Given Week’s occasional dry sense of humor (which is much) appreciated, I can just imagine Kerman just casually mentioning he’s flying a fifty year old twin engine plane. Then just equally mentions it’s got 18 guns.....
I don't know what possessed you to restore, maintain, and fly these beautiful pieces of history.. But THANK YOU!!! My mother often speaks of her first cousin who flew the 26, he died on his fist mission... He had stopped by to visit with my uncle while on a training flight and the A/C broke down causing his first mission to be delayed by 2 days. My uncle felt like it was partly his fault for Charles's death, if he hadn't stopped to visit, he wouldn't have been delayed and might have lived... I recently went to London and visited St Pauls Cathedral, the tour guide asked if anyone had lost relatives in the war, I raised my hand, he took me aside and showed me a large red book with the names of all the flyers who had died for England. We found his name and he allowed me to photograph it for my mother. I later emailed her the pic and called her... She was in tears saying how glad she was that they still remembered... Thanks again for preserving these jewels!!! :-)
Imagine eight in the nose, with the same number and type in wing pods the addition of two in the forward facing turret equals eighteen 50 caliber machine guns firing at a target at the same time plus a 4,000 lbs. bomb load equaled a bad day for any target during WW2. Incorporating mini-guns & rocket pods on the wings while retaining nose mounted machine guns in Viet Nam can see why this air frame had such long legs. Like all Kermit's projects the restoration goes beyond factory new. Incredible work by the folks at Aero Trader! Thanks Kermit for updates & best wishes! PS - Not sure part of the plans for Fantasy of Flight but this sort of aircraft would be perfect for a firing range demo ;-D.
Had to laugh during the intro. The first time I visited Chino in the '80s it was flooding... and I was on a motorcycle. On the way home I rode from L.A. to San Jose at night through very heavy rain, using trucks as rain deflectors.
Very cool, my Dad was an officer attached to a USAF A/B-26 unit in France around 1950 or 51. One thing I hope in your shop operations (particularly your engine shops) is that there is a good apprentice program for young mechanics so all this knowledge and expertise doesn't go away in a decade or two.
Breaks my heart that young people aren't interested. I'm 63. A couple of years ago, I worked with a twenty- something young man , big, bubba type, intelligent, but not STEM. Bottom feeder at an auto parts store. His father was an A&P that worked at a local FAA certified Sensenich shop that had just received a military contract. "Hey, why don't you go and learn how to overhaul, or otherwise, make propellers from scratch. (Like they do with wood ones...) Dad was for it... Skilz. make real money?" "Nay..." "Ok, so, become a certified welder! ( " "No, not interested...".If none of them are interested in this, there's no way they are interested in vintage aircraft...I generalize, but I look and there are no young people (Andrea is an exception,) in the videos...Learn a trade. Bring it to the table. Earn a good living. Be proud of what you do, Take all the time you need. But nope...(As an aside, I'm an engine guy. When I was a boy, my dad and I would spend hours around R-3350s and R-4360s...great times...)
I’ve said this before, but I’m always amazed how Kermit keeps track of all his aircraft projects.. you really need to be on the ball regards progress and parts. Really appreciate that he films and uploads all this though.. Fascinating
I don't know why it surprises me when I run into someone I'm subscribed to. Overlapping interests everywhere. Cody seems like he'd be subscribed to this channel also.
@@9HighFlyer9 It's crazy but you really can see how people have the same interests. Reply @TAOFLEDERMAUS You're probably right but I'm guessing it'll involve a pretty girl with it somehow using the classic style.
That is a pretty cool A26 restoration, when I worked at the airport used to see A26s of Airspray take off with full loads of fire fighting retardant mix. You could hear the props bit into the warm summer air as they sped down the runway for take off. Even though I don't work on the real thing I do build scale models of aircraft and currently working on an A26. I eventually want to build 3 in total. While studying the A26 I have some interesting facts , WWII A26s flew into combat with mixed formations of glass nosed and gun nosed aircraft , so it is possible that gun nosed aircraft had only a crew of two maybe a third for training purposes. The glass nosed aircraft had a crew of 3 , the navigator/Bombardier, the sat in the jump seat during take off as it was prohibited to be in the nose on take off. The rear gunner position had some refinements later on possibly after the war ended, 1 was the introduction of the side fuselage door for egress purposes, originally the escape was through the bomb bay and the upper escape hatch above him. The canopy clam shell opening replaced the single large forward opening escape hatch, I couldn't image trying to open it at 100mph . When they changed the canopies the upper gun turret could no longer be locked forward as the rounds would hit the raised portion of the canopy. Apparently the under wing gun pods caused significant drag , interesting to note is that the 6 gun universal nose had 4 gun pods =14 gun or the 8 gun nose 6 internal wing guns =14 . This later configuration led to the use of 5in rockets under the wings . Hope this helps and I really like your Kermie cams .and your strive to preserve history .
