# Calgary's Hurricane on the Move



## Crimea_River (Oct 28, 2012)

Yesterday, as part of my volunteer duties with the Calgary Mosquito Society, I helped prepare the society's other aircraft, a Hurricane Mk. XII, for a move to a restoration facility about 3 hours north of the city. There, it will undergo a restoration to static (but engine running) display back here at the Calgary Aerospace Museum. The history of this particular Hurricane is as follows:

1942 - Built by Canadian Car Foundry, Fort William (now Thunder Bay), Ontario.
Jun 10, 1942 - Noted "This aircraft has been modified before being placed in service".
Jun 23, 1942 - Taken on strength, assigned serial number RCAF 5389.
To No. 4 Training Command, BCATP, Calgary, Alberta and delivered into stored reserve.
Jul 3, 1942 - Assigned to No. 133 (Fighter) Squadron, Lethbridge, Alberta. Aircraft 5389 coded as FN*M
Oct 5, 1942 - No. 133 (F) Squadron transfered to Western Air Command and relocated to RCAF Station Boundary Bay, British Columbia for home defense.
Jul 1, 1943 - Squadron is relocated to Tofino, British Columbia.
Jul 15, 1943 - Suffered a Category 'C' crash at Tofino.
Jul 22, 1943 - To Coates Limited for repairs.
Feb 28, 1944 - Stored reserve with Western Air Command.
Aug 4, 1944 - To No. 2 Training Command, BCATP, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Dec 1, 1944 - To No. 2 Training Command, BCATP, Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Feb 12, 1945 - Stored reserve.
Jul 12, 1945 - Available for disposal, airframe total time: 447:30 hours.
Aug 20, 1946 - Struck from service, to War Assets Corporation for sale.
Purchased by a farmer in Southern Saskatchewan.
1962 - Purchased by Lynn Garrison, Calgary, Alberta and transported to Calgary courtesy of Wolton Lumber.
1962 - date unknown - Both Hurricanes stored disassembled in the back of Hangar 4.
1964 - Air Museum of Canada incorporated. Title of the Hurricane was not transfered to the museum.
1964 - An Air Museum of Canada program states, "They (the museum's two Hurricanes) are to be rebuilt by members of the local Ultra Lite aircraft group for display at a later date." The ultralite group was the Calgary Ultra-Lite Aircraft Association.
1964 to 1966 - Stored inside a small building occupied by 403 'City of Calgary' Squadron and used as their Pilot's Room.
Late 1960s - Aircraft relocated to RCAF Station Lincoln Park where a local Air Cadet Squadron attempts a restoration project, starting with the wood work on the fuselage.
1972 - Aircraft sold by Peter Norman (unauthorized by the owner, Lynn Garrison) to the Calgary Centennial Planetarium Association and placed on display at the Centennial Planetarium.
1988 - Stewardship transfered to the Calgary Aerospace Museum. Planned restoration as LE*A, No. 242 RAF Squadron in honour of Calgarian William "Willy" McKnight. No work accomplished.
1990 - Ownership of the City of Calgary's vintage aircraft collection is challenged in court by Lynn Garrison. The courts rule in favour of the City.
2000 - Placed into offsite storage along with a de Havilland Mosquito and Cessna Crane.
2008 - An offer is made to restore the Hurricane in exchange for ownership of the City's Mosquito.
Jul 15, 2010 - The Hurricane and Mosquito are moved to another City-owned warehouse.
Dec 8, 2010 - Community and Protective Services Committee votes to retain ownership of the Hurricane and Mosquito and to search out a local, volunteer-based organization to assume their stewardship.
Feb 14, 2011 - Calgary City Council votes to retain both the Hurricane and Mosquito and to seek out a volunteer group to oversee their restoration.
Dec 21, 2011 - The City of Calgary awards the restoration of RCAF 5389 to the Calgary Mosquito Society.

Below is a series of pictures I took before the truck took off on its journey north.



































The larger fuel tanks in the below pic actually belong to a Cessna Crane. The smaller one is the Hurricane's fuselage tank.

Reactions: Bacon Bacon:
1 | Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Jeff Hunt (Oct 28, 2012)

Thanks for the great series of pics. Exciting news for sure.

Jeff


----------



## Aaron Brooks Wolters (Oct 28, 2012)

WOW, interesting shots Andy! Keep us updated if at all possible to!


----------



## Wayne Little (Oct 29, 2012)

yeah keep us in the loop Andy...sure you will!


----------



## vinnye (Oct 29, 2012)

Excellent news - I hope there will be more photos as restoration proceeds.


----------



## Wildcat (Oct 29, 2012)

Very cool Andy, it's not every day you get to play with a Hurricane!


----------



## Airframes (Oct 29, 2012)

Great stuff Andy. Any idea if the restoration will still be in McKnight's colours?


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 29, 2012)

That I'm not sure if Terry. Being a Mk XII, it would not be a truly accurate portrayal but, interestingly, the museum that it will end up at is located on, you guessed it, McKnight Blvd. named after Willie himself.


----------



## Geedee (Oct 29, 2012)

Sweet !

I know if I'd been there, I would have had to try out the seat !


----------



## Gnomey (Oct 29, 2012)

Cool shots Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 29, 2012)

I was tempted Gary but I didn't trust the rickety frame the fuselage was sitting on.

Guys, this restoration will be done over a couple of years and I'm not sure how often I'll get up to the shop but if and when I do, I'll be sure to send some updates.


----------



## gumbyk (Oct 29, 2012)

Why aren't they restoring to airworthy? It seems a shame to go 90% of the way there.

Don't get me wrong, it'll be great to see it at least to a static, but sometimes restoring to static can make it harder to make airworthy later on.


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 30, 2012)

Funding, my friend. The aircraft is still owned by the city and the restoration is being funded by tax revenue. Whereas there would have been many buyers to restore it to flying condition, it would have meant the aircraft leaving the city forever, There was a lot of debate abut this as you can imagine but that's how it ended up.


----------



## Wayne Little (Nov 3, 2012)

Crimea_River said:


> I was tempted Gary but I didn't trust the rickety frame the fuselage was sitting on.
> 
> Guys, this restoration will be done over a couple of years and I'm not sure how often I'll get up to the shop but if and when I do, I'll be sure to send some updates.



Eagerly waiting....


----------



## Rocketeer (Nov 16, 2012)

lovely shots! lovely aircraft


----------



## fubar57 (Nov 16, 2012)

Great "job" you have Andy. Would you know if the codes FN*M were in grey or sky, serial number black? Found this Bull Dogs on the Coast > Vintage Wings of Canada






Geo


----------



## Crimea_River (Sep 1, 2013)

A quick update on this one.

The airframe is still being prepared at a facility 3 hours north of Calgary and we're still locating parts that we thinks are in storage somewhere int he city. The Hurricane's Merlin engine. located at the Bomber Command Museum of Canada in Nanton, Alberta, is next in line for refurbishment now that the museum's Lancaster has all 4 eengines running.

At present, we're trying to locate a parts and maintenance manual for this Hurricane, which is a Mark XII. If anyone knows of a source for one, please let me know.


----------



## nuuumannn (Sep 2, 2013)

Very cool Andy, love the detail shots you took.


----------



## Crimea_River (Sep 7, 2013)

Today we pulled the Hurricane's Merlin out and brought it over to the door of the engine shop at the Nanton museum. Nanton's Lanc now has all 4 Merlins in running condition and the guys need something to do so they're now going to tackle the Hurricane engine to get it to running condition.

Reactions: Like Like:
 2 | Like List reactions


----------



## vikingBerserker (Sep 7, 2013)

Dang, I'm beginning to not like you Andy out of jealousy- 

That's just so cool.


----------



## Wayne Little (Sep 8, 2013)

Sweet stuff Andy!


----------



## Gnomey (Sep 8, 2013)

Good stuff Andy!


