Dudley Henriques
P-51 Mustang Landing
A normal approach in the Mustang could be flown with:
- Gear down at 170 mph or under
- Flap limit speeds vary from 400 mph for 10 degrees down, to 165 mph for
full down at 47 degrees (nominal 50 on the gauge)
- I always used 10 degrees at gear down to see over the damned nose
Pilots can get into trouble very easily in this airplane by letting the airspeed bleed off below 135 mph on final. With those barn doors hanging off the trailing edges at 50 degrees, she can really slow down quickly as you begin to flare.
If a pilot is too high and cobs the throttle to correct the situation, he could become a statistic, especially if the Angle of Attack is high at that moment. The trick is to
- keep the speed up to a respectable 150 or so on final
- don't dive on the runway
- Ease it down and resolve the flare at about 120 mph
This gives the bird a chance to sit down gracefully on those wide feet of hers. I used wheel landings a great deal when I had the space and the runway.
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