B-26K Counter-Invader Restoration ("Special K")

[CAPFlyer]

Actually "Balls to the wall" is a steam engine term related to the rotating balls on the speed governor. It is frequently referred to as the balls on the aircraft controls but predates those controls.

Actually, the original phrase was "Balls Out". It was modified to "Balls to the Wall" in aviation to refer to moving the "balls" on the engine controls to the firewall to go fast.

[planeoldsteve]

Actually "Balls to the wall" is a steam engine term related to the rotating balls on the speed governor. It is frequently referred to as the balls on the aircraft controls but predates those controls.

Actually, the original phrase was "Balls Out". It was modified to "Balls to the Wall" in aviation to refer to moving the "balls" on the engine controls to the firewall to go fast.

Joke =)

A front was moving through and ATC wanted to get the last two flights in before they turned the airport around. ATC: "flight 659 heavy expidite your aproach or we will need to send you around to the other end"!! 659: "Aproach 659 we have the balls to the wall". ATC: Flight 232 we will need the same from you! Flight 232: "Aproach flight 232 is an all female crew and can't comply with balls to the wall, but we can do wide open"!! =)

Steve

[A26 Special K]

Thanks guys for all the pictures and stories... and joke. It is a good thing! The A-26 was used thru three wars but receives hardly any of the recognition of the other warbirds because it came along so late in WWII. We intend to change that and this interest level helps. If all goes well, the CAF A-26 "BUBA" is loading up as we speak to go to the Brownsville Airshow this w/e. That is one fast airplane. If you are in the area, be sure and come out tomorrow or Sunday for the show. If you are in the Ft Worth area, come by the VFM museum at Meacham and see the team working to restore K. The CAF B-24 is expected to fly over from Addison on Tuesday if weather permits. They will be good neighbors and occupy our old spot in the NE corner of the hangar, so we welcome them to the community. With the longer runways at Meacham, it looks like everybody will be happy. JR

[A26 Special K]

Forgot to mention we had an unusual visitor to the VFM museum last weekend. This is a Fairchild prototype that competed for the AF-Navy trainer contract back in the early 50's. It would have become the T-31, however the Beech T-34 won out. Looks like a great little airplane, but guess it was too close to the BT-13 or T-6 to catch the eyes of the right people. While taildraggers make better pilots, I suppose the argument was made that most all of the aircraft in the inventory was going to nose rollers. Very fast nose rollers, at that. Never know what might show up at the hangar nowadays so it would be worth the trip out to Meacham. Come see us. JR

[A26 Special K]

While I was gone to Brownsville this weekend for the airshow, the crew reported that they cycled the landing gear eight times successfully and K is ready to come off the jacks so that we can pull the left engine. Speaking of Brownsville, they had a good show although the cloud cover threatened at times. Buba liked it so well, that he decided to stay another week or two. More reports later. Stay tuned. JR

[A26 Special K]

Our avionics guys continued with the task of getting all the wiring done so they can put the panel back in place. If you ever wondered how much room the nav/bombardier had to crawl thru to the nose on the C models, this gives a good idea looking up the tunnel on the right hand side. On the gun noses, there is a canvas divider that separates the two compartments and the copilots had no reason to go thru this tunnel. The divider is missing in the picture because we pulled the remnants of it out so that we can replace it later. The entire nose assembly must be removed to do this however, so it will be a long while before we get to it. It is not that hard to pull, but we have other things needing our attention such as the engines. From the reports we have heard, just about everything canvas was rotted away after a few months at NKP due to the humid environment. It would have been nice to have the divider to perhaps keep some of the gunsmoke out of the cockpit when the .50's were used. Can't have everything I guess. JR

[Iclo]

wow, lots of wire.

And me who just finished rewiring a 1928 car and was thinking there were too much cables running, after you last picture, the car wiring looks so simple

Thanks for the updates, nice to read

[A26 Special K]

Yes, a little bit of difference with our wiring. The avionics guys will be working Fri, Sat & Sun to get all of these wire bundles routed & secured. Larry found that the wiring harness we had outsourced had a small issue with the GS pick up between the HSI & the NAV radio so will have to correct this before everything can be finalized. In other news, the CAF B-24 will come over to Meacham when the weather permits. Window opens Thurs afternoon thru Sat. Will post ETA when it is announced. JR

[WIXMOD-Charlie]

*moderator note* Some posts deleted. Rules are, no politics on WIX!

[A26 Special K]

One of the things I like best about airshows is to talk to people about the A-26, the history involved and the people who made it, but another part is the fun watching little guys like this take it all in and maybe start dreaming about the day he can fly an airplane like this. He was going around kickin the tires and trying to turn the props. He just has to be a future pilot. Unfortunately, BUBA is still in Brownsville waiting for a mag to be overhauled. I am anxious for it to be up again as I am very impressed with the handling and speed. There are many more shows coming up and I can't wait to be there for some of them. It was like old home week for me since I go a long way back with the airplane when it was stranded in Amarillo before the CAF acquired it. Be sure to come by wherever BUBA is performing and talk to us.

