Vintage Flying Museum is saving another one!

[flyboy1370]

For Zane

http://www.1370th.org/ASTs/AST5/ast5bg/AST5.html

[K5DH]

CH-21B Shaky Magoo is desparately in need of tires. The old ones are so bad that we can't even tow the aircraft on them. They're literally in shreds and we don't want to take the chance of damaging the rims.

We need the following tires:

Nose: 7.50 x 10, 6 ply (need one)
Main: 24 x 7.7, 10 ply (need two)

The mains are fairly common, from what I've been told, but the nose is not so common and they're costly. If you have any of these tires available, or if you know where we might obtain some, even if they're not flightworthy, please consider donating them. If the tread is worn out but they are solid and hold air, we can probably use them. We could certainly buy new tires, but it takes cash for that. Your monetary donations will be greatly appreciated.

[CrewDawg]

We're having a Restoration Project Planning meeting on Saturday Feb 23rd at 2 pm at the museum for anyone in the local area who would like to get involved in this project. We'll go over the project plan, add/delete/modify as necessary then start figuring out job assignments. If you're interested in helping, please come on out. We'll be meeting in the Briefing Room.

[David J Burke]

The 7.50 x 10 is still in production ! The best bet is work out the application which could well be something like a crop duster and put the word out for a scrap aircraft lying about.

[David J Burke]

The Sikorsky H-19 has a 7.50 x 10 on its rear wheeels and it appears the OV-10 . I should imagine a ring round the scrapyards near Davis Monthan or a call to Orlando Helicopters (if they are still going) should find what your looking for.

[carlisle1926]

When it comes time to paint the Mr. Magoo on the front, my phone better be ringing. Count me in.
Jason Barnett

[CrewDawg]

The 7.50 x 10 is still in production ! The best bet is work out the application which could well be something like a crop duster and put the word out for a scrap aircraft lying about.

Yes, they are still in production - for $250 - $400+ for a single tire, for a non-flying static display. Just a bit out of our price range. Please make the check payable to Vintage Flying Museum c/o Shaky Magoo.

According to Goodyear's Aircraft Tire Data Book, only the Helio Stallion and Twin Stallion, DeHavilland Caribou, and Rockwell OV-10 are currently in use and use a 7.50 x 10 tire. I've already been in contact with Cavanaugh Flight Museum and they don't have any spare, Caribou nose tires available. Anyone know any Helio operators, my call into Air America hasn't been returned yet?

[Craig59]

We're having a Restoration Project Planning meeting on Saturday Feb 23rd at 2 pm at the museum for anyone in the local area who would like to get involved in this project. We'll go over the project plan, add/delete/modify as necessary then start figuring out job assignments. If you're interested in helping, please come on out. We'll be meeting in the Briefing Room.

I'm off and I've got it on my calendar. Now, if I can just remember to look at my calendar!

[David J Burke]

Try http://www.whisperjethelicopters.com -they purchased the Orlando Helicopters H-19's which use a 7.50 -10 rear tyre -Iam sure they would have one of use. The other option is Earle Aircraft in Florida -they had some OV-10 spares a few years ago.

[CrewDawg]

As mentioned previously, we had a planning meeting to layout the game plan for restoring "Shaky Magoo"
For those who were not able to make it to today's meeting, here is a summary of what took place.

• We reviewed the attached project plan and did not have any major changes to it.
• A 8.50 x 10 nose tire was donated (the book says it’s supposed to be 7.50x10 – but this will work for now)
• We are checking with a local supplier for main tires and tubes.
• We discussed different ways to recruit sponsors
• Next Saturday’s tasks will be to start Phase One and begin cleaning and install tires if able.

Things we need:
• Shelving for parts (preferably on casters)
• Cloth parts bags with tags
• Dust masks
• Inner tubes for nose and main tires
o Nose: 8.50 x 10
o Mains: 24 x 7.7 (2 each)

If you can help out with any of the above items please let me know. You can also make a donation via PayPal on the museum website - just put CH-21B in the commments or mail a check to the museum and put CH-21B on the memo line.

We will be working each Saturday and Sunday unless otherwise noted. We typically are there during museum hours (Sat 9-5 and Sun 12-5), it’s not uncommon for me to be there on Sundays earlier around 9:30 or 10am.

If you would like to come out and help, please do! No experience necessary, there are jobs for all skill levels!


We also had the priveldge of meeting Glenn Todd who was the last USAF crew chief assigned to 53-4324 at Eglin AFB in 1969 prior to it flying to the Pate Museum of Transportation. We spent several hours talking and crawling around the CH-21. Amazingly the battery that he put it in it 1969, is the same one that is in it right now! Dean took a few pictures, hopefully he'll post them when he gets a chance.

I've been collecting some great stories from Glenn and Jim and two other CH-21 crewmen that are volunteering on the project, when I have time, I'll try to post them. CH-21's truly lived up to thier official nickname "Workhorse", they did any and all missions that they were assigned.

Thanks everyone for your support!

[marine air]

If you google "farm aircraft tires" you'll find Gensco and other companies that sell various sizes of used aircraft tires for off road ag use. This is where a lot of used aircraft tires go because they last forever on farm equipment.

