Warbird Information Exchange

If I'm not mistaken, those pilot yokes are the same as are still used in the C-130 (also the U-2). The caps should come out of the horns and permit different housings (depending on aircraft type & which seat they are installed) to be inserted; ie. trim switches, mic switches, autopilot, chaff/flare, etc. I'm most familiar with the Herk setup in the H-models built beginning in 1984 until at least 1995 ... and the boys cross-town in the Dallas Guard fly 1985 models. These would have a standard switch that should fit your yokes, push forward for interphone, pull back to transmit on the selected comm. I would think a friendly crew chief over there could at least give you some part numbers. Who knows, some of the avionics troops might jump at the chance to work on a K.

The circular plate in the center also accepts a mount for an approach plate holder and clipboard. If you're able to speak with the Herk gang, they can steer you int the right direction regarding part numbers, etc as well. May not be 100% K-accurate, but they are super-handy and are easily removable when you want to look 1969.

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

Ken: Thanks for the suggestions and yes, the yokes are very similar. The DC-9/MD-80's series of Douglas aircraft uses almost the exact same one, but with various switches and buttons added. We don't see as much problem with removing the covers on the switch/button holes as we do gaining access to and figuring out the existing wiring and whether we can get any other PTT buttons in there. It may be more trouble than it is worth at this time as we want to get her flying sooner than later. We have a Nimrod reunion to plan and need the airplane to be up so we can do that. We may go back later and do some other work the following off season when she is in for maintenance. Meanwhile, I will follow up with your suggestions about the TX ANG C-130 guys. I hitched a ride with them several times back in the 80's and tried my hand at the yoke when generously offered. Nice airplane! Now if we could just borrow a couple of engines and props from them, we could also solve the problem of the Tree Huggers insisting on doing away with that big bad boogey bear called tetraethyl lead in 100 LL fuel and forcing us to use fuel that won't work in R-2800's for very long. Well, ok, yeah, it will work in the engine, but the engine won't last very long is what I was trying to say. Heck, I love the smell of jet fuel in the morning. That lil ol A-26 would probably climb straight up with a couple of Herc engines mounted on the wings!! It would just sound funny! EEEEhawww... JR

Here is a shot of the periscope that was installed in the WWII version of the A26. The bottom turret was removed in the Korean conflict. I just can't imagine trying to track even a prop driven fighter much less a jet in this thing. They were all removed on the K models along with the turrets. Different war and different tactics ....... but fascinating! JR

Just received these in the hangar. Need some TLC, but should be easy to get all spiffy and a good coat of paint applied. Randy... Bob D... what colors should we use?? How about Easter eggs?? JR

Forgive the links, but I did a little detective work to check my memory. Coincidentally, I've flown the C-130, DC-9, and MD-88 ... of course you can verify, but the K yokes ~should~ be identical to the Herk. (The modern Douglas yokes are different despite the K originally being a Douglas airplane, go figure.)

Of course you know what your yokes are like, but for starters, here's a shot of the K in Dayton:

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared ... 4S-001.jpg

Here is a shot of a C-130E; the yokes are the same as used in nearly all Herks from 1962-1984. Note even the red A/P disconnect button (pilot's left thumb) coincidences with the plugged hole in the Dayton B-26K photo:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... 5e56292361

Here is a shot of a later model H, similar to what the Guard in Dallas will have. Note that the two silver nips on the circular cover plate in the center of the yoke are the quick mounts for the chart holder:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... 5e56292361

And finally, the chart holders. Our airplanes came with a second set of the circular plates/nips permanently mounted on the rear cockpit bulkhead to stow the chart holders when not in use - although most of us simply laid them on the floor:

http://www.airliners.net/photo/USA---Ai ... 5e56292361

I did not fly the C-130J but a quick check of some hi-res photos show it uses a different yoke. Anyway, if you have any connections in Dallas, I believe those guys should be able to share part numbers & diagrams for your yokes as well as show the wire bundle routing. If you come up short, shoot me a PM and I'll see if I can't work through friends who still fly the -130.

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

Paint the bombs medium OD. Paint a 3" blue band around the nose to indicate that they are inert. (A three inch yellow band indicates High Explosive (HE). Here's a link to a pic of the way we got them. By the way... since they were already OD, we did not paint the bottoms for night missions.

http://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/shared ... 4O-009.jpg

Bob
P.S. The ones we got were not always as "spiffy" as the ones in the pic. Ours were kinda grungy, but the pic does show the correct color.

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Bob
Memories of Naked Fanny
More Memories of Naked Fanny (Nov 2013)
609th Nimrod, Bomb loader, Gun Plumber, '68 - '69

I don't think you'd want to try and tame an A-26 with T-56's on it. The CV-580 had to have the tail extended just to deal with it, and it's a much bigger bird than the A-26.

Also, don't worry about the fuel. Anderson's been running Swiftfuel in R2800's up in Idaho and had no issues. In fact, their big 100 hour stress test on an R2800 found that 100SF could be run at the original 115/145 power settings without knocking. The "competing" G100UL seems to show similar promise, but I'm not aware of any radial testing having been done on it yet.

