42-68941 P-63AQ-6-BE King Cobra Photo Up-date

[gary1954]

Greetings All,
Today, I went by the CAF Hangar at Falcon Field, Peachtree City, Georgia to see what was going on over there. Maintenance, three birds temporarily down for maintenance.
42-54532 Douglas SBD-5 NL82GA

The crew working today did not want to be identified as they said that they had been caught working, and didn’t want anyone to know about it. These guys were very kind, and gave me run of the hangar, and the restoration area.
44-73843 P-51D NL10601

PT-19A 41-83511


Gary touched nothing, and asked permission to climb inside the C-45 to snap the cockpit,


I spied the P-63 King Cobra under restoration and wanted to share the photos with you guys. I was told that the elevators Rudder and ailerons were awaiting fabric which will be done in-house
Sorry they aren’t better or the magazine quality you are used to.

[jet1]

a P 63 with a griffon going around the pylons!

[retroaviation]

That's odd. The ailerons on the other CAF P-63 are metal. Magnesium to be exact. They were all cracked out and the plan was for them to be reskinned with aluminum and rebalanced, but I don't know if that's still the plan or not. Nonetheless, thanks for the update.

Gary

[gary1954]

Forgive me. But I don't know jacks*** about the 63, the dude told me all the flight control surfaces were fabric.

[retroaviation]

Oh, I wasn't trying to correct you, Gary. I believe this P-63 is a fair amount earlier than the other one the CAF has, so I was just curious if the differences were so much that even the control surfaces had been changed that much. Sorry if I came across as being a peckerhead, I was just trying to ask a question without actually asking it, I reckon.

Gary

[gary1954]

No sweat, I was serious when I say I dun no jacks*** about the 63 or the 39, as neither are my favorite airframe, though I am sure that they are to others,since it is of WarBird heritage, which is why I posted the pictures, which are perhaps not the best in quality. No apology necessary man, no harm, no foul, or is it fowl?

[sgt hawk]

Does anyone have the history on that airframe? Is it a pinball or a Russian refugee?

[AirJimL2]

I dig that Soko in the background of the second pic.

Jim

[Speedy]

Is this the old "Tumbleweed" that was painted in the Free French markings? I know that was grounded for a lot of corrosion in the early 80's.

I can recall back in the mid-80's there was a P-63 airframe with the AZ wing of the CAF that was dismantled and painted in the same yellow zinc chromate primer....could this be the same one?

[BK]

I hope the maintenance on the P-51 and SBD is scheduled and nothing else. I'm planning on seeing them in the air in 3 weeks.

BK

[pbeegle1]

Thanks for stopping by Gary. Gary A is right; Flaps and Ailerons were magnesium now they are Aluminum. Elevators and rudder were just newly covered. Landing gear is done. We are getting ready to send the wings out to have the fuel tanks made. Anything hanging from the ceiling is done. We were actually pretty far along on adding parts and pieces to center section but we did not like the color of the primer so we are removing everything to paint it correctly.

Overall the project has come father in the last 6-8 months then the last 5 years. We are hoping to have it on its gear in less then a year and having 10-15 dedicated people working on it hopefully will make it happen.


Red Nose is just having it’s 75 hr inspection done and the SBD we are tinkering with it and the PT-26 is in annual.

[Matt Gunsch]

Is this the old "Tumbleweed" that was painted in the Free French markings? I know that was grounded for a lot of corrosion in the early 80's.

I can recall back in the mid-80's there was a P-63 airframe with the AZ wing of the CAF that was dismantled and painted in the same yellow zinc chromate primer....could this be the same one?

No, that airframe is now with the Bob Pond Collection in Palm Springs and flies as Pretty Polly

[gary1954]

Thanks for stopping by Gary. Gary A is right; Flaps and Ailerons were magnesium now they are Aluminum. Elevators and rudder were just newly covered. Landing gear is done. We are getting ready to send the wings out to have the fuel tanks made. Anything hanging from the ceiling is done. We were actually pretty far along on adding parts and pieces to center section but we did not like the color of the primer so we are removing everything to paint it correctly.

Overall the project has come father in the last 6-8 months then the last 5 years. We are hoping to have it on its gear in less then a year and having 10-15 dedicated people working on it hopefully will make it happen.


Red Nose is just having it’s 75 hr inspection done and the SBD we are tinkering with it and the PT-26 is in annual.

Sorry I missed you, let me know when she is on her gear so I can dash up for pictures and socialization.

[gary1954]

I dig that Soko in the background of the second pic.

Jim

Here you go, no "good" angle for a photo

[Alan Brooks]

The CAF has had four different P-63's in the collection. The first P-63 had the inflight engine fire and I believe was named "Tumbleweed". She currently is/was in the group of P-63 airframes/parts out in Arizona. Danny Chvatal owned a big, big cache of P-63 parts for many years and had acquired the "Cobra after the fire. The second was N-191H and was in the Free French markings for many, many years till being grounded..... This bird had many different units start/stop the rebuild process, but generally it did not make it past the point of taking more parts off the aircraft..... The Missouri Wing got the bird, but when the mighty Mississippi flooded, well, they had much worse problems to deal with..... so the "Cobra went southeast to Dixie! Where she is now....
The third was the P-63F, and the fourth was the P-63 known as "Pretty Polly". Anything close to being the truth is purely coincidental. Alan

Hey Beagley, Beagley..... when are you guys going to have the P-63 pages updated on the website????????? Tell Jake and Pop hello for me...