Are you for, or against, modifying warbirds as air racers?

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

I am really torn in regards to Warbirds flying. (this has nothing to do with racing or anything, but flying them in general)

On one hand, I would rather see them static in a museum, than not see them at all. On the other hand, there is nothing better than seeing these magnificent birds flying by, the engines roaring.

 

[model299]

Back in the late ninties, I was a volunteer on the Friday Crew at the Late (And VERY much missed!! ) Planes Of Fame museum at the Flying Cloud Airport. One day, during an airshow, they started up a P-38 that had flown in earlier. It was the first time I'd ever heard one running in the flesh. My first reaction is that it sounded like a couple of P-51s with glasspack mufflers. A chill ran down my spine as the pilot did his pre-flight runups.

It would be pretty hard to have that kind of experience looking at a forever mute P-38 locked up in a museum.

 

[FLYBOYJ]

With comments running back and forth here, my take...

If it's airworthy (or in legal terms "in a condition for safe operations") it should be flown. With that said risk mitigation should be apparent when looking at the rarity of the aircraft and the type of operation it will be subjected to. Again this would be at the owner's (and his insurance carrier's) discretion's.

 

[GregP]

You know, Flyboyj, I know one owner who got very busy and was not flying his Corsair as much as he wanted to and did not fly his Tigercat very often at all. One day he went out in the Tigercat and had a minor emergency in one engine and barely got it on the ground. Later he talked with Steve Hinton, who instantly replied with the correct, word-for-word checklist for the emergency from memory ... and Steve hadn't flown a Tigercat in over 5 months! The owner decided then and there he was not current enough in warbirds to handle "normal warbird emergencies," was unlikely to get so in the near future, and got out of warbird flying. The birds are now flown by people current in them and drilled in their operation.

Moral of the story is if you are going to fly ex-military fighters, you'd better follow tried and true military procedures and be current in the birds so you don't hit the ground while trying how to decide to handle a normal warbirds glitch that any military pilot would have found routine. These aren't Cessnas and should not be approached as casually, but rather as mobile, inert weapon systems that require careful training and practce to fly with relative safety. Without a full-time crew chief, even the pre-flight is a pretty detailed operation. The only reason people don't SEE the preflight innspection at airshows, as you well know, is that the pilots / owners do a post-flight inspection to help move theigns along at airshows.

Sorry for the ramble, but these warbirds are precious, but also complex and they require careful maintenance, careful piloting, and a wary eye on the equipment. If you DO all those things, you will hopefully always be looking for and training for that emergency that never happens. Better taht way than to be caught unprepared when your R-2800 quits dead simply because you forgot to switch from the drop tank to the mains at 500 feet on a long, low final approach!

 

[MikeGazdik]

Oh I wasn't whining about Glacier Girl, and Greg you put me at ease that she is well cared for. I didn't get to see her in the air, but she was also in Columbus in 07, and she was wonderful to see. As a matter of fact I was blubbering to my not so informed buddies about the history of the plane, and how it got to be where it was and several other onlookers ended up standing by listening to the story. They either thought I was an A-hole or part of the crew! lol.

 

[vikingBerserker]

If I have a choice between seeing an animal in the wild versus in a zoo, I'll pick the wild anytime.

 

[jimh]

For! Mustangs are more or less the "Cessna" of warbirds. Several Mustangs have been made stock again and I have listed them below. MustangsMustangs.com is a great source of information. The majority of airframes modified for racing in the last 20 years have been Sea Furies...which are cool airplanes but don't carry much history. Jack Roush has brought the TBO of a Merlin to 1000 hours and can repair just about any lower end. Mustang airframe parts can be made with relative ease. Racing is a continuation of the history. If it does end now...it's been a great run. Please have a look at the links below...some of the Mustangs are pretty well known.

jim

RB-51/Wee Willy Data Plate only but it lives in spirit
P-51 Mustang Survivors - MustangsMustangs.com

Sumthin' Else ...Miss Foxy Lady
P-51 Mustang Survivors - MustangsMustangs.com

Stilleto ...this one was probably the most modified mustangs ever converted back to stock
P-51 Mustang Survivors: " Diamondback " , N51ZM - serial #: 45-11471 Sights, Sounds, History.

Voodoo...this airplane seems to be converted and reconverted every other year
P-51 Mustang Survivors - MustangsMustangs.com

Vandetta...purported to be the mount of Robin Olds...this is/was a real tragedy if the information is legit...this one should have been preserved stock
P-51 Mustang Survivors: " Scat VII " , PH-VDF - serial #: 44-72922 Sights, Sounds, History.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Great info Jim.

 

[N4521U]

The Mustang will continue to be modified for racing, until the basic airframe becomes too expensive, but then, how expensive is too expensive if one has the money. Let's just hope the Last one doesn't end up in a heap, or the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico. One did you know, he ran out of gas crossing the Gulf!!!!

This one was John Crockers plane. I did the lettering for the sponsors on the tail, added the shadow on the numbers and the name on the cowl. I believe it made it's last appearance at Reno in this scheme. If the view was from the other side you would see my name on the wingtip. It was at the Oakland airport at Mike Bogues round engine overhaul shop before Mike moved to the Sierras to a private air strip.

Merlin's Magic is another P-51 I did the name on Stu and Marilyn Eberhardt from Livermore own the plane. Stu's son now flies it at Reno. It's pretty well modified on the wing skins. Exhaust flap at the radiator is a little bigger I believe. It's had a few mishaps, lost a connecting rod in the air, blew an oxygen tank while filling on the ground. Serious rebuilds.