Inside The Cockpit - P-63 Kingcobra

[@pjseverydayadventures9854]

I own a small machine shop and was doing work for Square One Aviation in Chino California in the late 90's when Frank Borman was having this plane restored from the ground up by them. I'm the guy responsible for the replica 37mm cannon that you can't see and those solid brass 37mm shells. Nice to see my handiwork after all these years ...😊

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

Awesome work, they look so good !

[@ninjalanternshark1508]

The "Idaho potato launcher"

[@ryguy-qh2qk]

Wow this is awesome I remember when this p63 was still at yanks I got to show my uncle from Texas who was a b52 navigator and he loved this thing back when it sat next to the P39. Glad to see it’s still doing well though and the work you did looks amazing!

[@RandyHodder-z1k]

Fantastic my machinist / fabrication brother...I've met Frank Borman...he was very friendly and down to earth....Mr. aviation HIMSELF....

[@yetanother9127]

Such a beautiful aircraft. That narrow "bullet" nose gives it a graceful, streamlined look unlike any other.

[@thudable]

I've been interested in this aircraft since I was a child. Thank you so much for the post.

[@potrzebieneuman4702]

Me as well, always a graceful looking plane and grabbed my imagination as a small child, actually I feel the same about it now and I'm pushing 70.

[@cannonfodder4376]

Armed with .50 cals and a 37mm Russet Idaho Potato launcher this is certainly a rare and unique American bird. Awesome video Chris.

[@Karelwolfpup]

Mmmm... spicy anger potatoes... *drools*

[@martentrudeau6948]

I used to live in Idaho, it's a beautiful state.

[@peterstickney7608]

Excellent as always, Chris! As you say, in terms of performance, the Kingcobra with its 2-stage supercharger, finally delivered the performance that the P-39 promised. As you point out, it was still limited in internal volume (No room for fuel), so it wasn't going to be a First Line combat aircraft in U.S. service. One drawback was the vastly different ballistics of the .50 Cal and the 37mm M9 gun. The 37mm had a vastly longer Time of Flight (Slower projectile), and thus far more trajectory drop. At ranges over 150m, a sight picture that would hit with the .50s would miss with the 37mm, and vice versa. (Trajectory data from AAF Manual 200-1, Manual For Fighter Gun Harmonization). That being said, the Soviets liked them - with the 2-stage supercharger, it had excellent altitude performance, and they were assigned to the Air Defense of Moscow for that reason. It's also worth mentioning the Kingcobra's postwar Air Racing career. with tons of power and a slippery shape, they were top contenders in the Thompson Trophy pylon races.

[@BrianPeloso-ln4ry]

Great contribution...could they be harmonized ...but I guess even that would have it's limits...thanks for the insight.

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

No intercooling, no flame traps. A 2nd rate engine, it ruined the P/F-82 twin.

[@kenneth9874]

​@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935nothing wrong with the engine

[@michaelguerin56]

Thank you Christoph and Legacy Flight Museum. Beautiful museum setup and a very nice aeroplane.

[@ulfhedtyrsson]

That one take external tour was shockingly impressive. Bravo

[@frankbarnwell____]

A nice "what if", of WW2. thanks Chris! An A-1 Douglas Skyraider is on my wishlist for you. Always super Greg Boyington was and Idahoan, so a center of aviation stuff.

[@edwardpate6128]

Regarding the comment on electrical switches/controls. The P-39/P-63 was pretty much an all electric aircraft including things like landing gear and flaps. Training films stressed careful attention to battery and generator status.

[@fazole]

So Kurt Tank may not have been the first to design an all electric fighter.

[@KevinSmith-ys3mh]

Just yesterday I watched gregsaircraft&automobiles channel analysis of the B26 Marauder, an early WW2 US medium bomber design with a mixed reputation (much like the Cobra). It was an attempt by Martin Aircraft Co. to design a next gen tech 400mph bomber- (twice the speed of the in service B10) with a 2 ton+ bomb load and heavy .50cal defensive armament, conceptually an Aluminum Mosquito (American, so moar Dakka!) Sadly, the available engines were not powerful enough to quite get there, and low speed handling was challenging. It also was innovative in use of electric controls, with an onboard APU engine and a ground cart connector. Apparently the crews transitioning from B10 era planes tended to run down the batteries in ground checks, (not useing the new equipment options) resulting in a high loss rate during training when the electric props wouldnt change pitch due to low amps on the bus (low batteries soaking up all the output of the engine gennys!) Primary training was in Tampa Florida, resulting in the saying - "One a day in Tampa Bay!"😢

[@AlanRogers250]

I used to go there when it was named, The Warbird Museum, and my son was in school in Nampa, Idaho. My last visit coincided with the landing of the B-17G, Aluminum Overcast.

