Warbird Information Exchange

I think the best coarse of action would be to pour a cold beer to everyone involved and toast them both !!!

Sierra Sue II didn't make it to Oshkosh this year, did it? It wasn't there Wednesday, and I was hoping to check it out.

Lope's Hope certainly was impressive and deserving. I don't suppose the Spitfire was restored to that level of micro-originality. Still, I can't help feeling that natural metal Mustangs have a scoring advantage with the ability to show off all those different metals, colored rivets and whatnot. Slap a coat of paint on it and it's harder to be impressed, even if you know it's all under there.

It is good to know that the necessary information to restore a P-51 to that level of originality survives. It survives as documents and photos, but now it is also embodied in physical restorations as a kind of insurance against loss or forgetting. In another 200 years, when someone types "P-51 Mustang" into the MakerBot 3018 and slides all the sliders up to spare-no-expense max originality, at least it will know how to fabricate a perfect new Mustang. I wonder if similarly comprehensive information exists for many other types of the period.

August

Oh how I love it when John Terrell preaches one of his patented sermons on the authenticity levels of the SSII and LH3 Mustangs. I'm confident saying I would never fully realize what I see without his input -- and what a joy these airplanes are to see! These contributions are certainly top reasons why I volunteer a $ubscription to help keep this forum going. In fact, I'm considering bumping it up...

Thanks again Dan for the pix, you have an excellent eye sir!

And Blackbirdfan once again knocks it right out of the park -- good heavens that is Photography with a capital P! I demand you post every picture you took!

_________________
Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas

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

I didn't see SSII all week - it was nice to see Moonbeam McSwine back in the fold, though.



I was certainly not trying to take anything away from the workmanship on Lope's Hope. More like wondering if the Spit was also a flawless restoration that didn't get the pre-show publicity or if it was a more distant second.

Nice shots, everyone!

_________________
Chris

I guess I was a little surprised not to see the EAA's B-25 "Berlin Express" on any ramp.

On the other hand, I've reached the age where I often miss the most-obvious.

Was she actually on display somewhere, or is there a reason she wasn't? Just curious.

_________________
It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

It was parked on the grass field near the ‘Kidventure’ area. Fuselage has been repainted back to near its Catch-22 scheme. Looks close to being ready to fly again.

_________________
Scott Thompson
Aero Vintage Books
http://www.aerovintage.com
WIX Subscriber Since July 2017

Outstanding captures!

Thanks for that, Scott (And here my 20-something kid and I skipped Kidventure this year...imagine that LOL). Next year I'll check with you first!

I guess I wasn't really seeing ANY pics posted of the plane on the grounds, and I never caught the blurb EAA posted on her being tugged over to Pioneer. No biggie.

http://www.eaavideo.org/detail/videos/2 ... Start=true

_________________
It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

This is the best I got from the EAA Museum tower

Having toured Roy's shop a year ago I can say those aircraft are incredible. Just watch Kermit's videos to see the stunning work going into each plane. The 100 may fly next year.

Notes from Oshkosh:
1) A friend strongly disliked Lope's Hope" however I thought it was amazing. I think we are now at a level where there are a few different styles of restoration with each style being "the best" an aircraft can be. Both Spitfires looked amazing and were every bit the equal to the P-51C, in my view. Same for the all the past Grand Champions for a few years now.
2) Did anyone else notice the polished metal prototype North American NA-64 Yale (BT-14)? NX13397. Two brothers brought it to Oshkosh. They found it stored in a barn for almost 40 years, a year and a half ago and it is back up flying. It's a beauty with lots and lots of original 1940 NAA aluminum. Few scratches on the wheel fairings but they are original. They said it has a wicked stall, particularly with flaps down. the gear is a foot narrower than a T-6. The wing has a swept leading edge and the trailing edge makes a straight line to the fuselage which was changed with the T-6's. The wing shape actually reminded me of the shape of a PT-22 wing for some reason. It still had french writing on the rudder pedals and elsewhere in the cockpit. Lots of cool original items. The guy that restored it in the 1970's flew it 20 hours and parked it. Interesting story how they found it.
3) The Boeing YL-15 was there again. Super rare and unique.
4) The Yak 110 . It is two Yak 55's mated together. I looked at it closely and the workmanship looked nice. New build center wing. Hate the jet engine as it's loud and drowns out the nice sound of the dual M-14Ps. Also, from a distance the sillohoutte looks like a P-38 doing aerobatics. Never got to see Lefty Gardner's routine. The guy did a nice job flying it.
5) The matching pair of F7F Tigercats. Have a few theories why the tire went flying off the wheel. My theory was that it was underinflated . then the tire rotated on the wheel shearing the valve stem and the tire departed the wheel. Had this happen to me in a Maule M-5. My 83 year old mechanic friend that I had lunch today said it sounded like they used a lubricant to mount the tire on the wheel. Back when he joined the Air Force in 1951, they didn't have special tools to mount them and you had to mount them the hard way. Said he heard of this happening.\
The three Douglas Invaders. Not sure of the models but I think it was an A, C, and K. Anyway it represented the glass nose, gun nose, and the K which was an amazinglly restored and bomb laden aircraft. It has a supercool profile in flight. Those guys did a great job on every detail'
Never could find "Oh Brother" the CAf's C-47. Even went over to the Basler hangar on the east side of the field.

That's Warren P and I talking Spitfires.

We had a great departure together Sunday morning, with Lope's Hope as well, for a photo flight for EAA Warbirds magazine.

Smooth air and gentle light. Scott in the Bonanza seemed pleased.

Then I pointed west and made it all the way to Billings for the night -- 500+ mile leg.

Slattery said his mechanics told him the tire went flat causing the rim lock doodad to part company with the wheel. Given the trajectory of the doodad after it separated it sure looked like there was plenty of pressure still in the tire at that point...

_________________
Those who possess real knowledge are rare.

Those who can set that knowledge into motion in the physical world are rarer still.

The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.

That would be this one?


Image from kalamazookid's wonderful string of photos posted on page 15 of this thread.

_________________
Cheers,
Kurt Maurer
League City, Texas

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

Regarding the Tigercat wheel failure, this is not or was not caused by any failure on the part of the crew. Those wheels are the original types, and are old aluminum castings. It is a common failure pattern of this wheel to fail at the raised portion that holds the snap ring in due to age. It has Been a common retrofit on this type of aircraft to switch to the Grumman S-2 wheel assembly which is a two part (left/right) half wheel. They don’t look as vintage, but are newer units that do the same job...