May 22, 2006 - EAA Warbirds of America got a “heads up” from member Gerry Beck of Tri-State Aviation in Wahpeton, North Dakota. He plans to fly his P-51A Mustang to EAA AirVenture 2006 and have it on display in the Warbirds area. Not impressed? You should be! Not only is Gerry’s Mustang an early “A” model, it’s homebuilt from actual North American Aviation plans.
As Gerry describes it, “It’s the ultimate homebuilt.” Also, of the hundreds of P-51 Mustangs listed on the FAA registry, only a few are the early “A” model.
Over the years Gerry trucked parts and pieces of his airplane to EAA AirVenture to provide people with an annual project progress report. During his last display, he featured the P-51A fuselage on a specially designed trailer. Once the wings were mated to the fuselage, however, the display became too big to transport and the project remained in North Dakota.
For many people, it was fun to stop by each year to check out his progress. This year will be one to remember as Gerry plans to fly his rare P-51A mustang to Oshkosh—just one more reason “you’ve got to be there!”
|
This year’s event is July 24-30 at Wittman Regional Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. With thousands of airplanes on the field, it is often a challenge to decide where to go and what to see—there is just so much—but one “must see” area on is the Warbirds of America area located north of the Control Tower. Here you’ll see hundreds of ex-military aircraft, both U.S. and foreign types.
For more information on this year’s event, visit www.airventure.org
|
