Save the P-51

[svenks 4]

Hello, Gents (and ladies, if any)During Mike Kopack's USA criss-cross, I heard this nasty rumour that the ** P-51 would be banned from this year's race. The reason is it's ability to run full throttle (=WEP) for as long as it takes.It is quite correct that this is unrealistic, but instead of banning it, we should approach the creator of the Duenna and see if something could be done here. For instance, if manifold pressure > 61 inches for more than 5 minutes, the flight should either be declared invalid or incur a time penalty - something like that.I really like this plane - not because it's easy to fly, but because it's hard (sorry, JFK) - and I've put a lot of time and effort into doing it properly (btw, that includes throttling back to the first red line immediately after takeoff) and I would really hate seeing all my good work go to waste, since my main purpose for buying this plane was RTW.If you feel the same way about ** P-51, please reply to this thread. If we are enough, I will see if the Duenna's author can be persuaded to try and make this possible - in fact, this COULD be useful for other planes as well.BRGDSSven Sorensen, EKCH

[Guest d.lahrman]

I agree, Sven. I enjoy flying the P-51 in the RTW race and would like to use it again this year. I think the Duenna approach is practical because no craft should be able to be flown at full throttle for an entire leg.

[Guest SoarPics]

There are a number of aircraft that can be run flat-out without damage. The ** P-51 isn't alone here, so the question is why is it being singled out?I have no problem with the concept of Duenna monitoring power settings but singling out one aircraft when many can be flown much the same way (max power) is patently unfair.

[Highmike 68]

It is also worth noting that we are all on an even keel here. There's nothing stopping any contestants from flying the P51H if they so desire. It's only natural for a contestant to want to fly the fastest plane whatever that may be. If the P51H were excluded from the race then contestants would be looking for the next fastest plane, such as the P38, to give them the best competitive advantage.I love the ** P51H, and would be very sorry not to see it compete in the race.Mike.

[Guest SoarPics]

There's nothing stopping any contestants from flying the P51H if they so desire.While I agree with you that anybody can fly the -51, many would say it's payware whereas some of the other "fast" birds are freeware. Not much of an argument in my book, but some will make it.In the end it will be a sad day if the ** P-51 is singled out.

[Gazer75 0]

Even the P-38 we use are not flown to specs.WEP is 3000rpm and 60MP for 5 minutesMil Power is 3000rpm and 54MP for 15 minutes.Continuous Power is 2600rpm and 44MP.The speed drops considerably at the max cont. power setting compared to what we used last year, which was Mil Power.Going down this road would create a lot of problems imo.I would like to see all aircraft flown to specs, but that would be impossible to verify. It would also exclude most, if not all, warbirds as they are not that fast when flown to specs.

[buzzbee 51]

I agree with Gazers post on this. It would be great if you had to fly the aircraft per the POH, but there is no way to verify this is being done (at this time.) I hope the P-51H stays legal as I love it and really have gotten a handle on the power settings required to make a nice landing.

[cbtaylor 15]

Hi guys,My feeling is this: there are a number of different aircraft types used in the last few races that don't model the dire consequences of flying at full throttle for extended periods of time, so it would be unfair to single out just one. I don't think it would be realistic to code the duenna for each and every one, either.Someone, I think it might have been Reggie Fields, posted some stats over at the Outhouse showing the number of legs that each aircraft type was used by each team in last year's race, and the P-51H and Dave Copley's P-38 (various models) were the mount of choice by far and away over anything else. I think the comment Sven was referring to was simply the opinion of one or two people, and didn't reflect the feelings of the majority. It's the Race Committee's call, though, and I hope they make a decision, if one is warranted, with practicality in mind.Anyway, that's my two-cents worth.Cheers, and looking forward to flying with you all again.Craig

[svenks 4]

Hi Craig,I sure hope that you are right, that it is only the voice of one or two people, That was not my impression, though.The Denna wouldn't need to take all aircraft into consideration. I was thinking more like just logging the man pressure or the throttle percentage at various intervals and putting these settings into the output file. Then it would be there for anyone to see, and to launch a protest, if the throttle was too high for too long.BRGDSSven Sorensen, EKCH

[Guest 2002cbr600f4i]

Most importantly, if they're going to make a move to ban the P-51H, I'd hope they do it sooner rather than later to give us all time to find and learn replacement aircraft.As others have stated, I purchased this aircraft for last years' RTW and have grown to love it! It's by far the favorite in my stable and I feel very confident in it's operation, much more so than anything else I've flown... If I have to ditch it for something else, I want to know NOW so I can get some time in a replacement prior to the race.

[buzzbee 51]

My argument would be to ask what aircraft is flow by the book? In thsi race, none of them are.Here is a funny idea I had though would be to have all teams fly the same aircraft. That would be interesting.