Exhaust plugs keep Mustang engine free of debris

Interesting for all you modelers out there, the FHC’s P-51D Mustang has exhaust stack plugs. These simple wooden shapes were lathed by the hundreds, strung together, and went everywhere the warplane landed. In the warm, dry FHC hangar, however, they serve more as decoration than function. But in the field, Mustangs were always parked outside. The plugs kept moisture and dirt (as well as birds and bugs) out of the Merlin engine.