Worlds only USMC Mitchell PBJ-1J Restoration CAF's Semper Fi

[Dan Newcomb]

Being reported here that the Zero is being held at US Customs as a 'weapon of war'. Same thing happened when Doug Brookers Spit was due to be shipped down (it missed Wanaka by over a month because of the delay) Hopefully the same thing won't happen this time around

Dave

News to me! I was down at our hangar yesterday and the Zeke was being made ready for her trip. Read the following:

On February 18, 2010, the CAF – Southern California
Wing’s Zero fighter will fly to Long Beach, CA Airport and
then will be transported via flatbed truck to the Port of
Long Beach in preparation for its long journey by ship to
New Zealand.
Our Zero will be a major participant in the “Warbirds Over
Wanaka” air show to be held in Wanaka on New Zealand’s
South Island on April 2, 3, and 4, 2010. It is one of the
premier warbirds air shows in the world, and our Zero will
play a major part in the show.
Our pilots – Jason Somes and Steve Barber, Sr. are expected to join the Zero sometime in late March in New Zealand in order to fly her from the New Zealand port of entry toWanaka, and then during the air show.

[Dan Newcomb]

Hi folks,



Progress continues on the right wing. The upper aft outboard skin is up and soon we will start riveting. Marc, Jerry, Ken and Bill have all been working on getting what we hope will be the last skin replacement ready. This area covers the top inboard portion that contains the oil cooler bays. Jeff and I continued fitting up and drilling out the trailing edge where the aileron will be located. Things are looking good and the end is in sight.



Dan

[DaveM2]

Dan

Might be scare mongering in that case, so hopefully everything will go smoothly!

Dave

[Dan Newcomb]

Believe it or not as far as it goes for me the planes are secondary. The members, my second family, are number one. My good friend and fellow CAF member Thomas Van Stein is a noted artist from Santa Barbara. Thomas lives in a world very different from what most of us will ever experience. He travels in circles that take him to places that range from Monaco, I understand the Prince owns one of his paintings, to Bakersfield where your truly owns two of his paintings. Art, airplanes and wine are three interests that Thomas and I share. Thomas is known for his moody nocturnes and beautiful plein air landscapes. He also does the occasional aviation painting of which several are exhibited in our hangar. Here are some shots of Thomas at work last week on one of our SNJs. Oh, and a shot of a fellow artist he was seen with this weekend.

Dan

[Django]

Neat!! What insignia is that?

[bluehawk15]

Anything happening worth an update? Is there a target date for return to service? I hope we can get all six of the CAF B-25's together for a family photo!

[Dan Newcomb]

We have just about done all we can do work wise with the right outer wing assembly. We hope to fit it up temporarily on the airplane in a few months so we can drill out the new attach angle. Right now we are concentrating on rebuilding the left main fuel bays. Before we can permanently attach the wing we need to come up with 8 grand for a new aux tank. Meanwhile we will continue with the center section and hopefully in a couple of months (if Arizona Jeff still loves us) we will get the electrical wiring done.

The only thing stopping this thing from flying in 5 years or so is about 200 grand. Piece of cake!

Dan

[Alan Brooks]

Great work Dan! I also saw that the Spit now has that beautiful five bladed propellor ....oops airscrew..... attached to the mighty Griffon engine......... hopefully soon!

[Jeff Nelson]

.... we will continue with the center section and hopefully in a couple of months (if Arizona Jeff still loves us) we will get the electrical wiring done. .....
Dan

Of course I still love you guys (in an airplane sort of way... Don't want to start any baseless rumors here... ) Actually, we are ready to start anytime you're ready for us, preferably after it cools down a bit. We're actively involved in wiring a Flugwerks 190, a TA-4J, and a bunch of other stuff right now but I've hired more techs so we can handle your PBJ without issue. Looking forward to getting started!

[Dan Newcomb]

When I got to CMA on Tuesday I was surprised to see one of the most beautifully maintained Mustangs on the planet, “Man O’ War”, parked in our maintenance hangar.

The plane belongs to the Elmer Ward estate and she might be staying with us. As Mustangs go she has a very roomy back seat. She sure looks good sitting next to our Spitfire.

[Warbird Kid]

Pics?!

[Dan Newcomb]

The P-51 is in inspection and will return to service shortly. We will be offering a ride program. The Spit is getting closer to flying every day with an engine run up scheduled soon.

[mustangdriver]

That is one of my favorite P-51's! Very cool.

[Taylor Stevenson]

I've never been a fan of glossy warbirds, but that Man o War is one great looking mustang! I can't wait to see the CAF spit back in the air!
Thanks for the update...

[Dan Newcomb]

Last week I got stick time in a jet and this week a little R and R in a Mustang! I have said this before and I will say it again. Joining the CAF was one of the best choices I have ever made. We spend hundreds of hours banging rivets and maintaining our aircraft but we also take time to have some fun. We have acquired several new members this year and most of them wonder why they waited so long to join up. We work hard and we play hard. We make every effort to fill back seats on flights. We have a PT-19, two SNJ’s and now the Mustang, all with rear seats. We will soon be offering a ride program in this Mustang so stay tuned! For you Spitfire fans it looks like we might fly by the air show on the 21st. If you are in town come by the hangar for a visit.