TBM. Charlie J. Cartledge. Restoring. Grand Champion. and Flying a. Avenger. by Jim Busha

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Restoring and Flying a Grand Champion TBM Avenger by Jim Busha Charlie J. Cartledge from Wadsworth, Ohio, is a retired airline pilot who can t get enough of warbird flying.

He eventually returned to England to fly Wildcats, Swordfish, and other RAF types. My dad didn t just fly, though, said Charlie, because he ended up meeting my mother who hailed from Detroit.

1 Restoring and Flying a Grand Champion TBM Avenger by Jim Busha Charlie J. Cartledge from Wadsworth, Ohio, is a retired airline pilot who can t get enough of warbird flying. Charlie s father, Doug, was a pilot in the Royal Navy during WWII and was stationed in Canada and trained in Harvards for the war effort. He eventually returned to England to fly Wildcats, Swordfish, and other RAF types. My dad didn t just fly, though, said Charlie, because he ended up meeting my mother who hailed from Detroit. They must have hit it off because after the war my dad stayed in England with my mom, and then they moved back to the States and the two of them settled in Ohio on an island called Middle Bass on Lake Erie. My dad owned and flew an Aeronca Champ to get back and forth from the island to the mainland of Ohio. Eventually my dad taught my brother, Doug, how to fly, but because I was lower in the pecking order I missed out when my dad decided to sell the airplane. I eventually earned my pilot s license while in college in a Luscombe that my brother and I had restored and put together back in Charlie Cartledge 22 FEBRUARY 2015

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Charlie s warbird passion began right after he started flying. Charlie located a fellow on the airport who had an AT-6, and the owner took a liking to Charlie.

In 1979 I saw a ton of cool warbirds when I made the trip to EAA Oshkosh and the Warbirds area was flooded with cool stuff!

My dream came true in 1987 when my brother and I bought one that had come from Italy that had flown with the Italian air force.

5 Charlie s warbird passion began right after he started flying. Charlie located a fellow on the airport who had an AT-6, and the owner took a liking to Charlie. I got checked out in that Texan, and I thought it was a very cool airplane big, loud, and cool! That was the beginning of my warbird addiction, and it only got worse. In 1979 I saw a ton of cool warbirds when I made the trip to EAA Oshkosh and the Warbirds area was flooded with cool stuff! I got bit by the warbird bug hard, and that really got me interested in them. Since my father had flown Harvards it was a dream of mine to own one. My dream came true in 1987 when my brother and I bought one that had come from Italy that had flown with the Italian air force. It was a project airplane, and for the 26 FEBRUARY 2015 next four years we worked on it until we finally got it flying again. To show it off we flew it down to Sun n Fun in 1991 and wound up winning the Best T-6 with it. TBM Addiction The unfortunate part of the warbird restoration curse for many members is the fact that once you rebuild one project you tend to go stir crazy until you find another one. And Charlie was no exception. When we finished the T-6 project I couldn t sit still and began searching for the next project to work on, said Charlie. I saw a TBM Avenger at a local air show and was very impressed with its size and girth. I liked the fact that the wings fold; it has a bomb bay and turrets with machine guns in it, and that really got my warbird juices flowing. I became very interested in the TBM Avenger. Unfortunately, I had to put that idea on hold for about 10 years as life just got in the way with trivial stuff like house payments, AT-6 engine maintenance, and grocery bills. In 1998 Charlie saw an ad for TBM pieces and parts and decided to pull the trigger on becoming a Turkey owner (Editor s note: Turkey is the nickname of the Avenger.). I bought them because the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time, and I knew I had to start with something, said Charlie. I began to make some connections in the TBM community. Unfortunately, trying to locate a fuselage was difficult because the barrel was dry with none lying around to be found. The funny thing was that although there were no fuselages to be found, there were a couple of complete projects available. At first I said no thanks because I already had some of the pieces back home. But I eventually realized that I was looking for a needle in a haystack and settled for a mostly complete project owned by Wes McKinney that was sitting at Tom Reilly s place down in Florida. This particular TBM, by the Eastern Aircraft Division of General Motors, was built in early August 1945 as a TBM-3E. Assigned to the U.S. Navy it was given Bureau Number and had been stationed stateside in Atlanta, San Diego, and Seattle before being sold in 1956 with a whooping 623 hours on it. When Charlie bought it, the aircraft

had been in a state of restoration for about 10 years already.

Tom s guys had restored most of that area and had re-skinned about half of the fuselage and one wing.

There were boxes hidden everywhere, and I was told, We don t know where everything is, but if there are TBM parts here, they go with your project. If you locate them, they are yours!

