CAF Curtiss P-40N Warhawk Restoration

Bill Greenwood · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2008 12:29 pm

She looks good as far as I can tell by the photos, I haven't seen her in person since the new paint. I do think the high gloss paint job was overdone and did not look right. A good choice on paint for anyone doing a restoration is what we used on my plane. It is sort of a semigloss or an eggshell. It is very smooth, or was when new, so it cleans well, but it doesn't look like some Learjet. The paint seems almost flat in bright sunlight, but has a soft sheen when clean and in the shade. This is a good choice if you are going to fly the plane to a lot of shows and it is going to be outside. If it is a museum piece and not flown, then the full authentic flat paint job may be best.

b29flteng · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2008 3:12 pm

What Bill said! That egg shell looks great.

corsair166b · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:38 pm

Actually in the photo I posted Ray Kinney flew the photo mission in the P-40....my camera ship pilot was Jerry Flesher, and Steve Rister is in the back of #24....can't speak as to who the pilot of #24 is at that time...

Mark

Young Shep · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2008 4:57 pm

corsair166b wrote:

Actually in the photo I posted Ray Kinney flew the photo mission in the P-40....my camera ship pilot was Jerry Flesher, and Steve Rister is in the back of #24....can't speak as to who the pilot of #24 is at that time...

Mark

That would have been George Coombes

drmort · **Joined:** Mon Oct 27, 2008 5:38 pm **Posts:** 10

For those who want to keep track of the progress on the CAF's P-40, we have a sponsorship group blog:

http://www.p-40n.blogspot.com

Alan Brooks · **Posted:** Fri Oct 31, 2008 12:59 am

valdez25 wrote:

Alan Brooks wrote:

Yep... my bad :oops:

..... Taylor, the red paint came from Mike Dillon, when the bird was kept down in Pt Arthur, Texas down at the old grass strip... not at the current Jefferson County Airport.... or as they now call it,Southeast Regional or some crud like that.... Anyway, this bird has seen the gulf waters in more ways than from the air and rain. :wink:

Alan

What do you mean about the "gulf waters" comment?

Supposedly in the history of the P-40 when down at Pt Arthur, there were several storms that came in around/between Orange and Sabine Pass. Beaumont and Pt Arthur are in between and just barely up the Sabine River. Once, possibly twice, the report was, there was water splashing at the main wheel wells. My wifes' parents old house in Port Acres (stones throw from Pt Arthur) had paneling about halfway up the walls in their house to cover the water mark left from storms in the early 60's... Most every house in that edition all had similar paneling on their walls. This is the history of the airplane as I know.... However at least two others that have been involved with this P-40 over the last 20-25 years, corroborate this story. Alan

Taylor Stevenson · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:15 pm

Well the CAFs P-40N made its first post-restoration flight yesterday at Gainesville Texas. Ray Kinney said the aircraft flew perfectly and no issues were found. Congrats to all the hard work done by Larry Lang and Ray Kinney. I don't know of many major fighter restorations done completed in only a year!

warbird1 · **Joined:** Fri Sep 21, 2007 6:25 pm **Posts:** 2760

me109me109 wrote:

Well the CAFs P-40N made its first post-restoration flight yesterday at Gainesville Texas. Ray Kinney said the aircraft flew perfectly and no issues were found. Congrats to all the hard work done by Larry Lang and Ray Kinney. I don't know of many major fighter restorations done completed in only a year!

Is this the first flight since it crash landed out at Phoenix a few years ago, or had she been airworthy after that?

Jack Cook · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 4:29 pm

So where'd that big ol decal end of going :?:

needle · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:10 pm

And she arrived at Addison airport at lunchtime today, with Ray at the controls.

Looks good.

Julian

steve dickey · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 9:15 pm

warbird1 wrote:

me109me109 wrote:

Well the CAFs P-40N made its first post-restoration flight yesterday at Gainesville Texas. Ray Kinney said the aircraft flew perfectly and no issues were found. Congrats to all the hard work done by Larry Lang and Ray Kinney. I don't know of many major fighter restorations done completed in only a year!

Is this the first flight since it crash landed out at Phoenix a few years ago, or had she been airworthy after that?

It was airworthy prior to restoration.

Alan Brooks · **Posted:** Fri Dec 05, 2008 11:28 pm

Ok Taylor, you or your dad needs to post a few piccies.... I will not be at Addison tomorrow, but will be at Lancaster tomorrow evening for the Christmas Party! Alan

AviaS199 · **Posted:** Sat Dec 06, 2008 2:18 am

Glad to see 26 November getting so much TLC. I'm showing my age, but I remember reading Mike Dillon's account of the restoration in Air Progress magazine. Must have been a good forty years ago.

Something I've always wondered: I'm sure many of you watched the extras on "Saving Private Ryan." Among them were clips of Spielberg's first movie, something he shot while still an adolescent, an endearingly preposterous film about fighter pilots. Spielberg and his young friends played the roles of the fighter pilots. Several scenes showed them climbing into a P-40 parked at Sky Harbor Airport. Anyone know if that particular P-40 was 26 November?

Shay · **Posted:** Sat Dec 06, 2008 11:35 am

Regardles of accuracy, still a nice aircraft

For the purpose of review though

Since these were RAF ordered aircraft, wouldn't it follow that the paint schemes would match that of other RAF types like the early Mustangs and Boston etc.?

Shay
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