P-38 Checkout, a few quick notes

warbird1 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:25 pm **Posts:** 2760

51fixer wrote:

I did ride in the POF P-38. I actually modified it to be able to take passengers in the back. If it is still the same there is no seat, you sit on the spar and upper wing skins. It really isn't even a flat surface, more of a valley due to dihedral and the curve of the airfoil. There is a seat belt. The shorter you are the more comfortable you are. My torso is rather long so my chin was above the top of the seat. Turbulance wasn't much fun but it isn't too bad a ride. Very quiet compared to other fighters. A friend of mine called it an Oldsmobile as it is muffled by the turbo exhaust system.
Rich

That's pretty cool! One of my dreams, is seeing a "droop snoot" version of the P-38 in flying condition. How hard would it be to convert a flying P-38 to such a configuration? It seems like it would be a lot more practical to put a passenger in the nose, rather than on the wing spar behind the pilot in the cramped cockpit.

51fixer · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:53 am

warbird1 wrote:

51fixer wrote:

I did ride in the POF P-38. I actually modified it to be able to take passengers in the back. If it is still the same there is no seat, you sit on the spar and upper wing skins. It really isn't even a flat surface, more of a valley due to dihedral and the curve of the airfoil. There is a seat belt. The shorter you are the more comfortable you are. My torso is rather long so my chin was above the top of the seat. Turbulance wasn't much fun but it isn't too bad a ride. Very quiet compared to other fighters. A friend of mine called it an Oldsmobile as it is muffled by the turbo exhaust system.
Rich

That's pretty cool! One of my dreams, is seeing a "droop snoot" version of the P-38 in flying condition. How hard would it be to convert a flying P-38 to such a configuration? It seems like it would be a lot more practical to put a passenger in the nose, rather than on the wing spar behind the pilot in the cramped cockpit.

Given time and money anything is possible. Most owners of 38's seem to like the fighter thing as several F-5's have been modified with new fighter noses. I guess it is the macho fighter pilot thing.
There is floating around the radar operators area off of a P-38M. It was the radar equipped night fighter version of the P-38. The radar operator sat in the position behind the pilot but it was in a regular seat with a hatch and bubble so you could sit in a normal position. I think a couple of civil 38's have had that installed at some point in time. I know someone presently has it but can't remember who.
Rich

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 7:28 am

if you've got training & the nod of approval from hinton, i'd say you've got your masters degree!!

warbird1 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:25 pm **Posts:** 2760

51fixer wrote:

There is floating around the radar operators area off of a P-38M. It was the radar equipped night fighter version of the P-38. The radar operator sat in the position behind the pilot but it was in a regular seat with a hatch and bubble so you could sit in a normal position. I think a couple of civil 38's have had that installed at some point in time. I know someone presently has it but can't remember who.
Rich

You are probably thinking of the ex-Champlin, now Seattle MOF's P-38. I was so pissed when they converted the two-seat M model to single seat fighter standards. I believe that was the last M model left in the world, and they had to destroy it!

Is this the remains you are thinking of? Where did those ultimately end up?

51fixer · **Posted:** Wed Jan 23, 2008 4:11 pm

warbird1 wrote:

51fixer wrote:

There is floating around the radar operators area off of a P-38M. It was the radar equipped night fighter version of the P-38. The radar operator sat in the position behind the pilot but it was in a regular seat with a hatch and bubble so you could sit in a normal position. I think a couple of civil 38's have had that installed at some point in time. I know someone presently has it but can't remember who.
Rich

You are probably thinking of the ex-Champlin, now Seattle MOF's P-38. I was so pissed when they converted the two-seat M model to single seat fighter standards. I believe that was the last M model left in the world, and they had to destroy it!

Is this the remains you are thinking of? Where did those ultimately end up?

I believe it was originally on the Champlin P-38. Something in my memory says that it might have gone to the CAF (IIRC) and the Scatterbrain II was gonna use that and a droop snoot. I just don't completely remember those details as I have been out of the P-38 loop for a number of years now. Any body know what nose was on the CAF P-38 when it went into the sagebrush and whether they have the rear seat upper fuselage?
The piece of upper fuselage is relatively easy to change as that area is held on with a few bolts and many screws. I don't think there is much real structure that differs from the M or L or J in that area behind the pilot. I wonder how much different the airflow over the tail is with the 2nd seat.
Rich

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P-38 Checkout, a few quick notes

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