"Kingfish" wrote in message
oups.com...

Dudley Henriques wrote:
Most of the actual sound the ear picks up from an airplane is caused by
the
prop. In the case of the Mustang, with a Hamilton Standard propeller, you
have a prop with an 11 foot 2 inch diameter. Naturally a prop this size
has
a tip speed problem so in a stock Merlin its geared down to a .491:1
through
a reduction gear to the engine RPM. At 3000 RPM , the prop is actually
rotating at 1473RPM. Its mostly the sound the prop makes as it works the
air
coupled with the exhaust tuning through the tubes that gives the 51 its
distinctive sound. There's also a contribution through the radiator that
adds just a "touch" to the mix.
My conception has always been that its a moaning sound; sort of like a
low
pitched moaning wail.
Dudley

I've only heard a Mustang flyby once and it was memorable. I went to
the Corsairs over Connecticut roundup last year and heard a few low
passes by a 4-ship that gave me goosebumps. Gotta love round engines.
The owner of my company flew P-51s in WW2 based at Martlesham Heath.
They'd transitioned from the P-47s (early D models with the razorback
canopy) to the -51 and their type training consisted of a copy of the
AFM and a few spins around the patch and they were mission qual'd.
Yikes.

There's always room at the table for the round engines :-) I have to say
that flying the F8F had its moments for me as well.
As to checkouts in single engine fighters; you're right; if you're lucky, as
I was, you get some time in a T6 flying it from both the front and the back
seats to get used to the visual cues around the nose during taxiing,
takeoff, and landings. Then you take the Dash-1 home and read it from cover
to cover, then you climb in and go for it! :-)
Dudley Henriques