Warbirdsim's "Happy Jack's Go Buggy, Then and Now" Released

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 09:24

The latest in Wabirdsim’s P-51D “Then and Now” series has just been released. The focus this time is on a 20th Fighter Group “Loco Buster”, flown by one of the greatest fighter pilots and leaders of WWII, as well as being reborn in the form of a benchmark setting restoration. The personal aircraft of Maj. Jack M. Ilfrey, CO of the 79th Fighter Squadron, P-51D-5-NA 44-13761 “Happy Jack’s Go Buggy” is recreated as it was in the summer of 1944, shortly after the aircraft began combat operations with the 20th, as well as in the fall of 1944, battle-hardened and re-finished with “piano keys”. Today, P-51D-30-NA 44-74452 flies in the markings of Ilfrey’s aircraft, as one of the most authentically restored Mustangs in existence. Fresh off of restoration in 2008, this product recreates the aircraft as it was on display at <st1:City w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">Oshkosh</st1

lace></st1:City> that summer, where it was awarded Warbird Grand Champion. Having since accumulated more wear and a few changes over the past few years, the same aircraft is also recreated as it is at this moment. Featuring a P-51D-5-NA and a P-51D-30-NA, this product provides a “book ends” type comparison between the earliest production variant of the P-51D, and one of the last. While keeping with the “Then and Now” series of two aircraft (a recreation of the original wartime aircraft, and a recreation of a Mustang today, restored and finished in the same markings), this particular product allows you to fly either the original aircraft, or the restored aircraft, at two different time frames for each<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
Variants include:<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
- P-51D-5-NA (44-13761) July/August 1944<o

></o

>
- P-51D-5-NA (44-13761) October/November 1944<o

></o

>
- P-51D-30-NA (44-74452) <st1:City w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">Oshkosh</st1

lace></st1:City> Debut 2008<o

></o

>
- P-51D-30-NA (44-74452) At the Moment<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
Here is the product page: http://warbirdsim.com/Store.do?state...=35&category=1

General Features Include:<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
- “If it looks right, it is right”- Built from the ground up and exhaustively researched using original factory drawings, maintenance and assembly manual, pilot manuals, technical orders, and consulting and receiving advice from numerous Mustang restorers, maintainers, pilots, expert researchers, and historians.<o

></o

>
- Authentic to factory production details throughout.<o

></o

>
- Flight dynamics tuned and tested with a current P-51D owner and pilot. Two different flight models for the D-5-NA and D-30-NA variants.<o

></o

>
- Sounds recorded from in-flight and high-power ground runs on the P-51D “Jumpin Jacques”, and includes the distinctive Mustang ‘howl’.<o

></o

>
- Modern avionics, featuring a transponder, coms 1 & 2, a nav radio, and a VOR indicator gauge, are installed in the restored “HJGB”.<o

></o

>
- Wartime models feature a working N-9 reflector gun sight, while the restored models feature a working K-14 gyro gun sight (with options for either the fixed reticle or the functioning gyro-controlled reticle). The K-14 can be removed.<o

></o

>
- Fully modeled and detailed left gun bay.<o

></o

>
- Correct WWII pilot gear for the 20th FG:<o

></o

>
- A-11 leather flying helmet<o

></o

>
- B-8 goggles<o

></o

>
- A-14 oxygen mask<o

></o

>
- B-3 life jacket<o

></o

>
- S-2 parachute<o

></o

>
- Flight suit and A-2 leather jacket<o

></o

>
- Modern pilot option, with modern flight suit and HGU 55 helmet is provided on restored models (though a WWII-clad pilot is provided as default, with the same gear that the pilots that fly the aircraft today often wear whenever taking the aircraft out).<o

></o

>
- Detailed and authentic aft cockpits, removable exhaust shrouds, tail wheel locking mechanism with control stick, correct internal and external details per variant, optional 108-gallon drop tanks, and more...<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
Here are some screenshots, with more details to follow.
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 09:26

Then:<o></o>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
<o></o>
Now:<o></o>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
<o></o>
External Variations:<o></o>
<o></o>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 09:31

<o

></o

>

Instrument Panel Variations:

<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>

Right Cockpit Walls:<o></o>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
<o></o>
Left Cockpit Walls:<o></o>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>
<o></o>
Aft Cockpit Detail:<o></o>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 09:41

Other Cockpit Variations:

<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>
<o

></o

>

<o

></o

>

**VCN-1** · June 25th, 2012, 10:08

The attention to detail is simply amazing.

