WWII Ford Mototug Aircraft tugs

and other stuff up in the air
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pierino
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Post by pierino » Fri Dec 29, 2006 10:20 am

rwdfresno wrote:Maurizio,

PM if you are interested in coming to CA for a B-25 ride or B-25 flight training. If you are looking for something on that side of the pond a good person to talk to is Coert Munk of Duke of Brabant Air Force in Netherlands.
I was in touch with Coert for a few years... :)

few years ago, I had my DC-3 ground course with Coert in Bloomington, at Prairie Aviation Museum...unfortunately, I had no chances then to perform a full type rating on it... :?

I'd love to have a type rating on a B-25... I have several hours on commercial jets, and few hours on my L-5... :oops: ...but I could make, if needed, an extensive refreshment on taildragger... :wink:

I have a commercial FAA license too...but no IFR on it...

let me have more details... 8)

ciao
maurizio
1938 Ford Eifel
1941 Dodge WC21
1941 Ford GP
1942 Ford GTB, matching #'s
1943 Huffman model 81
1943 R.I.A. Hand Cart M3A4
1943 Willys MB
1943 Highway Trailer K-38
1944 Ford GPW, matching #'s
1944 Cushman 39G
1944 Harley WLA
1944 Converto Dump 1/2 Ton
1944 VW TYP166 Schwimmwagen
1944 Chevrolet G-7163 K-44
1960 Willys MB-T
1943 Stinson L-5 SOLD w/sadness


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rwdfresno
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Post by rwdfresno » Fri Dec 29, 2006 10:51 am

For type rating certificates I would talk to Aero Trader in Chino CA. They do type rating certs in their B-25. If you are looking for a ride as opposed to flight training I can put you in touch with a couple of B-25 owners in CA. In my opinion the best place to see a B-25 is at Eagle Field, Dos Palos, CA on June 9 2007 (ok I'm partial lol) You can also listen to a 1940's big band, in a original WWII hangar and see lots of MVs and aircraft and eat yourself a good steak (or chicken). The B-25s at the event could use some fuel sponsorship. Let me know if you have any interest in a flight at that event. Aero Trader will probably have their aircraft at the event if they don't have a conflicting engagement. Maybe we could work something out ahead of time.

Hopefully, the G-man will forgive me for hi-jacking his thread.
RWD

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Great Advise - will copy that post and put it int he B25 fi

Post by DDTrustee » Fri Dec 29, 2006 12:50 pm

I do have some connectivity but will take the advise. There is a Maint. Officer for the B25 stationed at Van Nuys that is going to do any prepurchase insp for me. He's a good guy and knoweldgeable. When I get beyond the sale point I will be able to talk with authority and then will call Carl.
Chad, the Maint Off for the B25 is, BTW, in Phoenix as we speak, finishing the complete exterior gasket and seal replacement on the R975 in my M-18 hellcat. The engine ran OK but has a dead left mag and major leaks in the push rods tubes and the oil sump. Also had bad gaskets in the intake manifold. Was losing 3-4 gallons of engine oil an hour of operation!!!!! Oil was cheap but the mess was a bit more than I wanted to continue to endure. More than once a cop following me in a parade said 'there's something leaking out of your tank!' Not to mention the fire hazard. The push rod tube seals were absolutely rotten - some of the rubber was so swollen and cracked that the inside of the push rod tube was almost closed up. I will fly over tomorrow morning (barring further snow in Albuquerque) tomorrow morning to assist with the reinstallation. l know enough about R975s and their installation in Hellcats and Shermans to be a maitnenannce officer in WWII for an armored divison! Useful knoweldge eh? !!!!!
Chad tells me that the engine will run smoother and start first time every time now that the gaskets have been replaced. He's going to take my othe spare round engine R975 back to Van Nuys in late Jnauary and rebuild it from the case up. I was able to purchase a complete spare with all new parts in boxes for a rebuild. Some of my posts elsewhere on this board show I am looking for the C4 type engine oil coolers and the large front cooling fan and the moitor mount for the M18
Haven't given much thought about the TBM - I know what hey look like - did several close walk arounds and inside viewing but the cache of the two engine bomber really clicks my switch.

Thanks again for the contact - will call in the Spring.
Dan in NM
reenacting and WWII history

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rwdfresno
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Post by rwdfresno » Fri Dec 29, 2006 3:34 pm

I have met Chad before actually. He crews on Heavenly Body which is owned by Mike Pupich. Mike is a good friend of my fathers. If I recall Chad used to work at Aero Trader at one point. Chad has been responsible for a lot of detail work on [img]Heavenly%20Body[/img] from what I have heard. It is definitely one of the nicest ones flying in my opinion. The only thing that is a little out of place is the bomb bay that has been lowered a bit, but if you ask me that makes it a hell of a lot easier to get between the forward and aft fuselage over the bomb bay. It was one of the 2 B-25s that took off from the USS Ranger in 1992 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Doolittle Raid. I spent the week on the USS Ranger and was on the deck during the takeoff, it was pretty awesome.

I thought I heard that Lynn Hunt might be selling the B-25J Sunday Punch. It isn't the most original restoration but it is a cool looking bird with that big ugly dragon gun nose. Good luck with your Warbird hunting.
RWD

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Wow! Awesome info!!!!!!!!!

Post by DDTrustee » Fri Dec 29, 2006 3:45 pm

I was supposed to fly over to Phoenix this afternoon but if you have been watching the weather - I am snowed in - the Albuq airport is closed due to low visibility. Only 2 inches of snow but it's snowing hard!
Will try to make it tomrrow about noon and come back on Suday. Trying to get the M18 ready for the Papago MV show in Phoenix last weekend in Jan. Will paint it next weekend and put the stars and bars on the following week. Cutting it short, I know but unavoidable. We took the tank to the MG shoot in Wikieup back in Oct and I scratched the paint job up horribly while driving around in the mesquite! (known as desert pinstripping! Fired the main gun 11 times (76mm) before switching to the fifty on the turret.
I will talk to chad about the flying. I did notice that he had a A9 with Heavenly Body on the back.
I have my father's A9 with Ford's Folly on the back and a list of bombing missions that include three with Ploesti's name on them.
Thanks for the info - will visit with Chad tomorrow afternoon as we stab the engine back in the Hellcat. Nothing sounds as good as the growl of a big radial coughing to start and smoking for the first few revolutions!
reenacting and WWII history

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rwdfresno
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Post by rwdfresno » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:24 pm

Steve,

A couple of Mototugs in the background...

http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.ph ... 114#487114
RWD

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SteveG
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Mototug

Post by SteveG » Tue Jan 02, 2007 1:32 pm

Ryan,
Thanks for that. There doesn't seem to be many pics of these tugs during the war. I'm picking mine up on Saturday.
Steve


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