Design your own airplane

[WWhiskey]

234 with Niki cannons and renewable jato (kinda like wep)

[Bronk]

dont know if it saw service though. 

It did.

[Widewing]

My concept of the perfect fighter was already in existence in December of 1944....

In late 1944, an idea circulated North American Aviation to consider a proposal to build a low altitude version of the P-51H Mustang. This idea was the brain child of a USAAF Lt.Col who wanted a better low altitude, more maneuverable, long range fighter for the invasion of Japan.

To improve low altitude performance a low alt supercharger would need to be fitted to the Packard V-1650-9.  Increasing wing area was discussed and one Engineer (Ed Horkey, IIRC), suggested using the then under development XP-82 outer wing profile. This wing offered the broader chord desired. Its wing structure was readily adaptable to fit a pair of 20mm cannon.

Some sketches were generated and a few preliminary line drawings completed to present the concept to management.

Unfortunately, management was not receptive as NAA was largely stretched to the limit with the P-51D in production, the P-51H ramping up for full production and the XP-82 program absorbing many engineers and technicians. Added to that, NAA was waiting for approval of the still pending design proposal to the Navy for the XFJ-1 jet fighter. There was no resources for yet another design proposal. The concept died stillborn.

Estimates of performance were slightly below that the P-51H due to the added drag and increase in basic weight.

1,960 HP at Sea Level
Sea Level Max Speed: 422 mph @ 90" MAP
10,000 ft Max Speed: 455 mph @ 90" MAP
Time to 10,000 feet: 2.2 minutes @ 90" MAP

Some basic sketches survived in the NAA archives and a line drawing was done showing the changes to a standard P-51H-5-NA. I have a third or fourth hand copy of that line drawing and I've included it here.





My regards,

Widewing

[Widewing]

If anyone is wondering how the standard P-51H performed, here's some speed and climb charts courtesy of Mike Williams' website.





If HTC ever put the P-51H into the game (they were flying combat patrols during the final week of the war), they would have to perk it like the Tempest.


My regards,

Widewing

[moot]

The H was in one of Pyro's old voting polls along with the 152 and 47 N and/or M..

[Angus]

Didn't the P51 have a jostle-test with an F4U4, the F4U being flown by John Glenn?
(out of memory, but not bad memory, and if it serves Glenn was flying the F4U)
Anyway, insane performance numbers.
However, bear in mind that the Low alt performance was not exactly nuclear science, - the focus went to low alt after the more challenging high-alt performance. The one who can make engines that run at very high alt already is a master at the trade...

[Yossarian]

Wow....That P-51 looks amazing...

[gameofd1]

green and black p-38 with the grim reaper painted on the nose 

[Anodizer]

.point 5 past light-speed
does the Kessel Run in less than 12 parsecs (I know, doesn't make sense)
Arakyd ST2 concussion missile launchers
Corellian Engineering Corporation AG-2G quad laser cannons (dorsal and ventral)

What more do you need?

Chicks dig it too...

[bobtom]

Mine would be the f4u-4 with 4 hissys. 

[Saxman]

Mine would be the f4u-4 with 4 hissys. 

There was one. F4U-4C. However it didn't enter service until after the war.

[macerxgp]

A pink RV-8 with airshow smoke, RATO units, and three NS37's.

Just try and make a more ridiculous perk ride.

[1pLUs44]

Thats one bizare looking motherf*****... If only I was on my other comp I could post some pics of the B-24/B-17 hybrid they made during the war...

You mean B-32 Dominator?

[RAM]

Nice input from everyone! Glad I started a thread where so good ideas come from everyone.

Just one thing to remember: the rules to "design" the plane are simple: take something from AH2 and put it into your plane...no Ta183, then, unfortunately


camnite:

Some of this wont match perfectly, cause I'm not an uber historian, but:
B-24 main body
B-17 wings and mounting
B-26 nose and cockpit
4 R2800W36 Engines
10 .50 machine guns, 2 20mm hispanios in tail gun
2000 mile fuel range

Just thought I would do a bomber instead of a fighter.

I'm puzzled by your choice of body/wings. IIRC what made the B24 so good was, actually, the highly efficient wing it used...why using the B-24 body and B-17 wings, and not the opposite?.


Widewing:
That low altitude mustang seems amazing. BTW, are the P51H charts calculated or show actual performance?...because I'm struggling with the idea of a plane with the frontal area of the Mustang doing 425mph@SL with just 2000hp of power at hand. Not to mention a climbrate of 6000+fpm @SL, the 109K4 was lighter than the P51H, had 2000hp available and didn't have anything near those climb numbers...
I'm not trying to put your data at doubt, but you'll understand that those numbers seem out of this world...


FLOTSOM:
nice job, liked your design .


Saxman:
Yes, I know taking parts from different planes and putting them all together usually ends in awful results. One just has to look at the P-75 to know that a "multi-plane mega-mix" design isn't a very smart thing to do. However in other cases the results were pretty interesting (like the spitfire with DB605A engine or the Buchon, Bf109 with Merlin)
So, while our "designs" (actually, choices) probably wouldn't work at all in real life, I think this is an interesting exercise to do

[BnZs]

Widewing:
That low altitude mustang seems amazing. BTW, are the P51H charts calculated or show actual performance?...because I'm struggling with the idea of a plane with the frontal area of the Mustang doing 425mph@SL with just 2000hp of power at hand.

Yes, but the Mustang is smaller than, for example, the Tempest, and highly streamlined.

 Not to mention a climbrate of 6000+fpm @SL, the 109K4 was lighter than the P51H, had 2000hp available and didn't have anything near those climb numbers...
I'm not trying to put your data at doubt, but you'll understand that those numbers seem out of this world...

Well, lower drag means your horse power is used more efficiently in the climb too. Also, you'll notice that those extreme climb numbers for the P-51H are at 8,000 lbs. That is not all that much higher than the normal loaded weight for a 109-K4, and the P-51 has a larger wing area.