Warbird Information Exchange

I've been meaning to post on this thread - for many years my father was the advertising manager for Pettibone, a division of the Mercury tow tractor company. Now and then he'd bring home some old photos:



Any idea where this was shot - maybe Fort Worth or San Diego? I tried my best to scan the data block but it wasn't clear enough. Anyway, here are closeups of the "Heroes" on board; anybody you recognize?

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All right, Mister Dorfmann, start pullin'!
Pilot: "Flap switch works hard in down position."
Mechanic: "Flap switch checked OK. Pilot needs more P.T." - Flight report, TB-17G 42-102875 (Hobbs AAF)

Not a tug but I figure this is still a good place to post it.

How about an old self propelled GPU.









I'd love to find a good home for it, before I have to save it (again) from being scrapped.

Tell me you wouldn't love to have this to run around and start your warbirds. I bet it would be great at an airshow as well.

Let me know if anyone would be interested.

I'd also like any more information on the if anyone knows anything.

If I remember I'll take a few shots of the tug we use at the FBO. I'm sure you'll all get a kick out of it.

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Curtis Block

I've seen too many airplanes destroyed by the term "Static Restoration."

Chris,

Judging from the fuselage and nacelle camouflage demarkation lines those are Willow Run B-24Es in your photos. Notice that the first airplane has the early low-mounted pitot tube masts and the other two have the later location. Neat picture that I haven't seen before, thanks!

Scott

This thing is quite a workhorse for us around the FBO. I swear it could move a mountan if you wanted. The fully enclosed cab and heater are lifesavers in our beautiful northwest winters.

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Curtis Block

I've seen too many airplanes destroyed by the term "Static Restoration."

Here's one I 'tickled' earlier!
David Brown tug at Classic Flight Coventry

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Those that can do,those that can't be bothered,TALK about it.
Volunteer with Classic Flight and a member of Beech Restorations team.
http://beechrestorations.wordpress.com/about-us/
http://www.classicflight.com.

Alan L.,

How many of the David Brown tractors are still extant? I've always been fascinated by farm tractor designs being re-engineered for military use.(I'm a farm kid)

Albert,

Here is a photo of a well preserved self-contained airstair at the Kansas Aviation Museum. Evidently TWA took better care of their equipment than where I work. This is the style of stair that may be in our equipment graveyard--I haven't been back there yet to look for it.


This is totally unrelated to tugs except that it was towed by them--it is our new project, an M-5 bomb trailer. We need one taillight, one electrical receptacle, and the toolbox/fin holder. Otherwise it is all there, including the data plate and Army equipment number still painted on the forward frame. It has one five-hole and one eight-hole wheel, but we stumbled on to another late-style trailer that has the same problem. Hopefully we will work a swap or simply acquire the second trailer. Taigh, we found a source for 18" tires, but they are smooth ribbed implement variety. One of our tires has "Bomb Service" embossed on the sidewall!



Scott

Hey Scott,
I'm not sure to be honest,I think that there are about 3-4 in museums here in the UK,probably quite a few others in private hands.

But considering how many were made, not many are left.

They fetch a few thou,unrestored.

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Those that can do,those that can't be bothered,TALK about it.
Volunteer with Classic Flight and a member of Beech Restorations team.
http://beechrestorations.wordpress.com/about-us/
http://www.classicflight.com.

Thanks! If ever I had the funds to do so, I would love to collect such equipment. Since even a liason aircraft is far outside my financial reach a military tractor is about as close to a warbird as I could ever get.

Scott

Second Air Force, I would donate both of my you know whats to have something like that TWA self propelled air stair! Of course I would need to get them out of my wife's purse before I could send them. I wonder if Lambert Field has a GSE junkyard? I'd put blinkers and brake lights on it and drive it to the local tavern.

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Albert Stix Jr.
"Work is the curse of the drinking class"

I'll try to take a field trip to our salvage area this week and get back in touch with you about our old stairs. The poor thing was running so badly the last time I used it that it couldn't climb over an anthill.

Scott

Hello again Scott,

Congratulations on the new bomb trailer. I will gladly help with what I can as I have some good information on the bomb trucks and trailers.

How cool to see the original tire with that on the side wall! I will have to go and check out our trailers to see if we might be lucky enough to have one still mounted.

Have you seen the bomb trailer that Yankee folks have at Willow Run? They have done a beautiful job on their restoration. You can see it on G503.com.

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To donate to the PV-2D project via PayPal click here http://www.twinbeech.com/84062restoration.htm

We brought her from: to this in 3 months: Help us get her all the way back

All donations are tax deductible as the Stockton Field Aviation Museum is a 501c3 nonprofit organization. Tell a friend as the Harpoon needs all the help she can get.

Thank you!

Taigh Ramey
Vintage Aircraft, Stockton, California
http://www.twinbeech.com
'KEEP ‘EM FLYING…FOR HISTORY!'

Thanks Taigh!

I've seen the Yankee trailer on G503 and they have done a great job. Ellen got a kick out of seeing the trailer on display next to one of our old volunteer efforts.

I'll likely have to scratchbuild the toolbox/fin holder assembly for ours but that won't be too tough. You WILL be getting a call this winter for measurements etc., and thanks for the offer. Here is an interesting photo of the right forward frame of our new acquisition showing the data plate and equipment number. Hopefully I'll be able to read the full painted number when we get that angle iron removed:


Once we get the trailer restored the Historical Society may use it to give visitors a tour of the airbase and flight line. The tour was originally going to be a walking affair (and still may be) but our Tour Guide doesn't want to disturb the rattlesnakes with foot traffic.

Scott

Albert,

I finally did some exploration in our "expired GSE graveyard". Sorry to report I didn't find any trace of our self-contained airstairs and no one knew where the machine went. I will ask some of the old-timers in the motor pool shop if they know anything, but it isn't looking good.


We ran up to Concordia, Kansas and retrieved our bomb trailer yesterday. We had a couple of snags loading it, but we got home safe-and-sound last night. I'm thinking about starting a thread in the Maintenance Hangar if anyone would be interested in following our progress on restoring it.



That thing is heavier than it looks--ask our little S-10 that had to pull it over 300 miles

Scott

Couple more tugs from VNY...

This one...




... tows this:


& this one is currently parked next to a P51..

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Those who possess real knowledge are rare.

Those who can set that knowledge into motion in the physical world are rarer still.

The few who possess real knowledge and can set it into motion of their own hands are the rarest of all.

Can you tell what year this Clarkat tug is? I just had a friend give me his restored tug that looks exactly like that one. Not being a tug authority, I have no idea of it's vintage.

Mike-