Planes of Fame / Fighter Rebuilders

[GregP]

In another thread I said I'd try to get some shots of a new baby Tigercat being readied at Fighter Rebuilders. Here are a few shots.

First a general starboard front quarter pic:

The starboard P&W R-2800:

A shot of the area behind the starboard engine inside the cowling. It is intended to convey the general high level of restoration being done.:

The cockpit isn't finished, but you can get the general idea:

Next post.

 

[GregP]

Here is looking into the starboard landing gear area behind the engine, from the front, just behind the engine:

This classic Laird was a visitor today. Altoget6her a very nice project that looks flawless.:

Here is a cutaway P&W R-4360:

And a display Merlin whose real condition is unknown to me. That's a P-39 behind it:

All for this post.

 

[GregP]

This is a North American O-47 and this is the starboard stub wing I have been working on with a couple of friends for some 3 - 4 months. We fabricated the trailing edge from sheet aluminum, have made a top skin (not shown), and are in the process of finishing the riveting of the center-section ribs and internal structure and drilling a new landing gear mount. Slow work, but satisfying when a task is signed off:

Here is a cutaway Hamilton-Standard Hydromatic constant-speed prop:

And a cutaway WWII turbocharger. I didn't think to look at the model, but it is probably a B-2:

All for now.

 

[GregP]

Here is a Boeing FB-5 with a Stearman in the background. This particular FB-5 spent it's enture operational life on the USA's first aircraft carrier, the USS Langley. The Stearman was used in the opening scenes of "Pearl Harbor (2000)":

This a Boeing F4B-3 (Navy P-12) that is perfectly runnable and flyable, but the museum doesn't trust the wood wings. Ed Maloney says he'd let it fly again if someone builds a new set of wings:

Here's a reach-in-and-take it not so good shot of the F4B-3 instrument panel:

All for now.

 

[vikingBerserker]

Fricken gorgeous!

 

[GregP]

Thanks VikingBerserker. The only one I had anything to do with is the O-47. The rest are just eye candy I love to see when I'm not helping with restoring. Sometimes they go commit aviation. Very occasionally (3 times in 8 years), I get to ride along as ballast so they don't exceed the service ceiling. But there are other warbirds at Chino I can sometimes also get to go along with. A really neat place to be if you are an airplane nut like I am.

Before I started volunteering there, they were wonder machines. Now at least I know how much work it takes to build one or restore one ... there IS a difference. Building it from a kit would be SO much easier. Fewer parts to fabricate and they usually FIT the FIRST time! That way you don't have to curse the idiot (me) who made one that doesn't fit quite right. It's humbling sometimes when your best effort is quite short of what is needed. But ... that's how you learn, too ... by doing it wrong and fixing it.

Here is a side shot of our Seversky AT-12, a direct ancestor to the P-47. :

If they are parked side-by-side, you can easily see the family resemblance. The fat belly of the P-47 is all ducting to get the air and exhaust to the turbocharger behind the pilot and the intercooled, compressed air back to the carburetor. The AT-12 itself is a real climber and is quite fun to fly according to John Maloney. He should know since he is the guy who usually flies it when it flies. He says the controls are light and crisp and it is just plain old fun to fly. This is the same aircraft that Clark Gable flew in the old 1938 movie "Test Pilot." Not same type, the same plane

The level of restoration is directly proportional to the money involved unless you do it all yourself, and then it is the same proportionally only less money since you aren't paying anyone else labor rates. That's the allure of home building ... a great plane for a lot less money.

The Tigercat had to virtually come all apart since it sat in the weather for 30+ years. Once apart, clean it, restore / repair it, prime it, and paint it. Then reassemble with any new plumbing, wiring, placards. etc. required. Sounds as easy as "This Old House" until you try to do it yourself. The reality sets in and you realize the magnitude of the task.