Warbird Information Exchange

Ryan, some of these airplanes seem to get a name attached which sticks. I think this is one of them.

Ryan, some of these airplanes seem to get a name attached which sticks. I think this is one of them.

[quote="TheBoy"]That picture launching off of the snow is AWESOME!

I've always been a big air race fan and Critical Mass is/was the sexiest, beastly-est racer out there in my opinion. With that said though, I'm so glad to see you guys doing what you are. We've had several airplanes in my family for 30+ years and I know how attached you can get to them. I love thinking of that same machine being enjoyed by multiple generations of the same family.

Will the "Critical Mass" name live on with the airplane post-restoration?[/quote]

Ryan, some of these airplanes seem to get a name attached which sticks. I think this is one of them.

[quote="TheBoy"]That picture launching off of the snow is AWESOME!

I've always been a big air race fan and Critical Mass is/was the sexiest, beastly-est racer out there in my opinion. With that said though, I'm so glad to see you guys doing what you are. We've had several airplanes in my family for 30+ years and I know how attached you can get to them. I love thinking of that same machine being enjoyed by multiple generations of the same family.

Will the "Critical Mass" name live on with the airplane post-restoration?[/quote]

Ryan, some of these airplanes seem to get a name attached which sticks. I think this is one of them.

[quote="TheBoy"]That picture launching off of the snow is AWESOME!

I've always been a big air race fan and Critical Mass is/was the sexiest, beastly-est racer out there in my opinion. With that said though, I'm so glad to see you guys doing what you are. We've had several airplanes in my family for 30+ years and I know how attached you can get to them. I love thinking of that same machine being enjoyed by multiple generations of the same family.

Will the "Critical Mass" name live on with the airplane post-restoration?[/quote]

Hey Pete,

I never flew the 3350, I was off in the service when CM was flying and the timing didn't work out. I only have three flights in the front of the Centaurus Fury but I think it's a fine piece of kit which I have placed near the top of my five favourite aeroplanes list! The engine start is straight forward and rewards you with clean no-drama lightoff. At 50" on takeoff the Centaurus really comes alive, like when the secondarys open on your Holley 750, it pulls HARD and climbs hard. Just remember Left rudder not Right. Once airborne with the the wheels tracking up the prop lever comes to back to "auto" and thats the last time you touch it or the mixture control until shutdown. The single lever power control is as close to a jet as I think you could get and way ahead of its contemporaries. I'm told there are cams and levers and such which move the mixture and prop to make things sinc with the throttle. From the pilot's perspective it just all works. It's interesting to pull the throttle back below 35" (as I recall) and see the fuelflow drop disproportionally as it goes into "auto lean" (my terminology). On advancing the throttle from a low to high power setting, as in a go around, I had the feeling that there was a lot going on in the background and the program was a smooth and slow advance of the lever. I don't know what would happen with a rapid throttle burst and I didn't intend to find out, not my airplane. In cruise, once the power is back, the fuel flow drops way down and it gets very smooth and quiet, almost like a jet. The wing is a symmetrical airfoil which feels very much like a jet, it buffets when you pull hard, like a T-38. It's really an awesome setup, such a privilege to fly it. Once back on the ground with warm/hot oil it smokes quite a bit from the exhaust. I'm told this is a normal occurrence. It's a fabulous machine and a really important part of aviation history. Perhaps some day we will get the chance to put a Centaurus on the front of our machine. That would be a good day Pete.

-Ken

Really enjoying this thread as I utterly love the Hawker Sea Fury and can't wait to see this restoration in the air. Whatever engine is in it, a Sea Fury aloft is better than in a museum to my mind. Couple of shots attached including all three ex DLB a/c bought by Doug Arnold waiting delivery in Germany and then on the apron at Blackbushe. Including VX281,ES3615 (G-BCOW) etc. Hope this may be of interest.

Ken, thanks for the response to my question about the funnly looking rivet tails. Another question, in the 3rd post, 2nd picture in this thread, the cooling shutter is nicely illustrated. With the 4360 on Furias, that was long gone, but I always wondered how that cooling shutter was controlled. In many pictures, it almost looks like it has been removed. Many thanks in advance.
Steve

Thanks for the Great info & Pic,s everyone! I remember seeing CM (not yet named ) in San Marcos Tx. when John Stokes owned several of them. I have to find my old Kodak pic. of them taken from my old Kodak X-15 (! ) instamatic !

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WWI & WWII Warbird Fan.

How many did John own? I remember he had the FB-11 that had the CenTex Aviation markings on it....Vernon Thorpe had the motor seize on it at the '75 Mojave races. And he had the TMK-20 that I believe Bill Harrison ran as "Wasa Hooker" at Reno in '78 (and crashed fatally soon afterwards with a new owner...parts of which were used in the building of "Dreadnought"). And as I recall, when Eric Lorenzten bought the TMK-20 from Stokes to make "Blind Man's Bluff" (soon to be "Critical Mass") it was still in it's red target tug markings....but was it flyable at that point? What other Sea Furies did he have?

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Offer me solutions, offer me alternatives, and I decline......

According to Warbird Directory 6th Edition, John Stokes owned 4 of them.
VX300, VZ350, WE820 and WG652.

Thanks for the great response Ken. I have only flown in a Fury once, that was with Guido in 308 many years ago, I still keep in touch with the Centaurus through Nobby, do you have a Centaurus core that can be built up?? Obviously sleeves are the limiting factor but there are still some around, they are not that hard to work on either, just different:))) I guess that makes some folk nervous, I am still looking for some wing lock actuators too if you trip over some, even one to copy, best regards, Pete

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Give me a Centaurus over a Merlin any day

at the time I saw them (1978-80??), I noticed that one of the Red ones had a BLACK, Slimmer Spinner, more like one from a Griff. 5 Blade Spit/Sea Fire, I'm sure it was not from a Sea Fury, because, IF I can find my pic.s I took a good shot of it. I recall myself thinking it looked kind of like a "Witch Nose"

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WWI & WWII Warbird Fan.

Steve- There's a Rotax 24volt linear actuator (left side of the first photo) which moves the door. It's controlled by an "Inching Unit" which has a temperature probe in the oil cooler. The cockpit switch is three position, momentary to open and close or auto, which works fine.

Did you notice the artwork on the tail of D-CACO? It looks like a bumble bee or something. I've never seen that on any of the Tug photos.

[quote="seafurysmith"]Really enjoying this thread as I utterly love the Hawker Sea Fury and can't wait to see this restoration in the air. Whatever engine is in it, a Sea Fury aloft is better than in a museum to my mind. Couple of shots attached including all three ex DLB a/c bought by Doug Arnold waiting delivery in Germany and then on the apron at Blackbushe. Including VX281,ES3615 (G-BCOW) etc. Hope this may be of interest.

Ken,
I'll bite. You said the Sea Fury is one of your 5 favorite airplanes, what are the other 4?
I will also guess (no order) F-16, T-38, A-319 .... TBM ....
Tom