When the P- 38 arrived at the shop in Minnesota,
Erik was working on the P- 40, so the only thing that
got touched on the Lightning was the removal of one
panel to see what it looked like inside. When no one
was around, he would go over and sit in the Lightning’s
cockpit and dream.
Erik said there is a big difference working on a P- 38
compared to a P- 40. “The P- 40, to me, is 1930s technolo-
gy with hand-braided control cables and levers, 78-degree
rivets, which don’t exist anymore. There is nothing auto-
matic on the airplane. Even the cockpit is unfinished so
you can see all the structures right at your feet. The P- 38
on the other hand is much more advanced, with the use
of 100-degree rivets and Phillips head screws. The P- 38
systems don’t even compare to those on the Warhawk.
The hydraulics, wiring, and plumbing on the P- 38 is
much more complex and, unfortunately, a lot more chal-
lenging. One P- 38 system is like working on three P- 40
systems all at once.”
The crew at Warhawks Inc. had a goal to bring the
P- 38 to AirVenture Oshkosh in July 2007. They were
fortunate in that the entire structure was in relatively
good shape, with the exception of the control sur-
faces, which they overhauled. Erik was the only guy
in the shop who had worked on a warbird before,
but that didn’t stop the enthusiasm of his coworkers.
Everyone in the shop worked hard on the project,
and most worked weekends to get the airplane ready
for AirVenture.
“By the time July rolled around we were down to the
wire as the P- 38 flew to the paint shop in Michigan nine
days before Oshkosh,” Erik said. “I have to give the guys
at Sturgis Aviation credit because they pulled off a small
miracle by getting it painted in seven days.” The Lightning arrived on time at AirVenture.
Phil High
How does he feel to have been a part of the restoration?
At 27, he says he had to pinch himself as he stood in front
of the P- 38 at Oshkosh. “I am having the time of my life
working on these wonderful old airplanes.”
The Pilot: Kevin Eldridge
“I guess you could say I stumbled into aviation back in
the 1970s when I started hanging out with John Malo-
ney, Steve Hinton, and his brother, John, at the Chino
Airport,” said Kevin Eldridge, chief pilot for the Planes
of Fame Air Museum. “I started volunteering at the
museum, and eventually they offered me a job to work
on these old airplanes.”
Kevin had never been in an airplane before. His first
ride was in a North American O- 47, and after that flight
he was hooked. He earned his pilot certificate and began
flying the Air Museum’s World War II-era fighters and
medium bombers. His favorite single-engine fighter is the
F8F Bearcat, because the airplane “fits you like a glove and
it does everything you want it to—climb, dive, and turn—
and it does it very fast.
Craig Vanderkolk
“By comparison, the twin-engine P- 38 Lightning is
a big airplane,” Kevin continued. “The Lightning is
another one of my favorites to fly. When you’re strapped
inside the cockpit you have a lot more room to move
around.” He said the hardest thing to get used to when
flying the P- 38 is the use of a yoke instead of a stick.
“Forward and sideward visibility wasn’t as good as I
UPPER: Ruff Stuff serving as the focal point at the World War II
reenactment area on the AirVenture grounds. LOWER: The
meticulously restored controls and instrument panel.
thought it would be primarily because of the upward
angle of the wings and the position of the engines. The
canopy bars on the windows reduce visibility as well,
especially when flying formation, so you just have to
find a good sweet spot and stick with it. But all in all the
P- 38 is a great airplane to fly.”
