I actually got to FLY a P-51 Mustang! Part 1- Startup & Takeoff

This video is of my fabulous flight in the Collings Foundation's fully dual-controlled P-51C Mustang out of Camarillo, California in May 2009. A flight in this aircraft will cost you big bucks, but it is one of only 3 dual-control Mustangs in the world that the average Joe has easy access to. You actually get to REALLY fly this airplane, and I am not kidding. I am not a pilot, but at least I know what you are SUPPOSED to do, and that is all that is required. I got to "Rule the Skies" over Southern California as Pilot in Command of this aircraft for over 40 minutes of our 1-hour flight. My gosh, simply unforgettable. FLY ON, brother, and don't ever forget it!

No room nor time to play with a full-size video camera, so I strapped the case of my tiny little Canon TX-1 camera to my left bicep. Once we were airborne, the camera was put away and I got to fly for the majority of the remainder of our one hour flight, AEROBATICS included! A warbird enthusiast's dream come true, believe me! Stu Eberhardt was the pilot. Stu is a great guy and also owns his own P-51 (Merlin's Magic), races at Reno and is also a race-pilot instructor. He also once owned an F-86 and still flies the '86 when some generous owner gives him the opportunity.

This rare, restored 1942 C-Model Mustang is just so perfect in every detail that you can hardly believe it. Truly amazing. Enjoy the video and FLY ON, Baby!

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[GUTTERbOY001]

@MrDriftking23 Speaking as someone who's gone from sim to real-world pilot, the basics do transfer over nicely. In some ways I actually found it easier to fly the real thing as opposed to a sim-the feedback you get from the controls makes it a lot more intuitive. On the other hand, despite having tons of sim landings, it took me a lot of practice to get the hang of landing the real thing. I'd say that a good sim pilot would do fine in the air, but t/o and landing would be a different matter.

[spanish111japan]

It's a P-51C, you idiot.

[omfgitsyou1]

thats not a p51 its an a36 apache

[greenbobby13]

how much does it cost

[octane130]

MrDriftking23: Yes, you would be able to fly this aircraft. What was surprising to me was just how hard you have to pull on the stick at times. The harder you crank the airplane around, the harder you have to pull. The trim changes are also very large and the rudder control is very stiff at all times. This is nothing at all unusual for a high-performance warbird though and the flight characteristics are actually very refined considering this airplane is 67 years old. Just beautiful!

[MrDriftking23]

thanks for letting me know.u been a good help and maybe one of these days you let me fly yours LOL:)

[bazwabat]

Yes I think so. Plus a lot of it is very visual and the "feel" of the plane which you don't get with flight sims (apart from the multi million dollar ones ha ha)

[MrDriftking23]

i think if you know your plane to where it feels comfortable then it should be easier right cause in flight sim different planes needs different landing speeds to land or take off correctly.everybodys first time is the scaries.i know i never flew one yet.i feel like in my heart i could actually do it without training. so do u think it comes natural to some people .

[bazwabat]

I would say yes to the flying part to a certain degree, the landings and takeoffs might need a little work as there is the question of depth perception to deal with.

[MrDriftking23]

1 question if some one has ton of tons of hours in flight sims is it possible to fly in real life