[@CorePathway]

At least that B-17 landed 😢

[@edwardpate6128]

As a kid growing up in the 60's who was an aircraft nut I remember watching the evening news about Vietnam and when I saw the Bell Huey Cobra thinking it was carrying on the legacy of the P-39 and P-63. I unique aircraft with devastating firepower.

[@mensch1066]

Always nice to see your enthusiasm at doing the walkaround in one take!

[@stevedemarest276]

It's great that you find these places Bismarck... I'd never think to look in Rexburg which is pretty much in the middle of nowhere. I live in Id and it's 8 hours from me but I will make the trip. Thanks!

[@airplanes42]

Dixie Wing of CAF in Georgia also has a flyable P63, along with their Corsair and Muatang, but the star of their show is a flyable Dauntless.

[@jaybruce593]

FANTASTIC VIDEO!!! Chris should be proud of the one take opening, that was slick. And I thoroughly enjoyed learning about, and gaining a great deal of respect for this aircraft which had hitherto never crossed my radar. Thanks to Chris and his team for making this video and to the museum staff and volunteers for so thoroughly cherishing and sharing this aircraft with us aviation enthusiasts.

[@steveseamans9048]

Chris, love your cowboy hat 🤠. I missed seeing you in Minnesota at the museum there. Love your show. Keep it up!

[@markgrunzweig6377]

Wunderbar! My late father's home town was Buffalo New York and he remembers seeing the P-40 Warhawk taking off in the parking lot of the plant, to be delivered to the armed services. He was in the infantry during the war, operation torch through North Africa, then landed at Anzio (company casualties were near 70%), survived that nightmare and eventually received the "million dollar wound" in the hills of Italy and returned home to America to stay.

[@gordonwallin2368]

Also check oout Evergreen Field in Oregon. It's got the Spruce Goose and a SR-71. Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

[@RC-li1gb]

Awesome video. Thank you for all your excellent research on all your videos!

[@jeffjones4135]

Awesome video of a rare bird.

[@RedRuffinsore]

I toured the Mooney plant in Seguin, Texas when I was pretty young (back in the late 60's I think). The workers there had a P-63 King Cobra that they all worked on in their time off. It was the first, and only WW2 fighter I ever sat in.

[@wanderlpnw]

Great video. Chuck Yeager flew a P-39 early in his career. In his biography, he mentioned how most pilots had trouble with the relatively aft cg making their accident rate high in training. He loved the plane himself. I hope you enjoyed the Pacific Northwest.

[@ninjalanternshark1508]

I love the note @ 14:44 "Intentional spins and snap rolls prohibited"

[@kenneth9874]

That wasn't uncommon

[@bax4168]

My father flew a 39 in the Pacific , he told me a lot of stories === COOL!!

[@BrianPeloso-ln4ry]

Wow great stuff...all that reading I've done as a kid is really paying off...I actually understood just about everything you said...which in my case inspires questions...brains are a cool toy.

[@pennycarvalho1223]

I always liked the p400/39/63, it’s just weird but still not weird enough to be unorthodox. It’s still a normal ww2 era plane just with some layout changes, and it’s rather fierce looking, I prefer it over the p51 (which looks kinda basic).

[@Richardcecker]

Hey Chris. Thank you for sharing your unique views inside the cockpit. Your efforts and great narrations are much appreciated! Thanks for such excellent content!

[@theapostatejack8648]

Handy instructions for the 37 on the instrument panel.

[@neilwilson5785]

Great work as always. The museum looks amazing!

[@Blind_Hawk]

One of my favourite WW2 fighters, together with the Airacobra.

[@Riccardo_Silva]

Another masterpiece of a vid! Thank you so much Chris!

[@DirtyHairy1]

The stabilization filter is really getting it on at 6:10

[@pyronuke4768]

Ooh, that's a really nice Grumman S-2 Tracker right next to the Kingcobra!

[@daniilfederov8119]

Really unique aircraft for its time. I like to think of it as a flying tank.

[@holdenroth5929]

@MrLBPug I guess.

[@ericbeaton7211]

Thank you for a really interesting and informative video.

[@schonka2]

I love the P-63! In terms of looks its only rivaled by the Fw190 Anton, at least for me.

