C47 from the rubble

[aeromedia]

which would also make it the oldest surviving large bit of RNZAF C47.

[johnnyfalcon]

Two pictures I've recently posted on other threads. One is the genuine article subject aircraft, is the other just a nose art copy?



(Whites Aviation)

[denysjones]

Hi Peter,

Looking at this I'd say that the nose you have is one that we (as in late AHSNZ and early FAS peoples) found somewhere (times now preclude me remembering exactly where) over in Somerfield way.

It had been blended into a garage but the important part was that it still had the Stork insignia visible. Obviously we left it there as we had no need to acquire it.

I know that it was later acquired by Wigram in the early days, before the Museum emerged as a real entity but when it was "half-way" as the heritage Centre (or some similar name).

I'd suggest you track down Dave Duxbury as he'll be able to definitively ID it for you as he was one of the aforementioned group).

cheers

[aeromedia]

After a quiet period, was exciting today to receive a package from Amsterdam containing a pair of NOS WW II C47 overhead electrics panels. Very pleased with them. Will trial fit at the weekend with the recently acquired mag switches snuggled in between. Panels are from Netherlands - based DC3/C47 collector Bart Nopper. Bart has many other usefull bits for my project. Just need to win Lotto or sell something of the wife's ;D

[raymond]

Great to hear but b careful when u flog off the misses stuff could be a "career limiting" move.....

[Dave Homewood]

Haha

[aeromedia]

Have spent many hours over recent weeks lowering a 4 litre of 3m stripper from Supercheap Auto. The gawdy red is slowly being replaced by bare aluminium skin. The family have been getting excited and trying to get me to go with a polished aluminium finish. It won't be due to some repairs required and also not compatible with my end result vision.
Standby for progress pics but more importantly, paint removal has revealed names, dates etc etched into the forward nose frame. Placed there in 1945 !
I will begin to post them here and will look forward to "fleshing out" the identities.

[baronbeeza]

While the stripper may be ok for working through the various layers there is a much better product available for aircraft paint stripping.
This stuff is user and environmentally friendly as well.

www.sea2sky.co.nz/viewproduct.aspx?ID=386



There is a commercial version of it but the cost works out about the same... they are not cheap.

[baz62]

I was just thinking about getting some paint stripper for getting some Auster bits "nude' so you have posted at just the right time Kevin! Also I love this Inox stuff now. I'm going to re spray the parts i did initially with Marine CRC 66 with it!
And Peter hurry up with them photos....you know how we all like photos! ;D
It would be great (but a long shot) if you can find some kind of identifying mark under the paint!

[aeromedia]

Thanks for the stripper info and vid. Looks very good. I guess I'll stick with what I've got cos it's A: Super and B: Cheap. There is a bloke down South Canterbury who also has a pretty good product I was reading about.

Ok, the front starting to appear "nude." Bear in mind this is still early days in the strip and prep process. Once all the paint is gone, I'll be giving her a thorough go over with scotch brite and cold water.



Round the port side, I've been having quite a battle with a stork !!! What was pretty amazing was that when this cockpit first went into Fridays Restaurant in Christchurch, someone went to a hell of a lot of trouble to do what can only be described as an excellent job of reinstating a stork nose-art. Ok it was not a replica of the original, but very very well done. What has been interesting is that as I very slowly removed the artwork, bit by painful bit, that bloody bird kept smiling at me !!! Seemed no matter how much I removed, the bird was still beaming at me. As if to say, "stuff you buddy, I ain't goin easily." So the layers consist of an original primer, a 2nd coat of drab which the artwork was placed over, then later in its bar life, the whole thing got that all over red coat. Thats why I couldn't use the hairdryer to peel it off. It was under the red.



NZ3503 -a.k.a Anything Anywhere Anytime in her short-lived glory days.



You can see this is a quite different version, but neverthless a doff of the cap to this cockpits history. Nice.

[aeromedia]

Now this is where things get real exciting. As I was stripping the paint from the front nose frame, I started to notice some words etched into the aluminium. As I progressively and carefully stripped more paint, more etching was revealed. This was a fair dinkum time capsule.

Sixty Seven years ago, various people etched their names and details on here for me to discover in a shed on my Ashburton property all these years later !!!! Wow, . . . this has made the project really come to life. There is a real spirit to this rescue now, and the whole thing now seems even more legit.




