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

[A26 Special K]

As you all know, K was found at Billings, MT and thru the good graces of the Lynch family, she was brought to the Republic. Well, it seems that K was not the only bomber to ever be for sale in Billings. This happened several years ago when a B-1 had a brake problem which grounded it for a few days and some mysterious stranger secretly placed this "For Sale" sign on the nose gear. Now, you can't read the sign below it, but it says "As is/No warranty, low miles, new engines, needs brakes and tires." The crew found humor in it, but the boss at Ellsworth AFB had a hissy fit about the lack of security. Seems he didn't have a sense of humor about it. Numerous people got yelled at, I suppose, until he felt better about it all. Since it made the news, it might have caused a few problems for the Public Affairs people in trying to quell the laughter. Actually it turned out to be a good thing.... JR

[fwnelson]

JR you are correct about getting the fuel out of the tip tanks for landing. I don't remember any dash 1 mention of this but it just makes good sense. Usually we would start using fuel out of the tips once established in our climb out from NKP. I do remember using the dump during one mission. Juni Tengan and I had just lifted off and were retracting the gear when a cylinder head on #2 engine blew apart. Fortunately we had a fairly light ordnance load that night. Juni leveled off about 200ft AGL and coaxed the bird around for landing I did activate the fuel dump but I don't think we were concerned with overstressing the wings at that point!On a lighter note when flying an overhead pattern for landing you could dump some fuel as you pitched out and make a neat little contrail. Will you be using the tip tanks on Kay?

[NImrodA26]

........ but the boss at Ellsworth AFB had a hissy fit about the lack of security. Seems he didn't have a sense of humor about it.

===========
Sure wouln't have been fun for him to have been around in the sixties then if that set him off. Seems there was always something like that going on, all in fun of course to break the tension. Guess that's against regulations this day and age.
We had a guy at Udorn that always signed his work, "The Mad painter". He came up with some beauties while I was there. No one could figure out who was making the signs, but the day before I shipped out, I found out who it was. Actuallly, I found out accidentally. We were down town drinking at a bar along with the usual talk, and somewhere along the line I said that I would have liked to know who the Mad painter was, and this guy at the table started laughing, and when confronted, he admitted he was the one. I was sworn to secrecy until I got on the plane the next morning.

[CAPFlyer]

BTW we wish David A good luck tomorrow on his type rating checkride in the GGA DC-3. It is hot enough in the hangar now that we should have a good dousing with champagne on Saturday for him to celebrate, right?? Hmmm, on second thought, maybe we should just use water and not waste the champagne?? JR PS On third thought, as scarce as water is in TX, maybe we should use something else. Any suggestions?

Dr. Pepper (nah, too sticky)
Shiner (still too sticky)
Lone Star (that's pretty watery... )

I would suggest Glycol, but I think the EPA would have a hissy fit getting it on the ramp. They might have a hissy fit with the others too since they're not a "naturally occuring substance".

[A26 Special K]

JR you are correct about getting the fuel out of the tip tanks for landing. I don't remember any dash 1 mention of this but it just makes good sense. Usually we would start using fuel out of the tips once established in our climb out from NKP. I do remember using the dump during one mission. Juni Tengan and I had just lifted off and were retracting the gear when a cylinder head on #2 engine blew apart. Fortunately we had a fairly light ordnance load that night. Juni leveled off about 200ft AGL and coaxed the bird around for landing I did activate the fuel dump but I don't think we were concerned with overstressing the wings at that point!On a lighter note when flying an overhead pattern for landing you could dump some fuel as you pitched out and make a neat little contrail. Will you be using the tip tanks on Kay?

Frank, that was a scary night I bet. How long did it take for your pucker factor to relax and allow you to extract the seat cushion from environs south? Yep, the Dash One prohibits landing with fuel in the tip tanks. We have batted that around as to whether we want to use them or not for that reason. Not sure whether the jettison pumps and plumbing are still there or if the tanks have good integrity/no leaks. We have deferred looking at those until we get her flying. Maybe in the second round, we will get them operational. Sure would be a benefit for added range and getting fuel at airshows. 800 gallons just isn't enough to go very long in this thirsty beast. I was reading some old 337's in Buba's file that Grand Central added a 235 gallon tank in the nose that has since been removed. They also placed some tanks in the outboard wing panels. Bet that nose tank played havoc with the Center of Gravity!! JR

[A26 Special K]

BTW we wish David A good luck tomorrow on his type rating checkride in the GGA DC-3. It is hot enough in the hangar now that we should have a good dousing with champagne on Saturday for him to celebrate, right?? Hmmm, on second thought, maybe we should just use water and not waste the champagne?? JR PS On third thought, as scarce as water is in TX, maybe we should use something else. Any suggestions?

