Mustang: F-51, A-36, F-82, Cavalier, and Piper PA-48 Enforcer

[gooberliberation]

How about a mixed propulsion F-82, with a jet under the center wing section, where the radar normally would be.

[Joe C-P]

Found this online:

[elmayerle]

Found this online:

Yep, the Mustang "SeaHorse" program to investigate the possibility of a carrier-based version.  To the best of my knowledge, they didn't find any major problems, but by then the USN had enough other fighters in production that they didn't need it.  Still, it does offer some sound basis for whiffing.

[elmayerle]

I think the USN's preference for air-cooled engines is simply that lack of a liquid-cooling systems means one fewer system to develop problems while doing long over-water flights.  Though the other factors mentioned likely have some influence, too.

[Daryl J.]

A fake Allison-engined variant:  Ariving in Ye Olde Hoame yesterday was an Accurate Miniatures F-6A and Ultracast tube exhausts, some craft ribbon mesh, and some Tamiya paint and primer.    The idea is to redo the aircraft into a near-reality Mustang in order to cause a genuine double take by Those In The Know.  B)

It'll be a desert bird with a revised prop, intake, and some wing mods; paint and markings that the Mustang has never worn.   The intake is to be a knock 0ff of the German sand filters; that's what the ribbon mesh is for.   Originally, a pointed prop from a -109E was to be used but then found out that one of the prototypes had a very similar propellor...scratch that idea.   So, since the kit's prop is too fat, it'll be modded into a pseudo cuffles H/S as seen on -D models but in the Allison tri-blade arrangement.  

Wings hopefully get some of the updates found on the -B and later aircraft.

Paint is tentatively slated to be Middlestone over Radome Tan, all heavily oxidised and rather scuffed from desert climes.  And the interior will be in chocolate, not interior green just to rub the whiff factor a little deeper.    
Markings as yet not finalized.  Perhaps it'll have to be some cobbled together post-war private mercenary aircraft.  :ar:  :ar:  :ar:




Daryl J.

[Archangel]

Take an F-82 and give it the On-Mark /A-26 treatment.  Add wingtip tanks, replace the 6X.50 cals with 4X 20mm guns  and add  more hardpoints to the wings outside of the two fuselages. You could also just keep the original 6X .50 cals and add 6 more ,three per side with in the outer wings for a total of twelve .50cals for CAS/COIN missions. The center radar pod could be removed and the hard point used to carry a PAVE PENNY or PAVE SPIKE pod for droppong PGMS.  

[Chap]

That is a great idea Archangel, maybe with Rolls-Royce Darts like a twin Cavalier Mustang III.
~Steve

[Archangel]

That is a great idea Archangel. Maybe with Rolls-Royce Darts like a twin Cavilier Mustang?

~Steve

Maybe use a pair of RR Griffons with counter rotating props? Grab a pair of turbo props from a Beech King Air or Queen Air or an S-2T Turbo prop tanker.

[jcf]

There was a gun pod developed and tested for the F-82, equipped with eight .50 MG it did not go into production:

http://www.wunderwaffe.narod.ru/Magazine/A...Pictures/62.jpg

Jon

[Archangel]

There was a gun pod developed and tested for the F-82, equipped with eight .50 MG it did not go into production:

http://www.wunderwaffe.narod.ru/Magazine/A...Pictures/62.jpg

Jon

I was thinking about that earlier. It would work for a Whiff. Also how about an ASW version with bombs or depth charges to drop on ships and subs?

[Jeffry Fontaine]

I like the idea of creating single fuselage fighter from the F-82 parts.  The overall length of the fuselage dwarfs the standard F-51, the F-82 fuselage without the engine cowling is slightly longer than the F-51D.  So you could have a much larger aircraft with almost the same plan form as the F-51 but capable of carrying more under the wings.  The Modelcraft kit is the only game in town for a 1/48th scale project and it comes in several flavors, the F-82E apparently being more available than the other versions which include the nightfighter version with the radar pod.  The Modelcraft kit has two engine options, one is the Merlin version and the other is the Allison version so you get extra parts that can be used for other projects such as a B-25 with Merlin or Allison engines. 

The Modelcraft F-82E kit has fuel tanks and a lot of shoddy looking 5.0"/127mm FFAR rocket projectiles.  The rockets can be tossed into the spares box or donated to someone as they are really not that well detailed.  The fuel tanks can be saved and the pylons are adaptable to carry fuel tanks or bombs with minimal modification. 

If you are going to WHIF this project in 1/72nd scale, the Monogram F-82 is the only kit available and it comes with the radar pod. 

I am still faced with the challenge of converting the wing section to accomodate the standard landing gear of the F-51.  The way the kit is molded you will have to do some major surgery to make it look right.  Another option is to just take the parts from a F-51 and adapt them to the F-82 fuselage which gives you the smaller wings of the F-51 on the larger fuselage of the F-82.  Adding wingtip fuel tanks and a nice Latin American camouflage would really make a difference. 

[van883]

I like the idea of creating single fuselage fighter from the F-82 parts.  The overall length of the fuselage dwarfs the standard F-51, the F-82 fuselage without the engine cowling is slightly longer than the F-51D.  So you could have a much larger aircraft with almost the same plan form as the F-51 but capable of carrying more under the wings.

Here's one I did earlier, in VNAF markings....posted on this site last year

Van

[Archangel]

What about a three engined F-82? I saw a P-38 built with three engines and two cockpits over at ARC and I do not see why the same arrangment for the F-82 couldn't be done as it was with the P-38. The Center section would have the cockpit faird over and the two middle sections used in both kits would give you 12 X .50 cals to use for CSAR/CAS missions.

[Jeffry Fontaine]

What about a three engined F-82? I saw a P-38 built with three engines and two cockpits over at ARC and I do not see why the same arrangment for the F-82 couldn't be done as it was with the P-38. The Center section would have the cockpit faird over and the two middle sections used in both kits would give you 12 X .50 cals to use for CSAR/CAS missions.

I have seen that P-38 you described on ARC as well as one that was built here by a local modeler.  I believe Steve Brooks (Salt6) also has a P-38 like you are describing on his web page. I have often thought about that concept myself but never with the F-82.  But now that you have brought it up.  Hey, why not? 

Another question I have with a modern Mustang concerns the egress system for the pilot.  Has anyone given this any thought?  I have been thinking that it would definitely need a modern ejection seat of some kind.  The ESCAPAC seat or something from Martin Baker would be something to consider and it would need to be a zero-zero type of seat.  The PA-48 Enforcer was supposed to have the Stanley "Yankee" Extraction Seat which pulled the pilot out of the aircraft.  I think the best approach to take would to use an ejection seat instead of an extraction system that way the pilot is safely ejected from the aircraft.  I was browsing the Ejection site for potential seats after first considering the Yankee seat for the Mustang.

[GTX]

A while back I came across this drawing for  what may have been the ultimate Mustang:



This was supposedly a proposal that North American had come up with in case the war had continued.  As you can see, it had forward swept wings as well as an advanced (specifically how I don't know) engine, a Westinghouse jet engine in the rear fuselage and a tricycle undercarriage.

It now appears as though it has been modelled:



(Source:  http://www.aviationmodels-online.com/Featured_model9/intro.htm)

Regards,

Greg