Poll: Lottery Winner Pick One: Mustang (P51-D) or Corsair(F4U)

Lottery Winner Pick Just One: Mustang (P51-D) or Corsair(F4U)

  • Vought F4U Corsair

    Votes: 62 62.6%

  • North American P51-D

    Votes: 37 37.4%
  • Total voters
    99
Sinistar

Sinistar

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Brad
So you've just won the mythical warbird lottery. This year's choices are a fully restored North American P-51D or a Vought F4U Corsair. It comes with 10,000gal of low lead, a hangar, all mx covered for the next 15yrs, paint scheme of your choice and all necessary training include the LOA (or whatever it is). If you sell it all proceeds (including the fuel and hangar) go to charity. So might as well pick one and fly it. Which will it be?
 
I'm willing to admit - either better come with a whole lot of very good, very patient, very thorough instruction!
But it's an easy choice - Corsair. You won't see as many!
 
So lets say you take it for a spin and pop into a lazy pancake breakfast. Are they both equally easy to start if they are all warmed up and no other stuff broken?

Also, which one is faster. Lets say at 10,000 msl (and no speed restrictions!). I thought the Corsair was faster down low.
 
Which one has an autopilot and synthetic vision?

F4U please.
 
Corsair. Mustangs are a dime a dozen. They like fly at Reno every year and everybody knows and recognizes them. Corsair, not so much so. Whoa, hold the phone, Pappy Boyington flew Corsairs and they got a whole TV show. Eff it. What’s the Blue Book on each?
 
luvflyin said:
Corsair. Mustangs are a dime a dozen. They like fly at Reno every year and everybody knows and recognizes them. Corsair, not so much so. Whoa, hold the phone, Pappy Boyington flew Corsairs and they got a whole TV show. Eff it. What’s the Blue Book on each?
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No clue on the price. I think there's even some fabric on the Corsair (tail?) if you're into fabric taildraggers. Hard to believe the US couldn't figure out the carrier thing for the Corsair but the British did.
 
Sinistar said:
No clue on the price. I think there's even some fabric on the Corsair (tail?) if you're into fabric taildraggers. Hard to believe the US couldn't figure out the carrier thing for the Corsair but the British did.
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Also, I heard that it took a British engine to turn the Mustang into a war-winner.

It just goes to prove a saying attributed to Churchill: "The only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without allies!"
 
Palmpilot said:
Also, I heard that it took a British engine to turn the Mustang into a war-winner.

It just goes to prove a saying attributed to Churchill: "The only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without allies!"
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This reminded me of a story my cousin told me. He was a technical master-sergeant (or something like that) with a radar unit in the Pacific War, and he said that at one point, he converted his unit's radar to use Australian output tubes, because the Australians had better tubes.
 
Sinistar said:
No clue on the price. I think there's even some fabric on the Corsair (tail?) if you're into fabric taildraggers. Hard to believe the US couldn't figure out the carrier thing for the Corsair but the British did.
Click to expand...

What’s the story behind that? Yanks couldn’t operate them off carriers but the Limeys could? Link??
 
luvflyin said:
What’s the story behind that? Yanks couldn’t operate them off carriers but the Limeys could? Link??
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I saw this mentioned on the History Channel. As I recall, they said that when the plane first came out, there was a visibility problem that made them hard to land on carriers, and that the British figured out a way to do it by making a curving approach.
 
Palmpilot said:
I saw this mentioned on the History Channel. As I recall, they said that when the plane first came out, there was a visibility problem that made them hard to land on carriers, and that the British figured out a way to do it by making a curving approach.
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Sounds like keepin the ship in sight mighta been the issue. It’s a long way way from the cockpit to the end of cowl on those things. A good foot to floor slip mighta helped with the keeping the ball(or paddles if they didn’t have balls back then)(sub () they had balls back then)in sight. Probably more to it then just that
 
Palmpilot said:
Also, I heard that it took a British engine to turn the Mustang into a war-winner.

