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Test your P-51 memory, knowledge
and research ability!
(Click on Image to view full size)
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Status:
Solved by:
Photo Info:
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Closed
Martin Kyburz, Jim Church, William Yoak, DP
unknown place/date
photo by Floyd Fowles
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Readers' Responses:
HELP! we have some conflicting reports.
Is this P-51 N5438V 44-74923? or 44-73518 before the registration was changed from N5438V to N5483V ???
I don't show 44-73518 ever listed as N5438V, but stranger things have occured in P-51 ownership.
Check out case #29. Picture in '63 on an airport at or near Merced, CA where this P-51 was based for
a few years. The timeline checks out for case #29 to be 44-74923. Confirmation of another known
photo of the same time by TJ Johansen exists. Also 44-73518 was based in Kansas from '63-'73.
View case #29 and case #53 side by side and there are definite similarities. (not 100% proof though)
that they are the same P-51. I would like to find out for sure. Help if you can. Here's what we think we know.
| Year | 44-73518 | 44-74923 |
| 1963 | N5483V (Edward Fisher) KS | N5438V (JJ Wolohan) CA |
| 1966 | same | (Walter Fountain) CA |
| 1969 | same | to El Salvador as FAS 410
adopted id 44-11353 on return |
| 73-77 | info missing
Gary Levitz "Precious Metal"
'76 sold to Whittington | same |
| 1976 | "Miss Florida III" (Whittington) | 76' N132 (Don Anderson)Alderson? |
| 1978 |
(Don Whittington)
racer 09 Precious Metal | N100DD |
| 1981 | same | (John Sandberg) TX,
race #28 Tipsy Too |
| 1984 | same | 84-94: N345 (Gary Levitz) TX
Race #38 Miss Ashley |
| 1990 | ditched at sea, TX | same |
| today | restoration | sold, rep. in Europe |
This is P-51D-30-NA 44-74923 N5438V (its first civilian registration) sometime before delivery to
Salvadorean AF as FAS-410. Subsequent history see survivor-list on this website.
Best wishes Martin Kyburz
Jim Church: Case #53 shows the same Mustang featured in cases 29 and 36. It is N5438V, s/n 44-74923.
Later owned and raced by the John Sandberg as N100DD 'Tipsy Too,' and still later by Gary Levtiz as
'Miss Ashley,' N345. Other registrations carried include N132 and N6395. It has since been sold to a
new owner in Sweden.
William Yoak: It looks like this Mustang was one of a pair of
two owned by Eddie Fischer of Kansas City until around '74.
He sold one to the late Ken Burnstine
and the other to the late Gary Levitz in 1974.The registration no. on the bottom of the left wing (in photo)
looks to be N5438V. The aircraft that Levitz purchased was to become "Precious Metal" (race #81) and then
race #09 after it was purchased by Don Whittington. However, the "n" number used on Precious Metal was N5483V.
My guess is that case #53 is one of these two aircraft. Perhaps, Fischer wanted similar appearing registration
numbers if this is the case.
The aircraft that Burnstine purchased in '74 was extensively modified for
unlimited air racing immediately following his acquisition of the other of Fischer's two Mustangs.This was
"Miss Foxy Lady" (Race #34) and carried the registration no. of N07QF under Burnstine's ownership. It was
to become "Somthing Else" (Race #6) when John Crocker acquired it following the time Burnstine lost his life
in "Miss Suzi Q"--his stock Mustang.
If I am in error about this case, I must point out one feature of
the the registration number of N538V. It follows a pattern of several "N" numbers that have been assigned to
many Mustangs over the years. I have notice that several numbers have been along the line of N54##V.
For example,there was a N5482V owned by the late Mike Loening. Another is "Dago Red" which had the Number N5410V.
These numbers were probably assigned in blocks to one of the companies that had several mustangs to
civilianize in the "heyday" of when P-51's were relatively affordable.Some of the companies included
Cavalier (of course),On-Mark Engineering, and Trans-Florida Aviation.
Upon looking at more sources which include your Survivor's List, I have narrowed the aircraft
down to N5483V. The aircraft was in fact one of the two owned by Eddie Fischer. This was the one that was
purchased by Gary Levitz in 1974 or '75. It was not the one purchased by Ken Burnstine as I originally
thought was possible.
