Has anyone done this P-51?

[falcon409]

Just wondering if anyone remembers doing this livery?

 

[glennc]

Ed,

Is that Cavanaugh's airplane? I heard it's been out getting a rehab.

Glenn

 

[falcon409]

Ed,
Is that Cavanaugh's airplane? I heard it's been out getting a rehab.
Glenn

Yep it's the Cavanaugh airplane for sure Glenn. It's the one we were working on up at Grayson (when it was still called Grayson, lol). We finished it up just before the Mustang Gathering about 3 years ago and a few days before Steve Hinton was supposed to fly it out Mr Cavanaugh showed up and decided (since he'd seen another Mustang done in all polished alum.) that he wanted his done that way too. Basically said, "Tear it all down now and redo it with polished aluminum skins".

About 6 months later, as we were getting close on the redo, the two partners (for the Co. I worked for) got sideways with each other, a lawsuit ensued and Cavanaugh pulled his Mustang. The last I heard it had gone to Breckenridge I think, to be completed. That was at least 2 years ago now. If it's being redone again. . . . .geeeze, that guys got more money than anyone should be allowed to have, lol.

 

[falcon409]

I guess I'm gonna take a stab at this one. I think most of the painters who have done P-51's have probably read this post by now and since no one has answered. . . .I'm guessin' it hasn't been done. Heck, I did a lot of the detail work on the real thing, so I guess I can throw some paint on the model and get away with it, lol.:salute:

 

[Bomber_12th]

Ed, this summer when it rolls out (which I am looking forward to!), I might make a repaint of it for one of the Warbirdsim P-51D's. It has been at Nelson Ezell's expert warbird restoration shop, Ezell Aviation, for a couple of years now, and is nearing completion of a ground-up restoration and will be pristine throughout (with basic dual controls as well, within the stock-airframe...as designed and produced by Ezell Aviation for the P-51D population). You can see it in this pic, from a few months back, it being the example in the bottom right corner of the photo. The other Mustang in the shot, is the TF-51D "Galveston Gal" that was completed for the Lone Star Flight Museum a couple months back.

 

[falcon409]

Thanks John. Man, I put a lot of time in on that airplane. I guess we did 7 days a week from Late May of 2007 until late August. Stripped everything off that bird and built it back up. It really looked great, only to have the owner decide to redo it another way. It was really disheartening. I don't think our hearts were really into it after that. Glad to see it's still around and close to completion. I definitely know what it takes to restore one. . . .:salute:

 

[DaveQ]

As a tribute to all your hard work Falcon, here's my contribution. This is Col Blakeslee's original P-51D-5-NA 44-13779 WD-C for the A2A Mustang. I'll upload tomorrow here.

Best regards

DaveQ

 

[falcon409]

Oh Man!!!! Great Job Dave. . . . .can't thank you enough for that.:salute::salute:

 

[glennc]

Ed,

Thanks for the update. I can't imagine how much work will be done all off the aircraft in that photo - wow.

Dave, Many thanks for the paint. I'll be looking for it. Someone did one for the FS2004 A2A Mustang. It wasn't very good - hope it wasn't your version 1. :salute:

Glenn

 

[falcon409]

Ed,
Thanks for the update. I can't imagine how much work will be done all off the aircraft in that photo - wow.
Dave, Many thanks for the paint. I'll be looking for it. Someone did one for the FS2004 A2A Mustang. It wasn't very good - hope it wasn't your version 1. :salute:
Glenn

Yea, figure the year we spent on it and then I know it went to Breckenridge for a period of time and then apparently on to what you see in the pics that Bomber posted.
The biggest thing we found was that all 4 longerons were suffering from severe corrosion in several places. . . .so bad that the metal would just come off in layers or "flakes". We replaced the upper longerons because they were the easiest to get to and the most seriously decayed. Later on though the lower ones were also replaced. She's had a ton of work done to her and should be factory fresh by now, lol.

 

[DaveQ]

As a tribute to all your hard work Falcon, here's my contribution. This is Col Blakeslee's original P-51D-5-NA 44-13779 WD-C for the A2A Mustang. I'll upload tomorrow here.

Best regards

DaveQ

Uploaded now to SOH and Flightsim.com. Available when processed.

DaveQ

 

[falcon409]

Fantastic Dave. . . .thank you for taking the time to do this. Very much appreciated for sure!!:salute:

 

[falcon409]

Dave, awesome job on the repaint but the pilot is transparent. Not sure why as all the other paints I have are fine. Any suggestions?

 

[DaveQ]

Dave, awesome job on the repaint but the pilot is transparent. Not sure why as all the other paints I have are fine. Any suggestions?

The "pilot_us.dds" file I included has a black alpha channel and for some reason that doesn't matter with my FSX set-up; I did it years ago for FS9 and 'copy and paste' has struck again!! Solution is in the PM and sorry for the error. Will correct now before I forget!

DaveQ

 

[glennc]

"He"'s OK on mine, too.

Ed, Man - what a scary thought! If those things failed airborne! I haven't been to Cavanaugh in a while. I may need to fix that.

Thanks for the news. I very happy it wasn't worse.

Glenn

 

[Bomber_12th]

When reading up on Mustang restorations over the past decade or two, you will find that it is more common than not to find corrosion in at least a couple longerons when the aircraft is taken apart. It is common place and highly recommended by the leading shops to break the aircraft completely down to the very last parts, blasting all of the metal parts to check for corrosion. If any corrosion is present in the longerons, they just turn to dust. Even if only a couple of the longerons have corrosion, it is common to replace all four with brand new examples, for the sake of a more sound, better machine, that will also re-sale for much higher (informed Mustang buyers will make sure to check if the longerons have been replaced before committing to a price). It is important that Mustangs that have not had a full ground-up restoration, receive one. As I have read, even if regular inspections are carried out on the longerons from the vantage points allowed through accessing the aiframe when assembled, corrosion can easily remain hidden, even if just below the paint.

 

[falcon409]

After having gone through this restoration, I wouldn't release any Mustang for service without first doing a thorough check of all four longerons. As fate would have it, since we didn't strip the skins on the first go-around, the corrosion was discovered using a borescope. The boss considered the fact that the lower longerons also had corrosion, but at the time Mr. Cavanaugh was anxious to get it back for "The Gathering" and so it was left as is. Once it was decided that he wanted an all polished aircraft, all the old skins were removed and all new sheet metal (to include ribs, stringers, all internal fabrication) manufactured in-house to replace it. It was at this point that the lower longerons were pulled and significant corrosion discovered there as well.

While we disappointed the airplane didn't go as planned, it turned out to be a good call. . . .no telling how long the lower longerons would have lasted before a catastrophic failure.:salute: