In our structured, scheduled world, an unexpected “day off” can be an exceptional experience. Our crew adapted nicely, especially when we learned that we would be welcome at the hangar ceremony honoring Cpl. Antonio Burnside.

For those of you who have not witnessed the return of a fallen soldier, the ceremony moves one in many emotional directions. Cpl. Burnside’s return from Afghanistan, where he was killed in a firefight, had the added element of Blackfeet Indian tradition. Due to windy, cold weather, the casket was removed from the charter aircraft inside a hangar with approximately 150 members of the Blackfeet Nation and several Army personnel present. The Council Chief made remarks and offered prayers in two languages, and dancers and singers in full dress paid tribute. Cpl. Burnside’s grandfather lead prayers and songs, then announced that he was relocating to the reservation from his home in Canada to help the family in its transition. He then introduced Cpl. Burnside’s wife and four children. Given the history of Indian treatment, the pure patriotism of those present was nothing less than remarkable. An extended motorcade accompanied Cpl. Burnside to Conrad, Montana for burial mid-week. Just another example of sacred experiences one can have when delayed during a cross-country adventure.

While the weather forecast was much improved for Monday, the 16th, one must be skeptical in the lee of such a tremendous storm. Microsystems of residual low pressure and moisture can ruin your day. We departed in beautiful snow and 31-degrees, but as we approached the Little Big Horn, a planned waypoint, visibility deteriorated in a hurry, as it did for George Armstrong Custer on the afternoon of the historic battle when Indian horses kicked up quite a dust cloud. We turned to the west for the improved visibility it offered and worked our way gradually to South Dakota where we found a stratified layer of clouds about 2,000 feet above the ground and visibility that seemed to extend to Dayton. Following a fuel stop in Omaha, we continued on the final leg to Grimes Field near Dayton where the B-25s had assembled to begin formal activities the following day. Some of you may have tracked our progress. The winds had been howling all day and as we made our approach to Grimes, we prepared for wind shear. We came in high with extra power, floated like a ten-ton kite, and landed on the 4,000-foot runway. A joyful crowd witnessed a landing at sunset of Mitchell 20, “Grumpy,” the B-25 traveling the greatest distance.

Overnight, we were promoted to “Raider 5” for the sequenced takeoffs at sunrise. As we fired up and made our way to the takeoff point in a long line of Mitchells, I felt grateful for the sound and performance of our engines. Several Mitchells sounded rough and others were coughing flames.

A large crowd gathered at Grimes Field for a sight not replicated since WW II. Once in the air, we sought and received permission to pass abeam Wright Patterson Air Base and land at Wright Field. On the ground at Wright Field, home of the Museum of the United States Air Force, we waited for no. 20 to land, then taxied to a line-up for display. Before shutting down all 20 Mitchells performed simultaneous “run ups” to takeoff power; this, for a recording. The 40 Wright Cyclone engines were deafening.

So those are a few thoughts regarding the outbound segment. Next, I will write about the Doolittle Raider Reunion and the trip home.

Dear Sir

My name is David Dunstan and I am employed at Sealand Aviation. Bill Alder asked me to contact you regarding the serial number history we found on the DC3, N877MG.

When I started the maintenance/repairs to N877MG, I tried to identify the aircraft by SN/model to ensure that we had the correct service, parts and repair manuals. I found that the number on the data plate was not reliable, and I dug a little further into the possibilities of various SNs that were thought to be this aircraft. The following is a compilation of the facts.

No C47/DC3 can have a Douglas Factory issued SN of 4193. Douglas Co. skipped SNs 4184 – 4199.
The actual data plate is a legitimate Douglas plate, however a C47/DC3 should be stamped with Long Beach, California, or the Oklahoma City, Oklahoma plant details. The current data plate is stamped with the Santa Monica, California plant details.
N877MG’s construct has a bolted empennage at STA 596″, a feature of C47/DC3s produced only at the Long Beach plant.
Internally the aircraft has more base systems in common with a C47/DC3 conversion than any other variant of the type (Super DC3,R4D-,etc), however the airframe has been heavily modified with systems from other variants and STC’s over time.
The Date of Manufacture stated on the data plate is quite plausible, as 4 C47B’s were “built” that date (SN’s 20805, 20806, 20808, 20816).
The symbol on the right hand outer wing is a stylized “Chung”, Chinese for middle of/central.

Of the several possibilities of SN that this aircraft could be, it is almost certainly SN 20806. This follows that the aircraft was built at the Long Beach, California plant on the Date of Manufacture on the data plate, 7-29-44 (SN 25638 was a R4D-6 built in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 3 weeks later than the data plate Date of Manufacture). SN 4193 is not a recognized Douglas SN, however SN 20806 had a Long Beach Factory Fuselage (Line Number) of 4193. In Douglas’s Record of Airplanes, SN 20806 and the preceding 3 aircraft SNs were to be delivered to the U.S. Army, China. Anecdotal evidence suggest that the aircraft went to the Central Air Command (China), where the aircraft was painted with this symbol to display its deployment. This aircraft was then sold some time in the late 1940′s and returned to the U.S. sometime in the early 1950′s, where it was converted by Grand Central Aircraft Co. I suggest that this aircraft returned to the U.S. minus the data plate or legible records (poor record keeping) from China, was converted and re data plated (with incorrect SN) by or before Grand Central Aircraft.

