How much does a World War 2 fighter cost?

I see World War Two fighters at air shows, etc... They are all privately owned. I was wondering, how much does one cost? I know there are less than 10 flyable P-51 Mustangs left. But some planes are much more plentiful. How much would a functioning Messerschmitt 109 sell for? I know there are companies that make full scale replicas. How much would one of those cost? Its been a dream of mine to own one. Either a F4U-1 Corsair or a ME-109. Any info on replicas, originals, or cost would be appreicated!|||The Spanish built Me109Gs postwar using an hispano-suiza engine. They look identical to a "wartime" Me unless you look very closely (larger nose, and radiators in the wrong place). You can find those occasionally in Trade-a-plane.


You would have to restore a wartime Me otherwise-this will run into the millions of dollars for a fully flyable version.


Something else to consider is parts/maintenance. You've got find someone who's fully qualified on your engine to do annuals-AND you gotta scrounge to get parts. An acquaintance of mine has a P51N: Annuals run him about $7-8000. He had to zero-time his engine about 15 years ago: once he actually found someone qual'd to work on Merlins with parts: $55000. Fuel's actually not that expensive-he often gets airshow organizers to help out with that.


Finally, as far as Me's go, their flying characteristics are not great. A little known fact about the Luftwaffe was they lost more new fighterguys to accidents in the first 3 years of the war, than to enemy action. That poor downward vis, plus a narrow gear, combined with a relatively high approach speed... Personally I'd rather get either an Me-262, or a repro Fw190D.|||Yes, when I win Powerball/Megabucks, I'm going to get an Me-262...

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|||You'll need about a Million dollars (US) to start with, then go up from there. It's not only the purchase price of the aircraft but the maintenance costs are also astronomical! The average WWII fighter plane required 3-4 hours of maintenance for each hour flown in combat.|||There are way more than 10 P-51's flying.





They trade in the 4-15 million range based on history.





The Glacier gal P-38 must have cost nearer 20 million to get her flying.





Me-109/FW-190 are real rare and I would seek a replica just because they never come on the market. I guess we shot 99.9 percent of them down and scapped the rest?





Google it and they are out there, but very spendy





Ret. USAF SNCO|||All the Me-109's I know of are being restored in the UK. They come from salvageable wrecks found in Russia.





The most valuable WWII fighter flying today, is "Glacier Gal," the only P-38F Lightning in existance. Priceless, cost over $7m just to dig her up out of the ice in Greenland.|||There are many more than 10 flyable mustangs left. I'll bet there are more than that in southern California alone. a good one ready to go will cost about a half million or so. The biggest cost besides fuel is the short time between overhaul for the RR Merlin engines. Less than a thousand hours so most people own a spare and they ain't cheap. I keep trying to tell you guys but you won't listen. I've owned airplanes, sailboats and been married twice so take it from me. If it FLIES, FLOATS OR FORNICATES RENT IT.|||You should just search the Internet for war birds sales. You will find them in a wide range. I have seen P-51's going from $350gs (highly modified cockpit interior) up to 2 mil for rare models in original set-up. Rare planes (anything enemy) will bring a super premium if you can even find them. Replicas can cost but you have the advantage of a new airframe with a longer service life. Many WWII aircraft were only designed to have about a 300 hour life span. Corsairs are very pricey and are rarely seen on the open market. Many are finding their ways into museums or are being bought by organizations as the single ownership of these craft is becoming beyond the means of all but the wealthiest.