Warbird Information Exchange

Mustangdriver,

If you read the article above, they are aiming to take to the skies in Summer 2009.

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"Keep 'em Flying!"

Cool. I can't wait to see it back on the circuit.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Fact CORRECTION...
I told the lady that it was used as an early foorm of AWAC AFTER the Korean War and that Litton Industry used it to haul cargo afterwards.
If that is ALL she got wrong I guess I am lucky, compared to some of the silliness that has hit the papers.

Even a video of me acting silly!
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/lif ... 31071.html
And here I thought I looked JUST like Sterling Hayden.

I wisht they had used some of the walk-through footage.

We are aiming at summer of 2009 for RTS flight, but EVERYTHING is subject to things like a CAF Reatoration Grant, Workers not turning all wanky, engines running and not crepe-ing out on us... you know... the usual.

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Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Spanner the TV star.

Did I spy the spare rudder installed in that video clip?

2nd AF... Correct you are... the spare rudder was installed so we could check tension and functionality on the new cables. THEY ROCK! (or at least they rotate.
The recovered rudder has had a pre-fit of the rudder trim mechanism and is being prepped for painting. Satin O.D. is the hue du jour.

Ron Dietes (of Yellow Rose and lately Miss Mitchell fame) delivered the last three rebuilt carbs from Aero Accessories in San Antonio, a test club loaned to us that was in San Marcos, and a number of cowl flap actuator o-rings.

Some of us were staring at the ball turret, but our MO wasn't keen on more dissassembley until we finish some ALREADY started projects! Wise beyond his years, or between his ears or however the saying goes!

The pace is picking up and I LIKE IT!!!

_________________
Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Don,

Those two-piece windshields we've been drooling over WERE installed on TR back in the day. My compliments to Cripes A Mighty for this photo from Airsho '80 that I pirated from the old "CAF Airsho Photos From The Past" thread.


I was wondering while researching this morning--how many times has the "Texas Raiders" artwork changed over the years? I can count four different designs that I know of. Does the Wing have a scrapbook of photos that gives a historical record of the airplane? It might be kind of neat to compile a "then and now" documentation collection, from manufacture to today.

Scott

Second Air Force...
TR was bought in some sort of Corporate Livery...Aero-Services a Div. of Litton Industries.
Painted CAF R,W, and B.
Painted Green.
Then the temporaries, which kind of smear together...
Painted temporarily with the G for Curtis Lemay's retirement fly-over.
Then just the Texas Flag and name from that 80's pic (as lifted from Cripes.)
Then the beautiful airbrush with the cowgirl with her headlights on highbeam! Oh baby, oh baby, oh baby!
Then the paintbrushed politically correct cowgirl.

NOW... a fresh crop of pictures from Kara Hueni...
The new work of art windscreen combing.
Three of the wing extension attachment point brackets are back in, Yellow tagged with new hardware.

The pilots get ALL the sexy jobs... Col. Hyman installing new aileron cables in the right wing extension. I wanted to ADD- I do not know what decorations Col. Ken Hyman was awarded, but I do know he was 173rd Airborne at Bien Hoa and has a Combat Infantry Badge for his efforts!

I am proud of all our veterans both at Gulf Coast Wing and at WIX!


Slowly but surely getting there!
SPANNER

_________________
Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Spanner,

I was specifically referring to the artwork only since she's taken on the 381st paint scheme. I have a photo of her with just the "Texas Raiders" name and no Texas flag. Then the one I stole from Cripes and posted earlier, then the airbrushed babe hanging in the office, and the now current artwork. I was just wondering if there had been any other TR schemes in that timeframe since the art has changed from time to time. It's interesting that this airplane has been able to "evolve" the nose art from time to time without a huge uproar from the bleachers (unlike some other warbirds). I like the change occasionally, it helps to date photographs to specific blocks of time.

Now--on to ordering that truckload of white paint. It'll take about five gallons of red and blue also.

Um...Unless you're gonna paint your Mooney with all that paint...I don't think so!

Gary

Ummmmm Retro...
We were conversating the other day.
We were gonna put the new logo on the bottoms of both Hz. Stabs BEFORE we paint them!

_________________
Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

LIGHTEN UP! Geez, a guy can't have any fun on here anymore.

Here's 2 variations without the girl...





One with...I have a close up of one of the cowgirls ...I can't seem to find it now...

Found this pic on-line


and I found this "headlights" version at militaryimages.net @ Micheal G. Walker


@ 1972 scheme

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Zane Adams
There I was at 20,000 ft, upside down and out of ammunition.
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Thank you, Zane. I appreciate the 1972 scheme photo--that is how I first saw TR up close and airborne in the '73-'75 timeframe. She was the first flying Fortress I ever saw fly, the only other one I'd seen to that point was the SAC Museum machine at Offutt.

Notice in those vintage photos the progress in re-installing the correct side windows in both sides of the nose.

Scott

Sorry there's no pics this REPORT...

We had ANOTHER new "extrusion" manufactured at a machine shop up in San Antonio... It has picked up the nickname "The Napkin Holder" because for all the world that is just what it looks like.
But when we whittle it down and drill it and mount it, it will more resemble the Compression Channel Tie (thingamajigee) pictured in earlier posts.

Now we are experiencing the joys of suspending the bomber between four jacks and two heavy stands and tweeking it with a hoist, so we can relieve the pressure on the bolts of the old napkin holder so we can remove it and put the new one in... (Herman Melville would be proud of that last sentence...except I left out the whale and some of the inner angst!)

We are competing with the rest of the CAF for an internal to the CAF Restoration Grant. That would sure speed things up.

TEXAS RAIDERS is back on its wheels again, because we had to reposition it, so it really does look good again.

Other than dodging Gustav, rebuilding a workstand, stringing more flight cables, completing Grant Applications, drilling out old rivets, cleaning wing attachments points for the new napkin holder, work on the top turret cuppola, the bomb-hoist rack, the rudder trim assembley, not a lot has been going on.


SPANNER

_________________
Support Your Local Warbirds! KBO!
The only reasons the airplanes matter is what the veterans did with them... and why.

Spanner, while the welder is working on the engine stand can he go ahead and whip out one of these cute little ball turret jacks?

This photo was taken at Tinker not too long after the Base opened for business.
Matt's idea of using a motorcycle jack is more practical, but this thing is cooler.

Scott