GregP
22nd March 2009, 19:28
Well, the YP-59A is coming along nicely. Both engines will likely be installed and not have to be removed again by next weekend. For those of you that missed earlier installments, the original configuration was not very safe. We installed stainless steel firewalls that didn’t used to be there, and we installed a fire detection and suppression system so that if we get a fire, we can fight it. Once this is done, we will bolt on the jet pipes and button up one side of the engine cowling. Our annual airshow is coming on the third weekend of May, and we’ll leave the port side uncowled so the public can see progress.
The team I am on has been working on the canopy rail system for about a month and a half now, and we now have the canopy rails in such a condition that the canopy can be opened MUCH more easily than had been possible before. Since that is true, we can now start to focus on the cockpit canopy cover itself. Before now there was no point in making a canopy since, if the canopy could not be easily opened, no pilot would consent to fly it. We do NOT have to make the canopy pressurized, so the task is easier than it might have been.
Still remaining are numerous small details, including the instrument panel installation and windscreen replacement, and the biggest challenge … the starboard aileron. It came from another aircraft and does NOT fit. We may well have to build another aileron that DOES fit. Might be easier than getting the existing aileron to fit.
At this point, we may well back off from all restoration work and concentrate on the Airshow, which takes many people about two months to orchestrate. The theme this year will be a tribute to Grumman Aircraft. As many of you know, we have a new-build replica of the F3F that is flyable. We also have access to the F4F Wildcat (1,200 hp fighter) as wells as the FM-2 Wildcat (1,350 hp version). We’ll have an F6F Hellcat as well as an F7F Tigercat; perhaps two, and an F8F Bearcat or two. As a treat (at least for US) at the show, our Grumman TBF Avenger is VERY close to being ready for its first post-restoration flight. With two months left, it may fly in the show, too. Of course, there will be OTHER aircraft as well, and we may actually have a couple of Grumman jets in the air, can’t say at this juncture.
There is a very strong possibility we will have a demo flight team with a C-17. In case you haven’t seen this big aircraft fly in person, it is VERY maneuverable and climbs as well as many early jet fighters. The angle on climbout is about 40° and it can put on quite a spectacular demo.
In other news, our founder, Ed Maloney, has decided to do a static restoration of his Japanese D4Y Judy dive bomber that was recovered a long time ago from New Guinea. That effort got kicked off this last week, and the fuselage has been brought from Valle, Arizona over to Chino where work has started. Well … maybe not quite started yet. Actually, what was done last week was to fabricate a structure that could be used to put the fuselage in a rotisserie. From there, restoration can begin.
My Saturday partner in YP-59A restoration crime, Bob Velker, has been tapped to do the Judy restoration. Actually, he is the restoration master and I am the student. When the YP-59A has been finished, I’ll switch over to the Judy on Saturdays and help Bob with that project next. Our Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero flies on a Mitsubishi Sakae 21 radial engine. It is museum policy that we don’t fly any aircraft unless we have at least two engines. That way, if it breaks somewhere, it can be fixed and flown back to Chino. Since you all know our Zero flies, it follows that we have a second Mitsibishi Sakae 21 radial. Ed will have it assembled and will display it installed in the Judy.
The D4Y started life as a Japanese development of the German Heinkel He-118, with a Japanese copy of the Daimler-Benz DB-600 inverted V-12. The Japanese were never able to make their license-built copy of the DB-600 reliable, and most Judy’s were converted to radial power. Later versions were delivered with Mitsubishi radials.
Meanwhile, the Hispano Ha-1112 Buchon is pretty much ready for paint, and SHOULD be painted before the airshow. It probably will not fly in this year’s airshow, but should make it next year. If it has been painted at that time, we will probably have it on static display. A 3-blade propeller, cut down from a DC-3 propeller, has been ordered.
Yesterday, we got our Grumman OV-1 Mohawk running, and a taxi test was performed. Everything worked, and the props were cycled from fine pitch to feather several times during a high-power runup, and the aircraft was accelerated smartly to check the brakes. It may or may not fly in the “Tribute to Grumman Aircraft Airshow,” but it is substantially ready and may well BE ready at airshow time. In case you don’t know, our Mohawk is a bit more historic than most; it is OV-1 Mohawk serial number 2, the second Mohawk built. And it now makes nice jet noises all by itself.
Update on the Northrop N9M-B Flying Wing. As most of you know, we suffered an engine failure about two years ago; we blew a jug on the port engine. The N9M-B uses very unique flat-8 Franklin engines. The cylinders are backwards from all other Franklins, and so other engines are not really useful as sources of parts, at least for cylinders. So, since we REALLY want this wing flying, we had to DO something. What we did was to contract to have twenty five new cylinders made. The first four castings are now done and will next go to heat treat. Meanwhile, since the aircraft was down anyway, it was decided to run up the starboard engine to check its health. So yesterday, we dragged out the wing and did it. Unfortunately, the starboard engine is showing signs of … cylinder failure. Go figure! So … it is a good thing we decided to have 25 cylinders made because we just decided to use up 8 more on the “good” engine. While it won’t make the airshow in a flight ready condition, it will fly again this year. We expect the new cylinders to be done and installed in the fall.
