R Palimaka Posted March 10, 2021 Author Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) And finally, here are a couple more of her in flight (wrong side to show the Tiger!). And now I really should finish that Airfix Mustang!! Edited March 10, 2021 by R Palimaka Derek B, mkd1966, daHeld and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzerwomble Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 Wow ....thats a huge amount of Alclad .... Alain Gadbois, williamj and R Palimaka 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 That's a good looking plane for sure. williamj and R Palimaka 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamj Posted March 10, 2021 Share Posted March 10, 2021 (edited) That second pic is now my screen saver.Beautiful shots Richard,thanks for sharing. And yes,finish your Mustang please. Edited March 10, 2021 by williamj R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted March 12, 2021 Author Share Posted March 12, 2021 On 3/10/2021 at 6:31 PM, williamj said: That second pic is now my screen saver.Beautiful shots Richard,thanks for sharing. And yes,finish your Mustang please. You’re welcome! When I first saw that image it looked Photoshopped. I think the highly polished metal and the prop, nearly stopped by the camera sync rate, made it look odd. He’s bringing it back to Canada later in the spring and has an amazing photographer, Eric Dumigan, lined up to do proper air-to-air. The photo was taken by a passenger in another Mustang while the owner was practicing formation flying with two other Mustangs. He plans to debut her at Sun N Fun...I wish it was possible to go to Florida but it’s not essential international travel...although I’d like to argue that point. I am getting my vaccination on Saturday... Richard williamj 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mkd1966 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 On 3/10/2021 at 4:37 PM, R Palimaka said: Oh yes, that Mustang was always my favourite restoration until now! The Canadian markings just suited her, although now we know they weren't completely accurate. I was heartbroken when I heard of its loss, on its way back from having the engine inspected and overhauled! It was the first Mustang I sat in, although I never got a flight, I wasn't very involved yet with the Museum. The owner of this one wanted it as accurately marked as possible, although there are some modern compromises with the polished metal and glossier paint. Interestingly, the real RCAF "9253" (44-74582) is still flying painted as a post-war USAF aircraft "FF-582, Crusader". It would be wonderful to see the two of them side-by-side perhaps at Oshkosh or another show. We spent almost two years with stacks of official documents and photographs measuring and placing all the major markings, down to capturing all the stencils in the correct fonts. Some of them will be superfluous, such as the instructions for the rocket and bomb rack fittings, as the aircraft doesn't have them...yet. We now have full documentation and drawings for all the RCAF early stencils...they changed again after the major mid-life overhaul. It's all been good information for a couple of publishing projects I am working on. This actual airframe, 44-72059, had a colourful history; 364th FG, 8th AF with several missions from January 1945 to the end of the war, post-war to the Swedish Air Force, then sold to Nicaragua, back to the States, then served in Bolivia, only to return to the US in 1995. Since this aircraft never served with the RCAF, we were asked to chose something from 424 "City of Hamilton" Auxiliary Squadron. We wanted something from the timeframe when they wore the Tiger crest, the spiral spinner and the red search panels on the wings and tail. The deciding factor for this airframe was the number of excellent photos of BA@S that were available, including some in original colour. Also...I kinda liked the shape of the "S" in the code...it had an odd fat bottom. Anyway, here are two of the dozens of photos we used for reference: Richard Those that might be interested - the photo below is the P-51D that Richard and I are talking about after being lost in a fire after an engine failure and emergency landing on a road that was operated by Dennis Bradley at the CWH back in the 80's... daHeld, R Palimaka, williamj and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted April 19, 2021 Author Share Posted April 19, 2021 Just a quick video follow up. The Mustang had its airshow debut at Sun N Fun in Lakeland, Florida last week. It was awarded the Grand Champion Warbird by the EAA judges! 