CAF A-26 Lady Liberty needs help...

[Warbirdnerd]

ENID, Okla. — Lady Liberty is in distress.

The A-26 Invader, owned by American Airpower Heritage Museum, a division of the Commemorative Air Force, has been stranded at an airfield in Kansas after blowing out an engine.

The estimated cost to get the old girl back in the air is about $60,000.

“It’s just been two weeks since the engine was blown,” said Dee Ann Ediger, finance officer for the group that cares for Lady Liberty at Enid Woodring Regional Airport. “We have air shows we’ve had to cancel because the plane is not operational.”

Ediger said Lady Liberty was attending an air show two weeks ago in Hutchinson, Kan., when she lost an engine on landing.

“We were invited to go up there,” she said. “When they landed at the airport it was just a big puff of black smoke.”

Since then, Lady Liberty has been grounded at the Kansas airport. The left side engine was a total loss.

“We have since located an engine that can be rebuilt,” Ediger said.

A shop in Oklahoma City will work on the engine, and the estimated cost is about $60,000.

“We’ve just started raising funds,” Ediger said. “All funds are going directly to the engine fund.”

Lady Liberty has called Woodring home since her hanger at Wiley Post Airport in Oklahoma City was sold two years ago. Ediger said the group contacted area airports, heard Enid had a World War II-era hangar available and an agreement was reached.

About 30 people, from Enid and Oklahoma City, sponsor the plane.

Lady Liberty makes appearances at air shows throughout the country, as well as performing honor flights and life heritage experience flights. Those allow the public to ride on the aircraft and experience what was felt by A-26 crews when the planes were operational.

The Lady Liberty sponsor group is seeking donors, sponsors and benefactors to raise the $60,000 to replace the engine and get Lady Liberty back into the air.

Anyone can become a member of the Commemorative Air Force; however, sponsor/members have the ability to fly aboard the aircraft after training, at no further charge, as crew members.

Donors are afforded the privilege of joining the CAF as members if they choose, and thereby may participate in the activities of the sponsor group including flying.

Benefactors are individuals who wish to help support the aircraft without having direct participation.

Commemorative Air Force is an IRS 501(c)(3) tax-deductible charitable organization and any donation is fully tax deductible.

Donations also can be made online via PayPal by visiting the Lady Liberty website at a26ladyliberty.com.

Ediger said further information about the plane will be at the monthly Fly-In at 8 a.m. Saturday at Woodring Regional Airport.

A training version of the A-26, the TB-26, was used for advanced pilot training at Vance Air Force Base from World War II until 1955. A TB-26 static display currently is on display at the base.

The A-26 is the only American bomber to see action in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Lady Liberty is the oldest Invader still flying. It was the 130th Invader produced by Douglas Aircraft Corp., and was accepted by the U.S. Army Air Corps on Aug. 18, 1944. On Sept. 20, 1944, it was flown to Great Dunmow, England, where it was assigned to the 9th Air Force. According to the Lady Liberty website, the aircraft was assigned to the 410th Bomb Group and began combat operations in early 1945. There are patches on the tail attributed to encounters with German night fighters.

After World War II, the Lady Liberty was stored at Hobbs, N.M. After some refurbishment, it was assigned to an Air Force Reserve unit in Georgia. In 1958, it was declared surplus and sold. It then served as a radio research aircraft for Texas Instruments, then was used as an air tanker before being sold. The plane was seized by the Drug Enforcement Agency while it was being used for drug running.

Lady Liberty then was purchased at auction and donated to Commemorative Air Force, where it spent time in the Texas Panhandle and Las Vegas, before being restored to flight status and relocated to Oklahoma City in 1999

Found it here:
http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/x1736 ... 60-000-SOS