OFFICIAL Me 262 PROJECT UPDATES

The latest production news, direct from Paine Field.

25 DEC 01

• MERRY CHRISTMAS! Here are two new bits of information to help brighten your holidays ...

  1. After many months of secrecy, we are pleased to announce the identity of White 1's test pilot: Mr. Wolfgang Czaia. Czaia is a man of impeccable credentials, having flown a wide variety of commercial and military aircraft over the course of his flying career. A retired West German Luftwaffe fighter pilot who flew everything from the F-84 to the F-104, Czaia went on to fly for American Airlines as a Check Airman in the B-757 & B-767 aircraft. He continues to fly high-level corporate executive aircraft, and is known internationally in fighter aviation circles, having also flown with such prominent agencies as NASA and the Russian Gromov Flight Research Institute. We will feature more information on Czaia, and his thoughts and impressions upon entering the flight test program in the near future.

  

  2. White 1's new civil "N" number has been announced. Officially, the jet is to be registered as N 262AZ. Arizona -- the future home of the aircraft -- gets a little play here.

13 DEC 01

• BLUE NOSE NEWS Our first jet emerged form the paint hangar today, and is now wearing it's JG 7 delivery scheme as White 1. Photos to follow in a few weeks. The crew is now working to insure that all the fittings, nuts, bolts, safety wire, etc. are as they should be in anticipated of power on and taxi tests. The fuel and control systems are also being checked out in preparation for a very anxious test pilot.

27 NOV 01

• NEW PHOTO SERIES Given the possibility of some additional delays, we have made arrangements to post an unscheduled photo update covering the work performed in October and November. Watch for the new pages sometime in early December.

12 NOV 01

• PROGRESS REPORT The first jet has been completed and is now in the paint shop. We expect it to emerge in about two to three weeks, and will be posting a series of new photographs as quickly as possible.

21 OCT 01

• FLIGHT TESTS TO BEGIN SHORTLY After years of effort, we are pleased to announce that we are literally just a few weeks from entering the final phase of the project. Stay tuned!!

• FINAL ASSEMBLY PHOTO UPDATE  Our last photo update before commencement of the flight test program has been posted. Look HERE to see the new material.

30 SEP 01

• We have continued building aluminum fuel tanks for airplane #1 and have installed the main tank already.

• Much of our manufacturing activity is concentrated in the build of the nacelles and engine cowls. All of these have to be made by hand and are very labor intensive due to many compound contours.

• Our newly designed steel framed windshield frames have been completed and acrylic window panes have been cutout and installed.

• Slat manufacture is now proceeding with the arrival of all of the components from our new subcontractor. Outboard slats are being installed while work continues on the building of the inboards.

• Paint Hangar "paint window" has been negotiated with our contractor for airplane #1 and paint supplies are ordered. Our target for complete exterior paint is still in the month of October.

• Engine runs and ground tests are in the scheduling process and are being targeted for November/December timeframes.

• BLUE NOSE NEARING COMPLETION We have just paint stripped Blue Nose to get her ready for the paint hangar. It is now anticipated that we will send the aircraft to the paint shop at the end of October.

• NEW PHOTOS NOW ONLINE  We recently completed our gallery updates, adding some 50 images of the work in progress.  You may access the new material HERE.

05 JUL 01

• NEW PHOTO GALLERIES COMING  As the work to complete Blue Nose continues, we are also in the process of preparing an extensive photo documentary update for the site.  This update will also include applicable retroactive text updates for the past 90 days.  Thanks for your patience! 

 15 JUN 01

• BLUE NOSE NEARING TAXI TESTS  The blue nose airplane draws nearer to completion every day, and is now undergoing engine fit-ups.  We expect to have the jet ready for the paint shop within the next few weeks.

• JV-44 VETERAN VISITS  Former Luftwaffe Me 262 pilot Franz Stigler recently paid a visit to our production facility, along with a small German delegation representing the owners of the Red Nose airplane.   Oblt. Stigler was a veteran of some 450 missions, primarily with JG 27, and a multiple ace with 28 confirmed victories.  Stigler was ultimately assigned to the Me 262, and spent the final weeks of the war flying with Adolf Galland in JV-44 -- the "Squadron of Experts." 