As previously noted, N5438V (as in Case# 53 Photo) was to become
"Precious Metal" (race #81) under Levitz' ownership. However, Levitz had the "n"-number changed to
N5483V for whatever reason. The aircraft still retains this registration and was raced for several
years subsequent to Levitz' sale of the aircraft to Don Whittington.Whittington was a strong contender
since the time he first raced it as race# 09. Apparently this Mustang is either in storage or undergoing
a restoration by Whitington since it suffered damage at Reno during it's last race a few years back. This
aircraft was to become even more extensively modified when it was configured to receive the Rolls-Royce
Griffon engine with contra-rotating propellers as the World Jet racer.
Bill Eaton:I see the name 'Fountain' in the owner listing. This might support my
comment in response to Case 29 of the possibility that Bud Fountain
owned this airplane.
Brad Haskin:
N5483V was bought by Gary Levitz in the winter of 1974 from Eddie
Fisher....about the same time that Burnstine was buying the other airframe.
Levitz hired Ralph Payne to completely tear down the plane and rebuild it as
a racer. According to Payne, the plane hadn't been flown in many years when
they brought it out to Scottsdale, AZ. Payne built 5483V up for Levitz
about the time Leroy Penhall was making the "sister ship" into N70QF "Miss
Foxy Lady" for Burnstine.
Payne rebuilt 5483V in stages, including several "internal" wing mods and
such. It was "stock on the outside" at Mojave '75. Clipped wings and a
racing canopy at Reno '75. An H-tail and wing fillets at Mojave '76.
(Plans included removing the doghouse and installing NACA ducts on the
fuselage side, with the radiator exhaust exiting in the low-pressure area
behind the canopy, but the racer was sold before those mods could be done)
Don Whittington bought it in June or July of '76, and raced it at Reno in
'76 as "Miss Florida III" (though it still said "Precious Metal" on the
cowling). Whittington changed the name back to "Precious Metal" in '77 and continued
to race it with a fair amount of success until '83. At this point the
airplane was "stashed", completely barren of markings and didn't surface
again until about '87.
This airplane was NOT modified to accept a Rolls Griffon As I understand it,
Whittington built up the "new" Griffon
powered "Precious Metal" after he got out of "camp". He literally unbolted
the tail section (just aft of the doghouse) of N5483V and bolted it onto the
"new" fuselage. I have no record where the "front" half of the fuselage came
from. Possibly built up from parts. It raced at Reno '88 in this
configuration, but crashed when the prop governor blew.
After the wreck it was trucked back to Florida, the tail section (with the
H-tail) was again unbolted and set aside. Whittington took the "new"
Griffon fuselage and bolted a stock tail unit onto it in '89.
Meanwhile, another stock tail unit had been installed on the "old" fuselage
that used to be 5483V. This is the airframe that Whittington ditched in
Galveston Bay in '90. I believe it's still at Darrell Skurich's place in
Fort Collins, CO being stored or rebuilt.
Whittington race the "new" Griffon bird with the stock tail feathers at
Phoenix in '95, with the registration number changed to N6WJ.
But the same plane showed up at Reno '95 with the "old" N5483V tail section
(with the H-tail) bolted on to it again.
Everyone confused? Good. I think that's what Don Whittington had in mind.
I might also add another footnote of the N5483V story.
After Levitz bought it, the first race he entered it into was Mojave '75.
On the entry form, he made a mistake and wrote down the registration number
of another Mustang he used to own, N5478V (which another pilot had wrecked
in the mid-60's. The guy was ferrying it for Gary, and cartwheeled it into
a hangar on takeoff.) Anyhow, because N5478V was on the entry form instead
of N5483V, both Air Classics and Racing Planes and Air Races reported for
many years that it was N5478V.
Just a sidenote further adding to the mystery of the plane.
MM.com:
After going over all the above information, it is our conclusion that the P-51 in the top picture is
N5438V, 44-74923. Thanks to everyone's input on this one!
| Werner van der Zel (Early Birds) |
April 29, 2008 at 08:26:18 |
Dear Sirs
This P-51 ex Miss Ashley 1 is in rebuild at the moment at Lelystad airport in Holland.
She came in the red colours Miss Asley 1 and will be rebuild and complete overhauld to represend the P-51 "Trusty Rusty" flown by capt.Robert B.Winks,stationed at Leiston airfield,U.K.1944/45
Please have a look for oure website by click the link
below,see "planes" P-51
Thank you:sicerely Werner van der Zel (mechanic)http://www.vroegevogels.org/indexeng.htm |
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