Dan Hammer Presentation at October EAA Gathering

The October Chapter meeting included a presentation by Dan Hammer of Legend Flyers, LLC. Legend Flyers was started by Dan’s father, Bob Hammer, and is located on Paine Field. They may best be known for their work completing four full scale Me262 replicas. Dan, a lifetime EAA member, began his presentation with some earlier family history.

His father, Bob, started working at Boeing not long before I did in the mid 60’s. He was a structural engineer and very involved with experimental aviation. He built the T-18 S/N 004 (in which Dan soloed) and had a replica F8H Bearcat project underway in the Snohomish area when I first heard of him.

He and a fellow friend (Dick Hunt) built the Zipper, recognized in 1979 as the first amateur-built jet aircraft. This aircraft had a climb rate in excess of 8000 fpm and holds several records not broken today.

During the 80’s, Bob and Dave Woodcock built two Seafires, winning the 1998 Oshkosh Seaplane/Amphibian Grand Champion and Reserve Grand Champion awards.

Bob left his position as a vice-president at Boeing to take on the Me262 replica project which the Texas Airplane Factory had begun in the mid 90’s. The project was delivered to Washington in January 1999, thus beginning the work leading to Legend Flyers aircraft restoration business. The Me262 project took several years and included the restoration of one and the ground-up replication of four ME262s. The flight test program was completed in 2012 and deliveries began shortly thereafter.

The most recent Legend Flyers project has been the restoration of a Japanese Zero (A6M3). This has been a 7- year project, with a large portion of the aircraft and tooling requiring construction from scratch. The airplane was rolled out for FAA inspection earlier this month and will likely be flown in November. Dan reported that Legend Flyers, having been involved with the FAA on a variety projects, has an excellent relationship with the FAA MIDO, and signoff of the Zero was swift.

Dan’s presentation was full of information and photos. Dan has a wealth of experience and knowledge and many questions and answers followed. Legend Flyers is located on Paine Field, across from Paul Allen’s museum, and Dan says they are open to visits. The Japanese Zero will be delivered to its owner in Virginia Beach by the end of the year, but be assured more projects will follow.