I got buzzed!!!

I live near Los Alamitos Army Airfield (KSLI) and it turned
out they were having a small show today. DRAT!!! Had I known...

Anyway, being so close I got to hear and see an F/A-18 do
some very low and fast passes. I'm about where normal traffic
turns onto final, so this guy was banked over on it's wingtips
and lighting up the pipes. But I digress...

Anyway, I decided to take a little jaunt on the Harley and I
found myself much closer to the field, in fact, about a 1/4
mile from the end of the runway. I was sitting in a right turn
lane when I hear the most spine tingling howl coming up behind
me. The hairs on the back of my neck literally stood up!! A
second later it turned into a growling roar passing overhead.
I looked up just in time to see a beautiful P-51 setting up
for a high speed low pass down the flightline. Oh, what a site!!

Now, I'm on a Harley with helmet and earplugs and I still
heard this thing coming up behind me.

I can only image what those on the receiving end of a strafing
run must have felt when they heard the howl of that plane
bearing down upon them.

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html
Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

Skywise wrote: brevity snip

I can only image what those on the receiving end of a strafing
run must have felt when they heard the howl of that plane
bearing down upon them.

I've never been fired upon by aircraft but I can offer a brief
description of what it's like to have a flight of 3 F-4's come over
from behind at about 300AGL and maybe 400kts...

Very, very frightening.
-----

- gpsman

"Skywise" wrote in message
...
I live near Los Alamitos Army Airfield (KSLI) and it turned
out they were having a small show today. DRAT!!! Had I known...

Anyway, being so close I got to hear and see an F/A-18 do
some very low and fast passes. I'm about where normal traffic
turns onto final, so this guy was banked over on it's wingtips
and lighting up the pipes. But I digress...

Anyway, I decided to take a little jaunt on the Harley and I
found myself much closer to the field, in fact, about a 1/4
mile from the end of the runway. I was sitting in a right turn
lane when I hear the most spine tingling howl coming up behind
me. The hairs on the back of my neck literally stood up!! A
second later it turned into a growling roar passing overhead.
I looked up just in time to see a beautiful P-51 setting up
for a high speed low pass down the flightline. Oh, what a site!!

Now, I'm on a Harley with helmet and earplugs and I still
heard this thing coming up behind me.

I can only image what those on the receiving end of a strafing
run must have felt when they heard the howl of that plane
bearing down upon them.

The combination of a Merlin V1650-7 and a Hamilton or Aero Products
propeller at between 35 and 45 inches and between 2700 and 3000 RPM have a
sound so distinctive that many who have heard it never forget it.
You could fly 1000 airplanes with 1 P51 included in the mix somewhere
directly over my head with me blind folded and I'd pick out the 51 in a
nano-second :-)
Dudley Henriques

"gpsman" wrote in message
oups.com...
Skywise wrote: brevity snip

I can only image what those on the receiving end of a strafing
run must have felt when they heard the howl of that plane
bearing down upon them.

I've never been fired upon by aircraft but I can offer a brief
description of what it's like to have a flight of 3 F-4's come over
from behind at about 300AGL and maybe 400kts...

Very, very frightening.
-----

- gpsman

This from someone behind me at an airshow one time after the Blue Angels
"Sneak Pass" and the narrator's accompanying description of low-level,
high-speed tactical attack methods:

"Well, we can't be dead...we heard him."

In the 1940s, you could probably count on hearing the attacking aircraft on
a strafing run before he fired...but today, you're dead long before you'd
ever hear the jet (provided of course, the ordinance in question even
required flight anywhere near the target...)

Duck early, duck often.

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ

Reminds me of the last real "stunt" pulled by the Thunderbirds. Not allowed
any more of course :-)
On Okinawa during the old F100 team days, Fish Salmon was flying the solo
slot. Fish was a real hot rock! The team wasn't constrained by FAA rules on
Oki as it was back in the states.
It was at the Kadena airshow with the team on tour. Fish took off behind the
diamond and disappeared out over the ocean. The diamond came back in and
executed the first formation maneuver. All the attention was on the
formation and practically everybody on the base including the base
commander's pet dog had completely forgotten about Fish.
Fish had sneaked out and positioned the F100 to hack 180 behind the crowd
inbound over the mile marker passing through mach 1 just as the aircraft
overflew the crowd. He completely blind sided them all. I mean no one knew
he was there until the shock wave hit them.
The diamond cleared and in came Fish balls to the walls. It was TERRIFIC!!!!
He hit the crowd supersonic just above their heads. The boom shook the beer
cans right out of their hands.
About 10,000 people hit the deck at once! It was marvelous!!!
This Thunderbird "moment" is brought up from time to time by the old guys
after a drink or two, and I can tell you it will never happen again. But
what a moment that was!!
Ah yes....the "good ole days".
:-)))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))) )))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))))
Dudley Henriques


"Jay Beckman" wrote in message
...

