TAILVIEW
Sixteen Hours in “Old Crow” BY JAN TEGLER Ray Fowler closed the distance on “Old Crow” above Detroit, Michigan on January 13, rendezvousing with Paul Draper, who was flying Jack Roush’s P-51B. Fowler was at the controls of another “Old Crow,” a P-51D owned by Jim Hagedorn. Both airplanes wear the wartime livery of one of America’s most celebrated aces, Colonel Clarence “Bud” Anderson.
ABOVE: Bud Anderson, America’s highest-scoring living fighter ace, at right, sits with good friend and famed NASCAR team owner Jack Roush at Bud’s 100th birthday party in Auburn, California. A great supporter of the 16.2-victory ace, Roush generously sends his P-51B in Anderson’s “Old Crow” livery to be on hand at events where Bud appears. BELOW: Paul Draper guides Jack Roush’s P-51B “Old Crow” over the Cascade Mountains on the way to Auburn, California for Anderson’s 100th birthday party as seen from Ray Fowler’s view in the cockpit of Jim Hagedorn’s P-51D “Old Crow.” (Photos by Ray Fowler)
The two were joining up to head west, all the way to Auburn, California for Anderson’s 100th birthday party on January 15. Decades ago, cross-country trips in single engine WW II fighters were commonplace, but flying 5,000 miles in a P-51 nowadays is rare. Famed NASCAR team owner Roush bought and restored the Hagedorn Mustang in 1992 as “Old Crow” and flew it extensively until 2006, when Hagedorn purchased it. Roush bought his B model as a wreck in 2002 and had it flying again by 2008. Both Roush and Hagedorn have been very generous in sending their aircraft to be on hand at airshows and events where Anderson has appeared. The trip west was made in four legs over two days. Fowler and Draper, director of maintenance for Roush Aviation Services, flew for an hour from Detroit to Terre Haute, Indiana looked over the airplanes, topped off with gas, then flew 2.5 hours to Wichita, Kansas. From there they headed southwest to Albuquerque, New Mexico where they hangared the “Crows” overnight. Continued on page 65