I hope this helpful with the FAA, and that it may clear up some of the problems with the provenance of the aircraft. Please feel free to contact me at Sealand Aviation or at this email address.

Yours faithfully
David Dunstan

Thanks, David. JTS

These three talented individuals enrich our organization and hope to continue to do so, after a winter of training and transition. Young and Ashworth will have their hands full. A text will arrive from Lambert with the weather report for Waikiki just as we’re loading up the Mitchell for a December training flight. He will ask how the anti-icing strategies are playing out. Pilots are like that.

We’re proud of you.

The linkage connecting B-25D Grumpy’s cockpit control of the bomb bay doors to the actuating mechanism has required regular maintenance for decades. While the plane may be flown at 290 miles-per-hour with the doors open, it is not a good idea to have them open at take-off as the engine failure scenario goes from bad to terrible. Thus, last Friday at the Abbotsford Air Show, Canada’s largest and one of the best in the world, B-25D Grumpy returned to the hot line without taking to the air. Field repairs allowed complete closure of the doors pending overhaul of a valve at HFF. Saturday and Sunday flight performances included two shifts with the famous Abbotsford pyro crew. One suspects that April and her posse spent adolescent years lighting matches in dark closets. They enjoy ignition of charges beneath flying aircraft and their skill “matches” their passion. So on several passes, Grumpy and the pyro crew recreated true bombing runs. One problem. The bomb-bay doors could not open. No problem, really. The veteran, glib announcers explained to the enthusiastic crowd that Grumpy carried ordnance so smart the bomb bays did not need to open. Any questions?

So in the case of this engine, two strikes and it’s out! The Mariners get three but they remain at field elevation.

As we completed our descent near Stevens Pass, fuel was adequate to practice aerobatics on a “monkey-see, monkey-do” basis. Some of these are presented in a You Tube sequence.

The Mig-29 will begin and complete a loop in afterburner at 250 knots. Speeds above 250 require altitude of at least 10,000, so that is where this maneuver began. Enormous thrust won the battle with weight. However, the afterburner loop can be timed using the downward track of the fuel arrows, so the more you do, the sooner you must go home. In contrast, the Mig-29 loops beautifully in idle at 500 knots. Get up to speed, retard the throttles and pull the stick in relative quiet. No bad habits. Now do it again while holding a camera. G-forces make it difficult to hit the “start” button. Stay steady over the top. Not too slow. Drop the nose. Pull through. No worries. Time for home.

For me, a low thrust, circular loop between 10 and 15,000 feet near Mount Baker has become a favorite memory. Perhaps its glow will endure until the fuel bill arrives.

In April, 2006, I signed papers authorizing our shipping company to take control of our Mig in Ukraine for transit to the Port of Tacoma. That company decided it did not want to transport a complete Mig-29 on one ship on one ocean, perhaps to avoid hijacking by terrorists. Whatever the motivation, the engines and wings crossed the Atlantic while the fuselage headed east for the Pacific. Racked on deck in a steel frame, it seemed the bow sprint of the first order. When off-loaded in Hong Kong for transfer to another vessel, a customs official seized our fuselage as an undocumented implement of war. Ranking officials of Hong Kong advised that I would never see it again unless I swam with the fish near a breakwater then under construction. Nonetheless, court dates came and we were prepared. A judge assigned at random ruled the aircraft had been properly demilitarized before it left Ukraine. Key to the outcome was de-registration of the aircraft in Ukraine and re-registration in the United States to Historic Flight Foundation, a non-profit institution, before shipment. So the customs official had acted reasonably because the shipper’s paperwork was flawed, but the fuselage should be released because it was not an implement of war. The process required twenty-three months and just a few dollars. Collecting fine art must be simpler.

So our pristine Mig-29 awaits your inspection at our Restoration Hangar. We will conduct Phase I test flights during the balance of January and February to fulfill the conditions of the Certificate of Airworthiness.

Last weekend our good friend Lyle Jansma delivered the first of two cockpit-style flight simulators. The software allows advanced operations of our entire fleet of aircraft with Paine Field circa 1943 as the backdrop. The second simulator arrived yesterday. The next step is an Internet gaming club such that the effort invested in this wonderful system can be shared worldwide and by doing so, connect HFF with many new friends. This project has been a two-museum collaboration with Heritage Flight Museum of Bellingham. Good show.

Next Saturday, the 22nd, John Posson of Stallion 51 Corporation will offer a P-51 ground school and formation briefing. Twenty-five have enrolled in this course, which is intended for anyone wishing to know more about the fighter many regard as the best of WWII. Weather permitting, we will resume B-25 pilot training on Sunday, the 23rd. Four candidates will train on the 23rd and the 30th.

On Friday, the 28th and Saturday, the 29th, we will feature “Nose Art” through a social presentation with wine (on the 28th) and a full-blown history seminar with coffee (on the 29th). Our guest presenters from Victory Girl Studio will cover the origins of nose art in WWI, the “golden age” of nose art in WWII, it’s decline during the Korean and Vietnam Wars, changes in regulations in the 70s to proscribe personal markings, and revision of regulations in the 80s to allow it again, with examples of nose art in Desert Storm Iraq.

With any luck, the above and a bit of flying will get us to February.