Here are a couple of Pics from a former lurker!

[markm70]

Where does the canopy comes from?
It does not look like a P-51D's, maybe a Bearcat from the same Grumman factory?

It's from an Airfix 1/72 Skyraider and it's a Heller Hellcat kit.  Shitty kit too!  

[markm70]

Ok so in a line up of Gruman Cats what would we call it ? Tomcat is the obvious (apart from Tiddles   ) any other ideas ?

Chris

It would still be a Hellcat as I designated it the F6F-7 which didn't actually exsist in the Grumman lineup   Thanks for letting me Play!

[Tophe]

It would still be a Hellcat as I designated it the F6F-7 which didn't actually exsist in the Grumman lineup  Thanks for letting me Play!

The Markm70 F6F-7 was not the very last Hellcat: after came the Grumm70 F6F-11 Twincat . Thanks for letting us play too

(I will post it too on the Twin-tail forum, for archive with the Twin-Bearcats already there)

[Joe C-P]

Yah, sure, that's good-looking, and plausible enough to give JMNs fits!  B)

JoeP

[Madoc]

Mark,

Sweet work.  And well thought out too!  I see you thought things through to the point of adding a vertical stabilzer extension.  Nice.  That's just like what the original designers found they had to do when they chopped off the "turtlebacks" of their aircraft as well.  It seems that aside from blocking the pilot's view aft, that raised fuselage portion also provided an aditional measure of vertical stabilization.  Chopping it away did clear the view for the pilot but it adversely affected the plane's handling.  The simplest solution was to add a thin extension of the vertical stabilizer coming forward up the back of the now cut down rear fuselage.  Worked like a charm.

You can see this on the P-51, and P-47, among others, in looking at that portion of their fuselages in the models as they progressed from having that turtleback fuselage to a bubbletop.

Nicely done!

Madoc

[Tophe]

The simplest solution was to add a thin extension of the vertical stabilizer coming forward up the back of the now cut down rear fuselage. You can see this on the P-51, and P-47.

I am not sure this is right fot the P-51, as some (Real) P-51C had the fin extension without bubble canopy...
See with Google, for instance at http://www.mustangsmustangs.net/p-51/survi.../H42-103725.jpg

[elmayerle]

Tophe,

As I remember, they found the dorsal fin necessary even with the original canopy configuration and even more necessary with the bubble canopy.  Post-war, a lot of P-51D's and K's had the height of the vertical fin and rudder increased and all P-15H's did; this carried over to the P-82, also.

[lancer]

Thanks for letting me in the nuthouse.

A belated welcome to the loony bin. Now you're in, you'll never get out. I love the kit, looks so right and purposeful.  

[lancer]

Ok so in a line up of Gruman Cats what would we call it ? Tomcat is the obvious (apart from Tiddles   ) any other ideas ?

Chris

Alleycat??

[markm70]

Some of you said this one would fit right in so I've included a pic of all the Grumman Cats together.  Enjoy

[Tophe]

Wonderful gallery!
As far as I am concerned, I would have appreciated a more progressive order, as below, clockwise: old Wildcat, famous Hellcat, bubble-Hellcat (THE missing link, thanks!), new Bearcat...

[Tophe]

Tophe, As I remember, they found the dorsal fin necessary even with the original canopy configuration and even more necessary with the bubble canopy.  Post-war, a lot of P-51D's and K's had the height of the vertical fin and rudder increased and all P-15H's did; this carried over to the P-82, also.

Yes, and look at the Griffon Mustangs with even bigger fins... And in Great Britain, the Spitfire Mk.21 had a far bigger fin than the Mk.1 without bubble as well.
But tell us, engineer, what is your explanation of extending fin on the P-51C without much extra-power from the XP-51? Wrong design of bad engineers at the start of the program? Was Grumman staff better somehow?

[elmayerle]

Just at a guess, and this is strictly a guess, I'd suspect that handling was adequate for the original P-51B but that growth in either equipment weight and/or engine performance may have necessitated adding the dorsal fin.  I'd really have to dig back into references to find out for certain.  I'd have trouble believing that the original P51B was approved for operational use with any handling problems.

[NARSES2]

That line up would fool a lot of people into thinking "your" Hellcat was an early Bearcat

Chris

[Patrick H]

WOW, great line up, can I assume you're a "cat"fan  



Patrick