A what-if-the-jet-had-failed-kinda-build

P51D with engine and prop from a Spit XIV.

wow cool mustang Dave, its a shame they didn't fit a griffon to the mustang, i wonder if it would have improved it's performance or hindered it i guess we'll never know unless someone is crazy enough to do it on a real aircraft lol... either way a great model mate. Ant

Thanks for the comments Ant,

It has actually been done for real, but only on modern racing 'planes. There are a couple flying at the moment in the US.

This was just a bit of fun, getting my kitbashing skills back into shape.

Rolls-Royce, Hucknall, proposed to put a Griffon aft of the cockpit, the propeller driven by an extension shaft similar to the P-39. Called the Flying Test Bed (FTB), it reached the advanced mock-up stage before it was abandoned with the advent of the jet engine.

Greetings from a new member, fellas.

Yes, that's a beautiful model of a beautiful plane! The '51 has always been my favorite. I'd love to learn about what effect performance-wise. I'd never heard of the engine amidships/extension prop shaft a' la P-39/P-63 Airacobra/King Cobra. Fascinating!!!

I think that with the larger Griffon installed, performance would be limited by the effects of the compressability factor on the controls. Late war Spits and Mustangs often suffered aileron reversal in a dive anyway! The 'Stangs laminar flow wing helped, but only the swept wing delayed or negated the effects to a managable level.

Sounds reasonable. I once heard that the Spit's ailerons reversed at speeds of about 600 m.p.h. I assume a Griffon engined Mustang's top speed in level flight would've made it more competitive with the ME 109K and FW 190 D9, 12, and Ta 152, etc., all of which, I'm lead to understand, had a slight advantage in top end over a standard P-51D.

Mike