Wed Nov 07, 2007 7:19 pm
Okay, we test flew the airplane today and all went well...eventually. We had a chip light on the newly installed #3 engine after about a half an hour of flying, but it just turned out to be a tiny piece of safety wire that ended up in the engine during assembly. Not something you like to see, but not all that uncommon nonetheless. We flew the airplane again after that and all went well.
We'll see you in Vegas.
Gary
We'll see you in Vegas.
Gary
Wed Nov 07, 2007 7:29 pm
retroaviation wrote:We had a chip light on the newly installed #3 engine after about a half an hour of flying,...
Bet there was a sinking feeling and one of those words that comes out as 'darn' on WIX.
Glad it wasn't serious.
Wed Nov 07, 2007 11:38 pm
I was on the FBO ramp gassing up for my trip home when the guys showed up early--it was a rather dismal trip home not knowing that all turned out well with the chip light. I took a photo of the rollout that reminds me more of a skunk getting ready to let fly than a bombardment machine. 
Oh, and lest I forget, thanks to our Maintenance Officer, Don Obreiter, for helping finish the wash job on Wednesday along with everything else he does. I had hoped to have some extra help that didn't materialize. If anyone sees the bad wash job on the left wing behind the engines I take full blame.
Scott
Oh, and lest I forget, thanks to our Maintenance Officer, Don Obreiter, for helping finish the wash job on Wednesday along with everything else he does. I had hoped to have some extra help that didn't materialize. If anyone sees the bad wash job on the left wing behind the engines I take full blame.
Scott
Thu Nov 08, 2007 5:06 pm
Thanks for the updates!
Oh yeah, and thanks for letting us know that Skeeter is back to his usual "contemplating work" self!
Oh yeah, and thanks for letting us know that Skeeter is back to his usual "contemplating work" self!
Thu Nov 08, 2007 6:48 pm
Gary, is your engine mounted on a QEC tub? I have the fun of trying to figure our A-26 engine tubs out, and what goes where inside. Have fun on the trip.
Kurt
Kurt
Thu Nov 08, 2007 7:56 pm
Beachy,
I hadn't seen Skeeter since he first got sick in July--he lost quite a bit of weight during his ordeal, but when I walked in the hangar Sunday night he greeted me like he usually does. He is gaining back some of his weight and his disposition is good, so hopefully he will continue to improve. He told me to thank everyone for thinking of him!
(In the desktop photo I think he was really contemplating that golf ball.)
Oh, the airplane is at Nellis, all went well. (almost forgot the subject matter of this thread):shock:
Scott
I hadn't seen Skeeter since he first got sick in July--he lost quite a bit of weight during his ordeal, but when I walked in the hangar Sunday night he greeted me like he usually does. He is gaining back some of his weight and his disposition is good, so hopefully he will continue to improve. He told me to thank everyone for thinking of him!
(In the desktop photo I think he was really contemplating that golf ball.)
Oh, the airplane is at Nellis, all went well. (almost forgot the subject matter of this thread):shock:
Scott
Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:00 pm
Oh, the airplane is at Nellis, all went well. (almost forgot the subject matter of this thread)
Well, Colonel Mosquito IS the subject matter...just ask him!
SN
Fri Nov 09, 2007 12:54 pm
"LOOK INTO MY EYES, SCOTT--POST THIS PHOTO OF ME FOR THE ADORING WIX FAMILY."
"Yes, Master Skeeter."
Scott
"Yes, Master Skeeter."
Scott
Fri Nov 09, 2007 6:33 pm
Three balls in front and none on my six Captain!
Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:31 pm
My goodness! The poor little guy DID get skinny, huh?
Tue Nov 13, 2007 11:37 am
Well, we made it back from the Nellis Air Show yesterday afternoon. The show went well, but seemed to run long. There were some great airplanes there though and it is certainly something that we'd like to participate in in the future. It was cool to be able to meet fellow WIXers, Roger Cain and Mike Shreeve. There were a few others that came up to say they lurked on WIX, but I simply cannot recall their names.....sorry. 
