Dick Phillips	December 15, 2002 at 13:00:47
Well, I can give you the easy half. Sure looks like Bob Hoover in the drivers seat, and I'll just take a guess that the on-looker is Curtis Fowles.

Curtis Fowles	December 15, 2002 at 18:37:41
Wow Dick, that kind of dates me a bit. When this picture was taken, I was probably in the 5th or 6th grade, so it is not me, but you're right about Bob Hoover. The on-looker is the owner of the P-51. Have Fun!

Curtis Fowles	December 31, 2002 at 00:28:54
Bob Hoover in this photo looks a lot like my dad. The onlooker (owner) is not in the USA and his P-51 did not survive.

Curtis Fowles	January 17, 2003 at 00:36:32
OK. This owner sold this P-51 and it crashed before being delivered to the new owner, ferry pilot was killed.

Roger Baker

February 13, 2003 at 00:13:10

I've thought about this case a lot. I've come to the conclusion that the person standing on the wing must be Archie Baldocchi. I think the airplane would be 44-74430. Although I never met Baldocchi, I did know Florey (to whom he had sold the airplane) and I knew Burns Byram (who was ferrying the airplane back from El Salvador) well. He was a really nifty guy! In the 70's, Burnsy probably had more current Mustang time than anybody else around.

Curtis Fowles

February 13, 2003 at 00:25:21

OK, Roger is close enough. He got the right P-51, but the wrong owner - good guess though. One of the owners at the time is next to Bob Hoover. It is Roberto Ibarguen who along with his cousin Enrique owned this P-51 from 1967 to 1978. The picture above was taken around 1970, when Bob Hoover was down south. Hoover did fly the P-51 on that day. Dick Phillips just sent in some shots from Terry Randall taken just before Burns Byram departed for the USA, but as we know, he never made it. Thanks to Alejandro Ibarguen (Roberto's son) for sending in pics including this one.