CAF Centex Wing P-39 News

[bluehawk15]

We have a deal in the works to get our own online PX sales going, but it's still not up yet. In the meantime, the Yellow Rose T-shirt, like is seen in the picture above, is available through the CAF PX. There's a tab for online PX sales on the HQ website.

FYI, the Cobra Den T-shirts are about to be ordered. We finalized the look at the meeting last night!!! I'll keep everyone posted.

[Pogo]

Ha ha, ol' Ray tickles me to death -- he thanks me for coming by and helping. Shoot, are you kidding? I thank him for allowing me to lay hands on a beautiful bird I've been lovin' on since I was a kid! I've been gawking at warbirds since the late 70's, and really have a soft spot for the ones that were around then, and still are ...... and three of them are right there in that hangar: Rose, the '39, and the King of Cobras.

So you're more than welcome, Mr. Clausen; the pleasure was all mine.

By the way, I've alerted the PFM guy in charge of vehicles, name of Al, to swing by and have a look at that old clunker truck y'all got. You know, the one with the airy cab, solid tires, and crank sticking out the front?

[bluehawk15]

Ray Clausen is back from CA and the P-63 engine tear-down. Hopefully he'll get an update on the engine posted soon!

[b17engineer]

Man, It sure makes me wish we lived in Texas.

Rick

[bluehawk15]

The P-63 is really starting to look like an airplane again, the vertical is in place! Hopefully pictures soon.

[Ray Clausen]

GREAT NEWS!! I understand that the CAF Centex P-39 Airacobra won Judge's Choice at Sun N Fun this year!! I'm looking forward to getting some details on this soon.

As for the P-63, things have been rockin' along. Most of the work has been focused on the inside of the fuselage, so you can't really see what's been happening. Almost all of the new fuel lines are in, a big part of the wiring has been re-connected, the wings have been thoroughly torqued and the lock tabs are in place, and much of the cooling ductwork is in place. Work on the engine out at Joe Yancey's shop is coming along. The wing fuel boost pumps, both of them, and the fuel selector valve disappeared sometime between when it was flown into Oklahoma City and when it was loaded on the truck to Nelson Ezell's facility. I'm hunting replacements for those frantically since they're all needed now! This weekend, we went ahead an put on the horizontal and vertical surfaces. It actually looks like an airplane again!



Sorry, the truth has been censored and I must delete the paragraph that was here...

Anyway, we're expecting a good engine in a few weeks and hope to have the airframe waiting for it. I'll post more soon!

Last edited by Ray Clausen on Fri Jun 18, 2010 5:21 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Django]

Removed per request - Scott WRG Editor

Holy crap! Well it was definitely blessed, if that was the longest running engine. How do you get .010 over pistons in a standard bore hole though? Different rings?

[SPANNERmkV]

Congrats Ray and Mike and the rest of the crew!

It is wonderful to see her coming back together. Once upon a time I got to sit in her and dream at West Houston.

Search EVERY bag and box twice. We just found some LONG LOST parts in bags that people could have sworn they looked through.

Anyhow, it will be nice to see and hear her flying again soon.

SPANNER
CAF-GCW-WL

[Chunks]

I can't help but wonder if T-shirt sales wouldn't help things along here...

Mike?

[Django]

Yeah, where are they?

[Ray Clausen]

The entire Centex Wing is also waiting to hear what is happening with the shirts. There is a staff meeting tomorrow (Saturday) and I will try and get some idea of the status from Bluehawk15, aka Ops Officer Mike Renck.

I do have some news on the P-63 though. We got word from Joe Yancey that the new engine, built to Allison specs for a -135 model engine, will be in the test stand in a couple of weeks! After some tuning and several hours of run time, it will be crated up and shipped to the Cobra Den. We have installed much of the ductwork and have found two fuel boost pumps for the wing tanks to replace the ones that mysteriously disappeared. We are rebuilding a fuel selector valve for the 63 also. The one that was in the plane when it got to OK is also AWOL and is presumably hanging out with the AWOL pumps. We have most of the new cables in the plane, too. We are preparing to do some work in the cockpit and the new forward windshield has arrived. We will wait until later in the project to install that to avoid any accidental scratches. Some sheetmetal work on the tail should be completed in the next week or two. The propeller is being overhauled but right now, I don't know when we will be expecting it. We have reproduced the radiator mounts and are just about ready to install the oil cooler and the radiators. Some of the related plumbing has to go in first and some goes in after.

The pace should really be picking up and I believe we are still on track for having the plane ready for the engine when it arrives. If we are allowed to bring the P-39 back home for repairs, that work should not affect the schedule for the P-63. I will be heading up to Tyler Sunday to assess the damage and will see if a ferry flight is possible. We plan to have the P-63 in Midland for Airsho 2010 and in Houston for the Wings Over Houston show, both in October.

More coming soon! Thanks!

[bluehawk15]

I have the final pricing on the shirts, but need to present the cost to the wing staff. We need to put down 1/2 the total amount to get the production started, and 1/2 upon completion. I need to get that amount approved by the wing staff. Unfortunately, I missed the last staff meeting. It was on a Wednesday, and a big storm was on the way, and I had half of the garage roof off and needed to get the tin on before the rain hit. I got it on with just 4 screws per sheet, and was putting the final screws in the ridge cap as the rain hit, with lightning all around. Yes, I questioned my sanity several times, screwing metal screws in to sheet iron, with lightning dancing all around me!

Bottom line, hopefully the production process of the Cobra Den T-shirts will begin next week. Marcy, at Living In Skin, had indicated earlier that she was on a 3-4 week backlog. Hopefully that has now cleared up and the shirts will be in-hand very soon. Naturally we will put the word out all over WIX when they are ready.

[bluehawk15]

I am going to be placing the Cobra Den T-shirt order this week. The initial run should be the best as it is going to be a 7-color screen. I'm not sure if we will change that in later runs or not, to keep the cost down. The 7 color process adds to the cost, but also to the quality! The shirts will be light gray with the Cobra Den logo on the back, and a modified 2-color Cobra Den logo on the front left chest.

Please let me know here on this thread if you would like a shirt(s), and the size(s) you want. I need to know by Wednesday evening as I hope to place the order by Thursday, and I would like to be sure that I have a shirt for everyone.

Sizes available will be:
YOUTH: small, medium, large (the logo won't fit on toddler sizes, sorry!)
ADULT: small, medium, large, X-large, XX-large, XXX-large (for Cuz and Lil' Cuz types!)

The cost will be $20 per shirt, and I anticipate $5 for mailing it.

[Django]

Very cool Mike.

Adult: 3 M and 1 L
Kid: 3 S and 2 M

Last edited by Django on Mon Jul 12, 2010 3:45 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[TAdan]

I'll take an adult medium.