Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:40 am
Django wrote:As reported in Warbird Digest, Barbie III's nose was being used as a trash dumpster.
THis is not a shot at you man...
I don't know about that....IIRC The nose on N5548N was hand fabricated from drawing abtained from I believe the National Archives, as there hasn't been a B-25G or H model nose around for a while prior to this aircraft having one manufacture for her.
Fri Jan 02, 2009 1:10 pm
Here are a couple of examples of post-war farm usage of warbird stuff:
A local farmer used these B-29 bomb bay aux tanks to haul fuel for many years until our Museum acquired them.
These nosewheel-equipped dollies were used on farm trailers until we rescued them and towed them over to the Museum property. Sadly the single wheels in this group were stolen before I saved the two dolly sets. We also have two 56" wheel/tire assemblies that serve as rollers for one of the gates on the Base, and several AT-23 main gear wheel assemblies that had been part of trailers in the past.
The Searcy Field Museum at Stillwater, Ok. has a pair of B-24 vertical fins that used to be signs for a body shop.
Scott
A local farmer used these B-29 bomb bay aux tanks to haul fuel for many years until our Museum acquired them.
These nosewheel-equipped dollies were used on farm trailers until we rescued them and towed them over to the Museum property. Sadly the single wheels in this group were stolen before I saved the two dolly sets. We also have two 56" wheel/tire assemblies that serve as rollers for one of the gates on the Base, and several AT-23 main gear wheel assemblies that had been part of trailers in the past.
The Searcy Field Museum at Stillwater, Ok. has a pair of B-24 vertical fins that used to be signs for a body shop.
Scott
Fri Jan 02, 2009 8:59 pm
At the old 'State Armory' bar here in Greeley, in addition to the hanging B-17 they hauled out of here a few years ago and sent to California, there were a few windows upstairs that were some sort of canopy types, looked F-86 ish or P-47-ish to me...dunno where they got off to..
Mark
Mark
Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:16 pm
A farily recent instance I can think of..
At a model contest in Toledo a few years ago, the "Best In Show" trophy was made from the aft section of an F-16 canopy, donated by the local ANG unit.
SN
At a model contest in Toledo a few years ago, the "Best In Show" trophy was made from the aft section of an F-16 canopy, donated by the local ANG unit.
SN
Fri Jan 02, 2009 9:49 pm
I'm guilty....I have the nose section from a PV-2 that had until recently served as a dog house for my Mastif...Where the lower mounted .50 cal. guns were accessed, Missy used for the door....She has since up-graded to a new camper shell condo, with tinted viewing windows all 4 sides...She is now stealth...
Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:10 pm
Not exactly a warbird, but the chair I use at my model workbench is made from the pilot's seat (I think) from a DC-6. When I lived in a small town just east of Boulder, CO in the early '80s, somebody had the cockpit section bolted to the side of their house. Somebody else bought the home, and had the cockpit hauled to the scrapyard. I noticed a guy loading it into a truck one afternoon. Most of the interior fittings had been stripped and piled in the yard, including the seats..so I bought one for two bucks, took it home, and bolted it to an old office chair frame. I would have loved to have saved the entire cockpit, but it was beyond my means at the time (I was only 19.)
The only ID I found was a plate reading "United Air Lines, Spare #2." These days, I would scoure it for any serial numbers, but I was only 19 at the time. Somebody told me the plane had been flown into the local airport (Tri-County) years earlier, with the intention of making a restaurant, but it ran off the runway and was mostly destroyed by fire.
Here is the chair at my current workbench, just after we moved last year. I left the seatbelts in place..gives it some personality. The duct tape is my addition..the original leather covering was getting really ratty in spots.
SN
The only ID I found was a plate reading "United Air Lines, Spare #2." These days, I would scoure it for any serial numbers, but I was only 19 at the time. Somebody told me the plane had been flown into the local airport (Tri-County) years earlier, with the intention of making a restaurant, but it ran off the runway and was mostly destroyed by fire.
Here is the chair at my current workbench, just after we moved last year. I left the seatbelts in place..gives it some personality. The duct tape is my addition..the original leather covering was getting really ratty in spots.
