Could someone give a good summary of the postwar Cavalier conversions? I've heard so much about them over the years, but information is sometimes confusing and distinctions are not usually made. For example, I just today realized that there were four PA-48s, not two.
S̶p̶e̶c̶i̶f̶i̶c̶a̶l̶l̶y̶,̶ ̶h̶o̶w̶ ̶m̶a̶n̶y̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶b̶u̶i̶l̶t̶/̶c̶o̶n̶v̶e̶r̶t̶e̶d̶?̶ ̶A̶l̶s̶o̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶h̶i̶p̶s̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶w̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶m̶o̶d̶e̶l̶s̶?̶ ̶F̶o̶r̶ ̶e̶x̶a̶m̶p̶l̶e̶,̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶t̶ ̶b̶e̶t̶w̶e̶e̶n̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶C̶a̶v̶a̶l̶i̶e̶r̶ ̶7̶5̶0̶,̶ ̶1̶2̶0̶0̶,̶ ̶1̶5̶0̶0̶,̶ ̶2̶0̶0̶0̶ ̶a̶n̶d̶ ̶2̶5̶0̶0̶ ̶v̶a̶r̶i̶a̶n̶t̶s̶?̶(̶
A̶p̶p̶a̶r̶e̶n̶t̶l̶y̶,̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶n̶u̶m̶b̶e̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶d̶i̶c̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶r̶a̶n̶g̶e̶,̶ ̶b̶u̶t̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶w̶e̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶d̶i̶f̶f̶e̶r̶e̶n̶c̶e̶s̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶m̶o̶d̶i̶f̶i̶c̶a̶t̶i̶o̶n̶s̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶a̶c̶h̶i̶e̶v̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶r̶a̶n̶g̶e̶?̶)̶ ̶H̶o̶w̶ ̶a̶r̶e̶ ̶t̶h̶o̶s̶e̶ ̶r̶e̶l̶a̶t̶e̶d̶ ̶t̶o̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶"̶M̶u̶s̶t̶a̶n̶g̶ ̶I̶I̶"̶ ̶o̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶T̶F̶-̶5̶1̶.̶ ̶F̶o̶r̶ ̶i̶n̶s̶t̶a̶n̶c̶e̶,̶ ̶i̶s̶ ̶a̶ ̶C̶a̶v̶a̶l̶i̶e̶r̶ ̶7̶5̶0̶,̶ ̶a̶l̶s̶o̶ ̶a̶ ̶T̶F̶-̶5̶1̶?̶ (Nevermind, found a good source.)
Furthermore, the TF-51 designation has always confused me. It gets applied so willy-nilly, it seems basically to any twin-seat Mustang, that I'm curious what it actually, correctly applies to. Did the military ever use it (I know there were F-51s, but TF-51s?), or was it only a civilian designation? Also, reading through the
page on Cavalier on MustangsMustangs made me realize that since "Trans-Florida was renamed Cavalier Aircraft Corporation", is it possible that the TF in TF-51 had nothing to do with military, role-based designations, but was simply just an abbreviation of the Trans-Florida name?
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