Why we fly what we fly

[HoHun]

Hi Angus,

>Hey,GScholz, the Bf 109R has very little in common with the 109, and redesignating the name from 209 to 109R was a propoganda move.

Actually, Me 109R was the original designation, and the redesignation to Me 209 was done later in the hope of attracting an order for fighters based on the record plane :-)

(And in the end, the same Me 209 designation was used for a design that had nothing to do with the record plane.)

>However, a boosted up Spit I reached 408 mph, and that was a Spit out of the Production line

The Heinkel He 100 reached 416 mph right off the (rather short :-) production line.

Regards,

Henning (HoHun)

[sturmer1803]

Top Ten Reasons I love the Bf110 (with apologies to David Letterman)

10.  Large enough for kitchen in back seat.
 9.   Has lots of extra parts that can fall off due to twin control surfaces on tail.
 8.   So slow, you are NEVER accused of running.
 7.   One word:  Cannons
 6.   Climbs faster than a Lancaster (if the Lanc is loaded with bombs)
 5.   Turns tighter than Lancaster (same limiting factor...if Lanc is laden)
 4.   Chicks dig the nose art.
 3.   Carries large enough bombs to scratch Tiger paint with direct hit.
 2.   Rear guns look really scary.

And the #1 reason I love the Bf110:
 1.   Never have to look for a fight; enemy goes out of their way to attack you when spotted.
 

-Sturmer

[F4i]

Originally posted by Raptor01

-The Lightning also accounted for more Japanese aircraft destroyed in combat than any other USAAC fighter.

I thought the F6F held the title in the Pac arena.  

TBolt

[_Schadenfreude_]

Originally posted by moot
D9, 152.
Fast, frail, precise.. who needs good-guy allied all around qualities when the only purpose is killing.
A 190D with 108s would be perfect.

Used to have a D12 in FA2.5, 30mm with 90 rounds and 2 x 20mm and a LOT more engine....sigh still miss the beast.

[Reaper5]

Originally posted by F4i
I thought the F6F held the title in the Pac arena.  

TBolt

Yeah, that's what I heard.


As for my favorite plane, that would have to be the P-51D.  I just prefer high alt BnZ fighting and the P51d is made for it.  However, lately I have been testing out the P-51-B, with fair results.  It seems that sometimes nme's see the dull paint job and choose to ignore me in favor of paying attention to more dangerous targets.

However, when the fight is right on top of the base I'm taking off from, or not far away, I'll usually take a spit over a pony.

[Angus]

Thanks for the info HoHun, - misunderstanding hereby corrected.
None the less, it was not the same plane.
Hmm, if memory serves me, the speed record was broken by the only Griffon engined P51, not so long ago. True or False?
About the lightning and Hellcat thingie, I thought that the P38 held the score for the USAAF and the F6F for the USN, USMC could be the F4U? Allover the odds go to the F6F. Someone?

[Widewing]

Originally posted by Angus
Thanks for the info HoHun, - misunderstanding hereby corrected.
None the less, it was not the same plane.
Hmm, if memory serves me, the speed record was broken by the only Griffon engined P51, not so long ago. True or False?
About the lightning and Hellcat thingie, I thought that the P38 held the score for the USAAF and the F6F for the USN, USMC could be the F4U? Allover the odds go to the F6F. Someone?

By far, the fastest piston engine aircraft was/is an R-3350 powered F8F-2 named Rare Bear. It set the current recond at an astounding 528.33 mph, exceeding 540 mph on the downwind leg of the record run. See http://www.rarebear.com for details.

As for the record for most Japanese aircraft downed, the F6F holds the overall record, with the P-38 holding the USAAF record, with about 1,700 kills (F6F killed over 5,200).

My regards,

Widewing

[Angus]

Holy Cow,528 mph!!!!
Errr...was it not however a P51 mod that rocked the Messerschmitt out of its seat?
I also recall the Sea Fury being quite a runner. Any Idea which speed numbers it achieved?
And the USMC scorer is?

[Rasker]

Heres a page that gives Sea Fury production model max speed at a mere 435 mph:  http://search.netscape.com/ns/boomframe.jsp?query=hawker+sea+fury&page=1&offset=0&result_url=redir%3Fsrc%3Dwebsearch%26amp%3BrequestId%3D3654b162e8b6d900%26amp%3BclickedItemRank%3D1%26amp%3BuserQuery%3Dhawker%2Bsea%2Bfury%26amp%3BclickedItemURN%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.warbirdalley.com%252Fseafury.htm%26amp%3BinvocationType%3D-%26amp%3BfromPage%3DnsBrowserRoll&remove_url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.warbirdalley.com%2Fseafury.htm
I recall seing substantially higher figures in other places tho.

"The production model P-47M had a manufacturer's specified top speed of 473 mph. In reality, Republic field reps taught crew chiefs how to illegally modify turbo regulator linkages so as to produce much more power. In fact, one test aircraft had it's 2,800 hp-rated engine repeatedly run at (and this is no misprint) 3,600 horsepower... enough to FAR exceed the factory specified top speed of 473 mph."
 Bob Coiro, President P-47 Alumni Association http://www.warbirdmuseum.com/disc_grp/_discussion_grp/00000056.htm

P-51H-5-NA Specifications:
Engine Packard-Merlin V-1650-9 V-12 rated at Maximum 2218 h.p.
Maximum Speed 487 m.p.h. @ 25,000 ft.http://www.aeromuseum.org/Exhibits/Restorations/P51H/OurMustangHistory.htm

I've seen figures for the Hawker Hornet, twin engined follow-on to the Mossie, in the 470-480 mph. range, and the same for the Dornier 335 "Pfeil" twin pusher-puller prop plane and, at 37,000 feet or so, 470 mph.for the Ta-152.  One or two of the last Spitfire marks were up there also, and the very last mark of the Seafire once pulled 495, tho drug tests were administered afterwards.  And two different web pages give the Dornier 217-P, hi alt recon version of the bomber, with a third engine in the bomb bay acting as a turbocharger for the other engines,  a barely believable 487 mph figure (altitude unspecified).