Warbird Projects of mine

Denny

Canned Monster
Messages
8,241
Reaction score
4,462
Location
Mayberry, Indiana
B24s were homely looking but did their job. The B29 is another good looking bird. As afraid of heights as I am if there was a B29 near me I would go for a ride in a heartbeat. Research Kee Bird B29 you will cry.
 

JTSpeedDemon

2019 Build Off Winner!
Messages
4,026
Reaction score
147
Location
Texas
B24s were homely looking but did their job. The B29 is another good looking bird. As afraid of heights as I am if there was a B29 near me I would go for a ride in a heartbeat. Research Kee Bird B29 you will cry.
Wow that IS a tragic story! To think! We were THIS close to having 3 airworthy B-29s!
On a similar but even more incredible note, look up the P-38 "Glacier Girl"
Sat 268 feet under the Greenland ice for 50 years before they dug it out piece by piece and restored it! Wonder if they'll ever try to rescue any other airplanes from the 94th Fighter Squadron.....
 

Karts of Kaos

the many mowers guy
Messages
1,170
Reaction score
184
Location
Wisconsin
ooh, i know that name,fifi, it was at an airport near me , a small regional airport, and it flew right over my house. i got to stand like 300yds behind it on start up. it was sooooo cool.
 

Denny

Canned Monster
Messages
8,241
Reaction score
4,462
Location
Mayberry, Indiana
P-38 Glacier Girl another beautiful bird. Followed the recovery and restoration. What I could not understand is why didn’t they bring up the one that was parked next to it also. The ice really did a number on the air frame. They have for about the last 20 years been recovering fighters from the bottom of Lake Michigan by my old house. They were put down there from carrier landing training during WWII. The recovered not only the worlds oldest and only surviving F-4U Birdcage Corsair but now it is back in flying condition. They recovered the only surviving Battle of Midway Island plane. I can’t remember if it is a SBD Douglass or a Hellcat. But restored it and it is on display now (static) at Midway airport in Chicago.
The ice cold oxygen free fresh water perfectly preserved the birds to the point fuel and oil were still fresh and usable. Machine guns still cycled, tires still had air pressure and batteries recovered following a charge. Lights still lit up and gauges still worked. How amazing is that for sitting at the bottom of a big puddle for 60-80 years!? The biggest threat to them now is the zebra mussels slowly tearing them apart.
 

JTSpeedDemon

2019 Build Off Winner!
Messages
4,026
Reaction score
147
Location
Texas
P-38 Glacier Girl another beautiful bird. Followed the recovery and restoration. What I could not understand is why didn’t they bring up the one that was parked next to it also. The ice really did a number on the air frame. They have for about the last 20 years been recovering fighters from the bottom of Lake Michigan by my old house. They were put down there from carrier landing training during WWII. The recovered not only the worlds oldest and only surviving F-4U Birdcage Corsair but now it is back in flying condition. They recovered the only surviving Battle of Midway Island plane. I can’t remember if it is a SBD Douglass or a Hellcat. But restored it and it is on display now (static) at Midway airport in Chicago.
The ice cold oxygen free fresh water perfectly preserved the birds to the point fuel and oil were still fresh and usable. Machine guns still cycled, tires still had air pressure and batteries recovered following a charge. Lights still lit up and gauges still worked. How amazing is that for sitting at the bottom of a big puddle for 60-80 years!? The biggest threat to them now is the zebra mussels slowly tearing them apart.
Jaw drops to the floor
Hold up lemme go pick it up real quick.
HOLY. MACKEREL.
 

Denny

Canned Monster
Messages
8,241
Reaction score
4,462
Location
Mayberry, Indiana
A few years ago there was a WWII vet who trained on Lake Michigan who had to bail out when his engine suddenly cut out. He was accused of chopping power and was flunked out. The guy has always maintained he did not chop power. The found the guy and invited him out for the recovery of his bird. In his 90s he accepted and told the story. When they recovered the bird they climbed up and sure enough looked at the throttle and it was exactly where he said it would be, full power applied. He was finally vindicated.
 

