3-day air show features beloved P-51 Mustang
Garrison Hilliard
By Matt Reed
Associated Press
COLUMBUS - The last time Bill Pattillo saw his P-51 Mustang fighter plane, it
was a heap of wrecked metal, and he had just been shot down over a farmer's
field in Germany.
Held as a POW for a short while before Germany surrendered, the World War II
fighter pilot never learned what happened to the plane he referred to as "my
baby."
This weekend, he'll pay a visit to more than 100 of the P-51 Mustangs that
survived.
Now collectors' items that bring an average $1.5 million price tag, the iconic
propeller-driven planes will be flown by war plane enthusiasts from around the
country into Rickenbacker International Airport for a three-day Gathering of
Mustangs & Legends air show.
Mustang owners and former Mustang fighter pilots agree the air show is a
once-in-a-lifetime occasion because of the rarity of the single-seat planes and
of the men who flew the planes over the skies of Europe and the Pacific.
"Seeing the other pilots, to me, is the most important thing," said Donald
Strait, 89, a retired Air Force general now living in Jackson Springs, N.C., who
shot down 13˝ German planes during 122 World War II missions. "We're scattered
all over the country. We're all getting up there in age. It will only be a
couple of years, and we'll all be gone."
The P-51 Mustangs that remain - there are only about 160 worldwide - have drawn
more attention over the past few decades, in part due to the increased interest
in the preservation of military aircraft. Pattillo said he's not surprised.
"It really was like a Cadillac," he said from his Harrisonburg, Va., home. "You
just felt like when you got in the plane, that you wrapped it around you. It was
a powerful aircraft."
Some owners spend thousands of dollars maintaining and restoring P-51 Mustangs
to historical accuracy, insisting on 1940s-era radios, wiring and hydraulics, as
well as external markings that match what pilots painted on their planes during
the war, said Jim Thompson, a Birmingham, Ala., lawyer who bought his Mustang a
year ago.
"They're like a Picasso or a Mona Lisa," he said. "They're a highly prized piece
of artwork, and they are very expensive. Before you know it, you could have $2
million tied up in one of these."
The Mustangs have come a long way from the end of World War II, when the
military turned to jets and quickly forgot about the P-51s. Many now believe
that the highly maneuverable aircraft, which flew up to 500 mph as it escorted
Allied bombers, turned the tide in Europe.
But most of the 15,500 Mustangs built at a frantic pace by U.S. factories during
the war were sent to scrap heaps in England, or were pushed off aircraft
carriers.
Others were used in the Korean War and by National Guard units into the 1950s.
Some were sold to less developed countries, like Bolivia, Indonesia and El
Salvador, which used Mustangs in its air force into the 1980s.
"You could have bought one of these, full of fuel, for $2,500 in 1950," said Lee
Lauderback, who has spent the last two years organizing the Rickenbacker event
from his Kissimmee, Fla.-based Stallion 51 Corp., which is devoted to the
maintenance and operation of P-51s.
Interest and demand grew in the 1970s after the formation of the Warbirds of
America, a nonprofit that works to preserve former military aircraft. By the
early 1980s, collectors were willing to spend $100,000 or $200,000 for a P-51,
and that shot up near the $1 million mark after the 1990s economic boom,
Thompson said.
A lot of the remaining Mustangs were brought back to the U.S. from South America
by collectors in the last 20 or 30 years, and many of those planes needed
extensive structural restoration, said Tom Patten, a Nashville, Tenn., owner.
Specialized mechanics who rebuild P-51 frames and their Rolls Royce-Merlin
engines and sometimes manufacture duplicate parts, have sprung up across the
country, Thompson said.
Potential owners often have to wait several years for a P-51 to be completed.
But the quality has greatly improved in the last five years with experts like
NASCAR racing owner and engineer Jack Roush getting involved, Lauderback said.
"It's an industry out there," Thompson said. "You don't just buy one and stick
it in a garage, like a Volkswagen. It's a work in progress, constantly."
Publication date: 09-25-2007
http://news.cincypost.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070925/NEWS01/709250374
Mike Dennis
news:cp5mf35vt14iaa1e2...@4ax.com...
We've had Mustangs all over the sky today! Those Merlin's sound
incredible--especially when there's 3-4 together in formation!
Seven
> "Garrison Hilliard" <garri...@efn.org> wrote in message
>
> We've had Mustangs all over the sky today! Those Merlin's sound
> incredible--especially when there's 3-4 together in formation!
It was an *amazing* show. Among the flying examples, we had a Zero, a
Lancaster, 2 B-25s, 2 B-17s, P-47s, an Airacobra, a P-40, a P-38, and
half a skillion Mustangs. Just incredible! I just can't say enough how
much I enjoyed being there, and seeing so many vintage WWII planes in
flyable condition. What a sight!
Also, I found Rickenbacker to be a great location for an airshow, much
more enjoyable than Dayton was the two times I've been. Hint hint, in
case anybody from the Columbus Airport Authority happens to be
reading.
-Steven
-Steven
Mike Dennis
news:1191210466....@22g2000hsm.googlegroups.com...
-Steven
I agree on every point. When the Raptor flew right over my head, I could
feel the heat from it! The only Dayton show that was comparable was the
2003 show with the Thunderbirds, Blue Angels, and Snowbirds at the same
time.
Twenty Mustangs in the air at the same time was an unbelievable site and
sound.