The Vintage Flying Museum in Fort Worth, Texas is home to the Commemorative Air Force Night Mission A-26B Invader (s/n41-39427/N240P). This aircraft has been under extensive maintenance for about three years, and the squadron is eager to get Night Mission back in the air and to the airshow circuit very soon. Vintage Aviation News last visited the hangar in late 2023 with an update on the restoration project which can be read HERE.
The crew put in a lot of work and progress into a return to flight restoration since the last update. In November of 2024, the first engine runs in about two and a half years were performed. Since then, multiple engine runs and taxi tests were performed all while other maintenance items were taken care of. This is a very exciting return to flight restoration as there are not many airworthy A-26 invaders flying today.
Brief Aircraft History
Night Mission was built in 1943 by Douglas in Long Beach California. Delivered to the USAAF on December 8th, 1944, it served until 1950 when it was sold to the civilian market. Many civilian owners were the care takers of Night Mission over the years until it was acquired by the CAF, and became known as the Spirit of Waco. The Invader Squadron acquired the aircraft in 2009 and it eventually became known as Night Mission.
Since the Last Update
A lot of work has been completed since the last Vintage Aviation News update. Most notably, the left engine was hung back on to the airframe which was one of the biggest steps. Squadron leader Patrick Mahaffey stated that “all the cables and hoses were hooked up finishing the engine install. Both propellers were sent off for inspection, returned to the hangar and re-installed since then.”
The biggest task was tuning the engines to perfection which required multiple engine runs to be performed. This was necessary to make sure everything was working properly with the engines and all other aircraft systems. The aircraft also went through numerous gear swings to make sure all systems were working properly in preparation for the first flight. A 100 hour inspection was performed, followed by a lot of dusting and cleaning to make the old girl look shiny and ready for action.
The Invader Squadron hosted a ground school for old and new members, a “bringing the band back together” type of meeting where seasoned Night Mission crew members got a refresher on systems, and new eager members got to learn about the operations and history of this wonderful warbird. The atmosphere was great, and the enthusiasm was through the roof as all members are determined to get Night Mission back in the sky very soon.
Most recently, the cowlings were put back on the engines, which was a monumental accomplishment as the last time both engines were coweled up was over three years ago. The crew performed another successful engine run test, and took Night Mission to the runway for a high speed taxi test which went as planned and was successful.
The next steps are the test flight. Maintenance officer Steve Swift said that the first flight is projected to happen within the next few weeks, so look out for more Night Mission A-26 updates very soon! The Squadron is planning on taking the aircraft to multiple airshows this season as soon as all maintenance and crew training is complete.
If you are interested in following the journey of Night Mission, please visit our social media pages on Instagram and Facebook, and consider making a donation at the website Invadersquadron.org to help out the squadron with restoration costs.
