Cavalier Aircraft Corporation was a Sarasota, Florida, aircraft manufacturing, sales, and maintenance company whose most famous products were refurbished P-51D Mustangs known as "Cavalier Mustangs."
The company was originally formed in 1957 by Florida newspaperman David Lindsay (1922–2009) and named Trans Florida Aviation. Trans Florida specialized in modifying surplus North American P-51 Mustangs into plush business aircraft called Executive Mustangs. Later, the aircraft were renamed Cavalier Mustangs and were produced in several different versions: Cavalier 750, 1500, and 2000 (the numbers indicating the approximate range of the aircraft in statute miles). Trans Florida marketed and sold these aircraft, trained the new owners to fly them, and maintained them for customers after purchase. Lindsay also accumulated an immense stockpile of P-51 spare parts and sold these to Mustang owners worldwide. Many of the spares and entire aircraft were purchased from scrap dealers intending to melt them down. Lindsay also developed and received FAA approval for several improvements to the P-51D including: avionics, autopilot, baggage door, fresh air system, rear passenger seat, additional wing bladder tanks, high pressure oxygen system, and wingtip tanks of 110 US gallons (420 L; 92 imp gal).
The original builder of the Mustang, North American Aviation, purchased two Cavaliers for famed test pilot R.A. "Bob" Hoover, one in 1962 and the other in 1971 to use to promote the NAA name at airshows.
In 1967 the company was renamed Cavalier Aircraft Corporation due to the strong product identity of the Cavalier Mustang.
In 1965 the company was contracted in by the government of the Dominican Republic, with US State Dept. approval, to inspect and perform necessary repairs to 36 aircraft in Sarasota. In 1967 the Air Force contracted with Cavalier to create military-capable Cavalier Mustangs that would be provided to friendly countries as part of the U.S. Military Assistance Program. These aircraft were called the Cavalier F-51D Mustang, and the Cavalier TF-51D Mustang. Cavaliers of these types were supplied between 1967 and 1969, via the Air Force, to Bolivia, and directly to El Salvador, with spare parts and maintenance assistance also provided to Guatemala. [1] [ failed verification ] Modifications varied, but included: vertical fin extension of 14 inches (36 cm), addition wing hard points, avionics upgrades, increased engine power, and wing tip tanks. Cavaliers were also constructed for Indonesia as part of a similar U.S. Military Assistance Program, called Peace Pony, in 1971 by Field Services, Inc.
In 1968, Cavalier owner/founder David Lindsay began developing a highly modified version of the Cavalier Mustang ll for use as a counterinsurgency aircraft called the Enforcer. Powered by a Rolls-Royce Dart and later a Lycoming YT-55-9 turboprop of 2,300 hp (1,700 kW), the aircraft had impressive performance and was equipped with Bristol ceramic armour to protect the engine, airframe, and pilot. Despite Cavalier's best efforts, they were unable to secure a government purchase of the aircraft. Due to the limited manufacturing capabilities of Cavalier Aircraft Corporation, Lindsay sold the Enforcer project to Piper in late 1970. Cavalier was closed in 1971 so the founder/owner, David Lindsay, could help continue develop the Enforcer concept with Piper Aircraft into the PA-48 Enforcer.
Many of the civilian Cavalier conversions are still flying today. Several of the military Cavaliers have been re-imported to the US. Most have been restored to appear as WW II or Korean era P-51s, but retain many of their Cavalier improvements.
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang is an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II and the Korean War, among other conflicts. The Mustang was designed in 1940 by a team headed by James H. Kindelberger of North American Aviation (NAA) in response to a requirement of the British Purchasing Commission. The commission approached NAA to build Curtiss P-40 fighters under license for the Royal Air Force (RAF). Rather than build an old design from another company, NAA proposed the design and production of a more modern fighter. The prototype NA-73X airframe was completed on 9 September 1940, 102 days after contract signing, achieving its first flight on 26 October.
The North American A-36 is the ground-attack/dive bomber version of the North American P-51 Mustang, from which it could be distinguished by the presence of rectangular, slatted dive brakes above and below the wings. A total of 500 A-36 dive bombers served in the Mediterranean and Southeast Asia theaters during World War II before being withdrawn from operational use in 1944.
The Piper PA-48 Enforcer is an American turboprop-powered light close air support aircraft built by Piper in the 1970s. It is a development of the World War II-era North American P-51 Mustang fighter. The Enforcer concept was originally created and flown as the Cavalier Mustang by David Lindsay, owner of Cavalier Aircraft, in response to the United States Air Force PAVE COIN program, but Cavalier did not have the manufacturing abilities to mass-produce the Enforcer, so the program was sold to Piper by Lindsay in 1970.