----------



## jeffreyjay (Apr 16, 2014)

Crimea_River said:


> View attachment 214461



Nicely packed. Great job so far


----------



## Crimea_River (Apr 16, 2014)

Thanks. Planning a trip to the shop in June and will hopefully be able to post plenty of update pics. The engine, above, hasn't been worked on since we moved it to the shop in Nanton. The volunteers are too busy keeping the 4 Merlins on the Lanc primed for the upcoming exhibition season.


----------



## jeffreyjay (Apr 18, 2014)

I need to volunteer with my local aeronautical museum I think


----------



## Crimea_River (Apr 18, 2014)

Hell yeah. If you have one nearby, go for it. Many members here are not in a position to do so but would love to do it if they could.


----------



## jeffreyjay (Apr 18, 2014)

My nearest one have a vampire rotting away outside. They struggle a lot with donations. I was thinking about getting the hurricane finished and then leaving it there as an exhibit to draw people in.


----------



## Crimea_River (May 28, 2014)

Watch this spot. Heading up to the restoration shop on Saturday to see how the Hurricane is coming along and hope to get some good pics of the progress. Since rolling the engine into the shop, we haven't touched it as the Nanton gang have been busy getting the Lanc tuned up for the summer runs.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 1, 2014)

As stated above, I visited the restoration facility for our Hurricane and came away with a bunch of pics that I'll share with you here. Not sure I'll get them all into one post but let's see.

The Hurricane is being restored in a plain Quonset hut just to the north of the Reynolds-Alberta Museum in Wetaskiwin, just south of Edmonton, Alberta. The museum is a treasure in itself and worthy of a separate thread which I may start someday.







Inside the hut is a well-equipped workshop to service aircraft restoration activities. Not only is our Hurricane in there, but there's also a Stearman crop duster undergoing a restoration, as well as a P-39 Airacobra. The latter is a long term project and is not really being worked on at the moment.






On entering the facility, the partly disassembled landing gear can be seen on a table. The diagnosis is good in that the oleos are in good shape.












The sheet metal bits from the original aircraft that can be seen on the table are pieces that had to be replaced as there had been some apparent attempts at repairing these before in a manner that was not quite up to snuff. On one piece (below), the team had to reassemble the original part in the correct geometry to use as a template for cutting a new section:






The replacement section of skin can be seen here attached to the port wing and being readied for riveting:






Further inboard on the port wing, we can see that there has been a lot of work done on the main gun bay as well, with the lower skin replaced and the interior ribbing cleaned and painted with aluminum dope.









Moving around to the main attachment points, you can see some nice restoration work done here as well. One of the attachment lugs had been previously bent and, being high tensile strength aluminum, it took some doing for the team to straighten it out. They were successful however and re-heat treated the lug once it was back to the correct shape.






I'll take a short break now and post some more pics later.


----------



## Jeff Hunt (Jun 1, 2014)

Excellent to see the progress on this one. Thank you sir.

Jeff


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 1, 2014)

You're welcome Jeff. Here's some more:

The MkXII's that equipped 133 and 135 RCAF squadrons on Canada's west coast actually sported 12 .303 machine guns. The two extra guns per wing were paired and mounted at a distance outboard of the usual 4. In first photo of the underside of the port wing above, you can see the spent cartridge chutes of the two outer guns. Below is the upper surface of the same wing showing the open access panels for the guns and ammunition feeds.









This table displays the main gun access panels for the port wing and other various bits.






Taking a closer look, there are pieces here that are original parts but whose brothers in the starboard wing have gone AWOL. The panels at the top are the two for accessing the outer ammunition feed boxes described above. The unit below that is the aileron actuator which would be difficult to replicate. It's possible that the missing pieces are mixed in with some of our Mosquito stuff and we'll need to keep an eye out for them. If we don't find them, they'll either have to be fabricated or traded from an organization that has them.






Here's the starboard wing that has had its work mostly completed.












Next we have the two ailerons which have been cleaned up and now need to get their fabric added.









EDIT: oops, hit submit post too soon. Will continue in a few minutes.....


----------



## fubar57 (Jun 1, 2014)

Thanks for the updates Andy.

Geo


----------



## vikingBerserker (Jun 1, 2014)

Awesome!


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 1, 2014)

More bits and pieces. The green finished parts are the leading edge fairings that from the machine gun openings, 6 openings total. Also visible are the flaps that attach to the outer wings (there are also separate flaps on the inner wing section nearer the fuselage). The tubular units are the gun mounts and you can see the knurled adjustment screws for boresighting.












One thing I learned was that the port navigation light lens on the Hurricane was actually blue, not green. Apparently this was true for a number of British types before the switch was made to green. The lens is being fabricated by heat forming the material over a wooden die.






Finally, some miscellaneous parts that still await work starting with the canopy frame:






Radiator:






Miscellaneous parts rack






Oxygen tank and others, possibly air tanks:






Fuel tanks, fairings, and the radiator shroud.






I did not take any picture of the fuselage nor the inner wing section as there really has been no work done on these.

In answer to Terry's question from earlier, I did confirm that the aircraft will be restored back to its original markings as sported by 133 Squadron RCAF. The upper surfaces will be the typical dark green and ocean grey and the single letter 'M' will be painted behind the fuselage roundel, the squadron codes not having been carried. The undersides, I would have thought, would have been medium sea grey. However, there is a fully restored Hurricane MkXII in the Reynolds museum that depicts an aircraft from 135 Squadron, the sister squadron of the one we are representing. I post pics of this aircraft below and it shows what appears to be azure blue on the undersides. My first though on seeing this display was that the colours are wrong but then I must admit that I know very little about these two squadrons and the colours they carried in this relatively unknown theatre (see the excellent Vintage Wings of Canada link in Geo's post above for an interesting series of photos of 135 Squadron during its service).

Another feature of many Canadian-built Hurricanes was their use of a large Hamilton Standard prop whose hub did not fit inside the standard Hurricane spinner. Consequently, the spinner was left off these aircraft with no apparent adverse effect on their flying charateristics.


















Well that's it for my update guys and I hope that you find these pics to be interesting. BTW, an appeal has gone out for anyone who happens to have a .303 machine gun or two who'd be willing to give it up for installation into this aircraft. If you have one and don't want it, drop it in the mail to me would you?


----------



## Gnomey (Jun 2, 2014)

Excellent shots Andy! Thanks for the update.


----------



## Wayne Little (Jun 3, 2014)

Agree with Hugh...thanks Andy.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Crimea_River (Dec 17, 2014)

Mention was made in another thread about the Merlin 29 that was fitted in this Hurricane. I volunteered to get my hands dirty and help dismantle and rebuild this engine. When I joined the team doing this, the engine had already been partly taken apart, with the cylinder banks, heads, and carburetor removed. First, a clarification: it turns out that the engine shown in post #19 was not the right engine so we had to take it back to Calgary and swap it out for the one that actually came with our aircraft. Probably a good thing because the actual one had apparently not been run very long. OK, here are some pics of the dismantling process.

This is the engine mounted on the stand with both banks taken off. you can see that the long studs are still in. If you look at the one to the extreme left with the adjustable wrench on it, you might notice that it's been snapped off during attempts to remove the assemblies.






Here's the reason it snapped - plenty of corrosion. The threaded part that's intact was embedded in the engine block and we spent a solid 5 hours setting up a drill press and pulling it out with an extractor. Fortunately it came out without damage to the block.






The carburetor:






A view through the cylinder bores into the crank case. Note how clean the connecting rods are, evidence of the low hours on this engine. The guys who rebuilt the Lanc engines were amazed and said that the ones that came out of the Lanc were discoloured as though someone took a blow torch to them. 






Pictures of the cylinder heads and cylinders before sending out to the hot tank for chemical cleaning. Note the coolant deposits in the nearest duct in the first picture. 















The same parts upon return from the hot tank:






Cleaning of the rocker assembly in the varsol tank:






Here's one of the pistons in the midst of cleaning it last night. I should have taken a "before" picture!






More to come when something interesting happens.


----------



## rochie (Dec 17, 2014)

good stuff Andy


----------



## Wurger (Dec 17, 2014)




----------



## T Bolt (Dec 17, 2014)

Very cool Andy


----------



## Airframes (Dec 18, 2014)

Great stuff , and I can just imagine someone visiting your garage and asking "What's that engine?"
"Oh, it's just a Merlin from a Hurricane ...".


