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Wind N Wings SNB/RC-45J Recovery Project In late December of 1999, Wind N Wings Museum was made aware of the availability of 3 Model 18 (C-45) Twin Beech aircraft in Lake Charles, Louisiana. As the Twin Beech holds a particular soft spot in our hearts a reconnaissance mission was quickly organized and we left Atlanta for Lake Charles. Unfortunately the museums U3-B (Cessna 310D) was on another mission so, in a rented 182RG we set off. 3.9 hours and a stiff neck later (better than average head winds) we arrived at Chennault Jetport and ventured off in the Chennault Jet Centers loaner car. You are likely to see many references to Chennault Jet Center in this narrative. Suffice it to say that they have been a wonderful group to work with and have helped at every turn. Our particular thanks go out to Jeff Hardy and Janise DeVillier for all their comfort, company and eagerness to assist We quickly located the 3 aircraft and, after a quick run to the closest Hamburger Joint, began the inspection. What we found were 2 Navy SNB-5’s and one Navy RC-45J Twin Beech’s in non-flyable but good sound structural and restorable condition. Initial inspections found little to no corrosion present in any of the airframes, engines were free and making compression and the 2 SNB’s already had the AeroSpace Spar Strap and Civilian registry. We removed the spar inspection panels on all three aircraft in order to get a good visual on them and found everything to be just fine in there. Even the RC-45J, without the spar strap, had a good-looking main spar and carry through. All three aircraft were overhauled at Navy Pensacola in 1962-1963. Now we were getting excited. Please see pictures 1, 2, and 3. On our return to Atlanta (3.1 hours: The front had come through) we had plenty of time to think things over and decided we wanted the RC-45J for the museum. It still has the original military radios and racks and functioning
camera-bay doors in the main fuselage.
Further discussions (Funny what long plane trips will do to you) determined that we were not likely to get the aircraft we wanted if we made a bid on just that airplane, so, we decided to bid on all three in the hopes we would get one, particularly the RC-45J.
Wind N Wings promptly put together a “Tiger Team” to go to Lake Charles and begin the disassembly and transport process. It should be noted that we had intended to make ferriable one aircraft and fly it home. Now that we had three, we couldn’t get all three ferriable in the time frame allotted to get the planes off the airport. So, tools, vehicles, and other assets were taken to Chennault and personnel were ferried via the U-3B. The first three trips were used to remove and transport wing panels, control surfaces, instruments, etc. back to Atlanta and to relocate the fuselages off of school grounds to another location on the airport. Subsequent trips were used to remove and transport the Engines & Props and prepare the fuselages for transport. We have been very fortunate to have met such good people in Lake Charles. Along with the Jet Center People, we have had the pleasure of working with Brian Donham and Randal Forest. Brian, acting as our Lead guy in Lake Charles, and Randal are students about to graduate from Sowela with their A/P licenses and have provided a ton of work on site and all the local coordination of resources. The Chennault Airport Authority has been very cooperative and supportive of our project and made us promise to bring the planes back for inspection upon completion. The Wind N Wings crew began the process of transporting the airframes themselves. When a suitable transport firm could not be found, Wind N Wings engineers and fabricators went to work constructing a transport jig, which allowed us to transport the airframes intact from Lake Charles, LA to Atlanta, GA. Please see pictures 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9.. 3/26/2000 This weekend was a significant milestone for the project. The Wind N Wings team left for Lake Charles with the newly fabricated "Transport Jig and support equipment and successfully transported one (1) RC-45J fuselage 758 miles from Lake Charles LA to Woodstock GA with no incidents, accidents or injuries. (It should be noted that some “Brain Cells” did perish on one or more evenings.) The overall dimensions of the transport unit are 12' 5" tall, 14' 4" wide and 34' long. Total weight (not counting the tow vehicle) does not exceed 6000lbs. See Picture We arrived at the airport Friday morning and began to make the first aircraft (RC-45J) ready for loading. The fabricated engine mounts and attach points went on without a hitch. The pre-determined method looked more and more like it was going to work. (Always a plus). The Transport Jig was erected to the trailer. After only a few "On-Site Modifications and Enhancements" to some of the lifting components, we were