Mayocraft Inc completed construction and flight-testing of its P-26D, a near-100 percent scale tribute to the Boeing P-26 aircraft. Although not an exact replica, the aircraft is generally patterned after the famed Boeing P-26 “Peashooter”.

Mayocraft tried to be faithful not only to the overall appearance of the P-26, but also to most of the fabrication methods at the time of its manufacture. The aircraft’s all-metal skin has been hand formed and shaped in many complex compound curves by Mayo in his shop, which is in essence a small aircraft factory with tools, technology and expertise straight out of the mid-1930’s. The craft has over 29,000 3 AD rivets, inserted, driven and made flush with the skin. The craft has other parts, most of which had to be machined and fabricated from raw metal or cleverly adapted from existing aircraft parts.

Nathan Mayo devised fabrication methods like pressing into hard rubber and pull-forming sheet metal, whose results mimic those from the much larger production machines that would have been found in a 1930s-era aircraft factory.

For safety and performance’s sake selected improvements were made. Alclad 2024-T3 aluminum was used throughout instead of the Dural of the 1930’s because the modern alloy is 20 percent stronger. The main landing gear wheels and brakes are adapted from a Cessna T-50. The engine exhaust is made from a stainless steel alloy specially formulated for aerospace applications. For a few non-structural elements, in place of metal they formed fiberglass. The engine and propeller are the same as employed in the T-6.

Mayo adapted a different airfoil shape to the wing that should make the bird a little easier to fly and land than the original. Mayo calculated that, because of these improvements and the fact that the Peashooter does not have the armament that was originally needed in the combat airplane, “it has a performance about 10 percent better than the original.”

The shock struts are Bendix from a Cessna UC-78 and brakes are Cleveland, 4 disk, hydraulic with an AT-6 master cylinder.

The main tires are 7.50 x 10, tail tire – 12.5 – P51 channel tread, and the tail wheel has detent & positive lock.

The paint scheme design was from the 1st. Pursuit Group, 94th. Squadron, Selfried Field, Michigan, circa 1935-1936, done with DuPont Imron paint.

Registered NX26PX, taxi testing commenced in September, 2006. Flight testing was completed in 2009.

The Mayocraft P-26D is now on display at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Mayocraft P26D Peashooter
Scale: Near 100 percent
Engine: Pratt & Whitney R-1340-AN1
Prop: Hamilton Standard 12D-40 with 6101-12 Blades
Airfoil: E-193 (UIUB)
Fuel capacities:
Main fuselage tank: 57 gal.
Each wing tank: 23 gal.
Oil capacity: 9 gal.
Anticipated Performance
Cruise speed: greater than 210 MPH
Max. initial rate of climb: more than 2500 fpm.
Max. speed (VNE): 315 MPH
Landing speed: 73 MPH with flaps