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

[shrike]

NOW, the question is.... maybe Frank can answer it.... in what way were they used? Altitude to drop? Diving or level passes? Was there much effect from the wind on the drop? JR

Vastly more important question - can the newly made ones be filled with racquetballs?

[fwnelson]

About the CBU-14. They generally were not considered something to kill trucks with. I remember using them often times for flak suppression when working with another aircraft like a B-57 or T-28. While the gunners were busy trying to shoot at the attack aircraft you could pin point there position and sprinkle a load of the CBU on them. This was done by diving down to 1000-2000AGL leveling off and releasing the CBU over their location. Even if it did not hit them it was enough to keep them from being so active. In the Barrel Roll area it was used against ground troops fighting General Vang Paos' guys. In those situations you had to be very carefull since Vang Paos' guys often were in very close contact with the bad guys. In both these situations, most of the pilots I flew with preferred to work with out the use of flares due to the low release altitude.
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[NImrodA26]

If you get the CBU's built, here's what the nomenclature on the side of it should look like. I'll get you the diameter on the Bomblet when I get home.

[A26 Special K]

Thanks Randy, I'll pass this on to Ray. He thinks he can build some good replicas given enough time. Right now, we have plenty of other things for him to do. JR

[A26 Special K]

Here is one of the things Ray has been doing since he has been rather laid up with a bad back. He got all of the switches and covers of the armament panel cleaned up and the lettering back to where it is all readable. Remarkable even more so if you could have seen what he started with. Just another piece of art. Thanks Ray... JR

[A26 Special K]

It was a dark and stormy night.... nah, not really, just a little tricky light thing going on, but I thought it was a rather artistic shot. David A and Rand are lining up the engine pull this morning. Great things happened today. JR

[A26 Special K]

We put out a call for help and two of our old timers showed up today. Stevo who helped put the prop on originally came out to take it off and reinstall on the other side. Stevo used to be our DC3 crew chief and worked on the B25 as well. Now he has a good full time job as a new husband and fixing airplanes at another airport. Was glad to see him and Pat, also, another old timer show up to help pull the engine. He is one of the pilots who helped bring K from Denton after the paint was stripped. Appreciate the help!! JR

[A26 Special K]

Evidence of a bird strike is what caused us to change out this engine in case you hadn't heard! JR

[A26 Special K]

Left engine now has prop installed and we will be finishing up all of the hoses, wiring, ignition system etc to make ready for engine runs when we get the other engine back from Idaho. Great milestones were hit today!! JR

[A26 Special K]

This was JR's view from up topside when the right engine was coming off the wing this morning. It appears the team has broken the code on engine pulls after the first one. They went right after it and had it off in no time. Would have been quicker except we stopped for lunch: fried chicken, tator salad, nanner pudding, Waldorf salad, fresh cherries and iced tea. Wasn't much left over! Overall, it was a perfect day in the hangar as it was cloudy and cool for most of it. We had a great time seeing that engine come off!! The other JR

[A26 Special K]

Side view... David A is riding herd, Rand is passing signals to Ed who is driving Ichabod. Meanwhile, others are helping to loosen hoses, wires, and bolts. Great team effort today! JR

Last edited by A26 Special K on Sat Jul 19, 2014 8:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[A26 Special K]

The deed is done! The guys stripped the cowl rings and cowl flaps off the QEC. We are going to ship the QEC up to Idaho to have the engine mount looked at while we are at it. When we go back on with it, we want all the oil and fuel system flushed so no contaminants show up in new engine. Ditto on the hydraulic system. Still thinking about the best way to hook up a pre-oil system to it. Pat had some ideas today. We don't want the pickup of oil to be out of the stand pipe that the feathering system uses as that is where most of the yukky stuff collects over time. Wouldn't be good to be putting that out in the pre-oil system. Lots to think about...... But I am confident it will be figured out. JR

[N4073F]

I came across Geoff Goodall's website and there is a five page article that he wrote back in 1983 about Denny Lynch and Lynch Air Tankers. The article also covered, in great detail, the acquisition of your K model that Denny ferried back to BIL. There are several neat pictures as well.

It was a fascinating article all the way around and I learned a lot.

I suppose all of you gentlemen are aware of the Goodall's website and the article regarding Lynch, but I thought I would share it regardless.

Spent a lot of time at the Lynch FBO before they sold the business. Went with Denny around the patch once in N4818E. They truly had a top-notch operation. To this day, I cannot think of any other FBO that had such a minimal turnover rate in both mechanics and pilots. They were all a very good bunch of folks, laid back, yet truly professional in every way.

Craig

[N4073F]

Gee whiz, forgot to mention what a good job all of you are doing on this old girl. You should be very proud of yourselves. Denny is no doubt looking down and grinning from ear to ear.

Craig

[Chappie]

Awesome progress on this A-26. I enjoy watching the thread.

Just out of curiosity-- any chance that A-3 will fly again?


Chappie