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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 18, 2015 22:25:35 GMT 12
Here's another great update on the Hudson that Denys Jones has kindly sent through to me: Hi Dave, Another step forward for NZ2035 has seen the installation of the wing flap actuating ram. We'd had a ram for a long time but it was missing it's cap end. That end has a tab on it which is one of the mounting points so oops can't fit the ram! Recently Dave Brew from Gisborne turned up a cap in their pool of Lodestar stuff and so an exchange for a Lodestar parts manual was done. Purists can argue that being a Lodestar part it is wrong for a Hudson. This is because a Lodestar part has but one tab on it that sits on top of the mounting bracket while the Hudson one has two that sit top and bottom. However Dave Brew also supplied a copy of a Lockheed manual detailing parts interchangeabilty between Hudson, Lodestar and Ventura which says the Lodestar part is fittable to the Hudson. So if its good enough for Lockheed its good enough for me! The next problem was that part of the installation is a mount for pulleys and cable ends and somehow the one in 2035 had got smashed and we only had something like a third of it. So with some bits fashioned from, of all things, spar webs from surplus Callair B1 wing spars, of which we have several, and epoxy resin the rest of the unit has been made up and now the ram and cables, pulleys etc are in place. The original bit is obviously the green end in the first photo. Sadly all of this will be hidden from view when the bay it is in has it's tops put on it, these being a platform for the navigator to use to do his shots out of the astrodome. One thing that is stopping this progressing is the need for one metal pulley P/N 51579 in case anyone out there has one! The next item on the agenda is the ventral gun tub which is currently out of the aircraft and being refurbed as shown. Hope this sort of detail stuff is of interest to a serious Hudsononphile. cheers Denys     |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 31, 2015 22:34:03 GMT 12
A new update from Denys Jones: Hi Dave, Some more bits you might like and/or want to post for consumption. We've got past a milestone with finally getting the repairs to our hangars officially signed off. After $400K+ of repairs we can now legally open the buildings to visitors again but will do so once they are presentable in our view. The public we've allowed through recently (last weekend we celebrated Ferrymead's 50th anniversary) are, like most people from outside CHC, stunned by the scale of the repairs needed.  We've ended up with something like 300 metres of epoxy crack injection in the tilt panels and heaps of internal steel bracing (top and bottom of the panels) to hold the panels in place as the attached show.  Tilt panel buildings are great till you have a quake! We're now in clean up mode (the amount of dust generated in the repairs is amazing) hopefully to get things open to the public by xmas. Today I spent the whole day washing down the aircraft so now all the dust is on the floor so next week we have to wash the floors and get it out of the buildings once and for all. Then the next task is reassembly of the various displays around particularly BRF and then the assembly of BXG. We've also then got to deal to the C47 where as the attached shows the undercarriage support took a pasting in the quakes as she rocked and rolled. She tore the dyna bolts of her mounts out of the floor.  It's great to at last be legally allowed to do things in the buildings again. ttfn |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 31, 2015 22:34:33 GMT 12
Congratulations to Denys and the team at Ferrymead for this milestone!!
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Post by 11SQNLDR on Nov 1, 2015 4:54:42 GMT 12
Great work from the Ferrymead team, thanks for the updates!
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Post by baz62 on Nov 1, 2015 15:42:23 GMT 12
Yep well done lads all the best to getting it all ship shape for the public once again.
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fb6
Flight Lieutenant
Posts: 96
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Post by fb6 on Nov 12, 2015 23:32:17 GMT 12
Absolutely awesome Dave, Denys and to all others involved for firstly creating this dedicated 'Sticky' Page, but also the great pics, great effort & work by those folks in affecting these monumental repairs - And now the doors can be opened again for visitors - and the restorations can continue - Awesome job folks, my humble and deep thanks as I am unable to get down there and participate, so it's especially great to me to see & read now as things continue to develop ~
Many thanks
Cheers
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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2015 10:21:54 GMT 12
I had no idea the damage was so severe. Well done to all involved.
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Post by scrooge on Nov 13, 2015 11:02:29 GMT 12
Does anybody down there (or in general) want what appears to be a full set of F27 Manuals (plus 2 F28 Engineers Handbooks)?
I can get them to CHCH or Palmerston North airports.
PM me.
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Post by denysjones on Nov 13, 2015 20:32:48 GMT 12
Hi Scroooge,
Thanks for the offer but we're well flush as we got a raft of them from AirNZ's training school a few months ago as part of their relocation procedures.
We have sent a set over to the guys at Queensland Air Museum along with several RR Dart bits from the same source.
Thanks for thinking of us anyway. If anyone else is reading this and wants some please get in touch.
We have materials for 100, 200 400 500 and bits of other series and we need to resolve disposals soonest due to storage issues.
Denys Jones.
