Flightdeck Friday – Catching Up

Mail — we get mail on a variety of topics and subjects.  Flightdeck Fridays though seem to engender the most responses and sometimes we receive some additional information – photos, remembrances, anecdotes and the like; to further flesh-out a particular story.  So – this week we had the following passed our way:

Item 1: U-2 and carrier quals (FF edition here).  From a colleague at work comes this link to film of the U-2G Carrier Quals

Item 2: Reader Richard P. sent along the following groups after reading the above article (which also had info about the ellusive navalized P-51 (including tailhook) and the naval aviator given charge of the carrier evaluation, Bob Elder.  Turns out the Naval Mustang handled quite well at the boat, but Navy demurred on further development and purchase owing to concerns about mixing radial engines and liquid-cooled (on-hand spares issue) and a genetically weak tail where the tailhook was attached.  What about visiblity over the nose?  No worse than the bird-cage Corsairs.  But jets were on the way and there wasn’t enough performance advantage over the Navy’s own Corsairs and Bearcats (on the way) to merit expending further resources.

Item 3: Rich R. particularly liked the F2G Flightdeck Friday and passed along the following:

Past 2 years I’ve had the pleasure to see Bob Odegaard’s Race 57 fly around the pylons at Reno. Word is that he’s restoring another one for the Crawford Museum. His website:

http://odegaardaviation.homestead.com/aircraft.html

Warbird Digest, issue 19 has the full story:

http://www.warbirddigest.com/backissues/1908.htm

One of the props is painted white-a legacy from the plane’s past, and along with the gears Bob has in the nose case, the prop looks like it’s just ticking over real slow. He rarely pushes it, but last year, I hear he pushed it a little moe than usual, taking 5th in the Silver Race. Corsairs probably will never win Reno, their wings are just too fat, but I love seing this particular one the most of all except for Dago Red, a P-51. I have Graham White’s books on the P&W R-4360 and R-2800-both are milestones in piston aero engine history and beautiful books to have in a collection. I would beg to differ that a 4360 is as smooth as a RR Merlin-the inherent vibrationsdue to the articulating rods in a radial preclude this-and a V-12 is almost naturally balanced-It’s a beautiful motor, though (except for the mechanic!).

Thanks Rich – and hang in there and be strong bud, we’re all pulling (and praying) for you :)   –SJS