1:02 - Florida isn't any better. Years ago, my girlfriend worked at a place on Old Tampa Highway near County Line Road, west of Lakeland. We had to drive past a dairy farm to get there. The heat and humidity of central Florida in the summer, combined with the steaming piles of cow crap, would bring tears to your eyes even in an air conditioned car. Lucky for you this is January, or you might be crying in this video. :) I remember the last A-26 video. This bird has been in restoration a long time. Remind me again how many of these were manufactured per WEEK, during the war, then compare the two time frames. The sheer amount of effort put in during the war, in terms of man hours, is mind boggling. 18:27 - Nose art: The "Naked In Jamaica" banner with a pin-up girl and a bottle of rum. Take it off your taxes! :)
Thanks for the comments. Yep, Florida has its share of both rain and cow crap. I was just starting the clip with some humor. Anyway, you're not the first person with the Naked in Jamaica nose art idea. Hmm, who knows!
Very cool to see! My father flew the 26 for the Alabama ANG out of Birmingham in the mid 50s. He always spoke fondly of his time flying them. Looking forward to the day it's ready to fly again.
Hello Kermit Weeks. I enjoyed this video and glad to see that the A 26 is coming along. I look forward to your new videos and as I live in the Tampa Bay Area I was happy to visit Fantasy of Flight lite last month. I will of course plan on future visits to your facility. Hey man thanks to you for keeping aviation history alive. All the best to you.
You have such a beautiful collection of warbirds, and other old aircraft. Now all you need is a P61 Black Widow. It's my favorite WW2 fighter, next to the Corsair.
Jan. 31, 2019-----There's a P-61 almost fully restored at NAAM. What's great about it is seeing what it looked like being taken from the jungle in New Guinea, then to the museum. Then restoration photos up the gazoo which I copied all of 'em as I have yet to find a good reference on this plane for model making. Here's the link:www.maam.org/p61.html
You probably know, but Mid Atlantic Air Museum is (slowly) restoring one to flying status. Probably the last or next to last restorable P-61 around. They have a web site with a bunch of photos of the restoration if you poke around.
Agree with all previous commentary. Hats off to you and your extended team, for all you do. Your buddy Jeff Lynn and I, have our hands full trying to restore automobiles. This is a whole other dimension. Incredible skilled craftsman at work. Quite certain, this costs a kings random, but truly feel it's worth every penny.JTOrlando, Florida
I hope Kermit lives forever and keeps building up these planes. Idk how every multimillionaire in the world doesn’t have rebuilding ww2 planes as a hobby.
O and thanks heaps for sharing with us! Loved that you have a CAC Sabre with the RAAF roundels, two 30mm canon and the Avon engine. I think that there is only one left flying here, you will look really good in one of those.
Kermit , thanks for the update on the Douglas B-26 / A-26 . You always include rarely mentioned information on the aircraft being showcased , making it fun to learn more about the classic airplanes. During the later part of the program the subject of a name / nose art for the bird came up . Not sure if you know ?? There is book called " Talisman" by John M. and Donna Campbell . They put together a collection photos of WW II aircraft by category then type . They had found a number of B-26 planes entered into the light bomber section . Mentioning in case you decided to paint the plane so as to pay tribute to a specific aircraft from the war . Kind of like the Collings Foundation does with their birds . I hope that this helps . looking forward to more of your video programs .
You were here during are last storm, so it was early in the month! Wish you would have told me! I have an Chino Airport field pass too! Love the Seaplanes!
Wow...coming along nicely...the A-26 will be beautiful! I often wonder how many of these airplane restoration projects you have going? Thank you for saving all of these wonderful old airplanes...not many people doing it.
Alright Kermit. Your museum is on my bucket list.. if not for a strong little girl in kitty hawk it possibly would have never happened at all. The write bros gave up many times thier sister held sway fortunately for mankind
After looking at a few cutaways and placement of the Ammo boxes and guns etc. I think it was just done that way for access or maintenance. Another pair of guns on the left, looks like it would block the Ammo boxes for the 1st pair, but who knows...
