Warbird Information Exchange

Some of the guys braved the cold on Sunday. The real JR led a crew to air up the left main strut some. With Mona's weight being gone so long, it shifted the balance over to left side. When Mona was installed, it rebalanced and then appeared to need some N2 to compensate. So Big Mike who has returned from FL and now lives in Mt. Pleasant came over to visit so naturally JR put him to work with this task. Happy to have him back. He gets to work on the MidAmerica Flying Museum's A-26 among a host of other aircraft. JR and Ray removed the nacelle end cap so that Ray can start building a shelf and support for our engine fire extinguisher bottles. Getting the system operational again is one of our larger remaining projects. Waiting in the wings so to speak is the prop autofeather system. If anyone has a wiring diagram for a Convair (R-2800) autofeather system, we could sure use a copy of it. We can't find the A-26 manual that describes the system parts and wiring for it so the Convair is the next best. Martin 404 has the same system we think. That would also do. Not sure whether the DC-6 had autofeather, but it did have about the same engine and prop. OnMark used DC-6 props and chopped off enough to leave about an 18 inch clearance on the A-26 to the ramp. Also want to congratulate one of our troops for getting on with L-3! Way to go CM!! The other JR

So what did the well dressed gentleman do with all his spare time and money at NKP? Apparently, some of it was spent at the BX buying stereo equipment and listening to tunes according to Nimrod George M. The officers had two to a hooch. What did the enlisted guys have, Randy, Bob?? JR

……….What did the enlisted guys have
How's this pin up for starters!!
……….[URL=http://s1148.photobucket.com/user/nimroda26/media/MybunkNKP.jpg.html][/URL

Actually, The "in" thing to have at the time was reel-to-reel recorders, cameras (I bought a Yashika Electro-35)
and Seiko watches. Got the camera and watch, never bought a reel to reel. Also had a custom made pair of jungle boots made downtown. Set your bare foot down on a piece of paper, the guy traces your foot outline, and in a couple days go back and get your pair of custom made boots! Same for suits. I had a suit made out of Italian silk, complete with a string tie! Still got the tie here somewhere. Other than the NKP/Big Eagle jacket I had made, I can't think of much else I bought. The enlisted folks had hooches, mostly screened in with a catwalk going all around the outside. Think there were about 4 rooms to a hooch and at least 4 to a room, with bunk beds and a wall locker for your stuff.
Bob can probably add some additional details during his stay.

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Randy Ryman
Project Big Eagle
NKP Thailand 1966
http://www.coastcomp.com/av/florence/florandy.htm

Just a little before I got there, NKP had gone through a big growth spurt. Some people still lived in tent cities that were set up until hooches could be built. Early in 1969 all the tents were gone.

Fortunately none of the 609th folks (me) were in tents because the Nimrods already had their hooch area. However, by that time the 609th had grown. I think we had around 16 or 18 aircraft (dont' hold me to that) so the number of people had grown. With that, the hooch I was in was a long open bay sort of place with four doors. One door at each end of the open bay and the others along the middle. The open bay was separated into "rooms" using the tall steel gray metal lockers to make false walls between the rooms. So, we had four "rooms" in the hooch.

There were six to a "room". There was some kind of combination of bunk beds and single beds to get all six in. Everyone had two or three of the steel gray lockers. You started out with just two. Then when someone with three went home, the person that had been there the longest with only two scarfed up one of the lockers. One locker was for clothes... the second locker always for stereo equipment. The third locker, once you got it, was for stuff you collected over the year. Everyone seemed to be interested in different stuff. You also used the third locker to keep snacks... no perishable stuff... just chips, cookies and the like.

Collecting stereo equipment was a big deal. The three or four guys that had been in the hooch the longest had enough equipment in their lockers to blow the ear drums of everyone on the base. The stereos were component systems; An amplifier (the higher the power-the better), a radio receiver, a reel-to-reel tape deck, a turn-table, and a pair of the biggest speaker boxes you could find. Lots of the speaker boxes wouldn't fit in the lockers so they were placed on top. I still have all the stuff I bought except for the Akai reel-to-reel that long ago died. Everything else still works.

