Warbird Information Exchange

OK, I'm going to try again. Tried to post last night but when I hit submit, I got an error message and everything I typed was gone! Too late to re-type...

There was no flight Monday. A hose clamp broke and we had a coolant leak. It's a fine line between a tight hose clamp and a stripped hose clamp, and this one went way over the line. After finding and repairing the problem, we had to "burp" the cooling system. Seems the P-63 is bad about NOT circulating coolant if there is air trapped in the system. The temperature spikes up really fast. There is a small valve located high on the engine to vent the trapped air. We ran out of time Monday as the weather didn't break until mid-afternoon, so we had to wait until Wednesday to burp the plane. We have to run it for a minute, shut down, burp it, and repeat that 3 or 4 times. After the fourth burp, I could tell we had it. We then ran the engine for several minutes and the temperature stayed on the low end of the green. Mike taxied it around the ramp for a bit and brought her in.

Sorry for the short notice, but Mike plans to fly the P-63 Friday (tomorrow) and Saturday. Can't say just what time, but he is usually there by 10. The weather will probably be the deciding factor. We seem to be in a pattern of low, heavy scud until noon or later. We need to fly a bunch so we can get on the airshow circuit, 9.5 hours before we can go more than 25 miles from San Marcos. If you see a silver streak in the sky in the vicinity of San Marcos, that's Mike Collier in the P-63!

Thanks!

_________________
Ray Clausen
Maintenance Officer
Centex Wing of the CAF

Well, she has close to 6 hours on her now and she is performing

The only squawks we have are with the linear actuators for the cooling doors. I mentioned one a couple of posts ago, but the second one stopped working automatically on the last flight. They have a manual mode and both work well in that setting. I have to find replacements or find someone to fix them. Our chief pilot needs a medical, so the plane won't be flying for a while. The other two P-63 pilots will be attending Ground school and getting their check rides on April 28th.

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_________________
Ray Clausen
Maintenance Officer
Centex Wing of the CAF

Hondo 2012

For her first show outing since returning to the air, the P-63 went to the Hondo fly-in.It was a beautiful day and a nice show. The P-63 was parked among a couple of P-51's, a B-17, and a B-25. She flew in and was static for the day.





The event came to an end and the P-63 taxied toward the runway...



and took off into the clear blue sky...



Like the other warbirds, the P-63 made a trip around the pattern, lining up on the runway, and made a fast, low pass. zipping past the B-17 on it's way out for a ride.



We have only local flying planned as we continue to work the plane and prove her. She'll no doubt be at the Houston airshow and at the Midland Airsho. Hopefully, we'll have more coming soon.

Thanks!

_________________
Ray Clausen
Maintenance Officer
Centex Wing of the CAF

Boy those planes look really professionally parked there in Hondo!

Dang, I know I could have helped with that...

Just don't bring up Fredricksburg....................oh well Ray didn't make it anyway!

We would have liked to have been in Fredricksburg, but that is up to the sponsor group. Maintenance just has to have them ready to go - and the P-63 is ready.

Yesterday, we fixed the automatic cooling system for the engine coolant. It was the switch. It tested good when we put a multimeter on it for a continuity check, but when hooked into the plane, only worked intermittently. I recently found a brand new switch, which plane captain Kelly Klaus installed and tested. The new switch worked flawlessly in the automatic mode!

Our oil cooler actuator is missing its thermostatic bulb and, therefore, cannot possibly work in automatic. It works fine in manual mode and I'm searching the world for someone who can connect me with another actuator or a shop that can fix this one.

We expect the 63 to get more flight time in the next few days.

Thanks!

_________________
Ray Clausen
Maintenance Officer
Centex Wing of the CAF

The P-63 had been flying well, but sprung a coolant leak in the belly a couple of weeks ago. Didn't take us long to track it down to failing coolant radiator cover plate gaskets. They were made of cork and were disintegrating. The gaskets had apparently been sealed with a VERY liberal application of silicone. Much of that silicone squeezed inside the radiator. Here is the view I got when I opened up the first one:





Notice the silicone "worms" hanging out of the vent tube. That is exactly how I found them!



It took quite a bit of cleaning to get all of the crap out of the cores.



Jim Liles did most of the cleaning while Kelly Klaus made new gaskets. Jim and Kelly resealed the coolers and, after torquing everything, we leak tested both coolers.

One cooler is completely installed and the other needs about another hour or so of work. Then we'll fill the system and burp it a couple of times. We should have it flying this again weekend.

Thanks!

_________________
Ray Clausen
Maintenance Officer
Centex Wing of the CAF

P-63F at Airsho

While the P-63 made the Hondo show earlier this year, the Midland Airsho was the first BIG airshow appearance for the P-63F since her restoration and return to flight. Mike Collier flew cover for the Yellow Rose out to Midland on Friday.


Crew Chief Kelly Klaus doted over the plane like a mother hen so the plane was ready for her debut Saturday. She flew cover for the B-29 along with two P-51 Mustangs, "Gunfighter" and "Rednose". Below, you can see all three ready to go!


After a great flight in beautiful weather, Mike taxis past the crowd.



As Mike prepared to take off for the Sunday performance, he noticed a problem with his manifold pressure gauge. Seemed like the needle stuck. We got it cleared up but he missed the performance. It worked correctly all the way home to San Marcos and I have it out of the plane right now, checking it out. We'll have it ready to go for the Wings over Houston show in a few days. Come see us if you make the show!

_________________
Ray Clausen
Maintenance Officer
Centex Wing of the CAF