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Post by fwx on Oct 15, 2018 11:39:43 GMT 12
"In probably it’s only public viewing in New Zealand the Bell P-39 AIRACOBRA that has been beautifully rebuilt at Pioneer Aero Ltd will be on DISPLAY at the New Zealand Warbirds Armistice Day Open Day Sunday 18th November. Avoid the entrance queues and pre-purchase your tickets on-line at www.iticket.co.nz/events/2018/nov/armistice-open-day." "IF it is signed off in time and approved to fly - we may see it fly, but it will definitely be here on static display - Don't miss it !!"
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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 18, 2018 9:13:22 GMT 12
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Post by ErrolC on Dec 18, 2018 10:00:43 GMT 12
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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 18, 2018 10:10:26 GMT 12
Yes I noted that too.
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Post by Brett on Dec 18, 2018 13:16:42 GMT 12
It will become N39FF when it heads to the US.
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Dec 18, 2018 18:56:58 GMT 12
The engine was being run outside Pioneer last week, haven't seen it actually moving under its own power yet though.
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Post by ErrolC on Dec 23, 2018 15:47:39 GMT 12
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Post by ErrolC on Jan 18, 2019 22:58:20 GMT 12
HAFU interview with Paul McSweeny, lots of P-39 footage
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Post by planecrazy on Jan 19, 2019 9:26:01 GMT 12
That was great thank you.
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Post by emron on Jan 19, 2019 15:27:07 GMT 12
OK I’m not up with current things P-39. So what’s the significance of / connection to the Serial Number as now depicted? After a brief search I found plenty about P-39F-1, 41-7215 but no notable service history, theatre of action or the fate of P-39Q-5, 42-20341.
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Post by angelsonefive on Jan 19, 2019 18:35:23 GMT 12
This link has more information : classicwarbirds.net/pioneer-aero-ardmore-nz-28-march-201842-20341 may have been the US serial no. of the Red Air Force P-39 raised from a lake near Murmansk in the 1990s. The aircraft had been ditched in the lake as the result of engine failure, and is part of the restoration.
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Post by emron on Jan 20, 2019 7:32:25 GMT 12
This link has more information : classicwarbirds.net/pioneer-aero-ardmore-nz-28-march-201842-20341 may have been the US serial no. of the Red Air Force P-39 raised from a lake near Murmansk in the 1990s. The aircraft had been ditched in the lake as the result of engine failure, and is part of the restoration. Thanks for that link. If I’m reading the article correct then 42-20341 originated from New Guinea rather than Russia. This makes some sense. Joe Baugher has these eight P-39Qs as recovered from Murmansk: 42-20171, 42-20206, 42-20575, 42-20618, 42-21060, 44-2204, 44-2640, 44-32191 so one or more of them may have contributed to the project. Numbers on either side of 20341 are reported as going to USSR. However close by number 42-30339 was one recovered from New Guinea by Tallichet’s team. 20341 could have come to Australia from that batch or retrieved separately by another collector.
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Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 20, 2019 9:02:41 GMT 12
"recovered from New Guinea by Tallichet’s team"
Shorty, another of your recoveries?
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Post by angelsonefive on Jan 20, 2019 10:52:05 GMT 12
'Pacific Wings' has an extensive list of PNG P-39s and P-400s crashed, missing, and salvaged, but 42-20341 is not mentioned. I believe that the authors of the 'Aviation Report' article quoted in the link may be mistaken.
It is significant, I think, that in the Baugher listing 42-20341 appears in the middle of a bunch of Airacobras that are shown as having gone to Russia.
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Post by Gavin Conroy on Jan 20, 2019 11:30:05 GMT 12
The tail number the aeroplane wears is not that of the actual machine. At the time it was painted it was thought to have been a Q model that served in Russia but Jerry just wanted it wearing a standard American paint job so that tail number was picked with no real significance. Now that all of the actual history of the aeroplane has been mapped out with a data plate to confirm it is indeed an F model but is not the same tail number and at this stage it will not be changed.
Hope that makes sense, the actual serial number is 41-7215.
Good video as well!
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Post by ZacYates on Feb 6, 2019 13:46:17 GMT 12
Speaking of good videos, I'm surprised this one by Paul McSweeny hasn't been posted here yet: ZK-COB lives!
In the videos I've seen, the P-39 has a whine like no other V-1710 machine I've heard.
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Post by FlyingKiwi on Feb 7, 2019 20:43:07 GMT 12
It does have an interesting whine, very noticeable, when I saw it running the other day it was only idling but the whine sounded like it continued winding down momentarily after the engine was shut down, so I wonder if it's related to the prop shaft extension possibly? One of my colleagues suggested a turbo, which prompted a brief history lesson...
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Post by saratoga on Feb 7, 2019 21:03:18 GMT 12
Doesn't the engine drive shaft run through a gear box, with drive line change to the prop?. Might be the gearbox winding down?
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Post by angelsonefive on Feb 7, 2019 22:36:10 GMT 12
It does have an interesting whine, very noticeable, when I saw it running the other day it was only idling but the whine sounded like it continued winding down momentarily after the engine was shut down, so I wonder if it's related to the prop shaft extension possibly? One of my colleagues suggested a turbo, which prompted a brief history lesson... Years and years ago I worked with a guy who had been stationed at or near Henderson Field. Cannot recall if he was with the NZ Army or RNZAF. Probably the latter. One day we were discussing matters aeronautical and he told me that there was a USAAF P-39 repair and overhaul unit at Henderson Field and he and his colleagues enjoyed watching the Airacobras being 'wrung out' by test pilots before being put back into service. They noticed that during these test flights there was a very audible rasping noise that came from the P-39s when they were being aerobatted. They asked a USAAF serviceman about this one day and were told that the noise was the result of the prop. drive shaft binding owing to the flexing of the fuselage under 'G' loading. Probably nothing to do with the phenomenon above, but I thought you all might find it interesting.
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Post by isc on Feb 8, 2019 0:21:17 GMT 12
The noise sounded to me like gears with a load on them. Push the speed up on my lathe and it whines too; With a shaft that long in an airframe that must flex a little under load it would almost need a universal or some sort of flexible coupling, maybe it has one. isc
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