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

[Zac Yates]

Great news on the Fouga flying! Hopefully it's an easy fix and she can get back up soon.

[A26 Special K]

Yep, the Fouga is flying. Needs a few tweaks on avionics but we plan to take care of those in January. The Aspen E5 keeps showing overheat after takeoff. The Flightstream 210 is not talking to the Garmin 650. All should be easy fixes. The Hiller is down for engine overhaul so looks like that might take a year. The A-26 has picked up steam with the hiring of a full time guy to work on getting the left gear back in. We also have a part time sheetmetal troop who is rebuilding the nacelle. Photos are on our Facebook page. Once the gear is in place, we will set her down to do a 180 and the put her up on jacks again. The prop and engine will be removed for OH. Then we will work on the other landing gear to make sure they are still good. This is just a necessary precaution given the propensity for A-26 gear to collapse. Our condolences go out to the A-26 Lady Liberty group in Okla for the nose gear collapse on takeoff. Looks maybe to be harder to repair than Kay. But God’s speed to them.

[A26 Special K]

That left landing gear is slowly making its way to the nacelle. It is down to the point of having one more fitting made to line up the holes on the left outboard side of the nacelle for the trunnion support. We obtained a good sized chunk of metal and turned it over to Manning Engineering to hog out the piece. Once that comes back, the nacelle build out will reach the junction with the large aft section that will be riveted on. Some adjustments are expected since this “canoe” came off another A-26. Being hand fitted back in 1944 will likely mean it will need a bigger hammer to make it fit. The gear itself is being trial fitted with all the attachments to complete the assembly. Once we can put weight on the gear, this will be a huge milestone toward recovery. There is a lot left to do, however. If you live in the DFW area and have some skills with tools, please come visit us on Saturday mornings at the Vintage Flying Museum in Ft Worth.