44-72059 debuts at Sun N Fun 2021 LSP_Ray, MikeMaben, Alain Gadbois and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck540z3 Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 (edited) What an interesting adventure to be involved in, with such a fantastic restoration like this- and Canadian connection eh? The polished aluminum finish is one of the best I've ever seen and although not very accurate, looks way better than the originals. Having built a war time P-51D already with lots of weathering, a future prop for me has always been a polished aluminum restored P-51D Warbird that is super clean, although I didn't have a subject yet. I think I do now! Cheers, Chuck Edited April 22, 2021 by chuck540z3 R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted April 22, 2021 Author Share Posted April 22, 2021 (edited) 16 hours ago, chuck540z3 said: What an interesting adventure to be involved in, with such a fantastic restoration like this- and Canadian connection eh? The polished aluminum finish is one of the best I've ever seen and although not very accurate, looks way better than the originals. Having built a war time P-51D already with lots of weathering, a future prop for me has always been a polished aluminum restored P-51D Warbird that is super clean, although I didn't have a subject yet. I think I do now! Cheers, Chuck Lol, yes, Canadian but not quite Canadian. I'm hoping that this Mustang and the real 9253 meet up at an airshow somewhere. Thanks Chuck, it's been the coolest and most interesting project I've been involved with, and now we're in discussions with another. We spent almost two years ensuring the markings for BA@S were correct down to the individual stencils. In the end the polished fuselage was a compromise the owner wanted, but have to admit she is gorgeous. The owner is hoping to have her back up here in Canada in the next few weeks and I'm excited to get the chance to see the finished project. I can't wait to see what you could do with a replica! You're a master with natural metal. I have no doubt the challenge of a polished fuselage, that looks right in scale, is something you'll carry off in your "kicked up a notch" style. Not sure what the owner's plans are, but it would be great if he took her out West so you could see it in person. Richard Edited April 22, 2021 by R Palimaka daHeld and Landrotten Highlander 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alain Gadbois Posted April 22, 2021 Share Posted April 22, 2021 Didn't notice this thread before now! What a great project and the result is spectacular! The polished finish and markings makes this Mustang really stand out and I'm sure it attracts a lot of attention wherever it goes. Great work Richard! Alain R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted April 24, 2021 Author Share Posted April 24, 2021 On 4/22/2021 at 11:01 AM, Alain Gadbois said: Didn't notice this thread before now! What a great project and the result is spectacular! The polished finish and markings makes this Mustang really stand out and I'm sure it attracts a lot of attention wherever it goes. Great work Richard! Alain Thank you Alain! It was amazing, and it helped me fill out some information in my RCAF Mustang research. I have a much better understanding of the markings, and equipment, on our Mustangs. The owner should be bringing it up to Canada shortly, looking forward to seeing the final result of the work. RIchard Alain Gadbois 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pascal Posted April 25, 2021 Share Posted April 25, 2021 She's a real beauty. Thank you for sharing your story and thank you for all the work you put in. R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R Palimaka Posted May 4, 2021 Author Share Posted May 4, 2021 Thank you Pascal. She is supposed to be brought home to Canada sometime this week. I’ll get to see our work up close soon. Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Patrick Posted May 8, 2021 Share Posted May 8, 2021 On 5/4/2021 at 11:43 AM, R Palimaka said: Thank you Pascal. She is supposed to be brought home to Canada sometime this week. I’ll get to see our work up close soon. Richard I’ll post some pictures tomorrow. I’ll be meeting him at Hamilton and flying formation with him to Oshawa. Anyone in the Hamilton area might see it near the museum tomorrow. Cheers, Don R Palimaka 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don Patrick Posted May 9, 2021 Share Posted May 9, 2021 Had the opportunity to meet the new bird after clearing customs in Hamilton, after leaving Florida this morning and escorting the 51 to it’s new home in Oshawa CYOO. Not everyday a RV7 and a RV8 get to escort a P51! Simon Hitchen (C-GCSH) and I met N951HB at CYHM. Simon flew his RV-7 and I flew my 8. What an opportunity! Just love the Mustang. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=i4QHzX4pQ6I Great meeting you Richard! Don LSP_Ray, Landrotten Highlander, R Palimaka and 2 others 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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