 26 MAY 01

• ENGINE FITTING UNDERWAY  We have begun fitting the J-85 powerplants to the Blue Nose machine.  Additional details and photographs to follow later in the summer.

20 APR 01

• MEETING IN GERMANY  The webmaster recently had the opportunity to spend two days with the Me 262 Project's Chief Test Pilot at the Luftwaffe Symposium in Speyer.  Watch for a series of perspectives "directly from the cockpit" as the test flight phase progresses later this year.

• ME 262 PILOT VISITS  We were recently visited by Dr. Hans Mutke, the former Luftwaffe pilot perhaps best known for his Mach 1 claims in the Me 262.  Mutke was at the controls of White 3 when it was surrendered in Switzerland near the end of the Second World War.  This airplane is now on display in the Deutsches Museum in Munich.

03 MAR 01

• SITE UPGRADES POSTED  We have (obviously) completed our site redesign well ahead of schedule.  In this, our first significant revision in more than two years, we have attempted to update every page to reflect the most current data, and to improve navigation and usability site-wide.

• EARTHQUAKE STRIKES AREA  Despite Wednesday's major earthquake (and the fact that we were only 70-80 miles north of the quake's epicenter) there was no damage to any project facilities or equipment.

• We continue to expend most of our energy on systems work, as the structures themselves are largely complete.  The only remaining structures issue at the moment concerns the attachment of the leading edge slats.  On the original aircraft, these were simply spot welded into position; however, we may consider a slightly different means of attachment, as the welds are proving problematic to duplicate.

24 FEB 01

• Here's a quick rundown on our main activities and accomplishments this month ...

- We added some experienced structural mechanics to wing manufacture after losing our lead wing mechanic to illness. 

- We are doing detailed inventories to assure ourselves we have the needed components to proceed.

- The main landing gears that appeared complete indeed were not, and have required "rework/remanufacture" of several key components.

- The majority of our effort is once again on Blue Nose, as we removed all of the installed controls and reworked several connections and controls.  The reinstallation of these controls is nearing completion and we are very satisfied with the results thus far.

- Engine rebuilds are ongoing for two engines in California.  We anticipate actually hanging the engines on Blue Nose during March and April. Ground testing could begin as early as this summer.

- All in all, the need for rework and rebuild of critical components has still been slowing us down, but we are putting the safety of components first rather than making do with components that may be questionable.

07 FEB 01

• Admittedly, it's been quite some time since we have posted any significant updates.  This has happened on occasion in the past; however, the latest "blackout" was more the result of the recent ownership change (finally completed on 10 January 2001) than simple oversight.  Further complicating the situation was the fact that our primary "P.R. man" and esrtwhile webmaster was offline for an extended period in conjunction with a household move to the Federal Republic of Germany.  These events served to put us out of the information dissemination business for much of December and virtually all of January.

• The timeline ... where's the promised timeline??!!  In the past three weeks alone, we've received more than 100 such inquiries via e-mail.  The short answer is that this may be delayed even further, pending issuance of a Memorandum Of Understanding with the new ownership.  In the interim, here's a quick rundown on the latest developments with the "blue nose" jet down on the shop floor:

- On the 31st of January the front main fuel tank was fitted into the fuselage without difficulty.

- The elevator and rudder linkages were completed on the 30th of January, following an extensive rework of initial fitting done several years ago at TAF.

- On the 26th, we conducted engine run ups without the Jumo 004 castings installed.  Tests revealed a minor linkage problem, which is already well on it's way to being completely resolved.

- We are presently in the process of making the fittings and connections for the pumps and fuel lines that go into the 900 liter front main tank ... being a critical area in terms of flight safety, this is expected to take some additional time.

- Although not yet scheduled, engine run ups will soon commence with the Jumo castings installed, and mounted upon the aircraft.

30 JAN 01

• We are pleased to announce that Classic Fighter Industries, Inc. has transferred total control of the effort to the WTMF owner's group, and the project will henceforth be known as the "Me 262 Project."  We anticipate no further changes in either ownership or future staffing of the effort. The work continues, undaunted.

View the 2002 Updates Archive

View the 2000 Updates Archive

View the 1999 Updates Archive

© 2001 Sabre Design Group . All rights reserved.