Just got back from Stallion51, I flew with John Posson...great pilot! Stallion51 has a brokerage division and sells warbirds, they just sold "Little Witch" and delivery was taking place while I was there. Dont know your flying resume, but during the intro course we were advised: "the P-51 is no trainer, it is best to have 100 hours of "good tail wheel time" in addition to the 1000 hours of PIC also the more acrobatic classes you can take the better." Jack Roush was at Stallion51 and rented Crazy Horse 1&2 for he and a friend...they went and did "dog fighting" before the 500. Jack owns two P-51s and is considered a high time P-51 pilot. His company makes some of the parts (i.e. pistons) for the rebuilds. We were lucky and got to buzz the field at McDill while we were out in Crazy Horse, here is the clip: http://youtube.com/watch?v=YNf3UvBl0vA
If you are near CA then I would start with start with the Planes of Fame Air Museum... they are a well known for their restorations of WWII warbirds. I am sure that they can point you in the right direction for what you are looking for. http://www.planesoffame.org/ Chino Airport (where the museum is located) is also a beehive of activity for these restorations. Check out this video, if you love the P-51 Mustangs and the men who flew them... http://www.grayeagles.org/video.htm My dad flew P-51's in England during WWII for the UK (along with Spitfires, Hurricanes and Mosquitos). Mustangs held a very special place in his heart. Brad
There is no room for error with these machines. Consequences are terminal. That said I have friends that build them from scratch with just a data plate.
Back when I was in college I worked as a porter at Continental Autosports, easily the best job on the planet for a college student allowing me to meet some pretty interesting people and drive more Ferrari's than one could ever dream of at that age. Periodically on the job I would drive clients back to their house, office, etc. after they dropped off their car for service. This day an nice, older gentleman was dropping off his cream 365 GTC and he needed a lift back to his hangar 30 minutes away. While driving back our conversation ranged from my career plans and his success, to his 250 TR rebody I had just seen at Elkart Lake weeks prior, which led to him mention some of the aircrafts he owned, none of which I could recognize by name. He educated me on the physics behind piloting an aircraft as I was pretty apprehensive to fly in my uncle's plane at the time. Finally we arrived at his hangar and he invited me inside to see one of his planes and the 250 TR rebody, which obviously I took the invitation. I walk into the hangar, my jaw drops and this in front of me: http://www.apda61.dsl.pipex.com/Av09/Rudy%20Frasca/Curtiss%20P-40E%20Warhawk%20NX40PE%202.html I am totally blown away. He had described to me the plane but never did I imagine this is what he was talking about. He is telling me the in's and out's of how he found the plane, the restoration process etc. Before you know it I am sitting in the cockpit, he is standing on the wing explaining to me how to fly the plane. I was pretty much sitting there in disbelief of what I was doing. Before I left he gave me a poster of him flying the plane. I could not appreciate more him taking the time to show me his toys and give the 10 minute flying lesson. Working at Continental I was able to drive countless Ferrari, ride in a 333SP on a track (awesome) and meet countless interesting people, yet this remains the undoubtedly my fondest memory from working there. G
William If you want to save a dime, you may want to consider a T-28 B/C/D/F. It offers 80% of the performance of the P-51 for 20% of the price. It also has a back seat ! The Air Force used some in Vietnam, as genuine light attack aircraft. Of course at the same time, it has 20% of the sex appeal of the P-51. From what I heard, they are easy to land and fly.
Absolutely. I've flown both T-28 and T-6s (same company that makes the P-51, obtw). The T-28 is incredibly balanced on the controls and is amazingly easy to fly and land -- much much better than the T-6 which is spectacular in its own right. As a flight surgeon in the AF I got a lot of back seat time in fighters, and although certainly slower, the T-28 flies like a Jet, most reminiscent to me of an F-15 with the big canopy, just slower. I've got a thread in AviatorChat about the one I just bought.
