North American P-51D Mustang "Trusty Rusty".
This 1945 Mustang flew in the U.S. Air Force until 1957. After that it came into private hands and the plane participated in the Reno Air Races under the name 'Miss Ashley'.
In 1993, the aircraft was sold to the Early Birds Foundation. After the purchase, the plane was disassembled and crated and transported to the Netherlands in 1995. There the aircraft was stored at Schiphol Airport and later at Lelystad Airport.
In 2004, restoration began and the Mustang was nicknamed "Trusty Rusty" after the aircraft of Captain Robert P. Wink, of the 364th Fighter Squadron, 357th Fighter Group. He was regularly active in Dutch airspace during his missions in 1944 and 1945.
The aircraft was put into service in 2012 and seats two people and is equipped with dual controls.
I took this photo during the 2019 Air Force Days at Volkel Air Base.
I am Jaap van den Berg and photography has become a great passion of mine since 2010. Since then I travel all over the world to take pictures of military aircrafts. But besides aircraft I also love to photograph other subjects like landscapes, architecture, flowers, animals, .. Read more…