FHCAM Me-262 Presentation

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This was filmed this past Saturday at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum's Me-262 "Sneak Peak" event, which included a discussion about the restoration by senior project manager Jason Muszala along with a question and answer portion with Jason, Steve Hinton and Tim Morgan. Test flying is anticipated to begin later this year or very early in the coming year. Test flying will be performed at Moses Lake, WA, with 10-15 test flights expected to be required before they are satisfied with moving the aircraft to the FHCAM home base of Paine Field in Everett, WA, where, depending on how things go, the aircraft will continue to be operated on a limited basis (as is the case with all of the FHCAM aircraft that fly). The newly-manufactured Jumo 004 engines, using proper metals, have an estimated life expectancy of over 300-hrs before overhaul (compared to just 25-hrs with the original WWII-manufactured engines).

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20 years 6 months

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Phew -- there was a post earlier on somewhere saying they thought it was going to be a one flight only aircraft.

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I wonder why they opted for the four 108 cannon nose, was this not a recon bird originally. ??

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It gained the fighter nose/lost the recon nose while it was being evaluated at Freeman Field in 1945/'46. Supposedly the fighter nose had come from the Me-262 that is now at the Smithsonian. It then kept the fighter nose all the way up to 2000 when Paul Allen acquired it, and he wanted it to remain with the fighter nose through the restoration. If I understand the history of the airframe correctly, it was originally manufactured with a fighter nose, first flying on March 14, 1945 at Memmingen, Germany, but then was likely sent to Eger-Cheb, Czechoslovakia for the addition of the camera nose before it went into operation.

BTW, yes it was a warbirds news website that postulated (but seemingly wrote as fact) that the aircraft was only going to be flown once, and it didn't take long for that information to spread out far and wide. Unfortunately it has also led a lot of people to now mistakenly think that the FHCAM Stuka will also only be flown once, which is completely baseless. One of the questions in the Q&A is why is it that they're going to be flying their rare Me-262 (and fly their original Fw-190A-5 as well), when they've always stated that they don't fly their Fw-190D-13 due to its rarity. Jason Muszala answers that by stating that it is really due to the fact that the Fw-190D-13 restoration was done before they purchased the aircraft, outside of their control, and it was never fully completed to fly, so if there ever was a decision made to make it fly, it would require a restoration program all over again.

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Good that they're going to fly it more than once. And what a fantastic sight that will be (next to the Stuka, of course!)

The statement about the D-13 makes perfect sense.

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18 years 5 months

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One comment caught my attention about the possibility for flight restrictions around Paine Field for the Me-262. But I hope they sort that out.

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Thanks John never new that, I wonder how those engines will sound??

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18 years 5 months

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Good that they're going to fly it more than once. And what a fantastic sight that will be (next to the Stuka, of course!)

The statement about the D-13 makes perfect sense.

I am not certain that the Jumo 213 on the D-13 was given a proper overhaul and inspection, along with the full testing program for flight certification. When it was back at Gosshawk I remember reading that the Jumo was "gone over" again. All new wiring and fuel tanks were installed in it, as if it was intended to fly again though. So I think to fly the D-13 the restoration would have to be performed again to some degree.

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Also at 1:26:28 in the video, they kinda comically acknowledge that there is an He-111 sitting behind the crowd. Just don't ask about it.

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I really enjoyed Steve Hinton's detailed description on the technique they've developed, through trials, on starting and operating the engines, and how they won't "grown or moan" when things are done right. He has a great understanding and a lot of experience with vintage jet engine types.

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Also at 1:26:28 in the video, they kinda comically acknowledge that there is an He-111 sitting behind the crowd. Just don't ask about it.

Looks like a CASA to me - the props look like the type fitted to the 2.111.

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Looks like a CASA to me - the props look like the type fitted to the 2.111.

Based on a earlier spy photo, it is a CASA. (Edit: Based on photos from someone who attended the lecture, it is definitely a CASA 2.111 and the cowlings are installed over the Merlin engines.)

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Can someone please remind me of the history of this particular airframe?

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18 years 5 months

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Can someone please remind me of the history of this particular airframe?

Here is a link to a video of the preview lecture on August 30. They discuss the history of that particular airframe, colors, etc in the first part of the presentation. Detailed discussion of the Jumo 004 engines starts around the 35 minute mark. Steve Hinton discusses future test flights and engine performance later in the lecture.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ABmCXwX_UA

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The aircraft is WkNr.500453, which was confirmed when it was under restoration in England, with the numbers showing up on the wings when they were disassembled. According to information presented by FHC's Cory Graff, the aircraft was first test flown on March 14, 1945, at Memmingen, Germany, by Messerschmitt test pilot Otto Kaiser. Little is known about the aircraft's military service with the Luftwaffe, but it was found by the Allies near Lechfeld, Germany, fitted with the camera nose, which was a post-production modification typically undertaken by Lufthansa at Eger-Cheb, Czechoslovakia. After being found by the Allies, the aircraft came under the control of the 54th Air Disarmament Squadron, at which time the name "Connie...the Sharp Article" was applied to the nose, named after the wife of the 54th's Master Sgt. H. L. Preston. Later, the aircraft was made ready for ferrying by the 86th Fighter Group and was re-named "Pick II" by 86th FG pilot Lt. Roy Brown (who had previously named his P-47 "Pick" after his wife's maiden name Pickrell). The aircraft was flown from Lechfeld to Cherbourg, France where it was loaded onto the H.M.S. Reaper on July 19, 1945, with 40 other aircraft (including the FHCAM's Fw-190D-13) and shipped to the US.

