Warbird Information Exchange

I all ready posted this over at mustangsmustangs.com, but there is a much more diverse crowd at the WIX, so here is a repost.

Thanks!

All -

As part of my work for a book about the history of Cavalier Mustangs, I am seeking photographs of dataplates of several of the military-produced Cavaliers.

If anyone has shots showing the *writing* on the dataplates on the right main gear door for the following aircraft, I am very eager to see them, and hope I might be able to work a deal of some sort.

Here are the serial numbers I'm seeking:

67-14862
67-14863
67-14864
67-14865
68-15795
FAS 402
FAS 403
FAS 404
72-1536 (the 72-xxxx aircraft did not have gear door tags, but did have cockpit ID plates...)
72-1537
72-1538
72-1539
72-1540
72-1541
67-22582
69-6599

Randy:

Cavalier ID plates pictures of FAS 404 will be probably rare to obtain. This is the suspected FAS Cavalier that was shot down during the '69 war. As far as the whereabouts of FAS 402 (I) & FAS 403 are unclear as to their final destination after the war. FAS 402 (I) had an accident c. 1968.

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FAH619®

Yes, indeed. That's precisely why I'm looking for photos of the dataplates! There is contract and construction information on those plates which is no longer known because the airplanes never made it back to the 'states!

FAS 402's 8 October '68 accident was an aborted takeoff from Ilopango in which the airplane landed down in a deep ravine.

What happened to the remains is anyone's guess.

from the photo of the FAS-402 (1) crash I have, the remains were mere junk (or today would be designated as 'basket case project')

Randy - can you please email me - got some more material for your project.

TIA !
Martin

Randy:

If I'm not mistaken an old article in Air Classics c. 1980s ID a poss FAS 402 (I) as a TF P-51D that was brought back to the US and later became a composite TF P-51D flying machine.

C/w.com may have do some digging for it. We also have some data/numbers fm a Cavalier poss FAS/FAG sample for you in 24 hrs.

_________________
FAH619®

Randy,

Three days after the Salvadoran Cavalier was shot down over Honduran territory, I visited the crash site and was allowed to search through the wreckage. The aircraft was totally destroyed and the area was littered with thousands of fragments, some of which I was allowed to retrieve and keep. One of the machine guns, the cockpit canopy (with shattered plexiglass), and a piece of fuselage with the FAS roundel on it, was placed in a very popular Tegucigalpa drive-in, but unfortunately, their current whereabouts are still unknown.

Although I was not looking after dataplates or the sort, I do not recall having seen any. The fragment seen on page 26 of the July/August 2005 Air Enthusiast magazine, is basically the largest I was able to find, which may be part of the ventral air intake (radiator), or that of the intake trunk (front assembly). Much to my surprise, the landing gear was missing.

I have photos of engine components, a machine gun, hundreds of .50 cal. ammo (some live, others that may have exploded upon impact, who knows), and the two 250 lb. bombs the aircraft was carrying (which were later buried nearby), some of which I may have sent you a year or so ago, I can not remember.

Having visited the site a number of times, and recovered hundreds of fragments, the only piece with data written on it, is the steel electric pitot tube, which I was told would not help identify the aircraft.

It is unfortunate that Captain Leonel Lobo, pilot of the other Cavalier involved in the July 17, 1969 action, and even the Salvadoran Air Force official historian, Douglas A. Cornejo, have not acknoledged the identity of this aircraft. For unknown reasons, the Salvadoran authorities are very discrete and have kept almost absolute secrecy on the identity of FAS Corsairs and Mustangs which fought during that war. Even after 36 years.

So until that happens, FAS 404 is no other than a possibility.

Cheers,

Amado

Randy:
The following data came fm a UNK Cavalier P-51D ID Plate: R/Main Gear Strut, black bckgrd, white letters, appr size 4"X2".

"Cavalier Mustang F51D
AF 67-22581
F 416018-68-C-0147
Manufactured Feb 12, 1968
by
Cavalier Aircraft Corp,
Sarasota, Florida"

Data by Eden Harris.


With respects to the FAS TF-51D FAS 400:

This was according to Air Classics article c. Oct-1979 one of five disassembled P-51 fuselages that came back from El Salvador to different places in S. California. TF-51D X FAS 400 was restored as S/N 484662 by a Gordon Plaskett of nearby King City Airport, Calif. Reg NX41510.

Another FAS Cavalier Sample was N4222A seen in transit at Howard AB, Panama, c. Dec-1968. Data via DPH. There is another POC thay may have some FAS Cavalier P-51s ID plate shots .. this digging would take a bit longer poss 4 weeks....but I 'll give it a shot.

Saludos!

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FAH619®

Yes, the info that I'm seeking on those other ID plates is the USAF/Cavalier contract number and the construction date. I have the info for all of the serials that are *not* listed above.



Actually, N4222A was not actually a FAS aircraft, but a Cavalier demonstrator. When that photo you mention was taken by Dan Hagendorn, the airplane was at Howard AFB being showed to an un-named Central American Air Force for possible sale.



Fantastic, that's exactly the type of thing I'm looking for. PM me if there is any additional information I can provide to assist your source.

Thanks!

Randy, could not get the one you sought, but got ths one, just one number off . . .





Saludos,


Tulio

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Why take the best part of life out of your life, when you can have life with the best part of your life in your life?

I am one of them 'futbol' people.

Will the previous owner has pics of this double cabin sample

GOOD MORNING, WELCOME TO THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Press "1" for English.
Press "2" to disconnect until you have learned to speak English.

Sooooo, how am I going to know to press 1 or 2, if I do not speak English????

Randy:

A recent discovery deep inside the archives of a History Museum IDs the P-51 shotdown on 17-Jul-1969 as FAS 404. This evidence dated c. 1980s while not conclusive points again to the suspected FAS Cavalier of 1969!
Sorry no ID plates found!

_________________
FAH619®

I'm interested to see what the Museum evidence is...

I'm currently in the process of interviewing one of the American mercenary pilots who flew FAS Cavaliers in the Soccer War, and he states that this shootdown did not involve a Cavalier.

I don't have any details on it yet, though. I'll make sure that I pass along whatever info I get from him you you, Tulio, and Marco L, though! I know you guys will all be interested to hear some of his stories and info.

Randy:

Your POC may be right. However, these expeditionary re-enforcements arrived El Salvador sometime after 17 Jul 1969. I find difficult to believe that he remembers exactly the type of P-51 that was shot dwn that day.

We'll see what else evolves fm this data. We're all interested and curious to know all the war stories of these intrepid aviators. (Real stories).

A museum display map of the aerial activities of July 1969 at the southern front mentions the exact place were the P-51 went dwn and according to the curator the FAS Reg # was found among the debris.

C/w.com will be posting another picture soon of the poss crash site. We are also going to need the help of the Wix folks to ID the tipe of aircraft.

Saludos!

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FAH619®

Cool, that is actually a good bit of evidence that I had not heard!

Randy:

Pictured below is the aircraft in question. B/w taken somewhere CentralAmerica c. UKN. Perhaps some of the fellow Wixers can help us with its ID. C/W.com

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FAH619®