For the P-51 fans. Turn it up!!

[cbarnes]

For a couple of years before I went to A&M I worked for a vet in Big Spring. The vet I worked for would talk about a rancher that was a stunt pilot for the movie "battle of Britain". I heard that in lieu of pay he took some of the planes back to his ranch. He converted one to hold a water tank to help fight brush fires. The story was that after fighting a fire and all the folks on the ground would be gathered around a truck bed talking about it he would sneak off for another load of water and would come back and drop it on the guys standing around.

I was born and raised in Big Spring. Not sure which Vet you are talking about, but the pilot you are talking about is Connie Edwards.

https://warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/wilson-connie-edwards.html

[Landrover]

I met an older gentleman that was a pilot in the Red Tail Squadron. He had a P-51 cap on so I struck up a conversation with him. He was amazed that I knew about the Red Tail Squadron in WW II that was made up of all black pilots. This was long before the Tuskegee movie made them famous for their accomplishments. Super nice and stately older gentleman.

Yep, those boys did not play around!!! Heard one speak when I was a college student and met one at an event for veterans many years ago. I think 1 or 2 are still living.

Would love to ride in one. WW II era planes are my favorite

There is a place in the Houston area that you can ride in a P-51 Mustang.....i told my wife I need to deaux that someday!!!

[Duckologist]

Would love to ride in one. WW II era planes are my favorite

Same

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[hpdrifter]

Gotta love those old taildraggers and Merlins.

[S-3 Ranch]

I have also been a big fan of WWII aircraft. When I was a kid, I met a lot of former pilots who had flown in the war and even met a Luftwaffe pilot who had immigrated to the U.S. after the war. His best friend here was a Mustang pilot. They surmised they had flown against each other during the war. A few years ago, my wife got me a ticket to ride on a B-17. That was an awesome ride. As you probably know, a lot of these old war birds are flown by and maintained by the Commemorative Air Force, formerly the Confederate Air Force. It takes a ton of money to keep these birds in the air and to restore newly added aircraft. I believe they have an SB2C Helldiver which you can ride in as well. Would love to fly in that one as well before I kick the bucket.

I did the B-17 flight when they where based in Harlingen Tx ,
Cool old bomber, the guy giving me the tour said “ cost $500 just to start her up” that was in the 1980’s

My favorites are the P-47 ( jug) and the P-38 lightning

[PondPopper]

Gotta love those old taildraggers and Merlins.

If I was financially RICH I would own at least 1 or 2.... The last one I found for sale the asking price was just a measly 2 million..

[flywise]

If I was financially RICH I would own at least 1 or 2.... The last one I found for sale the asking price was just a measly 2 million..

I read a story about a guy in California who bought 12 or 14 in surplus back in the 40’s . He only has a few left and all with out rebuild were sold for about that.
I think he did pretty good on his investment.

[eaglegolfj]

I dont think you can hear that enough. BAD ARSE

[AJMag]

Guy at the conroe airport has one, yet he says his maule with the stol kit is his baby.

On another note, if you catch the right weekend, all the tora tora tora guys converge on conroe to practice each spring. It's quite the sight to watch from the roof top restaurant there

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[Box-R]

I used to attend the Reno Air Races every year. There were 3 race-prepped (WAY more power than WWII 'stock' Mustangs): Voodoo, Strega (my fave), and Dago Red. Unfortunately, one or the other was usually broken, so they never had a head-to-head race. That changed in 2017, when I finally (FINALLY) got to see the Mustang race that I always dreamed about. [ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxCe5NmSxvQ"]2017 Reno Air Races Unlimited Gold, Strega vs Voodoo. Unedited video - YouTube[/ame]
Strega vs Voodoo.
Wow, if you missed it, you likely missed it forever. There were 2 or 3 fabulous days of racing between those 2 and the sound......... you can only (ONLY) hear that in Reno.

[CDF]

We had my daughters wedding at the Cavanaugh flight museum last month and they parked their P51 right behind them for the wedding. It made an awesome background. They took wedding pictures sitting on the wing.

[captainsling]

P51 Mustang and the A-10 Warthog are the 2 most bad *** fighting planes out there.

[lanceodom]

Pretty darn cool!! I loved watching Baa Baa Black Sheep when I was a kid. Although they flew Corsairs but super cool.

[BTLowry]

That gave me goosebumps

[spidermonkey]

I’m in too! Love the WWII era stuff as well. My uncle was a pilot in that timeframe and he was in a P38 Lightning. Just love those old planes! Other uncle was a pilot in Korea, and my dad was a pilot as well. But he was the youngest of 4 boys, and wasn’t old enough, so he just stayed in the farm (panhandle). So when he got older he got saved up and bought his own plane, and would just fly it for the fun/pleasure of it. He still just farmed, but would always fly that old Cessna to unwind, and go see the sights. Soft spot for any old prop planes for sure! And these new fangled prop planes as well! Good Huntin, and God Bless, Rusty