Warbird Information Exchange

Zane,

I literally stumbled onto those pictures on ebay. They were listed in some obscure fashion and I just got lucky. Paid nearly nothing for them to boot!
There is a third photo that completed the set:

I'd like to find the identity of the two men in the photos but I can't read the second fellows security badge.

That block of wood is probably another wheel chock--Liberator crews used all manner of stools, ammo cans, and other stuff to prop the back end of their birds up. The current method is the pogo stick and a 4x4 block! Ol' 927 must have been a navigator's dream during the war with two football ADF antennas and the open loop as well. Can you say "state of the art avionics?" Here is another photo of the antenna set-up that has been posted here before:

Notice that the nose doors still retracted into the fuselage until the RY-3 nose was installed.

Scott

If this has been asked already just ignore, but how long can 'Ole 927 be expected to be airworthy? As long as replacement parts can be made?

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http://www.disrudstudios.com

Cripes,

I think Gary told us once that AM927 has less than 14,000 hours on it--there are C-47/DC-3 airframes with over 80,000 hours still going strong. I'd guess that with the relatively small amount of hours that these airplanes are flown per year that there is no real "lifespan" to be concerned with. As far as parts go, there is seemingly no limit to what can be built from scratch today, the limiting factor there being the depth of one's wallet. She should be airworthy for a great many years with good maintenance and proper care.

Scott

To find those incredible pics on ebay... by chance... that just boggles my mind. Thank God you were paying attention that day Scott!

Django,

Unfortunately for our bank balance, I "pay attention" to ebay far too much!

Scott

I presume that one of the limiting factors would be the life of the main spar.

If I recall correctly the Privateers had that problem.

Nice job Gary you should be very proud guy.

Regards

Col Tigwell
Downunder

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Vietnam Vet and proud of it.

Roughly 16,200 hours

I find it very interesting that the same "greenhouse windows" that I installed this winter, are in the the pictures showing the cockpit on this pic of AM927? Spooky! Nice find!!

Dave

snjfxr,

Those overhead windows are darn close to identical, Dave! I hadn't really examined the greenhouse till you pointed that out (other than to notice the bulged sliding windows). Have fun with the old girl!

Scott

Since Oshkosh, "OL 927" has been to several locals. 1st a stop in Willow Run where the Yankee Airforce is based. Many thank's to all there for there kind words, wonderful stories and helpfulness!!!!!!
From there on to Batavia NY where they gave us the royal treatment. Again, thank's so much to all who helped and gave of there time, money or resources. From there on to Niagara Falls. We again had a wonderful stay at the 914th ANG base. There we had Sgt. Moe! He gave or should I say, acquired, everything we asked of him and more. We left there Monday the 13th and flew to Columbus,Oh. They are moving "OL 927"on friday 8/17 to Lancaster. OH. There is an airshow there this weekend. Please come out if you're close by.
Dave

Rats! I'm in Columbus! Where are ye?

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"Anyway, the throat feels a bit rough...the legs have gone...but I'm still able to chant, so let's get going."

Joe Strummer, 1999

Crap...when was she at Willow Run? I'm not gonna make to the Indy show, and would have loved to have seen her!

SN

She was sitting on the ramp for a few days at the beginning of August. The airport authority can be very picky about ramp access, so she wasn't really "on display."

On the plus side, I spent one of those days hanging around the hangar and got a chance to get up close and personal with the bird. Thanks again to the extraordinarily patient CAF crew. Dave, Ken, and the rest of the gang were great ambassadors of the Commemorative Air Force (Shorty's a riot.), and I hope I was able to be enough of a help to offset being "the geek with the camera."

Anyhow, the whole flickr set (91 pics, inside and out. Including half a dozen quality photos! ) can be seen here: http://flickr.com/photos/tenthousandmarbles/sets/72157601520011495/

And here are a couple of the highlights:













Gary, you've done a fantastic job with that bird.

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Phil K.
Yankee Air Museum
Systems Admin / Ramp Crew / Professional Photo Ruiner

Please tell me that in that last picture, you got there before they emptied the airplane and they weren't displaying it with all of that crap bungy corded to the sides and on the floor.

Embarrassing!

Gary

They weren't displaying the aircraft at all. This was when it was on the ramp at Yankee. They were loading up for pilot training on Monday, then they were off to Niagra Falls Tuesday.

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Phil K.
Yankee Air Museum
Systems Admin / Ramp Crew / Professional Photo Ruiner