Quote:
Originally Posted by Al Schlageter
With the large number of P-51s powered by Merlins, never mind the other Merlin powered a/c, there must be some insurance companies that will insure the a/c.
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it's not only a matter of engine per se, it's a series of things:
1) the plane has very low flying hours since new, so problems might still arise
2) the route to follow would mean a lot of risks, not only geographical/political ones, but also environmental/meteorological ones.
3) it's a tricky plane to fly which is very unforgiving when low and slow, and there aren't many good pilots for it out there.
4) You need to make sure that for every stop of the journey you have the correct fuel, oil, suitable runways, alternates and possibly spares.. it's a HUGE logistics work to make things right. And still you'd have to fly over a huge portion of ocean and territories that might not like you to fly in their airspace at certain altitudes, cos let's not forget that you'd have to take the Mossie at high altitude for it to be very efficient.
I could carry on, but I think this is enough as it is to scare any insurance company, even the ones that are specialised in this sort of things. Things can be done, but common sense must prevail when dealing with extremely rare machines.
Another (very likely) option is that the owner is gonna get tired of it and will put it on the market in a couple of years' time, and the Mossie will finally head back home (provided Kermit Weeks or some other minted collector decides he wants it!).
09-29-2012, 03:52 PM
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