Warbird Information Exchange

I've been sitting on this for a while but finally decided to share this.......................
I think Chuck must have been painting without a respirator because he sent me this.........................

Hey Jack why don't you move here and I'll give you a job for the next 4 years working on the Helldiver and Dauntless restorations.
Do you have any restoration type skills??

Can you...
Paint great ?
Rivet?
Drill out rivets correctly ?
Wire ?
Cover with fabric?
Show up every day?
Take short( or no) breaks?
Use a shear?
Use a 60 ton press brake?
Do you know AN/MS/NAS/NAF hardware?
Can you Order materials?
Make coffee?
Get lunch?
Read a parts book?
Comprehend a structural repair manual?
Use a shrinker/stretcher ?
A bead roller?
Planishing hammer?
Take a shower every morning before work ?
Clean up after yourself?
Come to work enthused ?
Go home even more enthused about coming back the next day?
Work on the very airplanes that gave YOU the freedom to be able to work on them?
Take pride in perfecting what your not sure you can do?, no mater how many times you must redo it?
Fabricate hydraulic lines?
Work on things WITHOUT scratching the paint!!( my pet peeve !)
Prep items for painting?
Research historical and authentic markings ?
Work in a big, cool shop on an airport and not bitch about Not having a leather chair with a view?
Wear airplane shirts ?
Talk airplane stuff all fricken day?

Maybe you should think about it? Can you fill any of these slots, hopefully some of the important ones.
What's your hourly request?
Chuck


after sitting on this for a week or so I formulayed my response..............

Probably not your man Chuck but I went down your list for laughs and giggles.
To anchored into Salem here. Getting the arm and hand surgeries done are #1
on my current priorities list plus house, wife, dog, job ect. It's a nice fantasy.
If Brad wasn't already going to work for Brian at Olympia I'd tell you to grab him.

Can you...
Paint great ? king of the rattle can!
Rivet? I can buck the hell out of them
Drill out rivets correctly ? use to
Wire ? electricity scares the crap out me!
Cover with fabric? did the SNJ with ceconite came out awesome
Show up every day? last time I called in sick was from the ER
Take short( or no) breaks? I was in the freak'in Navy HELLO
Use a shear? ....................ah?
Use a 60 ton press brake? saw one used once
Do you know AN/MS/NAS/NAF hardware? I use to
Can you Order materials? the boys at Columbia Airmotive got the know mw well
Make coffee? no f-ing way
Get lunch? I can run a bbq!
Read a parts book? finally something I can do
Comprehend a structural repair manual? I just break things
Use a shrinker/stretcher ? carried to the ambulance on a couple
A bead roller? what?
Planishing hammer? what?
Take a shower every morning before work ? since I'm out of the Navy I use every last drop of hot water!
Clean up after yourself? I'm very anal that way
Come to work enthused ? usually
Go home even more enthused about coming back the next day? usually
Work on the very airplanes that gave YOU the freedom to be able to work on them? best kind
Take pride in perfecting what your not sure you can do?, no mater how many times you must redo it? if it ain't right it ain't done
Fabricate hydraulic lines? did make some lines for the B-25 once
Work on things WITHOUT scratching the paint!!( my pet peeve !) I'll go with yes then!
Prep items for painting? most important part of painting.
Research historical and authentic markings ? finally
Work in a big, cool shop on an airport and not bitch about Not having a leather chair with a view? Our Mustang buddy here had a nice recliner that traversed 360' and I liked it!
Wear airplane shirts ? always do
Talk airplane stuff all fricken day? and night and I mumble in my sleep
My buddy Jeff tried to show me the english wheel once and I ran my finger into it and screamed like a school girl.


and he replied

Well I didn't expect you to say yes. I understand. But I thought you would have fun with it.
Love your answers, I knew they would be good. That's why I asked. They are so good it almost makes me want to list it all on WIX's !
Maybe you should let everyone know how you recently filled out a job questionnaire !
Ok, back to it. What ever "it" is !
Take care buddy !
Chuck Wahl


please....allow me

_________________
Don't touch my junk!!

I want to play too!

Lets see here....