Also had to laugh when I heard Bruce Guberman's name. He was piloting the Seneca photo ship during one of my P-40 flights with Fred Sebby at Madera. I still have the photos... and the audio cassette of our dogfight when Bruce got on our tail, Fred jinked his way out, got on the Seneca's tail and yelled "TAKA-TAKA-TAKA-TAKA" over the radio! Good fun.
I used to work at Challenge Publications. I remember Ed S. very well. The rumor back then is he didn't like the A-26 because it was hard for him to get in and out of. I remember they had one of the B-25 motors in the back of our shop for a while.
I saw major progress in this unit. After Oshkosh you should get the gold from the Udvar-Hazey museum. Dead sexy piece of kit. Jeeze see if you can get a few thousand rounds of .50 ammo on eBay and really make a splash! A p40 at Wanaka ten years ago was loaded up and did a straffing pass both days- it was there if you looked and listened very closely but I think they may only have had two guns firing, I shall have to read my autobiography again to check.
Those "Happy Contented cows grazing on that lush green grass. Check out the 475th Fighter Museum in the Planes of Fame. My brother and I donated the field kitchen.
Love the A-26! I live close to Ellington field and attend the airshow every year. If you are attending the show this year, it would be great to meet you.
Chino has changed so much since my visit there. Let me date myself. The A-26 from the movie 'Always' was on the ramp. Yes the air there is 'distinctly aromatic', but the Florida cows modify their flatulence by eating oranges... I know you have your idea, but it is fun to come up with a plan B (or plan Z) for the nose art. I visualize a senior hillbilly and titled "Grampy Has Some Guns". Stay dry. PS- just read the latest issue of 'FlyPast' magazine. The Lancaster FM104 is now in a British Columbia air museum and they hope to return it to the air. That is going to be a very difficult goal. After seeing the problems being exposed during the East Kirby/Panton NX611 Lanc, a machine that has been ground active for many years, the BC boys have a very formidable project ahead of them.
Hi Kermit. Great to see so much progress. Any news on the Meteor MKIV VT229. I spent a day cleaning that one when it was at Newark Air museum. The early jets are great looking machines and that is one I would love to see back in the air.
I saw Special Kay a26 a few months ago.I'm friends with some of the guys in Fort Worth. I got to fly the DC3 demo flight at the Vintage Flying Museum. That 26 is way cool 8 guns on the front.
The difference is that in So California you never know when (or if) it will rain, and in Orlando you know it will rain at 3PM every day for 15 minutes and be done. Boy, it sure doesn't seem like a whole year since the last update on this machine!
I was at Chino Airport over 30 years ago and I was wondering if they still had cows in the area and the smell I remember the smell you answered the question thank you
that 1820 amazed me the end if not for the collings foundation B-17 could be for Classic Rotors for their Piasecki H-21 flying banana. as it used an enhanced B-17 engine which is a Wright R-1820 but the studs on the front reduction gearcase bolted the shroud for the cooling fan and the fan and the extension shaft that go to the rotor gearboxes. as the piasecki h-21 were the Boeing/Vertol 44A and 44B models as well. i seen in some videos of B-17 wrecks the crankcases of the R-1820 survive well but the cylinders and that broken off of them.
You're a sick man Mr. Weeks. ...and I share your sickness. That is going to be a mighty cool airplane! ....sigh... You'd better look after your health so you can fly all these beautiful machines. Your KermieCam stuff is letting the rest of us peons imagine. Thanks for that! :)
Awesome video!! 😃 I love the A26 Invader! It's my favorite WW2 Bomber! I even love how she sounds and looks while flying! Quick question. Was the movie you were talking about called "Always" With Richard Dreyfuss, John Goodman, and Holly Hunter? About the Hot Shot Fire fighter pilot who dies saving his friend from an engine fire in the PBY Catalina and has to go back as a ghost to help another pilot to earn his Air Attack Card? That movie made me LOVE the A26 Invader 😍
One of history's best, but tinged with a little sadness for me. The 'Sally B' and Biggin Hill would tell you why. The people who flew aircraft like these for real over here will always be in my memories. Thank you USA. John UK. (My Father, B17g 216 RAF 1943-5).
Com' on Mr. Weeks! The smell of cow manure? Wassamatter? You don't like milk? Or cheese? Or New York Strips, Ribeye's, or Filet Mignon? Didn't know that you were vegan...I love the smell of cow manure in the morning! All for fun!
You touched on a very serious subject; are we eventually losing these historical pieces due to lack of interest in younger generations. Slowly losing businesses that do the engine work is not a good sign. I hope it doesn't eventually end up where seeing one of these old war birds actually flying is a rare occurrence. That would truly be a sad day. A very recent poll showed that 2/3 of the current generation didn't even know what the holocaust was, or what Auschwitz was. My goodness, what is happening? Keep up the great work, Kermit!
