Bucket List Item - P51D Mustang!

David Loftus

David Loftus

Pre-takeoff checklist
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Jan 1, 2021
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Johns Creek, GA
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dmloftus
Checked off another bucket list item this week! I've dreamed of flying a P51D Mustang since I was a little boy. I built many toy models and saved my allowance and babysitting money for months to buy a gas-powered remote-controlled P51 plane that I unfortunately crashed on its maiden flight :mad: As you probably know, the introduction of this exceptional airplane was one of the biggest turning points in WWII. Luckily, I flew with the owner/founder of Stallion 51 at KISM, Lee Lauderback, a legend in the aviation and airshow world, and the world's foremost authority on the P51 with over 12,000 hours in them. Interestingly, Lee was also Arnold Palmer's personal pilot for 18 years before starting his own business.
Many know that the FAA has been needlessly cracking down on warbird operations. Many have resorted to giving very expensive joyrides with little to no aerobatics. Stallion 51 is one of the few that are still enabled for flight instruction with full dual controls. Stallion 51 owns 3 P51's, an L39, and a T6. Since I have flown aerobatics in several other aircraft, Lee let me take the controls for 98% of the flight including landing this extraordinary machine. We did rolls, loops, barrel rolls, Cuban 8's, Immelmanns, and many other maneuvers, pulling upwards of 4 G's at over 330 knots over the skies of central Florida. I'll post the video soon. Absolutely a dream come true!

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Looks like a blast, but..........How much did that set you back????
 
I had a ride in one very similar owned by a friend for whom buying it is the pinnacle of a long flying and business progression. I paid my pro-rated share… My take-away was that the people who flew these into combat on long duration flights were exceptional people and probably paid a lifelong price if they survived. I got some stick time and its a relatively straightforward flying device, which is notable considering it was built 80 years ago. It’s also extremely loud (I simply can’t imagine hours in it with a 1940s headset) and the 1400 HP V12 is never very far away. As much a dragster in character as a flying machine, and one that you’d sit in for hours. It’s not an expensive sport plane in my retrospective view, it’s a military device made with 80 year old technology to catch and kill an enemy. That’s common sense when you think about it but one tends to forget until a ride shows you what it really is or was.
 
EdFred said:
Looks like a blast, but..........How much did that set you back????
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$5500 for an hour of flight time/instruction, with about an hour of preflight briefing and the same in post flight debrief and video analysis. You might find some less than impressive low res videos for Stallion 51 on YouTube. They upgraded to full HD digital cameras about a year ago, so good quality. Each plane is outfitted with 3 built-in cameras, and I suction-mounted my own Insta360 on the inside of the canopy. CAF wants to charge over $2000 for a 20 minute flight with no hands-on, just a joy ride. I like and appreciate what CAF does overall, but I highly recommend Stallion 51 if you actually dream of flying it.
 
Tusayan said:
I had a ride in one very similar owned by a friend for whom buying it is the pinnacle of a long flying and business progression. I paid my pro-rated share… My take-away was that the people who flew these into combat on long duration flights were exceptional people and probably paid a lifelong price if they survived. I got some stick time and its a relatively straightforward flying device, which is notable considering it was built 80 years ago. It’s also extremely loud (I simply can’t imagine hours in it with a 1940s headset) and the 1400 HP V12 is never very far away. As much a dragster in character as a flying machine, and one that you’d sit in for hours. It’s not an expensive sport plane in my retrospective view, it’s a military device made with 80 year old technology to catch and kill an enemy. That’s common sense when you think about it but one tends to forget until a ride shows you what it really is or was.
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You could probably wear an ANR headset if you strapped it on (which is what I did in an Extra) but Lee mentioned the noise profile is not well-suited for them. It's tolerable with the ear buds and the helmet. I had to ask him to reposition his mic once or twice to hear him clearly. But certainly not a comfort machine. I''m a bit over 6'4" so they had to remove the seat cushion for me to fit in the back seat. So the only padding I had was sitting on the parachute. Strapping in tightly in the 5 point harness put a lot of strain on my lower back, especially in 4 G maneuvers. I broke two vertebrae hiking about 5 years ago so that was tough and I was definitely done at the end of the hour.
 
That's actually less than I thought it would come out to be might be something I might have to look into.
 
Wah that’s awesome!!!
 
OUTSTANDING!! Terrific that you were able to do that. Looking forward to seeing the video.
 
I think anyone can fly in the backseat, even non-pilots if you just want to ride. They ask for details about your flying experience by aircraft model, and they judge whether and how much they let you take the controls. While most of my experience is in 172's and my current DA40, I have taken a number of hours of aerobatic and spin/upset training in Super Decathlons and Extra 330's. I also did some homework in advance, reading the original P51 flight manual (available on Amazon in paperback) cover to cover and formulating a lot of questions in advance. I guess Lee was comfortable with that background and, as I stated above, let me have the controls 98% of the time. He had me on the controls with him for takeoff, and said "You have the controls" as we passed 200 feet. He didn't take the plane back until we were halfway down the runway after touchdown. Then he let me taxi it back almost to the hangar.
 
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Zeldman said:
It is only money. Spend it now or would you rather give it to your kids that do not know the value of a dollar.?? :lol:
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We are saving for retirement and a cash build of our next property. I gotta ask!
 
Awesome! My father in law wasn't a pilot but loved the P51, and he did the same package at Stallion 51. This was probably 10-15 years ago so the cost was a little less but he said it was worth every single penny.
 
Congrats!!

I remember an interview of a P-51 ace years ago. He was asked if it was true that the Spitfire or 109 could out turn the Mustang. The pilot just laughed. He said the P-51 could hold it's own in a turn with anything, but why would you slow down to do that? That when they first went in, especially, they were usually outnumbered, so staying fast was staying alive. Might have been Bud Anderson? Not sure.
 
How come you didn't have your happy face on during the flight.?? :D
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Had my game face on! Outside I look serious, inside I was ecstatic and doing cartwheels. Actually, I was a bit uncomfortable in the seat. As I am a shade under 6'5", they had to remove the seat cushion for me to fit in the aircraft. So I was sitting on only my parachute on a military metal seat, strapped in tightly with 5-point restraints, and my head still hitting the canopy. But who cares, I was flying a Mustang!
 
I'll never forget my P-51 ride. Rode in Speedball Alice with the late Art Vance. Incredibly, all it cost me was some persistence and enthusiasm. He was fairly gruff to most people who wanted to play 50 questions about his plane but I guess I wore him down and he lightened up, eventually seemed glad to see me when I'd drop by his hangar. His son was always kind too, considering I'm just another airplane nerd. I rode with Dan in his T-6 and that experience is in my top 5 best aviation experiences. Im eternally grateful, especially knowing how much it costs to keep those machines going. I doubt I'll ever again feel the jolt of the plane when the starter gets that propeller turning, but I hope that someday my kids do.
 
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