Warbird Information Exchange

Randy's explanation is pretty good. I do remember using the thing when we had a bomb bay full of M1A4 fragmentation bombs.
Frank Nelson
Nimrod 67/68

We made a little more progress yesterday. Still fabricating/installing and adjusting the No 2 cowling supports. The aft ring is complete, almost there on the forward side. Problem is if we find one needs some repositioning or adjusting we have to take several other positions off. Blower drain line is finally completed. We had the aft cowl ring off three times yesterday just to get the drain fitting properly positioned. We should finally fit the No 2 cowling next week.

FIFI was outside this past week so that means the hangar doors were wide open = wind tunnel. Spent quite a bit yesterday just cleaning up and putting things back in place.

Both carburetors are out at Vintage Carburetors awaiting a final bench / flow check. So their Reno prep activities will likely delay us some there. The plan was to install the carbs, have Kay outside for the VFM hangar dance and maybe start engines. That's not going to happen. I still have to install canopies and wind screens. Almost complete on both canopy frames, but some work just remains.

Ray and yours truly finally hung one of the repaired nose gear doors last Sunday. Hinges lined up perfectly. We need to jack the aircraft up ensure a good fit, and before we trim the new skin. Jacks are in the north hangar, and may need servicing.

Larry and Stan are starting to close up certain areas of the cockpit. Starting to look like an aircraft. We had a little guy, five years old visit us yesterday. What a treat for he and his Dad who photographed. The little guy sat in the cockpit, Larry flipped on power, lit the cockpit up. I had the young aviator flip the interphone switches at the same time so he thought he was lighting Kay up. Its all bout remembering the past but also clearing a path for the future. All the kids visiting Kay get a little A26 stamp on their hands.

We'll be out there again today. Come see us. Three of us are scheduled to do a live broadcast Sept 1st on Warbird Radio. Until then, a big hello to all our friends around the world. Thanks for following.

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The real JR

Randy's description of "select & train" is right on the mark. I don't know if "ripple" (train) was used very much but we had to check it out. A two man crew was designated to go down the flightline and check out every airplane in the morning. (The other two from a four man load crew would work cleaning and reloading guns.)

For whatever reason, I only did "release" a hand-full of times the whole year I was there. It seemed I was always slathering on gun grease and humping ammo cans when it was my load crew's turn to do "release & guns". Don't know who I made mad at me... or perhaps I do.

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

Stopped in to see the A-26K at the South Dakota Air and Space Museum. They have done a lot of work on her in the 6 years since my last visit. The grounds were all torn up and wet, but will look great when they finish..
2009



2015:

Yea, I'd say they've done some work on it. Looks a lot better than when we were there in mid-2012. It was still green and white.

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

Ol' 640 was the first K production model. Wouldn't it be grand if Kay, being the last off the line, could get together for a short visit sometime? We have been in touch with the S. Dakota Museum where 640 is located.... aka Ellsworth AFB. They are interested in us stopping by, but not sure just how we could pull it off logistically, ie access from the runway. Perhaps when they are having an airshow would be a good time to drop in. Ellsworth put on some good ones when I was based in the neighborhood back in the 90's. On another note, we heard from the crew flying Buba to the Midland Airsho this weekend that all went well and that the airplane is behaving exceptionally well. That's good to hear.
This weekend, with the B-29 out on tour and the A-26 gone to the airshow, it should be fairly quiet around the hangar so the team should get some good work accomplished. Those cowlings are very close and the nose gear door skins are just waiting for a retraction test to verify fit before riveting them on. Ray and JR have done a magnificent job getting those all straightened back out. Larry and company will continue working on the avionics to make sure they all talk appropriately to each other and continue work on the wiring behind the pilot's seat. Quilted fabric is being fitted to see if it all lines up before installation in the cockpit. Still have to paint some floors etc before they go in permanently. All in all, it is shaping up to be a good weekend. Drop on by and say hello. The Other JR

