Warbird Information Exchange

Hi Ken... envious you got to visit the TN Aviation museum. I would love to go stay there for a month.. ok maybe a week. I had a lot of early exposure to T-34 restoration and would love to go see the Beech side as well as look at the Skyraider, et al. But actually, we think we have a solution to the attitude indicator. The guys put together our 3 gyro boxes and came up with the best Frankenstein version ever. Appropriate for Halloween, don't you think? Anyway, the original system is functional. AND, we have a back up plan in that we found a self contained, electrically powered attitude indicator that has nearly the same appearance as the original military version. How lucky is that? Now we are moving to new problems. Still need a nose tire. Had to postpone trip to pick one up until tomorrow or Friday. Also found a piece of the nose gear door actuator with corrosion so need to find or make a new part replacement. Taking no chances with that doggone landing gear stuff. Will make it as best we can to reduce the risk of a gear collapse. The part we need is instrumental in opening the nose gear doors so guess that can be classified as essential.... unlike some government employees. HHHmmmmm, wonder how that works? The guvment can't issue any new paperwork for pilots or airplanes, but that is not essential?? Nor can they do the aircraft inspections required by the Chicago Convention ICAO Treaty?? And the real JR was just about to submit the new maintenance plan for approval for Kay, but nobody home to look at it? Confused in Ft Worth, the other JR

It is my sad duty to report the passing of Tuskegee Airman Claude Platte today in Ft Worth. He was buried with full military honors at DFW National Cemetery. An excerpt from the CBS11 report:

on October 8, 2013. (credit: CBSDFW.COM)
DALLAS (CBS 11 NEWS) – A grateful nation said goodbye Tuesday to another veteran of the “greatest generation.” Captain Claude Robert Platte, Junior, was born in Denison, Texas… grew up in Fort Worth, and later achieved prominence as a pilot and flight instructor with the famed Tuskegee Airmen.

“Claude Pratte was what you would call a man’s man and a pilot’s pilot,” fellow Tuskegee Airman Robert T. McDaniel said proudly. McDaniel, who was a flight officer with the Tuskegee Airmen, says he and Pratte made quite a few trips together speaking about “what the Tuskegee airmen went through and how much it meant to us to be a part of that activity.”

Mr. McDaniel and Mr. Platte are two of the three Tuskegee Airman who often visited the VFM Hangar to share their stories and encourage young people to pursue their dreams. He will be missed. JR

The AOPA Summit begins Thurs and runs thru Saturday. I was fortunate to get a sneak peak at the exhibitors hall today as I was helping to set up a booth. Wow! is all I can say. There are some really cool things there. In addition, the ramp exhibit at Meacham has many of the manufacturer's latest models. Several people have already signed up for our DC-3 pilot experience offer or rides which will be running starting at 10 am. Be sure to come over to the VFM hangar and see our Special Kay. The CAF A-26 will be leaving for the Midland Airshow soon so might even get to see it fly. Meacham is the place to be for the next four days!! Come visit with us especially on Friday and Saturday. Don't forget the GGA auction on Friday. Viewing of the WWII aircraft parts and artwork will take place from noon to 6 pm and the auction starts at 7 pm. There is even a genuine Porterfield in flying condition in the auction. Don't miss out on this opportunity to own a piece of history. JR

AOPA Summit starts today and K is ready to receive visitors. The weather is exceptionally nice although the weekend may have some changes. Hey, this is Texas, so if you don't like the weather, just wait a little bit, it will be back to gorgeous soon. We will have some folks around to give tours so you can get up close to see what the team has done so far. See you there. JR

Well, it is on!! AOPA can now officially open with the arrival of the B-29!!! Bunches of airplanes and some warbirds on the ramp now. The B-24 is with Fifi. Our C-47 is on display and set to give rides or pilot experiences. There are even helicopter rides for the hover lovers. The CAF A-26 departed for Midland a little bit ago in preparation for the big airshow down there. BTW, this is the big Red River Shootout weekend at the Cotton Bowl between OU and those pesky Longhorns. Even though I am loyal to the Republic, being a good Aggie, I cannot bring myself to root for TU under any circumstances... so go Sooners!! EEEhaawwww. Man, what wouldn't I give to have Kay flying so we could do a flyover for that game. Maybe next year. Will keep fingers crossed. Ya'll come see us at the VFM hangar, Meacham Field, Ft Worth. The B-29 and B-24 will be leaving probably Friday for Midland so tomorrow may be the big day to see everything. Rain in the forecast for Saturday. It wouldn't dare! Broomrider 1, where are you when we need ya?? JR PS, don't forget the big WWII aircraft parts auction at the VFM hangar on Friday evening starting at 7 pm. Viewing from noon to 6 pm. Own a piece of history!

