Fuselage

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).

Looking into the rather bare and roofless aft fuselage with various frames and the aft cabin bulkhead removed. Lower skins and stringers await replacement. Two flare chutes can be seen in the middle of the photo.

Restored aft fuselage access door ready for final paint and upholstery. As this aircraft will not have a toilet/bathroom installed, the STA 330 bulkhead becomes the rear of the cabin, with the door providing access to the aft fuselage for inspections and maintenance.

New handmade cabin door frame halves, a substantial project in their own right.

Photo taken during the time consuming process of fitting, adjusting shape, trimming etc. of the new cabin door frame.

Testing the fit and setting up the alignment and pawl slots with the new cabin door.

Aft fuselage roof skins during riveting, the hole in the top centre of the roof is for the ventilation air scoop.

Setting up and drilling the mounting holes for the fully overhauled tailwheel oleo assembly. Rear bulkhead shown undergoing work before heat treatment.

New stringers, frames and skins can be clearly seen in this photograph as work continues. Other parts, previously cleaned, have already been painted. The wooden beams help make up the temporary internal scaffolding while the rear fuselage is rebuilt

Hundreds of skin pins hold the new skins on the rear fuselage while new stringers and frames are drilled off

Due to various issues such as cracks, corrosion and poor repairs, all parts of the rear bulkhead were replaced. Some parts required the design and construction of specialized press tooling

Newly manufactured rear bulkhead. All parts of the rear bulkhead have been replaced

View of the LH rear fuselage during riveting

Work progressing on the rear fuselage - skins, stringers, frames and stiffeners are rapidly being riveted in, the new rear bulkhead is also visible

All new parts for the rear bulkhead riveted in place, brace tube still to be installed.

View of the new rear bulkhead assembly and magnesium tailskid after riveting.

View of the belly structure during cleaning and repair

Looking aft from the wing spar area

Skins & parts being made for the forward belly area and battery / gear motor area structure

Short flight (Hawk Aero Ltd)

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

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