Warbird Information Exchange

Thanks for that, Chris.

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Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas

PIC, Ford 6600 pulling Rhino batwing up and down the runway

Any early predictions for the warbird award winners (to be announced tonight)? Even with the A-20 and Collings Spitfire, I know I'm not alone in thinking the Fagens should definitely get Grand Champion WWII with their SNJ - what an amazing restoration by Mark Denest and his team. Pat Harker's L-5 is an absolute stunner too - perhaps a Grand Champion in the post-WWII category. It was great to see the CAF Dixie Wing P-63A also entered in the judging, as it too is a fantastic restoration. Of course, as I recall, more points will be awarded to the rarer/more difficult to restore types.

For the few that don't use Facebook or follow AirCorps Aviation, they have made some neat videos from Oshkosh over this past week...

Here's a detailed walk-around of the Fagen SNJ (as complete/authentically original as there ever has been for a T-6/SNJ restoration - I love the early gun camera in the wing and the target camera(s) mounted in the aft cockpit - everywhere you look it is just all there): https://www.facebook.com/aircorpsaviati ... 883068790/

The color scheme worn by the Fagen SNJ, and for which it is restored/configured to match, is that of an SNJ that saw combat duty in the Pacific, assigned to Marine Air Group 11, based at Turtle Bay Strip, Espirtu Santo, New Hebrides in the fall of 1943. https://www.flickr.com/photos/133697406 ... 61/sizes/l

A close look at the Boeing YL-15, with the owner, Keith Brunquist, discussing some aspects of the aircraft. It was disassembled in Alaska, where it is based, and trucked down to Blaine, Minnesota and reassembled at Pat Harker's/C&P Aviation (who, as I recall, also has a L-15 project), before flying into Oshkosh this past Sunday: https://www.facebook.com/aircorpsaviati ... 406868071/

A detailed walk-around of the P-51D "Sierra Sue II", which is aging-in quite well/growing some nice patina throughout from the past 3-years, as it is a regular flyer, with authentic/original type primers (not modern primers/paints as you see in other restorations) that chips and scuffs quite easily, just as originally: https://www.facebook.com/aircorpsaviati ... 159737529/

Have the A-20 or A-26 flown this week?

Is Doc eligible for any awards?

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Zac in NZ
#avgeek, modelbuilder, photographer, writer. Callsign: "HANDBAG".
https://linktr.ee/zacyates

"It's his plane, he spent the money to restore it, he can do with it what he wants. I will never understand what's hard to comprehend about this." - kalamazookid, 20/08/2013
"The more time you spend around warbirds the sooner you learn nothing, is simple." - JohnB, 24/02/22

The A20 flew out this morning together with the Lewis B25.

The A26 flew briefly on Sunday night and then again last night and this morning.

Today's WB schedule:

15:13- Scramble piston bombers (B-29's, B-17's, B-25's)

15:30 - B-1, B-2, B52 flyover

15:31 - Piston bomber parade

15:45 - Jet Bombers

16:07 - missing man (B-29's, B-25)

Three aerobatic acts follow

Heritage at 16:44

Blues at 17:00

Heard a completely unsubstantiated rumor today. Normally I don't pass on but this one is special. A large Eurotransport was supposed to launch during the show yesterday but couldn't get #3 started despite the encouragement of the CEO who was onboard. Repair part arrived overnight on a C-130, so it's all good. Great story, anyway...

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Chris

The Airbus A-400M was supposed to arrive and depart on Thursday. If it arrived but didn't depart on Thursday, it adds plausability to this story.

It departed this morning

Think they'll be signing up for a fleet of C-130 service A/C?

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Chris

Howdy all

Does anyone know if Rod Lewis's A-20 was being judged?
Saw hope it wins Grand Champion if so !

Lightning

It was a good year for super rare warbirds. I thought the Boeing YL-15 looked perfect. The A-20 also had lots of nice details. The P-63A may be the nicest CAF aircraft I've ever seen. Paint was perfect and also had guns, ammo belts, etc. Missed the Spitfire and SNJ. They'll all carry home some awards.

Anyone know when the Awards are posted ?

Lightning

Banquet is just starting - will know by 21:00 or so. A-20 and all 3 P-63's did sign up, as did Doc

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Chris

Thanks so much for thinking of us, John, it is greatly appreciated!! Cheers!

I noticed that SSII has an B/C style throttle grip, yet is clearly a D model...? I'm sure this has been covered before but I either missed it or CRS kicked in (again).

Wonderful stuff, thanks again!

_________________
Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas

PIC, Ford 6600 pulling Rhino batwing up and down the runway

Kurt, a lot of P-51D/K production (actually the majority of those produced in-time to see action during WWII) had that same "standard" ball-tip throttle lever. That's because the more typical "D-model" throttle lever you see today, sometimes referred to as the "bicycle grip", only came with the K-14 gyro computing gun sight, as the throttle handle twists to adjust the range on the K-14. Up until mid-production P-51D-20-NA's (and equivalent Dallas production), all P-51D/K production was fitted with the N-9 reflector gun sight and the early/standard throttle lever. "Sierra Sue II" is among the early D-20-NA production that still rolled out of the factory with the N-9/early throttle and thus restored that way ("SSII" does have an N-9 sight for display - it is the only item that is missing when it flies). There were a lot of changes that took place part-way through P-51D-20-NA production, separating early from late, including going from the N-9 to the K-14 and from having no rocket launcher mounts or equipment to having that all built-in (the rocket stubs being an accessory item at that time). This also resulted in a lot of changes in the cockpit, between the early and late versions

If you were to look inside the cockpit of the first production version, the P-51D-5-NA, the instrument panel/layout was still almost exactly the same as the B/C - a lot of what is typically considered "standard P-51D", today, wasn't introduced until the late production variants, and there were literally hundreds of changes throughout all D-model production alone - not just between production blocks, but differences between early and late versions of the same production block. During D-model production alone, there were two different gun bay door designs, at least three different ammo door designs, two different dorsal fin fillet designs (three, if you include no dorsal fin at all), at least two different versions of the horizontal stabilizers, fabric elevators on early examples and metal elevators on later examples, and as many as five different canopy shapes/forms. The D-model wing went through various internal changes, going from the early non-rocket supporting wings, to those which had the rocket launcher stub mountings and rocket firing system built in, to the late wings which were beefed-up to support heavier payloads. Of course then you get into the differences in the cockpits, in the radio/battery setups, and more... The thing that I find so special about "Sierra Sue II" is that it was restored precisely, in every detail, to how that particular airframe (serial number/production block) was when it came from the factory (it is not some "generic" 1944/45 configuration as you see in almost every other one out there), and not only that, but it also has some of the tech order modifications it received post-production, such as the bolts added to the early ammo doors, which was done in the spring of 1945 to ensure they were more secure/wouldn't come off in-flight - everything about it, save for the avionics required to fly the aircraft regularly and cross-country, as it does, is just as it was in April/May 1945 (no modern paints/primers, no polishing (but to match the original Alclad finish on original skins), all original type fittings and hardware, working WWII radio, filled/sanded/painted wing per original NAA recipe/method, original type rivets/bolts, so much original 1944 structure/parts remaining and even a good number of original skins throughout, and I could on and on...).