----------



## Gnomey (Dec 19, 2014)

Great shots Andy! Thanks for the update.


----------



## Wayne Little (Dec 21, 2014)

Great stuff Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (Feb 8, 2015)

A small update as work continues.

After cleaning 4 pistons by hand, I was told that we had a glass bead blaster in the back of the shop. That made things a lot easier and all pistons were done within an hour.







Yesterday, two of us managed to lap all 48 valves. I used a lapping tool that consisted of a hand cranked gadget shown below along with a valve and lapping compound.






My partner used a more rudimentary tool - a suction cup on the end of a stick. As you can see, the heads have been meticulously cleaned with lots of Scotchbrite pads and Citrosol cleaner.






With that done, reassembly of the cylinder head is in the offing which should prove interesting.

Reactions: Like Like:
2 | Like List reactions


----------



## Gnomey (Feb 9, 2015)

Looks great so far Andy!


----------



## Jeff Hunt (Feb 9, 2015)

Excellent report...more as you get it please.

Jeff


----------



## Crimea_River (Feb 9, 2015)

Sure. A lot of boring cleaning at the moment but I suspect we'll start reassembly of the valves and camshafts soon. But first, all of the retainer springs (made up of seven parts each, 4 per cylinder, times 12 cylinders) still need to be cleaned.


----------



## Wurger (Feb 10, 2015)




----------



## Wayne Little (Feb 10, 2015)

I'm with you Wojtek...


----------



## Njaco (Feb 10, 2015)

This thread captures the heart of this forum! Cool report and can't wait until the Hurri is done.


----------



## Airframes (Feb 10, 2015)

Great stuff Andy.


----------



## Crimea_River (Feb 10, 2015)

Cheers guys. The airframe restoration is going well, I hear. I wish it wasn't so far away but hopefully I'll take one or two trips up there this summer. Figure about a year from now till it all comes together with the engine and I plan to be there when we fire it up.


----------



## Crimea_River (Apr 19, 2015)

Happily, I'm able to post here pictures and excerpts from our quarterly report to the City of Calgary on the progress made between January and the end of March this year. The engine work was, as reported above, done at the Bomber Command Museum shop in Nanton Alberta but the rest of the aircraft is being restored by Historic Aviation Services Inc. in Wetaskiwin, Alberta, which is about 300km to the north of Nanton.

The major visible progress has been in the restoration of the fuselage framework including on site-fabricated replacement members that have either gone missing or have been damaged over the years. The fuselage frame has also now been mated to the wing center section.

Here's the control column, rudder pedals, and "floor" disassembled prior to restoration 






The floor boards were straightened, primed, the sprayed with the silver colour butyrate dope then reinstalled. The cockpit area was restored and various control were rebuilt and attached to the framing.



















Landing gear selector:









New trim wheel and the rest of the pit:















We managed to acquire an original bullet proof windscreen from a collector in England. Ironically, the windscreen was built here in Canada.






The Dowty tail wheel was completely disassembled and rebuilt before installing into the fuselage. 
















The below series of pics begins with the fuselage and wing center section positioned just prior to be mated together and then shows various angles of the completed assembly.


















The restoration report is fairly detailed and if anyone has specific questions, I'll do my best to answer them.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Airframes (Apr 19, 2015)

Beautiful work by all concerned, and great pics Andy. It's good to see the progression of the restoration process, and the guys must be quite pleased with the work to date, and deserve a big pat on the back.
Thanks for the up-date.


----------



## lancasterman (Apr 19, 2015)

Stunning workmanship guy's! That is how I remember it in the 90's a bare frame sitting on its gear looking all sad.. She really is going to be a Diamond in the collection when completed!


----------



## rochie (Apr 20, 2015)

Ooh Shiny !

Great work you guys


----------



## Wayne Little (Apr 20, 2015)

damn...that's looking good!


----------



## Gnomey (Apr 20, 2015)

Great stuff Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (Apr 20, 2015)

Thanks guys. I should clarify that the pictures aren't mine so I can't take any credit for them. I hope to make it up to the shop around the end of May and. if so, will take some shots of my own with new developments and will post them here.


----------



## T Bolt (Apr 20, 2015)

Fantastic Andy. I had not realized the structure of the Hurricane was so primitive


----------



## Crimea_River (Apr 20, 2015)

It's extremely intricate and labour intensive with some fuselage joints requiring a couple of dozen individual pieces to assemble.


----------



## Wayne Little (Apr 23, 2015)

Doesn't matter whose pics Andy, you got 'em and are sharing them for all to see, thanks!


----------



## nuuumannn (May 1, 2015)

I agree. Lovely pics, Andy; terrific detail. Looks beautiful.


----------



## Crimea_River (May 19, 2016)

We have hit a major milestone on the project and we'll be delivering the finished engine to the shop that's completing the airframe tomorrow. After over a year of fiddling, the engine, a Packard Merlin 29, is now assembled, painted, and polished.

The shop that we did this in does not ave a test bed for the engine so the only way we will be able to test run it is when it's mounted in the actual aircraft, complete with fuel, coolant, oil, and engine control hook-ups.

Here are pics of the finished beast. The valve covers are temporarily secured with nylon lace acting as a seal. The gaskets were late in coming and will be fitted later. On delivery, I will have an opportunity ot take some pics of the airframe restoration and will post as soon as I can.

In the first pic, the engine in the background (top left) is a second Merlin 29 which at time was a convenient source of spares. It is not being refurbished at this time. Apologies for the pic quality - cell phone reduced for e-mailing.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Airframes (May 19, 2016)

Great stuff Andy, and the pics are fine - they show what a neat design the Merlin is, and it even looks powerful !
I'd love to be there when it fires into life for the first time - oh, that Merlin 'cough and crackle', pure petrol symphony !


----------



## Crimea_River (May 19, 2016)

Well I will be there and will take vids. Should be run before the end of the year and I have second dibs on a cockpit seat when she goes. 

One thing is that I have a renewed respect for the Erks who worked on these in the field. I was really surprised how difficult access is to the intake side spark plugs, the ones on top between the banks. Very cramped space to get these in at the best of times and I can't imagine doing this in desert heat or damp cold in the field.


----------



## Wurger (May 20, 2016)




----------



## Wayne Little (May 20, 2016)

Excellent Andy...!


----------



## Gnomey (May 20, 2016)

Good stuff Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (May 20, 2016)

Well, it was a long day and we covered 700km in our travels. Met our president Richard at 7am in Calgary and headed south to Nanton to pick up the engine. After hooking up the trailer, we lifted the Merlin aboard and began fastening it down. The pic below shows the engine after being placed on the trailer. In the background is the shop in which we are doing our Mosquito restoration and you can see the Mossie's Merlin 113 or 114 just under the door to the right and, behind that, the wing.






It was a cool, rainy day so we made sure that the our baby was well protected. Here we are ready for the trip to Wetaskiwin.






Unpacking and offloading at the Wetaskiwin shop. Yes, that's a CF-104 in the background, due for a re-paint.









Safely inside, our Merlin is received by Byron Reynolds who is heading up the restoration of the Hurricane airframe.






I took lots of shots of the Hurricane progress and I'll post those some time this weekend. Enjoy.


----------



## Wayne Little (May 21, 2016)




----------



## Airframes (May 21, 2016)

Great stuff Andy, and that last shot is a good size comparison. Although compact, the Merlin is still one big lump !
Looking forward to the pics man !


----------



## Gnomey (May 22, 2016)

Great stuff Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (May 22, 2016)

I'm going to post a few installments here of the current state of the Hurricane, starting here with a few general overviews.






As you can see the wooden formers along the spine of the fuselage are getting attended to now. All of these are newly made, based on plans and a few left over parts.






A bit of camera shake on this pic of the starboard wing - sorry about that. The access panels for the 2 outer guns are open.






Here's the port wing. You can see all 6 casing ejector ports on this view of the underside,






A view from the starboard quarter......






....and from the front.






More later!


