Leo Smiley: This is Dave Zeuschel's N332, probably during the early 70's. Aircraft racedat Reno and I have several photos taken at a Travis AFB show around 1974.Aircraft was sold around that time and as I recall crashed into "terrain" inthe mid 70's and was destroyed.

Jim Church: This one is tough. It could be one of Ted Contri's birds, or it could be N332, the ex- 'Maytag Mustang,' which crashed at Borrego Springs, California killing owner James Barkley. If it is N332, than it is s/n 45-11471, which has been rebuilt as a TF-51. It now flies as 'Diamondback' with Bob Jepson. Previous to this it was the 'Rajun Cajun,' with David Jeansonne. Pete Regina and Square One had rebuilt it as a TF after its somewhat lackluster career as the highly modified unlimited racer 'Stiletto.' Though it had some fast qualifying times, it never did very well in the heat races, which is a shame considering all the modification work that had gone into it. The belly scope and stock radiator had been removed, with new radiators installed in the leading edges of the wings. It had been the lightest of the racing Mustangs, after an extensive weight reduction treatment during the rebuild, which saw the removal of much material from just about every inch of the airframe. Previous registrations include N5481V, N51VW, however it is now registered N51UR to Jepson.

This aircraft was owned by Dave Zeuschel and Bob Bladen. N332-- Bryan Cooke,ex employee.

William Yoak: This was the aircraft that was owned and operated by the late Dave Zeuschel for many years. Nearly all of those who have been involved in the warbird community probably remember Zeuschel as one of the Merlin and racing-engine gurus from the 1960's the until late 1980's.Tragically, Zeuschel was to lose his life in his F-86 in 1987 upon his arrival to an airshow in Bakersfield , CA. The Mustang was owned by David Maytag (an heir of the family that started The Maytag Co.). Maytag had the aircraft from the late 50's or early 60's when he was involved with On-Mark Engineering. On-Mark was responsible for the overhaul of many P-51's during Maytag's involvement with them.In 1964, David made the decision to enter his '51 in the Harold's Club Transcontinental Trophy Dash that was part of the Reno Air Races. Wayne Adams (now a retired Major General of the Nevada Air National Guard) was selected to do all of the flying "chores" by Maytag.The racing history of N332 is as follows:1964: Harold's Club (transcontiental) -- 1st place.1965: Harold's Club (transconinental) - 3rd place 1966: Los Angeles Air Races (held @ Fox Field in Lancaster, CA) 3rd place.The pilot was Russ Schleeh at Lancaster only).Reno Air Races (closed course only in 1966) 3rd place.Maytag retired the aircraft and Adams retired from Racing in 1966. Adams was to become a board member of the Reno Air Races in subsequent years.1970: California 1000 (Mojave Air Races) -- 2nd place under Zeuschel's ownership. The pilot was Dr. Cliff Cummins.Dave Zeuschel acquired N332 from David Maytag in 1968. The Mustang was based at Vannuys , CA under both the ownership of Maytag and Zeuschel. Zeuschel sold the aircraft in either 1979 or '80 . It was lost in a fatal accident immediately after Zeuschel sold it.If I rememember correctly, the individual's name was either Jim or John Barkley.I never heard an official account about the demise of N332, but it was believed by some people to have lost a rudder-trim tab at high speed . Though the final outcome of N332 is unfortunate, I hope this information is useful.

Best Regards,

William D. Yoak

References: "Gentlemen You Have A Race", Author:John Tegler,Copyright 1984.


Brad Haskin: As the others had stated on the page, the N332 in the photo was destroyed in a wreck. The registration number was transferred to the "new" N332, which was Stiletto. This was a plane built up strictly of extra parts, and was never a true airframe. Stiletto was converted to a TF-51 in 1996, but "that" N332 is not the same N332 in the photo.


MM.com: Nice work, lots of good information here.

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Bill Eaton	July 12, 2008 at 17:09:07
To correct Jim Church, as "Stilletto," the resurrected (N-number, anyway) N332 won the 1984 Unlimited Gold race at Reno on its first outing. It had mechanical problems (gear retraction, I think) in '85 and was in the lead during the '86 Gold race when an oil line broke and Skip Holm maydayed out and landed. It never did repeat its 1984 Gold win though.