Best warbird to own

"Charles Talleyrand" wrote in message
om...
I'm fantasy shopping for my new warbird or historic aircraft. My
requirements are ...

- Historic value (rare and interesting aircraft)
- Reasonably easy to fly
- No turbines and under 12,500 lbs (no type rating needed)
- Seats two
- Aerobatic
- Easy on the eyes

I don't know enough to find the right aircraft.

There are lots of P51s out there, so they are not rare enough.
Further, they are said to be even harder to fly than normal for
vintage and type. The P51 is one of the few WWII fighters that looks
good in a two seat variant.

Flying Me-109s are quite rare, but I've read they are just too tough
to land and only seat one person.

Two seat Spitfires are just ugly.

The P38 and P39 are attactive because of the nosewheel gear. I
understand that the P39 was also used as a trainer in WWII (so it
might be easy to fly).

A Folker Triplane is probably a reasonable plane to fly, but I have no
desire to bath in castor oil and it only seats one person.

My thinking suggests dive and torpedo bombers might be the solution.
They typically seat two or more, and the naval aircraft should have
reasonable low speed handling. Is this sound thinking? Would a
Dauntless or Devistator or even a Stuka fit the requirements?

What fantasy aircraft should I buy?
-Much Thank

Charles;
As we don't know each other, you will have to forgive my "frankness" with my
answer to your question. I don't mean to sound harsh in any way.
Many of these "fantasy" posts about owning warbirds are just plain BS to
tell you the truth, so I don't usually spend much time on them unless the
poster convinces me it's legitimate.
Quite frankly, to begin with, some of what you are "supposing" is not very
accurate. The Trike for example, is extremely difficult to fly, and can bite
a novice in one hell of a hurry. The rebuilds of this aircraft are not the
easiest planes to own and maintain either. Other than that, I'll just tell
you that owing a specific warbird is first a matter of experience. Then
comes the pocketbook factor, which can be considerable to say the least.
From what you're saying, and assuming you have reasonable means to support
your wishes, and don't have much experience in handling something like a
warbird, you might want to explore the possibility of obtaining a T34. It's
two place, aerobatic, flies like a Bonanza, and is fairly easy to maintain.
(Make sure all the AD's have been complied with of course). There was a
hefty one on the main spar if I recall.
Once you shoot higher than that; a T28 or a T6 for example, you're getting
into aircraft that require some experience, especially the T6, which would
require some fairly descent tailwheel training in type. If you have the
means; fine, but I don't suggest buying above your experience level unless
you have access to an extremely competent checkout program given by someone
who really knows what the hell he/she's doing; and I mean that sincerely.
Fantasy has absolutely NOTHING to do with safely operating a warbird.
Experience, currency, and proper maintenance are the ONLY factors that
apply. Everything else is pure bull**** and will kill you as it has killed
many others who didn't realize that horsepower and money don't necessarily
equate!!!!
If you're serious, best of luck to you, and if you find something I'm
familiar with, please don't hesitate to ask for advice. If you're not, just
disregard my rather "frank" post on this subject. :-)
Dudley Henriques
International Fighter Pilots Fellowship
Commercial Pilot/ CFI Retired
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