This is a repaint for the P-51D included in the Base and Full versions of the Reno Air Races expansion for Microsoft Flight Simulator. The repaint depicts the restored P-51D Mustang USAAF Serial No. 44-73437, registered as N376TM, owned by the Dakota Territory Air Museum based in Minot, North Dakota. It is painted in the markings of "Miss Kitty III", a P-51K that was assigned to the 75th Fighter Squadron, 23rd Fighter Group, based in the China-Burma-India Theatre of World War Two, piloted by Capt. J.D. Rosenbaum.
This repaint features an almost complete reworking of the original product textures, and includes all new cockpit, wheel well, landing gear and landing gear door textures, all custom made to match the real aircraft. All of the panel variations and "blemishes" seen in the metal have been done purposefully to recreate the same look as seen on the real aircraft. From the factory, the various aluminum panels across the airframe would be either shiny or dull based on the manufacturing process. Every time a metal sheet would be stamped in a press or rolled to form a curve, tiny imperfections would be left in the metal, thus dulling the surface. Where there was spot welding, a metal-etching acid was also brushed onto the metal to purify the surface, thus leaving bright marks around areas of the panels where spot welding occurred. "Miss Kitty III" is one of a number of modern Mustang restorations in which the goal was to present the aircraft looking as it would have from the factory and in combat in 1944/45, completely unpolished, and displaying an imperfect original factory finish. Also, as per original factory process, the wings are painted silver. This was done as a result of North American Aviation using putty to fill the panel lines, rivets and screws around the leading edge half of the wing, and sanding the surface smooth in order to maximize the efficiency of the wing. This was a process that North American used on all wartime Mustang production, so when the switch came from camouflage paint to bare metal, they painted the wings dull silver in order to match the bare metal finish of the fuselage.
Further notes about this repaint:
- Due to the way in which the model is mapped, the "Rosie th Red" artwork couldn't be added on the nose cowling/wing fairing as it has been on the restoration, but instead the artwork has been added in the exact same location as it actually was on the original wartime "Miss Kitty III".
- The black lines on the tailwheel doors look a bit funky when the landing gear is up/doors closed, but this is completely 100% accurate. The reason for this is because those black stripes were painted with the aircraft on the ground, gear down, thus they are aligned to the fuselage stripes only when the gear is down/doors open.
- Matching the restoration, the prop spinner is painted silver, rather than bare metal as it would have been originally.
This aircraft was originally manufactured by North American Aviation in Inglewood, California, as P-51D-25-NA Mustang USAAF Serial No. 44-73437, and was delivered on March 20, 1945, too late to see combat in World War Two. Placed into storage, it was later acquired by the Royal Canadian Air Force on February 8, 1951 and assigned RCAF Serial No. 9291. It served with No 403 Sqdn. (Aux) at Calgary, and later No 420 Sqdn. (Aux) at RCAF Station Crumlin, Ontario. In May 1952 it was heavily damaged in a Category A crash and struck off charge. Fast forward several decades, the remains of the aircraft, as well as a number of other Mustang wrecks, were recovered by Bob May for the intention of rebuilding them to fly. The main brunt of the restoration was undertaken in North Dakota, by Casey, Haley and Brady Odegaard, and with the wings rebuilt by Brent Meester's Odegaard Wings. During the restoration, the aircraft was acquired by the Dakota Territory Air Museum. The final work on the restoration took place at AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji, Minnesota, resulting in the Mustang taking to the air on its first post-restoration test flight on October 24, 2019. The decision was made to paint the aircraft in honor of Distinguished Flying Cross recipient Capt. J.D. Rosenbaum, depicting the P-51K he flew in combat in the China-Burma-India Theatre during World War Two, named "Miss Kitty III". During the war, the namesake had originally started with a P-40N, then P-51C, and finally the P-51K. During the Korean War, Rosenbaum would name his F-86 "Mrs. Kitty", as by then, Miss Lavinia "Kitty" Harris had become Mrs. Lavinia "Kitty" Rosenbaum.
At EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2021, "Miss Kitty III" was the subject of a great Warbirds in Review program: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_C2AC-UK4Fo
VERSION 1.4 (hopefully the last update required) - removes the mipmaps that some textures were mistakenly saved with in my previously-updated version of this repaint.
is there a way to convert this livery to the aeroplane heaven verson ?
1 years ago
i commented a month ago just wondering if its possible to transfer over to the ahp51
11 months ago
wolf8987
wolf8987
Love this aircraft! would love to see another one of Aircorps D model projects Sierra Sue II
1 years ago
Tmac198
Great work John - keep pumping them out!!
1 years ago
FERG
Sweet!!
1 years ago
LegibleSphere
John, your repaints never stop to amaze me! Superb work once again! Thanks a lot.
1 years ago
TimHH