The degree of restoration was in many cases beyond the original configuration when leaving the factory. In the case of his P51 he actually recreated the inked stamps that were used in liu of stencils during construction The thought being that the war time construction could not adjust to the time necessary to use paint and stencils to mark up spots on the airframe that needed attention, and it would be faster to just stamp the item as opposed to painting it on as might have dome during a more conventiional restoration. There was B17 that was in the initial stages of restoration up at Arlington that was believed to be the last, and only B17 that was built by Boeing in Seattle. All other existing B17's that are either flying or on display were built under contract outside of Boeing, Seattle.
I always thought is interesting in that as strong as his interest in this facet of aviation, Paul Allen never flew in any of his warbirds. He also owned an Alpha Jet, and partnered in a F5B which were kept in a state of the art 100,000 foot hangar at Boeing Field. Both of these aircraft were absolutely beautiful and flown regularly by pilots who were employed as corporate pilots.
Unfortunately in may cases he overpaid for many of his warbird finds due to some less than honest brokers working on his behalf.
Last edited by Spooky 2; 6th Aug 2022 at 00:07.