Warbird Information Exchange

Team Kay started work as usual last Saturday. Cockpit guys did some more wire bundle cleanup behind the pilot's seat. Others worked on detailing the engine hoses and connections. Work continued on the new canopy glass. Then the rain and wind hit. With a tornado watch on and thunderstorms rumbling overhead with the threat of hail, the guys wisely left early for home. Later that evening, nine tornadoes came thru our area and damaged over 300 homes, untold numbers of cars & took several lives. We were pounded with more thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail, flooding Sunday turning off to snow that night. It went from 76 degrees down to below freezing in less than 36 hours. I got the worst turbulence ever experienced on a flight from Seattle to DFW in a 737 on Sunday evening. Welcome to Texas, where if you don't like the weather, wait a few hours!!! Fortunately, the hangar and all of our team were left safe & sound. New pictures of the work is on our FB page. You don't have to be a FB member to look at it. http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay. The Other JR

We had a visit today by what must have been the spirit of Coach John Madden. He explained how working on the restoration of an old airplane takes the same kind of teamwork as playing football. Only the Coach could have made that connection. He went on to describe how certain things we do like work on the electrical system can be described in terms of a football play. He just has that analytical insight to put this all together. Now if Jerry Jones would just read Coach Madden's book that we got autographed & sent him. We can always hope! For the rest of the story, go look at our Facebook page. Login not required. The Other Old Coach, JR
http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay

Happy New Years from all of the Kay team. We appreciate all your support this past year! JR

The first Saturday in the new year and we were back at it on Kay. Rand, Larry, Tim and yours truly. Larry was "dressing" out the wire bundles behind the pilot's seat. These bundles are for the no longer used radios and routed to the aft pedestal. We are creating some space behind the pilot, and will have a nice area to store flight bags or perhaps a cooler? Rand and Tim continued on to clamp all the hoses in the QEC's. Make no mistake, Adel clamps are quite the chore and doubly had when working in confined spaces. We all don't bend as easily as we did back in the day. Still waiting on our No 2 carb to return from the shop in the high desert.

Rand has the SIC glare shield ready for paint. We unwrapped the new SIC windscreen and tried a "first fit" in place. We were amazed how nice the aircraft looks with a new windscreen. Its going to take some time and heat to get it to lay nice and snug before we start to drill it in. We cleaned up the PIC's windscreen to see if we can fly with it. Its in pretty good shape. We have a new one, so depending on what we encounter with the SIC will determine when we install the PIC's.

The DC3 "Southern Cross" had a pilot experience flight at 13:00 along with their last Christmas light flight of the season at 19:00. The aircraft had a pretty good run this season, with just a few rainy days that caused fights to be cancelled. They have all done a great job in 2015.

We will be back in strength next Saturday. Stop by the hangar, visitors are always welcome. I've got lots of photos of our progress on Kay but me and this photo bucket are not on speaking terms. So the other JR will post them on our Fb.

Lots of details to go - but all we lack is finishing up!

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The real JR

Yes, indeedy, new pics are up on our FB page of the new windscreen & glareshield work. We expect word on our carb return any day now. We have some issues with the props & canopy glass to go but we are nearing the point of pulling it outside for leak tests. Next Saturday is predicted to have nicer weather so perhaps we can get more done. Our hangar is not heated so cold metal really slows things down. Maybe we will catch a break!! http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay. The Other JR

Spoke too soon about last Saturday's weather. It turned very cold and windy which drove the wind chill factor down even more. The flu bug also reared its ugly head so we had a very light turnout of volunteers. Even the Real JR had to go home. The major accomplishment was made when Larry & Bob retreated to Larry's hacienda to warm up some brain cells to figure out why the new prop feathering buttons were not working properly.After some study, the brain trust got the switches working again. They went back to the hangar to test them out & sure if enough, they now work. The bad news is that the props have committed an unnatural act which will require JR and company to pull the domes for a look inside. At the worst, we might have to pull them again to take back to the prop shop. That could set us back a month easily. No word yet from California on our carb but should hear soon. It had made it to the bench anyway. So we are hoping for better weather & better news next Saturday. It is time for my annual trek to NJ so I am avoiding the "Snow Dance" for this week!! Everybody stay safe and warm!! The Other JR

The weather was not all that much better than last Saturday, but we had more guys show up to work on Kay. Quite a bit was accomplished. Work continued on fitting the new glass into the canopy frames. The eyebrow windows were sent off to be used as templates to build new ones. We were very glad to find a source to do these for us. They also can make the tail cone so we will give that a shot as well. Can't have too many of those things since they are so easy to break. Word was received that the carb is repaired and on its way back from California. Should arrive on Tuesday which means it can be installed next w/e. The prop dome was pulled to start troubleshooting that system. The cockpit crew started flushing fuel lines and calibrating the main fuel tank indicators. A pic of the gauges is posted on our Facebook page showing that they are indicating exactly what was put into the tanks. This is a big step on being ready to pull her outside and doing a full scale fueling test. First engine start is still a couple of months away. We will let everybody know when we are ready to put on the big show. Live and direct from the Garden State... The Other JR, anxious to return to the Republic!!

http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay

https://www.facebook.com/asecretlegacy

I recently connected with Reginaldo Blanco one of the pilots who operated the five K models in the Congo. Go check it out. Some wonderful color photos of the heroic men and aircraft.

