Interesting rural Canadian P-51 story.

[bcp]

I don't know about the story, but I do know this, I will never forget the first time I saw and heard a P-51 on the runway, and then that magnificent takeoff and climb into the clouds. Wow! Not something you will soon forget. The sound is just unreal.

After looking at a few You-Tube videos, none come close to really being there and hearing one. Probably microphones and computer speakers aren't up to it.

I think the most realistic movie sound I've seem is in the movie "Empire of the Sun," in a theater with a huge sound system. Here's the scene found on YouTube.

Empire of the Sun - Cadillac of the Sky - YouTube

Bruce

 

[fried1765]

Texas Flying Legends posted a repost of a repost of a repost. They have little credibility. They properly should have asked the author痴 permission and verified the source. That doesn稚 mean the story is false, just that they cut corners. The GML2007 site did a better job.

Is someone claiming it might have been Jimmy Stewart? It is possible but extremely unlikely. Stewart graduated Princeton in 1932 and took private flying lessons. He eventually became a licensed commercial pilot and had flown across the country before enlisting in early 1941. He was a Bomber Pilot. After the war, he remained in the reserves and was promoted to Brigadier General in 1959. He stayed current on USAF bombers and flew a mission as an observer on a B52 Arc Light raid in Vietnam in 1968.

He flew single engine planes before the war, so it is conceivable he was checked out on a P51. But as a reserve officer it seems very unlikely. And he was famous enough that he would have been recognized anywhere. He was 59 years old in 1967.

Next question: Records indicate that Jimmy Stewart owned P-51 N5528N.
He bought an airplane he did not know how to fly?

 

[Garandman]

Next question: Records indicate that Jimmy Stewart owned P-51. He bought an airplane he did not know how to fly?

You just looking for an argument? No dog in the fight, just want to see the truth come out.

Go ahead and post up your research. This article details Stewart’s ownership of several P51 air racers, although he is not shown flying one.

Jimmy Stewart Archives - This Day in Aviation

This article recounts the McDonald story and says it was Stewart, but shows a picture from 1949.

Jimmy Stewart And His WWII P-51

From this site: The Northward Contrail: When the pictures flew (literally!) through the air

The plane Stewart was known to have owned crashed in 1955.

 

[Sigarms]

Next question: Records indicate that Jimmy Stewart owned P-51 N5528N.
He bought an airplane he did not know how to fly?

Doing my computer research, Mr. Stewart owned the plane (P-51), but someone else flew and raced it. The plane was actually sold more than a couple of times. I'm guessing Mr. Stewart did ok in the movie business where he could afford a hobby if he didn't want to actively participate in it himself.

Common sense will tell if someone as famous as Jimmy Stewart was flying a P-51 at an air show, even if Mr. Stewart wanted to keep a low profile it would be near impossible due to his fame at the time.

Can anyone produce a picture of Mr. Stewart flying a P-51 as a civilian he owned, or even flying ANY military air craft at a air show?

The questions aren't to take anything away from Mr. Stewart. He seemed to be a great man who served his country with distinction that seemed to go unnoticed even with his fame, but the question is if the story is true. Mr. Stewart didn't start the story...