First Test Flight With New Engine

After weeks of work, the new engine got hung in our P-51 Mustang, and in just a week it was ready to start up. (It started on the first try – we’ve got some great folks working on our planes.) The last week has been spent with more testing of the engine on the ground, waiting for weather, and doing some minor tweaking. Yesterday it was time for the first test flight on the new engine.

Our Executive Officer, former Wing Leader, recent inductee into the CAF Hall Of Fame, and generally great guy Steve Barber got to take the first flight. Here he’s going over some last minute details with P-51 Crew Chief Trace Eubanks (standing).

Thumbs up, ready to start. There was a decent crowd on the ramp to see “Fifi” with most of them coming over to see “Man O’ War” start up. We got them to stand back, not stand behind the plane (the prop wash will rock your world), and put in some hearing protection if you’ve got it.

That is a sweet, sweet sound. Nothing like a P-51 starting up!!

Running smooth, pull the chocks and taxi her out.

The tower’s given the clearance (we’re listening in to the tower of course) and here she comes, airborne again for the first time with her new engine.

Nice and easy for this first flight, nothing fancy.

Climb above the Camarillo Airport traffic pattern and do a couple of laps overhead. Everything’s smooth as butter, but the airport’s still right there nearby, just in case.

After about ten minutes, descend into the pattern and take one high speed run down the runway with a hard break to the right. “Negative, Ghost Rider, the pattern is full.” (Actually, the pattern was empty and it was all kosher and routine, but the quote is too good to pass up.)

Follow with an aggressive pull up to the downwind leg of the pattern, preparing for landing.

Way down at the far end of the airport on the base leg, just disappearing behind “Fifi”‘s tail, gear coming down, about to turn base for a perfect landing to end a perfect test flight.

Testing showed the engine to be working flawlessly. A few tweaks to other systems and today’s test flight was forty-five minutes, also successful. A couple more hours of test flights and double checks of the engine’s performance (draining the oil, checking the filters, making sure nothing is grinding) and she’ll be certified to get back on the tour.