The Nellis folks ran out of the engine oil that we needed for the B-24, so our friend, Bob DeFord, stepped in to help. He's got a simply fantastic full scale Spitfire replica that he built and flew in the show as well. He lives in Prescott, AZ, which was on the way home for us, so we stopped in there to get the oil we needed to complete the trip.
While putting the oil in the airplane, we let the local airport folks go through the airplane to check it out. When we were finally ready to depart, all of our crew gathered around the entry door to have our preflight brief. Once that was done, everyone climbed aboard and I stayed outside to remove the tail stand from the airplane once everyone was in their seats. I eventually removed the stand, but moments later, the tail of the airplane started creeping towards the ground. Initially my thoughts were that this wasn't too uncommon, as the B-24 is notorious for teetering back and forth, depending on where the weight of the airplane is inside. But this time, the tail didn't stop. It just kept creeping lower and lower. I heard someone with a somewhat concerned voice say, "GARY, GARY!!!", but there was no way in heck I was going to put my back under the airplane to try to keep it from hitting the ground...which it eventually did. With a solid "thunk" the tail became firmly rested on the ground. You can probably imagine how stupid and embarrassed I felt about now.
But why did this happen? Why did I take the stinkin' tail stand out too soon? Why did it go on it's tail after everyone was seated? Well, I found out soon enough. I told everyone to walk towards the front of the airplane, which they did. It very gently came back to rest on it's nosewheel and I then told everyone to get out one at a time. What I saw then was five tourists making their way out of the airplane! Nobody in our crew knew they were still on board. So when we started to enter the airplane, all five of them made their way towards the back of the airplane after I'd removed the stand. It was just one of those things I reckon, but I was sure pretty dang mad at myself about it.
Oh, and what about damage? Well, it's not horrible, but again, it's enough to p*ss me off a bit. The tail skid was simply pushed right up into the fuselage and the tunnel gun door was shoved open. Our entry door was touching the ground and was nearly level, but only received a few scratches. We were going to beef up the tail skid area this winter anyway, so having to rebuild that section doesn't hurt my feelings too much. But something is tweaked in my tunnel gun door, as we couldn't get it back open once we closed it. I had to open it by taking the hinge pins out and removing the door completely.
Here are a couple shots of the damage........
I looked everything over real well and determined that the damage was nothing that would be a safety hazard for our remaining flight home. It's similar to damage done by an aircraft jack that's missed the jack point. Embarrassing, but nothing that caused airworthiness concerns, so we pressed on.
There was one glimmer of coolness on the flight home, however. Bob DeFord escorted us out of Prescott with his Spit and I was able to get some pretty decent air to air photos of him from the tailgunner's position and the tunnel gun position, along with a few shots from the waistgunner's spot. And yes, before anyone asks, Bob does have a formation card, along with Paul, who was flying our plane. The flight was thoroughly briefed and we flew it as briefed. I may see about posting some photos from that flight later, but I need to sort through them first.
So anyway, once we're allowed back into the hangar (they've got more events going on in it right now), I'll get started on the winter maintenance of the B-24. I reckon I'll keep y'all posted on how that goes as well.
Gary
The Nellis folks ran out of the engine oil that we needed for the B-24, so our friend, Bob DeFord, stepped in to help. He's got a simply fantastic full scale Spitfire replica that he built and flew in the show as well. He lives in Prescott, AZ, which was on the way home for us, so we stopped in there to get the oil we needed to complete the trip.
While putting the oil in the airplane, we let the local airport folks go through the airplane to check it out. When we were finally ready to depart, all of our crew gathered around the entry door to have our preflight brief. Once that was done, everyone climbed aboard and I stayed outside to remove the tail stand from the airplane once everyone was in their seats. I eventually removed the stand, but moments later, the tail of the airplane started creeping towards the ground. Initially my thoughts were that this wasn't too uncommon, as the B-24 is notorious for teetering back and forth, depending on where the weight of the airplane is inside. But this time, the tail didn't stop. It just kept creeping lower and lower. I heard someone with a somewhat concerned voice say, "GARY, GARY!!!", but there was no way in heck I was going to put my back under the airplane to try to keep it from hitting the ground...which it eventually did. With a solid "thunk" the tail became firmly rested on the ground. You can probably imagine how stupid and embarrassed I felt about now.