Can you...
Paint great ? Yup, Gunslinger
Rivet? Yup
Drill out rivets correctly ? Yup
Wire ? Hell no! that electrickery stuff is voodoo!
Cover with fabric? It's been a while, did some wings for an N3N.. about 19 years ago
Show up every day? Yup
Take short( or no) breaks? Yup
Use a shear? Yup & I still have all my fingers
Use a 60 ton press brake? Probably
Do you know AN/MS/NAS/NAF hardware? More or less...
Can you Order materials? Yup
Make coffee? Yup
Get lunch? Yup
Read a parts book? Yup
Comprehend a structural repair manual? Yup
Use a shrinker/stretcher ? Kinda
A bead roller? Yup
Planishing hammer? Yup, ok, kinda.... bit rusty
Take a shower every morning before work ? Yup
Clean up after yourself? Yup, I've even been known to clean up after others, but lost that skill when I got married.
Come to work enthused ? erm.... probably
Go home even more enthused about coming back the next day? I guess that depends how the day went..
Work on the very airplanes that gave YOU the freedom to be able to work on them? I don't think the Brits used those...?
Take pride in perfecting what your not sure you can do?, no mater how many times you must redo it? Sure
Fabricate hydraulic lines? Sometimes
Work on things WITHOUT scratching the paint!!( my pet peeve !) Absolutely!
Prep items for painting? Piece of cake
Research historical and authentic markings ? I can read & look at pics
Work in a big, cool shop on an airport and not bitch about Not having a leather chair with a view? That's a toughy...
Wear airplane shirts ? I've worked on radials, all my shirts are black
Talk airplane stuff all fricken day? well, not ALL day.. Gotta mention food & boobs at some point

_________________
Those who possess real knowledge are rare.

Those who can set that knowledge into motion in the physical world are rarer still.

The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.

Believe me, you only ever do that ONCE. I was 11 at the time & it was in school metal shop when I did it.. & it was my thumb. I also learned that it doesn't hurt anywhere near as much if you run someone elses finger through it

_________________
Those who possess real knowledge are rare.

Those who can set that knowledge into motion in the physical world are rarer still.

The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.

270 Days left Jack!

_________________
Brad

Does anyone get to play? If so, I'm in!

Can you...
Paint great ? - I get by. Better with roundels, numbering and lettering than swathes of colour.
Rivet? - My teeth are still rattling!
Drill out rivets correctly ? - I can now. Took a while to learn not to skip!
Wire ? - I'm aware of the concept!
Cover with fabric? - Yep. Irish linen and Ceconite. I can still smell the dope.
Show up every day? - When the coffee is available...
Take short( or no) breaks? - Define short!
Use a shear? - Yessuh!
Use a 60 ton press brake? - I've been in the same building as one!
Do you know AN/MS/NAS/NAF hardware? - I'm still cross-eyed from it.
Can you Order materials? - Is pizza a material?
Make coffee? - Someone has to. Having been on the bottom of the food chain, I had no choice!
Get lunch? - As above...
Read a parts book? - I can look at the pretty pictures!
Comprehend a structural repair manual? Comprehend it? Yes. Replicate it? Well...
Use a shrinker/stretcher ? - Slowly
A bead roller? - I wasn't allowed to play with the grown-ups' toys!
Planishing hammer? - Badly!
Take a shower every morning before work ? - What is this 'shower' of which you speak?
Clean up after yourself? - One wouldn't last long in the shops I was involved in if one couldn't.
Come to work enthused ? - Is conscious the same thing?
Go home even more enthused about coming back the next day? - Quietly pleased and gently enthusiastic.
Work on the very airplanes that gave YOU the freedom to be able to work on them? - Yes.
Take pride in perfecting what your not sure you can do?, no mater how many times you must redo it? - Only way to play.
Fabricate hydraulic lines? - Nope.
Work on things WITHOUT scratching the paint!!( my pet peeve !) - Only if qualified with 'usually'!
Prep items for painting? - More than I can describe. 90% of the time is prep...
Research historical and authentic markings ? - Love it!
Work in a big, cool shop on an airport and not bitch about Not having a leather chair with a view? - Leather chair with a view? That's what windows are for.
Wear airplane shirts ? - Nah, they didn't make them in my size when I was a big boy!
Talk airplane stuff all fricken day? - Just all day? Are we supposed to stop at sunset?!

Twenty-five years on and still a beginner.

Cheers,
Matt

_________________
Matt Austin - playing with warbirds since the early 80s.

See my Lee-Enfield videos at - http://www.youtube.com/user/Jollygreenslugg

Okay,

I’ll play.



Can you...

Paint great ? The jet-setters like my work, but I have yet to get my brush stroke patented.

Rivet? I own EVERY riveting tool known to mankind. NO rivet can deny my desires!

Drill out rivets correctly ? In my sleep. My toolchest has “DO NO HARM” in 3" letters.

Wire ? Dude, I wired a KingAir 200 as an airborne UAV controller. The Millennium Falcon had less wiring.

Cover with fabric? Seriously, how hard can it be? ( two chimps, some cloth & glue, DONE!)

Show up every day? How bad is Sacto rush hour traffic nowadays?

Take short( or no) breaks? Uhhh, I suppose I could...

Use a shear? On all kinds of things, especially the property of people that ask stupid questions.

Use a 60 ton press brake? Oh Man! The things I could crush/bend/mangle with a 60 ton brake!

Do you know AN/MS/NAS/NAF hardware? I got all confuzzled when they changed to that newfangled “MS20" prefix.

