The ongoing saga of EF-94A (49-2500A) - Castle Air Museum

Spectre_I · **Posted:** Thu Mar 19, 2015 7:02 pm

Howdy again!

So once we figured out what we had, See this topic we began restoration immediately. She's in excellent condition and we thought we might set a new speed record with this one. We put it right to the front of the queue. It went together smooth as butter. You see where this is going, right?

Until we got to the horizontal. The one that came with it belongs to an F-84. Not bad, only ten off! No, it won't fit. Neither will a T-33. So, back to the community once again! Anyone out there have any idea where the tail section of an F-94 might be laying around? Heck, we don't even need the whole thing.

Thanks! And while you ponder, some eye candy

sandiego89 · **Joined:** Mon May 21, 2012 12:28 pm **Posts:** 1198

Nice! Like the math humor on the nose.

Would love to see more shots inside the shop....

Spectre_I · **Posted:** Fri Mar 20, 2015 11:49 pm

sandiego89 wrote:

Would love to see more shots inside the shop....

I'll see what I can do. It's a great shop. There once was a small base museum... The hangar we are in was set to be condemned / torn down in 1978. The museum asked for it, and it was cheaper to do that than tear it down. Over the years, it was cheaper for the base to move stuff to the museum hangar than throw it away. When the base closed, it was cheaper to leave it there than throw it out.

So, we are working on historic aircraft, in a historic building, with historic equipment circa late 40's - early '50's.

What more could a guy ask for?

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Sat Mar 21, 2015 4:07 am

Spectre_I wrote:

There once was a small base museum...

With planes there so people could see 'em...

Seriously, though, would you like me to post on the Wreckchasing forum about the crash site in Massachusetts? Maybe someone there might would know if there's enough of the horizontal stabilizer to recover.

And going O/T, do you have access to the B-18? I'd like to see shots of the inside sometime.

Spectre_I · **Posted:** Sun Mar 22, 2015 12:36 pm

Chris Brame wrote:

Spectre_I wrote:

There once was a small base museum...

With planes there so people could see 'em...

Seriously, though, would you like me to post on the Wreckchasing forum about the crash site in Massachusetts? Maybe someone there might would know if there's enough of the horizontal stabilizer to recover.

And going O/T, do you have access to the B-18? I'd like to see shots of the inside sometime.

Yes that would be great! And yes I have access to the B-18. Next time I'm out there (and remember) I'll get some shots for ya.

jdvoss · **Posted:** Tue Mar 24, 2015 10:42 pm

Question: Are my eyes failing me or do I see a swept wing on this bird? With the exception of the tail cone it still looks to be T-33 to me.

www.fuselagecodes.com

Spectre_I · **Posted:** Wed Mar 25, 2015 10:35 am

jdvoss wrote:

Question: Are my eyes failing me or do I see a swept wing on this bird? With the exception of the tail cone it still looks to be T-33 to me.

http://www.fuselagecodes.com

Looks to be an optical illusion. The wings are not swept.

That's basically what it is, a T-33 with an afterburner - which means a T-33 horizontal won't fit :/

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Wed Mar 25, 2015 7:08 pm

Got a response on the Quabbin Reservoir wreck:
http://pacaeropress.websitetoolbox.com/ ... 1286661803
Checking the geocaching photos I found it looks like 2552 went straight in, but hopefully someone who knows what to look for can identify the right pieces.
SaxMan also advised me to check with Rob Rohr to see if he's inspected the site.
Too bad the Pike's Peak wreck was scrapped already...

Spectre_I · **Posted:** Wed Mar 25, 2015 8:43 pm

Thanks a bunch! Saw the post. We really don't need it pristine or even whole. We can fix a crumpled mess

.

I'll have your B-18 shots up in a few minutes.

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Wed Mar 25, 2015 11:06 pm

Just heard back from Rob:

Col. Rohr wrote:

Hi Chris,

Yes, I have been to the site a few times, and yes, the tail section is still at the site. If you look at the 4th photo from 2009, in the background you'll see some of the tail section. We pulled some parts out for patterns for the NEAM F-94. Before you have folks trekking into the woods, let me reach out to a well known New England wreck hunter to see if he might have some F-94 wreckage laying around.

A little backstory on the crash site itself: When the plane went in, it was determined that it hit at about a 35-degree dive. As you can see from the photo, it was a high impact crash, but because of the snow on the ground there was no fire. The area is/was sort of a remote location. We found all sorts of usable parts; nose door and a few panels. I have some smaller parts in my collection. The last time I was there was in 2007 in the spring right before I moved down South. I can't remember how much of the tail section is there but it was one of the larger parts of the airframe that didn't get pulverized. May I suggest the folks at Castle AFB to reach out to the town paper and historical society to see if they have newspaper clippings and photos from when the plane was discovered.

Feel free to post this on WIX.

Cheers

Rob

Hope this helps!

DH82EH · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2015 5:31 am

Nicely done Chris!

Looks like a promising lead for a really unique restoration.

Andy

Spectre_I · **Posted:** Thu Mar 26, 2015 11:55 am

Yes, Chris, thank you very much! If there's a tail section (we have the vertical, just need the horizontal), does your friend out there know who we need to contact so we can try and track it down? I'll have to pass on the info to our curation people, and let the mucky-mucks figure that out.

Spectre_I · **Posted:** Mon Apr 20, 2015 7:41 pm

So we got the horizontal, and off we go!

Chris Brame · **Posted:** Mon Apr 20, 2015 9:28 pm

Congrats! Where did you find one?

Spectre_I · **Posted:** Tue Apr 21, 2015 12:13 am

Chris Brame wrote:

Congrats! Where did you find one?

No clue, a pay grade or three above me. A crate showed up

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The ongoing saga of EF-94A (49-2500A) - Castle Air Museum

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