Welcome back for another edition of the Aeon blog. Glad to have you. This image of a stunning restoration of a very rare Bell P-63 "Kingcobra" is one of those airplane portraits that just stick with you. It haunts you in the best kind of way. The P-63 was a development of the original Bell P-39 Airacobra and by all accounts was Nearly all but a handful of the production run of 2,300 of these WWII fighters went overseas to Russia as part of the Lend Lease program. The few that stayed in the United States were mainly test aircraft. This aircraft is a survivor.
The photo was captured at the Palm Springs Air Museum (PSAM) and let me be honest, I was shocked and in awe (seeing a P-63 for the first time) that this aircraft was outside, parked on the ramp and not sitting in a dimly light hangar with loads of clutter around it. It is airworthy and flown. Let's just say I took a lot of photos from every angle imaginable, not knowing if I would ever get a chance like this again. And, to date I have not. This specific aircraft has flown in the National Championship Air Races at Reno, NV. Most noticeable is the portrait of "Pretty Polly" on the side of the fuselage, a touch of beauty for a beautiful airplane. Enjoy!
Talley ho!
Steve