Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless Project for Pioneer Aero Ltd.

[ErrolC]

May 26, 2023 8:04:16 GMT 12 Dave Homewood said:

Parts of it have been there for ages Errol, the fuselage is still en route.

Actually I looked at the posts about shipping the fuselage and my brain thought that May 28th had already happened! I've been looking at a lot of dates this morning, my head is clearly muddled.

The trip will take about a month, with arrival on or about May 28th.

Checking the tracking sites, Olivia Maersk got to Tauranga yesterday and is alongside. Delivery to Pioneer could be days or even weeks away.

[Deleted]

Exciting!!!

[Dave Homewood]

The Dauntless fuselage has arrived at Ardmore.

www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=740791647835784&set=a.563575942224023

[Antonio]

AWESOME.......

[ErrolC]

A batch of the unloading, with the promise of sans wrapping to come.
www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid02rFYsWFwU89GsXwiW97mVZ7nuUbzoDpayWoiGNjQN8DuhcBVG23gLBn426gsfbWxbl&id=100057148672320

[ErrolC]

So what is the machine on the right? Doesn't look right for the Kingfisher.
www.facebook.com/photo/?fbid=741440791104203&set=pcb.741457104435905

[shorty]

P-36 ?

[Deleted]

Jun 1, 2023 20:56:18 GMT 12 ErrolC said:

So what is the machine on the right? Doesn't look right for the Kingfisher.

It's another SBD, cut down for use as a movie studio wind machine.
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr
Untitled by Zac Yates, on Flickr

[l29]

Jun 1, 2023 21:22:31 GMT 12 shorty said:

P-36

P36 is at Avspecs

[ErrolC]

From Pioneer FB (we all had our fingers crossed for this, right?)
"NEWSLASH". At late notice and with the kind permission of #militaryaviationmuseum the SBD that has recently arrived at Pioneer Aero Ltd will, all things being equal, be on display at the upcoming warbirds-on-parade this coming Sunday (4 June 2023) here at Ardmore, New Zealand. If you wish to see her before we start restoration this is your chance.

Check out nzwarbirds.org.nz/warbirds-on-parade-2023 for more details about the air show.

[Deleted]

Excellent news!

[Deleted]

Here's the entry in Geoff Goodall's Warbirds Directory for this aircraft:

4814 SBD-5 Bu36175
- ditched Lake Michigan, off carrier USS Wolverine 4.12.44
- NMNA [National Museum of Naval Aviation, now National Naval Aviation Museum - ZY], NAS Pensacola FL 9.94/21 ("B-22" recov. from lake 14.9.94 by A&T Recovery Inc; hulk stored NAS Pensacola, stripped for parts)
- Gerald Yagen/ Military Aviation Museum, Virginia Beach VA: arr. unrest. 3.21/22 (planned to be moved to Auckland NZ during 2022 for airworthy restoration)

[Deleted]

On Facebook the team at Pioneer Aero has shared a detailed look inside several areas of the Dauntless' fuselage.

[ErrolC]

Update from MAM and Pioneer - the fuselage is now split.
www.militaryaviationmuseum.org/sbd-dauntless-fuselage-divided/

[baz62]

Very interesting watching the video splitting the upper half of the fuselage. Interesting how they did this for the Dauntless (and the P40), I wonder if it was a way to speed up construction? Or just another method aeronautical designers used.

[oj]

Regarding "a gentleman's aerial touring carriage "
The ground-based carriage has the advantage of you being able to ask "Once more over the cobblestones please driver" (with the girl in your lap)!

[chrisr]

It would be interesting to know if there are any updates on this project.

[ErrolC]

There are many updates on the MAM restoration blog, with photos from Pioneer.

www.militaryaviationmuseum.org/restoration-updates/

[chrisr]

Oct 1, 2024 18:06:57 GMT 12 ErrolC said:

There are many updates on the MAM restoration blog, with photos from Pioneer.

www.militaryaviationmuseum.org/restoration-updates/

Thanks, I only looked on Pioneer's site which hasn't been updated in quite a while.