JTSpeedDemon

2019 Build Off Winner!
Messages
4,026
Reaction score
147
Location
Texas
Here are some promised pics! I got to sit in the cockpit of our F-86F Sabre, cleaned off said Sabre and the Piaggio Royal Gull floatplane, and did 3 hours of sandblasting for the Piasecki "Flying Banana" helicopter! :2guns:
 

Attachments

  • C47Nose.jpg
    C47Nose.jpg
    1.9 MB · Views: 5
  • DiamondLilNose.jpg
    DiamondLilNose.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 4
  • F86F.jpg
    F86F.jpg
    829.5 KB · Views: 5
  • F86Selfie.jpg
    F86Selfie.jpg
    431.2 KB · Views: 5
  • FPV.jpg
    FPV.jpg
    996.9 KB · Views: 6
  • PiaggioCleaning.jpg
    PiaggioCleaning.jpg
    237.1 KB · Views: 6
  • DiamondLilRQuarter.jpg
    DiamondLilRQuarter.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 6
  • PiaseckiSandblasting.jpg
    PiaseckiSandblasting.jpg
    257.3 KB · Views: 5

Karttekk

Well-known member
Messages
1,836
Reaction score
427
Location
Elizabeth, PA
I think the f-86 Sabre is one of the most beautiful birds ever built. I’m not into flying or heights in general but one thing I had always wanted to fly in was a Huey uh-1. My dad was stationed at a Nike missle base in the Army 15 miles from home. He lived at home the whole time he was in the Army except for basic training and Hercules missle training. We lived around a few Nike bases near Chicago. There were quite a few due to the oil refinery’s in Whiting and East Chicago Indiana. One day my dad and I were riding motorcycles by Wolf Lake and a Huey sets down it was really foggy. We were a few miles from one base. So my dad wants to talk to the guys and I want to check out the chopper. We went over they were ordered to set down because of the fog. My dad gives me $10 bucks and tells me to run to the store and get a bag of ice and a case of Pepsi for the guys. So I did. When I came back they wanted to give me a ride over the lake. But I’m afraid of heights! So the get me in, strap me down and fit me with a headset. I would not let them get over 10 feet off the water because I figured out in my 10 year old brain I figured I could survive a crash from That height. We ended up staying with those guys till the fog cleared. Later my dad told me they could get in big trouble for giving a civilian a ride. One of the best days ever!
There was a Nike Site 10 minutes from our house, fascinating stuff. I walked on top of the silo doors that were welded shut, my daughter wanted nothing to do with the place and was worried the doors might open. There is a Nike missile on display in South Park not far from me either. They were stored in underground silos. If needed, the doors would open and the missiles would come up out of the silos on launch pads pointing toward the sky. Sorry to go off track here, just really interested in this stuff!
 

Denny

Canned Monster
Messages
8,241
Reaction score
4,462
Location
Mayberry, Indiana
I lived in Whiting Indiana. My dad was stationed at the Munster Nike base 64-67. There was a base under Grant park and Eggars forest preserve and 2 other parks in Chicago. Gary indiana also had a Nike base near the airport. We had 4 oil refineries around my house not to mention about a billion gallons of jet fuel, gasoline and diesel fuel, propane and other spirits. Then just over the boarder Chicago. They said at the time if a nuke got through it would have made a hole 50 miles deep and 120 miles in diameter.
 

52Ford

New member
Messages
15
Reaction score
4
Fifi.... I remember getting on that B-29 YEARS ago. I don't remember what air show I was at... Might've been at Oceana. No clue. Cool plane. I'm pretty sure I had a DVD about Fifi.
 

JTSpeedDemon

2019 Build Off Winner!
Messages
4,026
Reaction score
147
Location
Texas
Had a fantastic time at Ride Day today! Got up blazing early to help set up, got to help with some post flight work on Fifi, took a bunch of pictures and video, scored a GORGEOUS CAF Diamond Lil Air Force spec jacket, plus I found a cool hat! :cheers2:
 

Attachments

  • DiamondLilTakeoffPrep.jpg
    DiamondLilTakeoffPrep.jpg
    494.5 KB · Views: 4
  • FifiCrouch.jpg
    FifiCrouch.jpg
    886.2 KB · Views: 6
  • FifiEarlyMorning.jpg
    FifiEarlyMorning.jpg
    540.9 KB · Views: 5
  • FifiLowAngle.jpg
    FifiLowAngle.jpg
    909.2 KB · Views: 4
  • SwagHat.jpg
    SwagHat.jpg
    323.8 KB · Views: 5
  • FifiRefueling(Rick Garvis).jpg
    FifiRefueling(Rick Garvis).jpg
    896.4 KB · Views: 3

