The P-40 Flies Again!

In case you haven't heard, the Tex Hill P-40 has been in the air again!

With sponsor Ray Kinney at the controls, the CAF's venerable P-40 took to the air for its first flight since the painstaking restoration and refinishing project. The report from Ray after the hour-long test flight was "no squawks" and it looks like fans of this unique bird will finally be seeing it at air shows again this season.

Congratulations to all involved!


By the way - if you're involved with an air show and would like to find out how to have this newly-restored historical artifact appear at your event, please contact one of the sponsorship group members.

The Warhawk gets its guns

A great new addition to the beloved P-40 are those nice .50 cal muzzles. Not exactly something you run down to the local parts store for, these are the custom-made creations of machinist Norbert Mages.

Nice work guys!

To this....

With a touch of authenticity in mind....

The CAF's P-40 has traditionally borne one version of the markings of Col. David Lee "Tex" Hill for most of its career as an air show favorite, and there is no doubt Tex's influence on this restoration has been a major consideration in how this historically significant aircraft has been prepared.

The new image is a composite of several aircraft flown during Hill's AVG service, and while it deservedly continues to garner the attention of tens of thousands of airshow fans who might just find their way to the history behind it, purists will probably debate the details of this new scheme.

The transformation - from this....

With almost everything put back together, the P-40 is headed to Mark Zello's Flying Colors of Texas paint shop in Gainesville.

By the way, Zello's artistry isn't limited to historically significant aircraft and you should take the time to look at his other work:

www.flyingcolorsoftexas.com

It's got teeth!

Artwork in progress....

Update

It's starting to look more familiar!