> There's a nice detailed cockpit photo of its instrument panel, control
here:
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> A car type steering wheel on a fighter is very odd looking indeed.
alt.binaries.models.scale would be a place to start. I would like to
see how the model came out after sitting around in my attic for so
many years.
Every time I see a photo of that oddity, I keep thinking "why would
someone put two B-25 noses on a aircraft?"
The Wikipedia article about it is "interesting" to say the least:
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Bell P-39 looks like a world- beater compared to some aspects of the
Airacuda, such as this:
"The Airacuda was also saddled with a complex and temperamental
electrical system and was the only aircraft ever built to rely on an
independent auxiliary power unit (APU) to power both engine fuel pumps,
as well as all aircraft electrical systems. Systems usually powered by
an aircraft's engines were instead powered by the single generator. The
generator, with its own supercharger, was located in the belly of the
aircraft. In the event of a failure (and they occurred frequently), the
crew was instructed to begin immediate emergency restart procedures as
the aircraft basically shut down. When the APU failed, the pilot had 'NO
fuel pressure, NO vacuum, NO hydraulic pressure, NO gear, NO flaps and
NO ENGINES.' " ;-)
Pat
The Bell P-39 looks like a world- beater compared to some aspects of the
And from what I have read (Arco books from the late 1960s) the gunners
in the wing stations in front of the engines had virtually NO egress
from the aircraft - one author stated that he had a hard time when the
aircraft was stationary on the ground, the thought of being in it with
no power and no controll gave him nightmares.
Greg Heilers wrote in
news: snipped-for-privacy@earthNOSPAMlink.net:
Lucky you, just got an email today:
72036 1/72 Bell YFM1B Airacuda Long-Range Heavy Fighter $56.00
Picture looks cool.
Frank
When you consider that this fighter was as large as a medium bomber, the
wheel isn't so odd. And, P-38s had wheels instead of sticks. That was
weird.
OTOH, one wonders why an attack version escaped being developed. It had
a 1600 mile range as the YFM-1B. It might have been a slick mover.
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
That gets mentioned in the article also. They had a real potential there
for originating the "escape capsule" concept in aircraft, and if the
gunner descended in enemy territory, he'd have that 37 mm cannon to
defend himself with, so his capture may be difficult without the use of
a medium tank.
This was Bell's first military aircraft, and looking at it, you'd
suspect that was the case (at least by the P-39 they had a better grasp
on how a fighter was supposed to be designed).
I do applaud their concept of originating a whole new mission
specification for a type of military aircraft, then designing something
to fill it...this is how one stays ahead of the competition. If Kelly
Johnson were still alive, we'd have hypersonic dive bombers in service
by now. :-D
I'd love to see what would have happened if Northrop and Bell had teamed
up on a aircraft design in the late 1930s, as the outcome would probably
have been memorable indeed.
Pat
The prototype was a completely circular wheel on it:
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versions have a prominent stick of some sort mounted to the left
of the control wheel on the base of the instrument panel.
Anyone know what that's all about?:
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seems to be associated with that knob with the arrow on it that sits
inside the inverted "Y" shaped base of it.
Fuel tank selector? Something associated with the nose guns?
The wheel starts getting cut down as production moves forward...here's
one on a P-38G:
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least that looks like something you'd find in a race car rather than
a Studebaker.
Here's another, yet smaller variant off of a P-38L:
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the stick on the panel was, it's not on the later versions.
Pat
I'm guessing it might be a gun charging handle based on the appearance
of a pumping action. I notice the lack of the handle in the later
pictures. Whatever it was has been redesigned or eliminated.
Bill Banaszak, MFE Sr.
In the pictures it looks like you can rotate the base knob to four
separate positions; each separated by 45 degrees... this works fine for
the four nose .50 caliber machine guns, but what about the central 20 mm
cannon?
I'm guessing it's a fuel tank/drop tank choice valve, but a mighty
involved way of doing it.
Pat
Back in the 1970s, a guy in the downstairs apartment showed me
pictures that his father had taken of the P-39. The gentleman had
worked for Bell in Buffalo during the testing phase of that aircraft
and one of the albums showed several of the crashes of test aircraft
(and they seemed to be numerous). The son told me that from what his
father had mentioned, one of the biggest problems was that silly car-
door system. Try opening the door of your car while driving at 200mph!
(you know what I mean) The air pressure makes it almost impossible,
but that factoid didn't stop the engineers....
Most of the doors didn't open at all and the aircraft could dig in
some fifteen feet before stopping {measured in the photos) plus the
engine was BEHIND you.
He also had a sixteen millimeter film (about twenty minutes long in
COLOR!) of an early X-1 drop.
I'd love to see those pictures again, but haven't seen that guy since
I moved out in 1975.
Well, it's too late now, but maybe they should have had the hinges on
the front of the door. No problem opening that at 200 MPH.
I had a 61 Lincoln with the suicide doors. Never reach back over the
seat and try to close a door that is slightly ajar at 40 MPH :-)
I never could figure out why they did that on the aircraft, or why they
thought it was necessary to have a door on either side, rather than just
on one side.
I'd never thought of the wind problem; you would have assumed they would
have had a button or handle you could use to jettison the doors in a
emergency.
"Don't give me a P-39.
With the engine that's mounted behind.
For it will tumble and roll...and dig a big hole.
Don't give me a P-39"
Little pilot's song of the period.
Pat
I can imagine what having the doors fly open at full speed is going to
do to the airflow over the horizontal stabilizers. :-)
Your very own set of auxiliary dive brakes.
Pat
I am having a real mess getting access to my web site to post pix of
the completed Rareplanes XFM-1. I will email to a reasonable number
of requesters. If you want to see a pix, email me.
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