Renovation Activities ~ 3/6/20

Our graphics department made some excellent labels for the F-105 tanks (photo).  The tanks are almost finished.

 

The wings for the BT-13 are being trial fitted (2 photos).  John wants to verify installation procedures and take measurement for the aileron cables.  The right wing was the first to be installed.

 

The H-19’s tail section has been rolled over.  The top skinning is complete, however the bottom is going to be a real challenge for the students (photo above and below).

 

For the past few weeks the OV-1 team has been trying to remove the cockpit’s top cover frame in order to replace the Plexiglas.  They were not successful.  John 

Gilbert did some research and found a guy in Florida that has 3 OV-1s flying.  John contacted him and he told John to remove the belly pan, connect a socket wrench to a lug, turn the wrench which unlocks the top frame.  They tried it and the frame came off very nicely (photo).

 

We reinstalled the F-100’s instrument panel after correcting some damage.  I then vacuumed the cockpit, removing a lot of trash and found a couple of missing parts.  The difficulty in cleaning the cockpit makes me really appreciate the military ground crews that took care of our aircraft.  Ron and I then ran a direct ground wire from the battery to the canopy actuator.  That made it work a little better but not the way I want it to.  More trouble shooting.

Random photos from Rick Willaman: