I see that Flickr has now frozen my account so I can't upload any more photos until I can find another program that allows me to do this. Does anyone have any ideas
The port wing panel undersurface has now been painted and next week we should be able to attach it. Whilst the fuselage is outside for this we will also attach the starboard tailplane so it should start to look whole again. We need about 8 M3 x 90 mm bolts or machine screws to attach some of the equipment in the rear compartment. I have tried a Google search without much luck at the moment. Does anyone on here have some of these that we could purchase or otherwise know who I could try to obtain some. Unfortunately I can't load any photos yet.
We need about 8 M3 x 90 mm bolts or machine screws .
Are they Metric? I would have thought being American they would be imperial. Not sure if they used AN hardware back then but if you have a smaple bolt and give it to someone with a thread gauge you should be able to figure out the correct bolt. EDIT: Of course if this is just going through unthreaded holes that only require nuts, bolts and washers then M3 bolts are available through someone like Blacks Fasteners.
Baz, The TBF's used imperial AN nuts and bolts, which was a dividend for use rebuilding NZ2504 as the Harvards were of the same construction so visits to No.4 Hangar flight store for AGS bits was easy!
Post by denysjones on Jan 12, 2019 20:40:05 GMT 12
Easier than working on an F27 which was originally AGS fittings and BA and BSF nuts and bolts but then got replacements here and there of AN fittings and nuts and bolts when AirNZ needed to deal to replacing of knackered old stuff.
Last Edit: Jan 12, 2019 20:40:43 GMT 12 by denysjones
They are thru holes and I thought that it would be easier finding metric hardware in those sizes rather than Imperial. I have even tried searching for threaded rod and found some in the UK but the postage was 25 times the price of the 1 metre rods.
I used to have some lying around from my model yachting days, will have another hunt. If you have no luck at that link, message me and I can give you some contacts that may have some.
We deal with ANZOR at the Mount but hadn't thought of stainless steel as it is usually quite expensive. Will go and see what they have available. Thanks for the heads up.
As the wing panel had been given its first coats and we still had the hiab available we pulled 2539 out into the light drizzle and attached the port wing. It looks more balanced now and we can start doing fitting some of the fairings around the wing fold panels. On Friday they are due to undercoat all of the control surfaces for us so I guess that we will be into covering mode again soon.
Post by Dave Homewood on Jan 17, 2019 20:57:36 GMT 12
Wow. Awesome progress! I just flicked back to the first post in this thread and then back to this. What an amazing amount of progress you guys have made in 18 months!!
Is there any likelihood that you will ever get more hangar space . The main hangar is getting pretty crowded these days and that avenger is going to take up any space you have left. On my last visit some of the stuff (the 2 seater Hunter and Venom in particular ) is stuck away you don't get a chance to get a good look at the whole aircraft..
Hi Calum, Nothing that I am aware of. As you might imagine a new hangar or even an extension to the existing ones would come with a pretty hefty price tag and that requires a special effort by the executive team. If you know someone who has just won lotto and has the odd million around that they don't have specific plans for we would love to talk to them.
Hi Calum, Nothing that I am aware of. As you might imagine a new hangar or even an extension to the existing ones would come with a pretty hefty price tag and that requires a special effort by the executive team. If you know someone who has just won lotto and has the odd million around that they don't have specific plans for we would love to talk to them.
Well I missed out on the 100 million here last week so you're out of luck there. Hopefully something will materialise because it's a great little museum. I always enjoy my visit.
Mike, the levers operate a pair of Exactor hydraulic remote control units that rotate the Yagi antennae. They are mounted to the right of the bomb aimer / radio operator’s seat. They would be rare if you have them. The only ones that I’ve seen are in the TBF at Deland, Florida. Talking about the seat, if I remember right, back when 2539 was on the farm, the remains of the original seat back were still attached to those rails on the bulkhead alongside the instrument panel. Did you salvage them? This was another mod that was done to all the target tugs. There was a narrow rear facing seat fitted there instead of the original larger two piece forward facing one which was further back and hinged down from the left side. Any plans to reinstall one?
Mike I can scan you the parts diagram for the seat and how it's connected. One of the recent TBM restorations in USA fully documented their quality rebuild and I'll send you the link if I can find it again.
Mike, I’ve finished the last of my drawings of the seat base. They’re scanned and emailed to you now. All the thickness of materials I’ve indicated are my best guess but I wouldn’t go thinner. I’d make the box section out of sheet 2024-T3 aluminium for strength. It’s quite a span between the attachment points and anything softer might buckle. I’ve marked most of the critical measurements so there should be enough info now for you to be able to make a start on any of the components that you have material on hand for.