A verified manual set that every P-51 owner, operator, and mechanic needs
Would you say that you have a complete set of the required P-51D Mustang manuals? How about comfortably discussing your technical manuals with an FAA inspector if they walked into your shop or hangar today? Even if you’re like us at AirCorps, and have an extensive library of WWII manuals, the answer to both these questions is likely no – unless you’ve purchased our latest revision 4-manual set for the P-51D. We’ve done the work of going through dozens of manual revisions to validate every page of these documents as correct – so you don’t have to. If you own, operate, or maintain a D model Mustang, read on to understand why these manuals are unlike anything currently on your shelf, and why you need them.
A long process
In late 2018, I began the lengthy research project of determining the latest revision Flight Handbook, Maintenance Manual, Structural Repair Manual, and Parts Catalog for the P-51D. I knew that answering the question of what the latest revision was would be difficult, but I didn’t know how difficult. 150 hours later, I was finally done, and along the way had acquired a healthy respect for why no one had undertaken this project before, and how important the work actually was.
FAA compliance and technical understanding
There are many manuals available online for WWII aircraft, you can find them on eBay, at yard sales, and antique shops, and of course, browse through the thousands we have available on our AirCorps Library storefront (hundreds of which are specifically related to the P-51 Mustang). However, other than growing your personal collection of manuals for collector’s sake, there are several more very important reasons why you should be able to identify the latest revision manuals for your aircraft – specifically the P-51D in this case. Safe operation, and FAA compliance are the big reasons, but a deeper understanding of construction and maintenance practices gained by reviewing manuals from a variety of dates is beneficial on a variety of levels. In addition, having access to a verified “latest revision” manual gives operators and mechanics piece of mind when looking for a final answer to technical questions.
Finding the correct manual revision
After looking through piles of different manuals and revisions, along with almost 30 versions of a document called the "List of Applicable Publications", I was able to determine the last date when the Pilot's, Maintenance, Repair, and Parts manuals for the P-51D were released. Once I knew this information, I then had to find a the manual with that revision date listed on the cover – mainly because I needed to utilize the List of Revised pages on the back of the cover. Having this latest revision of the List of Revised pages allowed me to go through each manual page by page and verify that I had all the correctly revised pages as per the list.
Because almost all manuals from WWII are missing pages or incomplete in some way, I ended up having to hunt down nine different versions of the P-51D maintenance manual in order to get the correct revision of each page that I needed!
Having the correct revision vs. knowing where to find additional information
Having the latest revision of a manual does not mean that no other versions are necessary. I am constantly encouraging our guys in the shop to look at multiple versions of the same manual. Most of us are familiar with the fact that important information was often omitted in later revisions to save space, or because it was thought that a topic was “common knowledge”. Knowing the difference between an omission and a revision/change due to incorrect or outdated information is also a key to safe operation and maintenance practices. However, having the latest revision manual on the shelf means that you can always verify or inform any decision from a verified source.
Peace of mind - knowing that you have the "latest & greatest"
The main goal of completing this project was to have a set of manuals that could address the disclaimer in the Mustang type certificate about which revision of the high level manuals to use when answering maintenance questions about the P-51D. However, safe operation is a close second to FAA compliance. The internal goal for us at AirCorps was to address these key points, and also make these manuals available to the owners, operators, and mechanics who really do need them on the shelf.
We have had great feedback on the sets that we have sold, and know that these manuals are a necessity if you either own, operate, or maintain a P-51D Mustang. We are excited to offer these sets to the warbird community, so that everyone can benefit from this crucial information. The manual sets are currently available for sale on AirCorps Depot. If you have questions, or would like more information about the manuals or my process, please feel free to contact me: estera@aircorpsaviation.com
