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The North American P-51 Mustang
MustangsMustangs
The North American P-51 Mustang
Current P-51 News
           
Current P-51 News
P-51 Mustang News

Click on the links below to news and stories regarding the P-51 Mustang.

  N51VF Sold and Moving to UK
Sep 10 2024     N51VT, 45-11553, was sold in the summer of 2024. On Sep 10 2024, N51VT became G-FSID and was shipped to the UK in September, arriving Oct 9 2024. Reports are that is will be getting a new paint scheme.

Jan 24 2024     A68-110, VH-MFT, was sold, now in the UK, and was Unveiled as "Jersey Jerk" on Jan 24 2024. In WWII "Jersey Jerk" was the mount of Maj Donald Strait of the 356th FG. New registry will be G-JERK but has not been recorded yet. G-JERK will be operated by Ultimate Warbird Flights, based in Sywell Aerodrome UK. While you are there getting a flight in this beautiful P-51, you can also get a flight in a Spitfire or an ME-109!

Nov 11 2023     Brendon Deere's P-51 NZ2423, 45-11513 is airborne! First flight was Nov 11 2023 with Sean Perrett as test pilot. What a great restoration story. Congratulations!

Nov 09 2023     44-84933, N210D, flew for the first time since current owner David Nock purchased her in 2016. David Martin was the test pilot. Soon she will be crated up and shipped to the UK. Congrats to Midwest Aero Restorations on another stunning P-51!

  44-74425 Off Airport Landing
Sep 30 2023     44-74425, PH-PSI, "Damn Yankee" based at Oostwold Airfield (EHOW) in the Netherlands suffered a gear up landing after the gear would not extend properly. The pilot decided to land on the grass near the runway at Oostwold. Good job! Looks like it was a successful save and will need minimal repairs.

Aug 31 2023     Vicky Benzing's restoration of the former Clay Lacy purple Mustang, N64CL, 44-74423, has flown! Congrats to Fighter Rebuilders in Chino, and Vicky Benzing for preserving a piece of air racing history. Beautiful!

  45-11518 Restoration First Flight
Aug 25 2023     45-11518, G-CLNV, Restoration First Flight since the crash of "Janie", G-MSTG in 2016. Test pilot was Baptiste Salis and test flight was performed at Sywell UK. After the test flight, 45-11518 was flown to her new home, La Ferte Alais, France. 45-11518 was rebuilt as a TF-51D.

Jul 10 2023     Aircorps Aviation stunning P-51C 43-6859 "Thunderbird" for owner Warren Pietsch is back from the paint shop. Wow, what a beautiful restoration and paint. Congrats to all involved.

Dec 27 2022     Brendon Deere's P-51 NZ2423, 45-11513 is progressing nicely. Wing is back from Odegaard getting hardware installed. Fuselage is skinned, engine installed. Follow him on FB, he gives many updates with great pics.

Dec 27 2022     Aircorps Aviation is restoring P-51C 43-6859 "Thunderbird" for owner Warren Pietsch. Aircraft is on it's wing and main gear with tail feathers installed. Motor mount is installed while cowl formers are being installed. Excellent progress.

Sep 01 2022     Art Teeters has been rebuilding P-51s in Salinas CA for a very long time at his shop, Cal Pacific Airmotive. He was the kind of man that was your friend when you first met him. Art left us on Sep 1 2022 and will be forever missed.

Dec 01 2020     Elsworth Getchell, 1935-2020. college football player, Army 82nd Airborne member, skydiver, aviator, mechanical engineer, airline pilot, warbird pilot and instructor, showman, character, one of a kind, flown west on Nov 28 2020.

  44-74978 N74978 Post Restoration First Flight
Oct 15 2020     44-74978 N74978 has not flown since 1988. In 1988 it was owned by Arthur McDonnell and was reported destroyed in a hangar fire. On October 15, 2020 at Salinas CA, N74978 took flight after a beautiful restoration by Art Teeters and his crew at Cal Pacific Airmotive. Congtrats to Art, and Cal Pacific Airmotive in Salinas CA!

  44-72059 N951HB First Post Restoration Flight
Sep 26 2020     44-72059, N951HB took to the air for the first time in decades. Congrats to Glenn Wegman and owner Herman Bayerdorffer. Glad to see another beautiful P-51 back in the air.

  45-11513, Out of Storage, To Be Restored
Aug 31 2020     NZ2423, 45-11513 has been in storage, owned by John Smith, since the mid 1960's. In Aug of 2019, John Smith passed away at the age of 84. A year later, his P-51 has been sold and will be restored. Brenden Deere picked up NZ2423 in Aug, 2020 and moved her to Biggin Hill Historic Aircraft Centre, RNZAF Ohakea New Zealand. Pictures show an incredible time capsule of New Zealand P-51 History.

