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1934 P-26D MAYOCRAFT
Peashooter Reproduction Airframe:
All metal construction Engine:
Pratt & Whitney R-1340 AN1, 600 hp Propeller:
Exterior:
Paint scheme in 1st Pursuit Group, 94th Squadron,
This reproduction is patterned after the famous Boeing P-26 “Peashooter”
an interwar aircraft built for the pursuit of other aiplanes, hence the “P”
designation. This restoration is faithful not
only to the overall appearance of the P-26, but also to most of the fabrication methods at
the time of its manufacture. According to Mayocraft’s founder and principal, Nate
Mayo, “The P-26 represented the state of the art for the early 1930’s in
aircraft design, so we thought it was an eminently worthy subject for a tribute.” Indeed, for a brief time, the
P-26 was the Army Air Corp’s first line pursuit fighter and the fastest of its type
in the world. However, rapid advances in aeronautics at that time soon rendered it
forgotten, eclipsed by more powerful designs that drew heavily on the P-26’s
parentage. A few P-26’s survived into WWII, but today only two original examples remain. Mayo brought to this project his
own lifelong experience in manufacturing, engineering, and rebuilding historic airplanes,
both on his own and for former clients like Collings Foundation whose fleet of vintage
WWII aircraft appears at Airshows nationwide. Also, according to Mayo, “For safety
and performance’s sake we made selected improvements. Alclad 2024-T3 aluminum was
used throughout instead of the Dural of the 1930’s because the modern alloy is 20
percent stronger. The main landing gear wheels and brakes are adapted from a Cessna T-50.
The engine exhaust is made from a stainless steel alloy specially formulated for aerospace
applications. For a few non-structural elements, in place of metal we formed fiberglass.
The engine and propeller are the same as employed in the T-6. We adapted a different
airfoil shape to the wing that should make the bird a little easier to fly and land than
the original. Mayo calculated that, because of these improvements and the fact that the
Peashooter does not have the armament that was originally needed in the combat airplane,
“it will have a performance about 10 percent better than the original. Last but not least Mayo credits a
small but dedicated group of volunteers that have shown up at his shop at least once a
week for years on end – and one able person did many hours of CADACM work at home.
“Really, without the help of all these people, this project would have never seen
completion. Or, it would have at least taken more than my lifetime!” EQUIPMENT: An inspection of the
aircraft’s construction details reveals what can only be described as a labor of
love. The MISCELLANEOUS: PERFORMANCE: SPECIFICATIONS SUBJECT
TO VERIFICATION UPON INSPECTION |
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