The renowned North American P-51 Mustang will take center stage this coming Saturday during a Living Aviation History Day, part of a regular series which the Commemorative Air Force’sDixie Wing hosts at Atlanta Regional Airport–Falcon Field in Peachtree City, Georgia. Wes Stowers will be flying his personal P-51D Mustang 44-74009 Ain’t Misbehavin’ in for the event, and will make the presentation which begins at 11:00 am beside the Dixie Wing’s hangar at 1200 Echo Ct. Admission is $10. Veterans and active military members will be admitted for free.
A longtime CAF Dixie Wing member, Stowers is a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and logged many hours in F-4 Phantoms during his service career. These years of front-line fighter time, coupled with his experiences in the Mustang allow Stowers to provide attendees with an unusual perspective on the type, which is sure to be both informative and entertaining.
Photo by John Willhoff
Stowers’ Mustang rolled off the production line at North American Aviation’s Inglewood, California factory during October, 1944. She remained stateside with the U.S. Army Air Forces during WWII, transferring to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1945. Declared surplus after RCAF retirement in 1957, the Mustang soon found herself in civilian hands, alongside many others from the Canadian fleet. The fighter passed through a dozen or so owners in the intervening years, before winding up with Wes Stowers in 2010. While Stower’s Mustang led a relatively peaceful service life, she now represents one of so many which fought tooth-and-nail to help defend the nation. The aircraft is currently painted in the colors of Ain’t Misbehavin’, a Mustang which Captain Jesse Frey of Indianapolis, Indiana flew as a flight leader with the 362nd Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group from Leiston, England during 1944/45. Capt. Frey never aborted a combat mission and downed two enemy aircraft, a Messerschmitt Bf 109 and a Focke-Wulf Fw 190, during his WWII service. He credited his crew chief, SSgt Pat Buzzeo of New York, New York, for Ain’t Misbehavin’s exceptional reliability….
Attendees of Wes Stowers’ Living Aviation History Days presentation this Saturday are bound to learn a great deal more about the Mustang, and Captain Frey’s experiences in Ain’t Misbehavin’, so why not come along to the Dixie Wing and hear what he has to say… and get up close and personal to this magnificent machine!
For more information about Living Aviation History Days or the CAF Dixie Wing Warbird Museum, please go to Facebook Event
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