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Post by denysjones on Nov 13, 2015 20:42:24 GMT 12
Totally out there thing guys! On the Ferrymead Park Website they're running a photo likes competition which has been led by someones photo of a wet nighttime street scené in the park townshp. Last weekend we had a family group through who were brave enough to venture into the hangars where we were washing down the floor etc to get rid of the repair dust. They have posted a great shot of BRf as per the link below which is now competing for the top slot. ...if all you Facebookers actually really like it and then facebook like it then they might win...however best thing is the BRF get recognition for the beauty she is as the shot shows! www.facebook.com/ferrymeadpark?fref=tscheers! (I can't vote of course due to obvious bias) |
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Post by agile on Dec 6, 2015 8:52:42 GMT 12
Yesterday Denys and I (with some help from a 4 ton jack) lifted the C-47 clear of the remains of her stands, and then removed the skis. Sounds easy when I type it quick. We then re-inflated her tyres to get them back to the more traditional round shape, and we are now all ready to construct a new set of stands, that will be less prone to 'rollover'. Apologies for the poor quality picture - but it gives an idea of where she now stands.  The best news is that these buildings are now OPEN to the public for the first time in 4 years and 9 months.  |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 6, 2015 9:26:13 GMT 12
Congrats on the reopening of the hangar.
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Post by baz62 on Dec 12, 2015 21:29:52 GMT 12
Anthony and I popped into Ferrymead to drop off a Hudson part and took the opportunity to check out progress on the Mosquito. Considering how bad the fuselage is in places they are doing a first class job of restoring the structure. This in the bomb bay towards the rear bulkhead:  And in the same area after repair:  Front view with a couple of spinners:  And one of the Merlins:  As mentioned the collection is now open to the public and if you haven't been go along, especially if you are a helicopter fan as they have quite the growing collection with a couple of types well along in their restorations. Still quite bizzare to wander past rows of helicopters and then to see the forward top section of a Sunderland flying boat sitting alongside! This too is being worked on. |
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Post by agalbraith on Dec 13, 2015 6:32:48 GMT 12
Heya Baz
Yes mate they are all doing an amazing job aren't they! I know they put their heart and souls into preserving these airframes. And to see the attention to detail in the Hudson is second to none. Without a doubt this will be one of the most complete Hudson survivors of the very few that exist. For those wondering, the guys working on the Mosquito are real silent achievers and what they have achieved with 75yr old timber is remarkable to say the least. The Mosquito fuselage is really starting to look good. It is nice to see the fuse all trued up and she looks so much better with the twist out of the nose and the canopy back up in the correct place again. Of course that is just the tip of the iceberg.
One thing that I feel deserves a mention (and that they wouldn't say) is that these guys are doing a lot of this resto work out of their own pockets. Finances are extremely tight and any help financially makes a huge difference. I know a lot of you sit and look at what is going on through your computer screens, but one way you can make a difference is with a donation......Please give it some thought!
Cheers
Anthony
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Post by agile on Dec 13, 2015 21:47:37 GMT 12
Thanks for your kind words Baz and Ants, as well as your various helpfulnesses! Another pleasing event for the Mossie team is that one of our number, having worked with us for two years beginning while he was still in high school, has just graduated from the Air NZ Aviation Institute and landed an apprenticeship at Air NZ. Not sure he will want to continue doing aircraft on Saturdays when he is working on them the other days of the week, but we are pleased to have had his help, and maybe contributed in a small way to his success. We currently have a 3 high school age volunteers, again rather giving the lie to that old saw about 'young people these days'.
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Post by agile on Dec 20, 2015 6:04:18 GMT 12
We had another successful day this weekend, which saw the wing of the Friendship moved inside. Due to space constraints we couldn't get the wing lifted in using the crane, so it had to come through the entrance under the Bristol Freighter cockpit, which was, er, a tight fit even with the doors removed. This meant man-handling the wing through the door on the diagonal, and as it weighs ~900kgs this was no small task for 8 bods. Anthony came by to lend a hand, and while I was on the other side from him I suspect he may have had 850kgs all to himself a couple of times. Once we had reassembled the doors of the hangar one of our new recruits and I spent most of the rest of the day pulling birds nests out of the centre section of the Friendly. We spent quite some time trying to free the latches on the accessory gearbox bay hatch, which like most kiwi blokes was quite reluctant to open up. This was made more difficult by the fact that some mechanically declined personage over the years had tried to get in using a screwdriver to prise the hatch up. Finally!  Opening this hatch revealed yet more WeetBix. This is why metal aircraft don't survive in the open. Not too worried about this one, which will be a straightforward repair,  But this one, in an alloy extrusion will be a bit of a problem. The extrusion is an I section, and the corrosion goes right through the web:  Anyways it is time to look back on what has been a pretty good year for us. Thanks to all of you who have given us moral or material support. Between Denys and I we'll try to keep the posts flowing next year. Merry Christmas! Cheers A |
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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 20, 2015 9:15:14 GMT 12
Cool!
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Post by agalbraith on Dec 20, 2015 11:44:09 GMT 12
LOL, yes Alex! That wing got mighty heavy at one point......I even got the involuntary shakes when the load came on. Dagy said I went past red and turned purple!! I would be lying if I said I couldn't feel a twinge in the ole back today. Heh I am sure I am not the only one with damage, I think I saw Denys shaking his hand at one point. Looked like it went between the wingtip and concrete tilt slab.
Great to help out as always, and usually fairly entertaining after the fact.
Cheers
Ants
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Post by Dave Homewood on Dec 20, 2015 12:35:50 GMT 12
People just don't realise what efforts go on behind the scenes at museums sometimes, eh Anthony. Well done to the team for this advance in the preservation of the Friendship.
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Post by Ian Warren on Dec 20, 2015 13:34:03 GMT 12
Its impressive to see how this Mossie has survived, hell's I checked this hull out , Gawd! 30 plus years back and with the history off these things coming unglued it is still in remarkable condition
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