Flying in a P51 Mustang

**BoldHighlander** · 5th November 10, 02:27 AM

This one is for the warbird enthusiasts out there.

Some of you might remember Val-Halla, our local P51D (converted to a 2 seater - below) that was part of my thread on a local airshow last year:

Tonight I located a video that was posted that was filmed in flight from within the cockpit as Val-Halla & another P51 (Hell-er Bust) fly out of Bellingham airport, over Bellingham (w/ the bay to the right), and over Mount Baker & the Cascades, and return home over Whatcom County.

This is pretty cool, and is probably the closest most of us will ever get to flying inside the "Cadillac of the Skies".

Enjoy!

**denmcdough** · 5th November 10, 02:39 AM

Excellent! I felt as if I was on the flight with you.

**Whidbey78** · 5th November 10, 03:12 AM

First, I'm jealous of both the pilot and the back-seater. The P-51 is one of my favorite prop aircraft.

Second, seeing that scenery made me a bit homesick. I really miss Mt. Baker in the east, the Olympics to the west, the rain and salt air.

Thanks for posting that! Very very cool.

**Jock Scot** · 5th November 10, 03:42 AM

I want a go! Sadly I doubt that I would ever fit in. We have a two seat-er Spitfire that does the air show circuit here, but I think that very few get to have a ride in it.

I had occasion to be at Inverness airport the other day and there right in front of the waiting room window(20 yards) was a single seat-er Spitfire with engine running waiting to take off, it was there for a couple of minutes and off it went .WOW! I just had to get that in! Anyway there is a connection------the Merlin engine.

**Redshank** · 5th November 10, 04:34 AM

the sound of that RR Merlin engine makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand up and fills me with emotion, Respect for The FEW

**Mipi** · 5th November 10, 04:33 AM

That was great. Thanks for sharing with us. The "birds" are in good condition.

**Mael Coluim** · 5th November 10, 04:36 AM

My Dad was mechanic for those babies while serving Uncle Sam.

**Jerry** · 5th November 10, 05:44 AM

I turned up the volume and just listened to that bid Merlin engine purring. I've never been in one or seen one up close, but on a golf trip several years ago, there was an airshow going on at an airfield across the road from the course we were playing. There were quite a few vintage aircraft going over the course, including a P-51, a B-17, a P-47 among others. I played horribly. Do you know how difficult it is to hit a golf ball while you're looking at the sky for the entire 18 holes?

**haukehaien** · 5th November 10, 07:28 AM

I would love to go up in a Mustang!

About ten years ago one of my wife's colleagues at the local newspaper got me a ride in a B-17 that was making a publicity/fund-raising tour and that experience was AMAZING! Going for a spin in one of the "little friends" would be a real add-on to that experience.

B17038 by haukehaien, on Flickr

The bombardier's view from that flight. I had a Sony digital camera that recorded on floppy disk(!) so the detail's not so good. I wish I had scans of my 35mm slides from the flight - have to do that sometime.

**BoldHighlander** · 5th November 10, 01:23 PM

Thanks gents, I'm glad you all enjoyed it!

Originally Posted by Jock Scot

I want a go! Sadly I doubt that I would ever fit in. We have a two seat-er Spitfire that does the air show circuit here, but I think that very few get to have a ride in it.

I had occasion to be at Inverness airport the other day and there right in front of the waiting room window(20 yards) was a single seat-er Spitfire with engine running waiting to take off, it was there for a couple of minutes and off it went .WOW! I just had to get that in! Anyway there is a connection------the Merlin engine.

I agree Jock, I love the sound of the Merlin Rolls Royce!

And I've always felt the lines of the Spitfire was one of the sexiest airplanes ever made!

Originally Posted by haukehaien

B17038 by haukehaien, on Flickr

What a cool photo Haukehaien! I'm envious, that has always been one of my dreams (riding in the nose of a B17)!

Originally Posted by cessna152towser

Wow, fabulous video Terry, best on full screen on youtube.
Closest I've been to this is a half hour back seat flight in a Soviet Yak-52.
I wonder if the passenger in the Mustang had his camera strapped to his helmet. I wasn't allowed a camera on the Yak-52 due to safety issues where crashes had been caused by passengers dropping objects which fouled the control cables.
How easy would it be to get to the Heritage Flight Museum in Bellingham WA from Vancouver Island?

I thought of you as I posted this Alex

Not sure how they filmed this, but I'm sure your probably correct.

As for getting here from the Island...a ferry ride, a jaunt across the Peace Arch border crossing, then a 20 minute drive south to Bellingham (& a phone call to me...of course! ) and your there! Actually I don't live far from the airport, I see the P51 & some of their other aircraft fly low over my house frequently!