The other thing guys (including me) got into was cameras. Pentax, Nikon, and Cannon 35mm cameras were cheap. And they had a photo-hobby shop where you could develop your own film and make your own prints. Black & White only if you were developing your own. I took literally thousands of pics. Most of them (and unfortunately the negatives) have long since disappeared. By the way... cameras were prohibited on the flightline. So virtually all of the pics you see were taken "illegally"... everyone did it.

It seemed everyone got custom clothes made downtown... shirts, pants, suits, shoes or anything else you wanted. It was all very inexpensive. I only had a couple of shirts and pants made... spent my money (what little I had) on stereo and camera stuff.

The hooches had no built in fans. There was always one of those desk top circulating fans plugged in somewhere, but all it really did was move around hot, humid air. Oh... and blow the smoke around. It seems that about 90% of the guys smoked. I'm not making up that number. With only one or two exceptions, all of the bomb loaders / gun plumbers smoked.

There was no heat in the hooches. Yeah... there were times when we froze our butts off. We got used to 90-100+ degree days with 100% humidity. Then when "winter" came... temps down in the low 70s, we froze. Everyone went scrambling to find more blankets for their bunk, and dug out their field jackets. But "winter" only lasted a few weeks... maybe three.

The other thing everyone had in the hooch was a mosquito net over their bunk. For all of the rainy season (May - October) everyone slept under the net. It was quite amusing to watch as guys would get ready to go to bed... they would try and clear out all the critters inside the net by swatting everything they could and then jump inside before more could fly or crawl in. I was never sure if the mosquito nets kept the critters out... or held them in.

I've rambled on long enough. Hopefully not too long.

_________________
Bob
Memories of Naked Fanny
More Memories of Naked Fanny (Nov 2013)
609th Nimrod, Bomb loader, Gun Plumber, '68 - '69

Hey Randy... Bob, thanks for those stories about NKP. Keep 'em coming!! While you are at it, could you please figure out the wiring in this junction box for the prop control?? It is different than the other side. Miss Mona must have a mind of her own. Good thing that Larry, Stan and Bob opened up the panels. Neither side had the wires actually connected. Bad things would have happened no doubt if this has not been caught. One side had the wires marked as to what they went to so the guys reverse engineered the system and thought they could apply it to the other side. Well, they are not alike so somewhere along the line, these must have been substituted because neither appear to be the correct ones. The other bad news this week is that the vacuum pump we sent for overhaul came back with a report of being uneconomical to repair. So now we have to find another and they are a rather uncommon part number. Not sure these were original to the engine either. More reseach and surprises to come no doubt, but the team made some good progress. JR and David A did a lot of spring cleaning and sorting of parts, etc. It sure needed it. Amid all the excitement, a Bonanza landing at Meacham had a gear problem and the trucks rolled. Surprisingly, it didn't take long to get some help to move it off the main runway. Yes, an exciting day indeed. Will see what tomorrow brings. Come see us at the VFM Hangar!! Opens at noon. The other JR

Still stumbling on our prop control circuits. Larry, Bob and Stan are creating their own wiring diagrams thru reverse engineering. If anyone has a Convair 340 / C131B or Martin 4-0-4 prop manual we'd sure like to see it. This is sure slowing us down.

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The real JR

Prop manuals here. Take your pick,

http://www.eflightmanuals.com/ITEM_EFM/ ... p?cID=3863

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Bob

Bob, thanks for the lead, but we found a source that had the manual with wiring diagrams & 4 new wiring harnesses. This was the good news today! Pursuing some other parts & hope to hear on these this week. Stay tuned! From the deserts of AZ, JR

While the aircraft commander is away on bizzness in the Copper State the team continues its forward progress. The No 2 prop circuit is coming together nicely. The brain trust continues to bug wires and develop plans so the props do their thing when the driver flips those switches and pushes those buttons. Helped today by a long sought after wiring diagram from a Martin 4-0-4. Big Tim and Co. brought the No 2 prop feathering line almost all the way home. Prop slip rings and adapter are all installed too. Our noisy crane aka Ichabod has toned it down a bit thanks to a new muffler. The other half of the team continue to support the DC3 Southern Cross. Overhauled No 1 1820 was filled with oil, ships battery is all charged just waiting for the signal. Just may finally turn oil into smoke sometine tomorrow. While she's been down, master metalsmith Ray waved his magic wand over her air stair. Looks like the master plan is finally coming together! Chef Hawkeye flipped his famous burgers for the team today. Well done sir! And who stole that ear of corn?