----------



## Crimea_River (May 22, 2016)

By the way, if anyone here knows how to get hold of Tony (Rocketeer), let me know please. We are missing some parts that I'd like to talk to him about. We have been in contact with a major supplier in England already but they are unwilling to help us so we need to talk to private collectors.


----------



## Airframes (May 22, 2016)

Great stuff Andy.
I'll check to see if I have Tony's address or e-mail. If not, he may be at DX next weekend, so I'll look out for him. Failing that, when Gary gets back from his US tour, I can contact him at home, and ask him to get Tony to contact you.


----------



## Wurger (May 23, 2016)




----------



## Crimea_River (May 23, 2016)

That would be great, thanks Terry. We are in need of a number of items. Canopy rails are the main thing right now as these need to be installed with the stringers you see going in. Also the retractable step, among other things.


----------



## Airframes (May 23, 2016)

I've checked and I do have an e-mail address, although I don't know if it's still current. I'll send it via a PM later.


----------



## Crimea_River (May 23, 2016)

Got it, thanks.


----------



## Gnomey (May 25, 2016)

Excellent shots Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (May 26, 2016)

Thanks Hugh. Here are a few more:

The wooden "doghouse" seen here behind the cockpit is an early rebuild attempt before we got hold of the aircraft and will not be used as it is not accurate in terms of replicating the original construction.










The challenge that we have before us is that we have the partial remains of the original doghouse but no detailed drawings for it. Here's our group mulling over a particularly perplexing area on the port side where we see the traces of where the formers were attached to the doghouse but we can't figure out how the parts that we have actually fit.






Here's the side I'm talking about. The formers are original and come in multiple parts, the assembly of which we are trying to determine. The right-angled notch on the rear former is designed to receive the metal rail on which the canopy slides.






Here you can see the intricate angles involved in the woodwork for this assembly. Like much of the rest of this aircraft's construction , it does not scream mass production, does it?


----------



## Wildcat (May 26, 2016)

Fascinating stuff Andy! I'm sure you guys will work it out eventually.


----------



## Wurger (May 26, 2016)




----------



## Wayne Little (May 26, 2016)

Excellent stuff...


----------



## fubar57 (May 26, 2016)

Beautiful engine. Great shots Andy. A little over 9hrs. to Wetaskiwin....hmmmm


----------



## Crimea_River (May 26, 2016)

Yeah it would be a bit of a hike for you Geo and access would need to be by appointment. Let me know if you are seriously thinking about it.


----------



## nuuumannn (Jun 2, 2016)

Terrific stuff and great photos and info. Have you contacted these guys?

Hawker Restorations | World Leaders in Hurricane Restoration


----------



## Shinpachi (Jun 2, 2016)

Good job Andy


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 2, 2016)

Thanks guys. I forgot about this thread and will need to post up some more pics.

Grant, yes we've been in touch with Hawker Restorations. Long story but suffice to say it's a dead end.


----------



## nuuumannn (Jun 3, 2016)

Sad to hear that. You'd hope there'd be a bit of info sharing between interested parties. Thumbs up and I'm sure you guys will come up with good solutions.


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 3, 2016)

Yes, you would think.

Anyway, here are a couple of more pics showing some of the intricacies in the wing center section, with apologies for dropping the ball. More to come over the weekend.


----------



## Airframes (Jun 3, 2016)

Good stuff Andy.
I forgot to ask - dis you get anywhere with The Fighter Collection and Aircraft Restoration Company at Duxford when you were there?
I'm thinking of asking ARC if I can visit, to make a short 'photo documentary' for the forum, on the work they do. If I do, and if they say yes, is there anything you'd like to ask them, in the way of contacts, parts, advice etc ?


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 3, 2016)

Thanks for the offer Terry. When I strolled over to TFC, their office was closed but I did talk at length with a chap who was working on the Beaufighter. At the time I was looking for info on paint colours and not parts.

The professional restoration companies over there are fairly well connected and I think that all roads for missing Hurricane parts will ultimately lead to Hawker Restorations. As I stated above, that's a door that's been closed to us now. Our thoughts are to try to network with private collectors and the resale market and that's what I have Tony on the hook for now.


----------



## Wayne Little (Jun 4, 2016)

great pics Andy.


----------



## Shinpachi (Jun 4, 2016)

You would have forgotten time passing.
Great job again.


----------



## Catch22 (Jun 4, 2016)

This is some awesome stuff Andy.


----------



## Airframes (Jun 4, 2016)

OK Andy, just let me know if I can help in anyway.


----------



## Gnomey (Jun 5, 2016)

Lovely shots Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (Nov 20, 2016)

Engine has been installed in the air frame.


----------



## Shinpachi (Nov 20, 2016)

Great job, Andy


----------



## Airframes (Nov 21, 2016)

Great stuff !


----------



## Old Wizard (Nov 21, 2016)




----------



## Gnomey (Nov 21, 2016)

Great shots Andy! Some good progress being made.


----------



## Jeff Hunt (Nov 23, 2016)

That is a pretty sight that is. Kudos to all involved and to you Andy for sharing with the rest of us.

Cheers and best wishes,

Jeff


----------



## Crimea_River (Dec 7, 2016)

Thanks all.

One thing I don't think I mentioned in this whole thread is all the research that I've been doing with the immense help of some very knowledgeable people as to what the correct paint scheme would be for our aircraft. We will depict this aircraft as close as possible to how it appeared when it served with 133 Squadron RCAF on the west coast of Canada in early to mid 1943. I volunteered to be the one to produce a set of dimensioned drawings for our finish painter and this required a fair amount of study of photos and communications with those in the know. RCAF colours, insignia, letter styles and even the matching of our s/n 5389 with aircraft letter M were all things that could not be taken for granted and required lots of work to verify or at least apply the most educated assumptions in the absence of fact. Anyway, after some 7 months of active discussions I produced a drawing and report outlining the reasoning used for coming up with the scheme shown when, lo and behold, one of our contributors found a picture of our very aircraft in the Library and Archives Canada showing how it appeared at Boundary Bay airfield on March 29, 1943. Here's the pic:







And here's a detail isolating just our aircraft:






I'm happy to say that, in the absence of this photo, we got the details pretty much bang on, with just a few very minor adjustments being needed to my drawing. The style, size and position of the letter M were almost exact and the picture served to verify that the Type A roundel was featured on the upper wing surface at this time, though we had evidence of a B type being applied on the actual skin. This was probably applied later after the aircraft was repaired after a crash.

The lettering style used by the RCAF for the serial numbers is quite unique and we had no info on this other than photos from which the style could be replicated. One picture commonly found on the net shows aircraft L s/n 5398 where the unique style can be clearly seen. I used this pic and others to create the style to be used in our scheme.






Note the B roundel on the wing uppers. The fact that our aircraft is 5389 made this picture very useful in creating the stylized numbers to be used. This, and others, also served to confirm the minimal stenciling, the wording and quantity of which differed from RAF Hurricane counterparts. For example, you can see the stencil "Lift Here" with arrow under the 5398 serial which differed from the standard RAF stencil at this location that said "Trestle Here". Other excellent close-up photos of Canadian Hurricanes show the size, wording, and lettering style for the oil fill instructions and jacking point call-outs. Happily, there were very few stencils that we needed to worry about.

With all that done, I was able to create a 1/48 scale decal sheet depicting the s/n and stencils for one of our members. The sheet is shown here in this somewhat blurry pic:






So, with that said, I can not yet show you the drawing as it's not yet been made public but as soon as the time is right I'll post a profile and details for those interested. In the meantime, If anyone has further interest in this topic and wants to learn more about Canadian Hurricane schemes, don't hesitate to ask.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Airframes (Dec 7, 2016)

Excellent Andy, and congratulations on a great job of research an confirmation - it must be very satisfying when it ll comes together this way.


----------



## Shinpachi (Dec 7, 2016)

Looks perfect research and job, Andy.
Congrats


----------



## Wurger (Dec 7, 2016)

With all here. Well done Andy.