Hello cj, Its not just aviation history, the youth have little interest in the automotive world too. If you're driving a 370 gross hp Pontiac 400 that will put a GTO sideways, a kid will yank that motor and drop in a GM all-electronic engine so he doesn't have to do tune ups under the hood. Just tap tap tap on a keyboard.
It’s not really a lack of interest, it’s becoming a lack of parts. Add the insane prices it costs to restore and maintain these pieces of history, not many can afford to do it. Then you need type training which I’m sure isn’t cheap. It stinks, but it’s an unfortunate reality. That’s why people like Mr Weeks are so important to the aviation world. They keep resurrecting planes like this and take them to airshows to spark the interests of the younger generations.
Great update Kermit, going to be amazing to see it flying. Not sure if you will see this, but I had the opportunity to meet you recently and it was defiantly the highlight of our trip to Florida. However, there was one question I never got a chance to ask you while in, my flabbergasted state. How do you decide which aircraft to restore? Obviously, there is only so much time and money to go around, so how do you pick which ones are the lucky aircraft.
Next time you make a visit of Aero Trader, make a video of their "desert boneyard". Most of the good boneyards in the world full of aviation stuff are all slowly disappearing.
“Hey, it’s Kermit, I’m here to see how my airplane is coming along” “right on schedule ... it ain’t done yet!” 🤣 -- How many aircraft restoration experts does it take to change a light bulb? Just one .... but it takes a decade! 🤣 --- I’m available for Weddings and Mizvahs
Great follow up Kermit on your restoration you must have one helluva memory to keep track of all these vintage aviation projects if not I'll volunteer.
It's not easy, especially getting older. They say there are three things that go when you age . . . the first is memory, and . . . ah, can't remember the other two.
Only Kermit would restore it back to WWII specifications! Fantastic! 👍🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
Given Week’s occasional dry sense of humor (which is much) appreciated, I can just imagine Kerman just casually mentioning he’s flying a fifty year old twin engine plane. Then just equally mentions it’s got 18 guns.....
I don't know what possessed you to restore, maintain, and fly these beautiful pieces of history.. But THANK YOU!!! My mother often speaks of her first cousin who flew the 26, he died on his fist mission... He had stopped by to visit with my uncle while on a training flight and the A/C broke down causing his first mission to be delayed by 2 days. My uncle felt like it was partly his fault for Charles's death, if he hadn't stopped to visit, he wouldn't have been delayed and might have lived... I recently went to London and visited St Pauls Cathedral, the tour guide asked if anyone had lost relatives in the war, I raised my hand, he took me aside and showed me a large red book with the names of all the flyers who had died for England. We found his name and he allowed me to photograph it for my mother. I later emailed her the pic and called her... She was in tears saying how glad she was that they still remembered... Thanks again for preserving these jewels!!! :-)
Thanks for sharing. Sorry for your families loss. Honor to him for his service to his country.
Man it`s looking fantastic!
That poor tail gunner looks like he would have been a sitting duck.
Imagine eight in the nose, with the same number and type in wing pods the addition of two in the forward facing turret equals eighteen 50 caliber machine guns firing at a target at the same time plus a 4,000 lbs. bomb load equaled a bad day for any target during WW2. Incorporating mini-guns & rocket pods on the wings while retaining nose mounted machine guns in Viet Nam can see why this air frame had such long legs. Like all Kermit's projects the restoration goes beyond factory new. Incredible work by the folks at Aero Trader! Thanks Kermit for updates & best wishes!
PS - Not sure part of the plans for Fantasy of Flight but this sort of aircraft would be perfect for a firing range demo ;-D.
Love your videos, Kermit. Keep 'em flying. "Cow crap floating down the street". If you're near L.A. or San Francisco it might not be COW crap!
I'm blown away by the attention to detail and bringing everything back to original, or as much as possible. This is first rate. AWESOME!
I imagine you could spend all your time flying around the world checking on all of your projects.
Incredible restoration. I love all the guns on this thing. Two R2800's is insane as well.
Had to laugh during the intro. The first time I visited Chino in the '80s it was flooding... and I was on a motorcycle. On the way home I rode from L.A. to San Jose at night through very heavy rain, using trucks as rain deflectors.
The residents of Chino are glad you live in Florida too, you poor little rich BOY!
My Favorite twin engine bomber ever! Awesome restoration! Looks like it is fresh from the factory!
