It's been a hectic few weeks with the holidays, going back to work, and setting up a new computer. I'm back online and have some good stuff to put up on the Lee-Side.
During a break in Colorado's Arctic weather I met up with Tim who took me for a flight in his Mustang II experimental airplane.
Tim's Mustang II
The Mustang II is a kit build plane, hence its experimental designation. It was developed from the the Midget Mustang and Mustang I in the mid 1960's by Robert Bushby. Since then over 400 Mustangs II's have been build. It is a high performance aircraft with a laminar wing capable of 215mph and 9g's. Other than its laminar wing design, it resembles the original P-51 mustang with a bubble canopy, stubby empenage, and tail-dragger landing gear. You can read more about the Mustang II Here.
The Mustang II in Flight
(from mustangaero.com)
Tim's Mustang II is a well sorted example with a hand carved wooden prop, airfoil cowling, fuel injection, and FADEC engine controls. It was a beautiful day to go flying with light winds, clear skies, smooth air, and relatively warm temps for the winter. We took off out of Erie Tri-County Airport and headed west towards Boulder and the Flatirons. Tim let me take the controls for a bit and I was impressed with how balanced and nimble the Mustang II was. I'm usually squirming in my seat when I get in a small plane because they are so much slower than I'm used to, but the Mustang II was a fast enough to keep my squirming to a minimum.
The Cockpit
Hand Carved Prop
Experimental Placard
The FlatIrons
CU Stadium
After a brief tour of the Flatirons and a circle around University of Colorado Boulder we headed North to Fort Collins-Loveland Airport for some touch and go's. Tim showed me the landing technique which was completely different than the Piper Cub I used to fly. The short wheel base required wheel landing and holding the tail off for better rudder authority.
Headed to Fort-Love
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