Warbird Information Exchange

We are pleased that Bob has elected to join us. He is a former AF mech and friend of Larry and Stan. We are not so sure he volunteered. He may have been the victim of a conspiracy between our avionics guys. At any rate, he is getting his feet wet and hands dirty figuring out the wiring so far and it won't be long before he gets going with the avionics project. Its always good to have more help especially one with the experience that Bob brings to the team. Way cool!! Thanks! JR

Ray is fine tuning the fit of the parts he made for the copilot's side rear canopy frame. The former parts exhibited corrosion so he fabricated new replacements. They are about ready to install. Perhaps next weekend we can mark this off our "to-do" list. Sure wouldn't hurt any of our feelings if this happens! JR

Tim is pouring some fuel tank preservative in so that we can let it set for awhile and check for leaks with all of the fuel pumps, etc, we have replaced. Just another indicator that things are moving along on the systems. YaY!! JR

David B and Tim have been prepping the aileron area to receive the gap seal when it comes back from fabrication. Then we can hang the last control surfaces. K is starting to look like a whole airplane again!! Look out hogs, my trigger finger is gettin itchy!! EEhawww JR

There was very little wood used in the making of the A-26, but where external armor plate was added, wood filets were used to smooth out the junction between the surface and the armor. Here Tim is mating up an old piece of very oily wood with where it went on the bottom of the nacelle. The oil was the giveaway as to where it went. He is working with a local company that is donating the wood to our project in the correct sizes. All we have to do is figure out how to bend it to fit the curves!! Actually, we know how, but need the equipment to do it. Just another little small detail to figure out. JR

Did you ever have an "Old Flame" that went missing for many years and then suddenly you get a clue where she is? Everybody here knows that my first girlfriend was the B-25. Was completely in love with her, but then she left and somebody else ended up with her....in Mt Pleasant! Although she has been replaced with my current girlfriend, the A26, I still think of her fondly. Well, I was just reading thru the May 2013 "Aviation History" magazine and ran across a story that I can't believe I missed the first time. That Doolittle Raider that had to divert to Siberia because the carbs had been adjusted back to normal at the Depot in Sacramento instead of being set up for long range, apparently has been found... sorta. How did I miss this? Charles Runion's small aviation museum in Lebanon, TN, has a data plate from that B-25B that appears to have the correct serial number on it. To quote the story, "Runion's single most noteworthy relic is a data plate that has been confirmed to have come from one of the Doolittle's Raiders. The B-25 landed in Siberia, and fifty years later, a friend of Runion found the severed cockpit section lying on a disused part of the largely abandoned Russian base. It had been totally stripped and then crushed by a tracked vehicle-probably a tank-and virtually all that remained was the unnoticed data plate." I don't recall that this story was publicized or even mentioned on WIX. Did anybody else see it? Anyone have any insight into the authenticity of the report or the data plate? It would have been nice if something had been said about it during the last Doolittle Reunion at Wright Pat. Seems like it would have been huge to solve the mystery. JR

Speakin' of other airplanes... the GGA DC-3 is about ready for the new flying season. It starts this Saturday, 29 March. You can reserve a seat by contacting Dana at 817-659-9249 during business hours or emailing her at greatestgeneration@yahoo.com. More info if you check out the GGA website and FB page. http://www.gga1.org. There are some new features this year. The original radio room complete with many of the old mil radios has been installed. The navigator's station has also been installed. Of course, what GI would want to be without pin-ups. It was a long way home and these may have given a little comfort. Anyway, come ride the DC-3 and help support our aircraft restoration projects including the A-26. It makes a great Father's Day present!!! See you there. JR

K has left some clues as to her earlier existence. The green handle is the external canopy release. When the crew came up the right side ladder, they could open the both canopies with this handle. What is interesting is that there are old hand holds on the left side plus this other puzzling area filled in just beyond the release handle like there was something there and now covered up. The extra left side hand holds are done the same way. If you watch the video, "How to Fly the A-26" on Zenowarbirds or Youtube, you will see the instructor pilot get out of the cockpit and descend on the left side. It would be interesting to find out why this was done and then changed on K. Any takers on this question? Curious in Texas, JR

Looking Fantastic!
Any chance of a picture of the cockpit enclosure door mechanism, We are restoring an A-26/B-26 cockpit in the UK and have a few parts missing but need pictures to see what the missing parts look like, 2 parts we are missing are the release handle spring stops

This what ours looks like at the moment



Thanks

Aaron

_________________
Aaron
www.wingsmuseum.co.uk
A-26 Invader restoration
P-63 King Cobra restoration

Hi Aaron: Your picture did not post. Do you know how to use http://www.photobucket.com? If not, go to the "How to post pictures" thread at the beginning of the WIX page. I can't really tell what you are talking about exactly without the picture. But, do you have the Illustrated Parts Manual for the A-26. It has most of the part numbers and drawing of each. If needed, PM me and I will try to email it to you.

Regards,

JR

Hi JR.

Thanks for the reply, we have the IPC for the B-26 but it dose not show the parts in enough detail, i have also attached pictures of the IPC we have and could really do with some detailed photos of area D. (how the handles attach to the rails, Item 20 and both spring stops)

I am unable to send you a PM as the system says i am too new.
you can email me on wingsmuseumaircraft@gmail.com

Thanks for the help JR

Aaron

_________________
Aaron
www.wingsmuseum.co.uk
A-26 Invader restoration
P-63 King Cobra restoration

Aaron: In comparing the IPC for both your B and our K, there seems to be some difference in the structure. I'll try to pinpoint it on Saturday during the next work session. Regards, JR

Thanks JR

_________________
Aaron
www.wingsmuseum.co.uk
A-26 Invader restoration
P-63 King Cobra restoration

Our neighbor, the CAF A-26, affectionately known as BUBA thanks to the Duck Drivin Lady, is still in Brownsville with the hope that it would make the Kingsville NAS show this weekend. It may return on Sunday to the hangar. Anyway, you can find some nice pics on their FB page. http://www.facebook.com/invadersquadron That's where I borrowed this shot of the cockpit. One thing about the A-26, if you have flown one A-26, you have flown one A-26. They are all very different in configuration nowadays as they have evolved thru the corporate or air tanker environments. BUBA is actually set up fairly well for the pilot, as long as you remember the oil cooler door switches run just the opposite of the switches on Lady Liberty from OK. It's just the minor things like that. Anyway, we will be working on K's panel this weekend and trying to keep as close to the military configuration as possible. The fuel gauges have all new faces and the correct markings now thanks to our friends at Century Instruments in Wichita. Will post some pics of those tomorrow. Feel free to drop by and see how things are going. The DC-3 will be flying out of Meacham about 10 am Saturday if anybody wants to see or hear old round engines. This is the first flight of the new Spring season and should be a very pleasant day. JR

Wow, Century did a very nice job on these fuel gauges considering what they had to work with for starters. So now K has something that no other A-26 has. Correct and functional fuel gauges for the K model that are different than the B or C model's. With a little help from our friends at the AF Museum, we got the faces researched. Even the airplane at Dayton doesn't have the gauges shown in the Tech Order. So we are very proud of these. Larry, our avionics guy, even made a special trip to the hangar to show his two old AF buddies who were in town visiting. We expected Larry to maybe do the happy dance, but he was so excited, he started waggin his tail.... just like Inu. Larry chased down the correct faces so this was the culmination of a lot of hard work! Kudoes to all of the team!!
JR