Two Changs a'Flying

On the second day of Cold War Air Museum Christmas,
Jon and Miles gave to me,
"two CJs flying".

(With apologies to The Twelve days of Christmas Song)...

Christmas eve and Christmas day saw a rare sight in Dallas - SNOW. But as you can see from these pictures, by the next day it was all gone. With the weather cold, clear and calm, Jon and Miles took the opportunity to take to the air. Miguel had a chance to go along with them and we thank him for these pictures. You can see more of his photos on his Flikr pages. Without much narration, this post is simply dedicated to the fun of flying.

The day was beautifully clear and the moon was visible in the sky.

The long lens on Miguel's camera makes the aircraft appear much closer than they are.

Miles smiles, looks like they had a good day of flying.

In the calm air, the vortices from the propwash are clearly visible when Jon turns on the smoke.

Mi-2 Steps Out

We completed the test program hours on the Mi-2 in time for it to go to the Midway Balloon Festival last weekend.

The helicopter was a hit with everyone who came by. Bord 211 is the only Mi-2 currently being flown to U.S. airshows.


For most of us who grew up with the dream of flying, it is a lot of fun to see kids smile when they get the chance to get close to a real plane.

The CJ was also at the event. Opening the cowling around the engine gives many people a chance to actually see what an aircraft engine looks like, especially a radial engine. These girls were happy to pose while their mom took their picture, even though it might look like the plane was trying to scoop them up inside it. One small youngster who came by had his own view though, he named the plane "the broken plane" because it didn't look right to him. After that pronouncement, the cowling went back together for the rest of the show.

Corsicana Airshow

The community of Corsicana, Texas is about 50 miles away.

Our CJ-6 attended their annual fly-in this year as it has in the past.

A number of WW2 aircraft flew in from around the state.

An L39 from the museum, made a brief visit with a fly-over and "touch and go" at the airport.

The event drew a nice crowd from the surrounding area. Unfortunately, we have heard that some communities are cancelling events this year because of the economy and the difficulty of finding sponsors. Those who are holding events however are saying that attendance is good because families are interested in events such as these where they don't have to travel very far or spend much money for a day of fun.

Community airshows often have other things to enjoy as well, like cars, motorcycles and RC model planes. And, as Jon pointed out in an earlier post, plenty of ice cream and junk food to consume.

CJ6, Take Two

We often have two CJ's going to events together. That always makes a special hit and people love to ask questions about them. This CJ is also the second CJ to belong to this particular owner.

While it is sometimes confused with the Russian Yak 18 and that lineage has been debated. The Nanchang CJ-6 should be recognized as an indigenous Chinese design. It's predecessor, the Nanchang CJ-5, was a Yak-18 design built under license.

When advances in pilot training brought a need for a new aircraft with improved performance and tricycle landing gear, the PLAAF (Peoples Liberation Army Air Force) engineers brought the CJ6 to life. Featuring an aluminum semi-monocoque fuselage with flush-riveting throughout and a modified Clark airfoil with pronounced dihedral in the outer sections, the design was transferred to the Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing factory in May of 1958 and the first prototype flew on August 27th the same year.

Initially, production aircraft were equipped with the Housai HS-6 radial engune, a locally manufactured version of the Soviet AI-14 260 hp radial. In 1965 the HS-6 engine was upgraded to 285 hp and redesignated the HS-6A. Equipped with the new engine, the aircraft became the CJ-6A. Total production is estimated at more than 10,000 aircraft including exports worldwide. As of 2007, the Nanchang Aircraft Manufacturing Company was still manufacturing the CJ-6G, a modernized version featuring increased power, a strengthened fuselage, bigger fuel tanks, and other modifications. For CJ-6A flight characteristics and other specifics, click on the museum web page link at the end of this post.

