SEQUIM — Hal Burch doesn’t need to spend $2,200 to fly aboard a P-51 Mustang when the Wings of Freedom tour makes its biennial stop in Port Angeles beginning today.
The 85-year-old Sequim man has been there, done that.
“They used to pay me to fly it; I’m not going to pay them to fly in it,” Burch joked.
Burch flew the P-51 Mustang C and D in World War II from February 1945 to July 1945.
He escorted heavy bombers — like the B-17 and B-24 — over France and Germany in his first two missions out of England.
“It was a fantastic airplane,” Burch said of the Mustang.
“Even the critics said it was the best airplane made during the war.”
Subsequent trips over enemy lines were ground-strafing missions.
“We went out and found where they were storing their airplanes and shot them up on the ground,” Burch said.
“The longest mission I had was eight hours, and the others, I think, averaged around six and a half to seven.”
Vintage Mustang
A vintage P-51 Class C Mustang — the only one in flying condition remaining in the world — highlights the Wings of Freedom tour stop at William R. Fairchild Memorial Airport today through Friday.
“It’s always interesting,” Burch said of the event.
“I think any pilot feels the same way being around the airplanes.”
Burch described his first time flying a P-51 as “fantastic.”
“Powerful and fast, maneuverable, everything about it in one,” Burch said.
“It didn’t have any bad habits. . . . We transferred from the P-40s into them very easily.”
Burch was part of the 339 Fighter Group in the U.S. Army Air Corps, which in 1947 became the U.S. Air Force.
Wings of Freedom will showcase three historic planes from World War II — the P-51 Mustang, a Consolidated B-24 Liberator and a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress.
“It was disheartening to watch those bomber boys,” Burch said.
“I have the most respect in the world for them. They’d go to the target, and the flack would be coming up before they even got there, and they had to fly right through it. We couldn’t do anything, so we just pulled out of the way.
“They flew right through it. I have the most respect for those guys.
‘Heroes of the war’
I think they were the heroes of the war.”
After the war, Burch left active duty when he was told he could no longer be a pilot.
Flying has been a lifelong passion for Burch, and he had no interest in doing anything else.
“I started out when I was a kid building [airplane] models, like everybody else, and reading the books,” Burch recalled.
He was recalled to the service and worked his way back into the cockpit, flying different aircraft before retiring in 1968 after 20 years of active duty.
Burch moved back to his hometown of Omaha, Neb., and worked as a parts manager for a Chrysler dealership.
He married his wife, Nella, in 1975.
“Best thing I ever did,” Burch said.
The couple bought a 27-foot travel trailer and traveled all over the country and parts of Canada, following the rodeo.
They settled in the outskirts of Sequim in 1989.
More recently, Burch built a lightweight Kitfox experimental aircraft in his garage and flew it around the county.
Though his mind is still sharp, Burch doesn’t move around well these days.
For that reason, he isn’t sure if he will attend Wings of Freedom. He may drive to the event, providing he can find a good place to park.
Although he doesn’t fly anymore, Burch will always be a pilot.
“It’s hard to explain,” Burch said. “Once you do it, it’s just a bug. You just keep going.”
He pointed to a wartime photo of a P-51 Mustang on the wall of his home office.
“When you had an airplane like that, golly, you can do anything with it,” Burch said.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