SN
Fri Jan 02, 2009 10:46 pm
Barbir III's nose wasn't manufactured from drawings. They found the lower half and were rebuilding it while looking for the upper half. They figured they were going to have to fabricate it if they didn't find one.
I was scrounging through a surplus place called Palleys Supply when I found three upper B-25H noses. I remembered reading about Barbie and their quest for the upper nose so I tracked down Lou Fulgaro's phone number. Lou was the project manager at the time and he was quite skeptical and didn't believe that some kid from California had found the nose he was looking for. I think I was 15 or 16 at the time. To make a long story short I described all three noses and he picked the one that suited him best. It cost more to have a crate made than it cost to buy the nose from Palleys. Lou tells this story from his side, and a lot more, in a book he wrote about the whole Weary Warrior and the Barbie III story. It is a great read that I highly recommend picking up a copy. It is called Barbie III and company by Lou Fulgaro.
Lou is a great guy who, with some great company, built up a rare and wonderful B-25H.
Every time I see Barbie III I get a good feeling that I was able to help them in some small way.
Palleys was a great place way back then. They had P-38 parts (gear, scoops, verticals and rudders) SB2C parts (gear, canopies, cowling) B-25 stuff, instruments, gun sights, bombsights even sheepskin clothing and AN6530 goggle lenses. What a great place to scrounge around in... Ah, the good old days!
I was scrounging through a surplus place called Palleys Supply when I found three upper B-25H noses. I remembered reading about Barbie and their quest for the upper nose so I tracked down Lou Fulgaro's phone number. Lou was the project manager at the time and he was quite skeptical and didn't believe that some kid from California had found the nose he was looking for. I think I was 15 or 16 at the time. To make a long story short I described all three noses and he picked the one that suited him best. It cost more to have a crate made than it cost to buy the nose from Palleys. Lou tells this story from his side, and a lot more, in a book he wrote about the whole Weary Warrior and the Barbie III story. It is a great read that I highly recommend picking up a copy. It is called Barbie III and company by Lou Fulgaro.
Lou is a great guy who, with some great company, built up a rare and wonderful B-25H.
Every time I see Barbie III I get a good feeling that I was able to help them in some small way.
Palleys was a great place way back then. They had P-38 parts (gear, scoops, verticals and rudders) SB2C parts (gear, canopies, cowling) B-25 stuff, instruments, gun sights, bombsights even sheepskin clothing and AN6530 goggle lenses. What a great place to scrounge around in... Ah, the good old days!
Sat Jan 03, 2009 12:51 am
Steve, I may have an ID on your chair: United Air Lines DC-7 N6339C City of Sacramento/Mainliner Capt. Ralph Johnston:
http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 19660518-0
The accident happened in Denver, not Boulder, but the circumstances look possible for it to be the one. It's also the only DC-7 (or DC-4 or DC-6) accident between 1962 and 1985 in the area; no aircraft larger than a C-45 were listed on the NTSB site as having an accident at Boulder.
http://aviation-safety.net/database/rec ... 19660518-0
The accident happened in Denver, not Boulder, but the circumstances look possible for it to be the one. It's also the only DC-7 (or DC-4 or DC-6) accident between 1962 and 1985 in the area; no aircraft larger than a C-45 were listed on the NTSB site as having an accident at Boulder.
Sat Jan 03, 2009 1:49 am
I got this from a guy who's friend bought it to cut in half to use for a Geese feeder! He told his friend, " Ill do whatever you need to have you not destroy that piece of history". He saved it until he met with us, where it can be used again for its intended purpose.
Its a B-25 585 Gallon Bomb Bay Ferry Fuel Tank.
old parts
Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:11 am
[quote="Nathan"]I read of where someone used the canopy of a P-40 for a doghouse down in Georgia!
Hey Nathan,The story is I got some P-40 chin cowlings from Austrailia back in the early ninties.They had been used as dog houses with the opening at the chin casting blocked off.I wont say which 2 p-40s are using those now
Hey Nathan,The story is I got some P-40 chin cowlings from Austrailia back in the early ninties.They had been used as dog houses with the opening at the chin casting blocked off.I wont say which 2 p-40s are using those now
Sat Jan 03, 2009 2:44 am
Steve, I may have an ID on your chair: United Air Lines DC-7 N6339C City of Sacramento/Mainliner Capt. Ralph Johnston:
That actually sounds plausible. I've been in a couple of DC-6s over the years, but noticed the seats weren't quite the same as the one I have (which has a fold-down table on the right side.) From just the cockpit section, it would be impossible for me to tell a -6 from a -7.