It just goes to prove a saying attributed to Churchill: "The only thing worse than fighting with allies is fighting without allies!"
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true about the engine. The early model was Allison-powered. It wasn’t until the RR-Merlin was installed that the true potential was seen. Ultimately Packard then built the Merlin stateside, hence the “Packard Merlin” you’ll hear of.

oh, and my choice would be a Mustang please. Both are great, but it’s tough to beat the sound of the V-12 and look of the D-model Mustangs.
 
Sinistar said:
So lets say you take it for a spin and pop into a lazy pancake breakfast. Are they both equally easy to start if they are all warmed up and no other stuff broken?

Also, which one is faster. Lets say at 10,000 msl (and no speed restrictions!). I thought the Corsair was faster down low.
Click to expand...

depends...this one is definitely faster than a Corsair...

Actual runs start about 5:35 or so...
 
I'd like an Allison-powered A-model Mustang, pretty please! And you can fly more hours on 10,000 gallons in a Mustang than you can in a Corsair.
 
asicer said:
Which one is easier to hangar?
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The Mustang.

I love a Corsair, but the practical part of me would choose the Mustang because its easier to hangar (will usually fit in a standard T-hangar), and nearly all have a second seat to share in the fun.
 
midwestpa24 said:
The Mustang.

I love a Corsair, but the practical part of me would choose the Mustang because its easier to hangar (will usually fit in a standard T-hangar), and nearly all have a second seat to share in the fun.
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Nearly all P-51Ds have a second seat?
 
My late older brother was a Marine, and his favorite WW2 fighter was the F4U. I was in the Air Force and my favorite was the P-51D. We used to argue about it when we were kids. I wonder if those choices had anything to do with the service branch we each chose.
 
F4U.... what's not to like.

Win the powerball? I'd buy a P-40 Warhawk. They are higher performing down low at GA type altitudes over the Mustang.

Seems like every rich guy pilot owns a Mustang. Something more unique would be fun.
 
F4U... those wings are bad#$$

Also, agree, P51 are everywhere.
 
I often fly over West Virginia and they'll shoot at anything. All it will take is one hole through the Mustang cooling system and I'll be down behind enemy lines and having to escape and evade. Make mine the Corsair with its radial. :D

(Actually, my wife and I have a cabin in WV and love it)
 
midwestpa24 said:
The Mustang.

I love a Corsair, but the practical part of me would choose the Mustang because its easier to hangar (will usually fit in a standard T-hangar), and nearly all have a second seat to share in the fun.
Click to expand...

I don't know about nearly all having the back seat but I do understand that many do now have that conversion.

without any real thought or research
I had to pick F4U.... baa baa black sheep's flight scenes as a little kid are a big part of what started my aviation passion
and Pappy's auto-biogrophy might very well be the first book I ever volunteered to read
but
I was wondering about that back seat, ease of hangaring, etc.... I recon the radial engine is more of a problem too...but I really don't know.
Also, how long would 10,000 gallons last in those things? Is that even enough?!
 
You won the lottery. Why choose? I'll have both.

And then I'll build an experimental twin jet using 2 TJ-150 engines. Maybe something that looks like the MAX.
 
Kenny Phillips said:
Nearly all P-51Ds have a second seat?
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Brad W said:
I don't know about nearly all having the back seat but I do understand that many do now have that conversion.
Click to expand...

Most of the Mustangs flying today do. They may not be complete cockpits or have controls necessarily, but there is usually a second seat behind the pilot where the massive radios from WWII used to be.
 
I’m going Corsair just because they seem more unique.

My P51 ride was the first YouTube video I ever made. I wasn’t very prepared with equipment or editing but here it is for anyone that wants to see it. This was out of OSH a couple years ago. My pilot has since passed. Tony was a great pilot/human.

 
If it was a fixed number of hours instead of a fixed amount of fuel then definitely the Corsair, nothing much cooler than watching a big radial start up. But the I am sure the Mustang is more efficient.
 
asicer said:
Which one is easier to hangar?
Click to expand...

midwestpa24 said:
The Mustang.

I love a Corsair, but the practical part of me would choose the Mustang because its easier to hangar (will usually fit in a standard T-hangar), and nearly all have a second seat to share in the fun.
Click to expand...
For this lottery the hangar is included and the Corsair hangar has a noticeably taller door and ceiling. I'll make the Mustang hangar the same size so its not about hangar's.
 
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