Warbird Information Exchange

This is a shame if true... for a number of years, the talk was expand the mission of the CAF to include Korea and Vietnam. The rationale was to make sure that those veterans were not forgotten. It makes no difference the politics of war, all those that served honorable deserve to be remembered.

The CAF would be shooting itself in the foot as well, as Doug Jeanes commented on another thread that they were seeing more demand for aircraft of the Korea and Vietnam period!

Hmmm, seem to be having difficulty with Photobucket lately. Doesn't want to link pics to the forum. Keep getting pop ups that my Avast anti virus doesn't like as well. Anyway, JR, Larry and Ray worked on K today. Larry had his grandson along to start learning the art of making electrons talk. JR said he was almost as good as T when it came to pushing buttons. He had a great time with grandpa in the cockpit. We can only hope that a bright youngster like this goes to a proper school such as Texas A & M in College Station! Tomorrow looks to be a busy day around the hangar. The team will be making up for some lost time in the hot weather. Should be cloudy and cool all day Saturday. Sure beats the 101 we had Wednesday. The CAF guys will be working on Buba and probably do some engine runs. GGA will be working on the DC3 and may also do some engine runs. I heard from Scott that he stopped in San Angelo for the night and will have to see what the weather is doing tomorrow to continue with the bright and shiny new A26 to Mt Pleasant. It is a long way from California when there is so much to see and a new airplane to play with while you are at it!! Feel free to drop by and visit the VFM hangar at Meacham Airport in Ft Worth on Saturday and see all the activities. The B24 is in the hangar also. The Other JR

Well, the guys had an incredible day! Wish I could show the pictures, but still having problems with Photobucket. Can't download or link any pics. The site seems to crawling with malware or adware. Can't seem to find an address to email these folks and see about straightening it out either. Anybody got some insight to this?? On the positive side, the oil cooler was installed in the right wing. We have all new hoses for the oil system on both sides now. We sent off the entire ignition systems for both engines for overhaul and we sent off two carb air temp gauges for a makeover. Larry and Stan spent the day verifiying the sensors and lines from the nacelles to the instruments. Most are performing as expected. The tip tank fairings had to be redone and while JR was at it, he found some pitting on the top of the wings where birds have left droppings. So we will have to have a bird patrol every week and scrub down those areas real well. This was pizza day and we enjoyed a viewing of the "Warbird Pilot" video on the Wix theatre. That little red haired boy sure reminded me of somebody. Next week is our trout fry that Hawkeye has been planning for the guys. Hope to have the results of the Reno Air Races and the judging of the restorations for this year. Would love to take K out there for that next year. Keep fingers crossed. The Other JR

Photobucket is still down for my acct. So anyway, David, JR and Ray went out today (Sun) and completed the installation of the oil cooler in the right wing. Ray drilled out a stud on the mounting pad for the left tach generator that had broken off. Another little thing that became a big project. The guys finished up the wing fairings for the tip tanks for the most part. Ray is also studying the rudder trim handle. It appears that it had been replaced by something not quite right at some point in the past. We have begun a search for the right one, but if we don't find it, Ray thinks he can fabricate one without too much trouble. Famous last words around this ol airplane. And we would like to give a shout out to Rick Clemons at the Cactus Air Force in Carson City, NV for winning the Reno Air Races Heritage Trophy for Best Large airplane with his beautiful A-26C. That is a big honor, especially when the trophy is handed out by people like Bud Anderson, Burt Rutan and Herb Kelleher. It is always good when an A-26 wins the recognition it deserves. We certainly hope for more opportunities. If we can swing an invitation, sure would like to see Kay compete out there next year! The team deserves the recognition for the job they have done. The Other JR

Regarding pictures, I find Flickr works pretty well with no pop-ups or anything like that. Storage space is a decent size too, and from what I remember it's straightforward to creat an account.

Great work on Special Kay, I've been following the progress on here and via YouTube for a while now.

Thanks for the suggestion. I will look into it, but it appears my Photobucket file is working again. Have to see if that lasts. Anyway, it is great that you have been following our progress. We always like to hear from people. We are expecting a tour group of Ian Allen folks coming to see us from the UK in late Oct. They might need some translators for British English to American Texan??? We hope to have our resident A-26 pilot from the VN War present to answer any questions. And for everybody, don't forget that the VFM Big Band 40's Hangar Dance is coming up on Oct 4. Of course we will be there to give tours of K that night. Google Vintage Flying Museum's Hangar Dance for more info. The B-24 will provide the backdrop for the band and there are already two wedding parties being held in conjunction with the dance so it is bound to be a good time. JR

EEEEHawwww!! The pics are working again!!! So this is "Trip", Larry's grandson who we mentioned a few posts back. He is called "Trip" because he is a III as in triple. He sure was interested in helping grandpa work in the cockpit. I can certainly remember when I was 4 and was chomping at the bit to fly. Started building models when I was 3. Couldn't wait to go to school to learn to read so I wouldn't have all those extra parts left.
While we are having fun restoring K, it is very important that we impart our knowledge and skills to our youngsters coming up. Who would have imagined that we would still be flying 70 year old airplanes?? If they continue flying, we will need people who know how to restore and maintain them. We just have to pass it on and not let it die on the vine. Now this young lad has a great start. His mom and dad are both Aggies so the possibilities are endless for a great future!!

Lookee here... our right engine is being torn down, cleaned and readied for inspection. That is the crucial part where we get the news that XYZ parts will have to be replaced. Gulp! And some of these will involve tens of thousands of dollars no doubt. Waiting for the news is a lot like being in the last trimester of pregnancy, the coyote stage, where all you can do is wait by the den and howl at the moon. She is in the delivery room now!!! JR

In case you have never looked inside a cuckoo clock, this is sorta what it looks like. So which part of our engine is this?? Who knew this stuff was in there?? It all looks necessary, but...... sheesh. Fun to watch though!

JR

Thats the front support, gov drive gear on the right. Courtesy of the folks at 400 Main St, East Hartford.

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The real JR

East Hartford?? Is that in East Texas?? The Other JR

How'd you swing that?!

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Keep Em' Flying,
Christopher Soltis
Dedicated to the preservation and education of The Sikorsky Memorial Airport

CASC Blog Page: http://ctair-space.blogspot.com/
Warbird Wear: https://www.redbubble.com/people/warbirdwear/shop

Chicks Dig Warbirds.......right?

I don't think he meant that literally as in lately. Maybe 1955 manufacture?? The Pratt folks do good work though, wouldn't u agree? The Other JR

Our Nimrod friend, Frank Nelson, came up with this shot of K on her way to David Monthan along with some sisters in late 1969. They stopped in Abilene, Dyess AFB, for fuel. We got some really nice shots from Frank along with some combat reports from NKP and the 609th SOS there. They were an eye opener when you look at the ammo, bombs rockets etc. expended per month. It sure changed our impression of how much the eight 50's in the nose were used... considerably more.... rockets as well. Thanks Frank! JR

....They were an eye opener when you look at the ammo, bombs rockets etc. expended per month. It sure changed our impression of how much the eight 50's in the nose were used....

The only time I ever remember of any amount of ammunition coming back was if there was a gun malfunction, and sure can't recall any ever leaving on a mission with an empty bomb bay or pylons. Not to mention the optional stuff some pilots took with them to drop!

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