B-26K Counter-Invader Restoration ("Special K")

[A26 Special K]

Never know who will show up for a warbird gathering! Wonder what this is like to fly compared to a regular T-6? JR

[A26 Special K]

Looks like ol Dad caught Hawkeye, Jr, with a new girlfriend. Apparently, Jr remembered just in time that girls have cooties!! Actually, the report is that she was trying to lean out of the way so as to not be in the picture. No, really, that is what she said. Way to go Ryan!!

[A26 Special K]

and then there was the other dessert line! JR

[A26 Special K]

Now that's what I call a perfect day! Airplanes, entertainment, good food and great new friends. Doesn't get any better than this! JR

[A26 Special K]

Not bad ending for the day! Its about time for the band to crank up. Lots of flying still going on. The Harpoons showed up in force and they are out making some noise over town at the moment according to latest reports. Good crowd numbers today. Anxious to see what the final count is. JR

[A26 Special K]

Meanwhile, back at the ranch, Pat, Larry, Stan and David A slaved over a hot B-25 while Lou and Miguel worked on a patch on the A26. Looks like we have resolved most of the B25 gremlins, but there are still a few to chase down. Hopefully some of them will get worked off Monday and then the rest by Friday so maybe we can fly by the weekend. Will be very nice to rumble around sittin between those 2600's again. We have a number of rides lined up and some SIC training to give. BTW, if interested in either of those, please contact Dana at greatestgeneration@yahoo.com for more info or to sign up. We will offer two B-25 ground schools in Sept. on the first and second weekends. There will be an A-26 ground school on Oct 19 for those interested in Special Kay. Dana will be happy to sign you up for any of these classes. This is how we support and keep our airplanes flying so feel free to jump in and help us continue the effort to give history a future! JR

[A26 Special K]

Never believe who drove all the way up from Houston to Topeka and brought a real treasure for Scott Glover. Yep, our ol buddy, Jason Barnett. He shows up with the darndest stuff. Now if we could just get his attention back on our "Funny Bombs" for the A26, I betcha that he can make some that even the Nimrods will have trouble distinguishing from the real thing. They were their favorite type of ordnance because of the effectiveness on trucks on the HCM Trail. Anyway, everybody was happy to see Jason there. JR

[A26 Special K]

The "Tigerkitty" made it to Topeka and completed the WWII line up, from the sound of things, of all the Grumman fighters from the Wildcat thru this one. The Combat Aviation Museum also brought out the Grumman jet line from the Panther to the Tomcat. "Bad Kitty" is such a cool name. The real JR was very impressed with how little frontal area there is to the fuselage. It seems to be all engines and props.

[A26 Special K]

Here is a good shot of Pat and Larry working on the B25 and showing just how hot it was Saturday in the hangar. Since the A26 guys were having such a good time in Topeka, we decided to knock off for lunch at a nice, cool restaurant where they serve cold ice tea by the bucket and fajitas on steaming platters. It sure felt good to cool off awhile. We will be anxiously awaiting the return of the troops today and hoping the weather across southern Kansas cooperates. The DC3 barely travels at the speed of smell much less get out of the way of a thunderstorm. JR

[A26 Special K]

Topeka came out to see a great line up of paratroopers, warbirds and have fun. They were not disappointed it appears. Good numbers yesterday. Will have to see what the light rain and clouds does to attendance today. Perfect temps though. The guys are in for a shock when the DC3 lands at Meacham this afternoon. Going from nice and cool to 102 is not going to be easy. JR

[A26 Special K]

The guys met this nice lady in Topeka who was a "Rosie the Riveter" in WWII and built DC-3's and C-47's. That is the great thing about shows like this. Get to meet people with all sorts of great stories. Yesterday, we had a man visit the hangar here in FTW who was very attracted to the B25. He said he had been a crewman on them toward the end of the war. He was sent in '44 to Amarillo for training on how to be a flight engineer on the B-29. Due to the delays in delivery, he was transferred to B25's instead. I used to roam Amarillo AFB back in the 60's before it closed and saw all the guys then still training on jet mechanics and airframe repair. Amarillo College joined with TSTI some years ago to continue the tradition of training A & P's on the old base. It was a real shame the base closed, but time marches on. Makes me wonder how long our old warbirds will be able to fly. JR

[A26 Special K]

Looks like the guys are loading up the 3 for the ride home if the Ma Nature decides to clear out those thunder things and rain clouds in southern Kansas. Looks like she may. JR

[A26 Special K]

View of the rain from the DC3 on the ramp in Topeka this morning. Hopefully it will pass soon and the show can go on. JR

[A26 Special K]

Is this what is referred to as a dichotomy? I will wait while the T-Sippers look up that word. Gig 'em!! JR, the Aggie

[A26 Special K]

For those not familiar, and since I have been asked what a T-sipper might be, well that would be somebody who attends or graduated from that community college in Austin sometimes referred to as TU in Aggie-speak or U of Texas-Austin to everybody else. If TU didn't have some professors and a few classrooms, it would just be another social club.... the kind where tea is served at 10 and 4 for the personages to hold up their lil finger and firmly grasp the tea cup. Not exactly a Texan's idea of a manly thing to do, but somehow, that little enclave in Austin thinks the world revolves around them. It is so sad. Reality is so tough on them that they had to mess up the conference where Tex A & M couldn't play the Longhorns for any sort of championship in the future. Guess they saw the writing on the wall and didn't want to keep getting beat. Oh well, maybe next year they will get their nerve back. I would give anything to be able to overfly Kyle Field in the A-26 for the National Anthem when and if the game is resumed. Heck, might even drag the DC-3 and B-25 along to make it a real big flyover!! Hmmmm, actually, we need to find one more airplane to make it a four ship and do a missing man formation. Yeah, that would be sweet. Go Aggies!! JR, the Aggie