Short flight (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Test fitting (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Temporarily back together (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Gutted cabin (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Replacement rib (rear spar carry-through area) being made (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Rear spar carry-through repairs (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Cabin subfloor (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Forward cabin bulkhead being cleaned up (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Painted bulkhead (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Ring spar (Hawk Aero Ltd)

New roof skins (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Fitting of new side skins (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Pre-polishing of new fuselage skins (Hawk Aero Ltd)

RH side of fuselage during re-skinning (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Top of fuselage during re-skinning (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Tail removed (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Aft fuselage minus roof skins (Hawk Aero Ltd)

Hanging under the custom made rolling gantry, the fuselage inches its way towards the centre section for trial fitting, October 2006

Trial fitting the fuselage, October 2006

Fuselage sits back on the centre section during trial fit, October 2006

Stripped cabin awaiting further work, October 2006

The end of this rib had been completely consumed by corosion (LH side of picture)

New web, customized extruded caps and bottom channel replaced the severely corroded originals

Underfloor area during restoration, ribs removed, new rear spar carry-through already installed

Repairs and cleaning of the bulkhead between the cockpit and cabin

Bulkhead between cockpit and cabin after repairs and painting

The sturdy ring spar shown after careful cleaning, inspection and painting. Re-skinning the fuselage begins - each and every skin will be replaced.

Re-skinning of the fuselage progresses toward the tail.

New side skin about to be riveted up.

A new fuselage skin receives pre-polishing treatment before installation and riveting. We are presently using the Nuvite range of polishing products. A wool compounding pad can be seen in the foreground.

Dull, weathered and damaged skins make way for new (November 08)

Hours of sheet metal work, cleaning, repairs and pre-polishing are translating into rapid visual progress on the fuselage. 3x clusters of holes in the roof mark the locations of cabin ventilation exhaust ducts, main air inlet scoop opening is shown on extreme left.

As the aft fuselage re-skinning begins, the tail centre section is removed for rebuild / re-skin.

View of the aft fuselage showing the flare racks and various frames (to be replaced).