Texas Raiders - Current Status

Current Status

Texas Raiders has finished a lengthy and costly main spar replacement project, started in 2001 due to the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) Airworthiness Directive # 2001-22-06, citing corrosion in the wings. TR was flown to south Houston's Hobby Airport (KHOU) where she would be based for over 5 years. After testing, it was determined that Texas Raiders did indeed have corrosion pitting, and cracks on the wing root hardware, so replacement parts had to be re-manufactured from scratch. To complicate the process, the design had to be approved by the FAA. It was further decided that since she would be out of service for an extended period that she should be completely refurbished. This project ended up costing well over 500,000 dollars by the time the project was completed.

Texas Raiders returned to flight again on October 14, 2009, and then debuted at her "home airshow", Wings Over Houston later that month. March 2010 found Texas Raiders relocating to a spacious hangar at the Tomball Jet Center in David Wayne Hooks Memorial Airport (KDWH) in Tomball, Texas.

Texas Raiders rejoined the air show circuit in 2010, just in time to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the first flight of the B-17. She has traveled to the world renown Experimental Aircraft Association EAA AirVenture Oshkosh airshow, where she was featured in AeroShell Square. She has also participated in the Gathering of 'Fortresses at the Thunder Over Michigan air show, and as a tribute to the unit that she memorializes, appeared at the 381st Bomb Squadron's reunion. In 2012, she participated in the airshow at Dyess Air Force Base. TR was hosted by the 436th Training Squadron, which is the unit whose linage goes back to the 88th Reconnaissance Squadron that Texas Raiders commemorates while performing in the Tora Tora Tora act.