Soon after, the Dixie Wing of the CAF was assigned the stricken P-63, and the aircraft was trucked from Missouri to Georgia in the December of 1996. Here it has remained, with serious restoration work begun in 1999 and continuing through today.  As with all aircraft this age, there are no new parts mass-produced -- any part that is missing or damaged must be repaired, salvaged from another aircraft, or hand-made to the original specifications. This is a very long and delicate process, but it is fueled by dedicated volunteers who devote their spare time to get this rare warbird back in the air. Only a handful of the 3,303 Kingcobras produced from 1942 to 1945 are flying today, and we at the Dixie Wing are doing all we can to restore this aircraft to its former glory.

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Project Status

Parts - Needed and For Sale or Trade

Other P-63s Currently Flying or in Restoration

Project Status

This project is still far from being completed, but much headway has been made since the aircraft arrived at the Dixie Wing in 1996.  At that time, all of the major subassemblies were present (wings, fuselage, empennage, etc.), but many smaller parts were missing.  Still more of the parts that the project had were damaged or badly corroded.  This corrosion was complicated by the P-63's construction -- several of the skins and smaller castings were made from magnesium, a readily available, cheap, and lightweight material that unfortunately suffers from serious corrosion over time.  Since its arrival at our facility, we have spent much of our time cataloguing what parts are missing and remanufacturing some of the missing or corroded parts.  A brief discussion of the progress made with the various subassemblies is described below, and will be updated as time permits.  As of 2002, we estimate that five more years of serious restoration work is required until this aircraft flies again.

Fuselage

Much of the recent work has focused on the forward and rear fuselage subassemblies.  At this time, the aft fuselage was mostly completed and has remained idle since 2001.  Work on this subassembly included restoration of systems within the aft fuselage (radio bay, dynamotor mounts, control system, oil system, wiring) as well as replacement of all nut plates and several Dzus fasteners.  Some restoration work was required on the sheet metal fairings, and the ventral fin was removed, restored, and riveted back into place.  All that remains is some work on the oil tank and a few control system bellcranks that have to be remanufactured from aluminum.  The thumbnails below are linked to pictures of progress made on the aft fuselage.

The forward fuselage subassembly has been the focus of recent work.  Several parts have come up missing, especially on the underside where the oil cooler and radiator bays are located.  Several parts and panels have been remanufactured for the underside and are awaiting installation at this time.  Some corrosion was found on the rear wing spar, and efforts are being made to grind this corrosion out and create a suitable repair.  The engine compartment mounts have been completely restored, and systems are slowly making their way into the forward fuselage.  Much work has been done on the electrical and control systems.  The forward compartment, which houses most of the fixed armament and nose gear, has also been worked on extensively.  Work has been put into restoring the nose gear door and oxygen system located in this compartment.  We are planning on building or affixing nonfunctional weapons in this location such that the aircraft appears authentic.

Still more effort has gone into the cockpit.  Most of the cockpit components were missing when we received the project, and at this time we have rebuilt the control panel and trim pedestal to the original specifications from scratch.  The rudder pedal wells, another example of a magnesium component, were recently reproduced from aluminum and installed.  Unfortunately, we are missing the entire rudder panel assembly and are searching for a replacement at this time.  We are in the process of sending out each instrument that we have for restoration and calibration.  The pictures below show the forward fuselage as it stands currently as well as some detailed photographs of the bays in restoration.

Wings

The wings, like the rest of the aircraft, currently suffer from some damage due to corrosion.  At this time, most work has gone into disassembly and diagnosis of the extent of this corrosion damage.  Some parts have been remanufactured for both wings, and extensive work has begun on patching and rebuilding the wing skins and ribs.

The wing subcomponents have seen major work as well.  The wing tips have been fully restored and are awaiting installation.  One of the wing flaps have been completely reskinned (the skins were formerly made of magnesium) and the other is close behind.  At this time, restoration work has commenced on the left aileron, which again includes the construction and installation of a new aluminum skin.  New canvas seals need to be manufactured as well, and the entire aileron will have to be rebalanced when all other work on it is completed.  The pictures below depict the current status of the wings and their various components.

Empennage

The horizontal and vertical stabilizers have been all but completed as of 2001.  Both were in relatively good shape upon their arrival at the Dixie and required only a few months of work.  They had some hangar rash that was smoothed out without the need for reskinning, and most of the hardware was replaced (nut plates, bearings, bonding straps, etc.).  The elevator and rudder need to be covered with fabric but are otherwise complete.  The horizontal and vertical stabilizers are now temporarily fitted and set aside in a corner of the hangar on display.  Some pictures of the empennage in its current state can be found below.

