Warbird Information Exchange

I was passing through going East bound and saw Spooky on the ramp which looked sharp and was wondering who's P-51 is in there hangar...

TIA,

Lynn

That would probably be the TF-51 owned by a gentleman from England. It's hangared in Coolidge, AZ and flown on a regular basis by Ralph Rina. GossHawk does all the maintenance on it and another P-51 owned by Chris Woods of Woods Aviation in Prescott, AZ. They also do restoration work on a wide range of Warbirds from T-6 to B-17.

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Without wires, it won't work.

Thanks Jeff, I couldn't see if it was TF-660, but It looked like it was getting painted.

Lynn

So, what's the latest on the Oscar's? Is Gosshawk still working on them or is the project stalled?

I forgot about Jim Leeward's P-51. It's in the middle of being returned to the air. It's waiting for a sponsor, the engine, me to finish the wiring, and GossHawk to finish everything else. The sponsor is the key to the project.
I don't know as much about the Oscars other than the one in the shop is being prepped for paint and someone has purchased the others. It's not known at this time if GossHawk will be finishing those for the new owner.

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Without wires, it won't work.

Thanks for the info Jeff! Is Jimmy's Mustang the "Galloping Ghost" or "Cloud Dancer" that you are working on?

Also, regarding the Oscars, do you know if the new owner intends on flying them or parking them in a museum?

It's Galloping Ghost. It'll be nice when finished.

Concerning the Oscars: I'm afraid I don't know the particulars. I think they will be flown but will find out more next week. I've got to wire a Waco in Prescott, AZ early next week and should be back to GossHawk on Thursday. I'll try to get more info for you then.

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Without wires, it won't work.

I heard last year that it was going to go to the UK (Duxford) to be rebuilt. Did that ever happen?

I wasn't aware of any rebuild plans for TF-660. GossHawk did major work on the fuselage some time ago. The owner wanted it returned to a military style cockpit, as opposed to the psuedo-Cavalier set-up that was in it. That required lots of work to retrofit the rear controls and original type panels plus a complete rewire. In the course of that project, it was discovered that some of the original cockpit/fuselage stiffeners had been removed which allowed the wing attach structure to move under load, elongating most of the rivet holes. GossHawk repaired and replaced all that stuff at that time and repainted the fuselage. It's getting new radios right now. If there are any further plans for it, I'm not aware of them.

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Without wires, it won't work.

Hmm, guess my 'reliable source' that told me that isn't so reliable after all.

Heh.

Thanks for the info.

Depends on who your reliable source is... If he's one of the GossHawk guys, he'd be closer to the right answer than me. I do a lot of wiring work with them but I'm not an employee so I'm not privy to all that goes on. In any event, I'll see what I can dig up for you.

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Without wires, it won't work.

No, it was someone connected to Stephen Grey.

I just called one of the GossHawk guys. He said that if it's going to the UK, it's news to him. He doesn't think it will in any event because of the UK's "tax everything" mentality. The owner doesn't want to have that expense on top of everything else. If I hear anything to the contrary, I'll post it here.

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Without wires, it won't work.

I wasn't aware of any rebuild plans for TF-660. GossHawk did major work on the fuselage some time ago. The owner wanted it returned to a military style cockpit, as opposed to the psuedo-Cavalier set-up that was in it. That required lots of work to retrofit the rear controls and original type panels plus a complete rewire. In the course of that project, it was discovered that some of the original cockpit/fuselage stiffeners had been removed which allowed the wing attach structure to move under load, elongating most of the rivet holes. GossHawk repaired and replaced all that stuff at that time and repainted the fuselage. It's getting new radios right now. If there are any further plans for it, I'm not aware of them.

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Without wires, it won't work.

I was in a hurry to get on the road but all I saw was the P-51 and several T-28's. Wish I had time to go in

Lynn