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I may have mentioned before that our hanger in Guthrie, OK was up for sale, and has not been sold. 2wks ago when we arrived at the hanger, there was a notice on the door that we had until Jan 27 to vacate the hanger. We have been searching and located a new home for the A26 in Ada, OK ( the problem was finding a suitable hanger with a high enough door opening for the tail to clear).
Yesterday we made our final flight out of Guthrie and headed to Ada.
After takeoff, we made a low pass for the friends and visitors on the ground who were there to see us off.
So now we start a new era with the A26. The drive from my house is twice the distance (1 1/2hr), some of the members have already dropped out of the group, so we will just see how things go.
One big encouragement was when we arrived and parked at the Ada airport, people were there to great us----------------VERY ENTHUSIASTICALLY! We did not have the enthusiasm from the town of Guthrie.
Turn up the volume. I'm in the flight engineer position behind the copilot (wife of the pilot).
From: Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.
St. Jude '03 thru '24
Originally Posted by DZAUTO
.... some of the members have already dropped out of the group, so we will just see how things go. One big encouragement was when we arrived and parked at the Ada airport, people were there to great us----------------VERY ENTHUSIASTICALLY!
I hope your greeting will set the stage for a whole new group of volunteers. Finding good free labor isn't exactly a snap these days.
Awesome!. Spent a bunch of hours in an A26B in the mid 80's doing captive carry tests for Hughes Aircraft Missile Systems. We flew without a co-pilot so the right seat was weapon system operator.
Congrats on the new home, I hope it works out well
Getting the plane to the new location was probably the easy part. Getting all the stuff you had in the old hanger to the new one will be a PITA! I’ll bet you pick up some new volunteers from that enthusiastic crowd. Keep us up to date.
Special Air Warfare and the Secret War in Laos Air Commandos 1964–1975
Plenty of good info, lots of pics of t28 and some A 26. Manned by Laotian as well as Thai pilots. Lots of stuff going on over there, way too much politics prevented USA open operation there.
Check out page 370, about ten A26 lined up...
Above: The 603rd ACS Nimrods deployed with A-26Ks to NKP in the summer of 1966. Their mission was to test the aircraft’s performance against targets on the HCMT, under Project Big Eagle. (USAF photo courtesy of Jim Ifland.) Left: Lt Col Joe Kittinger (right, standing with Jack Blount) led the squadron over from the United States. (USAF photo courtesy of Jim Ifland.) Below: The Truck Killers of the 603rd Nimrods on the flight line at NKP. The Nimrods proved highly effective in interdicting the HCMT. (Photo courtesy of the Air Commando Association.)
My hat is off to those with the talent and time to keep these birds flying.
Last edited by toms silver 60; Jan 16, 2022 at 07:55 AM.
She sounds wonderful. Amazing achievement. Sad to lose faithful volunteers. Love radial flybys, either in or on ground. Everyone on the ground looks up to hear that sound that’s so foreign now. Nothing like the Doppler shift sound of a fast radial going by. Thanks for sharing. Love it.
The longer commute unfortunately will be troublesome on your time commitment.
The fortunate outcome is at least you were able to find a new location.
Hopefully that enthusiasm leads to a new group of volunteers that exceeds what you lost.
Thanks for sharing. Most of all thanks for preserving military aviation history.
Aww, the sound of a radial engine. That's horsepower. Love the sound. First radial I flew was the PW-3350. Many years later at our museum I flew the 2800, 1820, 1340 and even the Wright 2600. Always gave me the shivers. Like the first time I heard a V-12 Ferrari.
Best luck with your A-26. When I worked with our museum back in the 90's I found a lot of interest in the age group that had gone thru WW II and Korea. Then not much interest until you got to the younger kids in their teens and they were really interested.
Glad to hear your found a new home. Real nice of the former owner to post on the hanger door to give a 2 week notice. A phone call would have been more like a gentleman
Someone took this picture after we arrived in Ada and posted it on Facebook. Our group leader, Jim Dudnelly, and others are connecting the tow bar so that the plane can be pushed back into our new home.
A26 Progress
