[ARC5] P-51 Cockpit

[LARRY D GODEK]

A few years back for my 60th birthday i took a ride in the back seat of a P-51 from the Chino Planes of Fame outfit over in Chino, CA.  Nice birthday present.  I had an original P-51 flight manual and a fellow who was the pilot on that particular plane wanted it real bad so he offered me a ride in exchange for it.  How could i refuse as i had always wanted to fly in one of them.  
 
If any of you are or happen to be around Columbus, OH., about every 2nd year i think they have a "Gathering of Mustangs" or something similar which usually attracts around 60-75 or so flying P-51 machines.  Quite an airshow with sights and sounds that you will quickly relate to an active airdrome from WWII.  We have one here in Mesa, AZ that does not belong to the CAF outfit and occasionally gives out rides.  Very nice machine indeed.  Nothing relates to anything sound wise such as the very nice purring V-1710 engine.  I will say that the sound inside the plane is very different than what you will hear standing outside on the ground.
 
I thought the video of th cockpit was very nice indeed.
 
Larry
W0OGH
 
PS: on another note whe had a B-25C flying the pattern of Williams-Gateway airport yesterday in the am.  Whether it was proficency or qualifying a new left seater i don't know but those engines sure drew attention.  I've not been inside it to see what type if any WWII era radios it is carrying.  It also i a locally based airplane.  
 
> Date: Wed, 1 Sep 2010 08:50:17 -0400
> From: gewhite at crosslink.net
> To: kk5f at arrl.net; arc5 at mailman.qth.net
> CC: kk5f at earthlink.net
> Subject: Re: [ARC5] P-51 Cockpit
> 
> I am no P-51 expert, but I have had a chance to sit in the cockpit 
> of one that, as far as I could tell, was just as it had been equipped 
> during WW II. Not quite as pretty, with obvious wear in places. Much 
> more chromate primer paint, and controls for the SCR-274N radios. Had no 
> back seat.
> My late wife had been the widow of a 357th group pilot who shot 
> down seven Germans in 1944 and was later the honcho of Cavalier Aircraft 
> that rehabbed Mustangs. They did a lot of upgrading of avionics, though 
> later in the company's career, did a few historical restorations. Angela 
> and Jerry's P-51 did have a back seat where she rode. When they landed 
> somewhere and people would run out to look at the plane, Jerry would say 
> "But wait 'til you see my navigator" and Angela would stand up, take off 
> her helmet and shake out her blonde hair and attract a fair amount of 
> attention herself. After he died and we were married, we'd go to air 
> shows and she'd find her way up to the planes and have conversations 
> with the pilots and amaze them with the details she knew about P-51s. 
> Thats how I got to sit in one. I'm licensed, but never got a chance to 
> fly in a Mustang myself.
> - Gordon White
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