Tag Archives: P-51C

Case colored

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I came across this at an airshow event I attended and was struck by it, so I figured I would share with like-minds.

Photo Chris Eger

Note the beautiful discoloration on the airskin from the flame exhaust of the muscle that is a Packard V-1650-7 Merlin. The liquid-cooled Rolls-Royce V-12 piston engine was capable of well over 1,300 hp probably contributed more to the defeat of the Germans over Western Europe than any other single mechanical invention.

The beast powers a TP-51C Mustang owned and operated by the Collings Foundation. Born as P-51C 42-103293 “Betty Jane” to North American at its Dallas Facility, the plane was restored and converted in 2002 to a 2 seat version of the P-51C and is an airshow regular.

Lucky no. 46

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mustang no 46 paul mantz

North American P-51C-1-NA NX-1204, racing number 46 flown by Stanley Reaver in the 1949 Bendix Transcontinental Race with an average speed of 450.2 mph…and finished 2nd. Paul Mantz had flown the same plane in the 1948 Bendix and won first place in just over 7 hours from coast  to coast. NX-1204 was donated to the International Flight and Space Museum in Santa Ana, California and now is in the Fantasy of Flights collection, still in flying conditon, but in WWII livery.