XP-82 FOR SALE DO YOU HAVE A SPARE $12 MILLION IN YOUR POCKET?

The extraordinary Tom Reilly’s restoration of a XP-82 twin Mustang is a rare and magnificent achievement for a ‘one-of-a-kind aircraft.’

One of the most extraordinary people in aviation, is rarely heard of in non-warbird circles. His name is Tom Reilly. I interviewed Tom at EAA AirVenture 2019 right next to his amazing XP-82 twin Mustang. When he was based nearby Kissimmee, Tom worked on several aircraft and flew most of those that he rebuilt including a magnificent B-24. Therefore, it was no surprise that he took on the super-extraordinary project of rebuilding the XP 82 from a pile of scrap.

During 1943 with the Second World War raging on all fronts, the Allied military planners knew that to gain supremacy over the Axis they needed to hit the enemy’s industrial targets deep inside of both Europe and Japan before they could concentrate on any invasion planning. The B-17 Flying Fortresses and B-24 Liberators in Europe already had the range, but fighters like the P-38 Lightning and P-47 Thunderbolt could only escort them so far before having to turn back, leaving the bombers unprotected and this was where the XP-82 was the answer.

However, of the first two XP-82 Twin Mustangs built by North American Aviation in 1945, only one survived the scrapper’s torch. The first airplane, 4483886, accumulated less than 300 hours at Naval Air Station Patuxent River before being scrapped in 1955. XP-82 44-83887, although beat up, bent and battered, had a somewhat better career and brighter future.

XP-82 Twin Mustang

“Our airplane, 44-83887, went to NACA (the predecessor of NASA) in Cleveland, Ohio, immediately after its first flight on 15 April 1945, sometime in August or September of 1945,” Tom said. “It was a test bed for an eightmachine-gun centre pod, underwing rockets and a radar pod. It flew with NACA from mid-1945 until 15 December 1949, when it skidded off the side of an icy runway, buried itself in the mud, bending the centre section. The military said, ‘Well, we don’t need it anymore.’ It already had a second P-82 so it simply scrapped it. A soon-to-be very well-known aircraft collector from Newbury, Ohio, named Walter Soplata found out about the slightly bent XP82 before the military could scrap it and paid $300 for the airplane and hauled it to his Ohio farm.”

What do you get for 12 million Dollars? Here is the list:

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Airframe: 25 hours since restoration by Tom Reilly

Engines: Packard -1650-23 (right hand turning) 25 hrs SMOH by Vintage V-12s

Packard V-1650-25 (left hand turning) 25 hrs SMOH by Vintage V-12s

Propellers: Custom MT four-blade propellers - 25 hrs since new

Avionics: 1 X Garmin GTN 650 Navcom GPS, 1 X Garmin GMA340 Audio Panel, 1 X Garmin GTX 345 ADS-B Transponder, 1 X Garmin GI-106A Nav Indicator, Mid Continent MD-41 Annunciation Control Panel.

Exterior: Bare metal with Stars and Bars - as flown in 1944

Interior: Restored to stock original

Other: Full dual controls. Right hand seat can perform all flight functions with the exception of landing gear up, aileron trim, primary radio, start and prime switches. Right hand seat can control elevator and rudder trims, all engine controls, landing gear down, fuel controls, coolant doors, CAT and all lighting.

Awards:

2019 2019 2019 2019