A Couple Of Fine Warbirds

black mamba · December 2, 2011

This beautiful P-51 belongs to a friend. It's the one I go up in.

1.

2.

A gorgeous P-40

3.

4.

fredjclaus · December 2, 2011

Great shots. Beautiful plane. Do you have any pictures you've taken from inside the plane?

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.992562,-78.962533

black mamba · December 2, 2011

fredjclaus wrote: »

Great shots. Beautiful plane. Do you have any pictures you've taken from inside the plane?

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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=42.992562,-78.962533

Thanks for looking in, Fred. The only shots I've taken from inside the plane are some interior shots of the cockpit area. I'll see if I can round any of those up. These " D " model Mustangs that have been modified to accommodate a passenger utilize a " K " model canopy. It's a little snug back there, but comfortable. When that Merlin is run up to take-off power, it calls for a re-definition of the term " loud ". Flying in the P-51 is the most visceral experience I've ever had in an airplane.

Tom

moose135 · December 2, 2011

black mamba wrote: »

This beautiful P-51 belongs to a friend. It's the one I go up in.

I never did like you, Tom.

Beautiful airplanes, and well photographed, Tom. Where were they at?

black mamba · December 2, 2011

moose135 wrote: »

I never did like you, Tom.

Beautiful airplanes, and well photographed, Tom. Where were they at?

Hey John,

These shots were taken at the Sun 'N' Fun extravaganza held in Lakeland, FL. It's the only time I've seen that particular P-40. It is a real beauty. The P-51 I see quite a bit of....it's home based out of Jacksonville.

Tom

ront · December 3, 2011

Great pictures of some beautiful old birds!! Really like these!

Ron

black mamba · December 3, 2011

ront wrote: »

Great pictures of some beautiful old birds!! Really like these!

Ron

Thanks for looking in, Ron. I appreciate your support.

Panther · December 3, 2011

Howdy Tom,

Oh my, that really has to be a Rush to go up in one of those.

Really some beautiful Warbirds, excellently photographed.

Very nicely done !!!

FlyNavy · December 3, 2011

Great pics from a golden era of aviation. I would love to have a friend who has a warbird.

black mamba · December 4, 2011

Panther wrote: »

Howdy Tom,

Oh my, that really has to be a Rush to go up in one of those.

Really some beautiful Warbirds, excellently photographed.

Very nicely done !!!

Yo Craig,

Thanks much for the kind words.

Flying in the P-51 is unlike any other experience I've had in an airplane....and, as you know, I flew myself for years. Oddly, the brutal nature to this beast comes to fore while you're on the ground, not in the air.

From the moment I stuff myself into the rear seat, the perception that I'm in for an extraordinary event begins to build. As you look around the aircraft cockpit, look at the wings and see the machine gun portals, you get an over-bearing sense that this machine was built for one purpose only....to shoot down other aircraft and kill people. It's a fairly sobering realization.

It's hard to describe the firing up of that big Merlin engine, but that's the exact point at which your senses begin to take a pounding. It coughs to life....sputtering and popping....emitting sounds and vibrations alien to anything else you are used to in an airplane. And that assault on you is just beginning.

You sit there while the pilot goes through some procedures. The engine begins to even out a little, but still there's a fair amount of popping. These Merlins don't like to idle. You begin to acclimate to the vibration level at this stage. Some of your trepidations begin to fade. And now you begin to move.

The ride down the taxi runway is fairly benign. You've kind of adjusted to the current sound levels. The building excitement, I believe, has almost dulled some of your perception and you tend to enter into a stage wherein you're oblivious to a lot of things....the lull before the storm.

HOLY CHRIST. WHAT"S HAPPENING? The pilot is doing the engine run-up prior to take off. From this point on, you're in a world you've never experienced. The sounds and vibrations are unimaginable. You seriously wonder if this plane can stay in one piece. The pilot's standing on the brakes and letting this engine roar. I can only equate it to a wild animal being restrained, fighting, with every muscle it has, to be released. Suddenly, the brakes are released, The P-51 bolts down the runway, and the plane claws its way upward with a ferocity that, at the same time, seems to be effortless.