[@Imnotyourdoormat]

Sadly 1 less flying P-63 after the Texas B-17 crash..... R.I.P.

[@davydatwood3158]

Spiffy! Though I really hope you got inside that Greyhound, too - workhorse planes are my real joy.

[@richardrae5049]

A fascinating aircraft.

[@frisk151]

Excellent coverage! Thanks!

[@joaoleaolyrio9217]

beautiful ... like the P-38 AirCobra ! 😳🦁👍🏻🇧🇷

[@kenneth9874]

That would be the P39

[@jm9371]

Never heard of this aircraft... A+ video.

[@Fang70]

This might make me a bit of a hipster, but the King Cobra is my favorite WWII fighter. Though I tend to prefer the oval engine intake of the P-63C-5.

[@MilitaryAviationHistory]

AH! A connoisseur.

[@WayneMoyer]

Not just you. I love the P-39 and the P-63. The stories of how the Russians came over to the Bell factory to get them to fix the flat spin issue by actually showing them how it happened. Oh and the shear amount of 37mm shells we sent over to them. They got a lot of use overseas. Of course over here the P-63 got used as a flying target when they fired frangible rounds at it with the orange painted pinball aircraft.

[@agr2190]

Thans for the spanish audio, very cool

[@camilotrujillo950]

The cockpit ILS, MM3 (horizon) some other Staunton were not available at the time of ww2

[@barrymccockiner6641]

I don't think I can speak English as fast as you. Love your channel!

[@chickenfishhybrid44]

Dang, I wish i would have known you were in my part of the country. At least within like 8 hours, lol.

[@Blizofoz45]

I like how they installed printed instructions right in the center of the control panel so pilots would know exactly how to use the 37mm cannon. You know pilots had to be itching to fire that thing.

[@WesternReloader]

One take! Great video

[@MGB-learning]

Great video

[@historyjunky1299]

Dam, I was just by Rexburg a couple days ago.

Once again nice Video.

[@thedolt9215]

Great video!

[@stalkingtiger777]

I love this sexy salmon of an aircraft. The cannon is just the cherry on top.

[@kevintemple245]

Definitely going to have to make it out there sometime. Not too far away from me. Any chance you're going to be able to go to the Evergreen Air Museum in McMinnville, Oregon? That one has the Spruce Goose and many other cool warbirds.

[@whiskey11niner]

One of my favorite “WW2” props

[@PianomanKY]

Back in the WWII there was a song about the P-39, I read about it in a book. Pilots hated the plane. There's probably different versions but this is how I remember it from the book. "Don't give me a P-39 With an engine that's mounted behind It'll tumble and roll And dig a big hole Don't give me a P-39"

[@ДенисС-п6щ]

Зато Р-39 был популярен в СССР. После И-16, который Поликарпов намеренно сделал неустойчивым, с пилотированием Р-39 у советских пилотов не было больших проблем. Хотя Р-39 специфичен в пилотировании, нужно учитывать, что после израсходования боеприпасов его центр масс смещался назад.

[@ghoul11719]

The song is called “Give Me Operations” iirc. I think Dick Jonas has a rendition of it somewhere

[@kenneth9874]

The shortcomings for the US was a lack of high altitude performance, the pilots were all wanting P38 's at the time

[@pat8988]

One interesting control I saw was the Fuel Dilution switch. Do any other planes have this? I imagine it would be useful in Russia.

[@billkallas1762]

I like fighters with doors. I doubt that the 37 was much use against aircraft, unless you were right behind something. (Not advisable when attacking bombers)

[@MDzmitry]

1. The doors were troublesome when bailing out. Ask a soviet ace Iskrin (from 16th GIAP) who became a cripple after being struck with the stabilizer while bailing, as well as many other less known people like him. 2. The 37mm was much less useful against ground targets due to low rate of fire, terrible ballistics and (in the 5% chance you hit anything with the cannon) low shell penetration. Against soft targets machine guns and 20mm cannons were much more effective. But 37mm proved more than effective against bombers, and the frontal armour also proved itself effective when attacking the German bombers usually armed with 7,92mm turrets. Against fighters the ballistics were "demanding", but it was mostly negated by the doctrine of coming in closer before opening fire, up to 100-50m. Even at 150m it was still alright.

[@JSDFEnthusiast]

Waiting on the "Inside The Cockpit - YF-23 Black Widow II" followed by his immediate disappearance

[@davidhanson8826]

This is what grandfather saw, thank you

[@naamadossantossilva4736]

What really impressed me was the radio self destruction button.Did Hollywood learn from that?