All we lack is finishing up!
The real JR

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The real JR

Well, greetings from the deserts of AZ. The real JR gave a very good report on progress on K today. I have some pics I'll post later. Sorry to miss all the action & Hawkeye's special burgers. I know why somebody stole JR's grilled corn on the cob right off his plate! Mighty fine eating there. Hawkeye reported feeding 15 people & I'm really sorry I had to miss out. The guys may very well get that new engine started tomorrow on the DC3. Hate to miss that as well. Sure appreciate everybody's efforts. See ya'll soon. Best regards, The Other JR

What is that eery glow in the cab of Ichabod Crane?? What evil lurks there that screeches and rumbles down in the bowels of the beast? Hmmm, well the guys tell me they put a new muffler on Ichabod and this seems to have satisfied the evil spirit or whatever it was. All good now. This is just one of the projects completed this past weekend. Will post some more pics in the coming days. Check back. Glad to be back in the Republic..... JR

This is the "before picture". The right prop is actually hung and with some help from Joe over at Byam's Propeller Service, we are just about done with it. Just need to install the hub on Saturday. Larry and friends got a Martin 404 prop wiring diagram and are pursuing all of the in's and out's of that part of the project. We obtained a Flightstream 210 for the avionics gang to ponder and figure out where to hide it up in the nose. The wiring harness is pretty much done so it will connect to our 650. We plan to do flight planning on our IPad and then transfer all that to the 650 via Bluetooth. Ain't technology grand?? We are also thinking of upgrading our GDL 39 to a 3D version so we can take advantage of the 210's AHRS function with flight instruments and synthetic vision. With a back up hand held Nav/Com, we shouldn't be too bad off if instruments or radios start protesting the working conditions. Lots of things going on in the hangar this weekend. This would be a great time to visit before the weather gets too hot. Come see us. VFM Hangar at Meacham Field in Ft Worth is where we call home. JR

The team was very productive today even though we were short a few people who left for the holiday. Both props were finalized and are now ready to go. This is a big milestone as it is getting us just that much closer to the first engine start. One of the things we are waiting on is the engine fire extinguisher system. Ray got side tracked on the DC-3 side of the house but is back now working on this. He has to use his magic to fabricate a lot of the plumbing that was missing. We do have fire bottles to mount, but really need to get the plumbing in place first. Tim, Ed and David B did a number on Mona's generator as the end cap was not positioned properly during overhaul to allow the scat tube to be at the correct angle to fit in the dish pan behind the engine. All fixed now. Alex started mounting the engine cowl ring on Mona so that is nearly done. There was a lot of detail work done by JR and of course, he kept everybody on task with good things to do. David A, Arnold and Denis prepped the DC-3 for engine runs and leak checks. They were all good so the DC-3 was flown for about an hour today to break in the new engine. More flights are planned. This would be a good time to join Greatest Generation Aircraft Non Profit and get a ride on her. Ck out the website. http://www.gga1.org and the facebook page link down at the bottom for more information.

Forgot to mention that the Vintage Flying Museum will be open tomorrow afternoon. The T-33 is just about done and may be pulled out of the hangar tomorrow for a test run on the engine. If it all checks out, it may be flown over to Sherman (former Perrin Field) for inspection and more test flying on Wed or Thurs. This is a former Canadian airplane so the plan is to get it painted in USAF colors after it gets the test hours flown off. That will be something to see. If I hear a specific time for launch, I'll let folks know. Happy Easter everybody! JR

JR... I've got a favor to ask. How about taking out your crystal ball; gazing deep down into it... then have a cup of weak tea so you can read the tea leaves... then throw 13 chicken bones into the air and when they land, read the pattern... and then... take a SWAG at when you think you will "fire up" Mona and Lisa.

I would kinda like to be there for the event and will try to plan ahead.

(I would ask for a prediction for when the next flight would be, but I'm sure you would have to consult with Nostradamus, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and Yogi Berra to come up with that date.)

_________________
Bob
Memories of Naked Fanny
More Memories of Naked Fanny (Nov 2013)
609th Nimrod, Bomb loader, Gun Plumber, '68 - '69