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Role: FighterManufacturer: North American AviationFirst flight: 26 October 1940
Introduction: 1942
Retired: 1957, U.S. Air National GuardPrimary users: United States Army Air Forces and Royal Air ForceNumber built: 15,875
Unit cost: US$50,985 in 1945
Variants: A-36 Apache, F-82 Twin Mustang, Cavalier Mustang, Piper PA-48 Enforcer and
Mustang X.Specifications:
First flight (XP-51): May 20, 1941
Wingspan: 37 feet
Wing area: 233 square feet
Length: 32 feet
Horizontal stabilizer span: 13 feet
Height: 8 feet 8 inches
Power plant: Packard V-1650 "Merlin" 1,695-hp V-12
Speed: 425 mph indicated (490 mph in P-51H).
Landing gear: Hydraulically operated retractable main gear and tail wheel
Propeller: Hamilton Standard, four-blade, hydraulic, constant speed, 11 feet 2 inches, non-feathering.
Radar: Warning radar in tail to signal approach of other craft from rear (later models)
Armament: (Various models) 10 "zero rail" rockets under wings; six .50-caliber machine guns; bomb racks for up to 1,000 pounds of stores or extra fuel tanks under the wings.HISORY AND USE
Used during two wars -- World War II and the Korean War -- North American Aviation's P-51 Mustang, built by Boeing, was the first U.S. fighter airplane to fly over Europe after the fall of France to German forces. Then called the P-51, it 
flew back and forth across the channel, taking on the best the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_powers) could put in the air. Mustangs met and conquered every German plane from the early Junkers to the sleek, twin-jet Messerschmitt 262s.
Although first designed for the British as a medium-altitude fighter, the Mustang excelled in high altitude runs and long-range escort duty. It made a name for itself by blasting trains, ships and enemy installations in western Europe and by devastating Axis defenses prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy.
An amazing array of enemy aircraft was piled up by the Mustang while pushing the war back to the heart of the German fatherland. It was the first single-engined plane based in Britain to penetrate Germany, first to reach Berlin, first to go with the heavy bombers over 
the Ploesti oil fields and first to make a major-scale, all-fighter sweep specifically to hunt down the decreasing Luftwaffe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftwaffe).
One of the highest honors accorded to the Mustang was its rating in 1944 by the Truman Senate War Investigating Committee as "the most aerodynamically perfect pursuit plane in existence."
The North American prototype, NA-73X, was first flown on Oct. 25, 1940. At least eight versions of the P-51 were produced. Data given below is for the P-51D, produced late in 1943. Numerous improvements for special-purpose uses were incorporated in later models.
P-51D Specifications:
First flight (XP-51): May 20, 1941
Wingspan: 7 feet
Wing area: 233 square feet
Length: 32 feet
Horizontal stabilizer span: 13 feet
Height: 8 feet 8 inches
Power plant: Packard V-1650 "Merlin" 1,695-hp V-12
Speed: 425 mph indicated (490 mph in P-51H)
Landing gear: Hydraulically operated retractable main gear and tail wheel
Propeller: Hamilton Standard, four-blade, hydraulic, constant speed, 11 feet 2 inches, non-feathering
Radar: Warning radar in tail to signal approach of other craft from rear (later models)
Armament: (Various models) 10 "zero rail" rockets under wings; six .50-caliber machine guns; bomb racks for up to 1,000 pounds of stores or extra fuel tanks under the wings
By: Narno R. Chávez Frea
Note: Web links included for more information.Sturgeon Bay, my mother's native town, is a city in and the county seat (main city) of Door County, Wisconsin, United States (http://www.city-data.com/city/Sturgeon-Bay-Wisconsin.html). The population was 9,437 at the 2000 census. It is located at the natural end of Sturgeon Bay (the name of the bay itself), although a canal was built across the remainder of the Door Peninsula (www.doorcounty.com).Location:
The City of Sturgeon Bay is located approximately 45 miles northeast of Green Bay. Sturgeon Bay is known for its high quality of life, traditional downtown, maritime industries, aquatic resources and recreational opportunities, and tourism amenities. Sturgeon Bay was officially incorporated on April 7, 1883 and is the county seat.
