P-51 question.

"Guy Alcala" wrote in message
. ..
JStONGE123 wrote:

Why was the P-51 not used on aircraft carriers during WWII? Beside the
obvious
no tail hook.....ect.

From "Duels in the Sky," by Eric Brown:

"Landing the Mustang required concentration, for at an approach speed of
105 mph
the view was bad, and high-rebound-ratio landing gear made a three-point
landing
tricky. This state of affairs was exacerbated by the aircraft's lack of
directional stability on the landing run. The U.S. Navy abandoned the
Mustang's
deck-landing trials on an aircraft carrier for this reason."

BTW, all USAAF fighters were fitted with catapult spools for at least a
while in
the late war years, to allow them to be delivered to bases by flying them
off
escort carriers, instead of having to crane them off.

Hi Guy;


HiGuy;


I would agree with Brown, but with a serious caveat !!!! 105 would be the
absolute minimum I'd use, and even that would be at the extreme low end of
the GW range for the airplane, say about 8000 lbs, which is real low for a
combat loaded Stang. At 12000lbs that final approach airspeed has to go up
to somewhere around 135mph or you're courting disaster in a Mustang.

About his comment on rollout, I personally consider the 51 to be just about
the best tailwheel fighter on rollout I've ever flown. It tracks straight as
an arrow. About the visibility problem; at full flaps, it's not all that
bad, but he's right about slowing it down. The more you slow it down on
final, the less you see. At 105, you wouldn't see much !!! :-)))
I agree with Brown generally though. The 51 is NOT the airplane to put on
the boat!!
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/CFI
Retired