Warbird Information Exchange

Let's say you were flying a P-51D from a private airstrip in eastern Oregon to a small, public airstrip in the Willamette Valley (near Portland)... 305 highway miles. Any suggestion as to ideal cruise altitude and true (cruise) airspeed for such a flight plan? The tallest object you might encounter would be Mt. Hood, of course, at 11,249' above sea level. I know there's also a commercial jet corridor the runs (roughly) up the Columbia River Gorge, so the ideal altitude may need to take this into account.

This question spawns from a short story I'm writing (fictional). I'd like to make sure I have my information at least reasonably correct though. The story currently portrays an estimated 220 mile, mostly direct route at a cruise elevation of 28,000' and about 380 mph true airspeed. Does this sound reasonable? Flight duration would be, what, about 40 minutes in the air?


Fred B.

Well I went from Salem to Pendleton in a P-51 and we never went over 4,000'. Straight throught the Cascades south of Mt Hood. Beautiful country. Nobody (well I guess nobody sane) would go to 28,000'. Long cross country over to the experts.

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Don't touch my junk!!

Cross country in the 6 was 10-12,000 ft if it was a 2 hr leg, lower if shorter flight.

Ahhh! Excellent! Just what I was looking for, thanks!

Jack, what was your cruise speed at the 4,000' then?

Would it be faster or more fuel efficient to fly at 28k than at 4k for such a relatively short trip?

On a side note: I've flown (passenger) from Baker City Municipal (1,028' MSL) to Mulino Airport (257' MSL) in a Piper Cherokee. I'm pretty sure we never got above 10,000', and probably averaged 4-8k. But a Cherokee gets relatively good fuel mileage compared to a P-51D


Fred B.

Fred,

I don't know any scenario where it would be either faster or more fuel efficient going between the points you mentioned, to go waaayyy up to flight level 280, than to stay around four to eight thousand feet.

I have flown in a C-172 several times between Albany and Redmond/Bend, and have always stayed down low (of course a C-172 is not a Mustang). Its a beautiful flight through the Cascades.......why not enjoy it down where you can see the sights.


Ted

Oh yeah, I forgot to include an additional detail in the story... the flight in question takes place after dark, around 10pm, in the fall. So sightseeing really isn't an issue (at least for the "out" leg).

I guess it's safe to assume that high-altitude flying is really only efficient for longer duration flights, huh? Like from Portland to Denver, for example? I know that commercial jets will climb to 30k feet just to go from here (Dallas) to Houston. They reach altitude just in time to start descending! That always seemed silly to me as I couldn't see how the fuel used to climb like that was any less than what you'd burn by staying at a lower altitude for such a short distance?

Back to my story though... if flying IFR at night, over mountains, is it still okay to stay at lower altitudes? I know it's more comfortable, but I think I'd be inclined to make sure I had a cushion above even the tallest object I'd likely encounter. In this case, I'd probably want to fly at 15k feet between take-off and approach (altitude being a pilot's friend)

I confess to never being a licensed pilot though, much less IFR certified. So that's why I'm asking. And I do appreciate all the comments and help!


Fred B.

If there is a mountain 11,200 ' high on the route, I'd fly at 13,500 going east or 14,500 west, ESPECIALLY AT NIGHT. You'll need oxygen,but it's safer and faster up there rather than skimming the ground. Going cross country at 4000 doesn't make use of the Merlin very well. Remember that VFR altitudes are Odd going east and even west, PLUS 500 feet. Thus 3500 or 4500, not 4000 or 5000. I doubt if you are going to cruise at 380 mph down low. I'd guess more like 280. You can take a look at race speeds for stock P-51s, not Strega or Dago, at Reno to get an idea.

If you did fly at 28,000 you must be IFR rated, the plane IFR equipped and you must be on an IFR flight plan. You may need a pressure oxygen system.

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Bill Greenwood
Spitfire N308WK

Thanks Bill! This is getting interesting... I should've checked my story better before posting the original question. In the story, the pilot is indeed flying IFR (pop-up IFR flight plan, so the Mustang cockpit has been updated a bit).

I'm gonna ask another question of Mustang drivers in a seperate thread that might help...


Fred B.