New -51 driver here...

Arguably the finest fighter aircraft of World War II.
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Slick09
Airman
Posts: 45
Joined: 23 Feb 2015, 13:40

New -51 driver here...

Post by Slick09 »

I picked up the civ mustang about a week or so ago - after some intense practice - I was finally able to understand and translate Dudley’s advice into straight takeoffs and landings. when he says you have to gently fly the tail up on take off, no kidding. I read it several times, but it wasn’t until after quite a few takeoffs that I really understood what he meant.

I do have a few questions though. One which I really shouldn’t be asking, but I’m having a hard time figuring it out is - how does the oxygen control work. I have a hard time getting “clicking it” to the sweet spot to run the blinker. Its usually completely off or completely open for me - i was cruising at 17.000 feet and fiddling with it and didn’t realize I had entered a left hand roll.

The other question I have is about the supercharger and military power. Are they the same thing? I’ve fiddled with the supercharger switch but didn’t really notice any difference in power.

Anyway really enjoying this bird!!!

Richard

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ratty
Technical Sergeant
Posts: 897
Joined: 29 Oct 2013, 21:08
Location: KPMP

Re: New -51 driver here...

Post by ratty »

Congratulations! After over a thousand hours I still find takeoffs and landings exciting.

Your oxygen is either on or off. You can toggle it (put your mask on) through the Shift 3 menu or by clicking on the hose. The flow mode valve should be set in Normal auto-mix; this delivers an air/oxygen mix appropriate to your altitude. In the other position it delivers 100% oxygen all the time, which is wasteful but, I'm told, good for hangovers.

The supercharger will kick in by itself at 13,000 to 15,000 feet, I think, and how much difference you notice will depend on how you're climbing. In a hard climb with everything full forward there's a big jump in manifiold pressure - a lot more air is suddenly available and you get it all at once. I've taken to engaging the supercharger myself, earlier in the climb.

Recommended power settings are neatly summarized on the plaque on the right hand side of the cockpit.

Enjoy!
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DHenriques_
A2A Chief Pilot
Posts: 5711
Joined: 27 Mar 2009, 08:31
Location: East Coast United States

Re: New -51 driver here...

Post by DHenriques_ »

Slick09 wrote: 20 Mar 2021, 19:31 I picked up the civ mustang about a week or so ago - after some intense practice - I was finally able to understand and translate Dudley’s advice into straight takeoffs and landings. when he says you have to gently fly the tail up on take off, no kidding. I read it several times, but it wasn’t until after quite a few takeoffs that I really understood what he meant.

I do have a few questions though. One which I really shouldn’t be asking, but I’m having a hard time figuring it out is - how does the oxygen control work. I have a hard time getting “clicking it” to the sweet spot to run the blinker. Its usually completely off or completely open for me - i was cruising at 17.000 feet and fiddling with it and didn’t realize I had entered a left hand roll.

The other question I have is about the supercharger and military power. Are they the same thing? I’ve fiddled with the supercharger switch but didn’t really notice any difference in power.

Anyway really enjoying this bird!!!

Richard
Ratty is correct. One thing that isn't immediately apparent about the supercharger switch is that the switch has not two but THREE positions. It is safetied in AUTOMATIC. In that position the change to high blower is controlled by an aneroid and is automatic as you climb. It should change somewhere above 14,500ft. In the real Mustang I tried to remember to make the switch to high blower manually before reaching the automatic switch altitude as with climb power applied there was quite a large manifold pressure surge when the switch came.
When you check the supercharger during runup, remember that the switch is safetied in auto and the first position upward (the middle position) is the LOW position so you won't get any RPM change there. You have to go up one more position to HIGH BLOWER to see the drop in RPM indicating that high blower is operating.
It is useful to note that you can use the LOW blower position at high altitude to increase range.
Dudley Henriques

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