IDENTIFICATION OF NORTH AMERICAN P-51 MUSTANG FIGHTER

foreign thank you our formula has been adopted which will help you in the rapid identification of aircraft based on the following Salient points of the aircraft silhouette Wings engine fuselage and Tails which are easily seen from a distance this formula is known as the weft system w or wings he or engine f or fuselage t or tail using the weft system to guide us we shall study the distinguishing features of the North American P-51 fighter the North American P-51 fighter as a single cantilever tapered wing which is set at the bottom of the fuselage therefore it is classified as a low Wing monoplane notice that the dihedral or upward slope starts at the center of the fuselage and extends to the wing tip now from underneath we see that both the Leading Edge and the trailing Edge are tapered toward the tip of the wing the tip of the wing is practically Square with the Leading Edge rounded notice that the wings are located almost midway between the nose and the tail of the plane also note there are two guns extending from the Leading Edge of each Wing about one-third the distance from the fuselage to the wing tip the landing gear extends from the bottom of the Wings just inboard the guns the main Wheels fold up into the wing toward the center and covering doors close automatically to maintain a smooth streamlined surface the tail wheel retracts simultaneously and is also covered by automatic closing doors the North American P-51 fighter has a single in-line liquid-cooled engine notice the smooth streamline cowling and the bullet-shaped nose exhaust Stacks protruding from the calling can be seen from close views also note the air scoop at the top of the calling extending almost to the propeller the nose of the fuselage which contains the engine extends well beyond the wings the cockpit is directly above the wing and has a curved window for a vision to the rear the fuselage is streamlined from the top of the cockpit to the tail the fuselage is narrow as viewed from the back the top and the bottom a rather large air scoop is located at the bottom of the fuselage extending forward beneath the wings the fuselage behind the scoop tapers sharply to the tail the radial Mast is located above and behind the cockpit and the antenna extends to the fins another significant clue to the identity of the North American P-51 fighter is the tail the vertical surface or thin as a tapered Leading Edge and are slightly less tapered trailing Edge the top of the fin is square with the Leading Edge slightly rounded the trailing edge of the rudder curves into the bottom of the fuselage notice that the horizontal control surface is straight there is no dihedral or upward slope as you can see the leading and trailing edges of the horizontal surface are tapered the tips are square and slightly rounded at the front now we shall review the distinguishing silhouette features of the North American P-51 fighter it is a low-wing monoplane the dihedral or upward slope starts at the fuselage and extends to the wingtips the North American P-51 fighter is powered with a single liquid-cooled engine it has a smooth streamlined cowling and a bullet-shaped nose the smooth Contours of the fuselage are broken on top by an air scoop directly behind the propeller a more obvious clue in identifying the fuselage is the air scoop underneath and directly below the cockpit the cockpit is directly above the wing the fuselage is streamlined to the tip of the tail remember the vertical thin tapers to a flat top which is slightly curved at the Leading Edge also remember the horizontal control surface is straight there is no dihedral or upward slope the horizontal tail surfaces are located slightly forward from the rear end of the fuselage the leading and trailing edges of the horizontal surface are tapered the fuselage is narrow the wings are located about the center of the plane and are practically the same length as the fuselage the wings have both the leading and trailing edges tapered be sure to remember the North American P-51 fighter with the square wing and tail tips thus we have completed the identification of the North American P-51 fighter according to the West system [Music]