What it's like to fly the Curtiss P-40 Warhawk

Ride along as Barry Schiff flies P-40 'American Dream' owned by Thom Richard of Warbird Adventures in Kissimmee, Florida.

[johninnh]

Flying a P-40 is on my bucket list. It's the reason I started flying. IMHO the best looking WWII fighter. I have a painting of one in my livingroom.

[Kellhound]

When I was a kid, I watched Baa Baa Blacksheep. I went to a Woolworth's to but a Corsair model, but they didn't have one, so I bought the P-40E with the shark's mouth as my first model. So I am right with you, brother. Still have a model in my office. Love that plane.

[rconger]

1:33
Agreed. With it's ferocious maw, sculpted tips and lofty nose, the P-40 is the sexiest airplane ever !

As a kid, I too had a Revell 1/32 scale polystyrene plastic kit dressed up in the Chinese mercenary livery of Claire Lee Chennault's Flying Tigers and also read Al Avery's novel "A Yankee Flier in the Far East." They surely captured the imagination of young dreamers !!

[Accrd]

Started my private pilot training there, was always so cool to see these planes just sitting around the hangar like parked cars in the garage! Thom is also a very cool guy.

[garrisonnichols]

I really love the P40 Warhawk. I don't understand why they don't get the love and respect they deserve . One of the best early war fighters of WW2.

[infoscholar]

I've always loved the P-40. Like the 57 Chev, y or the Fender Stratocaster, it's a masterpiece of beauty and function.

[Opinionteer]

My uncle was KIA in a P40. I would love to ride in one.

[shaundouglas]

As one general said the plane was damned by words but flown to glory.

[edwardpate]

The late great Jeff Ethel stated that the Mustang controls felt like they were stuck in concrete compared to the P-40!

[SEXMACHINE]

This plane with the merlin engine, easily the best fighter in the war. At low levels below 20k feet, it was.

[matthewbratton]

Was obsolete going into war but with right pilot and tactics could hold it's own throughout the war.

[machia]

Army Air Corp, Navy and Marines all volunteered for the Flying Tigers.🇺🇸

[waveman]

P-40 is my airplane, first model build and the reason I learned to fly also other than seeing it in the american classic movie 1941

[jasonmiller]

My grandfather flew one in the Italy theater, belly landed one on a beach in Sicily. I would love to fly in one! Hold on to your lunch!

[davidmunro]

The best looking and handling all purpose fighter of ww 2.

[orfeo]

My great grandfather flew one of these in the Flying Tigers, later becoming a commander, so this is super cool to see

[walterdanielswalter.r.dani]

Florida is a long way from Alaska but a ride in one would be awesome- My father flew P-40's in China in WW2. He, later in the war, flew P-51s, but his true love and most of his missions were in the P-40

[tomelmore]

Back in my grade-school days, early 1960s, I'd bring home books about airplanes from the local library. The typical blurb about the P-40 was "obsolete before the war began - no match for a Zero." My Navy dad would laugh. He'd been Helldiver radioman, but he worked at numerous air stations and often serviced Army planes. His take? "The P-40 was a GREAT plane - and we were lucky to have it. In the hands of capable pilots it was more than a match for any contemporary adversary. I NEVER talked to any P-40 pilot who feared taking his mount against any enemy plane. The great thing about the P-40s was - they were always ready to go, unlike maintenance-intensive hangar queens like Lightnings...."

In the last several years of his life, we'd sometimes sit and watch those cable TV aviation shows - and found that apparently the world had come around to HIS way of thinking about the Warhawk. He got a kick outa' that!

[Quetzalcoatl_Feathered_Serpent]

P40s are relatively average size for a fighter of the late 1930s-1940s. And almost everyone who flew them then and now all say it's a delight to fly. Someone should build replicas at 1:1 scale.

[mtacoustic]

Was fortunate to get a ride in both a P-40 and a P-51. The P-51 is a real Cadillac of the air. The P-40 was like a '32 Ford hot rod; not as practical, but heaps more fun!