<p>c/n 124-44817.
US military serial 44-84961.
44-84961 was a stock P-51 which, after years of modifications including fitting a Griffon engine and contra-rotating props, became the world’s fastest piston engine aircraft. This was in August 1979, reaching a speed of 499.018mph. A month later it crashed and was all but destroyed during the Reno Air Races, badly injuring pilot Steve Hinton.
It was rebuilt using the airframe from a TNI-AU (Indonesian Air Force) P-51 and is now maintained in stock condition. Steve Hinton is now, of course, one of the world’s premier warbird pilots and still regularly flies this machine.
Seen on display in the Pond hangar at the Planes of Fame Museum,
Chino, California, USA.
</p>
28-2-2016
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/people/65001151@N03">Alan Wilson</a> from Stilton, Peterborough, Cambs, UK
CC BY-SA 2.0
<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/ajw1970/26590796132/">North American P-51D Mustang ‘413334 / G4-U’ (NL7715C)</a>