Here is "Mona" getting her skirt, aka cowling, on!! We posted a shot of "Lisa" all decked out in hers on our Facebook page and asked if anybody could see any difference in the airplane. So far, nobody has seemed to notice that the cowling is finally back in place. They have guessed all around it at things that were done several weeks or months ago like the cowl flaps being operational or oil in the tanks. Speaking of FB, we just posted a video of "Mona" and the crew fitting the lower cowl to the upper. This side is still slightly off kilter and will need some adjustments. Arnold will bring a bigger hammer next week! http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay. Meanwhile, JR and Ray have the jacks in place to raise the airplane for the gear swings and fitting of the nose gear doors. JR continues to prep the canopy frames for the new glass. We are planning to have the nice folks over in Breckenridge do the honors to actually drill the glass and install it. It can be tricky plus we are trying to speed things up so we can get to engine starts soon. The report back from Vintage Carbs is that one of our carbs is ready to come back and the other is lacking one small part which should be there soon. These are the big items left to get Kay ready to clear her throat. Don't forget to tune into Warbird Radio online Tuesday (tomorrow night) for Zane Adams' interview with some of our restoration team members. Check the website for the time in your location. http://www.warbirdradio.com The Other JR

TONIGHT! - 8PM (Central)

Live! on Warbird Radio...the Texas Warbird Report welcomes some of the hard working A-26K restoration crew!

http://www.warbirdradio.com/2015/09/texas-warbird-report-the-a-26k-counter-invader-episode-9/

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
_______________________________________________________________________________
Join us for the Texas Warbird Report on WarbirdRadio.com!
http://www.facebook.com/WarbirdRadio
Listen at http://www.warbirdradio.com

Whoa, what a day!! The gear swing was accomplished after much delay with fixing jacks and moving airplanes around for the hangar dance prep for Oct 3. The entire crew pitched in to jack up the airplane and then watched carefully as the gear was slowly pumped up with the hand pump in the cockpit by Larry. As the nose gear cleared and the uplock engaged, Ray, JR and several others went in for the nose gear door measurements for proper fit before trimming the new outside skins. Ray spent the rest of the day doing just that and prepped for shooting rivets on the skin. The cockpit canopy frames are now ready for the new glass but it will be awhile before Ezell's can do them since they are busying getting ready for the Reno Air Races. Larry and the other JR set up the new IPad to check the Flightstream 210 and GDL39 for connectivity. The very first flight plan transfer from the IPad to the 650 was accomplished! Also, the IPad properly displayed the instrument panel as generated by the combination. This is a back up to the original steam gauges since it is powered optionally by the battery pack or the ship's power. We are looking for a mount to place the IPad on the center stack of old military radios in the panel. It would be removeable on display. The lower half of the right cowling was removed and it looks like some more engineering will be necessary to get it to fit. Overall, a great day in the neighborhood. The team will be working again tomorrow if you would like to drop by before it gets too hot. BUBA and the T-6 made it back from the Lancaster show so there are other airplanes to see. The T-33 just came out of the paint shop and has been delivered to Alliance for the show there next weekend. Be sure to go see that as well. Some outfit called the Blue Angels is also going to be there to fill in during times when the warbirds are not flying. The Other JR in Texas

By the way, we had a grand time visiting with Zane Adams on Warbird Radio last Wednesday. JR, Ray, Larry and I each got to throw in our two cents about the progress on the airplane. We want to thank Zane for inviting us to be on the show. If you missed it, replays are still available on the station's website. http://www.warbirdradio.com
and look for Episode # 9 Texas Warbird Report with Zane Adams on Special Kay. The Other JR

Great news, Other JR! Congratulations! I had to listen to the Warbird Radio show after work and it was really great to hear everyone's voices.