Very cool, my Dad was an officer attached to a USAF A/B-26 unit in France around 1950 or 51. One thing I hope in your shop operations (particularly your engine shops) is that there is a good apprentice program for young mechanics so all this knowledge and expertise doesn't go away in a decade or two.
Breaks my heart that young people aren't interested. I'm 63. A couple of years ago, I worked with a twenty- something young man , big, bubba type, intelligent, but not STEM. Bottom feeder at an auto parts store. His father was an A&P that worked at a local FAA certified Sensenich shop that had just received a military contract. "Hey, why don't you go and learn how to overhaul, or otherwise, make propellers from scratch. (Like they do with wood ones...) Dad was for it... Skilz. make real money?" "Nay..." "Ok, so, become a certified welder! ( " "No, not interested...".If none of them are interested in this, there's no way they are interested in vintage aircraft...I generalize, but I look and there are no young people (Andrea is an exception,) in the videos...Learn a trade. Bring it to the table. Earn a good living. Be proud of what you do, Take all the time you need. But nope...(As an aside, I'm an engine guy. When I was a boy, my dad and I would spend hours around R-3350s and R-4360s...great times...)
Mr. Weeks, thank you for what you do for all of us "armchair" aviators. Regards from Southern California.
I’ve said this before, but I’m always amazed how Kermit keeps track of all his aircraft projects.. you really need to be on the ball regards progress and parts. Really appreciate that he films and uploads all this though.. Fascinating
Boy I cannot wait to see this fly. I've always loved the A-26.
Kermit: the savior of historical planes. Love your job and videos
Keeping these old birds flying ! Wow ,
Thank you, stay safe.
I have a feeling the nose art will be a bottle of Naked in Jamaica rum.
I don't know why it surprises me when I run into someone I'm subscribed to. Overlapping interests everywhere. Cody seems like he'd be subscribed to this channel also.
@@9HighFlyer9 It's crazy but you really can see how people have the same interests.
Reply
@TAOFLEDERMAUS
You're probably right but I'm guessing it'll involve a pretty girl with it somehow using the classic style.
it's just one big happy family!
Mr. Weeks. Thank you for the update, always a treat to have a tour in one of your airplanes.
That is a pretty cool A26 restoration, when I worked at the airport used to see A26s of Airspray take off with full loads of fire fighting retardant mix. You could hear the props bit into the warm summer air as they sped down the runway for take off. Even though I don't work on the real thing I do build scale models of aircraft and currently working on an A26. I eventually want to build 3 in total. While studying the A26 I have some interesting facts , WWII A26s flew into combat with mixed formations of glass nosed and gun nosed aircraft , so it is possible that gun nosed aircraft had only a crew of two maybe a third for training purposes. The glass nosed aircraft had a crew of 3 , the navigator/Bombardier, the sat in the jump seat during take off as it was prohibited to be in the nose on take off. The rear gunner position had some refinements later on possibly after the war ended, 1 was the introduction of the side fuselage door for egress purposes, originally the escape was through the bomb bay and the upper escape hatch above him. The canopy clam shell opening replaced the single large forward opening escape hatch, I couldn't image trying to open it at 100mph . When they changed the canopies the upper gun turret could no longer be locked forward as the rounds would hit the raised portion of the canopy. Apparently the under wing gun pods caused significant drag , interesting to note is that the 6 gun universal nose had 4 gun pods =14 gun or the 8 gun nose 6 internal wing guns =14 . This later configuration led to the use of 5in rockets under the wings . Hope this helps and I really like your Kermie cams .and your strive to preserve history .
Fabulous update video as ever Kermit - love these behind the scenes looks at the refurb shops out there, fascinating stuff....
1:02 - Florida isn't any better. Years ago, my girlfriend worked at a place on Old Tampa Highway near County Line Road, west of Lakeland. We had to drive past a dairy farm to get there. The heat and humidity of central Florida in the summer, combined with the steaming piles of cow crap, would bring tears to your eyes even in an air conditioned car. Lucky for you this is January, or you might be crying in this video. :)
I remember the last A-26 video. This bird has been in restoration a long time. Remind me again how many of these were manufactured per WEEK, during the war, then compare the two time frames. The sheer amount of effort put in during the war, in terms of man hours, is mind boggling.
18:27 - Nose art: The "Naked In Jamaica" banner with a pin-up girl and a bottle of rum. Take it off your taxes! :)
Thanks for the comments. Yep, Florida has its share of both rain and cow crap. I was just starting the clip with some humor. Anyway, you're not the first person with the Naked in Jamaica nose art idea. Hmm, who knows!