VCN-1

***jankees*** · June 25th, 2012, 10:35

indeed, amazing

***SpaceWeevil*** · June 25th, 2012, 11:18

Perfect lines, exquisite detail - nobody does it better.

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 11:51

Thank you VCN-1, Jan Kees, and SpaceWeevil, I really appreciate it! There is a lot that I have wanted to really highlight and point out in the past, but of course I wasn't putting myself in a good position doing so, then. Now, the lid can come off completey.

Although the thread is already rather image heavy (I'm sorry!), this is a set of images taken during beta, on a couple of high altitude flights. Although I'm sure it doesn't come through, I sort of had some of the photography of John Dibbs in the back of my mind, while taking them. : )

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 11:55

Also, I was asked about what the difference is between the early canopy and the late canopy - the difference lies in the release handles. On the early canopy, there is a little square handle, where as the later canopy has the bar-handles (one on each side).

**Thunderbolt** · June 25th, 2012, 12:19

I got it for my WBS collection

**res non verba** · June 25th, 2012, 13:47

wonderful details, love it!

:ernae:

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 13:53

Thank you Torsten! And thank you Res Non Verba!

Here is just an excerpt from the product manual - this about the restored example:

Honoring the Legend - “Happy Jack’s Go Buggy” Reborn<o></o>
<o></o><o></o>
Starting life at the Inglewood, California factory in 1945, just as the original “Happy Jack’s Go Buggy” had a year prior, P-51D-30-NA 44-74452 was one of the last P-51D’s produced, too late to see combat service. After sitting in storage for a few years, the aircraft was delivered to the Royal Canadian Air Force in 1950. The aircraft served as RCAF 9225 until 1958 and was sold surplus into the civil market. After passing through a couple of owners (and almost scrapped) the aircraft was obtained by the Guatemalan Air Force in 1962. The aircraft was imported back into the <st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region> in 1972 by Don Hull, and later purchased by Connie Edwards where it remained stored at his <st1:State w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">Texas</st1

lace></st1:State> facilities until 2000. At this time the aircraft was obtained by a company known as Millennium Classics Inc., who planned to use the aircraft as a template for remanufacturing brand new P-51D’s, while also restoring the airframe. However, the plans fell through, and fortunately so. <o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Bruce Winter, a former F/A-18 Hornet pilot in the U.S. Navy, had always had an interest in WWII aviation, and was looking to purchase a P-51 as early as 1993. Not able to afford a flyer then, he kept on the look out for a project to have restored. In 2002, visiting Nelson Ezell’s warbird restoration company in <st1

lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Breckinridge</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Texas</st1:State></st1

