The Bell P-39 Airacobra
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 9 ก.พ. 2025
- Two doors, an engine behind the cockpit, and a tricycle undercarriage are just some of the 'quirks' that make the P-39 Airacobra such a fascinating aircraft.
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The P-39 was my favorite plane to build as a model builder back in the '70s. It was so streamlined, interesting features, and so little was published about it. That last view seeing the rear view within the cockpit is something I never saw before! Thanks.
Love these and I fit in the cockpit perfectly with everything where it should be. Sleek, compact, & fast. Plus it looks great on the outside.
I never had a clue that it even existed. Guess I will have to visit the Air Zoo before the snow falls
Great video! I have never heard of the museum. Looks super cool.
That camouflage scheme and markings are exactly what Monogram models used in its product. It was based on the Airacobras used in Guadalcanal, though the paint job originated with the British.
Beautiful fighter !
Soviets kinda tuned their Cobras ... removing the wing guns and sometimes replacing the main cannon for 20MM. Made the hing much lighter and agile.
-- My favorite feature of P-39 AirCobra? Got to be A. Pokryshkin, he is not just the best "stick", but a tacktitian and instructor, who taught a lots of young aces not only how to pilot and shoot well and a few tricks how to stay alive in combat, but how to think in dog fight, which is far more dangerous, than just a good pilot and a gunner. Its sad to see so much hate towards this not well understood aircraft(oh, Pokryshkin love it), whether Western of Soviet/Russian part of the World. Did I mentioned he(Aircraft and Pokryshkin) could outfly and out turn pretty much any Luftwaffe aircraft found on the Eastern Front, right up to the end of the war?
Thank you!
You.. point out something ... very relevant and widely unknown.. with its success as a u...s... built fighter... in any conflict ... with any air force..... with car doors ... and crank widow.s.... tricycle wheel.s ... big guns and small ones.... unique engine placement... just add turbo off a damaged lightning... what.s, not to like... its nice to hear it the way it is sometimes... thank.s man have a, great day...
If you like the P-39, look for two books ("Nanette" and "Angels Twenty", recommend reading them in that order) by Edwards Park, who flew the P-39 in New Guinea.
How did they set the gun inside the propeller? Is there any animated video about P-39?
It's behind the propeller, the center hub is hollow and the barrel goes through that the driveshaft actually isn't in line with it, it goes under the gun into a gearbox that spins the prop.
Kinda forgetting about the Lockheed P-38 Lightning aren't we?
That was not the first fighter with tricycle landing. The p38 lightning also had tricycle landing carriage. Both were conceived around the same year. Still a good plane. What someone should do, is put in a turbo jet engine! Now that would be amazing!
I read something, the soviets used the p39 mainly for ground attack
Was not a very good fighter unless flown by very experienced pilots
Cobra stochka, sweet little cobra is what they called it. and performed well in soviet hands.
I know this plane served in nearly every theater at some time and was used well by the Soviets. But are you sure it scored more downed planes than any other U.S. made fighter ?
I believe it's, any other US Made fighterr, flown by non US pilots
Yes it has the highest number of kills of any western built fighter of WW2. Alexander Pukruskin had a total of 62kills and most of them in the p39
Yes. I believe 3 of the top 5 Soviet aces primarily flew the p-39. It was a menace at lower altitudes.
i dont understand how plane is ballanced if third wheel in on opposite side than the engine in both configurations
-- Its a very easy question to answer... just like just about anything in aviation -> IAW(In Accordance With) Bell PFM(Pilot Flight Manual) weight and balance charts.
@@RussianThunderrr i just dont understand a physical principle. I think that cobra without ammo had center of gravity behind main wheels so according to my knowledge it should be prone to trise nose and fall tail. I know that reality says something different and this is point I dont understand
@ wrote: "i just dont understand a physical principle. I think that cobra without ammo had center of gravity behind main wheels so according to my knowledge it should be prone to trise nose and fall tail."
