Warbird Information Exchange

About 25 years ago in Sanford,Florida,I was helping Express Airways maintenance guys by making a high-speed taxi in their C-53 N889P to see if a prop governor adjustment fixed a low take-off RPM problem on an engine.High-speed is a relative term as at about 60 kts the airplane leaped into the air to an altitude of between 50-100 feet.This caused a couple of problems.The first being that I didn't have a DC-3 type-rating at the time (although I had a DC-3S and B-17 rating).More urgently,the airplane only had about 25 gallons of fuel per side,which made a trip around the pattern an unattractive prospect.Fortunately,there was plenty of runway remaining to drop the flaps and land.I've been very wary of high-speed taxi tests ever since.

I found a picture of N889P on Airliners.net.It must have been taken in the 1980's and is in front of Express Airways Hangar (Hangar 4) at Sanford.

Here's a couple of pictures of Miss Tina back in '07 when I visited Bruntingthorpe to see Vulcan XH558.





I always thought that the external fuel tank arrangement on the wings was the most non-aerodynamic thing I had ever seen! This coming from a former BUF crew chief!







Always thought of the old V Force as our (SAC's) British cousins.

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Bill Gorin
Vintage Flying Museum
http://www.vintageflyingmuseum.org
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