RAAF Beaufort A9-13 Restoration Update

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B

Bellarine

Airman
17
7
Apr 24, 2011
Hi everyone

Thought it was time for an update (no photos yet - they are coming!)

The Sternframe has been removed from the fuse and has been sent to the factory this week. The rear u/c leg will be removed first, which will allow careful mapping and notetaking of work that is required inside the frame. While it may look ok, there is a certainty that corrosion lurks beneath the surface. Once this stage is complete, we will start the cleaning process and also start the major work of replacing parts that need to be replaced while preserving the rest of the section.

One thing we had toyed with was maybe trying our hand at a newer form of fundraising that moves away from the traditional model - and so the result is a small campaign below.

Please Note :
Some of you had already made donations from our original announcement - and so as a thankyou we will also issue you with the relevant reward that is listed in the campaign - we know you are and thank you again for your generosity

More updates to follow - and photos of course, we have been flat out getting all this ready !

The Beaufort A9-13Restoration/Preservation Project now has a Kickstarter campaign !

You can pledge as little as $5 to help the Museum achieve it's goal of restoring and preserving the oldest WW2 Beaufort Bomber in the world. There are a number of packages available, some are very limited and some pretty cool items up for grabs too.

The maths are pretty simple - if every one who likes us on our Facebook page chipped in $5 we would be well over 85% of our target Not much input for a world class output !

**PLEASE SHARE WITH OTHER AVIATION FANS** - Let's all get onto this and make it happen and preserve a rare aircraft for the future.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/moorabbinairmuseum/raaf-beaufort-a9-13-restoration?ref=email


Cheers
Ewan McArthur
Secretary
Australian National Aviation Museum
australian national aviation museum - Home
 
Thanks so much to everyone who has come on board so far - 21% of the target raised in a couple of days Can't rest on our laurels though! Plenty more work to be done to get use over the line in 27 days time.

In the meantime - here are a few shots for you of the initial works done

Sternframe is now at the factory where everything has to be measured, assessed (for retention or replacement) and then rivet by rivet - undone !
Poor old Brad looks like one happy camper in there - what a tight fit
Other photos show :
Rear Undercarriage Leg having been removed. However though its nearly impossible to see here, there is a blasted crack in the casting on the leg. Another challenge !!
The Museum has no less than the remains of FIVE other Beauforts ! This sternframe is from A9-574 and is a useful resource for possible replacement parts.
And of course - a quick shot of one part that has one side before and the other side after - cleans up very well





We will keep you updated as the project advances - of course we still need lots of people to pledge on the Kickstarter project so we can achieve the goal in a quicker timeframe !
Cheers

Ewan McArthur
Secretary
Australian National Aviation Museum
australian national aviation museum - Home
www.facebook.com/moorabbinairmuseum
 
After just one week we are at 43% of the target ! Well done to everyone who has chipped in so far !

Please don't let the momentum drop away now. With just 23 days to go before the funding campaign ends we need everyone to help out - even if it's just sharing the link to others who may be able to help .

Some pic updates for you.
We have been testing soda blasting results on one of the bulkheads from inside the frame. Looking good indeed, and only requiring a little acid washing prior to being dipped in alodine to get the last few little bits of corrosion out.
The last pic shows how corroded some parts have become. This particular piece has the same issue in all the Museum's Beaufort Sternframes (three in total) So a decision has been made to manufacture a replacement rather than trying to preserve what is there and this will ensure the preservation lasts for a much longer time.

These pictures are a good example of what the funds pledged on Kickstarter will be used towards. The amount of work required is simply massive !

Enjoy
Cheers

Ewan McArthur
Secretary
Australian National Aviation Museum
australian national aviation museum - Home
www.facebook/moorabbinairmuseum

 
New update time.

With 13 days left to run, we have made our target of $5000 ! And it's thanks to communities like WW2Aircraft.net that help make this happen. To those on this board who have pledged to the project - from all of us at the Museum - a sincere thank you. We are really humbled by such open support !

Of course that does not mean that those who haven't pledged yet cannot do so - you can keep pledging away until May 31 when the deadline is reached. Even just $5AUD which is something like $4.68USD or around $2.40GBP (off the top of my head) is enough to get you a signed letter from the team. And any extra funds raised over the $5000 will be put to good use - in fact we will use it on restoring the turret and if more is left then it will be applied to the beginning of work on the centre fuse. So please keep it rolling in

I was lucky enough to jump inside one of the 40ft conatiners full of Beaufort parts. There is a centre fuse, at least three firewalls, prop blades and a hub and five massive military boxes full of the "little bits" However luck was not on my side and by the time I had clambered over to the rear of the container the phone ran out of power ! Still here is a pic looking in...


Thats all for now, hope to have some work in progress pics in the next week or so too.

Link of course ! https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/moorabbinairmuseum/raaf-beaufort-a9-13-restoration?ref=email

Cheers
Ewan
 
Wow ! We have reached -- and gone right over the target for funding on Kickstarter Thank you everyone ! It's an incredible result and only because of your generosity and willingness to get involved. The thing is that we can actually keep going and keep on pledging anyway - so with 10 days to go if you haven't already done so please consider pledging to the restoration project - any excess over the target will go straight to restoring the rare MK I turret for A9-13 and any left after that will be used on the centre frame - so every dollar gets allocated to a part of the aircraft !

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/moorabbinairmuseum/raaf-beaufort-a9-13-restoration

Even more special - the sternframe has returned from blasting ! Quite funny travelling along inner Melbourne highways with this upright in a trailer as it had not been washed down and so had bicarb dust flying out of the top making it look like a travelling chimney !!!

Here is a pic of the frame resting at the restoration factory. Enjoy - and from all of at the Museum, THANK YOU !

 
Well I have been quiet of late but so much has happened !

Have a look at how the stern frame has turned out. These were taken today. All blasted, cleaned, primed and now painting. And now also working on the rear UC leg as well. Looks great !!

 
Why have you fitted the Australian designed and manufactured National Motor Springs tail strut instead of the original Bristol strut that the previous owner made such a great effort to obtain and supplied with the aircraft? He also supplied the correct Bristol main gears. I know because I helped assemble the aircraft at Pt Cook in 1979 when it stood on its own for the first time since WW2 with a NMS rear strut and then I later helped clean up the genuine Bristol rear strut.

National Motor Springs strut with shimmy damper arrowed


Bristol strut - no damper


Pt Cook - all the damage to the wing was inflicted by the RAAF in 1978

 

I don't even know if we have that strut you are referring to, it may well have been swapped, sold or stolen before we were elected to the Board in 2013. Furthermore, it is classed as a DAP Beaufort despite arriving here in kit form from the UK, so our preference is to work with local components which it would no doubt have been fitted with after its forced landings. In addition, being a composite restoration we only use the best possible original components and the NMS one was in excellent condition.
 
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