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The fuselage secured to the trailer. At Warbird Adventures, the Allison engine will be removed and replaced. (RMP)

The P-40N's fuselage is separated from the wing. It was a tight squeeze getting the fuselage clear of the wing and then out the hangar door. (RMP)

CURTISS P-40N BONNIE KAYE HEADS TO A NEW OWNER -- BUT NOT BY AIR

BY RALPH M. PETTERSEN

After completion of a ten-year almost total rebuild by Chris and Gail Kirchner, Curtiss P-40N USAAF 42-105120/ N692CK Bonnie Kaye made its first flight from the Leeward Air Ranch in Ocala, Florida, on 11 January 2016 flown by

noted Warbird pilot Mike Burke. After the flight Burke commented, "This is a particularly fast P-40 -- certainly the fastest of the ones that I have flown and Chris and Gale have done a great job getting the plane back in the air."

Over the next few days Burke flew

Les Chapman's crew made the moving of the one-piece wing look easy. (RMP)

Once out of the hangar, the next challenge was to position and secure the fuselage on the lo-boy trailer. (RMP) 24 WARBIRDS INTERNATIONAL/October-November 2018

Completely loaded, the Warhawk heads toward I-75 for the trip to Kissimmee. (RMP)

off the necessary hours required for FAA certification with no significant issues and the aircraft was offered for sale.

The Warhawk was recently sold but during the pre-buy inspection, metal was found in the oil of the Allison V-1710 engine, which only had the flight test hours on it. The original plan

was for the airplane to be flown to its new home in south Florida but this obviously was now out of the question and All Coast Aircraft Recovery was contracted to disassemble and transport it to Kissimmee where Thom Richards and Warbird Adventures will reassemble the Warhawk, replace the engine, add wing fuel tanks, and add a second seat.

The crew from All Coast arrived on

an early March morning and by the early

afternoon the aircraft had been disas-

sembled and loaded on a lo-boy trailer

for the road trip to Kissimmee. It was a

bittersweet moment for Chris and Gail

but they were happy that Bonnie Kaye

was going to an owner that planned on

regularly flying the Warhawk.

WI

25

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