Mustang IV KH655 P QV - prop type?

[Pat C]

Was thinking about building KH655 which is a Mustang IV i believe and have seen a couple of models where the modeller has used an Aeroproducts prop, and was wondering what evidence there was to support this. Have found the pic below which shows the aircraft with the louvred doors on the nose but as far as I am aware that does not mean that the prop would also have been changed from the HS prop that this would have left the factory with (being a IV and not a IVa). Grateful for any thoughts!

Pat

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/blog/dooleybird-mustang-pilots-logbook-donation/

Edited December 1, 2014 by Pat C

[Admiral Puff]

The prop in that first picture certainly looks like an Aeroproducts one. It's not sharp enough to see the logos clearly, though. Bear in mind that Aeroproducts and Ham Standards were interchangeable (the latter being the prop of choice, because Aeroproducts ones had balance issues), so an airframe could have carried either - it's as much a matter of checking your references and building to them as anything else.

[Pat C]

Thx Puff - I was looking at the second aircraft in the link. As its in flight a bit more tricky to tell!

Pat

[Graham Boak]

Looking at the photo, the size of the prop at the root does imply the Hamilton Standard with its cuffs. For the reason above, it would be surprising to find a Mk.IV changing to an Aeroproducts prop. Never say never, I know, but it has to be pretty unlikely.

[Pat C]

Thanks Graham - thats what I was leaning towards and also for the reason mentioned but was thrown by the other models using the AP prop. I'm going to add the louvres and go with the HS prop which fortunately is the one in the airfix p51!

Pat

[RZP]

KH655 was defintiely a D, so it had the Hamilton Standard prop. I agree with Graham, it would be highly unlikely that the prop would have been changed to the Aeroproduct unit.

Richard

Edited December 1, 2014 by RZP

[BS_w]

KH655 was defintiely a D, so it had the Hamilton Standard prop. I agree with Graham, it would be highly unlikely that the prop would have been changed to the Aeroproduct unit.

Richard

Exactly, according to maintenance interchangeability cross reference chart, HS and Aeroproduct were not interchangeable.

HS for P-51D and AP for P-51K

It was wrote : "P-51D and P-51K(british Mustang IV)", we could suppose that was the P-51K only or both which were called Mustang IV?

But the KH655 had a HS propeller.

BS_w

Edited December 3, 2014 by BS_w

[Graham Boak]

P-51D Mustang Mk.IV: P-51K Mustang Mk.IVA. Some commentators miss the subtlety.

[Admiral Puff]

To expand on my post above: because of the balance problems with the Aeroproducts prop, there was a tendency to change it to a Ham Standard where that was possible/practicable. Thus the same airframe could be either a Mk IV or a Mk IVA, depending on which prop it was wearing at the time. I know of no instances where the change went the other way, but that doesn't mean that it didn't happen.

[Paramedic]

Thanks Graham - thats what I was leaning towards and also for the reason mentioned but was thrown by the other models using the AP prop. I'm going to add the louvres and go with the HS prop which fortunately is the one in the airfix p51!

Pat

If you for some reason need an AP prop there is one in the bigger boxing for the Mustang, the F-51. Same sprue as the rockets and bombs. But maybe that is a later variant..?

[Graham Boak]

The F-51 should have the uncuffed HS rather than the Aeroproducts. Squarish tips instead of pointy ones. You see cuffed and uncuffed HS in Korean War photos, but not Aeroproducts.

[gingerbob]

You're right, Graham, it does have the uncuffed HS, NOT the Aeroproducts. Fortunately, if I understood this thread right, the subject of choice has a standard (wartime) cuffed Ham Standard.

Just for review: uncuffed Ham Standard has (roughly) constant-chord blades, with a squared (relatively) tip, seen very late war and frequently postwar. Aeroproducts has a curvaceous blade, with a narrow rounded tip, rapidly disposed of and seldom (if ever) seen postwar.

The two props were not truly interchangeable (thus the need for separate designation), but it wasn't terribly difficult to convert from one to the other.

bob

Edited December 4, 2014 by gingerbob

[BS_w]

but it wasn't terribly difficult to convert from one to the other.

bob

It was just necessary to have the complete propeller assembly and his control parts.

HS: governor, prop hub, blades, spinner....

AP: bellcrank, control rod to governor control lever , regulator, prop hub and blades, spinner....

They were not interchangeable but replaceable

Edited December 4, 2014 by BS_w

[Pat C]

Well am indeed now building KH655 and my next question is whether the wings would have had the yellow leading edge stripe and if so how far inboard it extended? I think this was a UK based machine (at least as pictured in the link in my opening post) and thus likely to have had the yellow stripe but have seen models with these extending all the way along the wing and also to the point just inboard of the MGs.

Pat

[PhantomBigStu]

looks like to me it has them, and its depicted as having, though depictions show both them stopping short of the mgs and running full length