Warbird Information Exchange

New to me! Bell XP-76

Souped up P-39 with Mustang like wings and tail.

Like it as much as the swept wing P-63 test rig.

Wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bell_P-76

Neat.

They used Bells for a lot of testbeds...this wing, swept wing and V-tail (I think that was a NACA project unrelated to the Bonanza where Beech used a AT-10 testbed).

So, why P-39-63s?
Available?
Or was there something in their configuration (center cg, nosewheel) that lent the configuration to mods?

Any P-39 expert out there with an answer?

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Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.

Apparently a lot of guys thought the Bell P-39 and P-63 were the fastest or potential fastest airframes after the war for air racing. Steve Whitman, Mira Slovak and many others bought them for racing and a couple of them did well. As aerodynamically slick as they appear, to me, the airfoil is very thick and limiting.

They were usually tail end Charlie at Reno, but fun to watch...

Phil

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A man's got to know his limitations.

You have got to give Bell credit for trying an unusual configuration and making it work.

There were a lot of experiments in the late '30s, (XP-55, F5F, F5U, YFM-1, to name the obvious) but this saw production and use.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.
Note political free signature.
I figure if you wanted my opinion on items unrelated to this forum, you'd ask for it.