KIWI KITTYHAWK Little Jeanne ONE HOT SHIP A REALLY SUPER SIX CANADIAN STEARMAN, EH?

Transcription

1 KIWI KITTYHAWK Little Jeanne ONE HOT SHIP A REALLY SUPER SIX CANADIAN STEARMAN, EH? 68

2 KIWI KITTYHAWK By Greg Morehead I t s a beautiful flying airplane. It has wonderfully light ailerons compared to a Mustang, somewhere between how a T-6 and a Mustang feels. It s light and it s agile and it has a fat wing, which is one reason it s not as fast, but you can carve around a corner, pulling it hard, and it won t stall out underneath you. It s forgiving on landing because it s nice and slow, again because it has a big fat wing. Paul Redlich, President, Tri-State Warbird Museum W hen Paul Redlich talks about flying Tri-State Warbird Museum s recently completed P-40M Kittyhawk project, he speaks softly and modestly, yet his words and an unrestrained smile expose the pride and relief shared among his restoration team. Their pride was punctuated on July 30, 2016, at the EAA Warbirds of America Awards Banquet, when their aircraft won Grand Champion World War II, and a Golden Wrench Award. Their relief was the exhale to a 32,000 man-hour, eight-and-a-half year effort that started on a snowy February day in 2008, which saw near disaster with a crash landing in 2011 and victory with 2016 s most coveted warbird honor. The survival of this beautiful airplane is a unique mix of luck and hard work, random fortune and detailed planning, technical skills and artistic talents, time and money. From a derelict fuselage sitting in a New Zealand scrap yard, this beautiful P-40M (s/n ) is the product of Tri- State Warbird Museum in Cincinnati, Ohio. Museum President Paul Redlich flies over Oshkosh, Wisconsin, where the plane earned a Gold Wrench Award and Grand Champion-World War II. Photo: Xavier Meal from a T-6 Texan owned and flown by John Shuttleworth

3 T he Curtiss P-40 is generally regarded as a jack of many trades, but a master of none. Developed in the mid-1930s to meet United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) requirements, it was soon outperformed by many competitors, both enemy and allied. The Bf 109s in the European and Mediterranean theaters could easily outrun it and a Japanese Zero would get on its tail in just a few turns. Nevertheless, in the hands of an experienced pilot it still proved a reliable fighter when applying smart tactics, as was proven by the American Volunteer Group (AVG), the famous Flying Tigers in China. Above all it was available in great numbers at a time when it was desperately needed. The combination of relative ease of maintenance, reliability, and low cost made it an attractive alternative. For the price of one P-38 you could get 2.5 P-40s. The 13,000-plus Warhawks built were operated by many Allies in Europe, Africa, the Middle and Far East, the Pacific and the Soviet Union. Little Jeanne Story and photography by Bjorn Hellenius Marc Léon Mathis flies P-40N s/n , Little Jeanne, over the cloud-covered hills of Southern Germany. This Warhawk rolled off the line on August 24, 1943 in the markings of the Republic of China Air Force, but ended up being assigned to 5th Air Force, 49th Fighter Group, 7th Fighter Squadron in Port Moresby, Papau New Guinea, and was assigned to Lt. Robert Warren. It was abandoned at Tadji Airfield in May 1944 and recovered 30 years later.

4 By Elizabeth Gibbs It took several days to transform the hangar at Heritage Flight Museum into a world class venue for An Evening with Apollo 8, but it took years of foundation building for the event to become a reality. Heritage Flight Museum (HFM), dedicated to flying and preserving military aircraft, primarily from the World War II and Vietnam eras, was founded by Apollo 8 astronaut Major General William Anders and his wife Valerie Anders, and because of the General s experience on the crew of Apollo 8, there has been a focus on highlighting the Apollo 8 mission and the U.S. Space Program. A hangar full of vintage aircraft was the perfect atmosphere for an event that brought together the three Apollo 8 astronauts Frank Borman, Commander; Jim Lovell, Command Module Pilot; and Bill Anders, Lunar Module Pilot giving these American heroes an opportunity to publicly share their personal stories in order to collectively share a unique American story. The hangars of the Heritage Flight Museum were transformed for one night this past May to pay tribute to the Apollo 8 astronauts who flew the first manned mission to the Moon in December Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Anders will forever hold the distinction of being the first humans to leave Earth s orbit, travel to another celestial body, and see the dark side of the Moon. Photo: HFM courtesy of Damian Vines