Denny

Canned Monster
Messages
8,241
Reaction score
4,462
Location
Mayberry, Indiana
JT we don’t need to see so many pictures of you. :ack2: Now that hot chick FiFi we could use more of. Especially the inside. Huba, Huba!!! :lolgoku:
 

JTSpeedDemon

2019 Build Off Winner!
Messages
4,026
Reaction score
147
Location
Texas
JT we don’t need to see so many pictures of you. :ack2: Now that hot chick FiFi we could use more of. Especially the inside. Huba, Huba!!! :lolgoku:
Ok :)
Have some more bomber pics then.
It was gorgeous weather for Ride Day, about 50-60ish degrees Fahrenheit, sunny with basically no clouds in sight, and a bit of a breeze! It was a bit windy out on the tarmac, but overall the weather was fantastic. I hardly even took off my jacket even out in the sun all day! The wind was coming in from the north, and it just so happens that the runway at Meacham runs directly north-south, so everyone was taking off to the north into the wind. I heard from some of my colleagues who rode on Fifi that it was pretty bumpy due to the wind, but still a fantastic day for Ride Day!
It was awesome helping out with postflight on Fifi....
 

Attachments

  • DiamondLilFlyover.jpg
    DiamondLilFlyover.jpg
    409.1 KB · Views: 2
  • DiamondLilPostFlight.jpg
    DiamondLilPostFlight.jpg
    586.8 KB · Views: 2
  • FifandLil.jpg
    FifandLil.jpg
    471.2 KB · Views: 2
  • FifiBombBay.jpg
    FifiBombBay.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 2
  • FifiHeadOn.jpg
    FifiHeadOn.jpg
    895.2 KB · Views: 4
  • FifiPostFlight.jpg
    FifiPostFlight.jpg
    925.1 KB · Views: 4
  • FifiRefueling.jpg
    FifiRefueling.jpg
    839.1 KB · Views: 4
  • FifiTaxiing.jpg
    FifiTaxiing.jpg
    487.2 KB · Views: 2
  • RideDay10-16-2021.jpg
    RideDay10-16-2021.jpg
    915.9 KB · Views: 2
  • TexanFront.jpg
    TexanFront.jpg
    749.4 KB · Views: 2

JTSpeedDemon

2019 Build Off Winner!
Messages
4,026
Reaction score
147
Location
Texas
Well folks a very VERY special picture of Special Kay turned up today! This is Special Kay in 1978, making her first flight since her massive 1977 landing wreck.
She was landed with the gear up, tore off both engines and the engine nacelles, plus causing a bunch of other damage. You can actually see the landing gear exposed! This picture actually dispels a myth we believed previously: that Kay was flown away from the wreck with the gear down. That clearly wasn't the case!
This old bird's come a long long way, but man I WISH I could've been there for the first flight! No matter how janky, the first flight is ALWAYS the best!
 

Attachments

  • SpecialKay1978MaconGA.jpg
    SpecialKay1978MaconGA.jpg
    81.6 KB · Views: 9

Karts of Kaos

the many mowers guy
Messages
1,170
Reaction score
184
Location
Wisconsin
janky and flight are two words i dont like in the same sentence. lol. haveing never been in an airplane i feel experience enough to say that if a plane is janky i would not fly in it. but you do you.lol
 

JTSpeedDemon

2019 Build Off Winner!
Messages
4,026
Reaction score
147
Location
Texas
janky and flight are two words i dont like in the same sentence. lol. haveing never been in an airplane i feel experience enough to say that if a plane is janky i would not fly in it. but you do you.lol
I will fly in ANYTHING if I think I can. Not even kidding. I'm not okay.....
Also I put the picture through a colorizing application, turned out pretty nice! Cross-referencing with other photos from the same era of Kay the colors are indeed accurate!
 

Attachments

  • SpecialKay1978MaconGAColorized.jpg
    SpecialKay1978MaconGAColorized.jpg
    91.5 KB · Views: 4
Top