rr' 
 

HOORS 

Donated to the CAF in 1988, the F-51C
Mustang N61429 was assigned to the
Minnesota 1Wiring for restoration. After
several years and over a half million-dollar
investment, the rare aircraft?christened
the Airmen??ew for the ?rst time

in 2001.

Eskgse Aimee suffered an unavoidable
engine failure in May 2004 and crashed near
Red Wing, Minn., destroying the aircraft and
killing pilot and Red Tail Project leader Don
Hinz. Although reeling from their loss, the
Minnesota 1IWing was determined to resurrect
Don Hinz's vision and vowed to restore the

P-51C Mustang yet again.

Eskqse Airmen was painstakineg restored
rivet by rivet and ?ew again in fall 2009.

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE
MUSTANG

The 13-51 Mustang was developed by North
American Aviation as a contract for the
British Royal Air Force. The original model,
the P-51A, was an effective ground support
aircraft, but it wasn't until it was ?tted with
the Merlin engine, ?rst appearing on the 
and models, that the aircraft became an
effective interceptor.

The Mustang ?rst ?ew in October 1940 and
went into service in July 1942 with the RAF

and later in 1942 with the U.S. Army Air
Forces. The Mustang served with distinction
well into the 1960s with the Dominican

Republic ?ying them in active service
111112111984.

 

 

P51 MUSTANG SPECIFICATIONS

TYPE:
Single seat, long-range escort ?ghter (modi?ed

with a rear seat)

DIMENSIONS:
Length: 32 feet 3 inches
Span: 57 feet

Height: 12 feet 2 inches

ENGINE:
One Rolls-Royce (Packard) Merlin liquid-
cooled 1,490 HPV-1650-7 engine


Empty: 7,635 pounds
Loaded; 12,100 pounds

 

WNT:

Four Colt-Browning 50-inch machine
guns with a total of 1,000 round capacity.
External mounts up to 1,000 pounds of
bombs or six High Velocity Aerial Rockets.

PERFORMANCE

Maximum Speed: 505 miles per hour
Cruising speed: 362 miles per hour
Service Ceiling: 41,600 feet

Range: 1,000 miles

CO LORS:
The colors represent the four ?ghter squadrons
in the 332nd lGroup:

The red and yellow cowling represents the
302nd Fighter Squadron

The A on the side represents the 99th
Fighter Squadron

The yellow banding on the wings represents
the 301st Fighter Squadron

The red ?ns on the wings represents the
100th Fighter Squadron.

 

 

 

8

THE DISPATCH MAY 2010

AMEFIICAN MILITAFIY AVIATION

 

photos by