AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011 - 42

PILOT BRIEFING Rare Twin Mustangs preparing for flight
Put EAA AirVenture 2013 on your calendar. That’s the year two North American Twin Mustangs may return to flying condition and go on display in Oshkosh. It got its name from the design, which looks like two North American P–51 Mustang fighters attached side-by-side. One is powered by Allison engines and is owned by an individual who would rather not have his project in the spotlight until it is completed. The other is powered by the famous RollsRoyce Merlin engine and was the first Twin Mustang to fly, the XP–82-NA. It is owned by Tom Reilly of Douglas, Georgia, who is performing the work with friends under a company called B–25 Group, LLC. He also operates Tom Reilly Vintage Aircraft and has restored 10 North American B–25 Mitchell bombers and several Boeing B– 17s, including Liberty Belle. Twin Mustangs emerged from the factory too late for World War II, but were flown in the Korean War and were later used for ramjet testing and icing research in the 1950s by the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), succeeded by NASA. Reilly and his crew have invested two and a half years in the restoration of the aircraft, which first flew April 15, 1945. That includes preserving graffiti found from the time of manufacture, including a message from one worker to another saying, “I’ll bring in the theater tickets tomor-

row.” He estimates another 18 to 24 months of work will be required. A third Twin Mustang once owned by the Commemorative Air Force has gone to the U.S. Air Force Museum after a legal battle. Reilly said he was fortunate to locate a Merlin engine found in the garage of a home in Mexico City. Both his aircraft and the other one in restoration will use modern MT composite propellers. The propellers use a Kevlar cover over beech and spruce wood cores. The special spruce wood required is grown only at elevations between 6,800 feet and 10,500 feet. The beech wood is compressed in a 10-ton press to increase its density. American distributor Flight Resource said the four-blade propellers will have a diameter of 11 feet and be fully featherable, yet retain the period look of the original propellers.

Test yourself with these aviation quiz questions
By AOPA Pilot staff
See answers on page 48

Say Again?

Thunderbirds and Blue Angels: 1. What was the original name for the U.S. Air Force aerial display team later known as the Thunderbirds? 2. What was the first aircraft flown by the Thunderbirds? 3. What was the first supersonic aircraft used by the Thunderbirds? 4. What two types of propeller-driven aircraft were flown by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels? 5. What was the first jet aircraft flown by the Blue Angels?
BOTTOM: U.S. NAVY

6. What was the first supersonic aircraft flown by the Blue Angels? 7. What was the only type of aircraft ever flown by both the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds?

AOPA PILOT •

42 • MARCH 2011

AOPA Pilot Magazine - March 2011

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