If you have visited the Planes of Fame Museum recently (in the last 2 – 3 years), you probably recall that out by the B-17 was parked a Douglas DC-3 painted in airline colors. Well, the owner donated it to the Museum and Steve Hinton has decided to make it a flying unit. Accordingly, the elevators are being recovered at this time with new fabric. It will probably fly in the airshow this year, and we certainly welcome it to the fold of old airplanes that are capable of being flown.
The Navion crew is making great progress, and they hope to have it in one piece by airshow time, even if it doesn’t yet fly. It will be painted as an Army liaison aircraft, in Army green, as it was when in service.
Ed Maloney’s new aircraft, a Yakovlev Yak-3 should be here and flying by airshow time. It is a Yak-3 conversion of a Yak-11 airframe. The radial was removed and an Allison was installed, and it was converted back to a single-seat configuration. The only thing holding it up from already being here and flying is the FAA paperwork.
The Grumman F8F Bearcat that was a LONG time project is almost completed. It was traded to an owner in Texas for another Bearcat that needs restoration, and the new owner decided to paint it in Thai colors. The Grumman F8F Bearcat was only flown in combat by two countries, Thailand and France. I must say, the Thai colors are very good-looking. It is overall silver with Navy blue and white accents plus, of course, the Thai roundels. All in all, a VERY nice looking unit. It may participate in the airshow, too. Hope so!
This year, for the first time, I will be an airshow participant, too. Another team of which I am a member will put on a display of our pulsejet. We have restored both the pulsejet and the trailer on which it is mounted, and we will push my Nissan Titan pickup down the taxiway in front of the crowd with the pulsejet. In the same display area where we will park, we will have one or two Allison engines on a trailer plus a Pratt & Whitney R-2600 on a trailer, too, complete with 3-blade propeller. We will start and run all the engines for the crowd. Joe Yancey’s Allison has straight exhaust pipes, and it is definitely a crowd pleaser when he runs it. The loudest thing SHOULD be the pulsejet … at least until a modern military jet cranks up and gets into afterburner.
The reenactors this year will probably use our movie tank this year. We have a Stewart tank restored as a Stewart, and we also have a Stewart tank restored as a Japanese light tank. The Sherman will be there, but the Japanese movie tank will be running during the noontime lunch break.
Last year and in all previous years, the flight line had a “hot ramp.” This year, the flight line will be changed to be a version very similar to the way the airshow line is set up at Duxford, England. That is, the aircraft will be dispersed all along the front of the crowd line instead of being parked together in a group. It will be a nightmare for the airshow volunteers, since it is a change from the way things have always been done, but we’ll figure it out. If it turns out well, as the decision makers feel it will, it may turn into the future standard Chino airshow configuration.
All for now. Keep ‘em flying! - Greg
The team I am on has been working on the canopy rail system for about a month and a half now, and we now have the canopy rails in such a condition that the canopy can be opened MUCH more easily than had been possible before. Since that is true, we can now start to focus on the cockpit canopy cover itself. Before now there was no point in making a canopy since, if the canopy could not be easily opened, no pilot would consent to fly it. We do NOT have to make the canopy pressurized, so the task is easier than it might have been.
Still remaining are numerous small details, including the instrument panel installation and windscreen replacement, and the biggest challenge … the starboard aileron. It came from another aircraft and does NOT fit. We may well have to build another aileron that DOES fit. Might be easier than getting the existing aileron to fit.
At this point, we may well back off from all restoration work and concentrate on the Airshow, which takes many people about two months to orchestrate. The theme this year will be a tribute to Grumman Aircraft. As many of you know, we have a new-build replica of the F3F that is flyable. We also have access to the F4F Wildcat (1,200 hp fighter) as wells as the FM-2 Wildcat (1,350 hp version). We’ll have an F6F Hellcat as well as an F7F Tigercat; perhaps two, and an F8F Bearcat or two. As a treat (at least for US) at the show, our Grumman TBF Avenger is VERY close to being ready for its first post-restoration flight. With two months left, it may fly in the show, too. Of course, there will be OTHER aircraft as well, and we may actually have a couple of Grumman jets in the air, can’t say at this juncture.
There is a very strong possibility we will have a demo flight team with a C-17. In case you haven’t seen this big aircraft fly in person, it is VERY maneuverable and climbs as well as many early jet fighters. The angle on climbout is about 40° and it can put on quite a spectacular demo.
In other news, our founder, Ed Maloney, has decided to do a static restoration of his Japanese D4Y Judy dive bomber that was recovered a long time ago from New Guinea. That effort got kicked off this last week, and the fuselage has been brought from Valle, Arizona over to Chino where work has started. Well … maybe not quite started yet. Actually, what was done last week was to fabricate a structure that could be used to put the fuselage in a rotisserie. From there, restoration can begin.
