Looking for info on P-38 44-27083 - the Jeff Ethell plane

[DC3R4DC47]

Flew with him at Muirkirk,Ontario in '96, the greatest little airshow that is no more, I was flying the "Great Pumpkin" our black and orange freight dog DC3 ne' R4D,my buddy Dick Zerbe was flying the DC4,and Jeff was flying a P51, he was a gentleman,and patiently answered all my questions about flying the Spitfire,Muirkirk was a 3060' foot turf runway with a house at the end,it was no joke, Jeff flew a wonderful routine in that Mustang, God bless him.

[Red Tail]

Before This, I THINK I saw it in an add in Classic Wings Mag. (I'll Check the issue soon) as to it being for sale downunder. I also read some where that the ex- Fighter collection's "Happy Jacks go Buggy" was ALSO stored some where in Texas? SORRY if any of this is incorrect, it's just that this topic got the old hamsters spinning some wheels upstairs! Of course please let us know if any of this is correct.

Yes, it was advertised in CW and also brokered by Benjamin Morgan downunder - if my memory serves me correctly, the wreck was mangled but not burned.

@ Warbird Kid: thanks for posting the pic.

It has considerable fire damage. The damage also shows how flat the airplane impacted the ground and how little forward velocity it had.

I believe the collection of parts contains bits and pieces of other wrecks as well.

John

[BeckyFeets]

Re: Jeff,

Jeff was a fine pilot. He flew many types of planes and as far as I know, safely until this accident. I personally flew with Jeff in my 2 seat Spitfire, and he did a roll that was first class, despite never having flown a Spitfire. He later did a nice job flying Rudy's Mk 18.

Did Jeff try to do too much on the day of the accident and make a mistake? Yes, but the other mistake was that the plane was not fully fueled and had a nonstandard fuel system.

Did Jeff need a type rating to qualify in a P-38? I don't know the legal fine points, but he had an unlimited piston rating and had already flown P-38's with no problems and no one seemed to complain until after the accident.

Jeff was also one of the nicest and highest quality people I've ever known.

by Becky, for Bill Greenwood

[Jack Cook]

Yes, but the other mistake was that the plane was not fully fueled and had a nonstandard fuel system.

The fuel system was not a mistake and Jeff preflighted (or didn't) the a/c and knew the fuel onboard.

Did Jeff need a type rating to qualify in a P-38?

Yes he did has P-38 was in the limited catagory.

but he had an unlimited piston rating.

He held an all piston Experimental rating which does not apply to limited catagory a/c. I also doesn't mean jump in and fly.

and had already flown P-38's with no problems

and illegially

and no one seemed to complain until after the accident

who knew and who didn't know? Jeff knew and the P-38's owner didn't. Other than that who knows who knew

[Jack Cook]

This old thread on Jeff seems relevent.....................
He was a good guy and I wish he was still among us................
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=20798

[43-2195]

I have a collection of photographs of a crashed/burnt P-38 wreck with a collector/restorer in Australia. I was lead to believe that this wreckage was the aircraft Jeff was killed in, however one of the rear booms (silver in colour) has the letter "C" painted in black on it. And the letter "J" is painted in black on the right boom Coolant radiator cowling. This does not match the stencilling shown in the photo posted on this thread. Any idea on the identity of this wreckage?
I do not wish to name the owner/restorer, nor post the photos without his approval.

[warbird51]

The aircraft had the initials of Clarence Kelly Johnson on one side and Ben Kelsey on the other. This was to honor the two important people who were most responsible for the P-38 existence. As I understand, the wreck was shipped to Australia and then sold to the group in Texas.

[Lightning]

Howdy All

'Jungle Bob' from Sydney, Australia was the guy who purchased the wreck/remains along with a spares package
This was sold to Texas Flying Legends and is now with Aircorps Aviation awaiting restoration.

Lightning

[43-2195]

Thanks Lightning, That explains a lot. Is Bob still restoring a P-38 ? Also is Aircorps Aviation, the company that Eric Hokuff is associated with?