Warbird Fans Out There...

A

alex1170

Active member
If anyone here has ever wanted to go up in a bonafide WW2 warbird, take note: I happen to fly one. :)

22042003_885905051559090_1436500404801890806_o.jpg


For the last three years, I have been blessed to have access to this 1941 Vultee BT-13, a plane that was used in WW2 to train pilots. I know, TRAINER??? Don't let that lowly mission fool you. When the throttle is all the way forward and that radial engine is generating a deafening 450 ponies, it is so easy to forget what she was designed for! It is a veritable time machine for those who love WW2 aviation! :cool

Anyhoo, if flying in such a plane (and maybe getting a little stick time in the process) is on your bucket list, you don't mind meeting up at Palo Alto (where she's based), and you're amicable to sharing the operating costs ($300/hr, split two ways), shoot me a PM and I'll try to coordinate you in when I go up.

FYI - her required inspections are coming up in February, so she'll be unavailable come the second half of that month.

Cheers,

Alex
 
norcalkid

norcalkid

Well-known member
Looks fun

Went to the air museum at San Carlos airport this week when I was in the Bay. Totally worth a visit.
 
A

alex1170

Active member
norcalkid said:
Looks fun

Went to the air museum at San Carlos airport this week when I was in the Bay. Totally worth a visit.
Click to expand...

That it is. I've gone there a few times at the behest of the museum to show the plane off during their youth camps. :)

Cheers,

Alex
 
berth

berth

Well-known member
What does a P-51 burn up besides fuel to the tune of $3000/hr? (And I'm sure it's voracious on fuel...) Just curious.
 
A

alex1170

Active member
berth said:
What does a P-51 burn up besides fuel to the tune of $3000/hr? (And I'm sure it's voracious on fuel...) Just curious.
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It's pretty much everything. All planes have a rough hourly operating cost, based on how much engine overall, annual and periodic inspections, fuel and oil consumption, insurance, and parking (I might have missed a couple of things, but those are the big ones). Factor them all together, and you get how much you should pay for every hour that the plane is running. A good portion of that money goes into a fund that's maintained for when the big ticket maintenance comes up.

The engine is the single biggest expense of the lot - one quote out there puts the overhaul cost of a Merlin engine at $125,000 every 700 hours, and that's just the overhaul; by comparison, the Pratt & Whitney R985-AN-1 in our BT-13 is overhauled for less than half that ($50,000) at nearly the double the hourly figure (1200 hours). The required inspections aren't cheap either, with the yearly one likely in the high 5-figures if not more; Cessnas can be done for a grand or so.

I think the lowest hourly cost I heard for a P-51 these days was around $2200. Chances are that particular guy had the skills and the tools to do at least some of his own maintenance.


Cheers,

Alex
 
Maddevill

Maddevill

KNGKAW
I used to work on some Merlin parts when I was at Savage Magneto at the Oakland airport. Them things were just BEAUTIFUL....
 
dravnx

dravnx

Well-known member
Ahh yes, dropping mags off at Savage and then running over to Quinn's to rummage through his piles.
 
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IL8APEX

Well-known member
Mmmmm... Merlins.

I had reason to stop by Jack Roush's workshop in Livonia, MI (outside Detroit) awhile ago. This beauty was parked in the lot:

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It apparently has a Merlin in the engine bay, and was brought over to Roush for the rebuild. Not sure how many planes Jack has, but he was big into Pylon racing for awhile.

I sure would love to see/hear this boat flying across the water!

-Tom
 
Dogfeathers

Dogfeathers

Well-known member
QUOTE:
I think the lowest hourly cost I heard for a P-51 these days was around $2200. Chances are that particular guy had the skills and the tools to do at least some of his own maintenance.

Cheers,

Alex

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An elderly friend had a P51 ride on his bucket list so in May of 2017 when the Consolidated Air Force was touring with their P51, B24 and B17 and stopped off at Moffet Field for a week, he got a 1 hour ride for $2400. There is also a small airport just north of Sears Point raceway that offers P51 rides for $1600 for about 45 minutes too.
 
Mike T

Mike T

Ahahahahahaahahahahahaaha
Bump for something that sounds awesome!

Maybe one day...even though I'm a helo fan more than fixed wing :p
 
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