Wiley Post Bird CK Pics

Airplanejunkie · **Posted:** Sat Sep 19, 2009 8:23 pm

Wiley Post's Bird CK flew on Friday, capping off a 4+ year restoration project. All went well, and it was flown up to Eagles Mere.

All photos taken by my wife, Juliet Lindrooth

tom d. friedman · **Posted:** Sat Sep 19, 2009 10:30 pm

i can tell alot of love & devotion went into that project!! congrats!!

aseweepay · **Joined:** Sat May 23, 2009 1:50 pm **Posts:** 3

WOW, Beautiful plane and really nice pictures....

Airplanejunkie · **Posted:** Sun Sep 20, 2009 6:31 am

tom d. friedman wrote:

i can tell alot of love & devotion went into that project!! congrats!!

Although I wish I could, I can't really take credit for any of it

The credit goes to the Posey Brothers who restored the plane and the owner, George Jenkins (Eagles Mere Air Museum.) They really did an amazing job.

wacoykc · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 8:48 am

Certainly is a nice looking airplane.......for a BIRD :lol:

mazdaP5 · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 11:47 am

Lovely!

Airplanejunkie · **Posted:** Mon Sep 21, 2009 2:51 pm

wacoykc wrote:

Certainly is a nice looking airplane.......for a BIRD :lol:

LMAO

I beg your pardon:

Read the part below where it talks about "beautiful lines" and "perfect balance." Straight from the manufacturers literature so it must be true.

Dave Hadfield · **Joined:** Sun Sep 17, 2006 10:31 pm **Posts:** 1672

Lovely! Sweet looking airplane.

2-seater up front, right? Barnstormer?

Nice job on that exhaust ring, BTW. Looks perfect.

How's it fly?

Dave

Airplanejunkie · **Posted:** Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:48 pm

Dave Hadfield wrote:

Lovely! Sweet looking airplane.

2-seater up front, right? Barnstormer?

Nice job on that exhaust ring, BTW. Looks perfect.

How's it fly?

Dave

It's a fun airplane. Flys and feels just like a big Cub.

The Birds were barnstormers. This one is a Bird "CK." 3 passengers in the front. Two on the bench seat and one on a folding seat that we forgot to photograph.

I own a "BK." Same basic airplane but only two in the front.

I think they did a great job with the exhaust collector, and it sounds cool also.

Warbird Kid · **Posted:** Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:38 pm

2 questions.

Where did this one come from before restoration?

And

How many of these Blue Birds are flying?

Airplanejunkie · **Posted:** Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:12 pm

Warbird Kid wrote:

2 questions.

Where did this one come from before restoration?

And

How many of these Blue Birds are flying?

This Bird belonged to a collector in Idaho. I'm not sure when the current owner acquired it but it came to Posey Brothers for restoration about 4 1/2 years ago.

Here is a link to the original for sale listing. http://www.radialengines.com/aircraft_p ... index.html

Not sure how many Birds are still around, I'd actually like to know. A quick look at the FAA database using "Brunner Winkle," "Bird" and "Perth Amboy" as the manufacturer turns up 48 total entries. For sure many of these are paperwork only, if that.

I am aware of 9 flyers although I believe there are more. Off the top of my head can think of another dozen or so that are in museums and/or under restoration.

wacoykc · **Posted:** Thu Sep 24, 2009 8:04 am

I always loved the landing gear on the Birds....it always seemed like when building the gear they made it more difficult by building that oval into the landing gear strut so the other strut could pass through it instead of just connecting together like Waco did.

Had a great chance to look over NC9181, the OX-5 Bird for sale at Brodhead that belonged to the late Denny Trone. Sure seems like a fair price at $50K if you can get past it having an OX-5. I can say that it did run well and seemed to perform decently!

Have you ever seen the Bird book published by Dick Hill?

Airplanejunkie · **Posted:** Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:16 am

wacoykc wrote:

I always loved the landing gear on the Birds....it always seemed like when building the gear they made it more difficult by building that oval into the landing gear strut so the other strut could pass through it instead of just connecting together like Waco did.

Had a great chance to look over NC9181, the OX-5 Bird for sale at Brodhead that belonged to the late Denny Trone. Sure seems like a fair price at $50K if you can get past it having an OX-5. I can say that it did run well and seemed to perform decently!

Have you ever seen the Bird book published by Dick Hill?

I do have a copy of Dick Hill's book. Great source of info and a lot of fun!

I have wondered myself about the landing gear configuration. It sure seems like the hard way to do it. Maybe the longer braces lead to a softer gear. I do feel like the Bird lands very soft....(I know I don't)

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