56 AIR CLASSICS/August 2022
[mine], and jets such as the L-39 [mine],
S-211 [mine], T-33 [mine], A-4 [mine],
F-5 [mine], and F-86 Sabre [mine]. I was
offered the CAF Hispano Messerschmitt
and the P-82 Twin Mustang when they
were divesting themselves of the aircraft.
The P-82 deal folded when the USAF
reclaimed the fighter and the Hispano
Messerschmitt’s reputation for landing
convinced me to pass.
“Along the way, I have raced at Reno
for nine years in the Unlimited and
Jet categories. Then, I created my own
company to restore these classics. I guess
you could say that I just like fighters!”
Doug’s passion and love for these
historic flying machines is obvious. That
is why it makes complete sense that
his long drive on the Warbird highway
would lead to the creation of the aircraft
that graces these pages.
For nearly ten years, Doug and his
band of craftspeople have been involved
in bringing 52-5116 back to life and
this is Doug’s third Sabre! (Doug’s
immediate prior Sabre was 53-1201
that was finished in the very attractive
markings USAF Skyblazers’ aerobatic
team.) “Simply put, our goal was to
create the world’s finest flying Sabre,”
states Doug. “Basically, when
the plane was
completed
to our[my airline base]
had an opening
for a sponsor
pilot for the SBD
Dauntless. Their
P-51 spots were
only available
to SBD guys
moving up. After
my T-6 interview
flight, I got my
checkout in the
SBD and flew it
to lots of airshows
including one in
Canada. During one of those long
fights, I couldn’t help but feel the
history of these Warbirds and how
fortunate I was to be able to fly
one. I made a decision to try to fly
every fighter I could from WWII
onward. That meant on whatever
side they flew.
“In preparation for the ultimate
elevation to the unit’s P-51, I
started studying all materials on
the Mustang and trained at Stallion
51 in Kissimmee [best Warbird
training ever]. Later, I finally got
my P-51 checkout at the CAF,
becoming ‘that guy who does all
the airshows.’ Soon thereafter, I
was issued my aerobatic card. Since
then, I’ve flown for 30 minutes
or hundreds of hours in: T-6
[mine], P-51 [mine], SBD, F6F,
F8F, Spitfire, Zero, Sea Fury, CorsairThrough some very careful planning, photographer Mike Killian
obtained this shot of Doug flying the Sabre against a backdrop
of a ULA Atlas V rocket being launched on 1 March from Cape
Canaveral. The vintage missile is still one of the world’s most useful
launch vehicles and it was being used to place a NOAA GOES-T
weather satellite into orbit.
This gives a magnitude of the work involved in
the restoration — interior tubing and components
stripped from the Sabre.
New wiring being installed in the nose and forward fuselage.Darling Dottie was F-86E-6-CAN 52-2852 flown by Lt. Col. John F. Bolt (USMC) of the 39th FIS. The “CAN” in the designation indicates
the E model was built by Canadair for the USAF.