{"id":2042,"date":"2026-03-23T13:42:27","date_gmt":"2026-03-23T12:42:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/?p=2042"},"modified":"2026-04-24T09:52:49","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T08:52:49","slug":"mustang-tf-51d-45-11518-une-legende-restauree-en-demonstration-aux-baf-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/mustang-tf-51d-45-11518-une-legende-restauree-en-demonstration-aux-baf-days\/","title":{"rendered":"Mustang TF\u201151D 45\u201111518 : une l\u00e9gende restaur\u00e9e en d\u00e9monstration aux BAFDAYS !"},"content":{"rendered":"<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A historical symbol still flying today<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The P 51D Mustang, one of the most iconic fighters of World War II, remains a legend in aviation history. Designed as a long range escort fighter, it played a decisive role in the final stages of the war thanks to its exceptional range, high speed and advanced aerodynamic design. Capable of competing with the best enemy aircraft of its era, the Mustang has become a symbol of innovation and remains a favourite among collectors and historic aviation enthusiasts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The P 51D (45 11518) of the W Air Collection<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The North American P 51D bearing serial number 45 11518 belongs to the W Air Collection, based in La Fert\u00e9 Alais. Restored by Air Leasing Ltd, the aircraft was built in 1945 and joined the Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) in August of the same year under the serial NZ2427.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2020, it was acquired by Graham Peacock for his Fighter Aviation Engineering Ltd collection and converted to the rare TF 51 two seat configuration, allowing a passenger to fly behind the pilot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2021, the Mustang was purchased by the French W Air Collection. Its newly built fuselage, produced by Airmotive Specialties Inc in the United States, incorporates numerous original components, including the restored left wing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A livery honouring the 23rd Fighter Group<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mustang now sports the colours of an aircraft from the 23rd Fighter Group, 75th Fighter Squadron, active in the China Burma India theatre during WWII. This livery pays tribute to the Allied units engaged on this strategic yet often overlooked front.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Flight demonstrations at the BAF DAYS<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The Mustang TF 51D 45 11518 will perform aerial demonstrations on Saturday and Sunday during the BAF DAYS, giving the public a chance to admire one of the world\u2019s most iconic warbirds in flight.<br>A must see for all aviation and history enthusiasts!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-gallery has-nested-images columns-default is-cropped wp-block-gallery-1 is-layout-flex wp-block-gallery-is-layout-flex\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" data-id=\"2045\" src=\"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/622797221_1460582452094470_3002742705282726866_n-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2045\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/622797221_1460582452094470_3002742705282726866_n-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/622797221_1460582452094470_3002742705282726866_n-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/622797221_1460582452094470_3002742705282726866_n-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/622797221_1460582452094470_3002742705282726866_n-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/622797221_1460582452094470_3002742705282726866_n-18x12.jpg 18w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/622797221_1460582452094470_3002742705282726866_n-1620x1080.jpg 1620w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/622797221_1460582452094470_3002742705282726866_n.jpg 2048w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1000\" height=\"666\" data-id=\"2044\" src=\"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TF-51D-45-11518-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2044\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TF-51D-45-11518-1.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TF-51D-45-11518-1-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TF-51D-45-11518-1-768x511.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TF-51D-45-11518-1-18x12.jpg 18w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/figure>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mustang TF\u201151D 45\u201111518 : un symbole historique toujours en vol Chasseur embl\u00e9matique de la Seconde Guerre mondiale, le P\u201151D Mustang demeure l\u2019un des appareils les plus c\u00e9l\u00e8bres de l\u2019histoire a\u00e9ronautique. Con\u00e7u pour escorter les bombardiers, il a marqu\u00e9 la fin du conflit gr\u00e2ce \u00e0 son autonomie exceptionnelle, sa vitesse et son design a\u00e9rodynamique r\u00e9volutionnaire. Capable [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2043,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"saved_in_kubio":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[59,76],"tags":[72],"class_list":["post-2042","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aircrafts","category-mustang-tf-51-d-45-11518","tag-baf-days-2026"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2042","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2042"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2042\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2441,"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2042\/revisions\/2441"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2043"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2042"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2042"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.belgianairforcedays.be\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2042"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}