-- CG is actually have a useful range, and its given by the manufacture in a percentage of MAC(Mean Aerodynamic Cord) alone with recommendations on how to load aircraft to have CG within a useful limits. It is dangerous to have CG outside those limits either forward(aka forward CG) pitch controls become too heavy for pilot to move, or control surface of elevator in slow speed won't be able to lift the nose of the aircraft up. Nor rearwards(aka aft. CG) than aircraft becomes too sensitive to control, however so long aircraft within those limits, in general pilot should have no difficulty to control it, with a caveat some vehicles are too sensitive for other drivers, like Formula I car to a school bus driver... You got an idea, I hope by now. Also many Soviet pilots start their careers, including A. Pokryshkin, on even more tail heavy aircraft, like MiG-3 and I-16.
P.S. I like your avatar picture!
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is this the ex reno airacobra?
Apparently the American Army Air Force ordered the aircraft without the turbo super-charger 'cause they didn't want to spend the extra bucks - then turned around and griped
about the aircraft's lack of high altitude performance.
- Sometimes you can't win.
@AirZoo Is there a crime to revealing where in Hades your Air Zoo is located? Not a mention anywhere! We have an Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Being that all of you are speaking with a Scottish accent, I'd venture that you are not in Kalamazoo.
We're the one and only Kalamazoo Air Zoo! Don't let the accent fool you!
37mm
imho most beautiful wwii plane reminds me modern racing cars like formula 1, beloved by soviets but its prone to flat spin became for some pilots fatal and also after spending all nose cannon ammo its ballance became worse
-- The truth is that any aircraft is prone to stall and flat spin - ANY! Not knowing proper flat spin technic is a pilot killer for sure, however according to A.Pokryshin he never lost control of aircraft, and he is not alone, good pilots know signs of aircraft stalling(buffeting), its like motorcycle driver knows what motorcycle can and can not do. And yes, P-39 were racing with great success, because it was maneuverable. Cheers!
@RussianThunderrr yep but this one is more prone than others. pokryshkin was great pilot and you know what he said about his favorite mig-3, so he recognised planes accordig their attributes by himself so i bet he would agree with me
@@prekotilSa wrote: "yep but this one is more prone than others."
-- General rule in aviation: stall - which is partial loss of lift due to termination of laminar airflow can happen to any aircraft, at any speed and altitude if conditions are right. Since no wing profile(aka airfoil) exist that can have laminar(attached) airflow at AOA(Angle Of Attack) greater then ~17-18 degrees, and that is the reason why ALL aircraft stall. It is also true, that there are some aerodynamic "tricks" exist do get more performance usually at the expanse of flight performance in other areas, but it is pretty much up to the pilot to know aircraft handling characteristics, and recognize in time before its too late, when dangerous situation is developing and what actions have to be taken, to avoid emergency situation, kind of the same as a good car driver adjust for different driving conditions and situation i.e. wet road, snow, traffic. And yes, riding motorcycle, especially leaning into turns is a lot more dangerous, then driving cars. Flying aircraft in combat situation, to the brink of pilot and aircraft abilities, is by far more dangerous then racing on motorcycles, a lot more things can go wrong.
It's a crying shame that so few Allison-engined applications included a turbosupercharger, as did the P-38. Many of these other war birds, like this P-39, could've been much more highly regarded and useful against bandits encountered. The Merlin made use of a better-designed supercharger, thus guaranteeing the performance and reputation of the P-51. The Allison just couldn't make use of the fighting altitudes of the bandits it tried to counter. The P-38 could master the altitudes and horsepower, but required much techno-wizardry to get the most out of it. Fiddly, as the Brits would say. By the time most pilots learned and accomplished all the finessing required, it was time to rotate out of the squadron.
The Russians loved it for the nose cannon.
They loved it for the radios, the sturdy construction and the tricycle landing gear.
With certain tactics applied, the pilots also pointed out its speed retention in a dive (compared with the soviet fighters or the Spitfire)
car doors