ready for our first attempt to set the airplane on the jig. See Picture It was getting late in the day, but by 6:30pm local time and no less than six (6) individual instances of putting the airframe in position and lowering it back down, the RC-45J was resting securely in "The Rig". Prior to rigging the lights and signs, we took the rig for a test spin around the airport. Fortunately there is lots of room and open space at this airport (Former SAC base) so we were able to get up to highway speed for an extended period of time to see how it handled. The good news is, all the math, computer modeling, research, etc. paid off in spades. The tongue weight, Load CG, etc. came in exactly as anticipated and planned. This was cause for celebration, so we knocked off for the day. Saturday started early and we made ready for the trip. We stored all the equipment in the trailer and rigged the signs and lights to the trucks and chase vehicles. By Noon on Saturday we were off. One Twin Beech and one chase car. Saturday night found us in Denham Springs Louisiana. Sunday morning we took off at first light and pressed on. Sunday travel is restricted in some states so we elected to hold up outside of Mobile. Up till now, we required only one chase car. The balance of the trip would require two. Lance McAfee of Southland Aviation, www.southlandaviation.com, flew down to St. Elmo's local airport in Alabama where he dropped off Cathy and picked up Ed who had to be back at his real job on Monday. We had called the FBO from the truck to get directions so we could meet our people there. The weather was less than wonderful and told us we may not want to come. We told them we were coming in with a Twin Beech and they said "Oh Yeah! Bring it on." What we didn't know was, EAA Chapter 1209 was having a weekend Fly-In and were very excited about the prospect of a Twin Beech. What they didn't know was, we were bringing the Beech in on a truck. Needless to say when we and our support aircraft arrived at the same time, and they saw the Beech on the trailer, a good laugh was had by all. They were wonderful people and we are likely to make that a regular stop for the next 2 airframes. The folks at Gulf Helicopters and EAA Chapter 1209 were great. They pointed us in the right direction for motels, food, etc. Even told us where more Twin Beech's were lying around. We thanked them but thought we had enough for now. They even gave us a little "Show Gas" for bringing the RC-45J to their fly-in. Monday morning there was an incredible thunderstorm, but as most Southeast storms do, passed quickly and we were on our way by 8:00am local time. See Picture The rest of the trip was uneventful and made it through to Atlanta without incident. This is no mean feat considering the nature of Atlanta Rush Hour traffic. As we pulled into Woodstock (5GA4) we had quite a reception committee and the trip completion ceremony began. 4/3/2000 On our second trip we were able to leave Friday afternoon and arrive at Chennault Saturday morning by 8:00 am local time. Having had the benefit of experience and learning curve, the second airframe, the first of the SNB's was loaded to the Transport Jig in less than 4 hours and on the first lift attempt. We had brought another engine hoist with us in order to speed up the process. This in conjunction with another custom built adaptor for the tail wheel fork added additional stability to the platform that allowed us to have the second airframe loaded, wired and ready for transport in less than 8 hours with only 2 people. The weather was ominous this particular weekend, but we were very fortunate in that the terrific storms in Gulf States were either above or behind us at every turn. The trip home was uneventful for us, although we are certain it was quite an event for several motorist along the way. We arrived back in Woodstock, GA and got everything un-hooked and secured exactly 1 cold beverage before the rain began. Two down, One to Go! 4/17/2000 Our third and final trip we were able to leave Friday such that we arrived in Lake Charles that same evening and were able to begin setting up at Chennault Saturday morning by 7:00 am local time. Having had the experience doing this twice before and the modified spondivot, the third airframe, was loaded to the Transport Jig in less than 3 hours and on the first lift attempt. The entire transport preparation process now only takes 2 people 4-5 hours total to make the plane ready to move. The weather was good albeit a little windy that weekend, so we elected to leave that same Saturday afternoon in order to buy as much time as possible. Other than a blown tire on the trailer which we replaced in less than 10 minutes, the trip home, again, was uneventful for us. We pulled into Air Acres with the last of the airframes to a rousing ovation and subsequent celebration. Now the real fun begins! |
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