February 3, 2009
Pensacola lands historic WWII plane
Sean Dugas
sdugas@pnj.com The aluminum skin of the Flying Bulls’ P-38 Lightning reflected the afternoon sun like a polished suit of armor.
One of only five fully operational P-38s in the world, the aircraft will be on display at the National Naval Aviation Museum until it returns home Sunday.
When it leaves Pensacola, the plane will fly to Salzburg, Austria, where it will become the highlight of the Flying Bulls’ air demonstration team, said the plane’s pilot, Siegfried Angerer.
“Flying this plane is like climbing Mount Everest,” he said Tuesday, after climbing down from the cockpit. “There are only a few people in the world who can do it.”
The P-38 Lightning was built by the Lockheed Martin Corp., and first flown in 1939, said retired Marine Col. Denis “Deej” Kiely of the Naval Aviation Museum Foundation.
It broke the speed record from California to New York that same year and was first used by the Army Air Corps in 1941, Kiely said.
Sporting a 20mm cannon and four 50-caliber machine guns, the P-38 was capable of carrying either two 1,600-pound bombs or 14 rockets, making the aircraft versatile for ground strafing as well as long-range bomber escorts and dive bombing runs, Kiely said.
The Flying Bulls’ P-38 recently underwent an extensive restoration at Ezell Aviation in Texas after being purchased by Dietrich Mateschitz, creator of the Red Bull energy drink, Angerer said.
The original sticker price for the P-38 was between $50,000 and $70,000, Kiely said. However, after the restoration — which took more than four years and about 140,000 man hours — Angerer put the cost of the aircraft much higher.
“If you wanted one, it would cost about $10 million,” said Angerer, 60.
“But I wouldn’t sell this one; you can’t fly dollars in the bank.”
Additional Facts
Want to go?
--WHAT: The Flying Bulls’ P-38 Lightning.
--WHERE: National Naval Aviation Museum at Pensacola Naval Air Station.
--WHEN: On display from noon to about 5 p.m. daily until Sunday.
--DETAILS: 438-4015.
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