Warbird Information Exchange

No particular reason to write anything. I'm 9 time zones ahead of the Republic and trying to get over the jet lag that goes with waking up at the wrong time. To make matters worse, I have to reverse the process in two more days. On the way home, London is the connecting point back to DFW. It occurred to me that even though it took two or three days to ferry an A-26 to England in WW2 or turn around and bring it home, it still was a time zone adjustment for those guys. Add bad weather and the pace of training and combat operations, it is no wonder that a crewman was toast after six or so months after arrival. Going out on one mission doesn't seem all that hard until you factor in that briefings may have started at 04:30 and the mass formation that had to be assembled with perhaps instrument take off conditions oftentimes with the English weather. Then the five or more hours of flying to a target with flak and fighters doing their best to stop you. It may come as a surprise but the 8th Air Force lost more men than the Marines did in the Pacific war. Seems impossible. The first A-26 missions in Europe were flown in November 1944. They missed the worst part but still suffered losses. Flak was the most fearsome of weapons as there was very little to do except plow ahead and hope it misses. The psychological effects must have been horrendous yet they soldered on while watching their friends get blown out of the air. These will be my thoughts as I retrace those steps back home. Thank God I can still speak English instead of German or Japanese thanks to our GI's who paid the price. Amen

The other JR is somewhere between hither and yon.

The Kay team cranked on while the weather was most agreeable. We were the only crew working in the hangar. From the opposite side of the hangar it sounded like a party going on. DNCE and before too long we hope to have our cake by the ocean once Kay gets all fired up.

Larry finally mastered the spacer for the Nav's canopy aft support. Check FB in a few days and you will see a video of it. Big Tim & Jim S kept cranking on securing all the last of the QEC hoses. We don't want anything coming loose. Bob brought out a laptop with a compendium of A26 vids. He & Larry got some plans. I could see all the wheels turnin'. Guys will set up a permanent video atop the Special Kay display case that all the visitors can view. Stay tuned.

Kayla, fresh back from all her travels in the right seat of a CJ started QC'ing the No. 2. Her eagle eye found a couple of cowl supports that we will have to acquire and change out. Yours truly and Tim got a PhD in A26 exhaust stacks. Any ideas how many PN exhaust stacks there are on a K model?

Last Sunday we rescued all the nut plates on the RH wing upper fillet. Tomorrow, Tim, T and I will get to reinstall the fillets.
Nice and quiet on Sundays.

Come see us!

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The real JR

The Other JR is back from points east. The video of the canopy operation JR mentioned in the previous post has been posted on our Facebook page along with other updates. The right aux fuel tank is going to have to come out due to leaks. Think of root canals on all 32 teeth and you get the idea of the difficulty of getting this thing out, repaired or replaced. The saving grace may be the new tip tanks that were located in Billings. The original left one leaks badly as we suspected so will have to be replaced. Getting to all of the hoses and pumps involved will be another chore no doubt. The tip tanks have a jettison valve that must be functional to carry fuel in the tips as landing with fuel in them is prohibited so will have to explore that situation more. At any rate, we are running full speed to be ready for the mid October ACA reunion at Hurlburt AFB. We hope to make a flyover of the memorial ceremony at the airpark on Sunday morning for the Special Ops vets who have been lost. As always, we welcome visitors and folks with maintenance experience who might want to join our team. Glad to be back in the Republic. ... the Other JR

www.facebook.com/a26specialkay

You do not have to be a FB member to view our page. Just click on the link and view all of the pictures etc. you like.

An exciting weekend coming up. The needed cowling support brackets have arrived from our friends at Alamo Aircraft in San Antonio so this should put the finishing touches on the cowling issues. The eyebrow windows can go in now that the windscreens are in place. The windshield wipers can be fitted any time after that. We found these at Alamo as well new in the box dated 1965! They were hydraulically powered. Meanwhile, the other JR will be flying the CAF A-26 to the Central Texas Airshow in Temple this weekend. Be sure to drop by our hangar to see the work in progress or come see the show in Temple. The Other JR