Thanks for the info!
Steve
Sat Jan 03, 2009 3:24 am
AHA! I knew I had this somewhere. This is an old snapshot I took of the cockpit, as the salvager was attempting to load it into a truck (circa 1984.) Obviously, he had to come back later with a bigger one. Can anyone tell if it's a DC-6 or -7?
Ya know, the more I look at it, the more I wonder if that might actually be an old simulator, rather than a chunk salvaged from a complete aircraft. I was doing a bit of Googling, and found an artist in Colorado Springs who had a DC-7 simulator at his studio..and it looks very similar.
SN
Ya know, the more I look at it, the more I wonder if that might actually be an old simulator, rather than a chunk salvaged from a complete aircraft. I was doing a bit of Googling, and found an artist in Colorado Springs who had a DC-7 simulator at his studio..and it looks very similar.
SN
Teardrop trailer made from aircraft?
Sat Jan 03, 2009 8:51 pm
There was this local car show event in Littleton, Colorado last September.
One person had this nice little tear-drop trailer.
He said it was made from aircraft parts. Part of the door was from the aircraft itself. He also had the "Nose-art" from the aircraft his father flew on the back of his car. Can anyone ID the aircraft type from the door?
I guess this was made byt the Universal Trailer Corporation, Kansas City,MO in the late 40's early 50's. All Aluminum frame from WW2 surplus?
This was #7 of 75 made called Tourette "Tourers".
One person had this nice little tear-drop trailer.
He said it was made from aircraft parts. Part of the door was from the aircraft itself. He also had the "Nose-art" from the aircraft his father flew on the back of his car. Can anyone ID the aircraft type from the door?
I guess this was made byt the Universal Trailer Corporation, Kansas City,MO in the late 40's early 50's. All Aluminum frame from WW2 surplus?
This was #7 of 75 made called Tourette "Tourers".
Sun Jan 04, 2009 4:38 am
BigGrey wrote:Back in the early 80's the Red Baron Restaurant at Riverside Airport, RAL, in So Cal had a canopy as a sneeze shield over the salad bar. It may have been a T-33 canopy.
Les
Yep. The local one had the same T-33 canopy sneeze guard too.
Sun Jan 04, 2009 9:56 pm
Floyd Wardlow had a trailer that used 4 BT-13 lower struts, axles and wheels. It was about 20' long, maybe a bit less and was pretty high where the deck was. The front axle was like a dolly under the front of a semi trailer and pivoted in a turn.
As a 18 yo I got to use this trailer and a borrowed 454 Chevell to haul a R-2800 from Chino to ILL to replace a blown engine on an A-26 Invader in Kankakee known as the Kankakee Queen N7705C. Al Redick was in ILL in charge of recovering the aircraft and preparing for a ferry flight back to Chino. Johnny Maloney and Juan Redick were my partners.
After dropping off the engine Mark Calderwood joined us after a ride in the back of a T-33 from Chino. Generator failed and they made semi unannounced landing at Ohare without radios. I remember he said he seriously considered ejecting although he had no communication with the pilot.
We picked up the F6F fuselage that Earl Rinehert had for POF and started back. I jumped ship in Iowa and visited my relatives there.
Quite an adventure for a teen.
Rich
As a 18 yo I got to use this trailer and a borrowed 454 Chevell to haul a R-2800 from Chino to ILL to replace a blown engine on an A-26 Invader in Kankakee known as the Kankakee Queen N7705C. Al Redick was in ILL in charge of recovering the aircraft and preparing for a ferry flight back to Chino. Johnny Maloney and Juan Redick were my partners.
After dropping off the engine Mark Calderwood joined us after a ride in the back of a T-33 from Chino. Generator failed and they made semi unannounced landing at Ohare without radios. I remember he said he seriously considered ejecting although he had no communication with the pilot.
We picked up the F6F fuselage that Earl Rinehert had for POF and started back. I jumped ship in Iowa and visited my relatives there.
Quite an adventure for a teen.
Rich