A few posts earlier I asked the question whether or not the Ghost had an elevator bobweight installed. I think I have found the answer, but look for yourself.
First Clue: From
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Gal...host_(aircraft)
Sanders renamed the aircraft Jeannie, after his wife. The aircraft was rebuilt with an eye to weight reduction. In the end, 600 lbs of was removed from the airframe.[14] Roy “Mac” McLain flew the aircraft in 1979 at the Reno Air Races. Shortly before the 1980 air races, the aircraft was damaged in a crash at the Van Nuys Airport. In a frantic effort, the aircraft was rebuilt and again flown by McLain, won the Gold Race at Reno just days later. At the 1981 Reno Air Races, Skip Holm piloted the aircraft to victory in the Unlimited Class Gold Race.
600 lbs removed from a P-51 is a lot of weight, I think I have found where 20 lbs of that weight came from.
Second Clue is this third hand post from post 291 in this very thread:
http://www.pprune.org/6736071-post291.html
During qualifying Matt watched Galloping Ghost from inside the cockpit of Furias and could not believe how much trouble Leeward was having in keeping the Ghost in a stable pattern around the course.
Third clue is from TECHNICAL ORDER NO. 01-60J-29 found here:
http://www.aircorpsaviation.com/Webs...ges/60J-29.pdf
NORTH AMERICAN-INSTALLATION OF ELEVATOR INERTIA WEIGHT P-51B, P-51C, AND P-51D
1. PURPOSE.
To prevent reversal of the elevator control stick
forces during maneuvers, an elevator inertia weight
will be installed in accordance with the instructions
contained in paragraph 2. in all of the following airplanes.
Fourth clue from the same source:
The elevator control bellcrank assembly is mounted just aft of the cockpit on the flap torque tube. The twin up and twin down elevator cables run from the elevator control bellcrank assembly and attach to the two arms on the elevator bellcrank that we have seen previously. This was done for combat survivability reasons but it had certain other advantages as well.
Fifth clue is this picture from the tech order:
Here we see what the elevator control bellcrank looks like and what the bobweight added to the bellcrank looks like.
Sixth and final clue is this picture segment brightened a bit to show the shadowed area taken from the build up of the Ghost. Do you see the elevator control bellcrank? It is mounted on the slightly copper colored shaft. Do you see a bobweight? Do you think you should be able to see it if it is there?
Removal of the elevator bobweight could cause handling problems and could leave the elevators subject to flutter for the reasons just stated by sycamore since the bobweight acts to damp out oscillations in the inboard sections of the elevator, particularly if both pairs of cables are in place. I am fairly sure that the bobweight is not in the picture, but I am not 100 % positive.
Was it a victim of the long ago weight saving campaign? Could that be what happened to the starboard trim tab actuator as well?