Eddie Andreini was all smiles as he taxied out to runway 26 at Salinas Ca (KSNS) for his first flight in his newly restored P-51 44-73079. Formerly N151BL owned by famed Bob Love, 44-73079 is now N451EA and will reside in Half Moon Bay Ca. Andreini has thousands of Yak and Stearman flying hours so the move to the P-51 was easy. He looked like a pro on his first flight.

Jim Reed owned 45-11540, "Excalibur" since 1998. It is now sold to Peter Turek and moving to the Czech Republic.

44-63675 to be restored to it's former WWII colors as Sierra Sue. 44-63675 has been in storage for the few years, but is now owned by Paul Ehlen. She will begin a restoration back to airworthiness and original WWII markings in August 2011.

Dan Martin waved good-bye to an old friend on July 20 2011. P-51 N151DM, 44-72483 left her home at Hollister California without Dan inside. Ridge Runner is now owned by Pat Harker. She will be based in Minnesota. Harker is far into a P-82 Twin Mustang Restoration. Ridge Runner is in good hands but will be missed by all of us on the west coast.

During a break to land, Rob Davies in A68-192 "Big Beautiful Doll" was hit just forward of the P-51 tail by the right wing tip of an AD-1 Skyraider. Both aircraft were jolted severely. The AD-1 lost several feet of wingtip, lost momentary control but regained control and landed safely. The P-51 pitch control was lost and pilot Rob Davies ejected the canopy and then himself with only seconds left to impact. Both pilots are OK!

A portion of the FAF (Friedkin Air Force) is visiting Duxford for the July 2011 Flying Legends show. The two P-51s were disassembled, crated and shipped over to the UK, then un-crated and re-assembled and will be flown in the show. As of July 1, Steve, John and Stevo Hinton had both of them on their gear and will be busy to get them 100% airworthy. Friedkin is not shy to share his warbirds as he has done this before. Duxford Legends is definitely on the bucket list.

After 4 years of work the Cavanaugh Museum P-51, 44-72339 N251JC, is flying again in original WWII markings as "Brat III".

Les Heikkila owner Petie 2nd N314BG since 2004. This P-51 has been "Petie 2nd" since the late 80's. The new registered owner is G E Air Inc of New Iberia Louisiana. Heikkila could be seen with Petie 2nd at Oshkosh and was present at the GML 2007.

Lewis Shaw purchased Lefty Gardner's P-51 "Thunderbird" Race #25 in 1994. He removed the paint, polished the fuselage, added Korea Markings "FF-704" and a silhouette Thunderbird nose art. The work performed by Ezell Aviation. The P-51 has been kept in great shape and at the GML 2007 sported rockets and drop tanks for a cool look. The proud new owner is Michael Malcolm of Aspen Colorado. The reg will stay and she will be based in Aspen. Congrats to Mr. Malcolm.

In December of 2009 Lone Star Flying Museum purchased TF-51 44-73458 N4151D. After a full IRAN inspection and new green-noser paint N4151D is now "Galveston Gal".

In 2010, 44-74494 N72FT went to S. Africa. Now, 44-63899 has been sold to Stu Davidson and is also flying in S. Africa. 44-63899 is now "Queen of Hearts" and is attracting quite a crowd every time the hangar opens.

Taken back by the bank during the most recent Frank Taylor ownership, Dago Red has been sold to a former race crew member and BMX rider Eric Hoffman. Speculation zooms as to the future of the fastest Unlimited Racer at Reno.

N72FT, "Mustang Sally" sold and moving to South Africa. After re-assembly, new owner Menno Parsons had Stu Davidson do the honors for the first flight in South Africa. This P-51 has had many different paint schemes and been based in the UK and in the USA.

Paul Besterveld has purchased 44-73454, N2051D and will restore it keeping the same scheme but adding a polished metal fuselage. This Is It was owned since 1984 by Richard Bjelland and seen on the west Coast.

P-51 Air Racing "Rookies" Chuck Greenhill and Rod Lewis are schooled by the best like Stu Eberhardt and earn their air racing wings for the upcoming Reno Air Races in September 2010.

Hirani was described as one of the nicest persons you could meet. He regularly took the time to show everyone his P-51 and enjoyed meeting new friends. He enjoyed spending time at air shows talking to the crowd. He was killed instantly when his P-51 veered off landing course and tumbled into hangars at Stellar Airpark in Chandler Arizona. Details of the crash are not yet available. There was no radio call for help. Impact was estimated at over 100 mph. A fire prevented an immediate rescue attempt from witnesses at the airport. Nazzi was a true patriot and proud to be an American. Everyone who new him always spoke highly of Nazzi.

Long time P-51 owner and pilot Tom Wood lost a tough battle with lung cancer on Feb 4 2010. Wood has owned and flown the same P-51 for 40 years, quite an accomplishment. He also owned and flew a T-6 and an F-86 Sabre. Wood was 77, just a few days from his 78th birthday.