Sturgeon Bay now has population of 9,763. The City covers approximately 4,000 acres with 80 miles of streets and 11 parks. This area compasses three different school districts which include Sturgeon Bay, Sevastopol, and Southern Door School Districts.In an effort to encourage and enable Sturgeon Bay's children to safely walk and bike to school, Sturgeon Bay has begun the Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Planning Process. The success of the SRTS plan relies on community support and participation. (Mr. Cabrales, as you can see this city still has tradition and values!) Geography:Sturgeon Bay is located at 44°49′56″N, 87°22′19″W (Map Sources/GeoHack).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 11.3 square miles (29.3 km²), of which, 9.6 square miles (24.9 km²) of it is land and 1.7 square miles (4.4 km²) of it (14.94%) is water.Organization:
The City’s organization consists of five departments including a full time Police Department, Fire Department, Public Works Department, Community Development, and Administration. Each department assists the public in a variety of ways by offering different functions and services. In addition to Police and Fire protection, City services include administration, finance, planning and zoning, real estate assessment, building inspection, street maintenance, snow removal, garbage and recycling, park and recreation, and water weed management.
Sir George Cayley (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sir_George_Cayley), a nineteenth century English baronet (British hereditary dignity, first created by King James I in May 1611), deserves to be remembered as the “father of aeronautics”. His deep curiosity led him to conduct the first real experiments designed to uncover the basic principles of flight. He discovered the arched shape of a bird’s wing was one of the secrets of bird flight and reasoned that a similar shape on a fixed-wing machine might also allow it to fly. Cayley designed, built and flew the world’s first model glider in 1804. He continued his experiments throughout his life and is said to have sent his coachman on a short glide across a shallow valley near his home at Brompton Hall, in 1853.
Early in the nineteenth century, dreams gave way to serious attempts to understand the principles of flight and to apply what had been learned to the design of real flying machines.
Cautious experimenters tested their ideas with powered models, while the more daring tried the dangers of gliding flight. Their successes and their failures helped move human beings toward what some considered impossible and others considered inevitable – piloted, powered flight!
During the early flight ages (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Early_flight), Otto Lilienthal (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otto_Lilienthal) built on both the experiments and information provided by Sir George Cayley. He published the results of his ground-based research, “Birdflight as the Basis of Aviation”, in 1890. He began to apply what he had learned to design gliders. Between 1890 and the time of his death in a glider crash in August 1896, Lilienthal made as many as 2,000 flights in eighteen different designs, including both monoplanes (single-wing) and biplanes (dual-wing). All his craft were hang gliders, controlled in the air by movements of the pilot's body, which hung under the machine. The work of Otto Lilienthal provided the starting point for experimenters who sould take the final necesary steps towards the invention of the airplane.
Lilienthal's hang glider 
Monoplane is aircraft with only one main wing. 
Biplanes have two main wings, normally one above the other usually found in older aircraft.
Click on underlined links for more information.
Used during two wars -- World War II and the Korean War -- North American Aviation's P-51 Mustang, built by Boeing, was the first U.S. fighter airplane to fly over Europe after the fall of France to German forces. Then called the P-51, it 
flew back and forth across the channel, taking on the best the Axis (Germany, Italy and Japan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Axis_powers) could put in the air. Mustangs met and conquered every German plane from the early Junkers to the sleek, twin-jet Messerschmitt 262s.
Although first designed for the British as a medium-altitude fighter, the Mustang excelled in high altitude runs and long-range escort duty. It made a name for itself by blasting trains, ships and enemy installations in western Europe and by devastating Axis defenses prior to the Allied invasion of Sicily and Italy.
An amazing array of enemy aircraft was piled up by the Mustang while pushing the war back to the heart of the German fatherland. It was the first single-engined plane based in Britain to penetrate Germany, first to reach Berlin, first to go with the heavy bombers over 
the Ploesti oil fields and first to make a major-scale, all-fighter sweep specifically to hunt down the decreasing Luftwaffe (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftwaffe).
