corbra

[Shawn Aro]

shawn

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: corbra

Always liked Mid-Engine cars, that they made an airplane configured so is amazing! Beautiful airplane and equally beautiful shot Shawn! Thanks for sharing

[ZacYates]

Re: corbra

I was cheering for Pretty Polly all week, it was just so cool to see her going round. Lovely photo Shawn!

[Guest]

Re: corbra

Thanks, Shawn! Always a treat for the eyes!

[Shawn Aro]

Re: corbra

i got a new computer a few months ago and and my new photoshop had some new stuff to create

here is what i came up with this was 2019

Shawn

[AAFO_WSagar]

Re: corbra

i got a new computer a few months ago and and my new photoshop had some new stuff to create

here is what i came up with this was 2019

Shawn

Dang I missed this post too! I am supposed to get an email from the message board software every time there is a post, or response. It is the easiest way for me to ensure that I read every post, to just use that email digest, either read the post on the forum by clicking the link or, often, I just read the content that's contained in the email... the unedited version of the original post (should there be edits).. anyway...

Long story short, since the meltdown, sometimes I don't get my email digest like I'm supposed to..

I've downloaded the latest version of the board software, I just have to get in the right mindset to install it correctly! I used to stay up till about 3:00am do to stuff like upgrades.. don't have it in me any more!!

REALLY TRULY APPRECIATE you sharing your archives and your quickly developing artistic skills with photoshop!

[CJAM427]

Re: corbra

Why did they design the P63 as a mid-engined airplane? A friend (who's a retired A&P for a major carrier) and I were talking about it. We could think of lots of reasons why a mid-engine design had lots of drawbacks, but had trouble listing advantages. And what's up with the car style doors? Would that not make it problematic to bail out if you needed to? I had a friend when I was much younger who had a relative who was killed in an accident where they were doing aerobatics in a high wing airplane (for which the plane was certified). The wing spar failed with the aircraft inverted and the wings folded against the doors, trapping them inside. So I am conscious of this kind of thing. This seems like a pretty undesirable design for a fighter.

Wadeh, I thought I'd answer your question from Neal's quiz thread over here, so I hope you see it!

The P-63's mid-engine design stems from it being a development of the earlier P-39. The P-39 was developed around the 37mm T9 cannon and the use of the Allison V-1710 engine which dictated the setup of the airplane. The following quote is directly from the Wikipedia page on the P-39

It would have been impossible to mount the weapon in the fuselage, firing through the cylinder banks of the Vee-configured engine and the propeller hub as could be done with smaller 20 mm cannon. Weight, balance and visibility considerations meant that the cockpit could not be placed farther back in the fuselage, behind the engine and cannon.[28] The solution adopted was to mount the cannon in the forward fuselage and the engine in the center fuselage, directly behind the pilot's seat.

Onto the second part of your question, the car doors. This is a partial guess on my part, but I don't think a traditional sliding bubble canopy would have worked on the P-39/63 due to the carburetor intake being directly behind the canopy. The right hand door was jettison-able on the P-39 so that would help in the event of a bailout. In reference to a wing spar failure trapping the pilot, for one I think the spar in the P-39 was tested to limits beyond what it would experience in a combat situation so I doubt that was a real concern. I've never read any stories about that happening to a P-39 or P-63 pilot, not to say that it didn't happen. Most of them were used for ground attack rolls due to the Allison's lack of high altitude performance, so I also am not sure that any of the pilots would have gotten into an inverted situation like you described.

The P-39 and P-63's real holdups were the use of the Allison engine, which at the time of design for the P-39, was all there was and the thick airfoil, which is why the Cleveland era P-63 racers cut the wingspans down so severely.

Hope that helps answer your questions. There's also a book called Cobra! by Birch Matthews that covers pretty much everything you'd want to know on the types, plus their history in Air Racing.

-Connor

[wadeh]

Re: corbra

Thanks for the response!

That is great information on the P63 design.

Regarding the spar failure that I mentioned, I was not suggesting that wing failure is an issue with the P63. I think that it was a freak accident on the particular airplane involved (which was not a P63; it was a Citabria). The door design on the P63 just reminded me of the importance of having an unobstructed exit in the case of a bailout. The ability to jettison the door answers the question.

[Leo]

Re: corbra

Read "COBRA" by Birch Matthews. Very intensive history of the development of the series.

[TWD]

Re: corbra

My company sponsored a Make-A-Wish kid to learn to fly (after he is 100% again). We invited him (and his family) up to the races this year and RARA gave him the red carpet treatment. I was giving him a tour of the Sanders pit and we headed over to look at the P-63 from inside the rope. We were immediately intercepted, but when the crewmember figured out what we were up to, she offered to put our kid into the cockpit. Classy move as he and his sister got to sit in Polly and the P-51.
TJ

[ZacYates]

Re: corbra

That's brilliant. Classy move and two lucky kids!