P-51 bellylanding

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Thanks Wildcat I was trying to find something to post about this.

A shame but she seems not to bad, I just finished reading an article about this very plane and how he uses re-enforced undercarriadge ironically.

Anyway on the news the passengers reaction was a little strange " I enjoyed every minute of it"

Strange when a piece of history is making a belly landing.
 
I saw a similar landing at Boeing Field Seattle in about 1988 or 1989. A P-51 came in to land and the right gear folded and she ground looped. Pilot lived, but it sure looked scary.
 
That was a great landing. The bird doesn't seem too bee that much damaged. Still it'll ufortunately take a longe time and lots of money to bring her up in the air again.
 
Evan, I like your new avatar. I like the Mr. Bean character. used to watch it all the time. sorry to veer away from topic!
 
should the power have been cut sooner? He had to clear the asphalt but shouldn't the prop be feathered when landing with no gear?
 
I don't think it's going to matter much. Once the prop hits and digs in, stuff is going to get bent up and broken. Plus if the blade is straight up and down, it could give you a real problem.

And Messy, I am a fan of about anything Rowan Atkinson has done.
 
The aircraft was VH-BOB belonging to Bob Eastgate, Actually a Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation built CA18 Mustang 21.

I recently did the t-shirt design for the team
 

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comiso90 said:
should the power have been cut sooner? He had to clear the asphalt but shouldn't the prop be feathered when landing with no gear?
Click to expand...

No feathering mechanism.. If you lose power on the final try to keep your airspeed 20+kts above stall, lower your flaps, keep lowering nose to keep the airspeed up.. Cut power to engine and turn fuel selector to 'off'.

Just keep the wings level and fly it in above stall... and do not get cute about a 'soft' landing.. same procedure on take off except immediately lower nose to keep airspeed up and go straight in if possible. Most guys get killed trying to turn energy into a turn and get back to runway.

More often than not if power is off you won't damage the engine (should not) but props are toast and you will be spending $$$ on radiator scoop, oil cooler and radiator.

PS forgot to mention important detail - crank canopy back and tighten up seat belt if you have time
 
comiso- remember to factor that I never had to belly one in but I was taught by one who did it 5 times during WWII..the three that made it back to Steeple Moreden were all repaired.

He played a lot of games with my head when I was in the back seat including 'lost power on takeoff', 'lost power on base to final approach', missed approach with flaps down, and my personal fav - lost power on a cross country run - and tell him where I planned to put it down.
 
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