The team was excited to have a visit by Walter Langford and several members of his family who came to see his old airplane. He was a Nimrod at NKP in 1968-69. We are always very pleased to have A-26 vets come visit. We also have a new team member, Caleb, who joined in our fun. Much work was accomplished, but there is much more to go in the way of details. For instance, spark plugs would be useful before we attempt engine runs. In other news, the Temple Airshow last weekend went well for the CAF A-26 on Saturday but the weather became a bit wet on Sunday. BUBA doesn't like to start after it rains sometimes, but Bill & JR gave him a stern talking to so he started. They flew in both the Euopean and Vietnam acts on Sunday before scooting for home before the thunderstorms really built up. Next weekend is the Corsicana Airshow on Saturday. The weather forecast is bright and sunny perfect. The CAF A-26 and T-34 will be there. Here are the links to the FB pages:
Facebook.com/a26specialkay
Facebook.com/invadersquadron

Recently asked the guys at the TN Museum how they got the Vietnam colors so correct on their Skyraider. Apparently they sent original panels to Jon Goldenbaum (a former A-1 pilot himself) of Stits Poly Fiber and the colors were matched exactly for hue, sheen, and texture. Something to consider! http://www.polyfiber.com/

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

This weekend the other A26 is off to another show.

The Kay crew will be doing more of the usual. Our goal this weekend is to mill the LH windscreen, and pilot drill it in. Maybe Sunday final install??? Arnold was installing all the rear plugs on No 1, we will do the same for No 2. Once we close in the cockpit, pre-oil, drain sumps, install plugs, close up aux tank, drain & purge fuel tanks we will be ready to go outside.

Shouldn't be too long now when we are heading to shows with Kay.

Come see us, VFM, KFTW.

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The real JR

Sunday and five of us worked on Kay. Larry drained all 300 gallons of calibrating fluid out of Kay. Its sealed in six barrels waiting for the next time we need it. We achieved our weekends goal - with David back from cruising in the Caribbean we were able to say all the "front office" lexan is in place. Just a handful of screws left to install, final torque each. Once they are all in place a bead of PRC will be run to "weather in" the cockpit. Its been 5+ years since Kay has been this complete.

We took a short break to rig check the cowl flaps. They are not exactly where I want them, but nonetheless still within limits.

Bob & Larry installed a big flat screen on top of the display case. Plays looping color video of Kay back in the day. Really slick - our little "museum" is going modern. Thanks guys!

Next week - we start getting ready for the outside work.

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The real JR

Here is a special message to the crew of Special Kay "Les sanglots longs / des violons / de l'automne"

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The real JR

"The long sobs / violin / fall"??!!!

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Keep your PDI centered!

Time is growing closer to haul Kay outside for a good wash job and degunk the left engine. We may pre-oil and test the starters and vibrators, but not attempt an engine start just yet. There are more details that need to be completed. Since we have emptied the fuel tanks of fluid, we will need to flush them with 100LL fuel up to the carburetors to make sure we have pure fuel in the tanks and lines. Wouldn't do to squirt a mouse tail or other FOD into the carb! The oil coolers were both overhauled and are empty of oil so will have to rectify that before attempting any actual starts. Then the Other JR has to build up the nerve to spin the starters, turn on the mags after six blades and start priming with the other finger while bringing up the mixtures or adjusting the throttles with the other hand and keeping an eye on the oil pressures. The other eye has to watch the fire guard for signals that fuel is venting overboard from too much prime or that a fire has started. It is very much like playing the piano.... by ear!! With such a precious airplane, we will have the fire department on scene ready to assist. To lose an airplane for the lack of a sufficient fire extinguisher is unthinkable. More has been posted on our Facebook page. http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay

This is a message to the crew of Special Kay. "Blessent mon cœur d'une langueur monotone"

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The real JR

This is a message to the crew of Special Kay. "Blessent mon cœur d'une langueur monotone"

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The real JR

Today was a milestone day for the Kay Krewe. She saw daylight for the first time in three years. One turnin' and one burnin'
she's back inside now so we can fight the fuel selector valve and oil cooler actuator. I'm certain we will have video posted shortly on the Special Kay Fb page.

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The real JR

Sunday was an awesome Kay day. More to come. Come see us this weekend, and stick around for Sunday/

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The real JR