Best warbird to own

I'm fantasy shopping for my new warbird or historic aircraft. My
requirements are ...

- Historic value (rare and interesting aircraft)
- Reasonably easy to fly
- No turbines and under 12,500 lbs (no type rating needed)
- Seats two
- Aerobatic
- Easy on the eyes

I don't know enough to find the right aircraft.

There are lots of P51s out there, so they are not rare enough.
Further, they are said to be even harder to fly than normal for
vintage and type. The P51 is one of the few WWII fighters that looks
good in a two seat variant.

Flying Me-109s are quite rare, but I've read they are just too tough
to land and only seat one person.

Two seat Spitfires are just ugly.

The P38 and P39 are attactive because of the nosewheel gear. I
understand that the P39 was also used as a trainer in WWII (so it
might be easy to fly).

A Folker Triplane is probably a reasonable plane to fly, but I have no
desire to bath in castor oil and it only seats one person.

My thinking suggests dive and torpedo bombers might be the solution.
They typically seat two or more, and the naval aircraft should have
reasonable low speed handling. Is this sound thinking? Would a
Dauntless or Devistator or even a Stuka fit the requirements?

What fantasy aircraft should I buy?
-Much Thank

In article , Charles
Talleyrand writes
I'm fantasy shopping for my new warbird or historic aircraft. My
requirements are ...

- Historic value (rare and interesting aircraft)
- Reasonably easy to fly
- No turbines and under 12,500 lbs (no type rating needed)
- Seats two
- Aerobatic
- Easy on the eyes

I don't know enough to find the right aircraft.

There are lots of P51s out there, so they are not rare enough.
Further, they are said to be even harder to fly than normal for
vintage and type. The P51 is one of the few WWII fighters that looks
good in a two seat variant.

Flying Me-109s are quite rare, but I've read they are just too tough
to land and only seat one person.

Two seat Spitfires are just ugly.

The P38 and P39 are attactive because of the nosewheel gear. I
understand that the P39 was also used as a trainer in WWII (so it
might be easy to fly).

A Folker Triplane is probably a reasonable plane to fly, but I have no
desire to bath in castor oil and it only seats one person.

My thinking suggests dive and torpedo bombers might be the solution.
They typically seat two or more, and the naval aircraft should have
reasonable low speed handling. Is this sound thinking? Would a
Dauntless or Devistator or even a Stuka fit the requirements?

What fantasy aircraft should I buy?
-Much Thank

2-seat Hawker Sea Fury T Mk 20.
--
Peter

Ying tong iddle-i po!

"Peter Twydell"
I'm fantasy shopping for my new warbird or historic aircraft. My

The P38 and P39 are attactive because of the nosewheel gear. I
understand that the P39 was also used as a trainer in WWII (so it
might be easy to fly).

Back in the 1950's I saw a privately owned P38 with USA markings land at
the Regina airport in Saskatchewan. Three guys climbed out of it. They
un-screwed the back of a tip tank and removed their suitcases! Don't know
who owned it and I didn't write down the N---- tail number. I wonder if
this P38 is still around???
Ed

In rec.aviation.military Ed Majden wrote:


: Back in the 1950's I saw a privately owned P38 with USA markings land at
: the Regina airport in Saskatchewan. Three guys climbed out of it. They
: un-screwed the back of a tip tank and removed their suitcases! Don't know
: who owned it and I didn't write down the N---- tail number. I wonder if
: this P38 is still around???
: Ed

THREE guys? Wow I'm impressed. Was one in the nose? ;^)

I've seen a film of Gary Cooper unfolding himself from teh back seat
of a P-38 and he was really crammed in there.

--


--- Gregg
"Improvise, adapt, overcome."

Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics
Phone: (617) 496-1558

"Gregg Germain"
THREE guys? Wow I'm impressed. Was one in the nose? ;^)

I couldn't belive it either until I saw the three of them get out. One
of them couldn't see out.
Ed

"Ed Majden" wrote in message
news:f0Zqb.337796$pl3.116303@pd7tw3no...

"Gregg Germain"
THREE guys? Wow I'm impressed. Was one in the nose? ;^)

I couldn't belive it either until I saw the three of them get out.
One
of them couldn't see out.

The photo conversion I was talking about had a camera worth about
as much as the plane at the time. For the camera operator to bail
out he had to jettison the camera (on its own parachute) to make a
hole he could reasonable expect to get out through.

Gregg Germain wrote:

THREE guys? Wow I'm impressed. Was one in the nose? ;^)

There was a modification of the P-38 that added a passenger seat in the nose.
The troops gave it the nickname "droop-snoot". Since it replaced the guns, it
was not a popular mod with the pilots. The military radio gear lived in a hole
behind the pilot and was quite substantial. Remove that, and you can fit a
rather cramped seat back there.

George Patterson
If you're not part of the solution, you can make a lot of money prolonging
the problem.

G.R. Patterson III wrote:

Gregg Germain wrote:

THREE guys? Wow I'm impressed. Was one in the nose? ;^)


There was a modification of the P-38 that added a passenger seat in the nose.
The troops gave it the nickname "droop-snoot". Since it replaced the guns, it
was not a popular mod with the pilots. The military radio gear lived in a hole
behind the pilot and was quite substantial. Remove that, and you can fit a
rather cramped seat back there.



Not exactly a "passenger" seat, but rather another crew position for
use as a level bomber, employing a Norden bombsight and a bombardier.
Also, the P-38M night fighter variant had a second seat installed
behind and above the pilot, with it's own canopy hatch- not sure
what they did with the radios.

Mike

Gregg Germain wrote in message ...
In rec.aviation.military Ed Majden wrote:


: Back in the 1950's I saw a privately owned P38 with USA markings land at
: the Regina airport in Saskatchewan. Three guys climbed out of it. They
: un-screwed the back of a tip tank and removed their suitcases! Don't know
: who owned it and I didn't write down the N---- tail number. I wonder if
: this P38 is still around???
: Ed

THREE guys? Wow I'm impressed. Was one in the nose? ;^)

I've seen a film of Gary Cooper unfolding himself from teh back seat
of a P-38 and he was really crammed in there.

I've read that the rearward extension of the cackpit to accomodate the
second seat shifted the CG back causing stability problems. Stuffing
a third passenger in the nose probably helped correct that.

For an exotic warbird how about the Dutch Fokker G-1. A twin engine
fighter-bomber/recon plane originally designed for a crew of 2 or 3
it had the same configuration as the p-38 but with a lot more glass.
I think less than a hundred were made, production stopped when
Germany invaded Holland so maybe there are none left flying.

An Illyushin II Stormovitch flying tank might fit the bill too.

--

FF

"Ed Majden" wrote in message
news:E3Rqb.335357$pl3.165203@pd7tw3no...

"Peter Twydell"
I'm fantasy shopping for my new warbird or historic aircraft. My

The P38 and P39 are attactive because of the nosewheel gear. I
understand that the P39 was also used as a trainer in WWII (so it
might be easy to fly).

Back in the 1950's I saw a privately owned P38 with USA markings land
at
the Regina airport in Saskatchewan. Three guys climbed out of it. They
un-screwed the back of a tip tank and removed their suitcases! Don't know
who owned it and I didn't write down the N---- tail number. I wonder if
this P38 is still around???
Ed

Sounds like one of the birds that was converted to aireal photography.
I believe it's the EAA Museum that has one of those, converted back to
a proper single seater.