----------



## Old Wizard (Dec 7, 2016)




----------



## Gnomey (Dec 7, 2016)

Great stuff Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (Dec 7, 2016)

Thanks all. It was very humbling when conversing with the likes of Dr. Jon Leake, Carl Vincent, Jerry Vernon, Norm Malayney, Jim Bates, and Terry Higgins at Aviaeology. These guys are a wealth of info and there's no way we would have got this far without them.


----------



## fubar57 (Dec 8, 2016)

Great job Andy


----------



## Wayne Little (Dec 11, 2016)

Yep, good stuff Andy.


----------



## Crimea_River (Jan 16, 2017)

For those interested, the January 2017 issue of Aeroplane Monthly magazine has a short article on our restoration. I will try to post a progress report this week.


----------



## Wayne Little (Jan 17, 2017)

Look forward to it!


----------



## Crimea_River (Jan 19, 2017)

The following is shamelessly copied from our 4Q16 Quarterly Report as I'm too lazy to write the progress report myself. We have subcontracted the bulk of the restoration to Historic Aviation Services, though we overhauled the Merlin 29 ourselves.

Historic Aviation Services’ focus for the fourth quarter of the year has continued on the sheet metal areas of the forward fuselage and on the woodwork from the cockpit back to the tail. Additionally they were able to mount the engine into the airframe and begin to install the coolant and hydraulic plumbing lines, making significant progress in this quarter.

CMS board members Jack and Andy were in Nanton on December 9th to assist two staff from Historic Aviation Services in locating Hurricane parts that both we and they continue to identify as being mixed in with our Mosquito parts. This meant hauling crates from the storage trailer on the north end of town to the Bomber Command Museum in -25C weather. As personnel from both organizations get more and more familiar with the details of our projects, we are able to identify unlabelled parts as belonging to each aircraft. This trip produced some significant results.






On the following Friday, December 16th, we travelled to Wetaskiwin to conduct our quarterly inspection of the project.

Airframe: Historic Aviation Services

Fuselage

· Fabricated port and starboard lower longeron keel stringers and install same in place on lower fuselage.
· Using intermediate belly panel received from England as reference – fabricate missing
- complete forward belly panel from scratch. Recover with Poly-Fiber fabric using the STITS process up to silver.
· Strip fabric from intermediate belly panel (England) clean, repair as required and
recover with Poly Fiber fabric using STITS process up to silver.





· Fabricate port aft trailing edge central section closure panel (missing) using starboard panel as mirror image.
- Repair starboard panel as required. Primed and painted inside of both panels with silver butyrate.
· Fabricate, prime, paint with silver butyrate and install attach angles and braces for port and starboard panels (as above). Install port and starboard aft trailing edge centre section closure panels in place.
· Cover aft radiator belly panel with plywood skin and recover entire panel with Poly Fiber fabric using STITS process up to silver.
· Fabricate attach brackets for aft radiator belly panel (missing) and install on lower fuselage.
· Temporarily install aft radiator belly panel, forward and intermediate belly panels and finish fit to lower fuselage.
(All woodwork described above given two coats of “Poly Fiber” epoxy varnish, and
sprayed with two coats of silver butyrate as required during build up process).

Engine and Firewall Forward

· Clean, and repair engine mounting hardware.
· Make up new port and starboard camshaft cover gaskets, install same on engine.
· Disassemble and troubleshoot seized engine super-charger and carburetor controls.
· Clean, repair as required and reassemble engine control differential and spider gear bell crank assembly and reinstall on engine.
· Prepare engine for installation in airframe.





· Begin fabrication of firewall coolant header tank brackets (originals missing).
-Installed engine in aircraft and secured same in motor mounts. Torque and lock motor mount bolts.
-Finish fabrication and install firewall coolant header tank brackets.
-Clean, repair, test, prime, paint coolant header tank. Install same on firewall.
-Install carburetor air intake scoop.
-Sort, clean, prime and paint glycol coolant tubes. Install same in fuselage. Coolant system now complete other than two missing sections between engine water pump and front spar. System installed with deteriorated, original “Avimo” rubber couplings. These are to be replaced when new, fresh examples are available.
-Clean, prime, paint and install fuselage fuel tank armor plate in top cowl forward bulkhead.






-Sort, clean and repair engine oil system lines, filters, valves, junction blocks, unions etc., as required.
-Begin trial installation of engine oil system components in fuselage and centre section.
-Finish and final fit metal center section belly panels aft of rad.
-Sort, clean and repair aircraft fuel system lines, filters, valves, junction blocks, unions
etc., as required.
-Begin trial installation of aircraft fuel system components in fuselage and center section.
-Repaired, primed and painted starboard gear wall panel (forward of fuel cell) and trial fit same to center section.
-Clean, repair, test, prime and paint coolant thermostat. Install same in fuselage,
connect to glycol coolant tubes.





-Sort, clean and repair secondary hydraulic and hydraulic relief system lines, filters, valves etc. as required.
-Cleaned, repaired and installed engine crankcase ventilation and oil separator system.
-Began sorting, cleaning and repair of pneumatic system components.

Meantime, I am still sorting through various references on the RAF equivalent colours used by the Canadian factory. At some point I will publish the drawing I've been preparing for the finish scheme.


----------



## Wurger (Jan 19, 2017)




----------



## fubar57 (Jan 19, 2017)

Very nice


----------



## Crimea_River (Jan 19, 2017)

More pics:

Refabricated floor section behind the radiator mentioned in the report.






Underside of fuselage just before the tail wheel with initial dope on fabric.






Coolant header tank ready to be connected to the Merlin. 







Great shot showing the different construction methods on the Hurricane.






Tubular aluminum truss structure supporting wooden outer ribs (doped silver). Labour intensive!


----------



## Wurger (Jan 19, 2017)




----------



## Gnomey (Jan 21, 2017)

Great stuff Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (Jan 21, 2017)

Thanks guys.I volunteered to deliver a second Merlin to the shop where the Hurricane is being restored this coming Wednesday so if anyone wants any particular pictures, let me know.


----------



## Crimea_River (Jan 25, 2017)

I might get some odd looks tomorrow on my road trip to the Hurricane restoration shop. Some kid will probably want a drag race!

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Funny Funny:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Wurger (Jan 25, 2017)




----------



## Old Wizard (Jan 25, 2017)




----------



## Gnomey (Jan 25, 2017)

Very cool Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (Jan 25, 2017)

Hot off the press. Hurricane restoration status pics as of today:

Reactions: Bacon Bacon:
1 | Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## turbo (Jan 25, 2017)

Cool!!!


----------



## Old Wizard (Jan 25, 2017)




----------



## Wayne Little (Jan 26, 2017)

great pics Andy.


----------



## Gnomey (Jan 30, 2017)

Great shots Andy!


----------



## fubar57 (Feb 3, 2017)

Beauty


----------



## Airframes (Feb 3, 2017)

Marvelous !


----------



## Robert Porter (Feb 22, 2017)

Nice pics! Entirely too clean! Needs some weathering!


----------



## Crimea_River (Feb 22, 2017)

Yeaaaaah........NO.


----------



## Wayne Little (Feb 26, 2017)

No? not even a maybe......


----------



## Crimea_River (Mar 18, 2017)

Feb 20, 2017:

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Wildcat (Mar 18, 2017)

Looking good!


----------



## Wurger (Mar 18, 2017)




----------



## Robert Porter (Mar 18, 2017)

The best scale 1:1!


----------



## Airframes (Mar 18, 2017)

You should see the box it came in .... an that tube of glue, just WOW !

Reactions: Funny Funny:
2 | Like List reactions


----------



## Crimea_River (Mar 18, 2017)

...and the kit reviews said it was 2 scale millimeters short, was missing a spinner and the decals were shite.

Reactions: Funny Funny:
2 | Like List reactions


----------



## Wurger (Mar 18, 2017)

And the kit instruction was in Chinese only.

Reactions: Funny Funny:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Airframes (Mar 18, 2017)

Huh, these 1941 vintage kits take some sorting !


----------



## Robert Porter (Mar 18, 2017)

Photo Etch at that scale I could handle!