"gpsman" wrote in message
oups.com...
Skywise wrote: brevity snip

I can only image what those on the receiving end of a strafing
run must have felt when they heard the howl of that plane
bearing down upon them.

I've never been fired upon by aircraft but I can offer a brief
description of what it's like to have a flight of 3 F-4's come over
from behind at about 300AGL and maybe 400kts...

Very, very frightening.
-----

- gpsman

This from someone behind me at an airshow one time after the Blue Angels
"Sneak Pass" and the narrator's accompanying description of low-level,
high-speed tactical attack methods:

"Well, we can't be dead...we heard him."

In the 1940s, you could probably count on hearing the attacking aircraft
on a strafing run before he fired...but today, you're dead long before
you'd ever hear the jet (provided of course, the ordinance in question
even required flight anywhere near the target...)

Duck early, duck often.

Jay Beckman
PP-ASEL
Chandler, AZ

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...
Reminds me of the last real "stunt" pulled by the Thunderbirds. Not
allowed any more of course :-)

Snip Fabulous Story

Super Sabre - $10 million dollars

Pilot Traning - $1 million dollars

Flat Hatting The Crowd - Priceless!

Jay B

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in
:

Snipola
The combination of a Merlin V1650-7 and a Hamilton or Aero Products
propeller at between 35 and 45 inches and between 2700 and 3000 RPM have a
sound so distinctive that many who have heard it never forget it.
You could fly 1000 airplanes with 1 P51 included in the mix somewhere
directly over my head with me blind folded and I'd pick out the 51 in a
nano-second :-)
Dudley Henriques

I've seen 51's at air shows, but they were always passing across
my field of view some distance away. I've got one of those high
quality sound effects CD's that has some warbird passes. But in
none of these have I heard this howl. I don't know how to describe
it. It was surreal and unreal. I'm not kidding when I said the
hair on the back of my neck stood up. My very first thought was,
"that's not what screeching tires sounds like!" Being on a motorcycle,
strange sounds get my attention really fast. It scared the willies
out of me for that split second before I realized what it was, but
I drove away with a big grin on my face.

I'd love to experience that again!

Brian
--
http://www.skywise711.com - Lasers, Seismology, Astronomy, Skepticism
Seismic FAQ: http://www.skywise711.com/SeismicFAQ/SeismicFAQ.html
Quake "predictions": http://www.skywise711.com/quakes/EQDB/index.html
Sed quis custodiet ipsos Custodes?

"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...

The combination of a Merlin V1650-7 and a Hamilton or Aero Products
propeller at between 35 and 45 inches and between 2700 and 3000 RPM have a
sound so distinctive that many who have heard it never forget it.

Dudley, you just answered a question I've been wondering about for nearly 40
years.

I've always knew about that distinctive Merlin sounds, but there's a
secondary sound (that prop) that together makes the "Mustang Sound" like
nothing else on earth.

You could fly 1000 airplanes with 1 P51 included in the mix somewhere
directly over my head with me blind folded and I'd pick out the 51 in a
nano-second :-)

"Matt Barrow" wrote in message
...
"Dudley Henriques" wrote in message
...

The combination of a Merlin V1650-7 and a Hamilton or Aero Products
propeller at between 35 and 45 inches and between 2700 and 3000 RPM have
a sound so distinctive that many who have heard it never forget it.

Dudley, you just answered a question I've been wondering about for nearly
40 years.

I've always knew about that distinctive Merlin sounds, but there's a
secondary sound (that prop) that together makes the "Mustang Sound" like
nothing else on earth.

You could fly 1000 airplanes with 1 P51 included in the mix somewhere
directly over my head with me blind folded and I'd pick out the 51 in a
nano-second :-)

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

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.