Quote:
Originally Posted by BCreekDave
Maybe its just a myth, but wasn't the Lightning thought to be the first plane to break the sound barrier in a high altitude full dive? Supposedly pilots died when trying to pull out and the tails snapped off? Probably a myth.
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not a myth, although the P-38 didn't actually break the sound barrier....came close and as it did so, it encountered compressability which caused the airplane to tuck. The tail did depart, but not so much from the speed, but from the corrective action taken to recover from the tuck.
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Steve Nuwer
1970 Z28, Norwood 03A, 48 48, 723 Int, M20, COO, 2021 Legends Platinum restored
1970 L78, Norwood 04C, 17 17, 711 Int, M21, COO, born-with drivetrain project.
1972 Z28, Norwood 11C project, born-with drivetrain, 26 26, 775, M20, CGG project
1970 Z28, Norwood 05C, 48 G, 720 Int, M21, COZ, Original Unrestored (SOLD)
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