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The real JR

Last weekend was not conducive to anything but making popsicles in the hangar. Cold, but not as bad off as NJ where I escaped right before the storm hit. Guess there should be no complaints. Meanwhile, the Real JR and company pounded on the airplane some more in spite of the gawd awful cold metal. Tim and JR have a pretty good system now for trimming the new glass for the canopies. They just about have one side done. Now it is time to tackle the other side. Should go a little quicker. The new eyebrow windows are being fabricated in Ohio as we speak. The newly repaired carb came back from California. The cockpit gang found a glitch in the aux and tip tank fuel gauges so those will go back to Wichita for rework. The right prop dome was pulled to see where the blades are going angle wise. JR is planning to re-index those and start over to see if that makes them behave a little better when the feathering pump is run. Seems to be a necessary item for some reason. We have some great pictures posted on our Facebook page about the work going on plus some new ones from the CIA sponsored exiled Cuban pilots who flew five of the K models during the revolution in the Congo in the mid 1960's. Next weekend promises to be very nice with temps in the 70's and lots of sunshine. Wait!! HuH?? in Texas?? at the end of January?? Whaaaaaaattt? Wonder what is wrong with the weather guessers?? Anyway, come out for a visit and see the guys in action. We always welcome visitors!
The Other JR. glad to be back in the Republic

I received some good news today regarding our replacement eyebrow windows. They should be produced within a few days. This time we elected to have as much of the finish machining completed by the manufacturer. If the weather inside the hangar permits, (yes its cold to us) we will be installing the newly repaired Stromberg PR58.

The VFM hangar is so full of aircraft, we couldn't possibly fit another tow bar inside! This is a great opportunity to see some really great aircraft. As always, visitors are always welcome. Come see us, it should be a good weekend in Ft Worth.

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The real JR

Stromberg PR58, that's theRealJR speak for carburetor, in case you didn't recognize it. We just posted a pic of the hole that needs filling with said device on our FB page. http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay. This FB page is a public view type so no need to be a FB member to look it over. We welcome everybody to keep up with us there and here on WIX. Most of our pics will be on FB though. This weekend promises to be a very nice one here in the DFW area. Temps in the 70's and clear skies are a nice change even though it won't last long. After all, it is nearly Feb in Texas and that means the snow & cold can't be very far away. Should be good to come visit the VFM hangar this weekend. The B-29 will be there for a couple of more weeks. The CAF A-26 is nearly to the end of its winter maintenance and will start doing airshows about the middle of Feb. Several of the Kay crew are getting training on the CAF bird so should be good to go when it comes time to fly her. Drop by and say howdy! The Other JR

A new video of the right prop working properly is now posted on our FB page. Everybody did the happy dance to see it feather! http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay

Earlier, theRealJR pointed out how full the VFM hangar is getting with airplanes. There are several new neighbors such a gorgeous Beech 18, another T-6 that belongs to the B-29 CAF squadron, and the latest that arrived last Saturday is a T-34B that now belongs to the CAF Invader Squadron. It was originally a Navy trainer but was transferred to the Dominican AF in the late 70's. Parks Industries in Amarillo refurbished 13 aircraft & installed 285 hp engines. In 2001, the remaining aircraft were sold to the civilian market. BuNo 140802 was later donated to the CAF and assigned to the Invader Squadron. This is quite a good "small world" example because Earle Parks was involved in acquiring the A-26 for the CAF & now one of his projects has come to the same place. The third thing is that I worked at Parks Industries when all this happened and I got elected to deliver the airplane from Florida. Needless to say, it just so happened that Alexandria, La was on the way home to Texas. The former England AFB was the home for Kay for awhile in the mid 60's. To land on the runway & park on the ramp where Kay used to be was a real thrill. To see the area as the Nimrods saw it was a tremendous boost. We want to stop there again with Kay when we take her to FL. Can hardly wait!! The Other JR

This sounds awesome. So where are the pics?

Photobucket has been such a pain lately with malware & slow loading that we hesitate to post pics from it. We are posting on:

http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay

http://www.facebook.com/invadersquadron

These are open to the public. No FB membership or login required.

The Other JR

PS JR reported our eyebrow windows will arrive this week as will the repaired fuel gauges. The props are also now behaving properly. Left nose gear door is hung. Right carb will be installed next Sat. All going back on schedule!!