[K5DH]

Dean took a few pictures, hopefully he'll post them when he gets a chance.

Ask, and ye shall receive!







There is some corrosion evident on the upper surfaces of the fuselage. We think the corrosion is the result of 43 years' worth of bird droppings from the ship's time at the Pate Museum.


The wooden rotor blades have been totally destroyed by the ravages of time and weather. We may be able to salvage the steel tubing spars, but little else will be of use.


Here's a terrible shot of the Wright R1820 engine. You're looking at the starboard side. It's all there, but it's really cruddy and everything is dry-rotted. There is also some vandalism damage to the wiring harnesses in the engine bay.


This is the main transmission assembly. The drive shaft from the engine comes in from below and behind at an angle, and the rotor drive shafts exit forward and aft from here.


These are the rotary inverters for the electrical system. They reside in an otherwise empty compartment directly forward of the engine. The top of this compartment is open to the air. It's where the cooling air for the engine comes in. A large fan on the front of the engine draws air in and blows it rearward over the cylinders.


Here's a shot of the interior, taken from the port side cargo hatch. She's mighty dirty, but she's pretty much all there. We'll have to make new troop seats and anything else that's covered in canvass. Hopefully, we'll be able to carefully remove the old pieces without damaging them so that they can be used as patterns.


The subject of "Why we do what we do" has been discussed here on WIX many times. Here's a perfect example. The gentleman sitting in the helo's doorway is Glenn Todd, the last USAF crew chief on this particular ship before it was retired from USAF service and flown to Pate. Glenn and his son-in-law drove to Fort Worth from New Mexico just to visit Glenn's old ship! He was thrilled to be there, and we were thrilled to have him there!


As you can see from the photos, Shaky Magoo needs a lot of restoration work. This 'copter led a long and very interesting life while active with the USAF, serving literally all over the USA and in many foreign locales, and we hope to be able to tell that story through our restoration. Restoration work requires labor and money and parts and manuals and shop supplies and paint. We invite you to help with these needs in any way you can. We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, so your donations are tax-deductible.

[K5DH]

Restoration work on the CH-21B has begun. There's an old joke that's often told when someone is facing a really big job:

"How do you eat an elephant? Why, one bite at a time, of course!"

That's how we're going about this. First, we need to be able to move the helo around. To do that, we need tires that hold air! Over the past few weekends, the crew removed the main wheels, broke down the rims, discarded what was left of the old tires and tubes, and then bead-blasted the rims. Today, Bill and I prepped the rims for paint, and Bill shot them with epoxy primer (in a most horrid lime green color, which is ugly as the day is long, but it was free!). Next weekend, Bill will shoot the rims with silver paint.

Here are a handful of photos:

This is the nose gear. The condition of this tire was repeated on the mains.



Left main gear with wheel removed. Condition is pretty good overall, considering that the aircraft had not moved in over 40 years!



Right main gear:



Main wheel halves hanging in the paint shop after receiving a fresh coat of hideously ugly primer:



One of my cool cars posing with VFM's cool helicopter!



Anyone feel like helping us eat this big aluminum elephant? We need all the help we can get!

[CrewDawg]

Sorry for the slow progress in the updates, but here's the latest. We did finally get some "new" used tires and new tubes - for a whopping $35.00 for everything! I found a company in Kansas that sells used aircraft tires for use on farm equipment - perfect for a static display. I sent them an email, explaining the project and they donated the tires and tubes, we just had to pay the shipping! God Bless Farmers!! We removed and disassembled the wheel and tires, cleaned, blasted, primed and painted the main wheels and installed the "new" tires. The nose wheel was in pretty good shape, so we cleaned it and installed the new tire. Repacked all bearings and reinstalled the wheel and tire assemblies.



That then allowed us to move forward with the next step our plan, move it inside the hangar so we can start restoring it. I am proud to say that today, for the first time in over 40 years, that CH-21B 53-4324 "Shaky Magoo" is parked inside a hangar and on good tires!



Now the real work begins! Now we will start removing the interior, gutting the cockpit, and removing every access panel that we can in order to clean, repair, repaint and restore to the best of our ability. If you live in the DFW area and would like to help out on a fun restoration project, please come out to the museum on any weekend. This is a perfect project for just about anyone, even if you don't have aircraft experience. There are a lot of small jobs that need to be done, and we have a great team of experienced people that can show you what to do.

[CrewDawg]

Now that she's inside, we're able to really get started on the restoration. We took a shop vac to the inside cabin and cockpit. I also started removing access panels on the exterior. Here are a few shots from yesterday. I'll try to get some more today. I plan on photographing everything before we take it apart, so we have a good reference when we go back together.

This is the front of the engine and the main drive shaft going to the main gear box. The fan is to draw air through the grill on the top of the fuselage and blow it over the cylinders. Pretty interesting way to cool an air cooled radial engine that is buried in the fuselage. (sorry for the grainy Iphone pic)



Here's the other end of the shaft where it passes through the bulkhead. I was pleasantly surprised with how good the metal on the bulkhead looked considering that it is not painted and is open to the elements!



Engine Bay RH Side


Engine Bay LH Side