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Douglas A-26K Airborne...

ThinkingManNeil

ThinkingManNeil

Charter Member
An A-26K has been made airworthy...

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A restoration that has been in the works for 7 years! It is the only airworthy A-26K model/variant in the world.
 
Was there this morning for the first flight. Will be putting my video up on YouTube and Facebook when I get the spare time.

And, it drives me and some of the other Special Kay guys nuts when you call it an A-26K. It's a B-26K or A-26A. ;)
 
What is the history on it? The last time I saw an A-26 with tiptanks was at Saint Paul Downtown airport after it had broken a wing spar during a pull up at an airshow there in the 90's. I think it was part of some round the world race back then.
 
Those planes had a very impressive service history. By the time the B-26K saw service in Vietnam, the airframes were beginning to show their age. Still, they were used in many different roles including ops with the CIA. Good to see ol' "Special Kay" back in the air. Most of those B-26K Bombers have been stripped down and are wasting away in an aviation graveyard somewhere. Only a few left (Including the "On Mark" versions).

BB686:US-flag:
 
The aircraft is 64-17679 (N4988N). It was flown/ferried to Texas in 2010, prior to the restoration, but as the 7-years proved, it wasn't in very good shape by that time. It had last been parked in Billings, Montana, owned by Lynch Air Tankers prior to being sold to the current owner.

Here is what it looked like in 1997:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133813370@N04/31303112134/sizes/o/

And this is how bad it had gotten by 2008:
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000190876L.html

And a shot of the aircraft after it arrived in Denton in 2010, prior to restoration:
http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/000441452L.html

More photos here: http://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photos/N4988N:1.html
 
I am very familiar with the airplane when it sat on Denny Lynch's ramp in Billings. The company I worked for was right next door, and when I'd get to Billings....there she sat. Wonderful to know there has been wind under the wings again. Sometimes you see airplanes sit like that and you fear they will never get that opportunity again.
 
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