Once in the US, WkNr.500453 was sent to Freeman Field for evaluation by "Watson's Whizzers" under the command of Col. Harold E. Watson. At Freemon, the aircraft was given the designation of FE-4012, some refurbishing was done, and also during this time its camera nose was swapped with the fighter nose from another Me-262, that being FE-111 (WkNr.500491), which today is displayed at the Smithsonian. From Freeman the aircraft was flown to Patterson Field where it was flown on classified tests against the Lockheed P-80. At Patterson and Wright Fields, the aircraft was flown for a total of four hours and forty minutes over the course of eight flights. The trial flights were put to a stop in August 1946 after there had been four engine changes required during the course of those test flights, resulting in two single-engine landings.

At that point, with the Army through with testing the aircraft, it was given to the Hughes Aircraft Company. I remember my dad telling me of it when I was young, and it has been a story that has stuck with the airplane for many, many years, that Howard Hughes was possibly interested in entering the aircraft in the Thompson Trophy race, and that he was discouraged from doing so by senior military officials due to the P-80 being entered in the same race. It could all just be nothing more than a story, but its a story that has been around a long time. While with Hughes, the aircraft's engines were run, but it was never flown. In 1949, Hughes' movie company, RKO, received permission to use it as a film prop in the movie "Jet Pilot". When filming was completed in 1951, the Air Force was no longer interested in the aircraft, so RKO donated it to the Glendale Aeronautical School for use as an instructional airframe. In 1955, Ed Maloney acquired the aircraft and it was put on display at his Planes of Fame Air Museum. During its time with the Planes of Fame, being a static display piece, some restoration work was performed over the years, but it was never fully restored nor operational.

The aircraft was acquired by Paul Allen in 2000, for his then newly begun "Flying Heritage Collection". The project was sent to England where the main airframe restoration was performed by JME Aviation Ltd. It then spent a brief time undergoing further work at GossHawk Unlimited in Arizona before it was finally moved to Morgan Aircraft in Arlington, Washington where the final work has been taking place for the past 6-7 years. Meanwhile, all of the engine researching, reverse-engineering, manufacturing and testing was taking place by Aero Turbine in Stockton, California.

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Thankfully Ed Maloney had the interest and foresite to save many interesting ww2 aircraft.
Here is my photo, taken Aug/Sept 1962, of the Me262 while on display in his first museum at Claremont (LA) California.
Mike
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I read recently that the 004 was designed by Anselm Franz who went on to design the M-1 Abrams tank engine! (Among others!)

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It is impressive work. Not sure why the apparently successful engine running and testing is not celebrated with some good quality Youtube recording release? Yes, yes, they want to release the sound and vision in a slick choreographed event when it flys. Well, I think they are missing something here because the enthusiastic public can absorb all the info that they can possibly release without effecting the impact of the event, when they fly it, one jot! In fact, I would say the limited release of info and video is actually a downer on this operation!
Also, they need to get their info about the history of gas turbine development up to scratch. There is no merit in denouncing the early use of the centrifugal compressor in the Allied (actually British developed) WW2 Jet aircraft. The early British centrifugal jets were designed to be reliable and, they certainly succeeded, whereas the 004B was unreliable to the point of minimising the effectiveness of the 262. Additionally, notwithstanding Steve Hinton's liking for the F86, maybe he should remember that the Mig15 with the Russian built RR Nene centrifugal turbojet was outperforming the F86 until about the mid 50's. So, some balance of the reasons why things were done as they were should be understood. The axial compressor was a pig to develop. The centrifugal was easier, robust, cheap and until the early 1950's was not outclassed in achievable in-service aircraft performance. The Me262 with the Jumo 004B is an amazing and historic aircraft. I wish the team the best success with this and their other flying exhibits. :)

V

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18 years 5 months

Posts: 233

It is impressive work. Not sure why the apparently successful engine running and testing is not celebrated with some good quality Youtube recording release? Yes, yes, they want to release the sound and vision in a slick choreographed event when it flys. Well, I think they are missing something here because the enthusiastic public can absorb all the info that they can possibly release without effecting the impact of the event, when they fly it, one jot! In fact, I would say the limited release of info and video is actually a downer on this operation!
Also, they need to get their info about the history of gas turbine development up to scratch. There is no merit in denouncing the early use of the centrifugal compressor in the Allied (actually British developed) WW2 Jet aircraft. The early British centrifugal jets were designed to be reliable and, they certainly succeeded, whereas the 004B was unreliable to the point of minimising the effectiveness of the 262. Additionally, notwithstanding Steve Hinton's liking for the F86, maybe he should remember that the Mig15 with the Russian built RR Nene centrifugal turbojet was outperforming the F86 until about the mid 50's. So, some balance of the reasons why things were done as they were should be understood. The axial compressor was a pig to develop. The centrifugal was easier, robust, cheap and until the early 1950's was not outclassed in achievable in-service aircraft performance. The Me262 with the Jumo 004B is an amazing and historic aircraft. I wish the team the best success with this and their other flying exhibits. :)

V

The only video of the 004 running was about 7 seconds of starting and that was put on Twitter by Mr Allen himself. The engine had not even spooled up. Not a single video of an engine running is disappointing, especially since AeroTurbine put 30+ hours on the 004s before they were delivered back to the project.

Which also brings up that the Jumo 211 for their Stuka project has already been test ran, certified and delivered back to the museum without a single picture or video of it running. Hearing a 211 in full song should be part of the experience.

Vintage V12s is also close to testing a Jumo 213 but I am starting to have my doubts that any video of one running properly will be published.

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With you on this DoraNineFan.

V