RED BULL P-38 on Display at P-Cola...

[Warbirdnerd]

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.

Found it here:
http://www.pnj.com/article/20090203/NEWS01/90203049

[TAdan]

I think it is great that Red Bull has taken the P-38 to so many displays and shown it off in public.

Much better than hiding it in a hanger and whisking it off to Austria.

[Holedigger]

Oooooo, don't tempt me, that's only a 9 hour drive! They are flying it over? Northern route? WHere do we track this?

[Lynn Allen]

You might not drag your toe to long this "week" in the sand as it won't be long. Its a work of art and you do need to see it.....

Lynn

[C170BDan]

As far as I know this is only the third location/event that it has been displayed at after flying for almost a year. Las Vegas, Dallas, and now P-cola. I saw it in Dallas and was glad I made the effort to see it!

[John Kerr]

Here are three of about 70 photos I took of her yesterday afternoon.

[Connery]

Well....were are the rest of them????

[John Kerr]

Per request here are 6 more shots. All photos by me.

[Holedigger]

Sweet!!!!

[Connery]

Beautiful! thanks for sharing

[APG85]

The heck with the P-38...I see a Herc in the background!!!

[Mudge]

I was ordering a "reenactor" item from a guy in P-cola and he mentioned that there was a WWII airplane there. I said, "Yeah, that's the Red Bull P-38". He was kinda' astonished that someone from West-by-God would know anything about WWII a/c, much less a P-38. I 'splained to him why and urged him to take the rest of the afternoon off and go see it. I also reminded him to take sunglasses. He said he would do exactly that.

Mudge the helpful

[Pogo]

Very nice . . . So are Hercs . . . But I wonder what it'd take to get a round of photos of the Privateer in the background?



We're a heck of a gang, aren't we?

[P51Mstg]

Got there Sat morning. I asked about it and the Docents said it was gone as of Friday afternoon. Supposed to be headed to the docks to be put on a barge. They directed me to the docks and no P-38. So I checked the local airports, and didn't find it there.....

So its somewhere, its just not at the Museum........

Mark H

[Holedigger]

So I take it she is going by boat and NOT trying to fly home. On more pics on the Privateer, there is another thread running on that

http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/p ... hp?t=27766