Warbird Information Exchange

Got it, thank you sir.

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Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas

PIC, Ford 6600 pulling Rhino batwing up and down the runway

Jim, you are probably the nicest P-51 pilot in the world. The Pitts guy sounds like an egotistical type that was overwhelmed with the whole experience. Don’t be afraid to say something like “ We aren’t doing that today” or “ you can wait and do that when you buy your own P-51.” The nut jobs have gotten a lot of fine instructors killed over the years.
At this point, I actually lie sometimes about my qualifications. I say “ I have no idea how to fly that.” Last year I didn’t want to fly Citations so I told them I had no idea how to run the avionics!
Even better , when a passenger wants you to fly through a hangar, under a bridge, and perform ten G’s, just say “ Hellyes! Oh, wait, no, no, my wife wouldn’t like that, so no. “

Lee L. made me do plenty of stalls until he knew I could absolutely identify and feel the buffet. Then I was permitted to do aerobatics. We did most of our work at a pretty high altitude. He also said failure of the pilot to unload the airplane when performing maneuvers not quite right is a leading cause of Mustang crashes.

Thanks Marine, it was an adventure for sure. Vlado used to give me a lot of tongue in cheek crap for saying it’s easy to fly. A Mustang is maneuverable but uses a lot of sky to get it done. You are a slave to the prop and the wing, keep the ball centered and it will always treat you right. I’ve never done anything in an airplane that’s made me uncomfortable, that’s where I’m greatful that I learned from the best in the business. I loved doing full checkouts and showing the envelope of the airplane, but, like you said, it can be overwhelming to a non pilot or one that has scewered expectations. I can say the majority of people that I flew with came out with an entirely different perspective...and appreciation for what that airplane is capable of, and not capable of. That was such a beautiful thing to share with people...one Pitts pilot aside .

John Vanelek owned BBD long before it was BBD and was based in Painesville OH. As a kid I’d hang out there with my dad and grandfather when they were building a Cassutt with Ed Fisher. I spent a lot of time in that cockpit making airplane noises. Tragic on many levels.

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www.spiritof44.com