By Barbara A. Schmitz
Vicky Benzing wanted to fly a P-51 so bad that she took the training course to get qualified in the Mustang in hopes that someone would need her to ferry one.
When that didn’t happen, her husband gave her a die-cast model of a Mustang.
But today she has her own full-sized P-51, known as Plum Crazy. Bought from friend Clay Lacy in 2019, it is making its debut in her air show this year after a long renovation by Fighter Rebuilders.
Vicky said she flew the P-51 for only about 25 hours before taking it to Chino to have it restored. The airplane had been built in late 1944 and never saw action. It was sold with a group of Mustangs and went to Canada for about a decade before it was sold again and came back to the States. It then was transformed to a civilian airplane and used for executive transport.
Aircraft broker Al Paulson next bought the airplane, and Clay raced in it at the Reno Air Races. Al purchased 50 gallons of purple paint to add a stripe to his airplanes, and instead received 1,500 gallons.
“They painted everything purple — the toolboxes, the tugs, and the airplanes,” Vicky said, including the P-51. Lacy eventually purchased the airplane in 1967 and added a Snoopy logo to the tail, in hopes of interesting children in the airplane and in flying. He also had a life-sized Snoopy stuffed animal that would sit in the back seat. That stuffed animal is now Vicky’s, although it usually stays at home when she’s flying.
Vicky kept the purple color during the renovation and said her entry into the aerobatic box is her favorite maneuver of her show. “I come in above the crowd … at air race speed, and people can hear the roar of the engine. I pull up in a quarter clover, and people can see every angle of the airplane. I designed the entire show to show the aircraft off, especially now that it’s restored.”
The airplane’s history also makes it special. It won a lot of air races, starred in TV shows like Magnum PI, and is featured in a video game.
“This airplane has its own following,” she said. “It’s not about me. I’m only the caretaker. I’m really pleased to have it on the air show circuit and allow the next generations of kids to see it and fall in love with it.”
Vicky said she first got interested in aviation when she started skydiving in graduate school as she pursued a doctorate in chemistry. “One of my buddies came to the lab … and asked if I wanted to go skydiving. We went out, jumped, and I fell in love with being in the sky. I’d go out every chance I could get.”
Being around airplanes, Vicky said she knew that she had to learn to fly. She started her lessons in October 1982 and received her private pilot certificate in February 1983. She finished graduate school in 1985, did a postdoc, and then worked in Silicon Valley until she retired in 2012.
But she was always flying, even when she was working. “In 2004, I took a ride with Wayne Handley, and it rekindled my interest in aerobatics that I had long forgotten,” she said. So she bought an Extra and started aerobatic training in earnest in 2005. Soon she was competing and flying air shows.
She is sponsored by California Aeronautical University (CAU), a school she sees making a difference in their students’ lives much as flying did for her.
“Learning to fly gave me so much confidence and changed the trajectory of my life,” she said. “I tell kids not to let anything get in their way. You can overcome every obstacle. Money is a big obstacle for all people, but if you want it enough, you’ll figure it out. There is always a way to make it happen.”
CAU has Plum Crazy merchandise at its trailer this week, with 100 percent of the proceeds going to support its student flight team in regional and national competitions. CAU is located in Booth 69 and 70, located off James Ray Road near Hangars A and C.
For more on Vicky Benzing, see the feature story in the May 2024 issue of EAA Sport Aviation.