How well does a B-26 Invader fly?

------------

Because of an extraordinarily high wing loading of 58 pounds per square foot, the B-26 gained a reputation as being a widow maker. It flew more like a hot fighter than a lumbering bomber.

Ed Cregger

And, you can expect any sort of scale model to exhibit the same characteristics. Of course, some wing profile changes could make it substantially more docile.

Geezer

Thats not true..you could build it much lighter..I noted in a recent magazine a scale model of a WWI biplane, Around 45" span.

I would power that size biplane with a geared electric motor of about

From what I've read (Smithsonian Air & Space for one) despite its quirks, more Martin B26 crews came home in one piece than did the crews of any other allied bomber, so they weren't ALL bad! Also, nobody says you've got to build a model with scale wing loading. Build it light and you'll probably have a unique, delightful model. (Not one for a beginner, though!)

Ummmm..not sure...

"B-26" and "Invader" don't match...

The "Invader"' was an A-26.

A-26, flies on rails, keep it fast...

Dave

This is confusing enough for anyone to mess it up.

To the OP, read this page, and see if it helps the understanding level.

It get confusing, where the A-26 gets the B-26 name, after the Martin B-26 gets retired.

Did I get that right? I'm not sure, myself.

I recall (didn't read it all from this site) that the original A-26 got part of it's bad reputation early on, and that some aerodynamic changes (added wing area-longer wing? - washout?) were made to make it more manageable. I could be wrong about that one. I could not find anything about what I recalled, or perhaps I was thinking of another plane.

It was definitely not a slow lumbering B-17 or B-24. If a pilot treated it like one of those, they would be scraping him off the runway, soon thereafter.

So, the question is, do you want to model the Martin B-26, the Douglas A-26, or the Douglas B-26? Humm, so many choices, so little balsa wood! :-)

I just looked at the numbers...didn't pay any notice to the name.. And, you're right on both counts.

Geezer

Seem to remember an A-26 met its end at an airshow in the Uk just a few years ago when it was being displayed and just would not pull out of a dive, not quite aure what the pilot was up to but he got a free pair of wings all of his own, regards, Terry

Charlie --

The only model B-26 that I have ever seen was about ten years ago. It was scratch-built by the late Col Art Johnson. It flew quite well (until he lost an engine on one takeoff and wisely went straight ahead. Unfortunately, there was a barbed-wire fence in the way. He rebuilt it and flew it later with no significant problems.

I think there is some confusion here concerning the two aircraft. There was a Martin B-26 "Marauder" which was referred to in it's early life as the " Widow Maker". They made some changes to the aircraft and it became a much better flying machine. After the Martin B-26 was retired , the Douglas A-26 Invader which was an attack aircraft, was redesignated to the B-26 "Invader". Lot of information on the aircraft here.

A friend of mine was and instructor in the MARTIN B26 MARUDER at McDil

early in WWII when the motto "A plane a day in Tampa Bay" originated. He was later transfered to the DOUGLAS A26 INVADER and flew it as member of the squadron that briefly flew it in combat late in WWII. was in the Air Force when the A for Attack was deleted and the A2 INVADER became the B26 INVADER. To further amplify the confusion, the for attack designation reappeared during Vietnam and the DOUGLAS B2 again became the A26 invader. Lots of confusion as to wihch was th B26 back then too.

My friend said that the probem with the Martin B26 was in th inadequate training given it's pilots, not the airplane

-- Chuck

----------------------------------------------------------------------- ChuckA's Profile:

Thank you very much to all who posted replies to my inquiry. The A/B-26 Invader has always seemed to me to be a very pretty plane. I have seen several offerings over many years for kits or small flying models of various kinds of A-26 Invaders. In the last few years there was a construction article in one of the magazines of a very-stand-off scale version of the A/B-26 that did look good and reportedly flew well. I have still wondered why no one in the national competitions ever seemed to do a version of the A/B-26, and I would love to see it in the Vietnam era "K" model especially. I love to build, am not a good pilot but get a lot of help, and one of these days intend to create a version to my own satisfaction of the A-26K. There would still seem to be a reason why no one else ever seems to be interested in this design. Lately with good electric engines it would appear to resolve the famous fear of an engine failure on takeoff. With a relatively thin airfoil the jet jocks could have a very fast plane. I am thinking of a NACA

Charlie:

Check out rcgroups.com for a video of an A-26 flying. It looks great. You will want to go to that website and check out the forums. You want the video forum for which you need to scroll down toward the bottom. The A-26 video is on page 2.

Harlan