lace>, he spotted 44-74452 sitting outside, disassembled, on crates, and was told it could be for sale. Bruce got into contact with Mike Vadeboncoeur of Midwest Aero, who he had admired for their work, to see if they could help on acquiring and restoring the aircraft. Bruce’s only wish was to have the aircraft restored to flying condition, but after Mike inspected the aircraft, that idea quickly changed. With the exception of a few modifications here and there (mainly cosmetic in nature) the aircraft was found to be surprisingly untouched, throughout, since the time the aircraft came out of the NAA factory in 1945!<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Midwest Aero Restorations was just the company needed to provide the aircraft the restoration it deserved. The company first really came on the scene, in a very big way, with the restoration of “Cripes A’ Mighty”, that debuted at Oshkosh in 2002, easily winning the Warbird Grand Champion award and setting a whole new standard in warbird restorations – the most authentic P-51 restoration up to that point. Both Mike Vadoncoeur and David Young of Midwest Aero had originally cut their teeth on the award winning authentic restoration of Butch Schroeder’s F-6D Mustang “Lil’ Margaret” in the early 90’s. Following the restoration of “Cripes A’ Mighty”, Midwest Aero won several more awards with their restoration of “Daddy’s Girl”, completed in 2004, and “Red Dog”, completed in 2006. Both of these later Mustang restorations, although restored with authentic details and paint and primers, were not restored to complete stock condition, but rather for everyday comfort flying, with more modern instrument panels and avionics, and an extra seat in back (replacing the fuselage fuel tank, radios, and armor plate). Midwest Aero would be due for another ground-breaking stock-restoration, as “Cripes” and “Lil’ Margaret” were the years before.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Bruce had originally just wanted Midwest Aero to restore the aircraft to fly, but with Mike noticing just how original the aircraft was, and the opportunity that could be had in properly restoring it to full original condition, Bruce very quickly, and enthusiastically, agreed. Part by part, bolt by bolt, this aircraft would be restored to match the way it came off the factory in 1945, down to the smallest detail. <o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
The restoration work really started in 2006. Every part and skin that was removed was studied and photographed, and the details were recorded, so that each part would be restored to exactly match the way it was as found from the way it was from the factory. For instance, where ever there were original grease pencil inspection marks left on various parts skins, by the inspectors at the NAA factory in 1945 (for noting bad rivets that needed replacing, or to de-bur a piece of aluminum), they were photographed and traced on clear paper, and reproduced in the restoration after the parts were re-finished. Also, all of the ink inspection stamps, inspection labels, and water transfer decals and ink stamped stencils were reproduced, throughout the airframe, all in original sizes and using original fonts/type faces. Hardware that is no longer manufactured was remanufactured for the aircraft, and original authentic manufacturing processes not typically done on other P-51 restorations, was done with this restoration, including acid etching the metal in areas of spot welding (and spot welding specific assemblies), applying lacquer over the stencils (colored yellow to take on the appearance of an aircraft in service), and profiling and then painting the wings in silver dope. On various skins, the original period Alcoa and Reynolds aluminum manufacturer watermarks, where found, were recreated in exact form, and the application of orange dye, on certain nuts and bolts at the factory, signifying that they had been inspected and certified, was also recreated.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
When it came time to choose a paint scheme for the aircraft, Bruce, with an interest in 8th AF aircraft, wanted an 8th AF scheme, but also one that wasn’t shiny or flashy, and one that would have a combat-look about it, finally deciding on a 20th FG scheme (as there were also no Mustangs flying in 20th FG markings). After finding a photo of Jack Ilfrey’s aircraft, Bruce came to really like the look of the aircraft and the name “Happy Jack’s Go Buggy”, as well as the idea of bringing to light the history of the original aircraft and Maj. Ilfrey, one of the greatest fighter pilots and leaders of the war (and a fellow Texan). Although the Mustangs that had come out of Midwest Aero’s shop before had always been finished with highly polished metal skins, a great effort was made to keep the metal looking dull, with a wartime patina. A special polyurethane was developed that could be sprayed over the aircraft, which would both keep the metal protected, as well as keeping it dull and satin-like in appearance. <o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Regarding the lacquer finish over the stencils on the exterior of the aircraft, Mike Vadeboncoeur mentions:<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
“If you look at photos from WWII, all of the stencil markings on the exterior of the airplane were put on with rubber ink stamps and clear coated with lacquer from the factory. You don’t ‘see’ the lacquer at the factory because it is clear, fresh, new, but when you get out in the field, the sun gets to it and the lacquer goes a yellowy-brownish color. So to replicate an airplane that looked like it had been out in the field, we tinted urethane to make it look like aged lacquer.”<o></o>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
And regarding the bright lines on the metal, Mike adds: <o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
“If you look at factory photos, you will see where that metal was etched with acid because when you do aluminum spot welding, the metal has to be perfectly clean and one way they did that was with an acid etch cleaner. So, for instance on the front scoop (radiator), and some of the areas on the aft door back, you can see how much lighter it is. They just brushed acid on and spot welded. That’s why you have the two-toned look. People look at that and scratch their heads!”<o></o>
<o></o><o></o>
The level of authenticity in the aircraft continues:<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
- The cockpit is completely stock and finished with all of the same paints and primers used at the factory. The K-14 gun sight is completely functional and the original SCR-522 radio assembly is fitted, housing the modern radios within.<o

></o

>
- A spitfire mirror and a P-38 mirror were fitted to the canopy, to match the same field-modifications carried out on the original “HJGB”.<o

></o

>
- The canopy includes the aerial antenna guide roller, though the antenna is gone – this is an authentic detail, as the wires and the beacon receivers were almost always removed from the aircraft once they arrived in the Theatres of combat, since they were no longer of any use (similar to a ham radio, and only good for stateside use).<o

></o

>
- A fully complete and working AN/APS-13 tail warning radar set, complete with alarm bell and indicator light (found and installed only a few short weeks before its <st1:City w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">Oshkosh</st1

lace></st1:City> debut in 2008).<o

></o

>
- Actual .50-cal machine guns (de-militarized) were manufactured and real ammunition belts and all other armament details fitted. The gun solenoids are actually wired to the trigger on the stick.<o