Writing identified thus far: starting with the most visible and boldest.

W Brennan
Turakina
N I
1/ Mech
24/8/45


Fishy ()

1/ REP Espiritu Santo

A Murphy

D Law

M Muir 1 / REP Whenuapai

Now, the REP bit may be soemthing else. And 1 / Mech could poss be 1/17 ECH.

Anyway, you guys are guns ! I reckon someone here will recognise those names. I'll be posting more as I uncover them.

[aeromedia]

I have purchased a pair of overhead electric panels from Bart Nopper in Amsterdam. He had these panels as new old stock, and has filled them with switches and hardware from another set of panels from an ex KLM DC3.

I havent started cleaning up the interior of the cockpit yet, but had to have a "trial fit" with the mag switch just to see how it would go. "Bolted straight in" as they say. Have since removed again, and will also remove the housing and clean it up/repair it, before refitting once the interior has had the treatment.

Looks a bit poxy here, remember just a temporary trial !







Remember, this is probably the first time this cockpit has seen ANY internal fittings in more than half a century !!!!!

I have a whole package on offer to me from Bart that would see this cockpit well on the way back to rude health. First priority will be cockpit floor, yokes and rudder pedal assembly. He has it all from another cockpit, and that really is the next priority.

I'll maybe post a few picks of whats on offer.

[aeromedia]

What I really need for this project, and would appreciate any leads on, is a lower nose cone !

Any bright ideas??

[jasonmac]

I can't wait to inherit this..... *grins*

[raymond]

Turakina
N I

This is a place not far from Bulls in the North Island.
(also a ship that was sunk by a german raider 1940)

[Radialicious]

Pete, I am looking forward to following this very worthwhile project. It's the sort of thing I would enjoy doing one day. However with a Bristol Hercules, an Armstrong Siddeley Cheetah and a live steam model locomotive in my workshop - I need more room!

Perhaps Mr Douglas came up with the aviation standard for cockpit switches. To quote my cousin, "Cockpit switches are like a womens knickers - when they're up they're on, when they're down they're off."
Thirty-odd years later, I still remember that. I'd probably have long forgotten the association if it was referenced to 'blokes undies' though.

To conclude, I'll pass on some advice for your restoration from here until completion. It is something I took a bit of care with when I tinkered with Omaka's Bristol Freighter and my own Hercules engine. My attitude was to, Never carry out any repair or modification that would deter or prevent a return to airworthiness at any time in the future.

A small point but worthy of consideration

[aeromedia]

I'll remember that about switches. I like it!

Thanks Al. I take on board what you say. Bear in mind that the bottom of this nose is non existent. What you can see for the underside is a crude mock- up. Even with the benefit of what we have witnessed in restorations in recent years, I think there are a lot of airframes that would fly ahead of this one ! Having said that, I promise I wont be a vandal! If I can get more bits from Amsterdam, I'm aiming for something authentic and with all genuine parts from the cockpit floor up. Beneath that, and out of sight, will be non - standard fabrication. But hoping it will make an interesting display nonetheless.

[Radialicious]

Haha, I'd wondered how seriously my last comment would be taken given the amount of aircraft you are dealing with! I'll look forward to seeing this restoration progress.
Will you be making it mobile, ie attached to a trailer as many display cockpits are these days?

[aeromedia]

Yeah, that's the plan. Leaning more towards having it on a rolling frame that can be loaded on a trailer, rather than permanently on its own trailer. If it were to go on its own trailer, I'd want a removable drawbar I reckon. Displaying it with a bar and coupling at the pretty end would niggle me I think.
But I'm open to persuasion and suggestions.

[aeromedia]

Another milestone with the purchase of this nice unmolested panel. It will be winging its way to me over the next two weeks or so from Oshkosh.Thanks to forumite JB for alerting me to the availability of this panel on Barnstormers website.



I have the autopilot gear to fill the big hole in the centre, and a few of the missing instruments. Once its here I'll make up a wishlist of the gap-fillers.

Really pleased to find one like this that hasn't had big ugly holes cut in it for later avionics.





With a bit of love and spit and polish, it should come up quite nicely.