Like most things in aviation, Bald Eagle Aviation started with a love of flying, and in particular a love of the history and the flying of what we consider the finest aircraft ever created. World War II saw the exponential growth of aviation technology, driven by the needs of the world, the imaginations of the brightest engineers, and the courage of the pilots.
Since the late 1970’s, my Dad (Jim Beasley Sr.) and I have been enamored with this era of aviation, and through this passion created Bald Eagle Aviation as the enterprise through which we displayed these unique aircraft. I was fortunate to have been taught the “ropes” of the airshow industry by my Dad and others, such as Bill Dodds, Dan Dameo, and expanded that experience into more unique airshow presentations such as “The Horsemen” P-51 aerobatic team, or the USAF’s “Heritage Flight” program.
It all started in 1978 while my family was on a trip across the country in Dad’s Aerostar. For years I had been enamored with the P-51, and tried, unsuccessfully, to get Dad to buy a Mustang in the mid-1970’s. The best I could get him to do was purchase model kits of the Mustang. All of that changed, though, when (as a 10 year old) I was able to persuade Dad to take a left at Texas so we could visit the Confederate Air Force in Harlingen, Texas. When we got there, we bumped into this beauty:
As you can imagine, it was an easier argument to get Dad to buy her given the registration number. She was bought that night, and was soon ferried to Warbird Mecca, Chino, CA, to be overhauled. Bruce Goessling’s Unlmited Aircraft, Ltd. performed the overhaul, and the late Dave Zeuschel built the engine. It took about two years to complete and, in 1980-1981, Dad brought her home. In the interim, since Dad had little high performance tailwheel time, he purchased a SNJ-5 from Dennis Buhen and brought it home to learn the art of heavy, high performance tailwheel aircraft operation.
The Mustang N51JB remained bare metal for some time, and ultimately Dad chose the scheme — “Bald Eagle” — which became the name and identity of our ultimate airshow and aircraft businesses.
Here’s “Bald Eagle” as she appeared in the early 1980’s:
Over time her mission, and pilots, evolved. In 1995 we began the more organized “business” of airshow performance by creating the “Four Horsemen” P-51 flight demonstration team. The team was comprised of Dad, Ed Shipley, Dan Caldarale, Vlado Lenoch, and me. Shipley flew his Mustang “Big Beautiful Doll,” Caldarale flew Joe Scogna’s Mustang “Baby Duck,” Vlado flew “Moonbeam McSwine,” and we operated either “Bald Eagle” or our other Mustang, “Frenesi.”
More to come ….
Popularity: 16% [?]
