Ex P-51 owner Russ Francis.......

[Decamara]

Here's one for you guys.



http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/clt/4332737438.html

[Mark Allen M]

I was at that show in Santa Maria and remember it quite well. Nice artifact.

[davidwomacks]

I gotta say I think he's the only NFL player I know of to have ever owned/flown a P-51.

[Jack Cook]

I gotta say I think he's the only NFL player I know of to have ever owned/flown a P-51.

Wayne Meylan All-American linebacker from Nebreska who played for the Browss and the Vikings was killed in the crash of his P-51D N3278D on June 26, 1987.

[Stoney]

he painted it black, what a shame

[Tinker51]

he painted it black, what a shame

He painted what black?

[Stoney]

Bob Love's P-51

[mike furline]

http://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/?s ... l/44-73079

http://www.warbirdregistry.org/furyregi ... iss20.html

[Tinker51]

I don't think Russ painted it.
I remember it still being white when he had it here. I could be wrong though.

[DH82EH]

I gotta say I think he's the only NFL player I know of to have ever owned/flown a P-51.

Wayne Meylan All-American linebacker from Nebreska who played for the Browss and the Vikings was killed in the crash of his P-51D N3278D on June 26, 1987.

I was going to say the same thing Jack. Wayne came to the CWH airshow in Hamilton with Regis Urschler (sp) in Gunfighter. I spoke with him about the aircraft. Complimented him on the RAF colours.
On the way home from there.................

Andy Scott

[Mark Allen M]

RIP Russ Francis ....

LAKE PLACID, N.Y. (AP) — Former NFL tight end Russ Francis, a three-time Pro Bowl selection with the New England Patriots who won a Super Bowl with the 1984 San Francisco 49ers, was killed along with another aviation enthusiast when their small plane crashed after takeoff from an upstate New York airport, authorities said Monday.

Francis, 70, and Richard McSpadden, 63, had just departed from the Lake Placid Airport shortly after 4 p.m. Sunday in a single-engine Cessna 177 when the plane encountered trouble. The New York State Police said the aircraft crashed into an embankment at the corner of the airport.

Francis was president of Lake Placid Airways, which runs charter and scenic flights. A longtime flying enthusiast, he had been a pilot for nearly 50 years and had run a charter service in Hawaii, according to the airline’s website. McSpadden was a senior vice president of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association and was known as an aviation safety expert. The organization said his career included a stint as commander of the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds.

[phil65]

Not a good Sunday for us Boston fans..

The Patriots got crushed by the Cowboys.
We lost Ross Francis, an idol for mine as a teenager.
We also lost X Red Sox pitcher Tim Wakefield to brain cancer at the age of 57...

As a life member of the AOPA, Richard McSpadden will be missed as well..

Blue skies..
Phil

[Lynn Allen]

Truly a loss for all. Didn't he also own a Sea Fury as well?

[Randy Haskin]

I gotta say I think he's the only NFL player I know of to have ever owned/flown a P-51.

Scott Dill, who is currently a FedEx pilot and who was a Defensive End in the NFL for 9 years, used to own a T-28 and flew someone's Mustang...I don't remember which one, but he's shown me several pics of him flying it.

He said he used to fly the T-28 in between game locations just to keep logging hours for his post-NFL career at the airlines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scott_Dill

[Stoney]

Bob Love's P-51 before Francis bought it.

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