Topic: tuskegee airman P51 Red Tails

One of the original Tuskegee Airmen passed away this week.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/01/20/military-salutes-member-historic-red-tails-fighter-pilots/?test=latestnews#ixzz1k6WpKZu7

RIP Lt Col Weathers.

Didn't that particular example of "Big Beautiful Doll" get destroyed in a crash last year?

Yes Brian. That's the one. It crashed last July at Flying Legends on the Sunday - pilot ejected just in time.

Yes Brian. That's the one. It crashed last July at Flying Legends on the Sunday - pilot ejected just in time.

ITYM "bailed out" (P51s don't have bang-seats!)

PDR

I seem to rmember that Wilfred Duncan Smith in his Spitfire into Battle said that he employed on a couple of very desperate occasions a high speed stall that completely blacked him out and when came too several thousand feet lower that the enemy were nowhere to be seen having completely overshot and lost him, allowing him to escape from a very nasty situation. He reckoned that no enemy could follow the manoeuvre because it was so violent and sudden.

I seem to rmember that Wilfred Duncan Smith in his Spitfire into Battle said that he employed on a couple of very desperate occasions a high speed stall that completely blacked him out and when came too several thousand feet lower that the enemy were nowhere to be seen having completely overshot and lost him, allowing him to escape from a very nasty situation. He reckoned that no enemy could follow the manoeuvre because it was so violent and sudden.

But that's not climbing to a stop and then "flipping over". What he describes there is simply pulling so hard on the stick that the aeroplane flicks out in a violent, high-speed, high-G manoeuver (presumably pulling >7G since it caused an instant blackout).

PDR

I don't disagree Pete,
I was just adding a little bit of information on how violent some of the combat manoeuvres were in extreme circumstances.
I suspect if Duncan Smith's manoeuvre were filmed that it would look very odd to our eyes.

Probably not that dissimilar to the Fulcrum and Flanker doing their "Cobra" party trick at airshows I would have thought?

Russian MiG-29 & Su-27 doing Cobra Maneuver

Even here, the inertias and momentums are clear to see. Voilent yes, but aeroplane still looks heavy and has a lot of kgms^-1 to get rid of. 

I don't know Jamie the Cobra slows you down but there is almost no change in direction and no change in altitude. Not sure it would be useful although if continued it might develop to something like it. I think it might be more like the high speed stall on this

X-models Blade 1.9 rc glider high speed stall

ITYM "bailed out" (P51s don't have bang-seats!)

PDR

Yes I did mean that. Thanks Pete  He wouldn't have bumped his arm on the tail if he'd  had rocket assist.