When flying at altitude, you lose reference points. You know you're hauling ass in this thing but the sensation of speed is diminished without something to judge that speed against. The sound level remains high, the vibrations have been mitigated considerably, you find yourself kissing the clouds with a swelled-up sense of invincibleness. The high " G " forces in aerobatic maneuvers can be tiring.

Time to land this thing. Where did the time go. You can't wait to go through all these emotions again.

Tom

black mamba · December 4, 2011

FlyNavy wrote: »

Great pics from a golden era of aviation. I would love to have a friend who has a warbird.

Hi John,

Thanks for the visit and taking time to comment.

Tom

Panther · December 4, 2011

black mamba wrote: »

Yo Craig,

Thanks much for the kind words.

Flying in the P-51 is unlike any other experience I've had in an airplane....and, as you know, I flew myself for years. Oddly, the brutal nature to this beast comes to fore while you're on the ground, not in the air.

From the moment I stuff myself into the rear seat, the perception that I'm in for an extraordinary event begins to build. As you look around the aircraft cockpit, look at the wings and see the machine gun portals, you get an over-bearing sense that this machine was built for one purpose only....to shoot down other aircraft and kill people. It's a fairly sobering realization.

It's hard to describe the firing up of that big Merlin engine, but that's the exact point at which your senses begin to take a pounding. It coughs to life....sputtering and popping....emitting sounds and vibrations alien to anything else you are used to in an airplane. And that assault on you is just beginning.

You sit there while the pilot goes through some procedures. The engine begins to even out a little, but still there's a fair amount of popping. These Merlins don't like to idle. You begin to acclimate to the vibration level at this stage. Some of your trepidations begin to fade. And now you begin to move.

The ride down the taxi runway is fairly benign. You've kind of adjusted to the current sound levels. The building excitement, I believe, has almost dulled some of your perception and you tend to enter into a stage wherein you're oblivious to a lot of things....the lull before the storm.

HOLY CHRIST. WHAT"S HAPPENING? The pilot is doing the engine run-up prior to take off. From this point on, you're in a world you've never experienced. The sounds and vibrations are unimaginable. You seriously wonder if this plane can stay in one piece. The pilot's standing on the brakes and letting this engine roar. I can only equate it to a wild animal being restrained, fighting with every muscle it has to be released. Suddenly, the brakes are released, The P-51 bolts down the runway, and the plane claws its way upward with a ferocity that, at the same time, seems to be effortless.

When flying at altitude, you lose reference points. You know you're hauling ass in this thing but the sensation of speed is diminished without something to judge that speed against. The sound level remains high, the vibrations have been mitigated considerably, the high " G " forces in aerobatic maneuvers can be tiring.

Time to land this thing. Where did the time go. You can't wait to go through all these emotions again.

Tom

Howdy Tom,

WOWSER, I absolutely loved the narrative and had the feeling I was up there flying
with you, what a wonderful and thrilling adventure that had to have been. With all that
being said, one can only imagine what it was like to fly that "Beast" in Battle and the Raw
Courage and Skill of those that did.

Thanks so much again, I always love learning about things like this.

Give My Best to Darlene, and Mousers !! Merry Christmas !!

eL eSs Vee · December 4, 2011

Wonderful photos, Tom. Your description of flying in it reminds me of riding around in a friend's 1947 Plymouth, but at a scale unimaginable in the car. What would I need to cook for your family to get a ride in that plane? :-D

black mamba · December 4, 2011

eL eSs Vee wrote: »

Wonderful photos, Tom. Your description of flying in it reminds me of riding around in a friend's 1947 Plymouth, but at a scale unimaginable in the car. What would I need to cook for your family to get a ride in that plane? :-D

Gracious, Lee. That must have been one hellacious '47 Plymouth.

But then, at a young age, we were pretty easily impressed by quite a number of things....weren't we.

Be well my friend,

Tom

rwells · December 4, 2011

black mamba wrote: »

Yo Craig,

Thanks much for the kind words.

