Flying Boeing P-26 Peashooter

[GregP]

Last weekend, for the first time in a few years, we flew our Boeing P-26 on a wet day with a few light sprinkles.


View: https://youtu.be/y_eQtTQm4YQ

Thought you might like to see it.

 

[SaparotRob]

Last weekend, for the first time in a few years, we flew our Boeing P-26 on a wet day with a few light sprinkles.


View: https://youtu.be/y_eQtTQm4YQ

Thought you might like to see it.

Hope you don't mind but after that finished, I watched the Zero start up.

 

[Tkdog]

So cool! What is the process of returning a plane like that to flight after a few years?

 

[Tkdog]

Also handy it doesn't have a door plug.

 

[GregP]

That airplane is stored indoors in a clean display hangar. They have to do an annual inspection on it every year, and that reveals most issues. The guys doing the annual know fighters and airplanes, and they check it over pretty well.

In the case of the P-26, when they are going to fly it, they pull it out, make sure the fluids are all up to snuff, pre-oil the engine and turn it over a few times, like maybe 10-15 revolutions to clear the bottom cylinders after first checking to be sure it isn't hydro-locked, and they run it a few times and fly it at least once before any public demonstration. Most times I have seen it fly, the pilot has been either John Maloney or Steve Hinton, both of whom are very familiar with the airplane. Steve said once, several years back, it is very light on the controls and begs to be thrown around, but they don't do that in deference to the airplane's age and rarity. It takes off short, climbs well, and is responsive to fly. John hasn't commented on it's flying characteristics, but I may just have missed his comments. This airplane is so clean, you might think it couldn't be a flyer, but it very certainly is.

The Planes of Fame does a very good job of keeping their airplanes in pretty good shape. They don't do a big pre-flight inspection before a demo flight, but the people watching the demo also haven't seen the amount of attention the planes get before being flown for demonstration. Believe me, they get looked at by people who know what they're looking for during an inspection. Some of the best people you can get to inspect airplanes are the ones who restore them to flying condition in the first place. They know what to look for and usually know the things that tend to turn into issues on specific airplanes. The P-26 is no exception.

If you pay attention at airshows, the pilots there usually don't do a pre-flight inspection. What they tend to do at airshows is a post-flight inspection. That is, when they come down from an airshow flight, they check the airplane like a pre-flight (while everyone's attention is focused on the current demo in progress), and then it is parked away from the crowd, and the public is not allowed near it before it is flown again. Museum airplanes that fly are much the same. They get plenty of attention, but not necessarily just before a public demonstration, when everyone in the audience is standing in the sun waiting for the flight to happen.

 

[GregP]

We get some very good demos here at Chino. Herte is one where the Horseman demo team used two P-51s and our P-38. Steve Hinton is in the P-38. The other two are Jim Beasley and Ed Shipley.


View: https://youtu.be/Yc94Tj7SP8o

About 10:29 or so, Steve breaks off and the two P-51s continue their routine. This was the first time they did this demo and, after that time, they transitioned to three F8F Bearcats and then to F-86 Sabres. Bearcats below:


View: https://youtu.be/0JWrrctCzes

 

[GregP]

Here's another good Horsemen video with dissimilar types. This time, two F8F Bearcats and an F4U Corsair.


View: https://youtu.be/Gy9t8tK5yq8

Along the way, Steve Hinton is flight lead, and Dan Friedkin flies wing, replacing Jim Beasley. Ed Shipley flies the original wing position.

 

[pinehilljoe]

Awesome. How does the group chose who has the honor to fly the P-26?

 

[GregP]

The P-26 belongs to the Planes of Fame Air Museum. The president is Steve Hinton, the chief pilot is Kevin Eldridge, and John Maloney has been around the museum since his father, Ed, founded it, and has been flying warbirds for most of that time. The Boeing P-26 and the Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero are only flown by a small group of authorized pilots. The P-38 has its own group of authorized pilot, too. Most of the rest also have a select group of pilots authorized to fly them, but more than the Zero and P-26. I've only seen two people fly the P-26 in 17 years and maybe three people fly the Zero.

All our pilots work on the airplanes they fly. We don't have anyone who just shows up and flies. No work, no fly. As a result, there are a pretty decent number of people who KNOW what they are looking for when they inspect a museum airplane to fly it since they also do the maintenance on the airplanes. I have assisted on a number of annuals in a minor way, but I'm not a warbird pilot for the museum, nor am I an A&P. I DO have a pilot's license.

I am a volunteer who sometimes gets to do some sheet metal or other work work on various projects. Right now, my partner in restoration and I are working on service bulletins for a C-47 we are trying to return to flight. It's the biggest project I've worked on since the other airplane were all fighters.

Other volunteers before us started the project and we are the current guys working on it. Nothing special, just normal AD/SB stuff. All our work gets inspected by an IA and documented on FAA form 337s. Mess up too much and you don't get to continue working on flyable airplanes. In any case, the museum is a wonderful chance to interact with historic airplanes that I otherwise would still love, but would know only from books and magazines. A significant plus is interacting with the really good people who make it a world-class place.

 

[pinehilljoe]

The P-26 belongs to the PLanes of Fame Air Museum. The president is Steve Hinton, the chief pilot is Kevin Eldridge, and John Maloney has been around the museum since his father, Ed, founded it, and has been flying warbirds for most of that time. The Boeing P-26 and the Mitsubishi A6M5 Model 52 Zero are only flown by a small group of authorized pilots. The P-38 has its own group of authorized pilot, too. Most of the rest also have a select group of pilots authorized to fly them, but more than the Zero and P-26. I've only seen two people fly the P-26 in 17 years and maybe three people fly the Zero.

All our pilots work on the airplanes they fly. We don't have anyone who just shows up and flies. No work, no fly. As a result, there are a pretty decent number of people who KNOW what they are looking for when they inspect a museum airplane to fly it since they also do the maintenance on the airplanes. I have assisted on a number of annuals in a minor way, but I'm not a warbird pilot for the museum, nor am I an A&P. I DO have a pilot's license.

I am a volunteer who sometimes gets to do some sheet metal or other work work on various projects. Right now, my partner in restoration and I are working on service bulletins for a C-47 we are trying to return to flight. It's the biggest project I've worked on since the other airplane were all fighters.

Other volunteers before us started the project and we are the current guys working on it. Nothing special, just normal AD/SB stuff. All our work gets inspected by an IA and documented on FAA form 337s. Mess up too much and you don't get to continue working on flyable airplanes. In any case, the museum is a wonderful chance to interact with historic airplanes that I otherwise would still love, but would know only from books and magazines. A significant plus is interacting with the really good people who make it a world-class place.

If I weren't on the East Coast I'd be glad to volunteer to count screws or sweep floors.

 

[GregP]

If I weren't on the East Coast I'd be glad to volunteer to count screws or sweep floors.

That WOULD be a long commute!