Can you Order materials? You mean like propwash, and flightline? SURE! Ordered it LOTSA times.

Make coffee? Heck yea! You’ll never forget the first (and last) time you drank MY coffee.

Get lunch? Uhhh, you mean MY lunch? or YOUR lunch? Cause I’m betting we have very different tastes (you bein a Californie sushi type, an me being a barbecued iguana guy).

Read a parts book? Only after popping a handful of NoDoze pills.

Comprehend a structural repair manual? Heck yea! And I love circling all the errors and omissions, and trying to point them out to the enginoor what wrote em.

Use a shrinker/stretcher ? You mean, without cracking the part I already spent 4 hours fabricating?

A bead roller? Curves, sure. Straight lines, no so much.

Planishing hammer? Sure, especially with LOX and foreign objects!

Take a shower every morning before work ? Does walking over a lawn sprinkler count?

Clean up after yourself? Don’t all you CA types have maids, in frilly french outfits, to do that?

Come to work enthused ? AFFIRMATIVE.

Go home even more enthused about coming back the next day? AFFIRMATIVE.

Work on the airplanes that gave YOU the freedom to be able to work on them? There is no greater calling.

Take pride in perfecting what your not sure you can do?, no mater how many times you must redo it? REDO?, I’m a S.A.C. trained professional. There is no REDO. You can only succeed or fail. And if you fail, YOU MUST BE DESTROYED. (It’s a great policy. It weeds out the marginal performers).

Fabricate hydraulic lines? Up to a -6 by hand, then I get the hydraulic crimper.

Work on things WITHOUT scratching the paint!!( my pet peeve !) Peeve? Anybody scratches MY paint work is gonna get an Imron shampoo.

Prep items for painting? If I paint it, only I will prep it, There are no exceptions.

Research historical and authentic markings ? Pssst, there’s this forum called WIX, and they do that stuff for FREE. no, seriously, they do!

Work in a big, cool shop on an airport and not bitch about Not having a leather chair with a view? I suppose I could settle for a cloth Lazyboy... (with heat and massage and drink holder, of course).

Wear airplane shirts ? AFFIRMATIVE.

Talk airplane stuff all fricken day? Only with people that know what the He!! they’re talking about.


Maybe you should think about it? Can you fill any of these slots, hopefully some of the important ones. Duuuuude, ‘cept for that fabric thing, it’s a cake walk.


What's your hourly request? Well, it is my dream job, so I’d work for free, except I still got bills to pay, and it would take 2 semi trucks to move all my tools & equipment, and Cameron Park real estate is waaay out of reach of an A&P salary, and I’m not fond of the Sacto slums either. Does Folsom Prison have any vacancies?


Oh, and there’s that whole ****-**** ******** ********** state government bent on ********* *** ******** ********, etc, etc, etc.

Why are so many of the great warbird shops located in states that have absolutely horrible governments or really crappy weather?

Hmmm, we don't have a horrible government or crappy weather (unless you count 103-110F as such) in Texas! Some awesome resto work done here though.

_________________
Mike

Temporary insanity?

His first warbird restoration was a T-28. That alone should prove he has gone "round the twist" on a permanent basis.

Now that he has opened NARF Cameron Park it is further proof that his cheese has done slid off his cracker....

_________________
Expert:
Ex: Former.
Spurt: A drip under pressure.

The shop is really nice and NARF Cameron Park is a nice bustling field.
i don't think Chuck has gone nuts, he just wants these projects to move along ASAP.
Okay, well maybe he a little nuts...
Jerry

_________________
"Always remember that, when you enter the ocean or the forest, you are no longer at the top of the food chain."

genuine LOL, I'm gonna use that line

_________________
Those who possess real knowledge are rare.

Those who can set that knowledge into motion in the physical world are rarer still.

The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.

You guy's are killing me! I spit my adult beverage all over my dam-n laptop. I used to know how to do about 80% of that stuff, it's just sort a faded away with time. (Been behind the desk toooooo Long).
Jack, I ain't forgot how to fish, when we going???
Best to all.
Robbie

_________________
Fly Fast Make Noise!

I there would have been like Homer at the controls off the nuclear power plant

_________________
Don't touch my junk!!

Dang It Jack, second time tonight! I don't think this laptop can take much more James Bean!

_________________
Fly Fast Make Noise!

Yeah,

That shop is pretty close to a tinbender's Heaven.

I was drooling.

Using that CNC has gotta be waaaay better than sex.

It's not mine. It's a Texas thing (or thang) best recited with a piney woods kind of twang..... " Why hiz cheeze has done gone and slid offa hiz d*mn cracker" Wasted a full can of brew first time I heard it......

_________________
Expert:
Ex: Former.
Spurt: A drip under pressure.