5 CANADIAN STEARMAN, EH? Story and photography by Stephen Chapis If you ask a warbird enthusiast to name a military Stearman, a few of the nautical ilk will say N2S, but most are likely to say PT-17. However, there are other not-so-celebrated military Stearmans, such as the Lycoming-powered PT-13, Jacobs-powered PT-18, and the extremely rare PT-27, built for the Royal Canadian Air Force. Boeing PT-27 s/n rolled off the Wichita production line on March 11, 1942, and was accepted by the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) on March 25 as FD 993. After just nine months of service with No. 36 Elementary Flying Training School in Pearce, Alberta, it was returned to the USAAF. During the war, 595 was based at several training fields including Smyrna AAF, Tennessee, and the famous Thunderbird Field No. 1 in Glendale, Arizona. Restored in the early 1990s by noted Stearman restorer John Roethlisberger, the aircraft was Military Trainer/Liaison Champion at EAA s AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin in The photo plane was John King s PT-17 flown by Chuck Tippett.

6 ONE HOT SHIP By Stephen Chapis T oday, on a ramp lined with the sleek, powerful fighters that were the heroes of World War II, Planes of Fame Museum s 83-year-old Boeing P-26 Peashooter seems to be a forgotten relic of the Interwar period. In its heyday the P-26 was the hottest ship in the air. John Maloney flies Boeing P-26A Peashooter s/n prior to the Planes of Fame (POF) Airshow. This aircraft, the last airworthy P-26 in the world, was accepted by the USAAC on June 16, 1934, and served with the 1st Pursuit Group (PG) at Selfridge Field, Michigan, 20th PG at Barksdale Field, Louisiana, and finally 16th PG at Albrook Field, Canal Zone, Panama. After serving briefly with the Panamanian Air Force, 123 joined the Guatemalan Air Force in 1944 and was not retired until 1957! Photo: Greg Morehead from A36 Bonanza owned and flown by Scott Slocum

7 A REALLY SUPER SIX By Frank B. Mormillo N icknamed Keith s Dream, John Shell s highlymodified North American AT-6 Texan is a true labor of love. A 10-year project that was actually started by Keith Shell the second of his four sons who was killed in a crash before the project was finished John bought the project from his son s estate and completed it in his memory. At first glance this airplane looks more like a World War II fighter plane than an advanced trainer. Fitted with a tightly-cowled 1,350-hp Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial driving a three-bladed propeller capped with a big spinner, the airplane actually looks more like a cross between a Yak 11 and a P-47. In fact, with its black and white checkered cowling trimmed in red, a black and white segmented prop spinner, and black and white invasion stripes, the airplane is finished in a color scheme similar to that worn by 78th Fighter Group P-47s. In addition to the modified nose contours, the airplane was also fitted with a custom-blown canopy fitted over a cockpit that was moved aft in the fuselage. The pilot s seat is now located where the rear instructor s seat had previously been. A second seat for a passenger was installed in what had previously been the AT-6 s baggage compartment. Although this airplane started out as a trainer, it now has only one set of controls. Top left: The Super Six has a custom-blown canopy that resembles those seen on two-place Sea Furies. The plane was the dream project of the late Keith Shell and was completed by father John and brother John Junior. Note the tribute fuselage code KE- S. The plane is painted in the colors worn in Europe by P-47s of the 78 FG, 8th AAF. Photo: Frank Mormillo Top right: John Shell Sr. poses with the Super Six after creating quite a buzz at the Lakeland Linder Airport during SUN n FUN 2011, where it won a Judge s Choice Award. Photo: Frank Mormillo Below: With the access panels removed, the fuselage frame and tail section are recognizable as those of a T-6, however the Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engine and bubble canopy make this hybrid look more like a fighter than a trainer. This view shows that the location of the front canopy is where the stock rear canopy used to be and the jump seat is where the baggage compartment once existed. Photo: John Shell Sr. 60 WARBIRD DIGEST # 68