My Saturday partner in YP-59A restoration crime, Bob Velker, has been tapped to do the Judy restoration. Actually, he is the restoration master and I am the student. When the YP-59A has been finished, I’ll switch over to the Judy on Saturdays and help Bob with that project next. Our Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero flies on a Mitsubishi Sakae 21 radial engine. It is museum policy that we don’t fly any aircraft unless we have at least two engines. That way, if it breaks somewhere, it can be fixed and flown back to Chino. Since you all know our Zero flies, it follows that we have a second Mitsibishi Sakae 21 radial. Ed will have it assembled and will display it installed in the Judy.
The D4Y started life as a Japanese development of the German Heinkel He-118, with a Japanese copy of the Daimler-Benz DB-600 inverted V-12. The Japanese were never able to make their license-built copy of the DB-600 reliable, and most Judy’s were converted to radial power. Later versions were delivered with Mitsubishi radials.
Meanwhile, the Hispano Ha-1112 Buchon is pretty much ready for paint, and SHOULD be painted before the airshow. It probably will not fly in this year’s airshow, but should make it next year. If it has been painted at that time, we will probably have it on static display. A 3-blade propeller, cut down from a DC-3 propeller, has been ordered.
Yesterday, we got our Grumman OV-1 Mohawk running, and a taxi test was performed. Everything worked, and the props were cycled from fine pitch to feather several times during a high-power runup, and the aircraft was accelerated smartly to check the brakes. It may or may not fly in the “Tribute to Grumman Aircraft Airshow,” but it is substantially ready and may well BE ready at airshow time. In case you don’t know, our Mohawk is a bit more historic than most; it is OV-1 Mohawk serial number 2, the second Mohawk built. And it now makes nice jet noises all by itself.
Update on the Northrop N9M-B Flying Wing. As most of you know, we suffered an engine failure about two years ago; we blew a jug on the port engine. The N9M-B uses very unique flat-8 Franklin engines. The cylinders are backwards from all other Franklins, and so other engines are not really useful as sources of parts, at least for cylinders. So, since we REALLY want this wing flying, we had to DO something. What we did was to contract to have twenty five new cylinders made. The first four castings are now done and will next go to heat treat. Meanwhile, since the aircraft was down anyway, it was decided to run up the starboard engine to check its health. So yesterday, we dragged out the wing and did it. Unfortunately, the starboard engine is showing signs of … cylinder failure. Go figure! So … it is a good thing we decided to have 25 cylinders made because we just decided to use up 8 more on the “good” engine. While it won’t make the airshow in a flight ready condition, it will fly again this year. We expect the new cylinders to be done and installed in the fall.
If you have visited the Planes of Fame Museum recently (in the last 2 – 3 years), you probably recall that out by the B-17 was parked a Douglas DC-3 painted in airline colors. Well, the owner donated it to the Museum and Steve Hinton has decided to make it a flying unit. Accordingly, the elevators are being recovered at this time with new fabric. It will probably fly in the airshow this year, and we certainly welcome it to the fold of old airplanes that are capable of being flown.
The Navion crew is making great progress, and they hope to have it in one piece by airshow time, even if it doesn’t yet fly. It will be painted as an Army liaison aircraft, in Army green, as it was when in service.
Ed Maloney’s new aircraft, a Yakovlev Yak-3 should be here and flying by airshow time. It is a Yak-3 conversion of a Yak-11 airframe. The radial was removed and an Allison was installed, and it was converted back to a single-seat configuration. The only thing holding it up from already being here and flying is the FAA paperwork.
The Grumman F8F Bearcat that was a LONG time project is almost completed. It was traded to an owner in Texas for another Bearcat that needs restoration, and the new owner decided to paint it in Thai colors. The Grumman F8F Bearcat was only flown in combat by two countries, Thailand and France. I must say, the Thai colors are very good-looking. It is overall silver with Navy blue and white accents plus, of course, the Thai roundels. All in all, a VERY nice looking unit. It may participate in the airshow, too. Hope so!
This year, for the first time, I will be an airshow participant, too. Another team of which I am a member will put on a display of our pulsejet. We have restored both the pulsejet and the trailer on which it is mounted, and we will push my Nissan Titan pickup down the taxiway in front of the crowd with the pulsejet. In the same display area where we will park, we will have one or two Allison engines on a trailer plus a Pratt & Whitney R-2600 on a trailer, too, complete with 3-blade propeller. We will start and run all the engines for the crowd. Joe Yancey’s Allison has straight exhaust pipes, and it is definitely a crowd pleaser when he runs it. The loudest thing SHOULD be the pulsejet … at least until a modern military jet cranks up and gets into afterburner.
The reenactors this year will probably use our movie tank this year. We have a Stewart tank restored as a Stewart, and we also have a Stewart tank restored as a Japanese light tank. The Sherman will be there, but the Japanese movie tank will be running during the noontime lunch break.
Last year and in all previous years, the flight line had a “hot ramp.” This year, the flight line will be changed to be a version very similar to the way the airshow line is set up at Duxford, England. That is, the aircraft will be dispersed all along the front of the crowd line instead of being parked together in a group. It will be a nightmare for the airshow volunteers, since it is a change from the way things have always been done, but we’ll figure it out. If it turns out well, as the decision makers feel it will, it may turn into the future standard Chino airshow configuration.
All for now. Keep ‘em flying! - Greg