A new P-51 cost roughly $51,000 in 1945 Tweet

[Todd Carrison]

Use in Civil Aviation

Mustangs have been popular aircraft in civilian aviation for over 50 years. Though a new P-51 cost roughly $51,000 in 1945, today a Mustang can easily command over $1million. Of the more than 15,000 Mustangs originally built, roughly 280 still exist today. Of these, 204 are currently listed on the FAA registry. Worldwide, fewer than 175 of the remaining Mustangs are believed to be in flyable condition.


44-10947: A Special P-51
In the civilian environment, modified Mustangs have been used extensively in air racing. One such model was Blaze of Noon, a P-51C owned by Paul Mantz and refurbished for the racing circuit. In the Bendix Air Races, Blaze of Noon took 1^st place in 1946 & 1947, 2^nd in 1948, and 3^rd in 1949. In 1947, Mantz used the aircraft to set a U.S. coast-to-coast record.



The plane was later renamed Excalibur III after Mantz sold it to Charles F. Blair Jr. With Excalibur III, Blair set a New York-to-London record in 1951. He later flew the aircraft over the magnetic north pole region from Norway to Fairbanks, Alaska. Before this feat, many doubted the feasibility of sun-based navigation in the polar area. For this contribution to aviation, Blair received the Harmon Trophy.



Stallion 51
Among the most valuable resources for Mustang rides and training is Stallion 51, a Kissimmee, Florida-based company that specializes in Mustang and T-6 Texan flight training. Stallion 51(http://www.stallion51.com/) owns three TF-51Ds, modified Mustangs that each have a second, fully-equipped ****pit. According to the company’s website, only 16 dual-controlled Mustangs are believed to exist.



Stallion 51 also holds the distinction of being the only FAA-approved source of Mustang flight training in the world. Stallion’s training program is approved by several aircraft insurance companies and offers Mustang introductory flights, aircraft checkouts, recurrent training, and unusual attitude recovery. In addition, Stallion has held a training contract with the U.S. Navy’s Test Pilot School for over 20 years. Through this contract, Stallion introduces new test pilots to flight characteristics unique to high-performance piston airplanes. With its unique niche, Stallion 51 serves as a highly respected member of the aviation community and one of the world’s very few remaining experts on Mustang aircraft.



Due to the legendary status of the P-51 and the worldwide scarcity of this aviation icon, Mustangs have become extremely popular in airshows and aviation museums. A rich source of information on surviving Mustangs is the Commemorative Air Force (CAF). The CAF (commemorativeairforce.org) is dedicated to preserving historical aircraft and maintains an extensive database on numerous types of warbirds.