"Grumman-581" wrote in message
...
On Mon, 31 Jul 2006 21:24:14 GMT, "Dudley Henriques"
wrote:
On a P51; probably 10 :-))

Yeah, the system would need to be some sort of portable configuration
so that it would be possible to keep the FAA from being involved in
it... These planes all have sliding canopies, don't they? How about
basically a perisope? Maybe the small CMOS camera on the end of a
telescoping pole that the pilot attaches to the side of the cockpit or
perhaps even holds in his hand? He could put it up high enough that
he could see in front of him or perhaps far enough over to the side
that he can effectively do the same thing that his taxiing S-turns did
for him... Hmmm... I wonder how tall it would need to be to see over
the engine...

Trust me on this one...the last thing you need to improve the safety aspect
for taxiing an airplane like a P51 is something added to the mix that keeps
your head down in the cockpit :-)
Something I learned to do in the 51 while taxiing in was to hit the quick
release on my harness, lift myself up while leaning back against the seat
back while keeping my weight against the edge of the front rim of the seat.
That allowed me to put my leg weight on my heels while putting my eye level
just above the windshield bow and over the nose. Seldom used brakes anyway
taxiing, but if I did need them, all I had to do was to raise my feet up to
the top of the pedals.
A lot of pilots flying big iron fighters taxied this way when coming in. Bob
Hoover I remember doing it. Going out was another matter. You couldn't
release the harness going out :-)
The bottom line on taxiing a prop fighter is that in tight places coupled
with high density traffic around you, a wing walker is a VERY good thing to
have. I should think that at a show like Oshkosh, there would no end of
people wanting to volunteer to sit on the wingtip of a prop fighter while it
taxied in.
I know I never had any trouble finding people willing to do this for me.
Dudley Henriques