Warbird Information Exchange

The Boyz on the FlyPast board are reporting that Red Bull has purchased Lefty's lightning....
While it would be great to see this P-38 back in the air, but it would be sorely missed at Reno....
http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=35415

sadly this is probably a good way to get it airworthy again since rebuilding it is probably beyond Mr. Gardners means, at least financially.

It will be good to see her in the air again though.

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Personally I would like to see White lightning stay in the Gardner family, but that just me. Above that I would like to see flying rather stay a pile of parts for years to come. But if this rumor does come to fruition it makes one wonder if the new owners would preserve the #13 White Lightning paint scheme or paint it in Military colors.

Shay

Rob

I emailed them via their website. http://www.p38whitelightnin.com I guess we'll have to wait and see if they respond. Or if like you said someone could call and find out.

Shay

Hi Guys,
Below is the article from Aeroplane Monthly, word for word...

"Lefty Gardner's famous Lockheed P-38L, N25Y White Lighnin', has been aquired by the Salzburg, Austria-based Red Bull Flyers. It has not flown since June 25, 2001, when it was damaged in a forced landing following an engine fire near Greenwood-Le Flore airport in Mississippi while being flown by Lefty's son, 23-year-old Ladd Gardner.
N25Y was recently moved from its hanger at Burnet, Texas, to Breckenridge, where it will be rebuilt by Nelson Ezell. Veteran wartime pilot and early Confederate Air Member Gardner bought N25Y back in 1962, and the pairing flew what many regard as the definitive P-38 aerobatic routine at countless display.

The article is accompanied by a small picture of N25Y on her wheels but with crush damage to her undersides.

It would be great to see a P-38 back in the skies of Europe but I dread to think of the paint scheme, if Red Bull do receive the airframe having seen the Sea Vixen

I appreciate that RB have spent their hard earned cash on keeping a unique airframe flying but IMHO, a RN scheme or even the red/orange scheme it last operated under, with a discrete nose art job would have been pleasing (just my opinion of course).

Tony

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...and pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in Space cos there's bugger all down here on Earth!

I remember at some point back in the mid-90's that White Lightnin was for sale. She was advertised in Trade-A-Plane on several occasions. As for now, I would prefer to see her stay in the states but if she doesn't I hope Red Bull leaves her in her famous paint job. She wouldn't be the same without it. That would be like the CAF giving "Red Nose" a blue one.

Ryan

Actually, I am not related to Lefty, Sharon, or Ladd. Although my dad is named Marvin and that is Lefty's name. My mom is named Sharon and that is Lefty's wifes name. They also live about 15 miles from my folks. We do get phone calls for them occaisonally, but I dont know them beyond a casual aquaintance.

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Live to fly, Fly to live.....

Is it possible the folks at Red Bull are starting an North American Fleet?
I would think advertising at North American Airshows would be as benifical as European ones. What better bird to start with than White Lightnin'....
Just a (hopeful) thought...

Actually you may well have hit the nail on the proverbial head here. As of yesterday there was speculation again in the motorsport press that Red Bull has the intention of making the new Red Bull F1 team (ex- Jaguar Racing) a 'All American' F1 team as a way of pushing sales of Red Bull more in the USA.
So, perhaps Red Bull aquiring White Lightnin is slightly misleading. Perhaps they are funding it's rebuild in exhange for a repaint in corporate Red Bull colours for operation for a fixed term on the US airshow circuit, much like the Sea Vixen here in the UK.

While we were touring the Red Bull facility in Salzburg we posed the question to the tour guide of what airplane they would most desire. Without hesitation they said a P-38. This does not suprise me a bit if they aquired Lefty's airplane. It will be in good hands.

Jim

The only discrepency I see here is that the White Lightnin' was NOT in Burnet when I went up there about 8 weeks ago and last time I saw it it was sitting in a hanger at Stinson Field here in San Antonio. No promises, but I'll see if I can ring up the folks who have the hangar over there for the San Antonio end of the story. Sure wish it was staying here in a restored state.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

I agree...I've seen a lot of critcism of that paint scheme on the Flypast board but it's just too attached to that airplane for me to see it changed. I wouldn't want to see George Perez's Mustang in war colors either at this point.

John

I talked this morning to the folks at the hanger and they said that they didn't know of anything going on with the plane as of yet... It's still sitting there in the hangar. They hadn't heard from the owners in a few weeks though.

Ryan

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Aerial Photographer with Red Wing Aerial Photography currently based at KRBD and tailwheel CFI.
Websites: Texas Tailwheel Flight Training, DoolittleRaid.com and Lbirds.com.

The horse is prepared against the day of battle: but safety is of the LORD. - Prov. 21:31 - Train, Practice, Trust.

The Lightning is actually looking good in those colors. Does George still have the 51 painted maroon and gold? He told me that he planned to strip it and keep it bare aluminum a decade ago! Like those colors though. Wish I could have seen Dave Norland's N5466V in its maroon paint job before it went to Jack Roush!

T J Johansen

I'm sure that Dick Phillips would have a picture or two of 5466V. He had several photos of a friend of mine dad's mustang that he flew in the early 60's. You just have to go to the source.

Cheers,

Lynn