XP-82 Progress Pics for May

[Dan K]

On Facebook...

https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set ... 916&type=1

[Dan K]

And for you non-facebookers:

Elevator install

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=55E7BF1B


https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=55F57E8F


Centersection flap

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=5600DAB7


Fuel tanks finished

https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=5607D218


https://scontent-ord1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... e=560B7461

Last edited by Dan K on Tue Jun 02, 2015 4:29 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[DH82EH]

Thanks for the link Dan.

I really hope that Rivet returns home
Her shenanigans are always a highlight.

Andy

[Michel Lemieux]

Thank you for the updates and congrads on all the hard work.....truly impressive.

Have to ask. What is up with this guy at C&P Aviation????? Have not heard in a long time.

Any recent news?

http://maxair2air.com/09AIR/P-82/02.html

[Zac Yates]

It's always a real moment when a new Twin Mustang update appears, but I must admit to getting a little misty-eyed when reading about Rivet. My parents had an old cat, who was my favourite, and one day he just never came in for dinner. That was about 18mth ago. We think he found somewhere comfortable and secluded to pass away. BUT I am sending positive feline vibes to the Reilly team for Rivet's sake.

[dirtysidedown430]

Is this Walter S. P 82 if not anyone what happen to his.

[pjpahs]

I believe the Georgia xp-82 and the Minn. p-82 were both Soplata aircraft. The xp has Merlin engines and the Minn has Allisons, I believe.

[cooper9411]

Is this Walter S. P 82 if not anyone what happen to his.

Both aircraft were in fact part of the Soplata collection.

[Duggy009]

Thanks for the update.
Some interesting facts, FROM HERE - http://www.airvectors.net/idx_wmil.html

* While the Merlin-powered Twin Mustangs derived from the XP-82 were only used experimentally or as trainers, the USAAF went ahead to production and operational use of derivatives of the Allison-powered XP-82A.

The USAAF knew that the jet fighter was the way of the future, but early jets didn't have the range for long-range escort missions. In February 1946, the USAF ordered 250 Allison-powered "P-82Es" as interim long-range escort fighters. The order was soon changed to 100 P-82Es, plus 150 night-fighter versions of the Twin Mustang, as detailed below. First flight of the P-82E was on 17 February 1947. In 1947, the US Army Air Forces became the US Air Force, and fighters were redesignated with an "F" for "fighter" instead of the archaic "P" for "pursuit". All P-82s became "F-82s" as a result.

Production F-82Es were slow in arriving, the problem being the updated Allison V-1710 engine. The Allison was selected because Packard had to pay Rolls-Royce a $6,000 USD royalty for every V-1650 the company produced. During the war, Rolls Royce had been lenient about license fees, but after the end of the conflict, Britain's economy was in the dumps and the royalty fee skyrocketed. There was also the fact that General Motors, which owned Allison, had a 40% share in NAA. GM had not been happy with the Mustang's switch to Merlin power during the war, but demand for Allisons by other aircraft such as the P-38 Lightning was strong and GM had not been in a position to protest. With the war over, aircraft production took a dive and GM wanted to sell more Allisons. There were few other reasons to use the Allison engine, since even the two-stage supercharged Allison V-1710 was inferior in power-to-weight ratio to the Merlin.

The souped-up Allison engine was also temperamental and unreliable, and Allison couldn't deliver product in quantity. NAA had completed the 100 F-82E airframes by April 1948, but wasn't able to deliver them all for another year due to engine shortages. In service, the Allison-powered F-82Es were marginally slower than the Merlin-powered F-82Bs and the reliability problems persisted. The V-1710 became known as the "Allison time bomb" due to engine failures. Spark plug fouling from backfiring was particularly acute, and spark plugs were often swapped after a single flight.

NAA engineers modified some Allison engines with Merlin components and fixed most of the problems, but Allison took a "not invented here" attitude and insisted on applying their own fixes, which never quite worked. Given the small production run of the Twin Mustang, even the steep license fee Rolls Royce was demanding for the Merlin was a bargain compared to all the troubles the USAF had with the Allisons. Pilots still found the machine pleasant to fly because its performance was so good even when its engines couldn't be run at their top ratings; in fact, they could lose an engine and hardly notice it. The Twin Mustang was also very agile for an aircraft of its size, and was a very stable gun platform. The battery of guns mounted in the center wing section provided highly focused firepower.

[pjpahs]

What is the performance difference between the Merlin and Allison powered aircraft?

[Dan K]

A quickie comparison of F-82B (Merlin) vs F-82E (Allison) ...courtesy Joe Baugher:

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p82_3.html

http://www.joebaugher.com/usaf_fighters/p82_6.html

[GregP]

Hi Duggy,

I worked in an Allison engine overhaul shop for over two years. We had a lot of visitors. None said the things you said bout the Allison engines. In fact, they were there to purchase Allisons for flying private airplanes including Soviet units of various sorts. We built Allisons in almost every 80-100+ dash number. They all ran great and still do. Some of ours have 1,200+ hours on them

Try THAT with a Merlin. We almost got that with one ... it had 900+ hours on it and was run conservatively almost all the time.

Good luck, but it really isn't lucky, it's good engineering from both companies.

Run them BY THE BOOK, built BY THE BOOK, and things last a long, reliable time assuming normal maintenance for an Allison OR a Merlin. Both great engines.

I have no issues with either one other than access to some fasteners on both and the fact that I'd need a set of Whitworth tools to actually disassemble a Merlin. I have SAE and Metric, but only a few Whitworth items. Makes them a bit of a problem to work on, for me ... but not with the correct tools. Neither one is "difficult" to work on within the realm of the engines of the time, but the Merlin sure has a lot more fasteners ... maybe 3,000 more.

I'd be pleased to fly either one, anytime.

[hang the expense]

You can still fly an Allison farther than you can ship a merlin.I never get tired of saying that.

[cooper9411]

[quote="hang the expense"]You can still fly an Allison farther than you can ship a merlin.I never get tired of saying that. [/quote