Warbird Information Exchange

When I think about aircraft that a specific enthusiast "should" restore, based on their expertise, attention to detail, and affinity for the unique, there's one aircraft that comes to mind for Rod Lewis to consider restoring to flying, because I think he would do it justice: The Ki-45 "Nick".





There's even an intact fuselage at Udvar-Hazy that presumably could be used for some patterning:



Would make a splendid companion to the Mosquito in the air, in terms of an additional two-engined hot rod of an airplane. A man can dream, can't he?

- Dennis S.
Thornton, CO USA

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"We must bond together and fight as brothers or we will all die as fools."

Has the Smithsonian ever allowed that sort of thing before, especially for a potential flyer?

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Dennis, I truly like how you think.

No one can deny that the Toryu was an absolute brute. Great woe to the PT boat or unescorted B-24 that crossed its path...







And to make/keep one flyable, dimensionally the R-1830 would be close enough to do the trick.

But without actual wings and empennage--or the engineering drawings to replicate--a flyable Toryu can only remain a dream...so sad.

Perhaps a more-viable alternative is an R-2000-powered Ki-100?

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It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Is it definite that only the fuselage survives? I feel like I've read that they may have the rest of the airframe somewhere? NASM has some really cool stuff waiting in the wings TA-152, BV-155, JU-388, AR-196, B6N, B7A, N1K, J7W, C6M, Kikka, P1Y...etc etc etc! Sadly, I don't think half of these will be complete in my lifetime, but at least they're still with us.

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I'm looking for that buried Corsair(s) that I can dig up, pressure wash, and fly!

I seem to recall that inspection and measurements were allowed for Jim Wrights replica of the Hughes Racer.
That thing was phenomenal.

John Norman has been up close with the original Spirit of St. Louis at the Smithsonian at least three times, taking measurements, making tracings, and other research work off it for his flying clone.

With regard to Rod Lewis, it would be quite a shift in his collection if a warbird from any of the Axis forces were added.

I would imagine that Rod will be focusing funds on his current Constellation and Hellcat projects before he purchases anything else!

Batch of Mossie dis-assembly photos, including Franken-container for the wing.
https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php? ... 3775005366

Also a little coverage in this Plane Savers episode
viewtopic.php?p=613875#p613875

[quote][/quote]

NASM also has the wings. The fuselage was cleaned in the wild few months before UH opened, I think their resources then were very spread out and so the wings and engines were put aside until "later." The drive to get things out of Garber and into UH subsided soon after.

Rocket-armed Mosquito in flight
https://www.facebook.com/chris.verrall. ... =3&theater

Wasn't there someone a few years back that had collected enough Ki-46 Dinah remains to bring one back? I always liked the sleekness of the Dinah III. An attractive and quick bird.

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He bowls overhand...He is the most interesting man in the world.
"In Peace Japan Breeds War", Eckstein, Harper and Bros., 3rd ed. 1943(1927, 1928,1942)
"Leave it to ol' Slim. I got ideas...and they're all vile, baby." South Dakota Slim
"Ahh..."The Deuce", 28,000 pounds of motherly love." quote from some Mojave Grunt
DBF

Video from the first US flight released by Lewis Air Legends.

My inner pedant feels the need to point out that it's the first post-restoration flight in the US.

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Zac in NZ
#avgeek, modelbuilder, photographer, writer. Callsign: "HANDBAG".
https://linktr.ee/zacyates

"It's his plane, he spent the money to restore it, he can do with it what he wants. I will never understand what's hard to comprehend about this." - kalamazookid, 20/08/2013
"The more time you spend around warbirds the sooner you learn nothing, is simple." - JohnB, 24/02/22