| Summary
This is a story about how Maury and his friend John had the opportunity to take a ride in a P-51C fighter plane; the type that was used in World War 2 to escort bombers on missions over Germany.
Maury and John had a flight experience in this fighter plane |
| Since this story took place, the P-51C Mustang named "Betty Jane" has been given a well deserved rest and is being refurbished. The TF-51D Mustang named "Toulouse Nuts" is now traveling with the "Wings of Freedom Tour." It is a newer version of the Mustang featuring a bubble canopy. |
It was in May of 2010 that Lynn and I treated our friends John and his wife Barbara to a trip to view a group of World War 2 (WW2) airplanes for John’s birthday. The planes are part of a traveling collection of aircraft that take people up for a flying experience. The group we saw consisted of three bombers and one fighter. These are the planes we saw: a B-24, a B-25 and a B-17. The fighter was a P-51C Mustang.
John and I had flown on a B-17 (EAA’s Aluminum Overcast) earlier in the year, so we were interested in how this other B-17 compared to the one we flew around the San Francisco Bay Area. While waiting to go aboard the B-17, John and I looked at the P-51C and talked about what it would be like to fly in that sleek little fighter. However, our interest was dampened by what, seemed at the time, the high cost of a flight.
We toured the B-17 and the B-24; however, I was wishing that the cost of a flight on the P-51C wasn’t so expensive. After leaving the airfield, John and I talked about the similarities and differences between the B-17 we flew on and the one we toured this day. The thought of flying in the
P-51C became a “maybe someday” thing. Even though we felt that the cost of P-51c flight was high, this visit set us up for a mind-set that eventually would result in one of the most fun adventures we had experienced before. In our minds, the cost of the flight was worth every penny.
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