Aircraft pics - Page 32

**ANDY M** · #**311** 08-11-2007, 01:05 AM

The Gathering of Mustangs and Legends is only 6 weeks away.
If you want to see the Mustangs that will be flying in for the show, click this link:
http://www.gml2007.com/p51plane-name.asp
There is a picture of every P-51 that will be in attendance, just click on the name of the plane.
Hope you can make it.

**copo69** · #**312** 08-11-2007, 02:06 AM

Andy, Gonna be there as well as Jeg's Sport Nat's at National Trail that weekend too. It's my birthday too. Well two outa three ain't bad.

**SS427** · #**313** 08-15-2007, 03:23 AM

Just an update. I was just sent this video of the crash.
P-51 crash

It concerns me as many in the Warbird community have said that these two would not do a formation landing especially with disimiliar aircraft, however the video appears to me that was what they were doing. Some also think it could have been prop wash and/or a blind spot. If indeed there was a blind spot (which there would have been in Gerry's case) it surprises me he did not shoot a go around. Whatever the case, both these men are/were seasoned pilots and would never have put either in harms way intentionally. I will wait patiently until the NTSB figures out what went wrong. Regadless, it was still an accident.

Also, I stated earlier the D-model involved in the crash was "Dazzling Donna". It was in fact Dazzling Donna but painted up as "Stang" for an upcoming movie titled "Thunder Over Reno". I am not sure that the filming was completed prior to the crash as both planes are in the movie.

Regardless, it will be a great tribute, and I am sure dedicated to someone very special in the P-51 community. Gerry was instrumental as was Bob Odegard in the initial restoration of the P-51C Red Tail that I also helped restore as well as the re-restoration after engine failure/crash that took the life of a good friend Don Hinz.

427TJ · #**314** 08-16-2007, 11:50 PM

The latest explanation I have heard is that they were performing individual landings after flying a five-ship formation for a photo shoot. The lead aircraft, a Sea Fury, led the formation overhead the runway and each aircraft performed a "pitch-out" for spacing prior to landing one by one. The lead aircraft landed on "brick one," meaning the first part of the runway, forcing the second airplane, an F2G Corsair, to go-around due to insufficient spacing on the runway. (The leader was supposed to land farther down to provide spacing for the number two airplane, etc.) So the number two plane goes around and the number three, the yellow-nosed P-51D, lands. The mishap green-winged P-51A performed his final turn and apparently had lost sight of the preceding airplane, the P-51D, and had come very close to the 51D making it look like a formation landing. It seems that the mishap P-51A finally regained sight of the preceding 51D as he flared for landing. He may have tried to add power for a go-around but did not have room as he impacted the 51D's tail.