Washington
The key word here is favorite, so by definition, we are being very subjective.
Quite a bit different for an objective ranking which might bestow a "best" title.

I'm not a fan of calling anything the best. Every type has its string and weakpoints.

An 8th/15th Air Force bomber-centric fan might name the P-51 for its efforts in long-range escort missions, while a Pacific/Navy fan will find it hard to overlook the record of the Hellcat or the sheer bravery of Wildcat pilots in the desperate early days of 1942.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2022 5:28 am 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm
Posts: 1157
Collectively in the US, the P-51 is the favorite by the most people, and unquestionably the most well known by the general population, but ask a group of US enthusiasts the same question and you will get a whole host of answers. The Corsair did well for years with The TV show Ba Ba Black sheep, but that memory is fading. The P-38 is recognizable and the P-40 is somewhat known due to the shark mouth. The P-47 is not nearly as known, and the Hellcat is nearly forgotten.

Like many enthusiasts I appreciate different things. The P-51 is almost too common, like the car if the same name here in the US, and I won’t go out if my way to see one. My choice varies but is usually Bearcat, Corsair, P-51….


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun May 22, 2022 9:26 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!
User avatar

Joined: Tue Aug 28, 2012 4:48 pm
Posts: 1625
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Randy Wilson wrote:
My favorite American fighter to fly is/was the Wildcat

It's hard to pick just one, but I would have to say the F4F is up there for me as well. (Can I say SBD? Swede Vejtasa used one a fighter in Coral Sea. That episode of Dogfights is one of my favorites.) IMHO, the equipment from the early years of the war tend to have more interesting stories because they were from a time where the Allies didn't have overwhelming superiority. When opponents are on more of an equal footing (or even at a disadvantage), combat requires more skill.

Also, I'm a sucker for naval aviation. Partially because naval aircraft have to achieve all the same objectives that land based ones do, but they have the additional limitation of shipboard operations, which means more inventive design solutions.

sandiego89 wrote:
Collectively in the US, the P-51 is the favorite by the most people, and unquestionably the most well known by the general population, but ask a group of US enthusiasts the same question and you will get a whole host of answers.

I know its terrible gatekeeping, but I have a rule of thumb that you can tell an average member of the public apart from a real warbird enthusiast by asking them what their favorite fighter is. The former will answer P-51 and the latter anything else. Now for the hate mail... :hide:

sandiego89 wrote:
The P-51 is almost too common, like the car if the same name here in the US, and I won’t go out if my way to see one.

I would say the F-4 and F-16 are the same way. There's nothing inherently wrong with them - they're good fighters - but they're just so overrepresented and average that they're boring. It's the less common and unusual stuff that's interesting.

_________________
Tri-State Warbird Museum Collections Manager & Museum Attendant

Warbird Philosophy Webmaster


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2022 1:30 am 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Thu Jan 25, 2007 7:31 pm
Posts: 1089
Location: Caribou, Maine
Noha307 wrote:

[quote][/quote]

I agree with that. So here is my choice - the P-39.

- I do not think the US flew in combat a more innovative aircraft (fighter, at least) in WWII
- I do not think the US flew a more unfortunate aircraft (no installation of supercharger)
- I do not thing the US more misused a useful aircraft.

Kevin

_________________
Kevin McCartney


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2022 9:36 am 
Offline
2000+ Post Club
2000+ Post Club

Joined: Mon Jul 26, 2004 2:38 pm
Posts: 2628
Location: Nashville, Tennessee
I would like to find an FM-2 Wildcat to purchase and fly. They are a little overlooked as the Corsairs and P-51s get all the airshow glory. I built well over a 100 aircraft models as a kid. The favorite fighter was the kit I was working on at that time. Country music singer Roy Acuff once said " You gotta dance with the one that brung ya." So, if I had the opportunity to fly any of these aircraft in someone's collection I would be proud and it would be my favorite.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon May 23, 2022 8:13 pm 
Offline
1000+ Posts!
1000+ Posts!

Joined: Sun Apr 22, 2007 7:43 pm
Posts: 1168
Location: Marietta, GA
Randy Wilson wrote:
My favorite American fighter to fly is/was the Wildcat, specifically the General Motors Eastern Division FM-2, sometimes called the "Wilder Wildcat" of which I flew two for some time. The FM-2 brought the design and performance of the previous F4F-4 back close to or better than the early production Grumman F4F-3, which didn't have folding wings and mounted 4 .50 caliber guns. The Wildcat design served throughout the war but is often overlooked for its service. My opinion and 2 cents. Fly safe.

Randy


Randy,

How challenging is the Wildcat in gusty or crosswind conditions? Just looking at its height and weight vs its track width makes me think it is a little sportier on the ground than most WWII types other than the ME-109.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2022 4:35 am 
Offline

Joined: Tue Jan 19, 2010 2:49 pm
Posts: 530
Thank you all for all your responses, it has been educational. Thanks Dave for your comparisons flying the different types and I particularly liked your analogy of different types shrike.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue May 24, 2022 7:36 pm 
Offline
User avatar

Joined: Tue May 16, 2006 10:06 am
Posts: 857
Location: Midland, Texas
Kyleb - it has been quite a few years since I flew a Wildcat but can tell you that in a significant crosswind landing, I put the wind on my left, as the left wing tended to be rolled down as power was cut and the wheels touched down, as opposed to the right wing, which tended to roll up and make a kind of sail. I also only made full three-point landings in it, after having tried a wheel landing once and not liking it. I have seen other well experienced Wildcat pilot do the opposite of my technique but it worked for me. One thing I was told by a few veteran Wildcat pilots, including Joe Foss, that most of the ground loops and other landing accidents in early Wildcats came when relatively new pilots, who were used to landing into the wind with an arrest on the carrier, came ashore at say Henderson Field and often over corrected to the Wildcat's tendency to "lean over" to the left on landing, due to the geometry of the landing gear. What one is trained to quickly fix with rudder in an SNJ could result in a ground loop the opposite way in the Wildcat. I remember taking the Cavanaugh FM-2 to the Breckenridge show shortly after they acquired it and with a strong west wind I requested a landing to the north (the cross-wind runway being closed to park aircraft), while others were landing to the south, and it worked fine, with the wind on my left. My 2 cents. Hope that is of some help. I should add, after flying several brakeless, tailskid aircraft off of grass and my Pitts and SNJs off a rather narrow runway, the Wildcat was a very solid plane to me. You just had to learn what it liked and didn't like, as in all high-performance tailwheel single seaters.

Randy


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 26 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: quemerford, warbird51 and 79 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Search for:
Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group