If I owned a P-51...

[rreis]

it looks kind of the same in airplanes, as it did back when i was around drag racing.
"you can become a reansonably rich man playing with airplanes, IF you started out as a VERY rich man"
i'm just glad someone still does them so the rest of us [poor boys] can see them.

I think that on average, if you're completely obsessed with something for it to become The Goal off your life, generally you will achieve it.

[ZRX61]

.....and all the folk who take shots at Mr Weeks, I know he has ruffled a few feathers in his day, but the operational cost of his collection/overhead/maint/facility!!!!!! Boggles the mind. Yes it is a very pricey affair to own and fly A warbird, let alone a squadron!

20 years ago he was quoted as saying that accordng to his accountants etc he *had* to spend $6M a year for the tax write-off.

[daveymac82c]

Again, it's really great to have the input from so many people on this topic.

James, it's not that I don't want a Walrus. It is a very interesting airplane and I think it would turn just as many heads at an airshow as a Cess... I mean P-51 would, but for a different reason. The P-51 would get the "Hey that's a Mustang" while the Walrus would get a "Neat, what the heck is that?"

My main reason for asking questions about the Mustang as opposed to something like a Spitfire, or Hurricane, or P-40, ME-109, etc. is simply because the Mustang is probably the most numerous warbird in the world. And, because of that fact I figure the support and knowledge available about purchasing, operating, maintaining, and acquiring parts, is better than any of the other "high end" warbirds.

So, the way I see it, by asking about the P-51, there would be more answers than if I asked "What's it cost to own a FW-190."

I could go into what kind of airplanes I'd have in my collection if I had unlimited funds, but that would be a seperate conversation from this thread, and I think it's been done before.

And James, as for being able to do a lot more with a Walrus than a P-51, you are correct. You'd have a hard time landing on water in a P-51, let alone trolling for trout in one.

Cheers,

David

[Vessbot]

mgeorge51, even though I didn't ask the original question, thanks a lot for the honest reply instead of "tisk tisk, leave this kind of talk for the grownups."

Last edited by Vessbot on Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:36 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[John Beyl]

Someone just told me that annuals for a similar Merlin powered warbird cost between $10-20K and engines last about 1000 hours between overhauls if treated gingerly (or as few as three laps if treated poorly!).

BD...Those must be Kalifornia prices on the annuals. I guess we're lucky to be up in the Frost Belt. An annual up here with extra's like prop AD and having the landing gear trunion blocks rebushed cost us $8K.

Engine TBO is a crap shoot. They can last anywhere from 30 seconds to about a 1000 hours and it doesn't much matter how nice you treat 'em (I believe Vlado can relate a story or two). Of course the harder you are on them the closer to the 30 second end of the spectrum you'll fall! Generally to get an engine to survive 1000 hours requires a top end about every 350 hours...and a close relationship with whatever god you choose to follow. Trust me the closer you get to that 1000 hours, the closer you'll get to that god! Rebuild prices are going to depend on what the heads and banks or complete engine needs and who does the work...and you get what you pay for (And the cranks can be reground but like everything else there are limits). Talent, experience and good engineering aren’t cheap. Heads/banks will be at least $20K ea. ...more if there is an issue. A complete engine will be in the $85K to $125K range, again depending on who does the job and what the core needs.

The numbers Mike G. shot out are all real close to what the operators I’ve worked with experience.

John

[snj-5]

Thanks everyone for the candid / informative answers (great stuff!).

Bela P. Havasreti

[menards]

Simply put. Owning a warbird is just like running a 7-figure buisness with 7-figure capital involved and/or needed. Warbirds can generate some revenue, through rides/tours/shows ect. So either you are banking on the hitting the mega-lotto, in which you will fly until you burn through the money, or you have a keen buisness sense, in which you set up a 501c3, solicit donations to offset your costs, or the best option for a better-than-average-joe, just pay for the training in a 51 and have some richie-rich PAY YOU to fly his planes. (Rod Lewis cant fly them all at the same time can he? Doesnt the guy have 2 airworthy F7Fs?)

[p51]

I never seriously looked into owning a warbird at all until someone offered me a T-6 that had a lot of internal issues but was a great candidate for a cosmetic static restoration. It really wasn't that bad of a price at the time, and I could have swung it with a little financial hardship for a short while, but once I started adding up the transportation costs, then storing it and all the paint and stuff to make it look good, I realized there was no way.
Like a buddy of mine said when looking at a WW2 tank for sale, "Heck, I couldn't even afford to paint the thing!"

[TonyM]

If I owned a P-51...




... I would sell it and buy a round engine airplane and use the rest of the money to run it.


TM.

[Russ Blow]

I couldnt afford a P 51 so I got the next best thing. An L 4. They are close right? And the good thing is total cost to operate including all fixed costs and fuel and oil is around 60 bucks an hour. The entire aircraft probably cost around what a set of tires would cost for a P 51.

[51fixer]

I couldnt afford a P 51 so I got the next best thing. An L 4. They are close right? And the good thing is total cost to operate including all fixed costs and fuel and oil is around 60 bucks an hour. The entire aircraft probably cost around what a set of tires would cost for a P 51.

Wow, your L-4 is worth 2K?
If you add rims and brakes your up to maybe $25K or so.
Probably buy 2 L-4s for the cost of a P-51 prop.

[p51]

I'll never forget what the pilot of a P-51 I rode in once told me, that he flew it for the owner, who got his type rating but was terrified of landing it and didn't want to fly it, so he had someone more familiar do the flying for him.
That never made any sense to me. I'd never own anything operable but that I would only trust with someone else at the controls, as it defeats the purpose of owning it in the first place in my mind.
Even I could afford the cost of owning and flying a Mustang, I doubt I'd keep it as I'd rather have something I'd enjoy flying and could land far easier than a Mustang. Having ridden one, I understand why not everyone is cut out to fly one...

[kalamazookid]

If I had a P-51, I'd paint it bright pink with a shark mouth and invasion stripes and tell everyone it was the real Memphis Belle.

[Cherrybomber13]

If I owned a P-51 Mustang I would go broke repainting the Gear Bay doors in a kaleidoscope of colors just to annoy people on WiX

Seriously I'd sell it and buy a Sikorsky S-39 and vanish into the Amazon...

[SaxMan]

After visiting and working on the TBM at Jack Kosko's place in PA, I decided I wanted one of my own. So, I went out and got one...in 1/48th scale, that is!