S tarving for Content

Not That Kind Of Mustang

WORDS: NATALIE HARRINGTON + ALEX WAGNER | PICTURES: ALEX WAGNER

The “Starving for Content” column typically follows Museum staff as they evaluate a vehicle during a trip to one of New England’s many foodie-worthy destinations. This time, we’re doing things a little differently, featuring Museum member Alex Wagner’s story of a once-in-a-lifetime experience with a rather different type of transportation.

Wagner has a 1988 Peugeot 505 wagon and a 2000 Mercedes-Benz SL500, but this particular trip was more about the destination than the drive. Anticipating the straight shot and the many highway miles from his home in Boston out to Westfield, MA, he felt his 2021 Honda Accord Hybrid and its modern driverassistance tech would be better suited to the task. Planes circling overhead began to break up the monotonous scenery as he approached the Westfield-Barnes Regional Airport. This was his destination: He and his friend, Ben Sivonen, were meeting for ridealongs as part of the AirPower History Tour of the Commemorative Airforce.

“Walk through the gate, and the first thing you see is a B-24, then a B-29, a T-6, and then, most importantly, the P-51.” It was the P-51 Mustang “Gunfighter” that had drawn them there. Knowing how much Wagner has always loved the plane, Sivonen had purchased the experience as a wedding gift.

Wagner describes the pre-flight briefing as “nerve-wracking,” though he says that the excitement of being briefed while standing on the wing of a P-51 made the risk feel very much worthwhile. In his own words:

“Have you ever been skydiving before?” isn’t exactly the most comforting question a pilot can ask you before a flight in a 78-year-old aircraft. The briefing continued with the procedure in the event of a catastrophic failure. “I’ll pop the canopy and call ‘Bail Out! Bail Out! Bail Out!’ What you’ll do next is roll out of the plane. Aim for the front

Right: View inside the cockpit (I spy a LAAM hat!)

Left: View from the air wing. Don’t just jump straight out, because you don’t want to hit the tail on the way out…” “… yessir.”

It was a squeeze to fit under the canopy while climbing over the pilot’s seat, but once in place beneath that bubble, Wagner forgot all about the limited headroom.

Hearing that Merlin V12 firing up was glorious. Taxiing down the runway was essentially a slalom, because on the ground in a “taildragger,” the pilot needs to weave in order to be able to see what’s ahead. Up in the air, I don’t think the view gets much better. The bubble canopy offers incredible views, and the Pioneer Valley on a sunny day is beautiful. We did some climbs, dives, and banks which showed how maneuverable the aircraft still is at these low speeds. A highlight was a climbing banking maneuver to see the “pilot’s rainbow” around the shadow of our P-51 on a fluffy white cloud. It was a view I’ll never forget.

As we were returning to the airport, the B-29 Superfortress “FIFI” was taking off. After a high banking turn, we dove down and did some S turns over and below FIFI to give their passengers a good look at Gunfighter. Watching a B-29 from a P-51 was amazingly awesome.

In deference to the fact that this is UpShift’s food column, we’ll wrap up this story with lunch. The guys chose Local Burger, a New England-based, family-owned restaurant, in part for the winding route from Westfield to Northampton. After burning off some adrenaline with a little spirited driving, they enjoyed fried pickles and burgers as they reminisced over the morning’s experience and, as an added bonus, found they were perfectly positioned for a stop at Tree House Brewing Company’s primary location in Charlton, MA, right on the route back to Boston.