[Obergrafeter]

Sorry we didn't have the parts needed to get you going on Spirit of Hondo. If you are getting the mag overhauled in New Braunfeles we could have at least transported that for you, but guess that decision wasn't made by the time we left. Hope to see you soon at the next show.

[A26 Special K]

Well shucks, Ober, I didn't think about you being there or I would have come looked you up! I wasn't feeling real good so didn't roam around much. Next time!!! BTW, last I heard the CAF B24 is due from Midland about 4 ish this afternoon at the VFM hangar, Meacham Field in Ft Worth. They are going to leave the airplane outside the fence until they can give it a wash job & then move into the back of the hangar for a couple of months of maintenance. Ya'll take care! JR

[A26 Special K]

Diamond Lil made it to Meacham and is now safely tucked away in the back of the VFM hangar. Inspections will start soon sounds like. Anyway, K is happy to have a cousin come visit. Ya'll come out and take a gander at both of these fine ladies tomorrow. The team will be back at it on the A-26. Meanwhile I will make a quick trip over to Midland to yak about CRM to the CAF Wing Staff Conference. BTW, the GGA A-26 ground school is next Saturday, March 1. Contact Dana at 817-659-9249 during regular business hours for more info and how to sign up. It will be a fun day plus you can get a look at the B-24. Lunch is provided. See you there. JR

[A26 Special K]

While I was in Midland at the CAF conference today, the team hit some big licks on the airplane. One was to hang the new LH main gear door. A problem was found with the nacelle being bent and the fitting of the door will not be a simple task. This nacelle was a replacement for the one lost in the crash landing in Macon, but the second gear collapse in Winslow is probably what left it bent. Just another little hidden damage item. Nothing that a bigger hammer can't solve!! Well, maybe Ray and JR can solve. Meanwhile, Lou patched up all the wing deice boot holes. The boots rotted off years ago, but the holes need to be filled. We do not intend to replace them because they simply aren't available and even if they were, we couldn't afford to replace them every five years or so. We also do not intend to fly in icing conditions where they would be needed. Most of the winter months will be spent in the hangar doing maintenance and fixing things that were deferred this time around like the canvas divider between the cockpit and nose compartment. Ray, Lou and Rand worked on the nose wheel well to set up the nut plates for the nose boot assy we found that covers that gaping hole under the throttle quadrant and exposes all those control cables to the engines. JR finally found a source for overhauling the standby hydraulic pump so will get that sent off soon. He also got all the batteries serviced and charged up. Won't be long before the Sparkies will be ready to test all that wiring they have been working overtime on this past week. Hawkeye grilled burgers for the team and some of the rest of the hangar guys today and I hear I missed a good meal. Drat... that's what I get for being AWOL. Anyway, next weekend is ground school on Saturday. The team will be working on the airplane, but a few will help teach the course. Come on out and see what is happening around the museum. There are some exciting things going on. The other JR

[hawkeyepoole]

While I was in Midland at the CAF conference today, the team hit some big licks on the airplane. One was to hang the new LH main gear door. A problem was found with the nacelle being bent and the fitting of the door will not be a simple task. This nacelle was a replacement for the one lost in the crash landing in Macon, but the second gear collapse in Winslow is probably what left it bent. Just another little hidden damage item. Nothing that a bigger hammer can't solve!! Well, maybe Ray and JR can solve. Meanwhile, Lou patched up all the wing deice boot holes. The boots rotted off years ago, but the holes need to be filled. We do not intend to replace them because they simply aren't available and even if they were, we couldn't afford to replace them every five years or so. We also do not intend to fly in icing conditions where they would be needed. Most of the winter months will be spent in the hangar doing maintenance and fixing things that were deferred this time around like the canvas divider between the cockpit and nose compartment. Ray, Lou and Rand worked on the nose wheel well to set up the nut plates for the nose boot assy we found that covers that gaping hole under the throttle quadrant and exposes all those control cables to the engines. JR finally found a source for overhauling the standby hydraulic pump so will get that sent off soon. He also got all the batteries serviced and charged up. Won't be long before the Sparkies will be ready to test all that wiring they have been working overtime on this past week. Hawkeye grilled burgers for the team and some of the rest of the hangar guys today and I hear I missed a good meal. Drat... that's what I get for being AWOL. Anyway, next weekend is ground school on Saturday. The team will be working on the airplane, but a few will help teach the course. Come on out and see what is happening around the museum. There are some exciting things going on. The other JR

I think YOU are JR and other people (yes even our dear JR Hoffman) are the OTHER JR! Glad they ate my burgers and as of 6pm no one has died from them....