Jimmy Stewart flies a Mustang in 1967?

[John Dupre]

I just read a story by a Canadian who as a young boy stood fire guard on a Mustang that overnighted at his local airport on its way to Expo 67 in Montreal. The story ends with the tall lanky American doing a high speed low pass at the request of the tower controller. While reading it I thought only of Bob Hoover but at the end the American is identified as the actor Jimmy Stewart. I know Stewart owned a Mustang racer in the 1940s that was raced by other pilots. I remember seeing Stewart on TV shows about ten years later talking about flying. Did Stewart own and fly a Mustang in the 1960s?

[bipe215]

That story has been around a long time. I've never seen proof that Stewart was flying P-51s at that time. He had ownership of a couple of racers but I never saw proof that he flew those. Maybe someone will answer those questions here. I'd like to know too.

[JohnB]

I realize it's a few years after 1967, however in 1975 I saw him in the play Harvey in London.
According to the playbill, his bio said he still owned and flew a Super Cub. No mention of a Mustang.

If he did own one at the time, I'd think they would have mentioned it to a UK audience...since their level of interest in WWII is higher than the average American.

Last edited by JohnB on Fri Nov 06, 2015 5:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Lightninglover]

This story has been around before. I researched it and it appears that Stewart and a friend bought a surplus P-51 after the war to be used in air racing. He had a half interest in it. Someone else was to fly it for them and there is no record of Stewart ever doing so. He sold his interest in it sometime later.

[Speedy]

This story has been around before. I researched it and it appears that Stewart and a friend bought a surplus P-51 after the war to be used in air racing. He had a half interest in it. Someone else was to fly it for them and there is no record of Stewart ever doing so. He sold his interest in it sometime later.

It was a P-51C named "Thunderbird". Joe DeBona raced it in the 1948 Bendix Trophy and won the 1949 trophy with it.

[JOMiller]

This story has been around before. I researched it and it appears that Stewart and a friend bought a surplus P-51 after the war to be used in air racing. He had a half interest in it. Someone else was to fly it for them and there is no record of Stewart ever doing so. He sold his interest in it sometime later.

It was a P-51C named "Thunderbird". Joe DeBona raced it in the 1948 Bendix Trophy and won the 1949 trophy with it.

Cook Cleland told me about Jimmy Stewart and "Thunderbird" at the Cleveland Air Races.

[Lon Moer]

Jimmy Stewart's P-51