Things have really been hopping at the Centex Wing. The Texas heat has let up a bit and there is activity all around the hangar.
We got our parts for the P-39 leading edge from Australia and they are going on now. We were well into the installation of the repairs, previously, when a well meaning volunteer attempted some unauthorized work and destroyed both the wing skins and the ribs. While we were fabricating new ribs on our own, I found a brand new set, and had a set of leading edge skins made, at a company in Australia. I'm having these parts installed by professionals and the plane was moved to their facility, just so there would be no repeat of the earlier foul-up. The Cobra Den crew has finished sheet metal repairs to the landing gear door and the left flap has been re-skinned. We are currently re-skinning the right flap. We ran the engine for a while a couple of weeks ago and drained the oil and coolant. We're getting excited about seeing "Miss Connie" back in the air soon.
The P-63 was flying really well. Then one morning a couple of weeks ago, I came in to the hangar and found a large puddle of coolant under her. We found that the coolant radiators were leaking. Seems the gaskets sealing the top and bottom plates to the core were made of cork and were disintegrating. We removed the radiators and, after thoroughly cleaning the cores, replaced rotten cork with gaskets we made in-house out of really good material. The company that overhauled the radiators, when I called them, said that they didn't use cork anymore for just that reason. The radiators are back in the plane and she should be flying again later this week.
The big news at the Centex Wing lately is our acquisition of a BT-13A. This plane was formerly with the Big Thicket Wing and was undergoing a restoration. The project overwhelmed them, and we've taken on the plane, and some of their members, and will get the plane back in the air. When we went in March to get eyes on the project, I found it looking like this:
The Cobra Den team got really fired up by this challenge and, in three work days, has the fuselage stripped to almost just the frame. We'll finish the dismantling, then clean it, remove the tail section, and strip the frame. After a good inspection of the tubes and welds, it will be primed and painted. Every part will refurbished to as close to new as possible. The fuel tanks in the wing center box will be the biggest task. Here is how the fuselage looked at beer-time yesterday:
So far, the only unserviceable part we've found was the pilot's seat. We have just started hunting one of those. I hope we can remember how to put the plane back together... I'll be starting a BT-13 thread in a few minutes to detail the progress of this project. Any advice, suggestions, and parts source tips would be appreciated.
The Yellow Rose is running and flying great. We have been sprucing up the bomb sight and getting ready for Midland in October.
The other aircraft around the hangar are flying as often as possible. We did new a new plane in yesterday. Mr. Jerry Patterson brought in his OY-1. This beautifully restored plane actually has combat history during the Battle of Okinawa, and saw post-war duty around Nagasaki during the occupation. Somehow, I didn't get a picture before I left yesterday. I'll shoot some Monday and get them posted ASAP.
Come out and see us if you're in the area. Our work activity will slow in late October as our annual Veteran's Day Dinner Dance preparations take priority. It will be held November 10 this year. We're expecting a C-60 to fly in for the weekend and usually have a few other aircraft visiting. More info on that when I post the OY-1 pictures tomorrow.
Thanks for reading!
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