But why did this happen? Why did I take the stinkin' tail stand out too soon? Why did it go on it's tail after everyone was seated? Well, I found out soon enough. I told everyone to walk towards the front of the airplane, which they did. It very gently came back to rest on it's nosewheel and I then told everyone to get out one at a time. What I saw then was five tourists making their way out of the airplane! Nobody in our crew knew they were still on board. So when we started to enter the airplane, all five of them made their way towards the back of the airplane after I'd removed the stand. It was just one of those things I reckon, but I was sure pretty dang mad at myself about it.
Oh, and what about damage? Well, it's not horrible, but again, it's enough to p*ss me off a bit. The tail skid was simply pushed right up into the fuselage and the tunnel gun door was shoved open. Our entry door was touching the ground and was nearly level, but only received a few scratches. We were going to beef up the tail skid area this winter anyway, so having to rebuild that section doesn't hurt my feelings too much. But something is tweaked in my tunnel gun door, as we couldn't get it back open once we closed it. I had to open it by taking the hinge pins out and removing the door completely.
Here are a couple shots of the damage........
I looked everything over real well and determined that the damage was nothing that would be a safety hazard for our remaining flight home. It's similar to damage done by an aircraft jack that's missed the jack point. Embarrassing, but nothing that caused airworthiness concerns, so we pressed on.
There was one glimmer of coolness on the flight home, however. Bob DeFord escorted us out of Prescott with his Spit and I was able to get some pretty decent air to air photos of him from the tailgunner's position and the tunnel gun position, along with a few shots from the waistgunner's spot. And yes, before anyone asks, Bob does have a formation card, along with Paul, who was flying our plane. The flight was thoroughly briefed and we flew it as briefed. I may see about posting some photos from that flight later, but I need to sort through them first.
So anyway, once we're allowed back into the hangar (they've got more events going on in it right now), I'll get started on the winter maintenance of the B-24. I reckon I'll keep y'all posted on how that goes as well.
Gary
Tue Nov 13, 2007 12:34 pm
Well that certainly sucks. 
Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:28 pm
The bright side of this accident for us wixers is......................MORE UPDATES from GARY on COOL WINTER WORK!!
Tue Nov 13, 2007 1:59 pm
Yes, that does indeed stink, especially since I am to blame for not beefing that tailskid up sufficiently. I had wanted to extend an internal doubler to incorporate the frames in front of and behind the tailskid, but with the looming deadlines, and other work left to be done, I ended up with what Gary just posted. On the positive side, the spot where the skin separated is just in front of the frame we can tie into this winter, so at least my intution was correct. We tested the thing with a load of aircrew during ground school in July, and I had misgivings about my handiwork, but it ALMOST made it through the entire show season. 
At least the damage is fairly minimal, and a good tinpecker can fix my little screw-up.
Sorry, boss.
Scott
I had wanted to extend an internal doubler to incorporate the frames in front of and behind the tailskid, but with the looming deadlines, and other work left to be done, I ended up with what Gary just posted. On the positive side, the spot where the skin separated is just in front of the frame we can tie into this winter, so at least my intution was correct. We tested the thing with a load of aircrew during ground school in July, and I had misgivings about my handiwork, but it ALMOST made it through the entire show season.
At least the damage is fairly minimal, and a good tinpecker can fix my little screw-up.
Sorry, boss.
Scott
Tue Nov 13, 2007 4:04 pm
Um, not your screw up, Scott. I'm the one that took the tail stand out too soon and frankly, with this airplane being built out of "Oh-too-thin" metal anyway, I doubt we'd have gotten away with no damage even if you'd have beefed up the structure somewhat. I've got an idea in my head about how to fix that to where it won't give us anymore problems like that again. Stay tuned... 
Gary
Gary