FHCAM’s Me 262 Warpaint Unveiled

[JohnTerrell]

It would seem as though there is quite a reduction in the amount of flying by the FHCAM on the whole this year, at least going by the posted schedule.

[Decamara]

That is one BEAUTIFUL paint scheme!
It will be AMAZING to see pics/vid of it flying!
What a tremendous gift to the world this group gives us!
And their choice to share it with the public is gracious

Thank you!
And can’t wait to see the finished work!

[Dan Jones]

I think the original engine's hot sections only had about a twenty or twenty-five hour life even when new so one flight, it's flown, now park it and watch the replicas fly isn't a bad idea. Without re-engining it completely you couldn't fly it much anyway and what would be the point given the replica ones out there? And I'd wager that even Mr Hinton will have his hands full managing those two primitive, sensitive engines. I think it's a pretty good plan. I expect the Stuka will fly more; probably every bit as much as the Sturmovik has, at least.

[DoraNineFan]

I think the original engine's hot sections only had about a twenty or twenty-five hour life even when new so one flight, it's flown, now park it and watch the replicas fly isn't a bad idea. Without re-engining it completely you couldn't fly it much anyway and what would be the point given the replica ones out there? And I'd wager that even Mr Hinton will have his hands full managing those two primitive, sensitive engines. I think it's a pretty good plan. I expect the Stuka will fly more; probably every bit as much as the Sturmovik has, at least.

However, they spent a decade researching and re-engineering the original Jumo turbines to get them working. And the remanufactured the problem areas with new metal so they could fly them. The museum is giving a lecture today on the Me-262 paint, so maybe some answers will be in the presentation. Hopefully it will be as informative as the recent Stuka lecture.

[JohnTerrell]

Its been said at least a few times over, over the years, by FHC/FHCAM, that the new-build Jumo 004's are expected to last for several hundred hours of flight time. All of the critical components in the "hot section" were built new with proper metals, on these new-build engines, not the weak stuff that was used in original production.

[OD/NG]

Its been said at least a few times over, over the years, by FHC/FHCAM, that the new-build Jumo 004's are expected to last for several hundred hours of flight time. All of the critical components in the "hot section" were built new with proper metals, on these new-build engines, not the weak stuff that was used in original production.

Exactly, and that is my point. Why spend such an excessive amount of time and money re-engineering something that will only be for one flight? Going to the extent that they did for the "new build" sections of the engine implies a regular flight program in excess of 1 flight. It has been said in the past that the "new build" Jumo's would be good for somewhere between 200 to 300 hours prior to overhaul. I'm sure they spent millions on the re-engineering. It isn't cheap to make sure that the engines are not only safe and reliable, but also are in compliance with the FAA's concerns. I'm wondering if there was a "change of heart" after the engines were essentially finished? I know they had some unexpected snags during the engine testing, and I'm wondering if they are now being more conservative based on the performance of the engines after the test runs?

[Dan Jones]

I'm sure the metallurgy is vastly improved, but you're still talking about an eighty year old engine design that when it was operational was known to be slow to spool up, prone to over-temping, and probably reasonably prone to flaming out. No FADEC, no TD system, probably no automatic ignition... Don't get me wrong, I wish them the greatest success and they are certainly gonna have the right guy at the controls, but I've flown turbines for over thirty years and I wouldn't really care to fly those engines. But nothing is written in stone - they may fly it once, they may fly it for a hundred hours... who knows what the future holds? But it's wonderful that it'll fly again, even if only the one time. I wish them every success.

[Jesse C.]

Who knows what they are doing with the bird, but at least flying it once is way more than not flying it at all! Like the Dora.

Just wait until they announce their intentions on what will happen with it before everyone goes nuts about it. And in the end, it is their plane, their money and their rules.

And yes, it looks bitch'n!

[airnutz]

The 262 looks great! I agree if they don't end up flying it much, there are plenty of replica's out there to take up the mantle. I wonder with the passing of Mr. Allen, if the board or overseers will be a little more conservative with the collection now the boss is gone?

[bdk]

It isn't cheap to make sure that the engines are not only safe and reliable, but also are in compliance with the FAA's concerns.

What were the FAA's concerns over an Experimental/Exhibition aircraft engine?

[old iron]

I expect the Stuka will fly more; probably every bit as much as the Sturmovik has, at least.

And that does not bother me much ... Hear me out on this one:

The Me.262 is substantially original. As such, special care should be taken towards its survival, even if there are some 8 or 10 (if you count the Czech aircraft) around.

The Stuka is not substantially original. Original parts, from various sources, but a lot that is new-built. Not quite a replica, and not quite a "data-plate-restoration", but still not the same as a substantially original aircraft. So I have less issues with flying this again-and-again, as I would have the Me.262.

If lost in an accident, the loss would not be so much as the loss of an original aircraft, as much as the loss of an extraordinary reconstruction to original standards. And that would be a major loss, because this aircraft is actually more complete than the originals, and is the product of so much research into how the originals were built.

[JimH]

Hinton has remarked that the Flugwerk FW-190s fly nothing like the original 190, it will be interesting to hear his thoughts on the original 262 versus the replicas. The replica 262s are far more accurate than the 190s. It is a beautiful restoration and one that agree shouldn't be flown much, the down side is airplanes need to fly and run to stay safe, with the word safe covering a lot of facets of operating an aircraft...any aircraft.

Jim