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The North American P-51 Mustang
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P-51 Who?   Case # 58
45-11586     N51HA     Closed
Solved by: William Yoak, Jim Church
P-51 Who 58
Case#: 58
Date: Jul 03 2000
By:
Photo: unknown date/place
Status: Closed
Serial: 45-11586
Registry: N51HA
P-51 Who? Viewer Responses
Wiliam D. Yoak
08/12/2000 12:04
This was Mustang was owned and raced by Dr. Bill Harrison. He entered it as race #3 in either 1977 or 1978 at The Reno Air Races.I will admit that I am not entirely certain as to the final outcome or present status of this aircraft. I think it was either based in Oklahoma or in Texas when Harrison participated in the races.Hope this "info" is of some help.
Jim Church
09/06/2000 13:54
Here is some more on case #58. It was s/n 45-11586, which at the time the photo was taken was registered NL51HA to Bill Harrison. Before this it was registered N5423V. After Harrison's ownership, it went to Lynn Florey, who rebuilt it in a Checkertail Klan paint scheme as the 'Death Rattler.' In his ownership it was registered N13LF. Harry Tope of Mount Pleasant, Michigan was the next owner, and he had the paint scheme altered slightly, and re-registered it as N51HT. He often displayed it at the wonderful Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum (aka Air Zoo), of Kalamazoo, Michigan, before he was tragically killed in it on July 1, 1990, during the 'Canada Day' airshow in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The heavily loaded aircraft entered an accelerated stall during pitch up following a pass, and he impacted a golf coarse near the airport, thankfully without death or injury to anyone on the ground. His SNJ is currently on display at the Air Zoo in his memory. The remains of this aircraft are now with Gerry Beck, I believe, for a possible rebuild using it's identity, as not much was left following the crash.
Case Closed!
P-51 Mustang

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