Flight Journal – August 2019

12 FlightJournal.com

THE WARBIRD SAVIORS

Itisimportanttonotethatemer­
genceofthewarbirdmovementinthe
mid­’60swasonly 20 yearsafterthe
iconicwarriorshadstoppedrollingoff
theirproductionlines.Today,however,
withsomeofthemcreepingupon
80 yearsofage,“restoration”means
somethingentirelydifferent.Notonly
hasnaturewreakedhavoconmany
oftheairframes,buttheconceptsof
safety,theappreciationofhistory,and
theunrealincreaseinvaluehaveleft
theconceptofrattle­canrestorations
byindividualownersfarbehind.We’re
nowseeingmoretotallyauthentic
restorations,accuraterightdownto
thelastrivet,budgetsbedamned.Plus,
agehasdemandedthateverynookand
crannyoftheairframebeinvestigated.
TheP­51Dfaroutnumbersallother
fightertypesbecausetheywerein
servicesomuchlongerinforeign
countries.ThelastP­ 51 inU.S.Air
Force/AirNationalGuard(ANG)service
completeditslastflightinJanuary1957.
Thelast 10 Mustangs,however,were
takenoutofserviceintheDominican
Republicin1984,withnineofthem
beingimportedtotheUnitedStates
shortlythereafter.Sotheircondition
wasbetterandpartsweremoreavailable
thanotherreciprocatingfightersof
thetime.Itdidn’ttakelong,though,
beforedifferentfightertypesbeganto
creepintotherestorationmix.P­40s,
forinstance,whilemuchcheaper
thanaMustang,wereinmuchshorter
supply.Mosthadbeenscrappedshortly
aftertheywentoutofservice.Infact,
duringthe’60sandintothe’80s,
therewereonlyafewofthemflying.
ThesamethingwentforP­51B/Cs,
Corsairs,andP­47s.That,however,has
changedradicallyandhasgivenrise
toanever­growingconstellationof
super­restorationcompaniesthatthink
nothingoftakingarusted,corroded
shadowofanairplane—anyairplane—
andbringingitbacktolifein
as­producedcondition.Atthesame
time,accordingtothoseintheres­
torationbusiness,thewarbirdmarket
itselfischanging.

JohnMusalaII,whosefather,JohnMusalaSr.,startedPacificFighters

inChino,California,beforemovingitandhistwosons,JohnIIand

Jared,toIdahoFalls,Idaho,says,“Whereitusedtobethatthere

wouldbe 10 or 15 individualsouttherewithasingleairplane,each

needingrestoring,nowwe’reseeingmoreindividualswhoown

10 or 15 airplaneseach.Thesingle­planeownersarestilloutthere,but

we’reseeingmoreofthecollectortypesaspartofourbusiness.Atthe

sametime,therestorationrequirementsovertheyearshavebecome

increasinglyspecific,oftenorientedtowardbringingwhatwereonce

unexpectedairplanesbacktolife.Fordecades,forinstance,there

wasmaybeoneP­51B/Cflying;now,therearenine.We’vedonefive

inrecentyears,eachbeginningwithwreckedairplanesorscattered

mismatchedairframecomponents.Insomecases,theywereairplanes

that,becauseoftheiradvancedstateofdeterioration, 25 yearsago,no

onewouldhaveattemptedtorestoretoflyingcondition.Thosemajor

effortsarenowbecomingmuchmorecommon.”

Musalacontinues,“There’salotofinterestinone­of­a­kind

airplanes.Infact,thefirstmajorrestorationwedidhereinIdahoFalls

Pacific Fighters | Idaho Falls, Idaho