Very cool to see! My father flew the 26 for the Alabama ANG out of Birmingham in the mid 50s. He always spoke fondly of his time flying them. Looking forward to the day it's ready to fly again.
Thank you for posting and for the little details. I look forward to seeing your masterpiece fly.
Dammit that thing is complicated as hell, never expected that from a WW2 warhorse, impressive!.
Always enjoy your field trips!!
Hello Kermit Weeks. I enjoyed this video and glad to see that the A 26 is coming along. I look forward to your new videos and as I live in the Tampa Bay Area I was happy to visit Fantasy of Flight lite last month. I will of course plan on future visits to your facility. Hey man thanks to you for keeping aviation history alive. All the best to you.
You have such a beautiful collection of warbirds, and other old aircraft. Now all you need is a P61 Black Widow. It's my favorite WW2 fighter, next to the Corsair.
Jan. 31, 2019-----There's a P-61 almost fully restored at NAAM. What's great about it is seeing what it looked like being taken from the jungle in New Guinea, then to the museum. Then restoration photos up the gazoo which I copied all of 'em as I have yet to find a good reference on this plane for model making. Here's the link:www.maam.org/p61.html
You probably know, but Mid Atlantic Air Museum is (slowly) restoring one to flying status. Probably the last or next to last restorable P-61 around. They have a web site with a bunch of photos of the restoration if you poke around.
My Favorite of all your planes Sir. Thanx!
Agree with all previous commentary. Hats off to you and your extended team, for all you do. Your buddy Jeff Lynn and I, have our hands full trying to restore automobiles. This is a whole other dimension. Incredible skilled craftsman at work. Quite certain, this costs a kings random, but truly feel it's worth every penny.JTOrlando, Florida
I hope Kermit lives forever and keeps building up these planes. Idk how every multimillionaire in the world doesn’t have rebuilding ww2 planes as a hobby.
Really appreciate your sharing with us
Cool A-26 Restoretion Project! Thanks KERMIT.👍
Living the dream. How wonderful. Thank you Mr . Weeks for your dedication. 'and bank account" Thank you for all you do, enjoy.
O and thanks heaps for sharing with us! Loved that you have a CAC Sabre with the RAAF roundels, two 30mm canon and the Avon engine. I think that there is only one left flying here, you will look really good in one of those.
Great project!
That will be one cool baby! Best of luck Kermit for the a - 26!
Kermit , thanks for the update on the Douglas B-26 / A-26 . You always include rarely mentioned information on the aircraft being showcased , making it fun to learn more about the classic airplanes. During the later part of the program the subject of a name / nose art for the bird came up . Not sure if you know ?? There is book called " Talisman" by John M. and Donna Campbell . They put together a collection photos of WW II aircraft by category then type . They had found a number of B-26 planes entered into the light bomber section . Mentioning in case you decided to paint the plane so as to pay tribute to a specific aircraft from the war . Kind of like the Collings Foundation does with their birds . I hope that this helps . looking forward to more of your video programs .
Naked in Jamaica nose art maybe. Thanks Kermit for what you are doing love watching your videos.👍👍
You were here during are last storm, so it was early in the month! Wish you would have told me! I have an Chino Airport field pass too! Love the Seaplanes!
Wow...coming along nicely...the A-26 will be beautiful! I often wonder how many of these airplane restoration projects you have going? Thank you for saving all of these wonderful old airplanes...not many people doing it.
Have around 8 in restoration, or waiting, around the world, to go along with the 6 or so at FoF.
Kermit have those guys pull the plug and get ur done man.Take it to Oshkosh this summer. That would be really awesome.
So cool . Thank you for sharing.
Outstanding video update Kermit! What an incredible life you are living brother! Please keep sharing.
You came on our rain day!
Nice country smell.
Been waiting a while for this update but I can already tell it’s gonna be great
Thanks for the update! Much appreciated!
Thank you for updating us on what is happening! 👍
I like this winter,Kermit!👍
And your video is nice,as always!Wish you clear sky.
With best regards from Russia!😉
Well it's good to tag along with you buddy, to my amazement you are really knowledgeable on all these aircraft..... loved these vids...
Alright Kermit. Your museum is on my bucket list.. if not for a strong little girl in kitty hawk it possibly would have never happened at all. The write bros gave up many times thier sister held sway fortunately for mankind
Mr Weeks is being very kind with the feed lot smells description. There are probably maggots gagging on the side of the road.
