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Tube Talk II
The air ducts in a P-47 are as complicated as can be. Here's the CliffsNotes version of what each does. Exhaust from the engine is collected and routed through a tube to power the turbo supercharger in the tail. (If it is not needed, the hot gasses dump out valves near the bottom of the nose.) After spinning a turbine, the exhaust gasses exit the plane through a port near the tail wheel. The big air scoop under the engine gobbles clean air (seen in the photo). The air is also routed aft and divided in half—some is pressurized by the turbo and some is used to cool that newly-pressurized air. The used cooling air, now fairly hot, is vented out the doors on the sides of the tail of the P-47. The other half, now cooled and at a greater pressure than the surrounding ambient air, is routed back to the nose and into the plane's carburetor. Got all that? Good!
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By the Numbers
Flying warbirds in the United States must carry a registration number. It poses a conundrum to those trying to keep their aircraft, including paint schemes, as authentic as possible. The accepted practice is to exhibit the N-number (NX in the case of experimental aircraft) under the plane's horizontal stabilizer in small, two to three-inch characters. In this way, the numbers do not show up in most photographs.
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FHC Beginnings
The people at Alaska Airlines recently sent us a photo. It shows construction of a new maintenance hangar at Paine Field circa 1947. The image is important because the hangar today holds the Flying Heritage Collection. The building was constructed over an existing World War II taxiway and it shows—the floor is far from level in parts of our gallery! Built to house DC-6s (with the outer wings removed), the hangar also hosted Air Force fighter jets during the Korean War era. Today the FHC holds some of the rarest and most beautiful aircraft in the world!
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Fin Flash
Both aircraft flying this Saturday carry a "fin flash" on their tails. The stylized block of red white and blue paint is a throwback to World War I, when the entire rudders of many Allied planes were covered with bold vertical stripes. The recognizable stripes were supposed to keep British Sopwith pilots from accidently bouncing French Nieuports (or vice-versa) in cases of mistaken identity. Aircraft serving in the UK and France (among others) continued to carry a small block of the colors, more as tradition than identification, up through World War II and beyond.
Come and see FHC's Spitfire and Hurricane take to the skies this Saturday!
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A Tip of the Cap
If you think being an FHC mechanic would be glamorous, try washing down a muddy tank or pushing a four-ton fighter by hand. Romantic notions about happily wrenching on airplanes all day dissipate after about five minutes of terribly hard work. Trying my hand at naively "helping," I've often been defeated, retreating smeared in engine oil or nursing slightly singed fingers. Bottom line—the job is far from easy.
We all owe a debt of gratitude to our small army of four—Frank, Diane, Dave, and Mark. Just like mechanics of World War II, they keep a squadron of planes flying with hours of behind-the-scenes labor. Without a good crew, what can any pilot do in the air?
Our "squadron" is also unique in that we fly a menagerie of machines from different manufactures and even different nations. Our skilled quartet must know them all and be more versatile than the wrench-wielding warriors of the past. On a Fly Day, chances are the mechanics got there long before you got up and they'll probably still be there when you leave. So, when you see a coverall-clad member of our team, be sure to tell them thanks.
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The Pest
The Polikarpov PO-2 was famously used by Russian women flyers during the Second World War to bomb behind the German lines under cover of darkness. The small bombs were undeniably dangerous but for most soldiers in the field the random and nearly constant attacks were just a nightly nuisance. The plane was used again for nearly the same purpose years later. American forces on the ground in Korea were often jarred awake by what they nicknamed "Bedcheck Charlie"—the same type of PO-2 aircraft piloted by flyers from the North Korean People's Air Force.
Come and see the FHC's Polikarpov biplane take to the skies this Saturday!
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Butterfly Flaps Part II
Months ago there was an Under the Cowl about the Nakajima Ki-43's "butterfly flaps." The flaps helped the little fighter generate lift and improved its stability at low speeds by increasing the plane's wing area, further tightening the Oscar's already very tight turn radius. With a little bit of translation work, FHC mechanics were able to deploy the flaps for visitors to see. Here's the result...
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Packard Power
You get funny looks when you tell people that the FHC's Hurricane is powered by a Packard Merlin engine. Most Hurricanes run with Merlins produced by Rolls-Royce in the UK. But the Collection's aircraft was built by Canadian Car & Foundry at Fort William, Ontario. So, why go across the Atlantic when you could get a similar Merlin from a builder close to home? As a result, Packard Motor Car Company's engines went into not only Canadian-built Hurricanes, but Lancasters and Mosquitoes as well. Come see and hear the P-51 and Hurricane (with the Packard Merlin engines) take to the skies this Saturday!
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