----------



## Wayne Little (Mar 19, 2017)

Very cool stuff.


----------



## Gnomey (Mar 19, 2017)

Looks great Andy!


----------



## fubar57 (Mar 19, 2018)

Have you guys located the Brownings yet Andy? I think you put out a call in another thread but I haven't found it yet. I found this in an article while looking for something else







Eye Tech Engineering Ltd - Home​


----------



## Crimea_River (Mar 19, 2018)

Thanks for thinking of this Geo. Yes we actually have thirteen of them now, one more than we need. They are all deactivated originals.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Jeff Hunt (Mar 19, 2018)

Saw your name in a Facebook posting put out by your museum. You be a famous guy.

Jeff


----------



## Crimea_River (Mar 19, 2018)

Famous cuz I'm on FB? Hardly!

I'm heading up to the shop on Friday to discuss the paint scheme and should get some pic updates for the weekend. For those interested, here are the drawings we will use:

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Airframes (Mar 19, 2018)

Good stuff. Should look great when it's painted. I think they'll need something bigger than a Iwata though .....................


----------



## Crimea_River (Mar 19, 2018)

True. Lots of Tamiya tape as well.


----------



## turbo (Mar 27, 2018)

Must be bloody big decals


----------



## Crimea_River (Mar 27, 2018)

We're buying Microsol by the gallon.

I was at the shop on Friday and can post some progress shots but have lots to sort and resize. Here's a teaser:


----------



## Airframes (Mar 27, 2018)

Great !
I doubt I'll look that good when i reach the same age as the Hurricane !
Don't _dare_ make any comments ............


----------



## Gnomey (Mar 27, 2018)

Good stuff Andy! Looking forward to more!


----------



## Wurger (Mar 30, 2018)




----------



## Crimea_River (Apr 30, 2018)

After nearly a year in our hands we are finally able to return the Hurricane's hydraulic control unit to Historic Aviation Services. At some point back in the mists of time, the unit was removed from the airplane, disassembled and all internal parts were lost. It necessitated borrowing a complete unit from Vintage Wings Canada and engaging a second machinist to manufacture the missing pistons and arms when we were not satisfied with the quality of the work produced by the first. We also needed to build the tools required to disassemble and reassemble the case. Considerable research was also required to source new seals from overseas vendors.





*The hydraulic control unit, now with new pistons, control arms and seals. At some point in the past, the case was opened and emptied leaving us to manufacture and replace all the fiddly bits on the inside.
*
As the airplane will not be flown, the undercarriage will not be retracted and the flaps will not be needed. The obvious question here is 'why bother' with all the time and expense to rebuild a hydraulic control unit? It's an interesting question to which we continue to receive an entertaining range of responses. Our thanks to society Vice President Jack McWilliam for overseeing this whole process and meeting every challenge to get this unit completed.

Once again we owe thanks to our two Hurricane enthusiasts in Ontario, Brian Davis and Ron Taylor for sourcing parts such as an RPM indicator and a number of drawings needed to build a pilot access step. Both gentlemen have their own Hurricane projects and have been very helpful on a number of occasions.

Brian Davis flew in from Ontario with Darrell Brown when we visited Historic Aviation for our quarterly inspection on March 23. They were anxious to see our airplane in its current state, to spend considerable time talking with chief engineer Greg Davis while taking hundreds of photos of various components and assemblies on the Hurricane. The next day we hosted their visit to the Bomber Command Museum to see the Mosquito project. We also visited Historic Aviation Services on March 16 with Australian military historian and author Ken Wright who was the first international member of the Calgary Mosquito Society and an early contributor to our website.










*Visiting from Australia was historian and author Ken Wright (top) and in the bottom photo HASI engineer Greg Davis talks to visitors Brian Davis and Darrell Brown who came out from Ontario to inspect the Hurricane in support of their own restoration projects.*

We are also happy to report that after more than two years of researching colours and markings for the Hurricane that the ten custom colours of Aerothane paint were delivered by the vendor in California.

Thanks and acknowledgement to board member Andy Woerle for heading up the research to determine the colours and markings on the airplane. Our efforts engaged some of the best minds on the subject here in Canada, in the USA and in Britain. From this work Andy has produced a +75 page document that is likely the definitive work on Canadian Hurricane markings. He has also distilled all of the information down to a four plan view with precise details on all the colours and markings on the airplane for Historic Aviation's use to paint the airplane.





*The result of over two years work in concert with some of the finest historians in Canada, the UK and the USA. Thanks to CMS board member Andy Woerle, this four plan view of the precise colours and markings for the Hurricane, detail for HASI exactly how to finish the airplane.*

With all of this information in hand, board member Scott McTavish worked with a digital artist in the UK to update the colour profile print of the Hurricane which will soon be available for sale and should be quite popular when the airplane is complete and on display.





*Digital print of Hurricane 5389.*

In addition to acquiring a full set of original and deactivated .303 Browning machine guns for the Hurricane, we have also acquired a quantity of bullets and links, enough so that every gun will have a belt running to its ammunition box. Most of the rounds are the correct vintage, being dated from 1936 to 1943.






*Dave C. watches his son Geoffrey load .303 rounds into clips with an authentic WWII vintage tool to make up ammunition belts for the guns in the Hurricane.*







*Geoffrey made a single belt, 26 feet long (8 meters) with all of the bullets. How long would it take the Hurricane’s 12 guns to burn through this much ammunition? A: Two and a half seconds; though a full load of ammunition would give the Hurricane up to 16 seconds of firing time.*

*Airframe: Historic Aviation Services*


*Fuselage and Center Section*

Finished fitting sliding canopy to cockpit doghouse assembly.
Manufacture and install windscreen to canopy seal fairing (original missing).
Prep, mask and paint rear cockpit doghouse area covered by sliding canopy as required. (Dark green color matched to original sample).
Installed upper, rear cockpit armor plate (behind pilot's head).
Made up plywood templates for middle and lower, rear cockpit armor plates (originals missing) began fabrication of same.
Manufacture port and starboard rear sliding canopy stops; install same in position (originals missing).
Final fit and finish of starboard cockpit emergency exit door panel.
Fabricated missing fuselage cross brace wires (qty 2) at joints G and H (as per Hurricane 5418). Installed same in position aft of radio equipment rack.
Fabricated inner seat height adjuster segmented quadrant section (original missing) using outer section as a pattern. Installed same and adjusted seat for proper raise/lower operation.










*Manufacturing the pilot's seat height adjuster. Much of the original had disappeared over time. Using one side as a pattern to make its mirror image.*

Restored canopy open lock and cable assembly as required. Installed same in position in port side of cockpit.
Installed new Morse telegraph switch assembly for downward identification light (from HASI inventory) in position in starboard side of cockpit.
Sorted port side cockpit access, retractable step components to determine missing parts and materials required to fabricate same.
Sourced materials and fabricated inner extension tube, stirrup assembly and locating brackets.





*The iconic retractable 'stirrup' for the pilot to get from the ground to the trailing edge of the port wing. The stirrup and much of the complex retraction mechanism was missing and had to be manufactured.*

Cleaned and serviced step handhold actuating assembly and connecting rods, pulleys and anchors as required.
Made up and installed necessary woodwork to accommodate step hand hold actuating assembly on port side of fuselage.
Installed retractable cockpit access step and hand hold actuating assembly in position in fuselage, and rigged for proper operation.
Finished fabric work around hand hold actuating assembly as required.
Sorted original main port side cockpit electrical components and wiring to determine condition and restoration process. (Other than one fuse panel and several junction boxes, virtually all items were un-useable.
Fabricated new wood main port side cockpit electrical panel using original as a pattern. Prep and paint cockpit green.
Service original electrical junction boxes as required. Supplied serviceable item from HASI inventory.
Supplied serviceable landing light relay from HASI inventory (1 original beyond repair).
Mounted electrical junction boxes, fuse panel and landing light relays to main cockpit electrical panel.