GGA recently had its first female pilot to fly the DC3. Terry is a Commercial Multi engine instrument pilot and CFI. Jim Terry was the instructor for the ride. Her training partner Dave got to go second... ladies first, of course! Anyway, she has dibs on being the first lady to check out in the A-26 as well. Will see how that goes. She has some wild ambition to be a blimp pilot that might postpone that ride. There is another lady scheduled for tomorrow in the 3. Besides promoting the ladies air race, Terry has been mentioning the DC3 idea to other ladies who come talk to her in the Air Race Classic booth... yeah, the former Powder Puff race... sorta... She is a big proponent of the race and has won or placed in the last several transcontinental races. On tomorrow's schedule at the AOPA ramp, the B-29 and B-24 are rumored to be departing for Midland about noon, CAF time. The DC3 will be doing a training flight in the morning and then rides starting at 10 am. Call Dana at 817-659-9249 and then email for confirmation of rez at greatestgeneration@yahoo.com to reserve your space. Should be a great day for flying!! JR

Santa came early tonight!!! Very pleased to report that with the help of Nelson Ezell, we were able to come up with a new 36SC nose tire. Whooo hooooo, we will get it mounted asap on the newly overhauled nosewheel and that is another big check mark we can make on the completion side of the ledger. Still on the lookout for more. Can't have too many spare nose tires!! We now figure 71% complete not counting the paint and an engine overhaul. We were also pleased to have Lindsey Jackson and better half, Maxine come visit us this afternoon. In the mid 60's, Lindsey was a crew chief and mechanic on the A-26 at NKP when the airplanes first arrived there under Colonel Curto. BTW, the auction was well attended and many items sold tonight. Will try to get a better report over the weekend and let yall know. I fell in love with the 1947 Porterfield and the 1941 Culver Cadet. Both are flying and airworthy.. beautiful restorations. Had to leave before they went up for bid so I am very curious to see who might have won them. More later... JR

Overall, it was a very good weekend for the team. The two hangar dances didn't slow us down much. Here is Lou shaping up the cover that goes on the step in the side of the fuselage. There were several small cracks underneath it in the fuselage skin, but those will be addressed before this cover goes back on. When this is finished, the ladder access side will be close to completion. JR

Clay almost looks like a ghost image here.. sorry Clay... but was trying to make the new tail cone visible. It is so clear and better than new. Clay did an outstanding job of building the form, the oven and then experimenting with the plastic until he has it perfected. It is a long and tedious job to make and care must be taken to fit and pre-drill the holes to relieve stress before going all the way thru. Tail cones are like hen's teeth. Hard to find and difficult to get, but Clay came through for us.. again!! Thanks!! JR

Jamie has finished up the prep of the doghouse so that it is ready for paint. Hopefully it will get the first coat of gray this week. There is a lot of rain in the forecast for the first half of the week. Not good for painting. Will take the rain though. Anyway, this has been another one of those long and tedious jobs, but Jamie has done a great job with it. He has disappeared at times and we wondered where he went. Could always be found deep inside the doghouse going after that last little bit of area that needed cleaning or stripping. That's a big attaboy! JR

The Holy Grail of A-26 restorers... a new 36 SC nose tire!!! Many thanks for the help from Ezell Aviation and to Paul for bringing it over from Breckenridge. We are super relieved to find this. Thanks Nelson! JR

With a little help from my friends....ok, a lot of help from my friends, the team enjoyed home made lasagna on Saturday. Guess it is fitting since this month has Columbus day in it and that is all the excuse we need to have Italian for lunch. Next weekend, the 19th, we have our A-26 ground school scheduled. Will continue the Italian theme for the month with pizza that day. BTW, if you would like to join us for the class, please contact Dana to schedule at greatestgeneration@yahoo.com or call during biz hours at 817-659-9249. She is making BBQ brisket for lunch on the 26th so ok, that's not Italian, but we are Texans and can't go a whole month without BBQ. One thing about being on the restoration team, we eat good and have a great time working on Special Kay. Come join us! JR

John R donated a flight helmet to go along with the one donated by Joe M. These helmets date back to the 60's with boom mics so would have been of the style used by A-26 crews. Hawkeye has some newly restored and digitized movies shot back in the NKP era that show that many of the helmets were white in training in FL and LA. Perhaps some were painted differently once in the combat zone?? For those who were really there, what colors do you remember on the helmets? We could use one more if anybody has one they would like to donate. Thanks, JR

Another one of those details in progress.... we are making muffs to go in the air intakes for the oil coolers. Once we have a template made, one of our lovely seamstresses will sew the covers. Traditionally, they should be red and have a "remove before flight" flag on them. Any other suggestions? JR

One of the items in the auction is this beautiful little Culver. It flew in and is airworthy so we were very surprised it didn't sell. The reserve on it is not very high. I think I heard it is a 1941 vintage. Later, the Culver factory built drone versions of this design with tri gear. Al Mooney designed the airplane so it was very efficient on gas but fast at the same time. Come see it at the VFM hangar, Meacham Field and make an offer. Own a very unique warbird and score a ride in the A-26 when it is finished!! JR