Warbird Information Exchange

As part of the cockpit work, the instrument air filter was pulled and opened up. It appears to have not been opened since the late 60's. Wasn't in too bad of a condition though. It was cleaned and reassembled ready for installation. JR

Rand has been liberally applying our new Zip Chem cleaner to the floor of the cockpit getting it all clean and ready to paint. It is doing a marvelous job with a little elbow grease from Rand. OK, a lot of elbow grease. There is grit and grim collected there that could easily date back to the delivery from OnMark in 1965. Also visible are the spring adjustments for the rudder pedals that he is cleaning up as well. Thanks Rand!! JR

Another little pesky item that has been cleared off our to-do list, the brake valve assembly. This is a before shot. When we pressurized the brake system recently, the valve decided to leak. It was removed and disassembled for cleaning which will be shown in the following pics. JR

JR with a little help from his friends, cleaned up the brake valve innards and installed new seals. Upon reassembly and being filled with fluid, it didn't dare leak with JR standing over it with a big hammer. JR

A close up shows that some spots needed to be honed and smoothed to make sure it all fit back together without leaks. JR got it done personally so thanks JR from the other JR!!

Ahhhh, it's a beautiful thang. David A got it installed this morning. Still no signs of leakage, but the true test will come next Saturday when gear swings will commence in earnest again. We need to get K steady on her own feet so we can pull the left engine to do a sheet metal repair on the firewall/nacelle. Thanks David for going above and beyond today. Rand was there helping clean up the fluid in the cockpit so kudos to Rand as well. JR

A few pages back, I mentioned that some video existed of wind tunnel tests of the aerodynamics of the A-26 wing near the stalling speeds in various configurations. This is a link to the tests filmed on 20 Feb 1943 of the XA-26. Interesting to see how the airflow just outboard of the nacelles is influenced by the air cooler intakes. These were later modified to reduce this effect. It appears as though there is considerable force differential between the airflows on either side of the intakes especially with the flaps down and approaching the angle of attack that results in the stall. JR

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tKzkeqHgmrk

Ck this out

Randy, Bob D and all the other A-26 gunplumbers out there... how does this look? Forgive the blue tint as a blue tarp is kept over the doghouse area to keep it clean. Jamie finished up mounting most of the hardware and mil radios last Saturday. Just need some air lines to the nose and we are one step closer to going Wild Hog huntin out at the ranch, huh? The Ace Wild Hog Extermination Company rises again!!! JR

I'm still being amazed at the parts you are able to find. That compressor looks like the same one to me. As far as the air lines, I did see the gun charging solenoids are still in the gun bay, along with most of the gun charger lines running to the guns. I did see that some of them had the quick-connects cut off. The charging solenoids have a push-button on the back of them that we used when we did the initial charge on the fight line. That operation didn't actually chamber a round, but put one in on top of the breech block. I think the navigators took care of the armament panel during the flight, and when they charged the guns again, they were ready to go. We were always careful when we were working on the guns if someone was in the cockpit while we had the ground override switch on. It would have been possible to charge and fire the guns in that condition with the aircraft on the ground.

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

Another batch to ponder JR


XA-26?


Douglas XB-26F 44-34586 Oakland Airport, May 1949


B-26C Cal ANG


B-26C-56-DT 44-35992 San Francisco Feb 1949.


Douglas VB-26B-66-DL (44-34723) Fighter School at Willliams Air Force Base visiting Hamilton Field in September 1948.


A-26C c 1945 (credit Fred Harl via Mark Nankivil)


B-26B's 44-35733 44-35337 LA NG


T10968 5-26-44


JD-1 Invader near NAS Oceana 1954


JD-1's and TBM-3U's

_________________
“Knowing what’s right, doesn’t mean much unless you do what’s right.”

Randy, thanks for the info. We may not get guns this year, but perhaps next when we raise more dinero. BTW, we have a genuine gunsight for the cockpit so basically we need guns and the phenolic ammo boxes to have the complete setup. Still on the lookout for the boxes as they are very scarce.
Mark, again thanks for the pics. I have a story to tell after you posted the shot of the A-26 based at Williams AFB concerning the man who wrote "God is My Co Pilot". Will try to post that this evening. Later.. JR

................ we need guns and the phenolic ammo boxes to have the complete setup.
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I found a place in Tampa that advertised ammo boxes for an A-26. I emailed him and asked if he could send a pic of them to verify they were the right ones, but never heard a thing back.

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

True Confessions time!!! Mark, the picture you posted of the A-26 with the tail number 723 and "The Fighter School" on the nose is indeed the aircraft referenced in Gen Robert L. Scott, Jr.'s book, "The Day I Owned the Sky". He cites it as his fondest memory while Base Commander at the Willie Air Patch, AZ, from 1947 to 1950. In 1948, he was traveling by car to cross the border into California at Blythe where there was an Agricultural Inspection Station. The Inspectors there gave him a long delay and wanted to search his car for fruits, melons, cotton, etc, that might bring bugs into the state. In the hot desert air and rudimentary air conditioning in his car, he was doubly irritated and decided to pay the Station a little visit when he got back to Willie. Maj Neil Johnson, from MT, his Ops Officer and co-pilot helped him find a couple of truckloads of overripe melons in Glendale, AZ. Along with Capt. Carl Hardy as the bombardier, they loaded as many melons into the bombbay as possible and struck out in the direction of Blythe. This airplane, he says, was stripped of all guns and turrets so could easily indicate 375 mph in level flight. As they approached the target, he dropped to the deck at 400 mph and aimed for a spot 50 yards from the Station. Impact was perfect and they made good their escape to the west. When a solid year had passed, he had occasion to drive through Blythe again. When he stepped out of the car to open the trunk for the Inspector, he was in uniform so the Inspector told the story of how one of "his boys" had really worked them over last year. He pointed toward the impact zone and there was the most verdant patch of watermelon vines that he had ever seen. The Inspector mentioned that one of the "bombs" had bounced right through the Welcome to California sign and took out the middle word. It was all Col. Scott could do to keep from laughing. He asked the Inspector if he got the number of the airplane. His response was, "Number? hell's fire, Colonel, that guy was flying so fast and so low, we ain't decided yet what kind of plane it was! In fact, we don't even know if was one of ours!" Colonel, later General Scott, is the author of "God Is My Co-Pilot" about his days flying in China under Gen. Chennault. I can recommend his second book as being just as interesting. Another reason I like him.... he was born and raised in Macon, Ga. Same place K had the accident that kept her from going to Canada and eventually let us have the opportunity to restore her back to her former glory. Enjoy!! JR

On the plus side for the day, JR found this nifty safety harness for our manlift for when we are working up high. He also got some of those really nice Rosen sun shades so we will be styling on the way to airshows. Got some insulation material that goes under the fabric covering for the sidewalls for the cockpit that we have been needing, too. The old insulation is flaking off rapidly now and keeps making a mess when we try to work in there. So the decision has been made to strip all the old stuff out and replace it with the good stuff. Wish it would help with the sound deadening in the cockpit but that probably is some kind of dream. So thanks JR, from the other JR

The right side gear doors are hung. The only remaining doors left to install are the nose doors. Some parts are having to be fabricated and some bushings found to complete the fitting of these. When the gear swings are done this weekend, we will check the fit of the replacement doors themselves with the nose gear up. This has been something of a setback, but we have been accomplishing other things while waiting for the missing parts to come in. Restoring this airplane is a little like being pregnant. Just have to wait for it to determine when it is ready to come out of the hangar! JR