Just love the A-26. Such a good looker! :D
After looking at a few cutaways and placement of the Ammo boxes and guns etc. I think it was just done that way for access or maintenance. Another pair of guns on the left, looks like it would block the Ammo boxes for the 1st pair, but who knows...
Oh is that rain?.We have it in Bergen Norway too,only here it is raining EVERY day!!!
I can’t even imagine the amount of time and money that goes into one of these birds!
Man I can imagine the pilot screaming "release the Kraken!!" When they pulled the trigger on those gunships. That's a lot of 50 cals.
That’s going to be a beautiful plane!
Also had to laugh when I heard Bruce Guberman's name. He was piloting the Seneca photo ship during one of my P-40 flights with Fred Sebby at Madera. I still have the photos... and the audio cassette of our dogfight when Bruce got on our tail, Fred jinked his way out, got on the Seneca's tail and yelled "TAKA-TAKA-TAKA-TAKA" over the radio! Good fun.
I used to work at Challenge Publications. I remember Ed S. very well. The rumor back then is he didn't like the A-26 because it was hard for him to get in and out of. I remember they had one of the B-25 motors in the back of our shop for a while.
I saw major progress in this unit. After Oshkosh you should get the gold from the Udvar-Hazey museum. Dead sexy piece of kit. Jeeze see if you can get a few thousand rounds of .50 ammo on eBay and really make a splash! A p40 at Wanaka ten years ago was loaded up and did a straffing pass both days- it was there if you looked and listened very closely but I think they may only have had two guns firing, I shall have to read my autobiography again to check.
Nice! Thanks Kermit!
Bf108 and the A26 are my current favourites ongoing Kermit projects. Too bad the A26 is a slow progress, but I thanks the vids anyway :)
Those "Happy Contented cows grazing on that lush green grass. Check out the 475th Fighter Museum in the Planes of Fame. My brother and I donated the field kitchen.
Gun noses on the B-25 & 26 might be macho but the glass noses are the classy choice. The exception to that would be a nose turret on the Catalina.
Been waiting on this one! Thanks Kermit!
good video
Love the A-26! I live close to Ellington field and attend the airshow every year. If you are attending the show this year, it would be great to meet you.
Chino has changed so much since my visit there. Let me date myself. The A-26 from the movie 'Always' was on the ramp.
Yes the air there is 'distinctly aromatic', but the Florida cows modify their flatulence by eating oranges...
I know you have your idea, but it is fun to come up with a plan B (or plan Z) for the nose art. I visualize a senior hillbilly and titled "Grampy Has Some Guns".
Stay dry. PS- just read the latest issue of 'FlyPast' magazine. The Lancaster FM104 is now in a British Columbia air museum and they hope to return it to the air. That is going to be a very difficult goal. After seeing the problems being exposed during the East Kirby/Panton NX611 Lanc, a machine that has been ground active for many years, the BC boys have a very formidable project ahead of them.
Hi Kermit. Great to see so much progress. Any news on the Meteor MKIV VT229. I spent a day cleaning that one when it was at Newark Air museum. The early jets are great looking machines and that is one I would love to see back in the air.
Thanks for sharing this Beauty. I liked and subbed to your channel 😃👍
Thanks for your support. Keep watching - more great stuff coming.
Kermit Weeks Hangar you’re welcome. I look forward to it
"..20 forward facing 50cals,thats a badass airplane!"-Kermit Weeks
Umbrella Corp Umbrella, nice
i went to the planes of fame airshow in 2017 and saw inside this hangar briefly and i wanted to see more so here my chance haha
I saw Special Kay a26 a few months ago.I'm friends with some of the guys in Fort Worth. I got to fly the DC3 demo flight at the Vintage Flying Museum. That 26 is way cool 8 guns on the front.
The difference is that in So California you never know when (or if) it will rain, and in Orlando you know it will rain at 3PM every day for 15 minutes and be done.
Boy, it sure doesn't seem like a whole year since the last update on this machine!
I was at Chino Airport over 30 years ago and I was wondering if they still had cows in the area and the smell I remember the smell you answered the question thank you
THIS MAN HAS A FRIKIN A-26!!!
that 1820 amazed me the end if not for the collings foundation B-17 could be for Classic Rotors for their Piasecki H-21 flying banana. as it used an enhanced B-17 engine which is a Wright R-1820 but the studs on the front reduction gearcase bolted the shroud for the cooling fan and the fan and the extension shaft that go to the rotor gearboxes. as the piasecki h-21 were the Boeing/Vertol 44A and 44B models as well. i seen in some videos of B-17 wrecks the crankcases of the R-1820 survive well but the cylinders and that broken off of them.
