B-26K Counter-Invader Restoration ("Special K")

K5DH · **Posted:** Mon Apr 06, 2015 10:56 am

A26 Special K wrote:

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

The T-33 engine start was completed successfully by our VFM Crew Chief, Bill (WIX'er CrewDawg), assisted by his son and A&P student, Brian, in the back seat, and ramp crew Steve (WIX'er AKFlyer) and myself. Due to a comm radio problem, he could not call the tower for clearance to taxi to the runup area for full power engine runs, so only low power tests were done on our hangar ramp. The engine started right up and ran perfectly at idle and somewhat higher throttle settings, and the brakes, flaps, and speed brakes were tested. More engine and system testing will be forthcoming. There is no projected date for the first test flight. It'll happen when everything is in order.

A26 Special K · **Joined:** Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:27 pm **Posts:** 2553

rdennard wrote:

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.)

:mrgreen:

Bob, we are all anxious to find both answers. All I can tell you is that it will be ready on Saturday. Just don't know which one yet. We were trying for a 4th of July celebration for the first starts but that looks iffy. We lost some headway during the build up of the spare engine for the DC-3. It is back in the air now and becoming very active giving passenger rides. This takes away some of our troops from working on Kay. With that said, we will try to give several weeks notice of the roll out and start ups. Would like to make a very big celebration out of this because it is a huge step in the return to flight. Many of us have worked on Kay for nearly five years now and we would sure like to see and hear some oil converted into blue smoke. The rumble of twin 2800's is music to our ears! Will keep you posted. Best regards, JR

rdennard · **Posted:** Wed Apr 08, 2015 10:17 am

Thanks for the update JR.

This got me to thinking about the monumental task you have been working on. During my 20+ years working the flightline in the USAF, every aircraft discrepancy was recorded on an AFTO Form 781A. (By the way... I cross-trained from "bomb loader" to avionics in '75.) To the best of my knowledge, the USAF still uses the '781s. For those that don't know, each page of the '781a is the size of a regular piece of paper and has three areas on each side of the page where you can enter the discrepancy information. When the discrepancy is fixed, the corrective action is documented on the form and the discrepancy is "signed off". The "781" also has other parts (781h, 781j, etc) to record other things about the aircraft... fueling, weight & balance, etc. This form is used out on the flightline to record everything that happens to the aircraft. All the active forms are kept in a binder that the maintenance folks use on a daily basis. Old/completed forms are "pulled" from the binder and archived. The "set" of 781 forms become a complete history of the aircraft. (I'm guessing these days the "pulled" forms are computerized.)

If you have been using 781s for Kay, I suspect that at some point in time the binder with "open" discrepancies would have been thick enough to reach the top of the hangar. (Fortunately the binder is getting a lot thinner.) So... my question for you is, how are you keeping track of everything on Kay. Is there a modern day computer equivalent of the old 781s? Or ???

therealJR · **Posted:** Wed Apr 08, 2015 5:19 pm

Yes we have an FAA approved inspection program. Covers everything from soup to nuts, all avionics, routine inspections, non-routine items, all systems, etc. The system is computerized but paper is our "working copy." The non-routine book is approaching 300 items. We record the writeup, corrective action, parts replaced and sign off by an A&P. We have 10 on the crew. Just like the USAF, each write up is a full page each. And no, we dont have an MEL.

A26 Special K · **Joined:** Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:27 pm **Posts:** 2553

Yeah, what he said! :-)

The Other JR

PS Work continues on the prop controls, namely the autofeather system. To make it work, the BMEP switch up on the nose case needs to send a signal to the system that something is going amuck. Looks like that switch was taken off, the hole plugged and the wires cut. Now the hunt is on for this part and trying to reverse engineer the wiring. We have found a prop control assembly overhaul manual so maybe this will be the Rosetta Stone we need to figure this out. The team will be in full force on Saturday so drop by and watch the fun. The B-29 and B-24 are back in the hangar for a little while so this would be a good weekend to visit.

Texnician · **Joined:** Mon Dec 31, 2012 4:25 pm **Posts:** 11

rdennard wrote:

Thanks for the update JR.

This got me to thinking about the monumental task you have been working on. During my 20+ years working the flightline in the USAF, every aircraft discrepancy was recorded on an AFTO Form 781A. (By the way... I cross-trained from "bomb loader" to avionics in '75.) To the best of my knowledge, the USAF still uses the '781s. For those that don't know, each page of the '781a is the size of a regular piece of paper and has three areas on each side of the page where you can enter the discrepancy information. When the discrepancy is fixed, the corrective action is documented on the form and the discrepancy is "signed off". The "781" also has other parts (781h, 781j, etc) to record other things about the aircraft... fueling, weight & balance, etc. This form is used out on the flightline to record everything that happens to the aircraft. All the active forms are kept in a binder that the maintenance folks use on a daily basis. Old/completed forms are "pulled" from the binder and archived. The "set" of 781 forms become a complete history of the aircraft. (I'm guessing these days the "pulled" forms are computerized.)

