![]() Because Cox had made two and had the jig, Caskey’s came from the same jig. And with neighbor Paul Cox around, some of the modifications were beyond the norm. This meant creating a lot of his own parts, sometimes several times, to get them precisely the way he wanted them. Its shape is still evolving.Ĭaskey started with a kit from Mustang Aeronautics, but didn’t let that get in the way of customizing the project. Here you can see the access plate for the outboard fuel tank in the wing leading edge, and that tank’s fuel drain. The inboard wing fuel tank filler is located here. No aileron hookup is required because the center walking beam can always push against its outer counterpart. Still, it’s nice to unfold the wings at the house so that you can put the wing-fold hardware in the garage. Some assembly (and disassembly) required. Another old-timer at the airpark cheated and bought one already flying. During those two years, he spent half of his time in Germany. The fourth one was built in two years by a German citizen who has a house at the airpark. His first was sold to neighbor Glen Scherrer, who rebuilt it and repainted it to his taste. Paul Cox built one from plans, flew it a thousand hours, then started on another one with more fuel capacity. Meanwhile, back at Buckingham Airpark on the Florida Gulf Coast, other Mustang II projects were underway, but all of the builders started on theirs independent of the others. Finally, he retired to Florida, and while there he attended Sun ‘n Fun. In his work life, he was a sheet-metal man, making parts to keep a GM factory going in Detroit. Along came family and kids, but he never lost interest in airplanes. ![]() Master craftsman Don Caskey in his garage shop, surrounded by tools.Ĭaskey’s aviation story started with flying lessons way back in the mid-1950s, and then he soloed a Champ in ’58, right before the era of tail fins on cars. You would never guess that this was his first airplane, or that he’s a low-time pilot. And after all was said and done, Don Caskey had a beautiful Mustang II to fly around in. “Some day you’ll run out of parts,”they told him, and eight years later, he did.
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