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The P-61 Black Widow on display in the SPH.
- The prototype originally had Type B Propeller Blades to maintain aesthetic, but the plane could not get off the ground during takeoff. Type C would have been too long, so I went with R-25 Ducted Fan Blades. They may have been too small and too curved to pass off as a true replica, but at least the craft could work. Plus, that airframe does a good job at looking like a P-61 even without propeller blades.
- For the turret on the top, I used a Communotron HG-55 and four 16-Ss.
- The storage unit in the bottom of the fuselage is to carry emergency supplies in case the plane crash-lands and the survivors have to wait a while in the jungle for rescue crews. Of course, if it crashed over enemy territory during the Second Imperial Wars, odds are the survivors would have ditched the wreckage and tried to flee or else be taken prisoner - assuming they weren’t already.
- Since the real-life P-61 had a radar system (as well as the P-61C-1 in War Thunder), as it was designed specifically as a night fighter, this replica was equipped with a probe core for Kerbnet. Solar panels were also added in the very back of the fuselage to mimic the glass end of the real P-61’s fuselage. Too bad this model doesn’t also come with a target lock and interception system.
How do you even use that plane’s radar in War Thunder, anyway? For that matter, what advantages would radar give the P-61 over other WWII aircraft?
Just like what the real-life P-61 was designed for in the Second Imperial Wars, Candace and Tim C Kerman tested this restored prototype at night. Tim C wanted to test it during the day, but Candace wanted to Relive what our forefathers went through and fly this bird at night.
- This prototype was one of two operational P-61s left in existence, as the very small number of models that were not scrapped after the Second Imperial Wars were eventually put on static display in museums.
- One prototype crashed in Nye Island during the war, and was found many decades later by a runner who slipped and fell through its window - and got tangled in vines. It was then collected by the Nye Island Aeropleen Museum (aka
NIAM
- and whoever spelled that sign should be fired) and underwent several more decades of restoration to airworthiness. It would be a lot of time and money spent before it would be up and running again.
Real-life Counterpart Performance Stats
(P-61C Black Widow)
Maximum Speed: 425 mph (190 m/s)
- Cruise Speed: 275 mph (122.9 m/s)
Service Ceiling: 46,200 feet (14.1 km)
Range: 1,200 miles (1,931 km)
Source: Air Force Museum Website
The P-61 flying at night with the lights off and the moon behind it. Enemy fighters would surely have a hard time locating this bad boy - until it was too late, that is.
Details
- Type: SPH
- Class: aircraft
- Part Count: 108
- Pure Stock
- KSP: 1.12.4
Description
If you’re looking for Scarlett Johansson, you got the wrong time period.
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was a twin-engine aircraft that was the United States’ first that was designed specifically as a night fighter. It carried radar equipment in its nose that enabled its crew to locate enemy aircraft in total darkness and prepare to attack; those who have flown this in War Thunder would know this firsthand. It first saw action a month after D-Day during WWII, replacing Douglas P-70s and Bristol Beaufighters in all U.S. Army Air Corps night fighter squadrons not long afterwards. After the war ended, it was used in the Thunderstorm Project – which was a joint effort by four U.S. government agencies, including NACA (which later became NASA) – ejection seat experiments, and carrier catapult launch tests. During which, the U.S. Air Force sought a jet-powered replacement night fighter, settling on the North American F-82 Twin Mustang as an interim candidate. Eventually, the F-61 was retired shortly before the Korean War started.
As of August 2023, four P-61s are known to survive. Three of them are on static display inside the Beijing Air and Space Museum in Beijing, China; the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the National Air and Space Museum in Chantilly, VA; and the National Museum of the United States Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, OH. As for the fourth, it is currently under (a slow) restoration to flying status by the Mid-Atlantic Air Museum in Reading, PA. Its registration number is N550NF.
A stock aircraft called P-61 Black Widow. Built with 108 of the finest parts, its root part is Mark2Cockpit.
Built in the SPH in KSP version 1.12.4.
#gunsafetyfail
Tim C Kerman standing in front of the turret after his older sister landed the plane. Candace reminded him to never stand directly in front of turret barrels, but Tim C told her You really think the restoration crews would keep the ammo in there? Besides, I checked it myself. The guns are empty.
Takeoff Instructions
- Engage the brakes and turn on SAS. It doesn’t matter if you have a pilot or not.
- Full throttle.
- Disengage brakes.
- Press and hold H (translate forward). It increases the propeller blade deploy angle - hence your speed.
- Retract gear when airborne.
- Keep tapping H as necessary to keep optimal blade angle (which maximizes thrust). It is recommended to tap rather than press and hold for fine-turning blade angle. Best blade angle for maximizing thrust is 45 degrees, but you do what works best for you.
Be advised that you may need to slowly lower blade angle again at some point. When that happens, translate back using N.
Propeller Controls
H: Translate forward (increase blade angle)
N: Translate backward (decrease blade angle)
Landing Advice
After you land the plane, (unless you’re all done with it) press and hold N to return the blade angles back to 0 before taking off again.
Tim C standing in front of the P-61, about to set up camp before the recovery crews pick him and Candace up. Candace, however, wanted to sleep in the plane.
- In her mission log, she stated that she was too tired from stress to help her brother. That seems understandable, as the plane only had one fuel unit left when it was picked up. Pulling off a smooth landing with that little fuel would stress out anybody, even trained pilots.
RECOMMENDED CRUISE
Altitude: 6 km (~19.7k ft; Class Alpha airspace)
Velocity: 225 m/s (~503 mph)
Blade Deployment Angle: 42 degrees
- 45 degrees is optimal
Recommended Throttle: 2/3
EXPECTED RANGE
440 km before immediate landing necessary.
- WARNING: Although fuel was wasted going full throttle for part of the way, the plane had flown ~450 km in total before it touched down with only one fuel unit left.