If you have been using 781s for Kay, I suspect that at some point in time the binder with "open" discrepancies would have been thick enough to reach the top of the hangar. (Fortunately the binder is getting a lot thinner.) So... my question for you is, how are you keeping track of everything on Kay. Is there a modern day computer equivalent of the old 781s? Or ???

That is a good call Bob but JR does have a handle on this. But it would be comforting and a bit nostalgic to use the 781. Ray, Stan, Mac, myself and our recently retired help, Bob, are all trained at this. Bob and I were QA (QC for you old timers) so forms management is in our blood. The 781 method would be useful but would require some modification (don't need job control and man numbers). But it would be nice to get a hold of a binder just for the authenticity of it.

Larry

A26 Special K · **Joined:** Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:27 pm **Posts:** 2553

Hmmmmpff... this is a bearing out of our number two vacuum pump. Looks perfectly good to me, but the shop said we had to get a new one! Picky Picky Picky. Just cause it wouldn't turn and caused the drive shaft to shear when the engine was rotated is no cause to get all excited. Does anybody else see a problem here?? :lol:

JR

NImrodA26 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2015 9:15 am

Shucks, a little squirt of WD-40 and she'd be good to go!!

NImrodA26 · **Posted:** Fri Apr 10, 2015 9:21 am

All the talk about 781's and discrepancy report reminded me of an episode that occured one day. Sgt. Handley was our Armament NCOIC and in charge of the armament write ups. An excerpt from that is below:

Throughout project Big Eagle we encountered various problems with ordnance or the armament system on the plane. We experienced “Hung ordnance”, where a bomb in the bomb bay would not release during the bomb run, but would drop onto the bomb bay doors after they had closed them and pulled out of the dive. We experienced premature detonation of bombs due to old fuzes we were using. They were detonating as soon as they armed, rather than on impact. One pilot wrote in his discrepancy report, “All bombs detonating 50 ft. above ground.” Sgt. Handley, not without a sense of humor, wrote in the “Corrective action” section, “Fly 50 ft. lower next time.” True story.

A26 Special K · **Joined:** Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:27 pm **Posts:** 2553

Randy, that is a funny story! You sure that wasn't Airman Ryman that wrote the corrective action up on the 781 & signed Top's name to it??? :-)

Hey, we got a whole passle of Bluebonnets & Paintbrushes blooming here in the Republic. When are ya'll going to come out this way again? The CAF guys pulled Buba out of the hangar yesterday afternoon & had a good Runup on the number one engine. Might give number two a run this afternoon. R-2800 music may fill the air. They are getting it ready for the VE Day Memorial Flyover in DC on May 8. They will be staging out of Culpepper while the 4 engine types will be coming out of Manasses. You might get some good pictures on the practice days before May 8. Let us know how it looks! Regards, JR

NImrodA26 · **Posted:** Sat Apr 11, 2015 8:09 pm

………. When are ya'll going to come out this way again?
=======
I'd sure like to make it for the Grand engine start up of K. Be sure that Hawkeye gets the audio of the start up. That makes a great ringtone! Keep us posted in when things are coming together. We want to do another trip out West again next year so a stop in Ft. Worth will probably be on the agenda.

A26 Special K · **Joined:** Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:27 pm **Posts:** 2553

Randy, we will be sure to let everybody know when she is ready for her debut. You will be among the first to hear. Regards, JR

A26 Special K · **Joined:** Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:27 pm **Posts:** 2553

Last Saturday, this little guy came out with his mom and big sister to see the airplanes. He was going to have surgery this week so he wanted to come see things before he got "grounded" for a bit. We wish him well in his recovery! The real JR showed him the cockpit and how to move the controls. This four year picked up on it right away and was moving them like a pro. Now when he gets big enough to see out of the cockpit, we got something!!! We always enjoy showing youngsters what we do and encourage them to learn about aviation, science, math and history. If we aren't encouraging and training our "replacements" then we are missing half of the ballgame. How else can we give history a future? The Other JR

A26 Special K · **Joined:** Wed Nov 16, 2011 8:27 pm **Posts:** 2553

Well, shuckydarn, we have to find another missing link... literally. See that donut shaped spacer near the top of the picture that sits between the two segments of the cowling ring... the green thingee. Well, we need one. Our usual search methods have not been helpful. Someone suggested it was the same as used on the water bomber, the Bombardier CL-215. Would anybody have any insight as to the validity of this statement?? Really need to find one to close up the cowling work on the right engine, "Mona". Yes, Mona wants a ring before she will play ball.

Who woulda thunked it? From the Republic, JR

CAPFlyer · **Posted:** Fri Apr 17, 2015 7:45 am

Doesn't the PV-2 also have a similar QEC? Have you tried talking to any of those guys?

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B-26K Counter-Invader Restoration ("Special K")

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