Wrenching, Or Not Pink Flowers

[QuietOne]

No real questions ... I just want to know ...

a) how loud it is inside when you are flying?

This the husband, taking the questions. The P-40 is rather quiet, by fighter plane standards, the other P-40 flew over us at a WWII rifle shoot and we didn't know he was there until it was too late....

b) do the guns still work and if so have you shot at any rednecks?

No, but this is Idaho and we are all rednecks here....

c) how quickly does it accelerate on the runway?

Not as quick as a Mustang or Spitfire, but faster than any "light" plane.

d) is the acceleration in the air faster than on the runway and if so does it actually feel faster?

You notice it more in a climb or dive.

e) am I right about it being the fastest in WW2? I think that might have been the P-51 Mustang I'm thinking of. Is there much difference anyhow?

The Mustang and Spitfire were faster at high altitude, the P-40 was very nearly as fast at low altitude, the P-40 accelerated much faster than a Spitfire in a dive. At 25000 ft, P-51 or Spitfire was doing 420 to 440 MPH, A P-40 was lucky to do 300MPH and barely flying (smaller supercharger). At 5000 ft the P-40 would do 350 to 380MPH (depending on how hard you mistreated the engine). A Spitfire would do 320 to 350MPH a Mustang about the same.

f) does he come home feeling all intimate (I'd say horny but that might be rude) after a day 'at the office' ? I know I would!

That would be a new thread on a different sort of board (And QuietOne wants to know how that would be different? )

g) didn't I say I didn't have any questions?

Thank you for your interest we are working on posting pictures from the flight itself. Mike the husband.

[Mad Aussie]

Heeey thanks Mike

Must be fascinating to work on these!

And don't tell QuietOne a damn thing (that would be "ah Dayum Thayng" to your rednecks ) ... what goes on at the runway stays on the runway!

[QuietOne]

That's OK, MA, I already know. He alternates between telling people two things:
The first is that he's going to have a tshirt made for me that says, "Don't run, you'll only die tired."
The other is that if he ticks me off, all he'll hear is "BA-" He'll be gone before the last two letters of "BANG".

You have to realize, this is the man whose first Christmas present to me was my very own Colt 45 automatic (1911A1), set up to my tastes. Everyone where he works says it's such a romantic gift.

[Mad Aussie]

That's OK, MA, I already know. He alternates between telling people two things:
The first is that he's going to have a tshirt made for me that says, "Don't run, you'll only die tired."
The other is that if he ticks me off, all he'll hear is "BA-" He'll be gone before the last two letters of "BANG".

You have to realize, this is the man whose first Christmas present to me was my very own Colt 45 automatic (1911A1), set up to my tastes. Everyone where he works says it's such a romantic gift.

To think I was joking about the redneck thing ... errr thayng!

[QuietOne]

Actually, we're a couple of transplanted "evil California liberals". There a lot of things we just don't talk about with some of the people we know here.

Mike says there's a book on the P-40s that defended Australia during WWII. He says it was published there, so you should be able to find it in a library, if you're interested.

The P-40 Kittyhawk in Service, by Geoffrey Pentland
Publisher was Kookaburra Technical Publications Pty Ltd. in Melbourne. ISBN 0-85880-012-8. I took a quick look at Amazon, and there are a few used copies available, if nothing else.

[Mad Aussie]

Thanks. Australia had quiet a few aircraft from that era here. 1 kilometre from where I'm typing is a memorial plaque on a rock, next to a large dent in the ground, where a RAAF Spitfire crashed. Another went into the river also about 1 kilometre from my home.

Within about a 20 kilometre radius there used to be 3x WW2 airfields. Runway Street (where the runway actually was at one of those locations) is the only reminder of them now.

[Marko]

Totally digging this set QO - thanks for sharing it

[Mad Aussie]

Thanks. Australia had quiet a few aircraft from that era here. 1 kilometre from where I'm typing is a memorial plaque on a rock, next to a large dent in the ground, where a RAAF Spitfire crashed. Another went into the river also about 1 kilometre from my home.

Within about a 20 kilometre radius there used to 3 WW2 airfields. Runway Street (where the runway actually was at one of those locations) is the only reminder of them now.

Here's a couple of maps to show the airfields I was talking about ...

This is off some guys website ozatwar.com, a fella called Peter Dunn


This a modern map of the area. In the top left hand corner is where I live. (Green circle and blue marker). The airfields are A1,2 and 3 where I put those green strips. A2 is now a suburban street ... Runway Street.

[QuietOne]

Tsk, tsk, Marko, aren't you supposed to be spending time with your wife? Regardless, thank you. Mike thanks you, too, for the other thread. He's always happy to share his enthusiasm for these old birds.

I have to admit, I have relatively good access to these planes. If there isn't a show or a crowd, Mike talks shop with the boys, and I crawl around the maintenance hangar looking for interesting angles. They know I won't touch anything, and that I'm aware of where I am in relation to the planes.

MA, here's a site you might be interested in
Welcome to Broken Wings
They're chasing down rumors that as many as 12 Spitfires, still in crates, are buried somewhere in southern Queensland. I know, that covers a lot of territory.

If you travel around much, there is a P-40F in Tyabb, Victoria. It's in flying condition; the owner/pilot is Judy Pay. Might be worth trying to get in touch with her if you know you'll be in the area.

And I bookmarked the site you mentioned. Mike will want to look at it for sure. Looks like the sites you mentioned are within biking distance for you.

[Mad Aussie]

Wow ... I've never heard of this 12 buried Spitfires thing before! That's cool.

I've never been to Victoria ... yet.

I just remembered a book I have here I read last year ... 'To Play the Fox' by Frank Barnard
It's a novel set in 1943 and follows the fortunes of an English Spitfire Reconaissance pilot ... an American fighter pilot and a German fighter pilot in the skies of North Africa.
Until I read this book I didn't know about the unarmed Spitfires and the photos they were taking for reconaissance.