[@dl1277]

This is the aircraft that is about the only one i have problems flying in games cause im way to aggressive with the stick lol.

[@andrewfischer8564]

cobras all but forgotten.... in the remake of a thin red line with sean penn. airacobras were featured

[@matztertaler2777]

please explain what a wet and a dry engine run is and why there is a need to inject water . Maybe a short or a extra video is possibke ? would be great! thanks for this great video!

[@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935]

Or you could spend a few minutes looking up charge cooling and detonation reduction.

[@matztertaler2777]

@@givenfirstnamefamilyfirstn3935 wothout knowing that , i would not know what to look for . Simple as that. Got it ?funny, that you cant think outside your box.

[@kenneth9874]

​@@matztertaler2777it would seem that you're the one in a box....water injection enables higher boost pressure due to knock resistance thus enabling higher power levels

[@WhatIfBrigade]

I know it wasn't the biggest aircraft gun of the war, but I doubt anyone with an M2 Browning was let down unless they were trying to sink a ship or something.

[@gorbalsboy]

Fantastic plane,well done doing it in a single take (you can't really notice your fly is open )great stuff guys

[@JackManiacky]

Lol

[@chpet1655]

2 for 1 sale at the King Cobra dealer this week ! Hurry get yours and one for your mom so she can fly it to church on Sundays

[@Jbroker404]

The P-39 had adjustable trim tabs, right?

[@jasonrusso9808]

Made in Buffalo NY, my city.

[@pyry1948]

Hell yeah

[@ducksoff7236]

Could have sworn Ole Yeller was famous because it was Bob Hoovers plane....

[@Steven-p4j]

I am only aware of two aircraft in WWII which had doors, and I cannot see any benefit, and many obstacles. They would have been very awkward to bail out of, I imagine?

[@williamfelker6963]

To Bail Out, Just Pull The Pin. The Door Sail Away. Left Side Right Side Your Choice . Now You Have A Big Opening Got It, Out An Away See Ya T38 Bill

[@Steven-p4j]

@@williamfelker6963 The more typical, inverted flight, and drop out of the seat method, was also highly favoured where possible.

[@billbright1755]

Aircraft appears as new.

[@julianshepherd2038]

Looks dangerous. You could have someone's eye out with that.

[@mrcat5508]

The P-63 was a great fighter plane. Just not a good plane for the circumstances.

[@johnjuarez8005]

Any plane with 4 props has balls.

[@Kuhladestkyicky]

The USAAF really messed up with this by not allowing a turbo supercharger for the P-39. I’d take this over ANY fighter in WW2. Why? You can roll the window down, put your elbow out and lean. You’d look really cool on your first/last mission.

[@dalemihocik4732]

Any stats on its combat record?

[@rockycassiano4756]

nice

[@djbiscuit1818]

Is there a reason the video's max quality is 720p? Not sure if it's a problem on your end or just KZbin shenanigans. EDIT: fixed now, just YT being weird I suppose

[@rodbeadle6444]

I love the hat. I wanna be a cowboy baby!

[@s.marcus3669]

"Idaho potato launcher", hahahhahaha, so I guess it IS possible for a German to have a sense of humor!

[@michalandrejmolnar3715]

What are the implications of the rear engine design on aerodynamics and maneuverability?

[@terrysmith4831]

Flat spin recovery was not easy in mid engine planes.

[@michalandrejmolnar3715]

@@terrysmith4831 Other problems?

[@MDzmitry]

​@@michalandrejmolnar3715the center of gravity was pretty rearward-based, which made the plane more maneuverable, and the lack of a big block in the front led to a much more aerodynamic shape of the nose. But, as mentioned above, the CoG also led to some problems with spinning, sometimes making it impossible to get out of

[@peterstickney7608]

The biggest problem was that you had your largest fixed weight (Engine, and all the associated stuff) right on the center of gravity. That's fine in theory, but it's a lot better idea to have weights that are going to change in flight - fuel, ammunition, weapons, etc. in that part of the airplane so that as those weights change, it doesn't shift the center of gravity. Consider the trim shift when you fire the ammunition from those .50 cals and the 37mm way out in the nose. You get s significant shift of teh CG aft, which reduced the stability of the airplane.

