Question for the Cobra Den gang...

[Speedy]

Since you have an example of each at your disposal....

How 'common' is the cockpit between the P-39 and P-63? Does the King Cobra cockpit have any more room, or is that one of the few parts of the airframes that are essentially 'shared'?

[bluehawk15]

I've never really looked close, and with the -63 going through restoration, it had been hard to tell anyway. I'll check when I get back from my TDY and see. Maybe even try to get some photos, unless Ray Clausen can get them posted first. I do know we have talked about having "pool" pilots for both the -39 and -63 since they are so much alike.

[B-29FE30]

Speedy,
While I'm not a member of the Cobra Den, I can shed some light on your question on P-39 and P-63 cockpits. Both cockpits are basically the same size. The doors are interchangable. The big difference is in the windshields. The P-39 windshield is curved and on the combat aircraft the flat bulletproof glass was mounted internally. The P-63 windshield had a flat bulletproof panel in the front portion. When building Mira Slovaks Mr. Mennen, Dick Martin put the P-63 windshield in although it did not use the thick bulletproof glass but a thinner plexiglas piece with a spacer. The reason being that it was always suspected that the failure of the plexiglas windshield or top panel may have caused the loss of Cobra 1 and Jack Woolams in 1946. The only P-39 that I am familiar with is Mira's and I was only in the CAF's P-63F when Jack Flaherty owned it. Both had far from stock instrument panels. I also seem to remember the landing gear motor in the 63 was on TOP of the cockpit floor just inside the R/H door rather UNDER the floor as on the 39. The older I get, the worser I remember! Mira's N40A had the molded phenolic seat rather than the aluminum or stainless ones as in most WW2 A/C.

The Kalamazoo Museum's website shows some good pictures of the ex Mr. Mennen. There you can see the modified windshield and also the bearcat brakes.