4:50 because there was a nose version that swapped the left guns for a 37mm cannon. And some others aswell.
You're a sick man Mr. Weeks. ...and I share your sickness. That is going to be a mighty cool airplane! ....sigh... You'd better look after your health so you can fly all these beautiful machines. Your KermieCam stuff is letting the rest of us peons imagine. Thanks for that! :)
a lot of the 826 and a lot of planes were modified and I really really like looking at that airplane it's a pretty much my hobbies.
Awesome video!! 😃 I love the A26 Invader! It's my favorite WW2 Bomber! I even love how she sounds and looks while flying! Quick question. Was the movie you were talking about called "Always" With Richard Dreyfuss, John Goodman, and Holly Hunter? About the Hot Shot Fire fighter pilot who dies saving his friend from an engine fire in the PBY Catalina and has to go back as a ghost to help another pilot to earn his Air Attack Card? That movie made me LOVE the A26 Invader 😍
Exquisite.
One of history's best, but tinged with a little sadness for me. The 'Sally B' and Biggin Hill would tell you why.
The people who flew aircraft like these for real over here will always be in my memories. Thank you USA. John UK.
(My Father, B17g 216 RAF 1943-5).
Com' on Mr. Weeks! The smell of cow manure? Wassamatter? You don't like milk? Or cheese? Or New York Strips, Ribeye's, or Filet Mignon? Didn't know that you were vegan...I love the smell of cow manure in the morning! All for fun!
That's what my comments were . . . all for fun!
When i lived in calif. We called it liquid sun shine.
You touched on a very serious subject; are we eventually losing these historical pieces due to lack of interest in younger generations. Slowly losing businesses that do the engine work is not a good sign. I hope it doesn't eventually end up where seeing one of these old war birds actually flying is a rare occurrence. That would truly be a sad day. A very recent poll showed that 2/3 of the current generation didn't even know what the holocaust was, or what Auschwitz was. My goodness, what is happening? Keep up the great work, Kermit!
What is going to happen? It is a frightening thought!
Hello cj,
Its not just aviation history, the youth have little interest in the automotive world too. If you're driving a 370 gross hp Pontiac 400 that will put a GTO sideways, a kid will yank that motor and drop in a GM all-electronic engine so he doesn't have to do tune ups under the hood. Just tap tap tap on a keyboard.
It’s not really a lack of interest, it’s becoming a lack of parts. Add the insane prices it costs to restore and maintain these pieces of history, not many can afford to do it. Then you need type training which I’m sure isn’t cheap. It stinks, but it’s an unfortunate reality.
That’s why people like Mr Weeks are so important to the aviation world. They keep resurrecting planes like this and take them to airshows to spark the interests of the younger generations.
Part of eating wonderful beef and enjoying dairy products . Cool plane
Yes indeed. I have cattle on my land in FL.
As if the bombs weren't enough, the amount of lead that this thing was capable of making rain is astonishing.
There's a reason they called it the Invader. :-)
Great update Kermit, going to be amazing to see it flying. Not sure if you will see this, but I had the opportunity to meet you recently and it was defiantly the highlight of our trip to Florida. However, there was one question I never got a chance to ask you while in, my flabbergasted state. How do you decide which aircraft to restore? Obviously, there is only so much time and money to go around, so how do you pick which ones are the lucky aircraft.
Haha what a fine day! 😂
You told them "You don't need the plane" so this is going to take a loooooooong, loooooong time before you see a working A26!.
As I watch this in North Queensland the noise of rain on my roof is syncronising with the rain on the video.
WOW! Now that machine packs some firepower. Remote turret guns too, plus bomb bay.
What was the number of crew to fly and operate this awesome plane?
Crew members could be 3 - Sometimes even 2.
Next time you make a visit of Aero Trader, make a video of their "desert boneyard". Most of the good boneyards in the world full of aviation stuff are all slowly disappearing.
“Hey, it’s Kermit, I’m here to see how my airplane is coming along”
“right on schedule ... it ain’t done yet!” 🤣
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How many aircraft restoration experts does it take to change a light bulb?
Just one .... but it takes a decade! 🤣
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I’m available for Weddings and Mizvahs
Tell me about it!
Great follow up Kermit on your restoration you must have one helluva memory to keep track of all these vintage aviation projects if not I'll volunteer.
It's not easy, especially getting older. They say there are three things that go when you age . . . the first is memory, and . . . ah, can't remember the other two.
3 rules of getting old (George Burns, I think): Never pass a bathroom - Never trust a fart - and Never waste an erection.