[Stephen W.]

My father was a private pilot who built and flew his own plane back in the 30's. He reluctantly acquiesced to my mother's wishes to never again take the controls of an aircraft after his two closest friends died in a crash in 1953. However, he never lost his love of flying.
We use to make regular visits to the Oshawa Airport to visit his old friends. He was also a Ham radio operator (VE3AZV) and worked the fly-in breakfasts and air shows throughout the 60's.
Oshawa had been a training field during WWII and old war birds seemed to roost there. An aerial survey company who owned a converted B-17 kept it in one of the hangers. There was always a Harvard or two and at least two different Lancaster's (not flight worthy though) rested there as well.
For a short time in the 60's a P-51 made its home there as well. It had been converted to a two seater. You could get a ride in it for $1.00 per minute, (the approximate operational cost). So, for $30 you got a thirty minute ride. Considering warm up, roll out and taxy time the pilot said it worked out to about twenty minutes actual flight time. My father so wanted to take that flight but never did. He was afraid his heart wouldn’t take it.
Now here’s the story. One sunny Sunday while we were watching planes come and go my father spotted the P-51 coming into the pattern. Oshawa didn’t have a full time tower back then and all flights had to circle the field keeping a good distance from the one in front and then land in order. Because the Mustang was a bigger, heavier aircraft than most of the little puddle jumpers he needed more room to land. To help this he’d go further out before turning for final approach. Time after time as he got near the field some little plane would pop up in front of him to land not seeing or realizing the big P-51 was coming. On the third attempt he almost hit a tiny tail dragger. Only by the grace of God and the pilot’s skill was he able to pull up and avoid disaster. My dad knew the pilot was pissed and said so to others standing nearby. The P-51 disappeared behind the trees to the north of the field. We all waited to see smoke rising into the sky. But… instead we heard the mighty sound of that Supercharged V-12 Merlin at full song. Then we could see a glint in the sky just above those trees. He came out of the north, across the field at full throttle at tree top level. Then, just as he reached the apron he pulled up in a long slow victory roll. He brought the Mustang very close to a small aircraft that was making its approach. He wasn’t letting another one sneak in. He muscled his way in front and then dropped that P-51 down like he’d turned off a light switch. I swore I heard those tires squeal when they hit the tarmac above the sound of the engine. He taxied up between the two main hangers with the canopy rolled back his head swinging from side to side. He was looking for that little tail dragger and its pilot. We understand that he found him. Hopefully they only exchanged words. It wasn’t long after that incident that the tower was manned on weekends.

This photo of the P-51 at Oshawa is from mustangsmustangs dot com's P-51 who?
http://www.mustangsmustangs.com/p-51/who/case/67

My father and I were probably there the day this photo was taken. Might even be us behind the plane.