42,000ft

[n421nj]

Took the P51Civ out for a little test flight around the KBOS area on the BostonVirtualATC.com multiplayer server. I was curious to see just how high I could take her up.




Some REX4 soft clouds looking nice and fluffy.





Just prior to breaking the 42,000ft mark and still climbing at 400fpm! Once I breached 42,000ft the climb rate dropped to about 100fpm

On the ILS for RY33L. What a pain it is to hand fly this bird especially trying to keep the needles centered and with active sky next kicking me around. Just a little slip should do the trick.

[Paughco]

P-51. Cool in the extreme.

Thank you for posting and the pictures.

Seeya
ATB

[Tug002]

They were some great shots. About the highest I have been was 38000 ft. A long slow climb.

Keep smiling
Tug

[EnDSchultz]

It is amazing how high you can get this plane to go. In the lighter civilian version, with no fuselage tank, the wings about 1/3 full, and prop all the way forward, I've managed to haul this beast up between FL480 and FL490. At that point the engine is "only" producing about 22'' on the MP gauge. At -100F outside, even with the cooling shutters closed I was getting high oil pressure warnings because it was starting to congeal in the lines!

One thing I don't think is accounted for in the sim is that at such high altitudes, the pressure is so low that even 100% oxygen isn't enough to stop the pilot from getting hypoxic without some sort of pressurization!

[n421nj]

The p51 is a beast. Putting an ifr panel in it was a stroke of genius on A2A's behalf. You truly can fly this plane on the same field as the B737s and B777s.

[robert41]

I have had her up to 50000ft. Civ model. Starting with half wing tanks. winter oil. Managed just under 120IAS into a 40kt headwind. Showing 20MP at 3000RPM. Using oil dilute to keep the oil pressure a bit lower.

[Tug002]

I have had her up to 50000ft. Civ model. Starting with half wing tanks. winter oil. Managed just under 120IAS into a 40kt headwind. Showing 20MP at 3000RPM. Using oil dilute to keep the oil pressure a bit lower.

That oil dilute works gerat when the oil starts to thicken up.

Keep smiling
Tug

[jcomm]

I guess 50k feet should be impossible.

I found this in Wikipedia...

"The records listed below will be unofficial until sanctioned by the U.S. National Aeronautics Association (NAA) and the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) for world records. The unofficial records Matthews are:

Time-to-climb to 9,000 meters (approximately 30,000 feet) - 18 minutes
Time-to-climb to 12,000 meters (approximately 40,000 feet) - 31 minutes
Maximum altitude in level flight - 40,100 feet
Maximum altitude achieved - 42,500 feet
If approved, these records will vault Matthews into the "100 Club" for setting 100 U.S. and world aviation records during his flying career."

BUT!

http://www.wwiiaircraftperformance.org/ ... gtest.html

which shows your results in the A2A Civil sim are consistent with this test ran by AAF

[n421nj]

40,000-50,000ft does it really matter at that point. Lol