></o

>
- An original and working ANN-6 gun camera is fitted in the aircraft, and through the help of Kodak, some color film was loaded on an original cartridge, and actually shot gun camera footage from the aircraft, including dog fighting and some low (strafing) passes over the airport.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
To cap it all off, original 108-gallon paper drop tanks were recreated and mounted to the aircraft. With only a few original examples left in existence, Mike had an original, owned by good friend Bob Baker, sent over to Jack Roush’s composite shop, where they made a mold of the original tank and were able to make new fiberglass copies. Because of the detail captured in the mold, the replica tanks have all of the same imperfections and surface details as the original. The authentic plumbing, complete with the glass break-away sections, was also reproduced. The 20th FG used the 108-gal paper tanks heavily during 1944/1945, and mastered the ability of dropping the tanks in next to targets, and coming back around and strafing the tanks, blowing up the tanks and destroying the target.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Completed in the summer of 2008, just days before the <st1:City w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">Oshkosh</st1

lace></st1:City> air show, the aircraft was an immediate head-turner, having once again set the bar higher for authentic warbird restorations. The aircraft easily won the Warbird Grand Champion Award.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
In the few years since, the aircraft remains incredibly active, being flown by Bruce Winter and David Martin, often every week, throughout <st1:State w:st="on">Texas</st1:State> and the <st1:City w:st="on">San Antonio</st1:City> area, as well as to air shows as far as <st1:City w:st="on">Chino</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">CA</st1:State>, and <st1:City w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">Pensacola</st1

lace></st1:City>, FL.

Here are a few videos of this aircraft:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6WloVfXcRo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZdv4n8asVo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXQ1AiHZNZw

And the Midwest Aero Restorations page dedicated to the work that went into it:

http://midwestaero.com/site/Photo_Gallery/Pages/Happy_Jacks_Go_Buggy.html

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 14:20

And the Original Man and Machine

Jack Ilfrey, a native of Houston, Texas, entered the USAAF in early 1941, graduating as part of the first wartime class of pilots at Luke Field, Arizona on December 12, 1941 (Class 41-I). Ilfrey was assigned to the 1st Pursuit Group, flying P-38s along the <st1:State w:st="on">California</st1:State> coast before the Group changed to the 1st Fighter Group and was ordered to <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region> as part of the first wave of fighters and bombers coming over from the <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">U.S.</st1

lace></st1:country-region> This was part of the “Bolero Mission” (made famous in recent years with the recovery and restoration of the P-38 “Glacier Girl”, which was lost on one of these flights). The first combat mission of the 1st FG was flown on September 1, 1942 - a low level fighter sweep over <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">France</st1

lace></st1:country-region>.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Transferring southward, Ilfrey and the rest of the 1st Fighter Group flew in support of “Operation Torch”, the invasion of <st1

lace w:st="on">North Africa</st1

lace>. During this time Ilfrey was credited with shooting down an Me-110, several Me-109’s, and two Fw-190’s, making him one of the first P-38 aces of the war (possibly the first). Following this tour of duty, with 208 combat hours and 72 missions under his belt, Ilfrey was sent back to the U.S. in early 1943 to serve as a flight instructor on P-38’s and P-47’s.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
In April 1944, Capt. Jack Ilfrey returned to <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region> as the Operations Officer of the 79th FS, 20th FG, equipped with P-38’s, based at King’s Cliffe, <st1

lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">Northamptonshire</st1:City>, <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1

lace>. In May of ’44, Ilfrey was credited with two more Me-109’s shot down. On June 6, D-Day, Ilfrey flew three patrols over the <st1

lace w:st="on"><st1:State w:st="on">Normandy</st1:State></st1

lace> beaches as the Allied invasion played out below. On June 12, after completing a successful bombing run on a bridge in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">France</st1

lace></st1:country-region>, Ilfrey was shot down while strafing a nearby train. Although coming down 200 miles behind enemy lines, he was able to escape through the help of French locals, disguised as a French farmer. Jack was back in <st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region> in just six days, and although it was mandatory for all pilots who escaped capture to be sent back to the <st1

