Warbird Information Exchange

Forgot to mention, if any WIX folks live in or near Alexandria, La, please PM me for some questions or if you would like to meet us on the leg out to FL. Thx, JR

Our chase plane made it to the Midland Airshow and we were honored to be asked to do a flyover at end of the National Anthem which opened the show. We got lots of compliments on the airplane plus many questions about Kay. Work has continued on the wing pylons, ladders for the cockpit & aft compartment, and replica ordnance for the pylons. Manning Manufacturing is working on a portable tow bar that will fit in the bomb bay. Kennedy Engineering is overseeing the ladder design. It's good to have friends in high places!!

Great to hear the CT-133 is a hit.

BTW, that tow bar is something I wish more warbird operators would do. I know it can be expensive to get a "portable" towbar made out of aluminum or other lighter-weight metal, but for us line guys, it's a savior when we know that we can move an airplane and not have to kludge something together. When the DFW wing got their new "flyable" towbar for the R4D a while back, it made things so much easier because the new bar came in 2 or 3 pieces, was well machined, and each piece only weighed about 20 pounds, making it much easier to get in and out of the plane for the older volunteers and easier to assemble for the line techs under the plane since you could put it together as you went from the tail wheel.

Just a short note tonight that we had threee successful flights on the A-26 today. Will try again tomorrow. We are very busy getting ready for the CAF Wings Over Dallas Airshow next weekend and then our trip to Ft Walton Beach for the A-26 veteran’s reunion. The VFM 40’s Hangar Dance is the night of 21 Oct followed by the Alliance Airshow on the 28th & 29th. We did not get a slot in the paint shop like we expected so we removed all the masking we had done to start flying and prepping for these appearances. Kay may be nekid but it would still be worth your time to make one or more of these events. See you there! Be sure to buy a T-shirt and help support a Kay!!

Do you have a schedule for the Fort Walton Beach & Destin trip yet?

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Bob
Memories of Naked Fanny
More Memories of Naked Fanny (Nov 2013)
609th Nimrod, Bomb loader, Gun Plumber, '68 - '69

Bob, a schedule for us is tough to pin down as weather and mechanical problems can easily change things. With that understanding, we are aiming for wheels up time of 8 am central. Will proceed to England AFB, LA @ Alexandria arriving about 9:30 am. Next we will head to Brewton, AL, to overfly the former Navy airfield wher our Crew Chief’s cousin, Tommy King was lost in a T-28 mid air with another student pilot 59 years ago on Oct 14. JR was seven years old then and his family got the call as they were finishing up celebrating his birthday. Arrival at Destin may be close to noonish. We will have the airplane on display at the south terminal of the Lynx Aviation FBO that afternoon and next morning starting about 9:30 am until launch time to overfly the Air Commando Memorial at Hurlburt which starts at noon. We will pass over at the end of the ceremony and return to Destin. The airplane will again be on display until about 4:30 pm when it will be time to go clean up for the A-26 veteran dinner on Sun evening. Departure will be on Monday (16th) at a time to be determined but probably between 9 & 10 am. We will go direct to Alexandria and then home to Fort Worth.

Thank you very much. That's close enough to a schedule for me. My days of worrying about late take-offs or an early morning "go" are over for me. I'll see ya'll in Destin.

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Bob
Memories of Naked Fanny
More Memories of Naked Fanny (Nov 2013)
609th Nimrod, Bomb loader, Gun Plumber, '68 - '69

Do you have any specific information on the "A-26 veteran dinner on Sun evening." I can't find anything on it.

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Bob
Memories of Naked Fanny
More Memories of Naked Fanny (Nov 2013)
609th Nimrod, Bomb loader, Gun Plumber, '68 - '69

Sent you an email with contact info. Regards, JR

Our A-26A flies over the Air Commando Association memorial service on 15 October 2017. Three cameras, one on the ground and two on the plane. Full disclosure the cockpit video is flipped to make the tilt correct as the two airplane cameras are pointed in different directions.

I'm particularly fond of the silhouette of the airplane on the ground as it crosses the Hurlburt Air Park!

In the aircraft are Tim Black (who flew this airplane in the '60's) on the right, Steve Swift on the left, with Gus Gustafson (who flew with Tim Black) in the back. Tim and Gus are Nimrods who flew with the 609th Special Operations Squadron at Nakhon Phenom Royal Thai Air Force Base in Thailand.

https://youtu.be/QzEzhBn8-oA

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Hawkeye Poole
https://www.youtube.com/c/hawkeyepoole
franklin@pgctv.com

Nicely done Hawkeye, as usual. Nicely done.

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The real JR

I really enjoyed that too. Great video!

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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

We got thru the storms after the Hangar Dance last Sat night. Got in another flight which went splendidly. We are planning to take her over to the Fort Worth Alliance Airshow this weekend. Chase plane is going too. One of our acquaintances is bringing a very rare Beech Starship. The Induction Ceremony for the National Aviation Hall of Fame takes place there on Sat night. Big doings in Fort Worth this weekend. Drop by, see Kay and all the other aircraft. The Navy is showing up with their F-18 formation team... whatz their names? Oh well...

Hangar dance was a huge success. Great fun for all. Ditto on the Alliance Airshow. We have commenced the second wave of crew flight training and expect two more DC-B26 type ratings before long. The FAA never changed from the 1947-48 type designation when the USAF changed back to A-26 in 1966 when the airplanes went to Thailand. Since that was a Special Operations designation, it would be understandable that the FAA was not notified. In the FAA Aircraft Registry, Kay is still carried as a B Model. Apparently, the Air Force and CIA never disclosed there were 40 K models either as they never intended any of them to be in civilian hands. But here we are, the only flying K model and the only one not in a static museum! We will be going into winter maintenance before long in order to be ready for the next Airshow season. We have just posted some videos of an engine shutdown and prop feathering test on our public Facebook page. No login or membership required to view. http://www.facebook.com/a26specialkay

We plan to continue operating Kay in training mode until Dec 12th when we enter winter maintenance. So far Kay is running okay with 25+ hours added to the flight log. Winter maintenance will focus our attention towards the RH Aux tank. We continue to wait for an opening at the paint shop. Everything is set, paint on hand, just need a slot. Come see us, the other JR posts daily on FB.

Had a really nice visit at the Alliance air show with Dale Adams. His dad flew the Martin B26 in the ETO and had the distinction of being shot down by a ME262. After the war he flew for On Mark until his untimely death in 1962. We have been looking over some of his photos from On Mark including the yellow and white "Initiator V" N40Y.

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The real JR