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P-51 landing gear


Magua87

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Hi, all. 

 

I'm working on a Tamiya Mustang in 1/72, another RNZAF/TAF example.

 

On my last build of the Airfix kit I dropped the flaps, the landing gear doors, and the radiator flap. The Tamiya kit is moulded with the flaps up and they can't be dropped without surgery. I'm wondering what to do with the gear doors. Tamiya tell you to model the aircraft with the gear doors down and the radiator flap open. Most images of the P-51 online show the aircraft with the gear doors down, radiator flap open, and the flaps down. 

 

 

I've come across a few images of the Mustangs with the flaps up and the gear doors up. E.g.: 

 

44-84900_7824_nac_zpshy2ujqxe.jpeg 

 

There's a lot of variation out there and I was wondering if Britmodeller could be my source of truth. Is there a normal gear door arrangement for a Mustang with its flaps up? Does Tamiya have their instructions wrong by suggesting gear doors down, but flaps raised? 

 

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The reason the wheel cover doors are down is due to Hydraulic pressure bleeding after shut down. They would close once started up. As you say one can't really do much without cutting on the Tamiya kit.  You could represent the model as about to start with a pilot figure in cockpit and have the doors up and flaps up.

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Gear doors should be down as pressure bleeds off, however I believe that the flaps were deliberately lowered to prevent damage from people climbing that way up.

 

That way I can argue that my Mustangs has the flap up, as that was what the pilot/crew selected.

 

 

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So we would assume that the photo I linked above is from an aircraft that shut down recently? And we'd expect the doors and radiator flap to fall down soon as pressure falls? But the flaps would stay up unless lowered by the pilot?

Edited by Magua87
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That's was always my impression. The gear doors would gradually fall open as the hydraulic pressure dropped after shutdown. So you could see them partially open or fully open or closed. The flaps on the other hand are either up or fully down in any picture you look at. So I would have thought that flaps up or down was a pilot option. It does seem pretty much SOP to park with flaps down though, as Finn says, to prevent people climbing on the wing using the rather delicate flap. But there are photos of P51s with flaps up and the gear doors hanging down which implies the loss of pressure doesn't affect the flaps.

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All three of those Kermit Weeks videos are worth watching. Not least for the close up and very detailed walkaround of the P51D. But also right at the end of video 3 after shutdown he lowers the flaps and makes a point of disconnecting the hydraulics which allows the gear doors to drop. 

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the pressure was maintained in the circuit by the accumulator after the driven pump was stopped.
After shut down the engine, the pilot pull the emergency LDG handle. This action locks the LDG handle in "down" position and release the pressure in fairing doors circuit.

fairin10.jpg   uc_fla10.jpg

 

EMM & Flying Operation instructions, D models

Edited by BS_w
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If you look through books on the P-51, you'll find the landing gear doors in various stages of being up or down. I've seen pics with one door closed and the other fully up, just have a look at a load of pics of examples in service and you'll see what I mean.

 

thanks

Mike 

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on Allison mustang, the landing gear control diagram was different. It was not necessary to pull the emergency ldg handle

(which open the fairing doors) to lock the landing gear handle. For this reason, the fairing doors on these Mustang were always closed and locked

on the ground(except if someone opened them for maintenance)

fairin10.jpg

EMM P51A & EMM A36

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                   hi  ALL,

 

                                 A  P-51's flaps always drop very soon after Shutdown and NOT to STOP Personnel walkin' on them

                                   of wot nobody should  do anyway unless they want to end up sprawled on the Tarmac !

                               The Clam Shell inner Undercarriage Doors also drop very soon after Shutdown usually one after the other

                                but close up very soon after Startup as this is their position when the Main Undercarriage is down until

                                Gear Retraction is selected and completed in flight....all very neat eh ?

 

                              The previous Mustang's to the P-51D's  had a different Hydraulic System and none of all this applied.

                                    ......... can't remember why !

 

                                                                                                                   cheery " P-51 " mumbas !

          

                                                                                                                                 Geoff

                                                                                                                                   F.T.G. 3156

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