Extraordinary Tom Reilly Restoration Is A Joy To Behold...

One of the most extraordinary people in aviation, is rarely heard of in non-warbird circles. His name is Tom Reilly.

I watched Tom, when he was based nearby in Kissimmee, work on all manner of aircraft, and flew on quite a few of those he rebuilt, including a magnificent B-24 that we flew surrounded by other warbirds, in the middle of a warbird event that had me absolutely entranced with the imagery of it all... especially when my imagination allowed tme to dream it was all the real thing (war-time) for a minute or two. 

So... it was no surprise to us that he took on the super-extraordinary project of rebuilding the XP 82 from a pile of junk.

Now, we understand this extraordinary restoration (and we're going to use the word extraordinary a lot) is for sale… And I can't think of a reason, at this point, that I'd love to have a spare $12 million, more than now.

During 1943 with a 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. The XP-82 was the answer.

But 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, 44-83886, 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.

"Our airplane, -83887, went to NACA (the predecessor of NASA) in Cleveland, Ohio, immediately after its first flight on April 15, 1945, sometime in August or September of 1945," Tom said. "It was a test bed for an eight-machine-gun center 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, and bent the center section. The military said, 'Well, we don't need it anymore.' They already had a second P-82 so they simply scrapped it. A soon-to-be very well-known aircraft collector from Newbury, Ohio, named Walter Soplata found out about the slightly bent XP-82 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 smackers? Here's the list:

Airframe:
25 Hrs Since Restoration by Tom Reilly

Engines:        

• Packard -1650-23 (Right Hand Turning)
• 25 hrs SMOH by Vintage V-12's
• Packard V-1650-25 (Left Hand Turning)
• 25 hrs SMOH by Vintage V-12's

Propellers:

• Custom MT 4 blade propellers
• 25 hrs Since New

Avionics:

• 1x Garmin GTN 650 Navcom GPS
• 1x Garmin GMA340 Audio Panel
• 1x Garmin GTX 345 ADS-B Transponder
• 1x 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 EAA AirVenture: Grand Champion Post WWII
• 2019 EAA AirVenture: Phoenix Award
• 2019 EAA AirVenture: Two Golden Wrench Awards
• 2019 EAA Sun N Fun - Grand Champion Warbird

If you happen to be one of the few for whom a spare 12 million bucks may be available for the fantasy purchase of a life time, check out our FMI, below -- and be sure to call us when you decide that you need some company... 

FMI: https://www.platinumfighters.com/xp-82