Dr. Pepper (nah, too sticky)
Shiner (still too sticky)
Lone Star (that's pretty watery... )

I would suggest Glycol, but I think the EPA would have a hissy fit getting it on the ramp. They might have a hissy fit with the others too since they're not a "naturally occuring substance".

Good points about Dr Pepper, Shiner and Lone Star, but aren't they made from Texas water? Can't waste that. On the other hand, how about this? Since Colorado has gone to pot literally, they must have a surplus of Coors beer now. It is made from Rocky Mtn spring water, right? No problem with the lack of water near Golden. I contend that Coors is a naturally occuring substance. Yeast are natural. Water is natural. All the different vegetable ingredients are natural. Only the container might be considered unnatural, but we can attend to that. No problem. Except, the DC-3 is broke and won't be fixed until Sept so that will be the next window of opportunity for David A to be doused. Drat... JR

[A26 Special K]

We pause a moment for this brief interlude of remembrance for some of the folks who inspired us in our younger days. The only reason to get up on Saturday mornings was to see Sky King on that new fangled tv, right? Anybody remember Sky's first airplane?? I'm not sure when it was traded out. Guess I was watching Penny more towards the end as I was starting to grow fuzz under my nose. She was hot back then, huh? Nevertheless, I watched the show for the airplanes. No, really! That episode where he flew a Navy Panther jet was the coolest. The rest I don't remember specifically unless Penny was in them!! Ahhhhhh, here's to inspiration!
JR

[NImrodA26]

If I remember correctly, Sky King flew what to me looked like a Beech 18 or some twin with twin tails.

[A26 Special K]

If I remember correctly, Sky King flew what to me looked like a Beech 18 or some twin with twin tails.

Randy, like me, you musta been studying Penny instead of the airplane??? Not a Beech product, but a Cessna one with a single tail and two engines. Does this ring a bell?? How about maybe a type of cat? JR

[A26 Special K]

Happiness is a complete instrument panel ... that works. Larry sent the report while doing the Happy Dance yesterday. There are a few loose ends and switches to install, but otherwise functional tests were excellent on the HSI. This is another big milestone on the way back to flight status. Thanks to our avionics team who have put a lot of sweat equity into the project, we will be fully IFR capable and compliant with ADS-B. And they did it without much change to the original panel. Most everything was remoted to the back of the panel so it doesn't appear or was placed where it is not too noticeable except maybe to Frank, et al. What do the you say there, Nims? JR

[K5DH]

Anybody remember Sky's first airplane??

Cessna UC-78 Bobcat (a.k.a. "Bamboo Bomber")

[Obergrafeter]

The first "Songbird" was a Bamboo Bomber Cessna Bobcat. Don't remember how long that lasted though even though I was more interested in planes than girls back then!
And you can use Lone Star................it's no longer made in Texas.

[Left Seat]

Happiness is a complete instrument panel ...

What are the pros and cons of powder coating the removable, easily chipable aluminum panels, throttle leavers, etc. instead of painting them...
warpage, weight, tolerance, difficult to refinish later, flammability, authenticity???

I would think powder coating would wear better?

[A26 Special K]

Ober... Dean... both correct on the Cessna Bobcat or Bamboo Bomber. So Dean, did you like Annette also?? Ober already said he didn't like girls at that stage of life. No wait, that's not what he said. He meant that he liked airplanes better than girls.... which is as it should be!! Happy Birthday to the A-26 today, a spry 72 years old since first flight. K is 69 near as we can figure. She was on her way back to the states from Europe for transport to the Pacific at this time in 1945. So here is to many more happy years!!!

JR

[A26 Special K]

Happiness is a complete instrument panel ...

What are the pros and cons of powder coating the removable, easily chipable aluminum panels, throttle leavers, etc. instead of painting them...
warpage, weight, tolerance, difficult to refinish later, flammability, authenticity???

I would think powder coating would wear better?

Never a consideration due to the authenticity angle. The panel went back in the same way it came out originally. And now it is done except for some touch up work when we are through in the cockpit. The other factors are time and cost. We are trying very hard to do the job right, but we can't delay for anything else. This restoration has taken a lot longer than anybody imagined when we started. There is light at the end of the tunnel and we have a lot of airshows to attend and appointments to keep next year. Some very special people are waiting to see her fly and we just can't wait much longer. JR