The Cavalier Mustang was a post-World War II civilian-modified version of the North American P-51 Mustang aircraft. Although originally intended as a high speed personal aircraft, the Cavalier was also exported for use as a fighter and close air support aircraft to third-world air forces.
The Guatemalan Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Armed Forces of Guatemala. The FAG is a subordinate to the Guatemalan Military and its commanding officer reports to the Defence Minister.
War emergency power (WEP) is a throttle setting that was first present on some American World War II military aircraft engines. For use in emergency situations, it produced more than 100% of the engine's normal rated power for a limited amount of time, often about five minutes. Similar systems used by non-US forces are now often referred to as WEP as well, although they may not have been at the time, as with the German Luftwaffe's Notleistung and Soviet VVS' forsazh systems.
Kermit Weeks is an American aviation enthusiast, pilot, and aircraft collector. He has competed in aerobatics, designed aircraft, and promoted aviation and vintage aircraft restoration.
The North American Mustang Mk.X, also known as the "Rolls-Royce Mustang" or Mustang X, was an experimental variant of the North American Mustang I, where the Allison engine was replaced by a Rolls Royce Merlin. The improvements in performance led to the adoption of the Merlin, in the form of the licence-built Packard V-1650 version of the Merlin, in following production of the P-51 Mustang.
The 185th Special Operations Squadron is a unit of the Oklahoma Air National Guard's 137th Special Operations Wing, located at Will Rogers World Airport, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The 185th is the only National Guard unit to be equipped with the MC-12W. The unit is known as the "Sooners". Famous unit alumni include former Vietnam prisoner of war Brig. Gen. James Robinson "Robbie" Risner and Astronaut Captain Fred Wallace Haise Jr., Apollo 13 Lunar Module Pilot.
The North American FJ-1 Fury is an early turbojet-powered carrier-capable fighter aircraft used by the United States Navy (USN). Developed by North American Aviation (NAA) starting in 1945, it became the first jet aircraft in USN service to serve at sea under operational conditions. This first version of the FJ was a straight-winged jet, briefly operational during the transition to more successful designs. An evolution of the FJ-1 would become the land-based XP-86 prototype of the United States Air Force's enormously influential F-86 Sabre, which in turn formed the basis for the Navy's carrier-based, swept-winged North American FJ-2/-3 Fury.
Over twenty variants of the North American P-51 Mustang fighter were produced from 1940, when it first flew, to after World War II, some of which were employed also in the Korean War and in several other conflicts.
The Galloping Ghost was a P-51D Mustang air racer that held various airspeed records and whose fatal crash in 2011 led to several NTSB recommendations to make air shows safer.
On September 16, 2011, The Galloping Ghost, a highly modified North American P-51D Mustang racing aircraft, crashed into spectators while competing at the Reno Air Races in Reno, Nevada, killing the pilot, Jimmy Leeward, and ten people on the ground. Sixty-nine more people on the ground were injured. It was the third-deadliest airshow disaster in U.S. history, following accidents in 1972 and 1951.
The Stewart S-51D Mustang is an American aerobatic homebuilt aircraft that was designed by Jim Stewart and produced by Stewart 51 of Vero Beach, Florida, introduced in 1994. When it was available the aircraft was supplied as a kit for amateur construction.
Worry Bird is a North American P-51D-25-NA Mustang currently based at the Air Combat Museum at Abraham Lincoln Capital Airport in Springfield, Illinois. The aircraft was built in 1944 and delivered to the United States Army Air Force (USAAF) in the following year to serve in World War II. At the time, the P-51D was a major component of the USAAF fleet and Worry Bird escorted Allied bombers on long-range air raids in Germany.
This is a partial list of accidents and incidents involving the North American P-51 Mustang and its variants. Combat losses are not included except for a very few cases denoted by singular circumstances. Accidents involving Mustang replicas are not included unless they are faithful to the original design and/or built using original parts.
Miss Ashley II was a custom-built racing aircraft based on the North American P-51 Mustang.
The CAC Mustang is an Australian variant of the North American P-51 Mustang. It was built under license by Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation in the final stages of World War II, and though it was too late to see combat, it did participate in the Occupation of Japan after VJ-Day.
Developed as a fighter interceptor, the North American P-51 Mustang was widely used during the Second World War. New Zealand ordered 130 Mustangs in early 1945 but the first 30 of these were placed in storage when they arrived in the country later in the year due to the end of the war. The remainder of the order was cancelled. In 1951, the stored Mustangs were assembled for use by the New Zealand Territorial Air Force and equipped four of its fighter squadrons until withdrawn from service in 1955. A few were also operated by the Royal New Zealand Air Force until 1957. The surviving Mustangs were sold off, most of them for scrap.