Flying in the P-51 is unlike any other experience I've had in an airplane....and, as you know, I flew myself for years. Oddly, the brutal nature to this beast comes to fore while you're on the ground, not in the air.

From the moment I stuff myself into the rear seat, the perception that I'm in for an extraordinary event begins to build. As you look around the aircraft cockpit, look at the wings and see the machine gun portals, you get an over-bearing sense that this machine was built for one purpose only....to shoot down other aircraft and kill people. It's a fairly sobering realization.

It's hard to describe the firing up of that big Merlin engine, but that's the exact point at which your senses begin to take a pounding. It coughs to life....sputtering and popping....emitting sounds and vibrations alien to anything else you are used to in an airplane. And that assault on you is just beginning.

You sit there while the pilot goes through some procedures. The engine begins to even out a little, but still there's a fair amount of popping. These Merlins don't like to idle. You begin to acclimate to the vibration level at this stage. Some of your trepidations begin to fade. And now you begin to move.

The ride down the taxi runway is fairly benign. You've kind of adjusted to the current sound levels. The building excitement, I believe, has almost dulled some of your perception and you tend to enter into a stage wherein you're oblivious to a lot of things....the lull before the storm.

HOLY CHRIST. WHAT"S HAPPENING? The pilot is doing the engine run-up prior to take off. From this point on, you're in a world you've never experienced. The sounds and vibrations are unimaginable. You seriously wonder if this plane can stay in one piece. The pilot's standing on the brakes and letting this engine roar. I can only equate it to a wild animal being restrained, fighting with every muscle it has to be released. Suddenly, the brakes are released, The P-51 bolts down the runway, and the plane claws its way upward with a ferocity that, at the same time, seems to be effortless.

When flying at altitude, you lose reference points. You know you're hauling ass in this thing but the sensation of speed is diminished without something to judge that speed against. The sound level remains high, the vibrations have been mitigated considerably, the high " G " forces in aerobatic maneuvers can be tiring.

Time to land this thing. Where did the time go. You can't wait to go through all these emotions again.

Tom

The P-51 has to be my all-time favorite!

And you've captured it well, but your narrative was just excellent

black mamba · December 5, 2011

rwells wrote: »

The P-51 has to be my all-time favorite!

And you've captured it well, but your narrative was just excellent

Thanks, Randy, for the kind words.

The P-51 is tops with me as well. Following the P-51, my personal favorite list looks like this: #2 Supermarine Spitfire; #3 Chance-Vought Corsair; #4 Grumman Hellcat; #5 Republic P-47 Thunderbolt.

Take care,

Tom

eL eSs Vee · December 5, 2011

black mamba wrote: »

Gracious, Lee. That must have been one hellacious '47 Plymouth. But then, at a young age, we were pretty easily impressed by quite a number of things....weren't we.

Be well my friend,

Tom

Actually, that was yesterday.

FlyNavy · December 5, 2011

Panther wrote: »

Howdy Tom,

WOWSER, I absolutely loved the narrative and had the feeling I was up there flying
with you, what a wonderful and thrilling adventure that had to have been. With all that
being said, one can only imagine what it was like to fly that "Beast" in Battle and the Raw
Courage and Skill of those that did.

Thanks so much again, I always love learning about things like this.

Yes indeed, that narrative made me feel like I was right there with you. I have about 100 hours in a T-28 but at the time I was way to nervous to enjoy myself. Oh to go back and do that again.
More pics please!!

black mamba · December 5, 2011

eL eSs Vee wrote: »

Actually, that was yesterday.

Get out'ta here!!!! Yesterday? Well, the same goes for us old goats....we're still easily impressed by certain things.:D

Tom

black mamba · December 5, 2011

FlyNavy wrote: »

Yes indeed, that narrative made me feel like I was right there with you. I have about 100 hours in a T-28 but at the time I was way to nervous to enjoy myself. Oh to go back and do that again.
More pics please!!

Boy, John, don't we all wish we could step back in time now and again. I'll scrounge up a few more pics you might enjoy.

Tom

A Couple Of Fine Warbirds

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