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Aviation Glossary: What You Didn't Know About Aviation, Were Scared To Ask And Now, Wish You Hadn't.
R/C Airplanes: Learn About Remote Control Flying.
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WWII Aircraft: A Very Nice Site Dedicated To WWII Aircraft.
USS Carl Vinson: E2C's Former Home.
Rod Machado: Professional Speaker, Educator, Author, Humorist, Pilot and Flight Instructor.
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FlyingMom: Meet The Woman Behind The Scenes.
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Considered by many authorities to be the best fighter plane to come out of World War II, the Mustang is regarded today as a classic of fighter design. It outperformed all other Allied fighters in speed, range, and maneuverability and became established as the principal Allied fighter plane. The Mustang is a single-seat fighter built by North American Aviation Corp. It was orginally designed at the request of the British Air Purchasing Commission of the Royal Air Force. The terms of the contract required completion of the prototype in only 120 days. The actual design and construction of the prototype was completed in 117 days! It first flew in October 1940 as the NA-73. The Mustang was one of the first planes to use the radical "laminar flow" airfoil, which has its maximum thickness well aft and results in greatly reduced drag and increased efficiency. Of the first ten production aircraft, two were delivered to the U.S. Army Air Force for evaluation. Up to this time the USAAF had shown no particular interest in the plane, having under development the P-38 Lightning and the P-47 Thunderbolt. The two planes were designated XP-51 and named Apache by the Air Force. The XP-51 was powered by the Allison V-1710-39, 12 cylinder liquid-cooled engine of 1100 hp. Its top speed was 382 mph. The USAAF ordered a total of 460 of the airplanes after extensive testing. Flying with the R.A.F. the Mustang was used mainly for ground support and low-level strafing, and was soon recognized as an outstanding design. The R.A.F. experimented with the use of the more powerful Rolls Royce Merlin engine. Performance, particularly at higher altitudes, was so greatly improved, North American began a complete redesign of the Mustang. Top speed with the new Merlin engine was 441 mph. The USAAF ordered 2200 of these new planes. This model first went into service in 1943 as the P-51B Mustang. The P-51B was the first single-seat fighter able to accompany bombers into Germany and return. In 1944 the P-51D went into production with the still more powerful Merlin V-1650-7 engine, built by Packard Motor Car Company, incorporating a two-stage, two-speed supercharger. At this time, the rear of the fuselage was cut down and a beautifully streamlined "bubble" canopy was installed to provide better rear vision. The P-51D was the most widely produced model of the Mustang, 7,956 being built. Total production of all models was 15,576. Ten of the P-51D were modified to two-place trainers and designated TP-51D. One of these was further modified for use as a high-speed observation post by the Supreme Allied Commander, General Eisenhower, during the Normandy invasion. Several later models of the Mustang were produced, but the "D" is the most famous of them all. They saw service in all theatres of World War II and later in Korea. When the Air Force changed the designation "P" (Pursuit) to "F" (Fighter), the Mustang became the F-51D. The Mustang was the last of the piston engine fighters and has now been replaced by the jets. At least one Mustang was fitted with arresting hook and tested for possible Navy carrier use. Many 51's were used by the Air National Guard and others were purchased as war surplus for use as private planes, some being modified to carry a passenger behind the pilot. The Thompson and Bendix air races of 1946, 1947 and 1948 saw several Mustangs used as racing planes. Some of these were modified by clipping the wings and stepping up the engine, using fuel injection with 130 to 170 octane fuel. Several had the big belly air scoop removed and air intakes mounted on the wings where the machine guns were originally installed. One of these modified Mustangs flew 2008 miles from California to Cleveland, Ohio at an average speed of 470 mph!

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