*BEFORE: The port side cockpit electrical and fuse panel with landing/taxi light lever.*










*AFTER*

Disassemble, clean, inspect and repair landing/taxi light dipper lever control as required.
Machine new dipper lever control tension knob (original missing) as per Hurricane 5418.
Re-assemble dipper lever control unit and install in position on main cockpit electrical panel.
Manufactured mounting brackets for main cockpit electrical panel as required (originals missing). Mounted main cockpit electrical panel assembly in position on portside of cockpit.
Manufactured new wood brake air supply gauge, mounting panel (using original as a pattern), prime, silver dope and install same in floor of cockpit.
*Wings*

Manufactured qty. 2, starboard side aileron bellcrank actuating rods using port side examples as pattern.
Made up qty. 2, starboard side aileron pulley actuating cables, using port side examples as patterns.





*The aileron bellcrank assembly, another component that has dogged us since the start of the project. Failing to locate one, HASI used one as a pattern to manufacture a second for the opposite wing. The brass fitting on the upper left is milled from raw stock, requiring thirty seven different operations.*

Final installation of port and starboard aileron bellcrank assemblies, actuating rods and cables in main wing panels.
Fabricate port side aileron bellcrank top, service / inspection panel (original missing) using starboard side as mirror image pattern.
*Empennage*

Continued rib repairs to port and starboard elevators, rudder, horizontal and vertical stabilizers.
Continued leading edge repairs to all above as required.
Continued trailing edge repairs to all above as required.
Begin fabrication of port side tail wheel, lower rudder hinge, horizontal stabilizer mounting, and service/inspection panel (original missing) as per Hurricane 5418.
Manufacture qty. 4, port side tail/empennage service/inspection panel spring loaded fasteners (originals missing).
Begin manufacture of lower, rear fuselage to rudder streamlined fairing (original missing).










*Byron R. and Andy W. admire some of Greg's handiwork in building from scratch the lower rear fuselage fairing for aft of the tail wheel. Lacking both original parts and drawings, Greg used the airframe as a jig to build the new piece.*


----------



## fubar57 (Apr 30, 2018)

Fantastic update Andy and a hearty well done for your markings contribution


----------



## dogsbody (Apr 30, 2018)

Thanks for the update, Andy.


----------



## Gnomey (May 1, 2018)

Great stuff Andy!


----------



## Micdrow (May 2, 2018)

Very cool Andy


----------



## Crimea_River (May 2, 2018)

Thanks guys.


----------



## Airframes (May 2, 2018)

Excellent, and well done on the colour scheme drawings Andy.
One question, although I might have missed something - the drawings show what I presume is Ocean Grey, whilst the profile shows Dark Earth.
Is this for clarity in the drawings, or were there two schemes worn by this particular aircraft, with the profile depicting the earlier scheme ?


----------



## Crimea_River (May 2, 2018)

The drawing colours are not representative Terry as I had to turn down the saturation so that panel lines and stencils would show. That turned the dark earth very grey and has confused more than one person. The actaul colours will be the Canadian versions of the RAF Temperate Land Scheme.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Airframes (May 2, 2018)

Thanks Andy.


----------



## turbo (May 2, 2018)




----------



## Crimea_River (Mar 8, 2019)

Finishing touches now. Awaiting the prop, brakes, and a myriad other final bits before final paint.

Reactions: Bacon Bacon:
1 | Like Like:
2 | Like List reactions


----------



## michael rauls (Mar 8, 2019)

That's awesome! Does my heart good to see old warbirds being restored. Wasnt to long ago I believed that all or at least almost all the restorable airframes must have already been restored and the few examples we had of most ww2 vintage aircraft was all we would ever have save maybe the rare aditions here and there. Happily, it seems I was wrong.


----------



## Gnomey (Mar 10, 2019)

Looks great!


----------



## Airframes (Mar 10, 2019)

Beauty !
A model in that present finish would look good - hint, hint !!


----------



## Wurger (Mar 10, 2019)




----------



## Jeff Hunt (Mar 10, 2019)

Sweet!

Jeff


----------



## Crimea_River (Mar 10, 2019)

Terry, I'm anxious to see the colours go on since I had a hand in specifying the mix ratios. I'm also anxious to get back to my work bench to replicate this specimen in miniature but it still won't be for some time.


----------



## nuuumannn (Mar 12, 2019)

Beauty.


----------



## fubar57 (Mar 13, 2019)

Fantastic.


----------



## dogsbody (Mar 19, 2019)

Thanks, Andy!


Chris


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 17, 2019)

Almost there!


















We are waiting on the prop to be reassembled, a section of coolant line , and some oil fittings before we can fire up the engine. Mid-late July earliest.

Reactions: Like Like:
3 | Like List reactions


----------



## Micdrow (Jun 18, 2019)

Looks sweet


----------



## Airframes (Jun 18, 2019)

Beauty !


----------



## Jeff Hunt (Jun 18, 2019)

Excellent stuff and top shelf pics as well.

Jeff


----------



## Gnomey (Jun 18, 2019)

Great shots Andy!


----------



## Crimea_River (Jun 19, 2019)

Thanks guys. The pics aren't mine. They were taken by our president on a visit to the shop last week.


----------



## haitipro (Sep 12, 2019)

It is really amazing to see how well the project has progressed, over the years. 
I had originally collected a lot of War Two aircraft for display in my hometown, Calgary. Unfortunately, a few greedy people sold a lot of displays, but a few key ones remain. My Lancaster FM-136, Mosquito and one Hurricane, plus some other more modern models. My Spitfire was stolen and passed through a number of hands. AR614 now sits in Paul Allen’s collection, beautifully restored. 
I now base myself in Haiti where my charity 
www.haitian-childrens-fund.org
does what it can to help. 
Lynn Garrison
[email protected]


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 6, 2019)

Thanks Lynn

Here's the reason I've been away from the workbench for a while. 5389 has been finish painted and the last major piece, the propeller, was deliver to the shop in September with the help of your's truly. The last week was spent preparing for the first engine start by filling fluids, pre-oiling, fueling, and chasing a few leaks.

Initial attempts at starting were frustrated by an elusive short in the booster magneto wiring that prevented ignition. Having solved that our latest start attempt was late Friday afternoon and here's how it went:



SO CLOSE! We get ignition on prime fuel and booster mag but when we try to let the engine systems take over everything dies. We will check fuel pump, then carburetor next. If OK, the engine mags will receive scrutiny.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Gnomey (Oct 6, 2019)

Excellent!


----------



## MiTasol (Oct 6, 2019)

haitipro said:


> It is really amazing to see how well the project has progressed, over the years.
> I had originally collected a lot of War Two aircraft for display in my hometown, Calgary. Unfortunately, a few greedy people sold a lot of displays, but a few key ones remain. My Lancaster FM-136, Mosquito and one Hurricane, plus some other more modern models. My Spitfire was stolen and passed through a number of hands. AR614 now sits in Paul Allen’s collection, beautifully restored.
> I now base myself in Haiti where my charity
> www.haitian-childrens-fund.org
> ...



Hi Lynn
Who owned the Lancaster 10AR KB976 that was in the then _Air Museum of Canada _in Calgary in the late 60's. Ernest Johnson sold it to a water bomber company and I do not know what happened after that. I thought that was yours.


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 6, 2019)

Lancaster KB976 - The Full Story: Introduction


----------



## MiTasol (Oct 6, 2019)

Crimea_River said:


> Lancaster KB976 - The Full Story: Introduction



Many thanks - I will check it out tonight


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 10, 2019)

Diagnosed as a vapour lock in the fuel line to the carburetor. Back there tomorrow for another try. Pretty sure we got it now so stay tuned.


----------



## Airframes (Oct 10, 2019)

Good luck.


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 31, 2019)

Almost exactly 7 years to the day that this thread was started, RCAF Hurricane 5389 makes its way back to Calgary all in one piece!

Photos by Richard de Boer and Alex Robinson.


----------



## Wurger (Oct 31, 2019)

Great!


----------



## Airframes (Oct 31, 2019)

Marvelous. !
Seems an odd, rather precarious way to load it though.


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 31, 2019)

Beats having to unbolt the wings and reassemble them again. Our highway designs and regulations facilitate heavy and oversized loads for our large energy projects. It was also a bit of advertising for the shipper.