The CJ-6 makes extensive use of pneumatics to control the gear, flaps and brakes as well as to start the engine. An engine driven air-pump recharges the system, if air pressure drops too low to start the engine, the on-board tank must be recharged from an external source. In sub zero climates, air start was more reliable than battery starting an engine. Most of the former soviet aircraft at the museum share an extensive use of pneumatics.

This CJ-6A is currently flying and often used in flyovers, formation flights and aerobatic training. It carries on the tradition of the Nanchang CJs by being reliable and ready to fly at a moments notice. It is shown below exchanging lead in a formation flight during the Lone Star Red Star fly-in and formation clinic last year.

"Bord LN" was recently restored and painted at Long's Aircraft Service in Coleman, Texas. Randy also restored the Fouga CM-170 located at the museum for another previous owner. Randy based the paint scheme for this CJ on a T-34 he saw at a Navy Base in Florida. That T-34 was used to clear an aerial gunnery range before practice and the Commander (not to mention the pilot) wanted a high visibility paint scheme so the aircraft could be seen in case the live fire exercise was started before the aircraft left the range.

For more information and pictures go to the museum's CJ-6A web page. For related posts, click a label below.

Smoke on

A Smoke system adds visual impact by leaving a trail of smoke behind the aircraft.

Although not normally used on the ground, Jon demonstrates the smoke system on Bord LN as he taxis past the museum.


Smoke is generated on props and jets by injecting a light weight oil, "smoke oil", into the exhaust. The oil is stored in a separate tank and an electric pump is used to spray the oil into the exhaust stream. Viewers generally enjoy the smoke and it can be especially effective when used in certain maneuvers such as the "Missing Man" formation. It is more difficult to generate a smoke trail from a helicopter because the big fans on top and at the tail tend to blow the smoke in different directions.

Bluebonnet Air Show

Despite a low overcast ceiling, the Bluebonnet Air Show in Burnet, TX was a resounding success. Jon took CJ-6A bord LN out to the show and was joined in formation by Mile's CJ, 7NF. The show featured a demonstration by the USAF West Coast A-10 team, parachute jumpers, and a large number of WWII warbirds. A P-40 can be seen in the background between the two Changs.

The CAF squadron at Burnet was kind enough to fill up the smoke tank on bord LN, some of which may even be left when Jon gets back to Lancaster. :-)


Of course, one of the biggest reasons to go to air shows is for the junk food. Bluebonnet did not disappoint. Here, Jon is seen participating in that age-old tradition.

Gainesville MOH Parade

We are fortunate to be able to help honor Medal of Honor recipients in our area. At Gainesville, Texas, a special program honors these heros every year. Eleven of 105 living recipients attended the event.

Here three of the four CJs at the event are lined up together. The red and white aircraft, museum Bord LN led Yak flight "Bravo", the second flight of CJs and Yaks. Although the weather was windy and overcast, many aircraft made it in for the event.

On the ground, the parade lasted for over an hour. There where many parade vehicles, including privately owned ex-military vehicles and motorcycles (275 motorcycles from the Patriot Guard riders, were expected). In the air there were five "flights", helicopters, L19s, T6s, CJs and Yaks.

Mike, a Red Star flyer and flight leader of Yak flight "Alpha" gave the main briefing to a room packed with crews from the eighteen aircraft participating. After his brief, the group split into individual flights for further briefing.

Although these aircraft are technically CJ's and not Yaks, the call sign "Yak" is often used because it is easy to understand on the radio. Here "Yak 5" is on the inside of the final turn to the parade route. This aircraft was the third CJ licensed in the United States and has been flying here (with different owners and paint schemes) for about 20 years.

"Yak 6" is shown here on the outside of the final turn to the parade route. This ship was selected to perform the "missing man" maneuver on the last pass of the day.

A Clean Machine

Volunteers at the museum finished cleaning and polishing several more aircraft this weekend.

One of them was the CJ-6A, museum "Bord LN"

Our student volunteer Rene enjoyed a flight after a hard days work. The aircraft rely shine after these guys work them over and we appreciate their careful work.