Warbird Information Exchange

Here's the deal on the ski's....

We actually had 2 sets of them and gave one of the sets to John Maloney to go with the POF P-51A. That set was in worse shape than the ones my Dad kept and I think the POF set just has the mains.

The set we have at WAM is a complete assembly with oleo strut, retracting links, fairings, etc. One day, if we have a good Idaho winter, it would be fun to pull out or C model Mustang and put them on it in the snow and light it up. It would make for some great photos to see the snow blowing behind it on ski's! Probably will be our X-mas card one year.

My Dad got both sets from a gentleman named Wolverton that was in Idaho Falls I believe. He wanted a brand new Navy gun sight for a TBM that my Dad had and he said he had these ski's that he'd gotten from a farmer who was going to make a hay sled out of them!

They made the trade and now both the Warhawk Air Museum as well as the Planes Of Fame have a set.

Being a self-proclaimed P-51 nut, I am pretty excited to know that someone has made the effort to preserve those! If I remember correctly, most of the pictures I have seen of the ski Mustang were captioned with the location being Ladd, Alaska. I have no proof the pictures were taken there--only that the captions stated that is where the testing took place.

Would it be possible to get some pictures of those? I think it would make great model-making material. Thanks in advance for your consideration with this.


Regards,
Jim

Yet again guys, you have done it! I have never heard of P-51,47 or 63's on ski's! Why did they do it? What was it like to put one of those down on snow/ice? and a close up picture of the gear would be good to.


Rgds Cking

I had seen some pictures of the P-51 with skis but not the others. Well, in my "net surfing" looking for more pictures of the test program, I came across some pictures and an article about a P-38 with skis! Check out these pix!

Jim

Those even look like they might actually retract flush with the airframe.

Good day y'all I ran across this looking for information / pictures of the ski fitted NA-51A. i'd like to make a scale / semi-scale set of these for one of my r/c P-51's for flying in the snow / mud. is there any chance that any of you have outher photos or a copy of these 1/5 scale drawings? It would be nice to have a set that is "right" for the plane...

the plane I'm currently modeling is the p-51D-5A cavailer MKII but to be able to continue to fly her in the winter here or at times in the summer back home I'll need something besides the standered gear for the plane.

Any help would be great,

Thanx,
Killerproblem

They actually came from Acme Machine in Filer, ID. They got them surplus to use some of the actuators and links. The one full set was in the crate out in the yard but it was pretty far gone. My uncle Gary Wolverton got them and we had them in the hanger for several years before he traded them to your dad. I'm glad you guys got them so they can be displayed properly. Don

Gentlemen,

The P-47 flew into RCAF Station Winnipeg, Manitoba, on its regular landing gear. USAAF personnel then re-fitted the aircraft with special skis and landing gear developed by the H J Heinz Co. of PA. The ski consisted of a plastic-like material, so I am told by an RCAF veteran. The RCAF warned the USAAF not to taxi the ski-equipped P-47 on the concrete taxi and runway. They ignored this advice and friction that developed cracked the ski surfaces.

The AAF asked the RCAF if they could help salvage the project. The Manitoba area was served year-round by bush-aircraft using skis during winter months. Also the RCAF had good knowledge on designing and producing skis. They obtained timber from a local lumber yard, Acklands & Sons, and built a set of laminated skis, having a groove extending down the center of each ski.

Takeoff problems immediately became apparent; engine torque caused the aircraft to move/tract towards the right? when full power was applied; rudder appllication had no effect in correcting the problem--performing a wide circle. So the RCAF installed offset vertical vanes on the ski sides to help provide more directional control for takeoff. Full-directional control was also affected by the type and amount of snow on the ground. Unable to fully solve the torque problems, the USAAF re-installed the regular landing gear on the P-47 and returned it to the USA. The local Winnipeg air museum has several photos of the P-47 during ski testing.

Norman Malayney