P-51 Mustang

The P-51 Mustang also known as the North American P-51 Mustang, is a fighter-bomber that was used during the Korean War and World War II. The first flight of the P-51 Mustang occurred on May 20, 1941. However, the P-51 Mustang was built in 1940 by North American Aviation. It cost roughly $50,000 in 1945 to build one P-51 Mustang. There has been a total of more than 15,000 built and used by multiple military forces around the world. The P-51 Mustang  has a wing span of 37′ feet and a length of 32′ feet and 3” inches. The height of the aircraft is just over 13′ feet. The propellers on the P-51 Mustang are Hamilton standard four-blade hydraulic that are 11′ feet and 2” inches long. Furthermore, the P-51 Mustang has a service ceiling over over 41,000 feet and a range of 1,000 miles. The range can increase with provisionally added drop tanks. The cruising speed of the P-51 Mustang is 275mph and has an indicated top speed of 425mph. The P-51 Mustang packs a punch with the Packard V-1650 engine (Rolls Royce Merlin)  that produces over 1400hp (horsepower). The engine is a 12 cylinder liquid cooled power plant. The plane has a climb rate of 3,475 feet per minute, and the P-51 Mustang can reach 20,000 feet in roughly 7.3 minutes. As of today the plane is retired. However, tons of enthusiast still fly the aircraft.

P-51s_361st_FG_July_1944

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