Propulsion Systems

The original Allison V-1710-93 engine installed on this Kingcobra came to the Dixie Wing with the rest of the project.  However, the engine has shown some signs of corrosion, and it is known that the engine was underwater during the 1995 flood of the Mississippi River.  Therefore, we sought a new engine from CAF headquarters, and in late 2000 acquired a zero-time Allison V-1710-111 engine which was originally meant as the right-hand engine on a P-38L Lightning.  This engine will require a complete overhaul but appears to be in great shape.  When overhauled, we will have to remove the reduction gear case at the front of the engine and attach the 11-foot extension shaft to the engine crankshaft.  This extension shaft will mate with a remote reduction gear box at the front of the aircraft, which we have in storage.  When completed, we will have approximately 175 more horsepower than a "stock" Kingcobra.  This is because the V-1710-93 is rated at 1325 hp at takeoff, while the -111 is rated at 1500 hp.  However, there is little to no physical or mechanical difference between the two engines, so it will still properly integrate with all of the components and systems on our aircraft.

Nothing as of yet has been done with our propellers or hub.  We need to x-ray the propellers to check them for damage and, like the engine, will have them overhauled when the project is nearing completion.  Unfortunately, we do not have the proper equipment in our shop to overhaul our propellers or engine, and so we will have to farm these jobs out when the time comes.  The same is true of our engine extension shaft and reduction gear box.

The pictures below show the different propulsion systems in their current state.

Parts

Do you have a barn full of P-63 parts?  Did you just buy a pile of parts and find something that goes on this aircraft?  Are you restoring another aircraft and want to trade or sell some of your P-63 parts?  Are you restoring a P-63 and think we might have some spares to trade or sell to you?  Maybe you're working on another airplane that we have spares for as well.  Check out the lists below to see what we need and what extras we have, and contact us if you want to make a sale, trade, or donation.

P-63 parts we need Updated 25 January 2005

P-63 parts for sale or trade Updated 25 January 2005

Other P-63s Currently Flying or in Restoration

There are currently three or four P-63s that are flightworthy and another five or six in restoration (including ours).  A brief description of each of these aircraft, along with hyperlinks when appropriate, can be found below.

P-63A-1 S/N 42-68864

This aircraft, dubbed "Pretty Polly," has the distinction of being the fourth production P-63 to roll off the assembly line.  It is one of the many aircraft operated by the Palm Springs Air Museum owned by Mr. Bob Pond and is flying today.  Click on the thumbnails below for larger pictures of this aircraft.

P-63A-6 S/N 42-69021

This P-63 was recently restored for former astronaut Frank Borman by Square One Aviation.  Square One did a fine job completely restoring this aircraft.  There are some questions about this aircraft's online records, so at this time we have been unable to assess if this aircraft is actually P-63A-6 42-69021, P-63C-5 43-11223 with the ventral fin removed, or a restoration involving both airframes.  It is currently flying and is owned by Mr. John Bayley of Idaho according to FAA records.

P-63A-7 S/N 42-69080

This aircraft is named "Fatal Fang" and is thought to be in flying condition, though little is known if it actually flies.  It is displayed at the Yanks Air Museum and is owned by Mr. Charles Nichols by FAA records.

Image Credits: Warbirds Resource Group Aircraft Registry (1), private source (2 - 4)

P-63A-10 S/N 42-70609

This aircraft was put together from parts purchased from Russia by Mr. Gerald Yagen of the Fighter Factory in Suffolk, Virginia.  This project is not currently airworthy.  More details on this project can be found at the Figther Factory's P-63 site and their trade list.

Image Credits: Gerald Yagen

RP-63C-2 S/N 43-11117

Souces indicate that this aircraft is registered as N91448 and owned by Mr. Kermit Weeks of Polk City, Florida.  Though its status is unknown (restoration to airworthiness or static display), this aircraft was seen at a recent airshow in Florida (Sun-n-Fun, April 2003) and it did not appear to be airworthy or undergoing substantial restoration work.  Parts of this airframe have been merged with parts of wrecked P-63C 44-4181 to create the P-63A clone seen below in Russian markings.

Image Credits: Warbirds Resource Group Aircraft Registry (1), Nick Borer (2)

P-63C-5 S/N 43-11137, S/N 44-4315, S/N 44-4368, S/N ??, S/N ??

This lot of five P-63C Kingcobras was purchased from Russia by Mr. Daniel Hunt in the hopes of restoring one complete aircraft.  The airframes currently reside in England as Hunt continues to gather parts and information for the restoration of these aircraft.

P-63C-? S/N ??

Gosshawk Unlimited, Inc. is currently restoring a P-63C recovered from Russia.  The current status of this project is unknown, though Gosshawk maintains a site for the project.

This is another P-63 operated by the Commemorative Air Force and is stored at the West Houston Squadron's facility.  It was one of two P-63F models built as a test airplane for the different vertical tail (among other improvements) to be implemented on the P-63E-5 model.  The E-5 was ultimately cancelled due to the end of the war.  This particular P-63F flew as an air racer at the start of its civilian life, and is still flying today with the CAF's P-63F sponsor group.

P-63E-1 S/N 43-11734

This aircraft is currently in restoration at Aerocrafters, Inc. in Santa Rosa, California.  It was one of the two P-63E-1 models modified with a second passenger cockpit in the aft fuselage.  The placement of the cockpit in the aft fuselage was necessary due to the mid-engine location and thus the passenger cockpit did not have any control runs.  Aerocrafters, Inc. is currently restoring this P-63 to its original, single-seat configuration for a private party.  The specific site for this aircraft is located here.