Warbird Information Exchange

Watch this space late tomorrow afternoon or by the evening at the latest for new news on the P-39. Not sure what the news will be yet, but I have a feeling it will be very good!

Also, please use whatever influence you may have to help keep the thunderboomers away from a flight path between Tyler and San Marcos tomorrow! They have a 30% chance, San Marcos shows a 10%. Clear blue would be nice so we can get up around 8,500' to lower the fuel burn enough to go non-stop. (Professor Murphy, you are needed immediately overseas!)

_________________
Mike

I promised that if you watched this space you would get the latest news about the P-39, so here's the report.

First I'd like to say it was great meeting Lynn Allen, who dropped in at Tyler to check out the P-39 first hand, and to pick up his Cobra Den T-shirt order!

Now for the news. We finished the riveting job, and added more rivets, so everyone was happy that the leading edge would hold up for the flight back to the Cobra Den. We pulled the plane out of the hangar and as Lynn and the rest of us watched, Grant started the P-39 to go do the high speed taxi/aborted take-off handling test. That's when he discovered the right brake had failed and shut down the engine. We attempted to bleed the brake, but that wasn't the problem. No air in the line, and the brake reservoir had it's normal amount of fluid in it. It appears the seals (like cups, but with a hole in the middle of them) in that cylinder failed. The brake master cylinder needs to be overhauled, but we don't have any seals.

Anyone happen to have brake seals for the P-39 or know where we might get some? PLEASE!?!?

Until the brake is fixed, the P-39 will remain with the wonderful folks at the HAMM hangar.

_________________
Mike

Mike, its was great to see you again as me have met at the airsho many years ago. It was great to see the P-39 start but sad that it stayed there over night again, so you all can still can buy some see the P-39 tickets in Tyler while they last. Mike put me down for 2 patches and 4 decals.....

Hey guys sorry I have not sent in money,computer went down and had to get it fixed will send in Thur if its not too late, I need a new shirt to wear back to college!

Not a problem, I've set aside all the shirts that had orders placed on WIX!

If anyone doesn't have a set of P-39 brake seals in their back pocket, perhaps someone might have a lead on a company that might be able to make them?

_________________
Mike

The Airacobra has landed! She's back in the Cobra Den at San Marcos, TX. End of Operations Report, Maintenance is next. Let the repairs begin!!!

_________________
Mike

Yes!

_________________
It was a good idea, it just didn't work.

Great news, are the shirts in the mail yet?

I'll be dropping the first load of shirts in the mail tomorrow (Saturday)! Sorry for the delay, but I wanted to try to just have to hit the Finance Officer with two postage receipts for shirt mailings.

_________________
Mike

Great News!!! The CAF Centex P-39 has returned home to the Cobra Den in San Marcos! Grant Lannon flew her back this afternoon, landing about 1:50PM.

First, some pictures from our second wing repair trip. This time, the rivet pullers worked fine and we got the necessary repairs done quickly.







Then, we got the plane out of the HAMM hangar and Grant checked her out. She fired up and was running strong when Grant throttled up and tested the brakes. The left was fine but the right was gone, and she spun in a circle, pivoting on the left wheel. Back in the hangar she went...





We did a lot of thinkin' and determined that we either had bad seals or air in the system. Keeping with the KISS principle, we sent Jim Liles and Grant Lannon up today with the equipment to do a thorough and proper bleeding of the system, and the tools to remove the cylinder if bleeding failed to correct the problem. The brakes worked beautifully after the bleeding and after some general testing of the aircraft, Grant headed home.

We parked her proudly in the maintenance bay and the repairs will begin Saturday morning.





More P-39 and P-63 maintenance news soon!

_________________
Ray Clausen
Maintenance Officer
Centex Wing of the CAF

Gear down or up?

Mike, how did the red vortex generators work on the way home??

The plan was to bring her home stiff-legged. I'll have to check to make sure, or Ray can confirm. I'm on the way in an hour to a week TDY at NAS Pensacola.

Lynn, I'll have to check with Grant about that. They weren't to generate a vortex, but so Grant could look out during the testing (aborted take-off run) and see if the air was flowing smoothly across the faux leading edge.

Lynn was there, so he knows about these, but to enlighten the rest...we taped about 5 pieces of red yarn along the top, aft edge of the faux leading edge to see if the air was flowing smoothly across the wing during the test run down the runway.

_________________
Mike

That is one beautiful fighter. Congrats at getting her home.

I know they weren't but it sounds good....