Restored P-51 walk through...

"doodon2whls" (doodon2whls) 03/10/2014 at 09:35 • Filed to: planelopnik, p-51, classic aviation

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From a friend's FB feed... He is a Merlin magician for a shop that restores engines for these beautiful birds... This particular P-51 was just repowered with a rebuilt Merlin at Aircorps Aviation in Bemidji, MN - this sequence of vignettes is from the last button up and departure afterwards.

It is great to see this aircraft in such fantastic shape !

You can see some of the other projects on their !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ... DROOL !

WhiskeyGolf > doodon2whls 03/10/2014 at 11:51

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Commented on for bookmarking of mine or my friend's future project! He's been dreaming of building a full sized P-51 for a while, but we're stuck on finding engine prints.

Eric the RC guy > doodon2whls 03/10/2014 at 12:30

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So do I send you or your friend the bill for a change of pants?

Thanks for sharing :)

desertdog5051 > doodon2whls 03/10/2014 at 12:43

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Fascinating video. Thanks for the post. Took me a while to watch the whole thing but worth it. Is there any type of engine Jack Roush doesn't have his fingers in?

quarterlifecrisis > doodon2whls 03/10/2014 at 13:13

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One of the more prominent P-51 restoration shops is located just outside of my hometown, I always meant to take a trip out there with a friend and get a good tour, but missed my chance before I moved. It's Midwest Aero (would link, but the ancient version of IE we use at work barely lets me type words)

doodon2whls > quarterlifecrisis 03/10/2014 at 13:56

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You should definitely visit Midwest Aero and report here. Do it.

doodon2whls > WhiskeyGolf 03/10/2014 at 13:57

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That sounds like a big undertaking...

doodon2whls > desertdog5051 03/10/2014 at 14:00

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Jack and his crew get thier fingers in all things aviation to some degree. They have their own FAA certified power plant and airframe certified techs and inspectors in house. With the small air force he has, he needs it!

doodon2whls > Eric the RC guy 03/10/2014 at 14:03

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Ha.... Seeing as how an engine rebuild is $150K to $180K, my buddy or at least his shop is probably more well funded to accept that Bill. ;-)

I'm glad you enjoyed it! I got goose bumps when the Merlin fired....

quarterlifecrisis > doodon2whls 03/10/2014 at 14:38

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The catch is, my hometown is 700 miles away now. Maybe sometime when I'm in town I can make that happen.

WhiskeyGolf > doodon2whls 03/10/2014 at 15:45

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Yes, it really is. He already has original part drawings for almost the complete plane and we're sort of working on indexing everything to make it usable. It's been pushed down the priority list at the moment, so it's more of a life goal than near-term.