CAF P-63F News

[Dan K]

And pull up!

Rocket ship!

Any plans to show her off north of the Mason-Dixon line anytime soon?

[SPANNERmkV]

CONGRATULATIONS COBRA DEN!

Due to some unforeseen circumstances I arrived just in time to miss it. But I finally got to tour CenTex Wing's facility and meet the fine folks.


Yellow Rose- When they said it must be on a tripod they meant the machine guns boys!

Work progressing on the P-39- Wing leading edge. Un-staged workers being warted by SPANNER

Ray Clausen in front of a "Real Airplane" with the SPANMAN looking all scruffy

The happy crew right after the debriefing from 1st flight

Go get the BIGGER HAMMER! (<-just kidding folks.)

Cannot wait for the P-39 to formate with the P-63--- that is going to be SWEET sounding Allison goodness!

Y'all already know it from the photos and the black racing stripes out the exhaust tips, but the P-63 is running a little rich...

This visit was the longest flight I have put on Moosejaw Belle since I've owned it. Three hours of round trip fun from Hooks to San Marcos and back. I am feeling more confident in the old girl.

GREAT WORK CenTex Wing and the Cobra Den.

SPANNER

[Ray Clausen]

Thanks Spanner! Enjoyed your visit and the close look at the Moosejaw Belle. Seems like I was the scruffy one in the photo in front of the Belle. I wear black because of all the radial engines we have here...

The Allison in the P-63 was set to run rich by it's builder Joe Yancey. After about 25 hours on the engine, we will set it where it should be. Joe did a fantastic job building the engine and Mike is amazed at how much more power it now has compared to the previous one. It starts much easier and runs smoother, too!

Sorry you missed that first flight but there should be much more P-63 flying in the coming days as Mike builds time on the plane.

We will be working hard to get the P-39 back up, too. We can't wait for the sight and sound of two Cobras flying by in a low pass. I'm not sure at this time what shows Mike will be scheduling this year, though I feel pretty sure he'll be at AirSho in Midland and at the Wings Over Houston show.

Come see us again! All you other WIXers come out and visit when you can!!

Thanks!

[CAPFlyer]

Great work getting her back in the air!

Are you guys going to be up in the D/FW any time this year? I don't think I'm going to be able to make AirSho and I've fallen in love with those planes. The only question I have to answer before I become obsessed with them completely is - can I fit inside the cockpit?

[Ray Clausen]

I'm 6'7" and 260 lbs and I've been in it. No way I could get out quickly, though. I hope the P-63 will be making appearances all over the place, but I don't know right now other than she'll be appearing in the skies over San Marcos quite a bit now.

Thanks!

[SPANNERmkV]

Great work getting her back in the air!

The only question I have to answer before I become obsessed with them completely is - can I fit inside the cockpit?

Sorry CAPFlyer you'll never fit in it- at least NOT WITH ME IN IT FIRST...
I am a mere 6'2 and my tibia were uncomfortably close to the bottom edge of the instrument panel. I did not try to adjust the seat or anything, but it felt rather snuggish.

Ray- is the P-39 appreciably tighter than the P-63? Or did they keep the cockpit dimensions the same and just enlarge everything else?

SPANNER

[Django]

Great news! I'm happy for you guys!!

[Lynn Allen]

Great work getting her back in the air!

Are you guys going to be up in the D/FW any time this year? I don't think I'm going to be able to make AirSho and I've fallen in love with those planes. The only question I have to answer before I become obsessed with them completely is - can I fit inside the cockpit?

There is the always the best show in the metroplex, Lancaster in September for fly-in's to go to. Ask Karen...
The P-39 has plently of cabin space...

[Ray Clausen]

Well, I checked and the P-63 cockpit is a bit larger than the P-39's. Not by much, but it is larger.

The "happy crew" photo in SpannermkV's post actually isn't the crew, other than the pilot in the flightsuit. We will be taking some crew photos in the next week.

Right now, Mike plans to fly again Monday. I'll be looking at the fixes we have done to the two squawks tomorrow with Plane Captain Kelly Klaus.

Thanks!

[Ray Clausen]

P-63 Weight and Balance

After all of the work done to re-assemble the P-63 King Cobra, we had some questions about the weight and balance of the aircraft. There were an awful lot of parts left over... Yeah, OK, just kidding. But the plane had been through a lot and inquiring minds wanted to know. The Centex Wing has been working with the St. Philip's College of San Antonio's A&P program for over a year now and we asked them to bring out a class, which is studying weight and balance right now, to check out our plane. The students come out and assist us at the Cobra Den and they get some experience on flying, and historic, aircraft.



It took some effort to the plane, which has an unusually nose-high attitude for a tricycle gear aircraft, level on the scales but they did it. Once they had the numbers, they all ran for their calculators which gave me the chance to get a shot of the plane on the scales.



The King Cobra is about 100 pounds lighter than it was the last time it was weighed. The bullet resistant fuel bladders were replaced with thinner, modern bladders and we believe that explains it. The CG had moved one tenth of an inch forward and was still well within the range.

We thank the students and instructors of the St. Philip's A&P class! I know this was a field trip they'll be talking about for some time...

Thanks!

Last edited by Ray Clausen on Sat Dec 20, 2014 11:23 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Chappie]

Ray- that's great seeing those kids get some exposure to history. I hope when they look at that one-of-a-kind aircraft they 'get' its signifiance.

I hope you got the squawks worked out over the weekend. Good luck if you fly her today!


Chappie

[Ray Clausen]

Just wanted to make a quick update to let everyone know that we got the squawks corrected on the P-63 and she's ready to resume flying. We had hoped to fly her again this past Monday but the cooling issues took longer to troubleshoot than expected. The bourdon tube and thermostat had been cut off of one of the two thermostatically controlled linear actuators (oil system cut). I don't think that can be fixed, but I'm looking into it. It may have been cut for a long time, I found it in photos and it came to us cut off. The extra checkout time was needed to check the coolant actuator system. The manual system works perfectly and that is what we'll use until I track down a replacement actuator or find someone who can fix this one. The needed part, if anyone has a spare thermostatic linear actuator laying around, is FC519-16P made by Eastman, and the control box on it, which would have the capillary tube and thermostat, is an FC720-2 Automatic Temperature Control unit. I'll start calling everyone on the Earth who might know about an actuator next week...

All we need now is a pilot and good weather at the same time. The pilot is eager but the weather doesn't look like its ready to cooperate. I'll try to get word out in advance of more flying.

Thanks!

[Ray Clausen]

Well, the plane is ready and the weather looks good. Pilot Mike Collier phoned to tell me that he will be at the Cobra Den tomorrow (Monday) to fly the P-63 and his T-6. I can't tell you what takeoff time is, that's up to Mike and the weather over San Marcos, but he usually arrives by 10 AM. I'll be taking photos up close this time...

[Django]

Looking forward to the photos.

[Chappie]

Any updates Ray? How's flight testing going? Did you get my PM?

Wish the Cobra Den folks continued good luck!


Chappie