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From dog fights and ground attacks to racing around pylons in the World’s Fastest Motorsport, the de Havilland Vampire was a legend of the skies. Introducing N4861K, a Vampire T.55 with a need for speed.
Read more about the Vampire on our blog: De Havilland Vampire: From Jet Fighter to Gold Racer
Our plane, s/n 186, was constructed as a de Havilland Vampire T.55 in 1956 and taken on strength charge with the Irish Air Corps on July 20, 1956. After serving at Casement Air Base for nearly 20 years, 186 was withdrawn from use and retired. Although its military service was over, a new life in the United States awaited. Now registered as N4861K, our Vampire flew in different capacities with different owners until 2015.
The de Havilland Vampire was built for speed and power, boasting a powerful de Havilland Goblin centrifugal turbojet engine that allowed it to climb and dive effortlessly, go head-to-head in dogfights, perform ground attacks, and precisions aerobatics - and race around pylons at 500 mph. Piloted by 4x Gold Air Racing Champion Pete Zaccagnino, N4861K competed in the 2015 National Championship Air Races in Reno, Nevada, finishing 1st place in the Jet Class with a speed of 502.37 mph. In 2016, it was substantially damaged during the Air Races, cutting its racing career short. In 2023, its original skin was preserved as PlaneTags.
N4861K will be celebrated for its service and speed, with Vampire PlaneTags to keep its memory alive. Blink, and you'll miss the de Havilland Vampire T.55 PlaneTags by MotoArt - grab one for your collection today.
PlaneTags are:
*Important Notice – Please Read Carefully
PlaneTags are made from actual retired aircraft fuselage, not merely stamped metal. Because PlaneTags are made from real fuselage, each PlaneTag bears the color, thickness, and wear and tear from the portion of the fuselage from which it was cut and it is therefore rare to create two identical PlaneTags. These variations and imperfections are not product flaws. They are part of the beauty of PlaneTags. As a result, you will not have an option to select the color of your PlaneTag. The images on this website are provided for reference only and should not be used as the sole basis for choosing a particular PlaneTag.
United StatesWow, I managed to recieve a blue/white roundel tag and WOW its amazing! The history behind watching this aircraft at the races is still amazing to hold in my hands!
United KingdomI went for the standard brown tag. The image on the website shows a gradient of lighter brown to a darker brown. My tag is a pure dark brown which shows the engraving well. A thick, solid tag with a great design and colour- what more could I ask for!
El SalvadorWhat a great release of a historic aircraft. Ordered a keep off brown and couldn't be happier with what I got.
United StatesWas lucky to get the full set of tags including the elusive Shell Insignia Tag at release time, and I couldn’t be happier with the variety of tags I received. I also enjoyed the great engraving, and the speedy delivery to my house. Well done once again MotoArt!!!
The color variety from this plane yielded some great tags. The plane also has some awesome history!
United StatesAbsolutely love this release! Such an amazing variety of tags and all of them outstanding! They are a little pricy but well worth it! The Tri and Quad color tags are so unique that rarely come off the other releases. Another great tag from a plane I got to see fly at the Reno Air Races! Great job Motoart!
GermanyIn one of my favourite aviation novels, Frederick Forsyth's "The Shepherd", on Christmas Eve 1957 a Vampire Pilot gets lost in the fog over the North Sea (but gets shepherded back to safety), so this tag of the classic RAF's first generation jet fighter was a must have. Its delicate etching on my 'interior' variant is just outstanding and I use it as the perfect bookmark everytime I immerse myself in aviation literature of any kind!
United StatesFirstly, love this classic jet release. And it’s a Reno racer! Secondly the color variants are incredible. I ordered a cream variant and “Keep Off” lettering variant which are fabulous tags that go nicely in the collection.
United StatesFirstly, love this classic jet release. And it’s a Reno racer! Secondly the color variants are incredible. I ordered a cream variant and “Keep Off” lettering variant which are fabulous tags that go nicely in the collection.
United StatesFirstly, love this classic jet release. And it’s a Reno racer? Secondly the color variants are incredible. I ordered a cream variant and “Keep Off” lettering variant which are fabulous tags that go nicely in the collection.
SwitzerlandMy dad worked as a young man in military service as a mechanic on the DE HAVILLAND VAMPIRE. Switzerland owned 39 vampires in double seat configuration used as trainers. I have old black and white fotos of the plane with him. Could you imagine how happy I was to find this AirTag? Will my sons do the same for me one day? The tag is a nice crafted piece of work in very good quality and I it’s on my car key in everyday use without any damage. Highly Recommended.
United StatesThe thickness of the tags, the variety of the variants, the colors, and the history combine to make this my favorite military release of 2023...just outstanding. And I especially like that there were some very limited variants for those quick enough on the draw. Full set here :) Thanks PlaneTags!
United StatesOnce it came in, I was really happy with what I got! Even since it flew in races!
