- Jul 19, 2005
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There is a local aviation museum in Everett, Washington that is owned by Paul Allen which restores and preserves vintage aircraft from WWII and earlier. Over the years, Paul Allen has acquired quite an astounding collection of top-class aircraft including classics such as the Supermarine Spitfire, Messerschmitt BF-109 Emil, Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk, P-51D Mustang, and many, many more. One of the greatest things about Paul Allens museum, Flying Heritage Collection, is the fact that most of their aircraft have been restored to flying condition, in order to help preserve that part of our history. From about March through October every other weekend they take two of their aircraft out for maintenance flights to show them off to the public. Last Saturday was the first (I feel ashamed!) times I attended because I wanted to see their BF-109 and P-51D in flight.
Mustangs are not the most uncommon warbirds to see. I can think of three just in the local area I've seen recently. But the Messerschmitt, on the other hand, is quite a rare sight on this side of the Atlantic.
When I showed up to take some photographs I was surprised to see not one Mustang but three! Turns out several years ago when the restoration of the museums Mustang finished, they actually were able to track down the original pilot who flew this exact aircaft in combat over Germany in WWII!! He happened to live just a few miles from the airport and the museum had a really special (and emotional) reunion for this pilot and his faithful companion. Since that day the pilot has been really active in volunteering at the museum.
Unfortunately, this pilot passed away last month. So, in honor of him they had two other resident Mustangs come up to do some formation passes and at the end did a dedication, "Missing Man Formation" pass. It was really amazing to see three of these powerful warbirds in formation, and the dedication pass was really something special to see. I didn't even take pictures of it.
The Mustangs you will see in my pictures have been maticulously restored to perfect condition. My favorit bird, "Hell-er Bust" (the original pilots last name was Heller) has an absolute perfect, polished aluminum finish that you can see your reflection in. These airplanes were originally purchased by the US Military in 1945 at a unit cost of around $51,000. Today these rare birds start at around $2,000,000. So, here are three beautifully restored P-51 Mustangs. Two of which are the more common later developement of the Mustang, the P-51D with the traditional bubble canopy. The third was the earlier version, the P-51B with the razor-back version. Each of these Mustangs features the famous Merlin 1,700 HP engine.
Enjoy the photographs (I'll post the color versions a little bit later)
^^ Messerschmitt BF-109E-3 Emil. This aircraft was known for its incredibly cramped cockpit, poor outside visibility due to canopy framing, and a very narrow wheel base. Many 109's never even made it off of the ground due to extremely sensative ground handling becaue of how close the two main wheels are to each other. This aircraft was a direct competitor to the Mustang.
^^ Here is the '109 performing a nice flyby for the gathered audience.
^^ Here is a shot of the P-51B Mustang, "Impatient Virgin?" before firing up the engine.
Here is that same Mustang in flight.
^^ This is my favorite Mustang, "Hell-er Bust," taxiing out to the runway. The original pilot to fly this exact aircraft in WWII was Capt. E.L. Heller.
^^ And here is a chance to compare the P-51B razorback Mustang to the later P-51D Mustang with bubble canopy. This aircraft is named, "Impatient Virgin?" as can be seen by its decorative nose-art.
^^ Here is the museums Mustang, Upupa Epops, as it was in WWII, before firing up the engine. The original pilot, and who the formation passes were dedicated to, was Lt. Harrison B."Bud" Tordoff.
^^ Here are two of the Mustangs taxiing in the runup area. Here they run the engines up to a higher power setting to ensure everything is working properly. And this photograph provides another good comparison between the P-51B and D.
^^ And here are all three Mustangs in formation. The top one is the P-51B Impatient Virgin?, the middle one is the museums P-51D, Upupa Epops, and the bottom one is Hell-er Bust.
Please feel free to leave comments.
Mustangs are not the most uncommon warbirds to see. I can think of three just in the local area I've seen recently. But the Messerschmitt, on the other hand, is quite a rare sight on this side of the Atlantic.
When I showed up to take some photographs I was surprised to see not one Mustang but three! Turns out several years ago when the restoration of the museums Mustang finished, they actually were able to track down the original pilot who flew this exact aircaft in combat over Germany in WWII!! He happened to live just a few miles from the airport and the museum had a really special (and emotional) reunion for this pilot and his faithful companion. Since that day the pilot has been really active in volunteering at the museum.
Unfortunately, this pilot passed away last month. So, in honor of him they had two other resident Mustangs come up to do some formation passes and at the end did a dedication, "Missing Man Formation" pass. It was really amazing to see three of these powerful warbirds in formation, and the dedication pass was really something special to see. I didn't even take pictures of it.
The Mustangs you will see in my pictures have been maticulously restored to perfect condition. My favorit bird, "Hell-er Bust" (the original pilots last name was Heller) has an absolute perfect, polished aluminum finish that you can see your reflection in. These airplanes were originally purchased by the US Military in 1945 at a unit cost of around $51,000. Today these rare birds start at around $2,000,000. So, here are three beautifully restored P-51 Mustangs. Two of which are the more common later developement of the Mustang, the P-51D with the traditional bubble canopy. The third was the earlier version, the P-51B with the razor-back version. Each of these Mustangs features the famous Merlin 1,700 HP engine.
Enjoy the photographs (I'll post the color versions a little bit later)
^^ Messerschmitt BF-109E-3 Emil. This aircraft was known for its incredibly cramped cockpit, poor outside visibility due to canopy framing, and a very narrow wheel base. Many 109's never even made it off of the ground due to extremely sensative ground handling becaue of how close the two main wheels are to each other. This aircraft was a direct competitor to the Mustang.
^^ Here is the '109 performing a nice flyby for the gathered audience.
^^ Here is a shot of the P-51B Mustang, "Impatient Virgin?" before firing up the engine.
Here is that same Mustang in flight.
^^ This is my favorite Mustang, "Hell-er Bust," taxiing out to the runway. The original pilot to fly this exact aircraft in WWII was Capt. E.L. Heller.
^^ And here is a chance to compare the P-51B razorback Mustang to the later P-51D Mustang with bubble canopy. This aircraft is named, "Impatient Virgin?" as can be seen by its decorative nose-art.
^^ Here is the museums Mustang, Upupa Epops, as it was in WWII, before firing up the engine. The original pilot, and who the formation passes were dedicated to, was Lt. Harrison B."Bud" Tordoff.
^^ And here are all three Mustangs in formation. The top one is the P-51B Impatient Virgin?, the middle one is the museums P-51D, Upupa Epops, and the bottom one is Hell-er Bust.
Please feel free to leave comments.
