Warbird Information Exchange

Some Canuck probably. Was that you Ollie?

I suppose the ex-MOF Zero with the R-1830, P-47's w/o working turbocharger, B-17's w/ non-operating bombshackles, A-26 w/ extra window in the back, modern electrical systems, t/w instead of skids, pilots w/o original uniforms, engines w/modern spark plugs, airframe w/ new skins, newer tires, every warplane w/o original radios, w/o gunsights, and w/o working machine guns are all ruined?

Supposedly, if someone wanted all these goodies or junk (depanding on how you look at it) in the plane they could go ahead and put them in at a later time. Even the uniforms..



This is what IA mechanics, AC-43-13, and for hire aerospace engineers are for.

Welding a Hurricane's tubes together is rather more permanent than a Zero with an 1830, or a P-47 with an inop turbo. Also, would it really be that much cheaper to do all the strength and fatigue analysis to support a welded frame rather than just creating the tooling to do the job properly(or paying the experts to do it for you)?

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Dan Johnson

Good question, I suppose that would be up to the guy doing the job.

bdk, you fool!

It was Bob Diemert!!

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Olivier Lacombe -- Harvard Mk.4 C-GBQB

Bob Diemert is a Canuck right?

Yes, from Manitoba he is.

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Olivier Lacombe -- Harvard Mk.4 C-GBQB

Are you about 1m tall and green now?

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Dan Johnson

are any of them major structural or design changes? the only one I can see which might be, if the window is big enough, close to that would be the A26 you mentioned.

as for changing from the joints to welded then by welding the original airframe sections together you are making it virtually impossible to ever return them to the same configuration as they were. a permanent and irreversible change which I am certain at least some people would view as undesirable.



Exactly. to remove the welds and replace with the joints would be next to completely impossible if you wanted to return it to anything more than a static display without complete replacement of almost every component and airframe section.

I realise that in some this is basically done and easily done now but not with hurricanes. In this case considering the amount and degree of difference and testing and analysis and definately expense you'd be going through I reckon a complete new made airframe would be better, quicker, cheaper and easier with a data plate screwed onto it. so why bother even getting the old aiframe at all except for the data plate. why not save it for a museum if going to "adapt" it to that degree.



This is what IA mechanics, AC-43-13, and for hire aerospace engineers are for.

yep and how complete new built replications ( although in this case using an original airframe as a source of basic tubing and castings etc ) come about possibly.

sorry but if you treated an airframe like that then to me it is simply a new plane built with old materials.

if he's the guy that was using something like a val or judy to make a new military aircraft named the avenger or vinidicator or something similar then he might be the guy I am thinking of, also had a firefly and a few other things as well which when properly examined caused some interesting expressions of disbelief.

had done things like , from a very vague memory, installed a york motor package on the firefly.

What the ??????



Jeffrey, Diemert is the man. He rebuilt the CAF's Zero. I remember seeing a very interesting documentary about him on CBC a while back.

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Olivier Lacombe -- Harvard Mk.4 C-GBQB

I don't doubt the stories of Diemert, I've heard a few of them myself. The manner you chose to say it in, however reminded me of a certain 1m tall wrinkley green puppet.

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Dan Johnson

Hey Jeffrey:


How so? You would've had to do that in the first restoration anyway. Why not do it w/ welds, and let somebody else waste 20 years on the silly little frame splices.

right up till the wrinkley bit and rereading that for some reason I kept thinking of kermit the french. How the mighty would have fallen for Yoda to be relegated to the likes of kermit

so there is no old material left in your T6? think about it. you weld those tubes now and because of the metal removal and such in removing the welds for the next "restoration" every single one of those tubes will probably have to be replaced unless the bird is grounded. I realise that an extremely large percentage of the airframe gets replaced in a crash rebuild anyway, it has to be because of stress, fractures, impact points, tension and torsional effects. What I am saying is that by welding the new materials you are removing further another link with the past and modifying a design to the point where to my mind it is no more than an external look alike with a data plate.

would you buy a flying bird only to know that should you have to do a full restoration on it at some stage you'll have to replace every airframe component from the skins in because of how the previous owner had "restored" ( more like rebuilt in this case ) it? I wouldn't, I'd go genuine. if nothing else you certainly haven't ruled out the higher grades of museum for it's final resting place.