The Buttonville Flying Club COPA Flight 44

 
The Airplane of the Day is the P-51 Mustang.
 
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang entered service during the middle years of World War II and is often regarded as “The sexiest airplane of the War”. Described as a long-range single-seat fighter aircraft, most of the action experienced by P-51 pilots was over Germany as bomber escorts but it also saw limited service against the Japanese in the Pacific War. The Mustang was so enduring that it continued in service at the beginning of the Korean War and remained in service with some air forces until the early 1980’s. The Mustang was a fast, well made and extremely durable aircraft. The P-51D version was powered by the Packard  V-1650, a two-stage two-speed supercharged version of the legendary Rolls-Royce Merlin engine and was armed with six .50 inch M2 Browning machine guns.
 
The popularity of the airplane was so immense that there are more flying examples of P-51’s than any other World War II fighter. In the 1960’s it is reported that Ford Motor Company's Designer John Najjar proposed the name for a new coupe automobile, aimed at attracting younger buyers, after the fighter.
 
 

 
P-51D Mustang
Data from The Great Book of Fighters, and Quest for Performance
General characteristics
Crew: 1
Length: 32 ft 3 in (9.83 m)
Wingspan: 37 ft 0 in (11.28 m)
Height: 13 ft 8 in (4.17 m)
Wing area: 235 ft² (21.83 m²)
Empty weight: 7,635 lb (3,465 kg)
Loaded weight: 9,200 lb (4,175 kg)
Max takeoff weight: 12,100 lb (5,490 kg)
Powerplant: 1× Packard V-1650-7 liquid-cooled supercharged V-12, 1,490 hp (1,111 kW) at 3,000 rpm;[78] 1,720 hp (1,282 kW) at WEP
Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0163
Drag area: 3.80 ft² (0.35 m²)
Aspect ratio: 5.83
Performance
Maximum speed: 437 mph (703 km/h) at 25,000 ft (7,620 m)
Cruise speed: 362 mph (580 km/h)
Stall speed: 100 mph (160 km/h)
Range: 1,650 mi (2,755 km) with external tanks
Service ceiling: 41,900 ft (12,770 m)
Rate of climb: 3,200 ft/min (16.3 m/s)
Wing loading: 39 lb/ft² (192 kg/m²)
Power/mass: 0.18 hp/lb (300 W/kg)
Lift-to-drag ratio: 14.6
Recommended Mach limit 0.8
Armament
6 × 0.50 in (12.7 mm) machine guns; 400 rounds per inboard gun; 270 per outboard gun
2 × hardpoints for up to 2,000 lb (907 kg) of bombs
10 × 5 in (127 mm) rockets
 
 
 
Al Robinson