Well, after a long slumber through winter we finally began the process of waking the old gal up for her upcoming flying season. Ken has a few air shows scheduled for the Harpoon as we want to get her out to the public and especially try to find any Harpoon vets that might be attending.
Not to say that progress has not been going on throughout the winter, quite the contrary, it is just hard to photo document some of the goings on for various reasons. Progress has been steady on several special projects that we hope to bring to light as soon as we can.
Yesterday we had our first work official day of 2013. Ken sent out an email to our list and asked for anyone who might want to come out to do so. Andrew showed up before me and then Ricky came out on his day off. Ricky and I figured that replacing the leaking nose gun bay retract cylinder might be a good project for Andrew. Andrew is the kid who was helping out with the casting project and he is a quick learn.
We happen to have two extra retract cylinders from a D model gun nose PV-2 so Ricky and Andrew opened one up and replaced the O rings inside with fresh parts. Here is Andrew removing the cap from the cylinder that was put there in 1947 according to the tag.
The old cylinder is removed and Andrew learns about cotter pins and castle nuts and box-open end wrenches.
The nose is supported so the cylinder can come out
Yes, it is that much fun to work on 062!
And then a new guy named Dick stopped by and asked if he could help. Dick said he was an ex Air Force F-4 and F-101 fire control tech and then had 32 years in United Airlines doing avionics.
Um, yes Dick, you can help. I have been wanting a good electrical guy for so long as we have so many cool electrical projects to do. My mind was spinning of what to put our new electrical guy on-radios, radar, turret, interphone...all in good time. Right now we need to work on the more essential items. Okay spinning mind, in the essential list of electrical projects which one should I put our new electrical guy on? How about landing gear. That's gotta be high on the priority list right?
One of our first projects to take care of is the tail gear. Just before the last flight of 2012 we made the tail gear retract again for the first time in probably 30 years just before we flew to the Nut Tree air show. On the way there the tail gear didn't make it all the way up but thankfully it did come all the way down and lock. We also had the position switch stop working on the way over. The tail gear and the position system worked nicely on the ground but in flight it was a different story so I asked Dick to dive into troubleshooting the position switches and he did just that.
He found a bad microswitch and we just happened to have a new old stock replacement in the microswitch drawer. See, all those decades of collection crap pays off, right? Anyway...Thanks for tackling the tail gear switch problem Dick. We hope that you will come back again and again and again etc in perpetuity. oh please oh please!!!
Then Scott showed up and since he is a gear head who builds classic Mustangs (Ford built four wheel types) we put him on the oil leaks in the left engine. Scott is also a military vehicle nut who has many cool old WWII vehicles like half tracks, bomb trucks etc. He also finds cool stuff for us too.
Scott found some bad rocker cover gaskets on the left engine and he fixed those up in no time. Scott also adjusted some of the Dzus springs on the cowling because some of our brand new fasteners are too tight. Thanks Scott!
Yes it is that much fun to work on ol' 062!
Then two more guys showed up to help; Matthew and his Uncle Roland. Since they were a good pair we put them on two man projects. The first was replacing the loop antenna for the ARN-7 radio compass. The old antenna was incomplete and I found a good one that should be operational as well. The guys also started another two man project replacing the fixed glass just aft of the sliding windows in the cockpit but sadly I didn't get any photos of that project.
Thanks for coming out!
Out with the old...
And in with the new... Old, new, it's all relative I suppose.
It was a great day for the Harpoon as we all got a lot done on the old gal. We are doing the same thing next Saturday so come on out!
We also still need some folks to help us get to Oshkosh this year. Our museum cannot afford to take her there on our tiny bank account to we have to rely on sponsorship and donations to the museum to make something like this happen. For a $5000 tax deductible donation to the museum you can come along with the Harpoon crew or sponsor a hard working volunteer to go to the greatest air show on the planet and another air show that is looking like it will be a real good one too. For your sponsorship or donation you can have a free ride to OSH in the Harpoon or let someone else go. The funds pay for accommodations in a great house that is like a resort in itself. It has two lakes, one for fishing and one with a beach for boating and swimming. The house is very large and is built into a hill to it is mostly underground and yet still has windows all around. Its a great place to stay.
We have made this trek to OSH for over decades usually in the Beech 18 and a couple of times in the B-25 but this year is our first time in the PV-2. We are hoping that it is anyway as we still need three to four more donors/sponsors to make it happen. The PV-2 burns 600 gallons of fuel per hour on takeoff and about 170 GPH in cruise not to mention lots of oil so needless to say it is real expensive to make this trip and the only way we can do this is with donations to the museum.
If you want to actually fly the Harpoon then you will also receive PV-2 dual flight instruction time by me, as your instructor, and I will gladly sign off that flight instruction in your log book. If you have a multi engine license then you can log second in command time too and can learn the takeoff and landings from the right seat. It is the cheapest heavy twin tail wheel time you can get as we will fly at least 20 hours of flying time from California to OSH and back.
Every year that we do this it is a wonderful trip, at least that is what our previous passengers have said, and this year it will be even more special in the Harpoon. We are also planning on stopping at Topeka, KS on the way home for their warbird show that promises to be a good one. The best part of this is that we will be able to meet up and fly with the only other flying Harpoons in the world. I hope we can fly a three ship together as that would be magnificent.
Please spread the word about our trip to OSH and Topeka so we can raise the funds to get the Harpoon there. For your donation to the museum you can come along for an amazing trip, or help a volunteer to have their trip of a lifetime, and not only see two great shows but you will get to see the USA from a unique and wonderful perspective as well.
Try your hand at navigating us across the USA at the nav table and plot the course and calculate our position with the WWII gear.
Sit in the top turret and watch out for enemy aircraft as you are our TCAS (traffic collision avoidance system) WWII style!
Lay down in the tunnel gun position and watch the countryside go by.
Are you a HAM operator or an aspiring radio operator? Sit at the radio ops station and tune in and communicate with people as we fly across the country. (Ken you better get that ham license). Maybe we can get the ARN-7 radio compass running by then and then use it to help the navigator with position fixes as we go.
If we make it to OSH we hope to see as many Harpoon veterans as possible so if you know of any please tell them that we hope to meet them either at OSH/Topeka or on our fuel stop(s) on the way. We will post that information as we get closer to the trip becoming assured.
Thanks for your help in spreading the word. This trip is going to be very special indeed.
Here are some photos taken on the way to the Nut Tree show last year. You can see our tail wheel that was a little too shy to be fully tucked away up in its well. Maybe it was just not used to the dark?
These great shots were taken by Eric Preston. Thanks for the prints Eric. These shots also show what the trip will be like on the way to OSH. Let's go!
We painted the Harpoon in accordance with the period specs from the Navy SR-2 which called for the horizontal surfaces of the wings and horizontal stabilizer to be painted semi gloss and the other surfaces to be painted lusterless or flat. This shot shows that we achieved the specified finish. Check out the slight semi gloss sheen on the wings and horizontal and yet the fuselage and nacelles are nice and flat. Pretty cool!
_________________
To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here
http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htmWe brought her from:
to this in 3 months:
Help us get her all the way back
All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.
Thank you!
Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'
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