6 had been in a state of restoration for about 10 years already. It had been a sprayer so all the turret area and the entire bomb bay door area had been cut out when it went through its conversion, said Charlie. Tom s guys had restored most of that area and had re-skinned about half of the fuselage and one wing. The turret had been restored, and the rest of the pieces had been scattered throughout the shop, outside, in the attic, and everywhere there was a nook or cranny to shove it in. There were boxes hidden everywhere, and I was told, We don t know where everything is, but if there are TBM parts here, they go with your project. If you locate them, they are yours! I became the proud owner of a TBM and spent the next winter making trips back and forth to Florida as I went on a big treasure hunt looking for TBM parts at Tom s place. Eventually by the end of 1999 I had most of the parts back home.... the only way to eat an elephant is one bite at a time... Restoring an Award-winning Turkey With a project of this magnitude, Charlie knew he needed help from anyone who would offer. Thankfully Charlie had all of the talent he needed located right in his own backyard as he began to tackle the project. One of my partners in crime was a fellow by the name of Terry Weyer, said Charlie. He assisted me in getting the big stuff back to Ohio safely. Terry and I did a majority of the sheet metal work at his shop. We had one complete wing to re-skin along with the tail services, the remainder of the other half of the fuselage work, along with fixing other earlier repairs. This was a huge time task just re-skinning the wing took over a year so if you get easily bored with something and need immediate gratification don t restore a warbird! Charlie also conned a couple of other retired guys into helping with the restoration of the TBM. One gentleman, Dick Rathmell, was an old Navy guy from the 1950s and was a crew chief on R4Ds and has had an interest in warbirds well before Charlie was born. He was out there almost every day, said Charlie, and did a lot of the paint removal, cleaning of small parts, and bead blasting. For whatever reason he stayed by my side from the day it arrived in Ohio until the day we flew it. An- 27

GREG MOORHEAD PHOTOS 28 FEBRUARY 2015 other partner in crime was a fellow by the name of Jack Metzger; he helped out when we began work on the fabric control surfaces.

7 GREG MOORHEAD PHOTOS 28 FEBRUARY 2015 other partner in crime was a fellow by the name of Jack Metzger; he helped out when we began work on the fabric control surfaces. They are big elevators, and there is a lot of rib stitching involved, and Jack jumped at the chance to pitch in and help. Actually I stepped out of his way as he came for a few hours at a time stitching away until they were all done. That really helped me a great deal. Throughout the next 14 years Charlie had all kinds of helping hands on his project. According to Charlie, restoring a TBM requires a lot of bull work, and this requires the lifting of very heavy parts and turning them over, and it s the only way to keep the project moving along. After the sheet metal work was done I moved on to the hydraulic lines, said Charlie. I had about three-fourths of the old ones that I used strictly for patterns as every line and fitting had to be re-made. After I finished plumbing the TBM I set my sights on re-wiring the beast. When I picked up the project the cockpit and bomb bay were both completely stripped, and there wasn t a fitting, a bolt, a panel, or a cable to be found anywhere. A lot of my time was doing some detective work trying to figure out where all these brackets went or what hardware was required. I burned the midnight oil studying the manuals and sneaking peeks of other TBMs at air shows and taking hundreds of photos of them. According to Charlie, fellow Warbirds member and TBM owner Tom Buck located in Joliet, Illinois, was a big help, as was John Lane of Airpower Unlimited in Idaho.

John was way ahead of me and had already restored a couple of TBMs, said Charlie, so I sent him some hydraulic components, and he restored them for me.

In order to keep the project moving along I decided to sell the completed one and start from scratch on the parts I had in hand.

I had the dome, frame, and the seat, but all the little pieces were the bigger challenge.

8 John was way ahead of me and had already restored a couple of TBMs, said Charlie, so I sent him some hydraulic components, and he restored them for me. I had a complete turret and had come up with a bunch of pieces for a half of one. In order to keep the project moving along I decided to sell the completed one and start from scratch on the parts I had in hand. When I began the project there seemed to be turret parts all over the country, but seven years later it was like it all dried up, and I had some difficulty locating the parts I need to complete mine. I had the dome, frame, and the seat, but all the little pieces were the bigger challenge. Thankfully I was introduced to turret guru Harland Avezzie of Massachusetts who has done a lot of TBM turrets in the past and has built B-17 and B-25 turrets from scratch. He was a great source for missing pieces and getting me back on track. Aero Trader in California formed all the Plexiglas for Charlie s TBM turret dome. That was the easy job as I had to paint all the strips and drill the hundreds of screw holes! According to Charlie the turret took almost a year itself to complete. With the turret done, hydraulics and panels along with the wiring in place, it was time for paint. Charlie decided on the tri-color paint scheme of VT-20 that was aboard the USS Enterprise during the August-September time frame of I also chose that scheme because one of the local vets, Dell Vernon, was a turret gunner in VT-20. His sight and hearing were both on their last legs, but he re- 29

ally came to life when he saw the TBM up close. He began talking about his experiences and opened up to his son who had never heard any of his father s stories.

