Warbird Information Exchange

Harald... check your mailbox for the PM I sent you about the T shirts. Thanks for your interest. JR

Just arrived back in the Republic..... glad to be home. JR reports that we had a good team Saturday and Sunday. Lots got done and he forwarded some pics which I will try to post later. The main accomplishment was the replacement of all hoses on the left engine with new and the completion of the cleaning of the engine itself. The standby hydraulic pump leak and electrical problem were resolved. The C word came up on part of the nacelle/firewall area, but JR and Ray have already executed a plan to repair this. Should be completed next week looks like. JR is looking at all of the accessories to see which ones we need to send off for O.H. The starter was reported to be in good shape. The CAF A-26 guys borrowed one of our electrically driven fuel pumps until they can get their pump overhauled. I think they have an airshow scheduled next weekend at Corsicana and I hope to be going along with them to get some training done. More later..... stay tuned. The other JR.....

As promised, here are some shots of the work done over the weekend. The electric motor drives the standby hydraulic pump. We have had all sorts of problems with leaks, but finally got them resolved. The pump was overhauled and mounted. Then we had an electrical glitch which was traced down by David A and JR. They made another discovery. Seems with the left engine removed and no power on the airplane, there is no return route for the hydraulic fluid because the engine hyd shutoff valves are open. Whooops. Who knew? But we do now. We may be slow, but we can learn, unlike those graduates of that community college down in Austin with the funny looking cow. Whoopee Tah, which is AggieSpeak for "Whoop T U" The other JR and proud graduate of Texas A & M.

Big Tim finished up installing all new rubber around the left engine. It is all clean and will be just about be ready to install when the repairs to the nacelle are finished and the accessories come back from overhaul. All it takes is time and money, right? JR

The guys installed all new ducting for the generator cooling system. It gets cool air from the air intake for the oil cooler. It appears that this was not hooked up before so we should see cooler temps and maybe longer life expectancy for the generator. It is sorta an important little item if you want all the electrical stuff to work. JR

Our Crew Chief's Second Asst Wiper had his 4th birthday last week. One of his rewards was this new airplane blankie. It was made by a lady in Florida who specializes in aviation education for kids. PM me if interested and I will give you the contact info to see if she can fix you up with something similar. Kids love these with all the airplanes on them. I expect that T will make a Superman cape out of it before long though. He has already tried to leap tall buildings!!! JR

Here is our mystery part of the week. Any idea what it is and what it does? Can we just throw it away?? No ponies, but you will get a gold star by your name if you are the winner!! JR

David A and Rand plus JR, Mac, and Ray made a lot of progress on the engine with all new hoses on Sunday. Ray and JR started on the repair to the nacelle and I will get those pics later. Exciting things are happening now. Be sure to drop by and see the guys in action on the weekends. My cousin Joe dropped by to see and was humbled by the skills our guys have. He was very impressed with their work. We grew up fishing on Lake Texoma during the summers and watching all of the T-33's and F-86's in the traffic pattern at Perrin AFB. I missed many a bite because my eyes were up in the sky! Thanks Cuz! EEEhawww! The other JR

Another view of the quilt for airplane minded youngsters. They are hand made and heavy duty. Made to be dragged around on the floor or made into parachutes for the big jump off the couch! Tough is the operative word. They can be personalized with name and date. PM me for more info if interested. JR

The size can be specified to fit any youngster or...even big people! Very nice feel to them. I don't know about you, but a quilt is my favorite kind of blankie. They make great birthday or Xmas presents. The lady in Florida who makes these is also a pilot so she understands just how to make them special. JR

In other news tonight, our friend Scott G has just fallen in love with another new airplane. Anybody know what it is? If you are thinking a Ford Trimotor 5-AT, you would be wrong!!! Try again!! BTW, you might remember Scott as the new owner of our former B-25, Pacific Prowler. We are planning another B-25 ground school class and Scott will be bringing that airplane over to Ft Worth for it. He has several of his folks who want to attend. If interested in attending, contact Dana at: greatestgeneration@yahoo.com for more information. The 21st of June is the tentative date. Will keep you posted when set in concrete. So back to the question of the day. What type of airplane is that new love? JR

Stinson tri-motor?

_________________
Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Lake Dallas, Republic of Texas

Whatever it is, it looks pretty Stout!

_________________
He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

JR,

I'm interested in a t-shirt. Can't reply to your pm's.

Can you please conact me via email

migkill5(AT)zonnet.nl

Replace (AT) with the obvious.

Thanks

Harald
The Netherlands

Looks like another clue is needed!! Here you go!! I repeat, it is not a Ford Tri Motor 5AT. But it did arrive at Mt Pleasant, TX this afternoon. Congratulations to the crew for bringing her home all the way from Phoenix. There was a fuel stop in Las Cruces and the guys had a look at another A-26 being restored there. Also reported that a PV-2 looked fairly abandoned at the airport. They stopped in Carlsbad, NM, last night so they got real acquainted with low and slow in the same fashion that the old TAT passengers who rode the first transcontinental flights on tri-motors experienced. Now take another shot at the aircraft type!! JR