A preview of the 2012 models

[bobbysocks]

we got a glimpse of some of the planes Birds of Steel has roosting in its hen house. lets take a look at what we will get to fly very soon. the armament may vary but.... Oh feel free to contribute or tell me what you found and i will post it.

list of what we have thus far:

Allies
F2a Brewster Buffalo
F4f Wildcat
SBD Dauntless Dive Bomber
Grumman TBF Avenger
P39 Q-15
P38
PBY Catalina
BI-1 Jet ( USSR )
Gloster Meteor ( UK )
Beaufighter ( UK )

Axis

German
Me 109 F4/ Tropical paint
Me 109 G2
Me 109 G6
Me109 G10
Me 109 K4
Me 110 C4
Ta 152H1
Fw 190 A5
Fw 190 D12
Fw 190 F8
HS 129 B2
Me 262

Italian
Fiat CR.42
Fiat G.50 Series 2
Fiat G.50 Series 7AS
MC 200 Series 3
MC 200 Series 7
MC 202

Japanese
A6M Zero
B5N Kate
D3A1 Val
G4M Betty Bomber ( bama lam )


i will kick this off with...

The P 39Q-15 Airacobra

I have history with this one. before transitioning to mustangs my father's fighter group was a 39 outfit. she boosts a huge 37mm nose mounted gun and 4 50 cals. the fumes from the 37mm were so bad they could kill the pilot in the cockpit. so the RAF made it manditory to use the oxygen masks from gears up to gears down. the mid frame engine gave it some unsavory characteristics....like tumbling tail over nose. no matter what they tried, once it began tumbling you bailed to died. they even had a drinking song about it...

Don't give me a P-39 with an engine that's mounted behind
It will tumble and spin and soon auger in
Don't give me a P-39.

it will be interesting to fly and i am sure some of you will be very successful with it.

specs:

Primary Function: Patrol
Contractor: Bell Aircraft
Crew: one
Unit Cost: $46,000
Powerplant
Allison V-1710 rated at 1,200 hp
Dimensions
Length: 30 ft, 2 in
Wingspan: 34 ft
Height: 12 ft, 5 in
Weights
Empty: 5,610 lb
Max. Takeoff: 8,400 lb
Performance
Speed: 376 mph
Ceiling: 35,000 ft
Range: 650 miles
Armament
One 37mm T9, four .50-caliber machine guns (two in nose, two under wing), 500 lbs of bombs.

*The P-39 was the first instance where the aircraft was built around a gun.
*The tricycle landing gear on the P-39 was the first ever used on a production fighter.