[@peterstickney7608]

@@MDzmitry The NACA data on spin recovery of fighters during WW2 (Spin tunnel tests, backed up with fight test) show that the P-39 and P-63 weren't significantly worse than other fighters.

[@simonevans8979]

37mm rate of fire versus 0.50..? Volume of fire..? Weight of rounds-per-second? Sure a 37 mm round might destroy an aircraft, but against the higher rate of fire of a 50 calibre? What is the `hit` likelihood? Same argument as for the 75mm gun on the B25....

[@whya2ndaccount]

Chris, you do know you are indoors and maybe don't need the sombrero.

[@scottwooster4102]

What did you say right after "let's jump inside"?

[@Steven-p4j]

Ahh, the Russki rocket. Much beloved by the Soviets in WWII, when nobody else would.

[@dirk600]

Nice hat…

[@alan-sk7ky]

Chris, did Fred the sponsor make you wear 'The Hat' as a condition of sponsorship? 😀😄😄

[@canuck600A]

Unless I missed it there was no description of how the driveshaft went from the prop to the engine?

[@peterstickney7608]

The shaft runs just below the cockpit floor, and there's a tunnel in the floor (Like on a front-engine / rear wheel drive car) that leads below the gun mount to a Reduction Gearbox in the nose, that not only reduces the engine RPM (About 3000 at Max Power) to propeller RPM (About 1500). This gearbox also raises the thrust line tp [retty much the fuselage centerline. Both the reduction gear and the propeller hub are basically metal doughnuts, and the barrel of the cannon pokes through. A lot of pilots were concerned about having the fast rotating shaft running below / between their legs, but I've never seen, or heard of an accident report that includes a shaft failure.

[@canuck600A]

@@peterstickney7608 I believe Chris forgot to add these details in the video or I wasn't paying close enough attention.

[@williamfelker6963]

From Engine Under Pilot To Gear Box At About 4 To 5 Clock Crown Gear Position (Leverage ) See Ya T38 Bill

[@daanbondt3167]

GoPro mount isn't WW2 technology, that's a bummer

[@brunomadeira8432]

I heard the USA give those for free. Anybody knows who to call?

[@peterstickney7608]

The War Assets Administration. You could pick up a brand new fighter, and make a profit by selling the AVGAS in the tanks. Of course, you're about 75 years too late.

[@Jagdtyger2A]

I wonder what history would have been like if Bell had used the P-63 as the basis of their first Jet Aircraft using a single Westinghouse axial flow J30 of 3000 lb thrust in the place where the Allison V12 was located and with the space for water injection tanks used for fuel. With all possible modifications, the standard fuel load would beabout 245-250 gallons. If anyone on this chat is an aero engineer, perhaps they can give me estimated performance for such a adaption?

[@gort8203]

They sorta did. Just look at the P-59.

[@edwardpate6128]

It would have had very limited flying time as those early jet engines were very thirsty.

[@Jagdtyger2A]

@@edwardpate6128 So were the large V-12s and Radials

[@gort8203]

@@edwardpate6128 The P-63 had a range of 450 mi. The P-80 was the very first USAAF operational jet fighter, and with its very early jet engine it had a range of 825 mi. Jets have vastly different characteristics and are inefficient when flown at low altitudes and airspeeds. You don't buy a jet if that's your planned operating envelope.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

Bell Aircraft.... I think the best thing you can say about the company in general? Is that they went into the helicopter business.🚁

[@mrcat5508]

And the bell x1

[@mrcat5508]

And the p 39

[@peterstickney7608]

And built the first supersonic airplanes, and the first airplane to exceed Mach 3, and the first flyable variable-swept wing jet, the first guided Air Launched Cruise Missile, and, oh, yeah - the first rocket motor that could be restarted in space. Nothing of any significance.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@peterstickney7608 None of which made Bell real any money or long term jobs.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@mrcat5508 none of the experimental planes made them a profit or sustainable company.

[@geesehoward700]

couldnt the aliison give you emergency power for longer than the merlin?

[@jaybruce593]

Hello Warthog,I'm your grampa.

[@fredbrillo1849]

As much as I love warlords, nothing could get me to go to Idaho.

[@kenneth9874]

I'm sure they're pleased 😊

[@williamfelker6963]

The P63 Aircraft Not A Fighter Aircraft But A Short Fuel Radius Tank Killer The Russian Needed and Like This Lend Lease Contract I Have More Info On Aircraft Manufacturing Douglas, North American, Lockheed, Hughes, Northrop, See You T38 Bill

[@mlpython1089]

А где писуар?