By the way, what's a naval aviator's salary?
That's a pretty nice set up he's got there and restored P-51D's aren't exactly cheap.
""How much does a Naval Aviator make in the United States? The average Naval Aviator salary in the United States is $97,120 as of October 27, 2022, but the salary range typically falls between $82,373 and $124,867"
The average Naval Aviator salary in the United States is $98,858 as of May 25, 2023, but the salary range typically falls between $83,846 and $127,096.
www.salary.com
Probably got the P-51 because F4U
"How much does a Naval Aviator make in the United States? The average Naval Aviator salary in the United States is $97,120 as of October 27, 2022, but the salary range typically falls between $82,373 and $124,867"
A P-51K Mustang is about $2-4 million
Maverick must have a side gig!
What's he doing in a P-51 anyway? There are still F4U's and F6F's out there.
https://www.platinumfighters.com/fighters/
Gonna go out on a limb and say a P-51 is slightly cheaper to maintain? He's still a serving officer in the movie, yes? He's not flying the navy's hypersonic prototype at contract rates or something? Also, are there actually that many F-4U's around?
F4U / FG1 / F3A -
38 airworthy;
13 under restoration to airworthy; 29 display
80 total, 45 of which are in the US.
P-51 / CA-17/18 -
12 CA-17/18 & 157 P-51 airworthy;
21 P-51 under restoration to airworthy; 1 CA-17 / 65 P-51 display
13 CA-17/18 & 243 P-51 total, 6 / 188 of which are in the US.
Cavalier Mustang -
5 airworthy (1 Sweden, 4 US); 6 display
11 total, 5 of which are in the US and 5 in Indonesia.
So 80 Corsairs to 267 Mustangs of all varieties (single-engine only, no F-81).
3.34:1 Mustang to Corsair ratio
