http://www.fox10phoenix.com/news/arizona-news/84847183-story

Who was the pilot?

This just happened Wednesday, but he walked away, not a good week for the Mustang.
http://www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/World-War-II-Era-P-51-Mustang-Makes-Belly-Landing-at-Dallas-Executive-Airport-367529111.html

Went for a flight last summer. $2200 for a half hour. Worth every penny. Hopefully it wasn't damaged to badly.

Umm...




Sad deal..


The Dallas bird looks like it will be in the air again after repairs.

different crash

Jeff Pino - former CEO of Sikorsky.   I knew him from his Bell Helicopter days and he runs with a bunch of guys I know.  

RIP Jeff

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I know it's a different crash, it's why I said

Holy fuck!  The Tuskegee again!?

I helped restore that plane after it crashed and killed its pilot in Red Wing Minn.  That poor fucking plane.  

And for those that do not know.  This is a common problem in P-51's if they are using chrome plated retracts in the landing gear assembly.  The plating separates and makes the hydraulics fail.  

There goes another Merlin engine.  

The gearcase is part of the engine block.  I have pictures of Bob Odegaards Merlin engine after the Oshkosh crash.  I am unsure if it is economically or mechanically feasible to even fix it.

That is an easy million dollars to fix.  Nose cowling,  radiator scoop,  doors,  flaps,  Possibly motor mount,  Props,  engine,  radiators wing skins,  and many many other little parts.  Not to mention the crazy amount of labor involved in making all the new parts from blueprints and copying existing parts.  Lots of drilling,  clecos, and buck rivets.

Rip Jeff.  

News is reporting Jeff had a passenger . 2 dead

I say this every time in these threads and I'm not sure that I would turn down a flight in one of these if it were offered to me. There were many lives lost in training and operational accidents when they were new as such losses were acceptable in times of war; and the pilots who flew them were disciplined, trained, selected from the very best of the men who signed up to fly, and to my understanding, most of their operations were well above airshow altitude. Gear and other failures were not uncommon.

This is what I think of when I think of a fighter pilot getting ready to take off back in those days:

Damn, he was my CEO when I worked for Sikorsky in 2008-2010.