Flying the Lockheed P-38 Lightning - incredible cockpit views & RAW sound

Video from the channel WingsTV Channel about Lockheed P-38 Lightning, linked on its Above Ten Thousand entry. Duration: 9:31. Language: English. Video type: Onboard.

A complete display flight of a P-38 Lightning at the Flying Legends airshow, from engine start to landing, with cockpit and external cameras, accompanied by an interview with its pilot.

The aircraft is an L model built in 1944 and in service until 1946. It later became a racing aircraft, competed at Reno under the name White Lightning, and was flown by Lefty Gardner. It retains that configuration: more aerodynamic engine cowlings and a somewhat clipped wingspan. The pilot notes that, despite its size, it is very manoeuvrable and takes almost any aerobatic manoeuvre. The display combines vertical manoeuvres to show off its silhouette with an opening pass at 350-370 knots to showcase speed and the sound of its Allison engines.

The P-38 has two tail booms and a central nacelle housing the cockpit and armament. The Luftwaffe nicknamed it "fork-tailed devil" and the Japanese called it "two planes, one pilot." It served as a dive and level bomber, ground-attack aircraft, photo-reconnaissance aircraft, and long-range escort with drop tanks. It is unusually quiet for a fighter, because the turbochargers muffle the exhaust.