lace w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1

lace>, he was able to get around the rules and right back into combat flying.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
The 20th FG converted to the “new on the scene” P-51D in July 1944, receiving a number of P-51D-5-NA models, the earliest production variant of the P-51D, which were just beginning to arrive to England in early June. It was at this time that Jack received P-51D-5-NA 44-13761 as his own. All P-51’s in England at this time, which were finished in bare metal and silver paint from the factory, had a black identification stripe applied to each wing, both horizontal and vertical tail fins, and a black painted nose – this was done at depot level before the aircraft were assigned out to individual Groups. These markings were developed as a method for the bomber crews and other fighter pilots to be able to quickly identify the aircraft as a friendly. Each 8th AF Fighter Group was also assigned either a one-color or two-tone color scheme for the Groups to apply to the noses of their aircraft in order to identify themselves apart from the other Groups. In the case of the 20th FG, their assigned two-color scheme was black and white, and so with the noses of their Mustangs already painted black, all that was added was white paint to the first half of the spinner, and a white band at the rear of the black paint on the nose. Jack named his P-51 the same as his P-38 before, “Happy Jack’s Go Buggy”, and re-applied all of the mission markings on the nose of his P-51 as there were accumulated from his service before: <o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
- 50 top hats w/ canes for escort missions<o

></o

>
- 7 umbrellas for top-cover missions<o

></o

>
- 4 brooms for fighter sweeps<o

></o

>
- 4 locomotives for those destroyed<o

></o

>
- 5 bombs for bombing missions
- 8 swastikas for the 8 air to air kills (7.5 officially confirmed)
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Jack’s Mustang, along with a few other examples in the 20th, also had camouflage applied over the upper surfaces of the aircraft, something that was common amongst other Fighter Groups at the time (with the belief that their new, shiny Mustangs would stick out too much to the enemy). The 8th AF Fighter Groups had access to RAF paints, as provided, so the green paint used was almost certainly that of RAF Dark Green (commonly used on all RAF camouflaged aircraft in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">England</st1

lace></st1:country-region> during the war). Throughout the summer of ’44, all fighter aircraft in the 8th wore partial invasion stripes, only applied to the lower surfaces of the aircraft. It was also common within the Fighter Groups in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">England</st1

lace></st1:country-region> to field-mod their Mustangs with external mirrors. The typical choice was naturally a Spitfire mirror, or two, as they could be found in numbers throughout the fighter bases in <st1:country-region w:st="on"><st1

lace w:st="on">England</st1

lace></st1:country-region>. What wasn’t so typical, of most groups, but was within the 20th FG, was the use of P-38 mirrors - liberated from the P-38’s they were previously assigned. In the case of Jack’s aircraft, he had both a P-38 mirror and a Spitfire mirror mounted to the canopy, creating quite a distinct character about the aircraft.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
With the P-51D’s, Ilfrey and the 20th FG participated in the Russian shuttle mission “Operation Frantic VI”, flying to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Russia</st1:country-region>, then to <st1:country-region w:st="on">Italy</st1:country-region>, and back to <st1

lace w:st="on"><st1:country-region w:st="on">England</st1:country-region></st1

lace>. Shortly there after, Jack was promoted to Major, but due to the celebrations that followed, Ilfrey was bumped all the way down to 2nd Lt. He did however remain in command of the Squadron, making him the only 2nd Lt. to ever command a Fighter Squadron during WWII (something that Jack was always fond of retelling). He was soon promoted back to Captain, however, by Gen. Jimmy Doolittle.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Jack continued flying combat missions, leading the 79th FG into the fall of ’44. By this time, the 20th FG updated their nose markings into a pattern that has since been referred to as “piano keys”. Keeping the first black and white bands on the nose, the new markings expanded on these with 7 more black and 6 more white bands. By this time the invasion stripes had come off completely and preparing for the colder fall and winter months, the normally perforated carburetor filter panels were replaced with solid, cold weather panels. <o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
In early December of ’44, after a total of 70 combat missions and 320 combat flying hours from this, his second tour, Jack was once again, and finally, reassigned to stateside duties until the end of the war. By December 1945, when he left the USAAF, his rank had been reestablished at Major.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Following WWII, Jack went to work as a pilot, flying a Beech 18 he purchased himself, for a Texas based construction company, and also trained pilots at Hondo, Texas in the late 40’s/early 50’s (where the restored "HJGB" has flown in and out of several times in recent years). With his eyesight fading, Ilfrey’s flying career also faded away, though he would find a new career in banking. He would go onto become the lead historian, and one-time president, of the 20th Fighter Group Association and the editor of its newsletter, Kings Cliffe Remembered. He also became active in the 8th AF Historical Society, the 1st Fighter Group Association, The American Fighter Aces Association, the Commemorative Air Force, and the P-38 National Association. Jack was known within aviation, historian/researcher, and modeling circles as a person very generous with his time and in sharing his invaluable knowledge with others. Originally written by Jack in 1946, after much persuasion, in 1979 he finally published his autobiography of his experiences during the war, titled Happy Jack’s Go Buggy, which is regarded as one of the best written accounts of the life of a USAAF pilot during WWII. The book was once again re-published in 1998, in expanded form.<o

