Most Authentic Mustang Flying

[Ken]

Would this simple factory look be to plain for today?

Have you guys seen the photos of EuEp flying in her factory finish? They intentionally painted the markings over later, like HJGB. I love it.

[Swiss Mustangs]

For my own knowledge - did NAA fill, sand, and paint Mustang wings at the factory? The Swiss photo above looks like an un-filled wing - a lot of rivets showing.

sent to ETO in 1945 - assigned to occupation duty in Germany 1946 - 1948, acquired by Swiss AF where it served until 1958 - put into storage and on display at various places since 1964 - never had a serious accident - therefore a stock and most authentic P-51D-25-NA

the Swiss stripped the a/c of all paint when received and readied for duty.

Martin

oh - s/n is 44-73349

*edit*

I have taken some 1'500 detail photos of this ship - each panel line, rivet pattern, and every accessible area inside and outside the a/c

Last edited by Swiss Mustangs on Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:24 am, edited 2 times in total.

[Django]

I think you have got your Swiss and your Swedish mixed up. Twilight Tear and Miss Helen were part of the Swedish Air Force not the Swiss Air Force.

Picture below of Twlight Tear in Swedish Air Force markings before she came to TFC.

http://www.airliners.net/photo/North-Am ... 0205527/M/

Ah, thanks for the pointing that out! My bad.

[kenlyco]

These are some of my favs.thank god we had some great photographers back then.

[Ken]

I can see that the Connie Edwards' Mustang is quite stock, but the panel, at second glance, has what appears to be a civilian attitude indicator, autopilot, comm panel, VOR head, etc. I'm not saying this takes it out of the running or wouldn't make it a great candidate for a rebuild, but I don't think it's the time capsule it appears to be at first glance.

BTW, thanks to everyone who's been adding to this thread. It has brought a great cross-section of Mustang stuff to light - I've thoroughly enjoyed reading all the responses (and learned a lot too).

Ken

[JohnTerrell]

Like the aircraft that has now become Happy Jack's Go Buggy, the real time capsule aspect is that it never had its internal structure restored, or skins replaced, and Connie Edwards' Mustang which is pictured is very likely in the exact same condition. This means that if you were to deconstruct it right now, it would still feature all original structural components and skins, and would still be wearing all of the original assortments of primers and finishes, likely original wiring and plumbing, and inspection stamps and inspector signatures that it originally had when it rolled off the assembly line. The panel is rather insignificant when you look at the entire aircraft as a whole. From the appearance of the bomb release levers, and the knowledge I have gained from the rest of the Mustangs that have passed through Connie Edwards (including HJGB), I would expect that the pictured aircraft still remains in full combat configuration, perhaps plus or minus guns.

I am glad that the factory appearance of Upupa Epops was brought up, as it looked more like an original factory Mustang than any other Mustang restoration I have ever seen before it was painted. The different panel shades and the dull look seemed to match perfectly with those period shots of factory fresh examples. The over all scheme on Upupa Epops is minimal enough that you can still see this even with the markings applied.

Last edited by JohnTerrell on Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:48 am, edited 2 times in total.

[mustanglover]

And HJGB came from Connie's stash originally.

[mtpopejoy]

[quote="kenlyco"]


Oh my gosh I think I'm in LOVE

Whatever happened to this one? Nothing in the registry. Im assuming it got turned into a 6 pack of Schlitz!?

[John Beyl]

For my own knowledge - did NAA fill, sand, and paint Mustang wings at the factory? The Swiss photo above looks like an un-filled wing - a lot of rivets showing.

No mud. Flush rivet, with no shaving. For all practical purposes it was smooth but there were always a few rivets that didn't go quite flush. Moral of the story is: Run your bare hand across it at your own risk!

John

[Saville]

I know it's possibly heresy to say but.....

The 51 would look the sleekest and cleanest if there are no markings on it and it's painted a single dulled color. Similar to one of the above photos (N5410V)

[Ken]

The 51 would look the sleekest and cleanest if there are no markings on it and it's painted a single dulled color.

Does Paul Mantz's red "Excalibur" come close?

[Saville]

Something like that although even Excalibur III had too many markings.

Was it Mantz's? Charlie Blair's? Or both?

[ww2John]

Originally owned by Mantz, but painted as Excalibur when owned by Mr Blair (later donated to NASM, now hung in NASM Udvar-Hazy).

[Django]

This thread certainly got off on a tangent!

[JohnH]

Since the topic of paint has been raised, I rather like the looks of how they were in their 'working days', as seen in Jack Cook's pictures. They weren't all bright and shiny with 'do not touch' signs on them. Oil-streaks, exhaust-streaks, gun powder burns, mud, boot-prints - that's what they really looked like.

Kind of like a Tallichet airplane.