----------



## Airframes (Oct 31, 2019)

I can understand that, I just thought it would have fitted on the truck bed fore and aft, even if it meant 'bridging' the bed width with a support for the gear wheels - roughly eight feet eight inches between wheels, so maybe a tad wide ?


----------



## Crimea_River (Oct 31, 2019)

It's more about lane usage. Loading this way allows the tractor to stay in a lane and the load to not block the passing lane especially over bridges.

I have another pic from the other side showing that the tip of the spinner only overhangs the side of the trailer maybe 3 or 4 feet whereas if the aircraft was centered on the trailer with wings perpendicular to the direction of travel, the wingtips would have overhung by about 15 feet either side.


----------



## Micdrow (Nov 1, 2019)

Great news about it being done but got to say that is not something I've seen before for shipping.


----------



## Airframes (Nov 2, 2019)

Ah, now I understand, thanks.


----------



## Gnomey (Nov 2, 2019)

Great shots!


----------



## Crimea_River (Nov 2, 2019)



Reactions: Like Like:
2 | Like List reactions


----------



## MiTasol (Nov 3, 2019)

At least it looks like it traveled at speed and was not a mobile road block like this
https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/h...t_fullsize.jpg


----------



## fubar57 (Nov 8, 2019)

Very cool


----------



## Gnomey (Nov 21, 2019)

Good stuff!


----------



## Crimea_River (Sep 14, 2021)

The story continues.

To pick up where we left off, though we never did get the engine running properly, we delivered the Hurricane to its permanent home and held the turnover ceremony in late 2019 as captured in the last couple of pages. The understanding was that, despite returning the aircraft to its owner and displaying it in its new home, our organizing would continue to work to resolve whatever it was that prevented the engine from running on its own.

We traced the problem to the fuel accelerator pump. This unit is located on top of the air inlet duct just above the carburetor and is essentially a fuel injector that squirts the fuel into the air duct upstream of the supercharger. The unit was overhauled at Vintage V12's - Rebuilding the Power of History and returned to us for reinstallation in the engine. With the advent of Covid-19 and its associated lock-downs through 2020, all hopes of accessing the Hurricane last year were dashed and so we sat and waited for the right time to reinstall the accelerator pump and give the engine another try.

At some point during the wait personnel at the museum attempted to turn the engine one revolution using the hand crank. After a full revolution, the engine stopped turning and somehow locked in position. The prop could not be pulled through in either direction.

Nonetheless, our opportunity to reinstall the pump came last month and the guys from Historical Aviation Services Inc. (HASI) came down to replace the pump. We had understood that there would need to be a lot of stuff removed to achieve this, given that the pump was buried within and under various struts, glycol tank, an armour plate, pipes, and wires but the guys at HASI, with access to their own restored Hurricane RCAF 5418, found a way to do this without removing all those parts and so they successfully reinstalled the refurbished pump and about three hours:







That left the issue of freeing up the engine. We pulled the starter out, inspected the valves, and sent a borescope up into the combustion chambers and through the crankcase. None of these inspections revealed a cause and the engine remains frozen. The prop can not be moved by hand in either direction; there is a hard mechanical stop on either side of what I would term gear backlash.

We made a call to Jose Flores, owner of Vintage V-12s, and everything that he suggested we try was already done up to that point. That left us no other option than to pull the engine out and begin dismantling it in a more controlled environment. This is very unfortunate but there are no other options.

Anyone who has had the privilege of working on one of these Hurricanes can appreciate that pulling the engine is not a simple task. The design does not allow for a quick replacement of an engine as all of the supporting structure is part of the airframe and the cowl supports are all built of loose pieces around the engine once it is in place. It is not a "power egg" concept as seen on many other aircraft where pulling an engine involves disconnecting all services at the firewall and removing 4 main engine bearer bolts and removing the entire unit as a whole, complete with plumbing and wiring. Add to that the astonishing complexity of the connections and one is left wondering how on earth the ground crews were expected to get these things turned around quickly. Check out these photos:

The glycol tank is supported from the firewall and needs to be removed to allow the engine to be lifted out. Ahead of the glycol tank can be seen a piece of 1/4" thick armour plate. This is mounted onto a semicircular frame that is mounted on longerons and held with 6 struts to the firewall. Removal of the glycol tank requires removal of the semicircular frame and armour plate. The accelerator pump mentioned above is UNDER the glycol tank so you can appreciate the great job the HASI guys did getting this thing in.






A trapped bolt head (arrow) is shown below at the longeron mentioned above. To remove the longeron, which also interferes with vertical lifting of the engine, one first needs to remove the vertical bolt and nut and then get at the trapped bolt. The bolt below that one is accessed through a hole in the strut but, you guessed it, the hole is too small for today's standard sockets and so a bent open-ended wrench is needed from the top.






So, as we stand today, we have now drained the oil and removed all of the services and obstructions to allow us to pull the engine. Here's a pic of the guys, myself included, where we are close to having all of the necessary stuff out (photo by Richard deBoer and linked from our FB page):






By the way, that piece of cowl that can be seen just behind the prop is a completely riveted ring and can only be removed once the prop is off. We now need to get an engine stand fabricated before pulling the engine and I'll post again when we are at that point.

Reactions: Bacon Bacon:
1 | Like Like:
4 | Winner Winner:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Jeff Hunt (Sep 14, 2021)

Excellent update Andy. Too bad about the engine issue, time, smarts, sweat, blood and money(?) is all that is needed.
Best of luck.

Jeff


----------



## Wurger (Sep 14, 2021)




----------



## SaparotRob (Sep 14, 2021)

Great post! I see at least one Hurri is getting some love. Looking forward to reading about its completion.


----------



## Micdrow (Sep 14, 2021)

Sweet and many thanks on the update.


----------



## N4521U (Sep 14, 2021)

I'm up too early, just snooping posts and threads and I found this one!
Masterful updates. Great job by all who have touched her.

I have an engine stand, unfortunately it's 1/32nd scale!

Keep up the good work!

Reactions: Funny Funny:
2 | Like List reactions


----------



## Snautzer01 (Sep 14, 2021)

N4521U said:


> I'm up too early, just snooping posts and threads and I found this one!
> Masterful updates. Great job by all who have touched her.
> 
> I have an engine stand, unfortunately it's 1/32nd scale!
> ...


Put up a pic perhaps with some measurenents just to give the boys an idea. Who knows... it might help.. cant harm.

Reactions: Like Like:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Airframes (Sep 14, 2021)

Thanks Andy, great up-date.


----------



## Gnomey (Sep 14, 2021)

Great stuff Andy!


----------



## MiTasol (Sep 14, 2021)

A perfect example of why my training school manager on my first day of training in 62 said his job was to teach us the three ways of building aircraft.
The right way
The wrong way
The British way

Have fun (got my coat - got to run)

Reactions: Funny Funny:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## dogsbody (Sep 24, 2021)

Maybe I'll get down there next year, so I can finally see the Hurc. The last couple years have prevented me from doing the Alberta aviation museum tour I was planning. Hopefully 2022 will be better!



Chris


----------



## Crimea_River (Nov 19, 2021)

On Tuesday this week, we prepared the Hurricane's Merlin for removal by removing the prop dome and loosening the "Jesus nut".









On Wednesday, we removed the prop and engine. Here are two time lapse vids of the process:






Yours truly after the engine was lifted clear:






I designed the engine stand and had it custom built at a local steel fabricator. The stand has the capability to tilt and support the engine 30 degrees from the vertical so that the heads and cylinders can be pulled vertically:






The engine is now being taken to our VP's hangar at the airport where he has tools and shop facilities. We will begin dissecting the engine shortly to see what the heck is causing it to seize and will likely begin by pulling off the supercharger.

Reactions: Bacon Bacon:
4 | Like Like:
2 | Winner Winner:
1 | Like List reactions


----------



## Gnomey (Nov 19, 2021)

Very cool Andy!


----------



## rochie (Nov 19, 2021)

wow, nice work Andy


----------