His son learned that his father was involved with the sinking of a Japanese battleship.

9 ally came to life when he saw the TBM up close. He began talking about his experiences and opened up to his son who had never heard any of his father s stories. Dell spoke of being shot down and ditching, or the time he launched off the carrier and there was an engine malfunction so he went for another ocean swim. His son learned that his father was involved with the sinking of a Japanese battleship. It was pretty serious stuff that he opened up about, and like most of the veterans of any war, he still holds tight to some dark memories of lost friends and tragic events. Fortunately for us he brought along some old pictures, and one showed a TBF/TBM in a tri-color paint scheme with the number 95 painted on it. That s how we chose that scheme to honor those men that flew off the USS Enterprise. In the summer of 2013 the TBM was ready to fly, and Charlie was really hoping to make EAA Oshkosh that year. I was busy chasing minor squawks and didn t fly it for the first time until August of that year. Before I even cranked my TBM up 30 FEBRUARY 2015 I was fortunate to get some stick time in fellow TBM owner Brad Deckert s bird in Peru, Illinois. Brad is such a great guy, and he did an awesome job on his TBM as well. Eventually I got my type rating in Brad s Turkey and looked forward to flying my own. Getting the Turkey to Fly According to Charlie the startup procedure takes more than one person. I have people in front of me not only with fire extinguishers at the ready but with roving sets of eyes looking for anyone inadvertently walking toward the front of the airplane, said Charlie. Because I am up high and with that big Wright R-2600 radial engine out in front, I cannot see a thing. That s why the ground crew is so important with an airplane of this size. For start-up Charlie pulls the propellers through nine blades. Pulling those large blades through is a feat in and of itself as it takes two people to do, but according to Charlie, at least he gets his exercise for the morning! Once I catch my breath and I m strapped in the cockpit, its battery on, electric fuel boost pump on, mag switches off, yell clear, and then hit the starter watching those nine blades go by. While the big metal blades swing by I tickle the primer switch, which dumps gas into the lower section. After I count those blades, it s mags on, and after three more blades the engine should fire right up. Once it starts I have to tickle the primer some more to keep it running as I move the mixture to full rich. With everything running smoothly and the temps and pressures in the green, Charlie gives the ground crew the signal that he is going to spread the wings. Basically it s a selector valve that goes from fold to spread position. It takes around seconds for the wings to spread out

With the wings locked down it s time to taxi out.

10 Dell Vernon (top) standing by the TBM at roll-out and (above) Vernon during his military service days. and lock. To verify they are secure there is a mechanical cable pin that locks the lock pin to secure it. There are a set of warning flags that will remain up if the wings aren t locked. With the wings locked down it s time to taxi out. Charlie claims this seems to be one of the greatest challenges of operating a Turkey because you are literally blind sitting up there, and you can t see anything in front of you. When I got my rating the check pilot put me in the cockpit and drove a car out in front of me and said, Put your thumb up when you can see me. He seemed five miles away! It was eye-opening to me. S-turning will help but won t solve the problem; you start getting that tail moving around it s going to end up in the grass because most taxiways aren t that wide. That s the biggest challenge because the airplane is really pretty easy to fly. Charlie remarks that the takeoff is pretty straightforward because the TBM has a lockable tail wheel. Once that s locked and you have the clearance to take off, I use 42 inches of manifold pressure and 2700 rpm on the roll-out. I advance the power easy to get some air running around the rudder, and once I advance to my full power setting it actually pulls you back in your seat. For a big airplane like the TBM it s a real rush! By the time that big grin erupts on my face it s already flying and in the air. But Charlie s grin became even bigger at EAA Oshkosh 2014 when he and his TBM were awarded not only Grand Champion WWII, but also a well-deserved Gold Wrench award, too. Flying and restoring these treasures is a huge responsibility; if we don t do it, who will? I am blessed with the knowledge and the resources, so I feel it s an obligation to our country and more importantly to our veterans to help keep not only their memory alive but to also help Keep em Flying! 31

Georgie s Gal. Tribute to a friend. by Jim Busha. photos by Paul Bowen

Georgie s Gal. Tribute to a friend. by Jim Busha. photos by Paul Bowen 16 JUNE 2014 Georgie s Gal Tribute to a friend by Jim Busha photos by Paul Bowen In September of 2010 Paul Stojkov of Cleveland, Ohio, who happens to earn a living as a captain with a major airline, found