  Harry Barr, Gone West Jul 01 2020
Jul 04 2020     Harry Barr, owner of P-51 44-74466, N10701, "Barbara Jean", passed away at his home in Raymond Nebraska on July 1, 2020. Barr has been flying since early 1905's. He was 17 went he earned his private pilot ticket. Born in 1935, Harry has flown many types of aircraft and helicopters - piston engine, turboprop, and jets. Barr was involved with aviation his entire life. He was very well respected and would help anyone he met if he could. Aviation lost a great man. Harry Barr, 1935-2020, flown west, leaving a big hole in the aviation community.

  43-6859, N5528N To Be Restored
Jun 30 2020     43-6859, N5528N, "Thunderbird" is a historic P-51. In 1955, owned by Jim Cook, the aircraft crashed near Scotts Bluff NE after Cook bailed out. Later in the 90's, parts from the crash were recovered. In 2007, N5528N was registered to Warren Pietsch from Minot ND. Pietsch has been collecting parts for a restoration for years. In June of 2020, Thunderbird was delivered to AirCorps Aviation for a full restoration. AirCorps Aviation has turned out some stunning P-51 restorations lately. Already in anticipation of the day she flies again.

  43-12112, Crashed 43, To Be Restored
May 30 2020     43-12112 crashed in Lake Hancock, Indiana in 1943. In the 1980's it was recovered by Ron Shirk. John Muszala owner of Pacific Fighters in Idaho Falls ID, acquired the P-51. In May of 2020 it arrived at Fagen Fighters in Granite Falls MN for a full restoration.

  Frances Dell, 44-74453 Sold, Moving to Germany
Mar 31 2020     44-74453, N51ZW Sold, moving to Germany. In 2011, Carl Patrick bought N251HR from Robert Baranaskas. It was painted as Glamorous Gal. Patrick sent his P-51 to Midwest Aero Restoration and on Oct 30, 2014 44-74453 emerged as "Frances Dell". New owner George Raab will be based in Germany. He and Florian Hose will be the pilots.

  Daryl Bond, P-51 Owner/pilot, flown West Mar 13 2020
Mar 14 2020     Daryl Bond has helped many pilots and fans over the years by giving rides, taking his P-51 to so many airshows and by allowing others to fly his P-51 when he could not. TF-51D Lady Jo has been used to teach many pilots the skills of mastering the P-51. Daryl has touched many lives and will be remembered as a hard working, kind and sharing man.

  Dick Phillips, P-51 Historian, flown West Jan 9 2020
Jan 09 2020     Dick Phillips "Warbird Images". We have all seen this name and title on P-51 images for many, many years. Dick had a huge collection of P-51 and warbird images and also kept record of all of their histories. He has been a huge help to MustangsMustangs sorting and piecing together info on P-51s over the last 20 years - he has been doing it for 50 years. He is missed, but his P-51 and Warbird Images will live forever.

  Tony Buechler, P-51 Owner, flown West October 10 2019
Oct 10 2019     Anthony Buechler, 67, passed away on October 10 2019. He was a very well-known P-51 owner and pilot. He owned P-51 44-72942, N5427V that he named "Petie 2nd" since 1985. Retired EAA President/Board Chairman Tom Poberezny: "Tony was a unique person; compassionate and generous with his time, using his airplane for a wide range of activities including philanthropic purposes," Tom said. "Everything Tony did was to the highest standards, never compromising professionalism and perfection as a doctor, a pilot, and an aircraft owner." Condolences to Tony's family and friends. He is missed.

  John Smith, New Zealand, Flown West Aug 2019
Aug 31 2019     John Smith, has owned NZ2423, 45-11513 since 1964. It has been in storage, intact, in his barn in Mapau, New Zealand. In Aug of 2019, John Smith passed away at the age of 84. This P-51 is an incredible time capsule for P-51 enthusiasts. Smith also had a Mosquito in storage - what a rare bird. Thank you John Smith for preserving aviation history for so many years. Blue Skies.

  Wiley Sanders, P-51 Owner, flown West March 27 2019
Mar 27 2019     Wiley Sanders, P-51 owner passed away on March 27, 2019 in his home town of Troy Alabama. Sanders was the founder/owner of Wiley Sanders Truck Lines. He raced at Reno for several years in the 80's in his P-51 named "Kangaroo". P-51 A68-1 was one of the "Atomic Mustangs" used for atomic tests in Australia. It was saved by Tony Schwerdt in 1967. The P-51 changed names to "Jeanie Too" in 1983 during the time when Sanders raced her at Reno. Jeanie Too has not been seen much in the past many years. Sanders owned two other P-51s in the 80's: 44-15651 N79111 and 44-74466 N10607.

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