Critical
Mass Air Racing T-6 First Flight
 Back in June, we
showed you photos of a "new"
T-6 pilot getting qualified for race
week, 2003. (click here for PRS
photo feature) What we could not show
you, because it was not yet completed
(the paint on Ken Dwelle’s hands
bore proof of this fact) and was sitting
in the Dwelle hangar in Auburn, CA.was
the "new" T-6 raceplane that
Ken Dwelle would fly this year.
Actually,
our involvement with this project goes
back even further, when we got our first
look at the new bird, under construction,
during our 2001 visit to the Dwelle
hangar (click here for
2001 story, T-6 photos are near
the bottom of the above linked page.)
It’s
always wonderful when a new entry is
completed, flying and race ready, and
this year, as the clock ticks down to
Reno ’03 qualifying day, we’re
going to let Ken and his dad, Tom Dwelle
tell the story of this new racer in their
own words.
 Ken Dwelle:
"Flew the T-6 Yesterday
after 3 1/2 year ground up restoration,
first time the airplane has flown since
it left the Navy in 1946, 57 years ago. I
rigged all of the controls and trim tabs
box stock neutral by the book. The T-6
has only ground adjustable aileron tabs,
so I set them up neutral as well. The
airplane flies hands off, and absolutely
straight. We got lucky with those wings.
First
flight was about 3:30 PM yesterday. (20
Aug) The DAR showed up at 1:00 to issue
the Airworthiness Certificate. Then by
3:00 we couldn't think up anymore excuses
so I strapped in and launched. Dad chased
in the Bonanza with Tommy on board.
Orbited
over auburn for about 20 min to be sure
the motor was not going to come apart
then proceeded to Lincoln, 12 miles away.
En route I did some clean, then dirty
stalls to verify the airspeed, and the
gear and flap operation then landed at
Lincoln to check the plane over. All was
good.
 Launched for
Auburn, and landed after another 30
minutes of testing. Got 3 landings and 1
hour on the plane yesterday, and 2
landings, 30 minutes today. Other than a
fuel pressure adjustment, I have no
squawks.
Really
satisfying to spend so much time on a
project, then have it all work perfectly,
I've been grinning all day.
The Sea
Fury is cowled up and ready to fly, we
are just waiting on one more pump from
RB. Probably fly this weekend. All the
ground runs are complete and motor is
running great."
 Tom Dwelle:
"Our T-6F flew yesterday
for the first time in 40 years. It's name
is "KITCHEN PASS." It's not too
fast and uses lots of oil, but really
fun.
Caution:
When at Reno, do not, repeat, DO NOT come
around in a white shirt or anything else
you don't want to get ruined by black-ass
60 wt. AeroShell.
Ken bolted
a bunch of old parts together out of our
junk and it flies pretty good as a matter
of fact. We think we can win the
‘slug race.’  "
 Well there you have
it.. The "sandbags" are already
being filled, a new racer is ready for
action and the competition in the T-6
ranks just grew by one more
airplane…
See ya at
Reno ’03!
Story By:
Wayne Sagar,
with much help from Tom and Ken Dwelle
Photos By: Ken Dwelle,
Tom Dwelle
and Brian O’Brien
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