I got to thinking about all of the PT's and I think that my favorite for easy flying was the PT-23 for being crisp, stabile, and nice to fly. Of course, it is impossible not to like the Stearman for smoothness, strength and predictability. I learned a lot of flying maneuvers on my own in a Stearman because it always came out of whatever contortion you put it in and it wanted to fly as much as you did. The Ryan was not for someone with low flying hours. The swept back wings made it dangerous at low speeds if you got it a little sideways. It was the fastest and hardest snap rolling airplane I ever flew and spins were quick and tight. Altitude and airspeed were your best friends with this airplane.
Look at this one for sale, with under 250 hours since restoration....Has to be a blast to fly. https://www.platinumfighters.com/spitfiresm845?fbclid=IwAR0DGwgw-CKpF7ugZP4fyyLlRl0rccb-_FgjfBN9QR51StES3jM24zxTUFE Image Unavailable, Please Login
I suppose one problem with late-model Spitfires is that there are far fewer Griffon-powered warbirds flying, so finding spares is probably much harder than for the Merlin-powered examples.
Twin Mustang prototype for sale. https://www.platinumfighters.com/xp-82?fbclid=IwAR0v-2iCtydK6W5vuDl0FRi05OxhY_OtWlZYRyveudF4qVKPj7rHDmObAWg
What about boneyards ? It seems like some of these aircraft could be sold to collectors, instead of being chopped up for scrap.
Remember Walter Soplata? He had his own warbird boneyard, and it's where that XP-82 came from. His son has written a book about the enterprise: Image Unavailable, Please Login
A PT-22 is not difficult to maintain and fly as long as you fly it the way it was designed to fly. Meaning, don't go out and buy one and expect to fly it like a cub because it will bite your arse. They're nimble, noisy, a hoot to fly (my personal favorite) and smooth on the controls. They land smooth as well with the type gear they have. You just never want to find yourself low, slow, and uncoordinated, that is where that bite I mentioned before comes in. You'll putt around about 105 mph at about 1625rpm and 14gph grinnin' all the while. It won't break the bank in maintenance as there's not much to em'. Keep in mind that they came with a few variants of the Kinner, some with grease fittings for the rockers and those with an oil system to lube that area. The pump isn't the best and often the top cylinders don't get the oil they should. If you buy one, DO a pre-buy and pull the rocker covers and check the rocker shafts for rust, especially the top 3, if they sit around a lot, that is a trouble spot. Make sure the engine is sound, check the cylinder base nuts with their Pal nuts, the studs like to loosen up. They only have 165HP new so plan ahead on all your maneuvering. Of the 400 odd hours in warbird trainers, this was my favorite to fly even over the Stearman, just something sexy and nostalgic about it I guess. These particular trainers are getting more rare as time goes by due to attrition so if you've never flown one, get some training by someone who is well acquainted with that model and maybe some time in a PA-20 Pacer, that'll keep your feet busy.
With Paul Allen's collection up for sale including a rare FW189 and an original Zero fighter I thought I would bring up a few links. So you can have a Bearcat in good flyable condition for under $3 Million. Still think they are a better buy then classic Ferrari's, Maserati's and Alfa's, although very expensive to keep but rare as hell. Unlike cars the military scraps almost everything. Zero is sold. Fighters | Platinum Fighter Sales | United States Unique Focke-Wulf Fw 189 Offered For Sale (warbirdsnews.com)
Another interesting aircraft, but it is not finished. These are big single engined aircraft. N9995Z GRUMMAN AF-2S | Courtesy Aircraft
I gotta ask. What held you back from paying the full 1.4M? Something about the plane wasn't exactly what you wanted? Assuming that if you could afford 1.2 you could afford 1.4 P-38s for sale can't happen very frequently, but of course at the right price just about everything is "for sale".
Would of been pushing my limits to afford half, The offer was with a partner. I had just bought the Corsair. To pay for it I sold a T-34, L-2 and a Testarossa and refinanced some other assets. I remember when P-38's were 250K and few wanted them due to maintenance costs. Of course in hindsight I wish I would of made it happen.
Mike- Affirmative, the good old days. You could buy a brand-new P-38L from Lockheed for $1200 in 1945. Considering the government was paying $97,147 for one in 1944, not a bad deal. The earlier ones were even more, as much as $163K before economies of scale brought the price down.
Thanks for the reply Mike. Has the market for P-51s similarly ~quadrupled in 10 years? Moonbeam McSwine supposedly sold for ~$1.5M in 2012: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/threads/p-51d-moonbeam-mcswine-bidding-adieu-to-the-usa.393176/ Your post on Corsair vs P-51 is a great read: https://www.ferrarichat.com/forum/posts/141987331/ Have you ever flown (pilot or passenger) a P-38? That would be a very interersting comparison vs the other two apex-predator US WWII fighters (plus the P-47). I haven't found anything on google directly comparing performance of the 4: climb rate, max speed, ceiling, turn/roll rate, etc. Complicated by different versions but would be very cool to see a head-to-head flying comparison like car mags do supercars This P-38 was listed for $6.5M in 2015, claimed to be "the finest P-38 restoration to date." https://www.warhistoryonline.com/military-vehicle-news/p-38-lightning-for-sale-6-5-million.html?chrome=1&D4c=1&D_4_6cALL=1&D_4_6_10cALL=1&A1c=1 This EAA article says one buyer scooped up FORTY EIGHT of them at that bargain basement price! https://www.eaa.org/eaa-museum/museum-collection/aircraft-collection-folder/lockheed-p-38l-lightning---n3800l
There is a book I read many years ago written by a famous British pilot of the period (his name escapes me) Tested every fighter of consequence of all parties of WW2. Including jets and as I recall unpowered flights in a Komet. Very interesting book. I remember he was particularly taken by BMW powered FW190s.
The P-47 and P-51 were both faster than the P-38, but the P-38L could outclimb both. Initial roll rate for the P-38 was much slower than for the other fighters and German pilots used a quick roll and split S to escape from P-38s if they saw them. Later P-38s with hydraulic aileron boost had better roll rates, but still slower than fighters with all their mass around the fuselage centerline. At relatively slow speeds (~250 mph), P-38s with maneuvering flaps could turn tighter than just about all contemporary fighters, including the Spitfire. It took the P-38 longer to get to whatever bank angle needed to start the turn, though, and airspeed was life in an aerial engagement. The P-38's parallel gun and cannon fire was an advantage in combat. Other fighters had their wing armament set to converge at some fixed distance, usually around 300 yards. Short or long of that, dispersion was an issue.