TV series 12 O’clock High has been playing in my area.
Scripts are a mixed bag and I watch mostly for the aircraft footage that shows up in each episode.
I saw a puzzling clip of four Post War USAF P-51 D Mustangs in flight ; all have their tailwheels down and locked.
No wing stores;, no ANG markings but FF markings and a spiral nose .
My question to you Mustang buffs is why tail wheels would be down in flight attitude for all the aircraft?
I would presume the tail wheel would be linked to retract automatically with the main gear.
Doing such a thing for training would seem unlikely.
My guess would be that spare parts for tailwheel retraction were unavailable.
Any other suggestions?
Thanks.
Tailwheels: flaunt 'em if you got 'em.
Read about that in Wings of Fame . Can’t remember what the reason was though, I gotta go dig it up again…
Thought it was only on the “H” models though… I’ll check again…
BTW, what is “your area”? If 12 O’Clock High is playing somehwere I can get, I wanna know!
The early precursor of trucknutz?
Doesn’t your wife get annoyed when you do that in public?
… and get back to posting on the 229 threads.
Ya coulda been adding to the 229 threads, but nooooooooooo [:'(]
Darn… Not on my cable system… Only thing I get from Chicago is WGN…
Ya may hafta go You Tube eventually…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3eiFlo0tOCo&feature=more_related
News Flash !
I just saw this episode:
OMG…it’s a suicidal James T. Kirk !
antoni
February 12, 2011, 7:34am
13
Read about that in Wings of Fame . Can’t remember what the reason was though, I gotta go dig it up again…
Thought it was only on the “H” models though… I’ll check again…
The tail wheel on the ‘H’ model was prone to collapse when taxiing and landing. As it was produced in relatively small numbers compared to the ‘D/K’ model little effort was made to rectify the problem. The solution was to simply lock the tail wheel in the down position.
OUCH ! No wonder they were called tail draggers.
According to this blurb the tailwheels of postwar Mustangs were fixed in the lowered position as a cost savings measure…
12 O’Clock High was made in 1949. Aircraft in the film were of that postwar period…
http://www.warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=21380
All the combat footage in the film was actual archival stuff from the war. Only the scenes filmed at the fictional “Archbury” base with the actors used actual B-17’s.
Mark
Spruce, that was a great youtube clip… William Shatner, what a hoot!
Should have seen him on the Outer Limits.
There…is…something…out…on…the…wing