Cielos LLC purchased N251BP from Bernie Jackson in mid 2009. New paint and a few upgrades were next: 78th Fighter Group white and black checkered nosed "Buzzin Cuzzin" flown by Lt. William B Spengler of the 83rd FS was chosen and 44-84753 was sent to Pacific Fighters in Idaho to do the work.

The P-51 Mustang is the most popular warbird fighter of all time. Many P-51s changed owners in 2009 . . .

For years, and years, and more years I watched P-51 44-73751 rot and weather on the southeast ramp at San Jose Muni (now San Jose International). Rumors would fly about why this P-51 is sitting outside ...

David B. Lindsay Jr., owner and Architect of Cavalier Aircraft Corporation, died on July 2, 2009 at home in Florida. Lindsay was 86 years old and had been battling Parkinson's disease for several years. He had experienced 6,000 hours of flying in many aircraft, especially the P-51 Mustang. Lindsay was president of and founded Air Caicos, an airline that worked in the West Indies. He also published the Sarasota Herald-Tribune which was founded by his father.

John Bagley's Cavalier F-51D 67-22579 crashed in December of 2006 after an engine failure. Bagley skillfully put her down on a busy highway median close to the airport in Rexburg Idaho. He came out with minor injuries but the aircraft was substantially damaged.

After nearly 18 months of work, she flies again. N551BJ (formerly N251RM) was seen in a bare metal finish with no markings at the Rexburg Airshow. We are looking forward to seeing the finished paint when completed. Congrats to John Bagley and crew for some hard work the last year or so.

Thanks to Travis Hopkins for the report.

Ryan and Greg Costo's dream of bringing Dago Red back to the winner's circle at the Reno Air Races, fell short. Costo's sold the famed multi-year champion in May 2009 to Frank Taylor. Taylor was one of the original creators of Dago Red back in 1981. Taylor is joined by three others in a partnership to add a 7th first place trophy for Dago Red.

Last year in 2008, Dago Red was flown by Dan Martin and powered by a Sparrow Rolls-Royce V-12 and came up just a bit short finishing in 2nd place. The crew put together a very successful week and even flew home with the race motor. Dago Red was in Hollister, being rebuilt for the 2009 races, but that came to an abrupt stop. The racer was broken down, put on a flatbed truck and sent to Chino. Hopes for any showing in 2009 are doubtful.

P-51 owner and pilot Robert Baranaskas died when his P-40 crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on April 5. He was practicing for an upcoming airshow on the east coast. Baranaskas was 61.

A Vintage P-51 Mustang can be yours for a cool million (or two)!

The P-51 Mustang continues to be a hot seller ...

Elmer Ward, P-51 owner, pilot, restorer and parts supplier passes after long battle with Alzheimer’s Disease.

Tough summer for P-51 and warbird fans. Two dedicated owners and pilots were lost in separate accidents.

The P-51 Mustang is still a popular selling warbird. 2006 has seen many new P-51 owners.

The warbird community is in shock. Art Vance, long-time P-51 owner and pilot, Reno Air Race Check Pilot, crashes near Cookville Tn. while ferryng the Chino Air Museum's Hellcat. Vance, 64 from Sebastapol, Ca, was killed.

Richard James, owner of P-51D, 44-74417 N6327T, crashed while holding with three other P-51s during the EAA Airventure show in Oshkosh Wi. James, 56 of Fennimore, Wi was killed.

Bob Baker with his 2nd P-51, Sweet and Lovely, brings home the gold with an excellent presentation at EAA Airventure in Oshkosh, WI. The competition was extrememly tough ...

Don Hinz, flying the CAF P-51C -- Tuskegee Airmen by Request -- redtail, was killed when the aircraft lost power during an airwhow and crashed in a residential area of Red Wing, Mn. in May 2004.

P-51 crash during maneuvers over Urbana Indiana takes the life of local businessman, James Shuttleworth, owner and pilot of TF-51 44-72977 N93TF, Scat VII.

Jeff Michael and passenger Butch Cauble escape from powerless P-51 45-11381 N551CB as they emerge under the overcast at about 1,200 feet agl in a North Carolina wooded area. Both Michael and Cauble were wearing chutes and jumped from -- Glamorous Glenn III -- owned by Gary Honbarrier.

Warbird collector and P-51 owner/pilot John Macguire died of a heart attack in August 13, 2001. Macguire was founder of the War Eagles Air Museum in Santa Teresa, NM. Macguire was 80 years old.

P-51, It's About Time, owner and pilot, Heber Costello, died when his C-185 crashed during a landing in Louisiana. While on short final he had to avoid a vehicle and hit power lines and crashed.

With overcast and a slight crosswind, new P-51 owner Ken McBride became a P-51 pilot. After lessons from Stu Eberhardt and Dan Martin, McBride gets airborn in his RCAF P-51 Mustang.