></o

>
<o

></o

><o

></o

>
Residing in <st1

lace w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on">San Antonio</st1:City>, <st1:State w:st="on">Texas</st1:State></st1

lace> in the later years of his life, Jack Ilfrey sadly passed away on October 15, 2004 - the last remaining ace of the 20th FG.<o

></o

>

**robert41** · June 25th, 2012, 14:28

Attention to detail is impressive. I like.

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 14:34

There are many additional items not highlighted in the comparisons above. For instance, on the P-51D-5-NA and other early variants, the armor plate was mounted quite low. At this time, the canopy was able to slide all the way back, past the armor plate, before stopping at the very end of the canopy rails. Mid-way through P-51D production, the armor plate was re-mounted a few inches higher, at which point stoppers had to be installed, since the canopy could now no longer slide past the armor plate, as it stuck up so much higher. In the P-51D-5-NA vs. P-51D-30-NA comparison above, you can see how much farther the canopy can travel on the D-5-NA compared to the D-30-NA, as well as how much taller the armor plate (of the same design) sits in the higher mounting position on later variants.

**MudMarine** · June 25th, 2012, 15:11

Beautiful! Blown away! I will buy it as soon as I can and add it to my vast WBS collection!

**THibben** · June 25th, 2012, 19:15

Hi John,

Is there much of a performance difference between the Go Buggy and the Twilight Tear?

Also has there been any tweaking of the basic FS flight model with this release?

This really looks great.

Tom Hibben

**fsxar177** · June 25th, 2012, 19:38

When someone sits down to your home pc, loads FSX, and you can boldy tell them "this aircraft appears exactly like the real thing", it just makes you feel good inside! What an honor to the men and the machines that keep us free! And Thank-you John!

Joseph

**Bomber_12th** · June 25th, 2012, 20:00

Thank you Mud, thank you Tom, and thank you Joseph, I appreciate it!

Tom, regarding the flight model, it is the same as past Warbirdsim P-51D's (up to "Little Friends"), in performance and handling. The two included flight models, one for the dorsal fin-less D-5-NA and another for the dorsal finned D-30-NA, are similar to the two different flight models in "Little Friends II", reproducing a difference in yaw stability between the two. On the D-5-NA, you'll notice it requires a bit more rudder work to fly the aircraft well, than the D-30-NA with fillet.

These are some of my favorite images of the real aircraft (which happens to be my favorite of all currently airworthy D-model Mustangs).

**skyhawka4m** · June 25th, 2012, 20:37

John....you are awesome! No matter how many mustangs you put out....I will be buying them. this will be mine Friday.

***huub vink*** · June 26th, 2012, 00:11

Respect John! Its not only the amazing level of details you put in your models, but the amount of time and all efforts you have spend on reseach, to get it absolutely correct, is something for which you have my deepest respect.

Cheers,
Huub

***Dimus*** · June 26th, 2012, 00:15

What huub and others said. Your perfectionism is amazing and inspirational!

I always enjoy your writeups combined with stunning screenshots that do justice to the work you have put in these masterpieces.

**MenendezDiego** · June 26th, 2012, 00:23

Love your work

**WarBert** · June 26th, 2012, 00:24

When someone sits down to your home pc, loads FSX, and you can boldy tell them "this aircraft appears exactly like the real thing", it just makes you feel good inside! What an honor to the men and the machines that keep us free! And Thank-you John!

Joseph

Thanks Joseph. When I was researching and obtaining many of the photographs for John, I spent many hours in several P-51D cockpits and can tell you that this is the view you get out of the real aircraft. The shape of the panel and shroud, the canopy frame, the weird Laminar flow section wing when viewed from inside, looking towards the tip (if you look at the countless videos on Youtube you will see what I mean). Not all of the dials are readable without moving your head a little. The fuel gauges on the floor are tucked almost out of the way, so you have to move forward a little to see them. The view over the 'bonnet'. But most important of all is the fact that is has been built from NAA drawings tell you that it is a perfect replica of the real P-51D.

Have fun!
Albert
www.warbirdsim.com