More Spotting

[Dave Hackett]

A while back someone started a thread about warbird spotting. I am just reviving it with mine from this week. Monday and Tuesday I flew in and out of Knoxville. On the northside at the FBO, Blue Angel 4 was parked with a big puddle under her. Ground Control said that they heard that it puked its hydraulic system. On the south side by the military ramp was a P-3 in tanker colors and configuration wearing #20. On Tuesday morning there were also two Harriers parked at the FBO on the north side.

Sorry I could not see the tail number on the P-3. Anyone in the area who knows it?

[spookyboss]

We have our AC-47 at Glendale,AZ for the show this w/e looks like good weather for it.

[Eureka181]

We at the So Cal Wing of the CAF are flying in our F6F, F8F, and A6M3 Zero for the Glendale Show. I am pretty sure those are the aircraft. I don't have my list here with me so that is all from my memory.

Eric

[spookyboss]

What's the deal on the C-46 china doll ? is it back to flying?

[Eureka181]

Are you are talking about the engine fire we had at the end of September? Well anyway, that fire was caused by a broken seal on the hydraulic pump. It spewed fluid on the exhaust and started the fire. But the seal was blown because of a malfunctioning hydraulic pressure regulator valve.

We have been working like crazy to repair all the damage. As of today we have repaired the damage to the cowling, repaired the firewall, repaired a cracked exhaust stack, installed a new hydraulic pump, installed a new tach generator, replaced all the hoses in the accessory compartment, and recharged the fire bottles. We still have a lot to do. We sent the feather pump and regulator valve out to the overhaul place.

We won't make any more airshows this year. But it is a good thing. It gives us time to repair some corrosion and replace some control cables and cycle the landing gear in the hangar.

Here are some pictures.

This shot was taken a few days after the fire, before we started the repair work.

This is the accessory compartment, and you can see some of the damage in the picture.

This is the hydraulic pump.

This was taken a few days ago, when we were working.

Eric

[skymstr02]

I remember back in the early 80's when that C-46 sat derelect across from my hangar in Conroe, TX. Thats when I first met Walter Wooten from the CAF. The CAF left two run out R-2800's in cans and we ended up selling them as scrap to clean the area.

China Doll was then Humpty Dumpty and was used to haul cattle and the animal stench was still strong. The waste from these animals had caused real bad corrosion below the floor line.

[Eureka181]

We still have bad corrosion below the floor line. That is why we are bringing the "Doll" in the hangars this winter to do some major repair work. We have a lot of corrosion on the top of the fuselage too. The C-46 needs some good down time to fix everything, and fix it right. By the start of the 2006 airshow season she will be standing tall!

Eric

[RareBear]

Dave,

The P3A wearing tanker colors and the #20 belongs to Aero Union and is based in Chico, CA. It's former BuNo 150513 and carries the civil registration N920AU.

Walt

[tom d. friedman]

china doll has her most distant post war origins right here in my own home town of wakeman ohio. i wrote a 2 part article on the ortner flying service in air classics in 2002 on the bro's. that c-46 was among numerous ones owned by the ortner brothers who operated the largest non scheduled air freight flying service east of the mississippi river up to the early 70's

[Eureka181]

I was going through some old Air Classics the other day and came across your article. Good article!

Yep, the "Doll" has been places in her 60 years...

Eric

[tom d. friedman]

many thanks eureka!! the ortner bro's were real piss & vinegar civilian aviators. i was most proud to pay tribute to them.

[airnutz]

I remember back in the early 80's when that C-46 sat derelect across from my hangar in Conroe, TX.

Skymstr...were the Convair 440(?)'s and Gooneys still being stored at
Conroe in the early 80's? I vaguely remember they were Mohawk and
Allegheny Airlines birds...totally complete and in pretty good appearance
in '72 or '73.

[tom d. friedman]

ortner's last convair was cut up in 98 or 99. i posted pics in air classics during the dirty deed. their bird was leased prior to their ownership to jfk.... future prez kennedy in the 1960 election campaign. he probably joined the mile high club with marylin monroe during the campaign in it!!! the plane was cut up in the late 90's as stated, & supposedly made it to the indiana state line where it sat or sits to this day due to safety issues in transporting the carcass from what i've been told. last exterior scheme was in nasa markings up to the mentioned date. best, tom

[skymstr02]

I remember back in the early 80's when that C-46 sat derelect across from my hangar in Conroe, TX.

Skymstr...were the Convair 440(?)'s and Gooneys still being stored at
Conroe in the early 80's? I vaguely remember they were Mohawk and
Allegheny Airlines birds...totally complete and in pretty good appearance
in '72 or '73.

Nope, the airport manager and the county had declared the airplanes as hazardous, and the road division brought in a bulldozer and balled up the aircraft into piles and pushed the remains into the landfill off of the end of runway 1. If you walk along taxiway D, you can see shards of aluminum imbedded into the asphalt.

When we learned of the impending demise, we were given permission to scavenge what we wanted of the aircraft. We got as many accessories as we could, ie, voltage regulators, reverse current relays, hydraulic pumps, gear actuators, etc. We made and sold a lot of log splitters with the pumps and actuators.

The first time that met Gordon Baxter from Flying magazine was when he passed thru and saw the planes parked there. His wife was a former stewardess for Mohawk and flew on some of the planes there.

[tom d. friedman]

are we talking about ortner's convair??