Author Topic: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes  (Read 37335 times)

Offline Tophe

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New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« on: February 01, 2015, 11:45:48 PM »
I have already drawn many Mustang seaplanes at http://www.kristofmeunier.fr/Suite_Mustangs_V.htm
and many Lightning seaplanes at http://www.kristofmeunier.fr/#Sit
But I plan to add new ones especially for this GB.
Any idea (of new shape, as I include no marking)?

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #1 on: February 02, 2015, 01:16:24 AM »
Here is the little PB51D-1 Catalistang. According to its code, this is a Douglas flying boat: :icon_ninja:

Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2015, 01:53:44 AM »
Lovin' that!  :-*

Wonder whether you could have the outrigger floats retract backwards so they could fit against/into the end of the engine nacelles?
« Last Edit: February 02, 2015, 01:56:53 AM by ChernayaAkula »
Cheers,
Moritz

"The appropriate response to reality is to go insane!"

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #3 on: February 02, 2015, 02:18:01 AM »
Thanks a lot for this addition, 100% true!
Here is the PB51D-1 in flight, with retracted floats and retracted hull. The 2-blade propellers could be locked horizontal for ditching if there was a jam in the mecanism to bring all down:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #4 on: February 02, 2015, 01:12:31 PM »
Now an unknown Lightning Seaplane: the SP-38NL (No Ladder): for mechanicians to work safely on the engines, without dangerous ladders and falling risk, the Lightning engines were moved upon the floats, driving propellers through gears and shafts:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #5 on: February 02, 2015, 01:47:32 PM »
The SP-38NL-4 had the same layout but with more power and speed, less range though...: ???

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #6 on: February 02, 2015, 02:26:26 PM »
The SP-38NLs had been designed for peace (saving broken legs of mecanicians), but all changed in 1941 with now enemy killers, so was designed the SP-38RD (Rear Defense) saving life of precious pilots:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #7 on: February 03, 2015, 01:25:19 PM »
The first mass-produced Catalistang has been the PB51B-1, with no retractable hull. It was produced mainly by Brewster, it seems, with maybe additional copies from North American (unsure):

Offline ChernayaAkula

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #8 on: February 03, 2015, 09:21:50 PM »
Thanks a lot for this addition, 100% true!
Here is the PB51D-1 in flight, with retracted floats and retracted hull. The 2-blade propellers could be locked horizontal for ditching if there was a jam in the mecanism to bring all down:



Looks really good with the retracted hull.  :-*
I don't know whether it would make any sense at all (not that we'd be bound by any of that anyway, right?) to have the wing mounted like the variable incidence wing of the Crusader? The thinking being that it might help with take-off performance and keep the props and any intakes as far away from the sea water as possible.
Cheers,
Moritz

"The appropriate response to reality is to go insane!"

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #9 on: February 04, 2015, 01:07:02 PM »
I don't know whether it would make any sense at all (not that we'd be bound by any of that anyway, right?) to have the wing mounted like the variable incidence wing of the Crusader? The thinking being that it might help with take-off performance and keep the props and any intakes as far away from the sea water as possible.
It does not only "make sense" but it has been built, in secrecy. I have to check if there is no more "top secret" on it then I will show it was not delirium at all... ;) (Thanks!)

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2015, 01:18:26 AM »
After checking (in my dreams)... the VTOL PB51 was the PB51E-1 (built by Edo Aircraft), and it is still top secret, alas.
But I have a friend of mine working in Washington (he is the boss of something, I don't know which office exactly) [he is a black man with an Irish name: Barak O'Bama], and he signed the paper nicely for me to present it. Here it is:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #11 on: February 05, 2015, 01:53:59 AM »
From a genius idea of ysi_maniac (see http://beyondthesprues.com/Forum/index.php?topic=4057.15 ), here are caterpillar Lightning flying boats, to invade beaches: in 1943 1,999 single-wing PLD-38A have been ordered by the US Marines for Normandy, and 999 tandem-wing PLD-38B have been ordered for Leyte:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #12 on: February 05, 2015, 02:19:29 AM »
Of course, the 'Real' PLD-38R had retractable caterpillars and vertical wing assembly:

(still top secret also, forbidden outside of my psychiatric asylum)

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #13 on: February 05, 2015, 12:50:07 PM »
Anyone brave enough to take this on?

The Prin-38A (best-seller of the late 1940s) is not easy to build but easy to draw...:

Offline finsrin

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #14 on: February 05, 2015, 06:37:53 PM »
The Prin-38A (best-seller of the late 1940s) is not easy to build but easy to draw...:



Like much :)
To build similar in 1/72.  Start with 1/32 Sea Venom ?

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #15 on: February 06, 2015, 01:30:05 AM »
Thanks to be inspired! ;)

And, before came the Mustalina PB51B-1 was the Lightalina PB38L-1:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #16 on: February 06, 2015, 01:42:00 AM »
The PB38Z-1 Twin-Lightalina was manufactured by... uh, Zockheed?:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #17 on: February 06, 2015, 02:18:01 AM »
It seems Zockheed proposed another twin-hull observation aircraft: the PB51Z-1 Twin-Mustalina, but this 3-engined seaplane was rejected, in favor of the famous twin-engined North-American PB82N-1 (nick-named Twin-Mustalina also):

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #18 on: February 06, 2015, 01:46:37 PM »
Well, Admiral Nimitz was angry: "those land-based bastards laugh at me: they say the -51 Must-something is the best single-engine fighter of the World, not at all a twin-engined patrol flying-boat!". So the Navy leaders found a few zillion dollars to design the F51D-1 single-engine fighter:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #19 on: February 06, 2015, 02:09:42 PM »
Of course, Admiral Nimitz was happy with the F51D-1 design and he ordered 15,000 copies of it. They were manufactured by Douglas of course but also North American (F51N-1). The Lockheed built ones (F51L-1) were a little different:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #20 on: February 06, 2015, 02:24:07 PM »
When the USAAF ordered the twin-engined XP-82, Admiral Nimitz died from a heart attack. As a tribute to this great admiral, Lockheed designed the F82L-1 Twinimitz:

Offline Tophe

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #21 on: February 06, 2015, 03:24:48 PM »
In 1946, there were so many available aircraft being sold by the army and navy, aircraft manufacturers had to invent something different. And then came the PB38A-1: an asymmetric "sport" flying-boat! If you succeed taking off and alightning without crashing, you win a medal! No order came anyway, probably because the price was too much...

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #22 on: February 07, 2015, 03:36:00 AM »
Maybe do something akin to the Supermarine Seagull:


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Offline Volkodav

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #23 on: February 07, 2015, 01:24:37 PM »
Exactly what I was thinking and was about to mention when I saw your post.  Very tempted to buy the Pro Resin kit.

Offline ericr

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Re: New Mustang & Lightning seaplanes
« Reply #24 on: February 07, 2015, 06:16:41 PM »
Exactly what I was thinking and was about to mention when I saw your post.  Very tempted to buy the Pro Resin kit.

so tempting indeed!

it fells like tyou can plug quite any aircraft shape on top of the wing support ...