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 From Winter '97 Bronco Flyer  

Meet Rafael Colunga
Then and Now

Meet Rafael Colunga
Don Overfield

Rafael was completing his 20th year for North American and 10th year on the soon-to-end Apollo Program when he saw an article in the company newspaper on the Venezuelan OV-10E production. Prior to Apollo, Rafael was a North American Aviation technical representative ("Tech Rep") working on all models of the F-86 fighter and also on the GAM-77 Hound Dog missile.

The Venezuelan program was perfect for Rafael. He was of Cuban descent and could read, write and speak Spanish. He also had considerable experience in Spanish-speaking countries where he had worked as a tech rep. Rafael applied for the job and was quickly accepted.

When Rafael arrived at the North American facility in Columbus, Ohio, he was assigned, not to the OV-1OE Bronco, but to the T-2D Buckeye, a twin jet trainer. Rafael was disappointed because he really wanted to work on the Broncos. Fortunately, the Buckeyes were purchased by Venezuela at the same time so the team of tech reps would support both aircraft. Since Rafael already spoke Spanish, he attended classes on both the T-2D and the OV-1OE while other team members studied Spanish.

The team went to Caracas in April of 1973 where the President of Venezuela, Rafael Caldera, had a formal acceptance ceremony for the aircraft at La Carlotta Airport in the center of town. The OV-lOEs were then sent to their assigned base at Barquisimeto.

At the end of the first year, it was decided only one tech rep was need in the country. Rafael was selected and, for the next five years, provided support for both the T-2D and the OV-1OE He was stationed at the depot located on El Libertador Airbase near Maracay but would drive to Barquisimeto each month and conduct classes on maintenance of OV-lO systems such as hydraulics, electrical, ejection seats and general troubleshooting.

On arrival for his first training session he was greeted by a mountain of failed nickel cadmium battery cells. His first priority became training on battery care and feeding and the acquisition of two state of the art NiCad battery chargers Soon their battery problems went away.

Rafael continued this routine for five years before returning to the U.S. for new assignments. During a vacation in the U.S., he bought a Cessna 172 and flew it back to Venezuela with his wife Pat. The trip took 40 hours of flying over seven days through Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama and Colombia. They used the plane to explore Venezuela during the rest of their stay.

After Venezuela, Rafael was assigned to the Sabreliner Division as an Area Representative living in Mexico City supporting the executive jets used by the Presidents of Mexico, Argentina and Bolivia. He also covered the whole of South America and the Caribbean for Sabreliner. When Sabreliner was sold, Rafael transferred into the B-1 program as a project manager. He continued there until he retired in 1985.

Retirement, however, does not agree with Rafael. He soon accepted an excellent offer from Northrop where he worked on the MX missile and the B-2 bomber. He worked there for five years, then retired again.

As I said, retirement is not really what Rafael wants. He is now working as a flex force employee for Boeing North American. Tn January of 1996, he accompanied ateam of Boeing North American and Maney Aircraft personnel to inspect and evaluate the OV-lO fleet in Venezuela for a Service Life Extension Program. When this program starts in mid-1998, Rafael will be back at El Libertador to work with some of his old friends to bring new life to the OV-lOs so they can continue to keep the borders safe for Venezuela. He is looking forward to seeing the men he knew before, now Generals, Colonels or senior Non-Commissioned Officers. Some day, he might even retire.

Another Chapter in "Then and Now"
Chuck Burin

THEN: Columbus, OH & Moffett Field, CA
152881 was the third flying prototype manufactured by the North American Aviation, Columbus Division. It was equipped with 30 foot wing, accepted by the Navy November 23,1965, and first flight took place December 31, 1965. The plane was assigned to the Naval Plant Representative's Office at the Columbus Division for research and test from November 24, 1965. It was one of the three (152879, 880 and 881) used in the evaluation by NATC Paxtuxet River during March 1967. This aircraft was used for the systems performance tests. In August `67, the aircraft was assigned to the All Service Evaluation project at Naval Aviation Test Center at NAS Paxtuxet River, Maryland. There are many photos of the plane in the Tri-Service colors and with T-76 engines, the most common one was taken at Eglin AFB, Florida.

In March, the aircraft was transferred to NASA. It was struck from the Navy inventory May 20, 1969 and NASA obtained a FAA registration N7 1 8NA on June 25. NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field CA contracted with the Columbus Division to modify the airplane to become a test platform for the rotating cylinder flap system, a concept developed by Alberto Alvarez-Calderon, Vice President of Engineering of FAVASA (a Peruvian aircraft company) and a former research associate at Stanford University.

The conversion included adding 4 rolling cylinder flap assemblies, installing Lycoming T-55 engines and Curtis-Wright four blade props. (That's correct, 4 blade props!) The propellers were interconnected utilizing a gear box arrangement from the Canadian CL-84. The first of eleven test flights at Moffett Field was flown August 23, 1971. Aircraft logs indicate that all test flights were flown by Ed Gillespie, the Columbus Division Chief Test Pilot. It was flown at airspeeds as low as 47 knots. There was also a static test series carried out in the NASA Ames facilities wind tunnel.

The plane was always flown with the gear down and locked. Why, you ask? Well, the gear could not be raised because the engine exhaust came out through the lower rear portion of the wheel wells. Somewhere along the line, it also acquired modified Horner wing tips which extended the wing span 34 feet versus the 30 foot wing span it had when it first flew. There are numerous photos of the plane in NASA colors of white and blue including the cover of the December 13, 1971 issue of Aviation Week and Space Technology.

The aircraft was returned to the Marines in October 1976 and sent to MASDC, Davis Monathan AFB, AZ where it was struck from the inventory for good in 1979. It was then acquired by the Detroit Institute of Aeronautics, Willow Run Airport in Ypsilanti MI in 1979 where it was used as a ground maintenance trainer. They could still run the engines and worked on the engines and props as well as other systems.

When the Institute went out of business in the late 1980's, the aircraft was sold to the Michigan School of Avionics also at Willow Run Airport. It languished outside and parts began to disappear. Someone took a grinder to the props. This school also went out of business and put the plane up for sale.

It was purchased by the Yankee Air Museum located at Detroit's Willow Run Airport, Belleville MI in October 1993. The plane was a mess, painted in white, blue and dayglo orange with "U.S. ARMY" of all things on the side of the booms. I do not believe it was ever actually assigned to the Army but they were one of the project sponsors

NOW: Belleville, MI
The restoration project became the work of Dick Rice at the Yankee Air Museum. He found the original "TRI-SERVICE" markings under the nasty paint. The surface is being restored to the original paint work and should be completed by the time you read this. As mentioned on the previous page, the plane spent most of the time outside and a number of parts came up missing. The following are needed:

•   Rudder cap, right and left (all 8 pieces)
  
•   Set of sponsons with bolts and farings
  
•   Nose gear doors
  
•   Control stick with yoke and grip for both cockpits
  
•   Wing root farings, both sides
  
•   Top rear Plexiglas