Spectre623

Well Sonny anybody who actually worked on A models when they had 3 bladed props (me) know that #1 blade is set at 3 o'clock to check the prop fluid. But the 3 bladed props are larger in diameter than the 4 bladed props so that is the problem. Already had people bang their heads on the props when a blade is pointing straight down and they aren't paying attention. So, for safety's sake we will put a blade straight up. I like them set like they just shut down myself but that won't happen. Bill 

Monday we painted the props and some touch up. Hopefully this is the last time we have to drag out the sprayer for anything big. Decided this morn to go with black on the props with yellow tips as seen in photos from Nam. Trying to stay true to the layout and colors while she was in Nam towards the end of the war. If ANYBODY has any photos or was connected to this aircraft during the Viet Nam war please get in touch with me with a PM. Thanks . Bill

It is water based dry fall paint. (not dry wall paint, ha ha) We did a few test with some samples some time ago and it looks to be very durable. Clean up is a snap since it is water based. Bill

Glad you like'em Sonny. This old warhorse deserves to be kept out of the scrap heap. It is great to work on her like this. I waited 20 years to do what we are doing at the museum lately. This is what we were going to do when we were planning to put it at the front gate at Dobbins ARB next to our B-29 when she flew in to Dobbins in Sep. 1995. 911 changed all that. Now it is outside the back gate in the museum which is a much better deal. Here is a scan of her last flight order bringing her to Dobbins. Call sign...Spectre23.  Bill

Today,Saturday, we finished up painting Ghost Rider in her all black Viet Nam era paint job. Had great help from the museum crew with the addition of one "New Guy". The lipstick, i.e. the trim is next and this old vet will look great. A couple more pics. from today. Bill

In the May issue of the Air Force Association magazine in the AF Senior staff changes it reads...Brig. Gen Paul W. Tibbets IV, from Dep. Dir. of Nuclear Ops. STRATCOM, Offutt AFB Nb. to; Commander, 509th BW, AFGSC, Whiteman AFB, Mo....how sweet is that?  Anybody out there get it?????? Bill

Another day at the museum. Made good progress today. A few more pics. Old 54-1623 is gonna get painted yet! Bill

Well today we started to paint Ghost Rider in the colors she wore toward the end of her tour in Viet Nam, solid black with red FT and serial number on the vert fin. We are lucky to have a pic of her in these colors while in VN. All other numbers etc. will be in red We at the Marietta Museum of Aviation pressure washed the old gray chalking paint off for these past several weeks and sanded her quite a bit. We had 2 sprayers going and covered a great deal in only 4 hours today. We had a great team working on the old Herk and it shows. Included are a few pics. Will keep the site updated as we gett'er done and put all the lipstick on. Bill

I see the 105mm cannon is removed. I read someplace they are going to be installed on the J models. Good deal. Can't have too much gun, anywhere or any time. Bill

Lots of luck Warbird pilot. Just an outside chance that the last outfit who owned the bird might still have them but is not likely. When this acft. was taken off the books all records would have been sent with the acft. to the Smithsonian or to the AF museum in Dayton or destroyed by the last military unit that owned it. When we got Ghost Rider, they flew it into Dobbins ARB and the only thing I ended up with was the 781 Forms and binder. Course we were going to display it not fly it...what are you going to do with it? Bill

Article in this months AF Association mag states that LT.Gen Clark ANG chief says AMP and other upgrades are a must for legacy C-130H's. Here we go again! Bill

Check for proper cleanness and lube on tracks ( full length of tracks), shoes and ball screws. That is a big issue. Are friction washers ok on ball screws? Bill

Using brakes in a sharp turn and fast taxi speeds puts a great side load on the nose gear causing possible gear collapse . Also in some cases you can roll the tire off the rim by side loading the tire in a sharp turn. Bill

Looking better Casey. Wonder about the Gallery though. Is it me or are the serial #'s loaded backward. Found 3010 Ghostrider on page 20. Otherwise glad to see the site getting back to normal. Thanks for all you do here. Bill

When I was on A models we always started them in Normal Ground Idle... just seemed the right thing to do ,ha ha. Bill

Hey Casey I like the new site, seems more user friendly. Thanks for all your hard work on the site. Bill

Hey Bob the FUT trainer 61-2369 was moved to Pope Field when Dobbins got out of the FTU business a couple of years ago. Bill

To BRLang. Billy I just saw an article on vietnamairlift.com with the same picture of you standing in front of the damaged Herk with the blown tires. The website owner is Alan Baker. Do you remember him? He says he was the AC on that flight. This may be the contact you need to prove boots on the ground. (Update... , Billy ,just read your last post and it appears you have your proof of VN service. Anyway, funny to see the same pic that you posted on another site.) Bill

To all you Viet Nam Herk Vets on this board..."Welcome Home Viet Nam Vets Day"! I didn't know we had one of these till today. Seems congress passed it in 2011. Better late than never huh? I feel so much better now. Bill

Fine looking job. What a fantastic looking paint hanger! Bill

Looks like the B-47 wings were sawed off. Might be impossible to rejoin them and be strong enough to support 6 engines, 2 ext. tanks and 2 wingtip outrigger gears, even for static display. Here is a pic of all the stuff hanging on the wing. Not us guys ha ha. Bill

When I close my eyes I see beer cans. Bill:(

If you could post the dates he was in Okinawa and Ubon, any order number and if you have a picture of him during that time it might jog someone's memory of him. If he has any boxes or files stashed away then dig through them. If you have what is called 'Blanket Orders" there may be names on them someone will remember. Hang in there Donna. Bill