B-26K Counter-Invader Restoration ("Special K")

[NImrodA26]

While I'm at it, this is the jacket I had made downtown NKP. It is a reversible jacket, with the other side being black and sporting the traditional Cobra that was so popular then. We referred to these as the "I just got here" jackets, because it seemed like that was one of the first things a new guy got when arriving in country! Well, almost one of the first things, anyway!! Nuff said! That, by the way, is my son in law modelling the jacket, since it has long since shrunk beyond my fitting into it!! He's a ex-Navy type, but I don't hold that against him!

[A26 Special K]

This was written by a Congressional Medal of Honor winner from WWII. With Veteran's Day upon us, we must give our vets, their families and the medical folks who take care of them, our thoughts and prayers along with a job well done! When freedom is threatened, thank God our people have risen to the call. This writer was lost in a plane crash on a mountain side in Virginia in 1971, but he captured the feelings that many Americans have. Unfortunately, some do not understand. Some do not put Freedom first. Some do not care what happens to our America. We can only pity them for they don't understand what they are missing. "Let's keep America strong!" as my old friend George Gay used to say.
For the lady in the picture, she lost her oldest son in WWI. He was killed on Nov 5, 1918 on his birthday. So close to the end yet it took years for the family to find out what happened to him and for his status to change from MIA to KIA. So we take time to remember "Shorty" and Uncle Grady. Thanks for your service. From the 5 yr old kid in the picture, JR

[A26 Special K]

For those who don't recognize the man in the previous picture.......

[A26 Special K]

JR is right, the number of A26 in restoration increases. Our project in France is progressing well, we are still far from being able to fly with but we are very motivated.
The history of special K is captivating and because we don't want to sature this forum with stories of A26 project, we chose not to expose the advanced our work here. If you are interested, you can follow the history of restoration in France on Facebook with pictures.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/YTFP-Yew ... tos_stream

Thanks JR to give us the way for our project, it's motivating for us each days.

Cheers, Christophe.[/quote]

Christophe: if I recall correctly, the airplane you are restoring was very WWII original. In looking at some of the pictures on your Facebook page, it appears that the armor plate on the side of the fuselage is still in place. We had a question as to whether that armor plate had wooden fillets around the edges in WWII as Kay does now. Perhaps you could have a look and tell us what you have?? Feel free to post info on your restoration here any time! Always good to hear from you. Cheers, JR

[NImrodA26]

I remember the exact day that Audie Murphy died. I was at the time working for two brothers who had both landed on the beaches of Normandy, June 6, 1944. I happened to be in the shop when one of them came out and I could tell by the look on his face something wasn't good. He then said, "Audie Murphy got killed in a plane crash near Boones Mill." I didn't know at the time who Audie Murphy was, but he sure did. Wasn't hard to tell it bothered him. Boones Mill is about 130 miles South of us here in the valley.

[SKYDREAM]

Christophe: if I recall correctly, the airplane you are restoring was very WWII original. In looking at some of the pictures on your Facebook page, it appears that the armor plate on the side of the fuselage is still in place. We had a question as to whether that armor plate had wooden fillets around the edges in WWII as Kay does now. Perhaps you could have a look and tell us what you have?? Feel free to post info on your restoration here any time! Always good to hear from you. Cheers, JR

Hello JR,
Indeed, our Lady was in its original war configuration. However, if there were wooden parts, they have not withstood the ravages of time. What we understand from the original pictures is that the straight parts were build in aluminum and curved parts were made of wood, probably to save time and material during construction. You can see details about the two pictures that I post.





I have not yet found original drawings in the microfilm rolls or parts catalog but I think that these parts are not referenced. If you have a part number, I can find the original drawing if it exists.

Cheer, Christophe.

[A26 Special K]

Christophe: thanks for the pictures. I think you have answered the question from an earlier post. However, now I have another one. The wood in one of your pictures appears to be fairly recent. Did you make this curved piece there or have it done somehow?? We are wondering about the best method to soften up the wood so it can be fashioned into the proper shape. We are thinking of using a nautical wood of some sort that will withstand years of exposure to sunlight and water if possible. All of our fillets are wood around the armor plates. Nothing metal about any of them so it is important we get it right the first time. We do not have any reference or part number for these fillets. Any suggestions? Thanks! Regards, JR

[shrike]

Christophe: thanks for the pictures. I think you have answered the question from an earlier post. However, now I have another one. The wood in one of your pictures appears to be fairly recent. Did you make this curved piece there or have it done somehow?? We are wondering about the best method to soften up the wood so it can be fashioned into the proper shape. We are thinking of using a nautical wood of some sort that will withstand years of exposure to sunlight and water if possible. All of our fillets are wood around the armor plates. Nothing metal about any of them so it is important we get it right the first time. We do not have any reference or part number for these fillets. Any suggestions? Thanks! Regards, JR

I'd laminate it up from thin strips. It's non-structural so you could use anything, but basswood is readily available and can be bent well. It's probably a gentle enough curvature that you could bend it dry and laminate it in place using the existing screw holes to clamp with.

A couple of good coats of epoxy varnish, primer, then paint it along with the rest of the airplane.

[A26 Special K]

Shrike: some of the curves like in Christophe's picture are gentle. Some are nearly 90 deg though across the top of the fuselage. We had discussed using laminates and also building a "steamer" to soften the wood, then shape to form, but not many of us have any experience with it so that's prompting the questions. Thanks for your input. Regards, JR

[Obergrafeter]

Little bit of steam and you can bend most any wood!

[shrike]

Still pretty easy. Do you know the radius of the tightest bend you need?

For the amount of woodwork you need to do, you can make a steamer out of $20 worth of PVC, a funnel and a Fry-Daddy.

If I were 800 miles closer, I'd volunteer. But I can talk you through the important parts and you can fake the rest<G>

[SKYDREAM]

Hello JR,

I just sent you a pm to have your e-mail address so we can send you the original Douglas "Blue Print", drawings will answer your question. In the drawings you will find what parts were made of wood and which parts were aluminum with exact dimensions.
Cheers, Christopher.

[kennsmithf2g]

Wood exposed to ammonia bends easily. The friend that demonstrated it to me exposed one pencil to ammonia and then rolled it around another creating a pig-tail effect. The wooden pencil did not break or splinter, but the graphite inside did. It held it's shape too. I used this to form the plywood skin panels on a Corsair pedal plane I made my son and used it on the compound skin curves on my Control Line Corsair models. One problem with softer woods like 1/16th thick Balsa is it made them too plyable and I would have to wait for it to dry some or it would sag between the formers.

Kenn

[shrike]

Ammonia softens the lignin in wood (and the keratin in hair for perms BTW)

[A26 Special K]

Any particular temperature or concentration of liquid ammonia to recommend to use?? JR