Thanks Bob, good shots. Now we need to investigate proper placards, etc. Would like to make some replica fuses for the noses. About painting blue on the nose... well, to be technically correct, we should do that, howsumever, we think yellow is a prettier color!! I don't think it would upset anybody. Very few would know what it meant anyway except you guys. It just looks cooler. It would be great if we had replica fuses and all the wires so that you and Randy could show how it was done to load one of these hummers. Make a great video for Hawkeye to shoot. I found some old footage from back in the day. Fascinating! Did you ever think about things not going like they were supposed to go? These weren't firecrackers yall were playing with. JR

Ken, thanks again for those links and ideas. I passed these to our avionics troops and I'm sure they will find them helpful. While I like the idea of a chart holder on the yoke because I am old school, my daughters got me an IPad for Xmas so that I can get "Captain" sized charts and read them w/o my readers!! Very considerate, don't you think? Draggin me into the 21st Century whether I want to or not. We have a Garmin GDL39 to link via Bluetooth to the IPad so we can also get traffic and weather plus all the nav features of Garmin Pilot or some of the other flight planning apps. The thing we need to figure out really is how to mount the IPad so either pilot can see or use it. Seeing as how we have a clear canopy overhead, that could be a problem, so that's another thing the cockpit crew is looking at... how to give shade in flight and on the ground when we are out to shows, etc. This hot Texas summer stuff makes cooler climes more of a destination until it is bearable back in the Republic. JR

CAPFlyer... yeah, I suppose a T56 would be a bit much for the A-26, but heck, we were just day dreamin when we said that. To be more realistic, PW has a turboprop engine of about the same HP... 2300.. that is being used today on the Dash 8-300. Be really interesting to look at the weight changes and see what it would take engineering wise. The funny sound and 4 bladed prop might be a dead give away to the altered nature of the beast, but if it was possible and would keep the airplane flying.... couldn't rule it out. While Anderson's tests on the replacement fuel is interesting, I would like to see more long term studies done plus, the big question really is about fuel prices. Seems like every time there is a change in fuel composition, the price goes up. Then people don't buy as much, so the price goes up again. Then people don't buy as much, so the price goes up.... again. Until we park the darn thing is some sterile museum to rot away into oblivion once more. A flying airplane connects to the people who need to know and understand what the people who flew, built and operated the thing sacrificed to keep them free. This airplane doesn't belong to us or the museum. It still belongs to the vets. We are just the caretakers trying to keep the history alive. So I take a dim view of anything that tries to take that mission away! See? Regards, JR

We put the ends of the nacelles back on in preparation for moving outside for the upcoming hangar dances and AOPA Summit at Meacham in October. Thought we would try out our pattern for the canvas curtain that separates the wheel well from the back of the nacelle. Needs just a little bit of adjustment, but that will part of the detail work we will have to do later. Should keep the birds out for a little while. Besides, I just like the picture!! JR

Since there are so many knowlegible folks looking at this thread, does anyone know if there is a reference somewhere of the old Federal Stock Numbers?? I have some "Brand New" (made in 1956) circuit breakers, still sealed and in the original boxes, but have no idea what they were for. Not even sure they were for an airplane. Just thought it might be something that someone somewhere is looking for. Anyone got any ideas?
FSN 5925-240-3423 (AN3160-5)
Circuit Breaker, Switch Type, Non-trip free
AF33-604-12117
Made by Cutler-Hammer, Milwaukee, WI

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Randy Ryman
Project Big Eagle
NKP Thailand 1966
http://www.coastcomp.com/av/florence/florandy.htm

Randy,

Cutler-Hammer was bought out by Eaton Corp. in 1978. Perhaps Eaton could help you identify your circuit breakers. Worth a try.

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

JR, I'm with ya. You know, the chart holder mount could be used to attach a tasteful mount for your iPad or device (using selected parts of the GI chartholder/hardware). Of course that setup is more appropriate for 2 devices, versus how you said you prefer to share one, but those center yoke caps should be compatible and, once the tablets/mounts are removed, you're back to 1969 again and only the sharpest eye would note the nubs on the yoke caps ... of course my advise is strictly worth what you've paid ... zilch.

I'm envious of you guys and wish I lived closer - I not only like the B-26K but I have really come to like the vibe I get of your group through this thread - thanks for sharing all this hard work!

Ken

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"Take care of the little things and the big things will take care of themselves."

Ken: we wished you lived closer as well. We always appreciate good help and need it more than ever now. We were shy a few people this weekend. Several were off on other duties to different parts of the world. Missed these guys because they are some of the heavy hitters when it comes to getting stuff done. Still, we made a lot of progress on the detail work and some of the big items as well. Had little trouble putting away a 50 piece box of fried chicken and fixin's either!! Iced tea really tasted good in that 102 deg heat. The big news for the day is that we decided not to move the airplane out of the hangar for the dances or the AOPA Summit display. We will not be able to have it ready to go and we would lose too much production so it was decided to leave her where she is. Folks can still come to the hangar for a look see. AOPA wanted as many airplanes left in the hangar as possible and still give them room for their dance on the 12th of Oct. No problem there. Probably have about as many visitors that way as we would have towing it down to the ramp. We can hope anyway. Cheers, JR