Brant and Steve Seghetti's N.A. P-51D Mustang "Sparky"

Brant and Steve Seghetti are the owners and operators of this North American P-51D Mustang "Sparky" (S/N 44-72777), which is sponsored by Jelly Belly, the world's #1 gourmet jelly bean, and is available for airshows, flybys and film. "Sparky" is also a regular unlimited racer at the Reno National Championship Air Races.

Along with the Supermarine Spitfire, the North American P-51 Mustang is undoubtedly one of the most recognizable fighter planes to emerge from World War Two. The Mustang went on to establish a reputation as one of the most effective all-round fighters of the war and certainly the best long-range escort fighter of its era.

Today, Mustangs are the most common type of warbird operating on the civil scene in the USA and may be viewed at virtually every airshow in the country.

The P-51 was designed and built by North American Aviation after the British government approached them to build P-40 Warhawks under license. North American believed they could design a better fighter, and the British government gave them 120 days to prove it. 102 days after the order was placed, the first Mustang was completed, flying for the first time on October 26, 1940. The prototype and subsequent P-51A utilized the Allison V-1710 liquid cooled engine. Lacking an effective engine supercharger, the Allison provided insufficient power for the high-altitude environment the P-51 was designed to operate in. By replacing the Allison engine with a Rolls-Royce V-1650 Merlin engine that had a two-stage supercharger, the necessary power and performance was gained. The Merlin engine, which was built in the U.S. under license by the Packard Motor Car Company, was installed in all further P-51 models from the “B” through the “H” versions.

The P-51 was the United States supreme air-superiority fighter in the European Theatre of
Operations (ETO) during WWII. It served as a fighter-interceptor, Bomber-escort and fighter-
bomber. With the powerful Merlin engine and droppable fuel tanks, the Mustang was able to penetrate deep into German territory where no previous Allied fighter had been able to go. The P-51 could escort bombers to all but the deepest targets inside Germany. With a fighter escort, fewer bombers were lost to the Luftwaffe’s fighters. Reichmarschall Hermann Goering, Supreme Commander of the Luftwaffe said “ When I saw Mustangs over Berlin. I knew the war was lost.”

The P-51 was considered by many to be the finest fighter that the U.S. produced and flew in WWII accounted for almost half the enemy aircraft destroyed in Europe by U.S. fighters. The Mustang was equipped with six .50 caliber machine guns and incorporated the advanced K-14 lead computing gun sight. The unmistakable scoop on the underside of the Mustang is the air inlet for the coolant radiator and oil cooler.

A combined total of over 15,500 Mustangs were produced. The greatest number of Mustangs were built as the “D” model, with over 8,000 built. Today less than 150 Mustangs remain flyable or restorable to flying condition.

"Sparky" was built in Los Angeles in 1944, and was flown in World War II by an ace pilot. Steve Seghetti picked "Sparky" up in 1984. There’s no mistaking Brant and "Sparky" at any air show or competition. The silver plane is covered in Jelly Belly jelly beans, and Mr. Jelly Belly’s hanging from the tail. Brant’s the one pilot handing out Jelly Belly samples before and after his performances!

Photo Gallery

Contact