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Zac in NZ
#avgeek, modelbuilder, photographer, writer. Callsign: "HANDBAG".
https://linktr.ee/zacyates

"It's his plane, he spent the money to restore it, he can do with it what he wants. I will never understand what's hard to comprehend about this." - kalamazookid, 20/08/2013
"The more time you spend around warbirds the sooner you learn nothing, is simple." - JohnB, 24/02/22

Thanks Zac, we are indeed as anxious as everybody else to see her fly now that we are getting close. There will be great rejoicing in the Republic that can probably be heard all the way to NZ.
BTW, we want to send out a "Happy Birthday" to Dick Cole of Doolittle Raider fame who lives down near San Antonio here in the Republic. Dick joined the Army in 1940 and went to pilot training in San Antonio so came back after the war was over. He is celebrating his 100th today, Sept 7. Dick is a true gentleman whom we have met several times at past airshows. He and the other Raiders have raised a lot of money for scholarships. Dick is truly an admirable man not just because he was Doolittle's copilot, but for how he continued the tradition. The Other JR

The weekend is lining up to be great for the Alliance Airshow Sat & Sun. BUBA, the CAF A-26 is going to overfly the grand opening of a new Veteran's Museum in Bridgeport in the morning Friday about 0830? Then proceed to Alliance Airport to get setup as a static display. The other black CAF A-26C model from Enid, Ok, named "Lady Liberty" will also be coming to the show. How often is it that two A-26's are at the same airport?? It would just be greater still if there was another model, say a K, joining the fun. Maybe next year! Meanwhile, the team may be a little thinned out but we are planning to work on Kay as usual and do a little more cleaning of our area in preparation for the Hangar dance on Oct 3. This one will have a new band & since the Navy A-3 Association is having a reunion in conjunction with the dance, the A-3D will be the centerpiece behind the bandstand. It will be sporting a new paint job by then so it should be a great night. We will have Kay open for tours & questions. Come see us! JR

Hopefully our neighbor the A3 "whale" will be sportin' fresh paint when this gets posted. Their crew has been hard at it for over a month. Ranger one five is in an outdoor bull ring. Bring it home guys!

Kay's crew has thinned out a bit, but that's ok. Can really only accommodate one person in the cockpit right now. Sunday Larry pulled the curtain back to gave me a preview of the new cockpit sidewall panels! OMG it looks like "factory" @ VNY. Lots of things going on behind the scenes and all around Kay. Arnold is pulling out all the stops to get the No 2 cowling mounts aligned properly. As it stood Sunday - really close. The fwd and aft rings have to be aligned while maintaining parallel dimension to fit the top and bottom cowling panels. Its kinda like using a Hula-Hoop for a belt, but each loop in a different trajectory. Move one, throws the rest off kilter. No doubt he will overcome and that cowling will fit like a Rolex. Carbs are on hiatus while a certain event is going on outside Reno. Some of our colleagues are attending. Good luck to all, as Rand says, "fly safe."

Stop by and see the prettiest T-33 you've ever seen. Congrats to Denny & crew. What a nice addition to the VFM.

Lights are on at oh dark thirty every Saturday, we work Sunday's too.

Ya'll stop by now, hear.

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The real JR

Nice rain in Ft Worth this morning, but the humidity in the hangar could be cut with a knife this afternoon. Nevertheless, the guys made the cowling fit on "Mona's" side. Just needs some adjustments to a couple of more brackets and it should be signed off. That was the big news this morning. Lunch was next with some good BBQ ribs and chopped brisket. This is the standard fare in most places here in the Republic. Then the guys continued prepping the cockpit for paint. Several components of the electrical system behind the pilot's seat were mounted like the Generator Controls and voltage regulators. Rand found the missing mounting plate for one of the voltage regulators so that made our "Sparky's" very happy. There are a number of wire bundles that go to the center console radios which are inoperative. So we made the decision to wrap these up and move under the platform they were mounted on coming out of the console so that we could use it to set a portable air conditioner on. Yep, it gets very hot under that greenhouse canopy so we are designing an ice chest with a blower that will blow cool air into the area for on the ground use. Texans just got to have AC in the summer, ya know? Overall, the airplane is coming right along. The cockpit may be painted and ready for display at the VFM Hangar Dance on Oct 3. The team is planning to have a reserved table next to Kay for the enjoyment of all, but you are welcome to drop by and visit. We would be happy to show everybody all the hard work that has gone into this restoration and introduce you to the people who have made it possible. The Other JR, live and direct from the Republic
www.facebook.com/a26specialkay for pics.