P-51 Racer Found!

[Dave Hackett]

So the only place for a race plane to live today is Reno right?

Here is the plane....





I took these pictures in a hanger at the Stead airport a couple of weeks ago at the Races. So, it should be easy to find the history right? Not! So I start with the simple stuff. Who could live in the Reno area and might have had the plane at some point in the past?

I Started with Anthony D'Alessandris. Well, the story gets a bit confusing at this point. Dick, Martin, Brad, Randy, TJ, Curtis....Someone....Help this confusion out.

How did I start there?...?....I looked at the name under the cockpit on the plane. Then I did a simple google search on his name and found this picture with an registration that leads down a rocky road! However here is the photo evidence.

http://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/p5 ... 3-p09.html

So if you follow the convoluted lineage you end up with N51VF....However, I have seen that plane and this is not the same beast.

So the next step is to find the name on the FAA registry. So here is the next piece of evidence...

http://www.aircraftone.com/aircraft.asp?tn=N51T

Well, I looked that serial number up on MustangsMustangs and came up with.....N51VF......

So, I go to the old school method of research and grab my "Mustang Survivors" off the shelf. RIP...Thanks again Paul!
In that wonderful resource I find that 45-11571 was in storage with Tony D.Allesandris(1987 printing).

The last piece of evidence is the fact that I talked to a guy behind the ropes at that hanger on Stead. I asked if he knew why this was the first time I have seen it at Stead. His reply was that until last year it was at his fathers hanger in Arizona. Do a bit of research and .......

So, do we have proof positive that the internet has propogated false information again? Is this proof positive that N5415V really turned into N51T and is alive and well in Nevada? Or do we have another jumbled Serial mystery here?

Thanks for all or any relevant info!

Dave

[Speedy]

So I talked with D'Allasandris's son there too. His "oh, I can't let you behind the rope" and "no, you can't take pictures of the airplane" were more than just a bit wishy-washy. I asked a few questions and he gave me a few answers...some of which matched what you say Dave. He said that 'this' particular Mustang has been in storage for years, and that Tony just recently gave the family the okay to fly it again. When I asked about the other plane, the racer, he said that dad's 'other' airplane was "Jeannie" and that they "sold it to Wiley Sanders".

Well, what I remember is that:

1. "Jeannie" was NX79111, which was never owned by D'Allasandris. Cliff Cummins owned it from 1965-1978 and then sold it to Dave Zeuschel, who in turn sold it to Wiley Sanders.

2. D'Allasandris's Mustang racer, N5415V, the one with the clipped wings, low-profile canopy, and modified with the Allison engine by Harry Volpi has been through several owners since (Bill Rheinschild, Bill Klaers/Alan Wojack, Jeff Clyman) and is now Shangri-La, N51VF.

I think that this plane was truly 'in storage' and has only recently seen the light of day. It's not a mis-identity. I think it is painted similar to the racer, but in comparing photos I see that the stripe on the tail is in a different spot.

I can't remember who I was talking to, but someone said that this particular Mustang is one of only two that isn't listed on Curtis' site...because the owners wouldn't talk to him about it.

[steve dickey]

Down towards the latter half of the post:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35377&hilit=N51T&start=0

I believe this A/C was discussed here B4 but can't seem to find it.

[whistlingdeath77]

nice find

[Dave Hackett]

Thanks for the replies. I also got a PM that gave about the same information. So the history of this bird is as clear as mud!

Nothing new really when it comes to Mustangs!

If anyone has anything else to add I would love to read it.

Dave

[Lynn Allen]

Down towards the latter half of the post:

viewtopic.php?f=3&t=35377&hilit=N51T&start=0

I believe this A/C was discussed here B4 but can't seem to find it.

Is it the same one that you worked on years ago??

[tom d. friedman]

are you sure that's not a 1/2 scale reproduction?? looks kind of small next to the t-6's

[warbird1]

are you sure that's not a 1/2 scale reproduction?? looks kind of small next to the t-6's

Nope, it's real. I saw it myself at Reno. The reason it looks like that is due to the zoom lens "compressing" the depth. There is actually more space between the T-6 and the P-51 than appears. Hence the P-51 is actually farther away and therefore smaller.

[Paul Krumrei]

Serial Number 45-11571 Type Registration Individual
Manufacturer Name NORTH AMERICAN/AERO CLASSICS Certificate Issue Date 04/08/1971
Model P-51D Status Undel Tri
Type Aircraft Fixed Wing Single-Engine Type Engine Reciprocating
Pending Number Change None Dealer No
Date Change Authorized None Mode S Code 51460277
MFR Year 1945 Fractional Owner NO
Registered Owner

Name D ALESSANDRIS A J
Street 1460 TERMINAL

City RENO State NEVADA
County WASHOE Zip Code 89502
Country UNITED STATES
Airworthiness

Engine Manufacturer ROLLS-ROYC Classification Limited
Engine Model V-1650-7 Category None
A/W Date 11/09/19

[Paul Krumrei]

PS I found that She was Cannonballed for Shangrilla.


45-11553 P-51D-NT, d/d USAAF. Sold as surplus at McClellan 20.9.57 becoing N5414V. To Richard D Weaver, Van Nuys, CA, '63 as N713DW, flown as race #6, later #15. To Anthony J Alessandris, Reno, NV, '72 as N22DC, re-reg'd N51T, re-reg'd N51TZ. To Richard Smith, Bradbury, CA, '77 as N5415C. Rebuilt with components from 45-11571/N5415V. Tp RWR Development, Las Vegas, NV, '89, to Unlimited Air Racing, Van Nuys, CA, '90 and flown as "511553/FF-553" "Miss Fit". To Jeff Clyman as N38JC and flown as "511553/WZ-I" "The Jacky C". Registered N51VF 15.7.97 for Charles Osborne/Blue Sky Aviation. Painted as Maj Don S Gentile's "492934/VF-T" "Shangri-La".

[Glenn Wegman]

It had one other owner for sure. I believe it was between Clyman and Osborne and resided in Florida for a short time.

It was owned by a gentleman from outside the US that also owned another Mustang at the time.

This sort of thing drives Dick Phillips crazy!

[Paul Krumrei]

Do tell Do tell