South African Skyraider

[Bearcat SA]

17 Nov 2017

[Bearcat SA]

17 Nov 2017

[Bearcat SA]

17 Nov 2017

[Bearcat SA]

16 June 2018

[Bearcat SA]

17 Nov 2017

Last edited by Bearcat SA on Sun Jun 17, 2018 12:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[Bearcat SA]

The restoration requires a new front spar .. the existing one is corroded. If there is someone out there with a NOS un-drilled spar .. then this would be useful and avoid having to have a new spar manufactured. If anyone has other Skyraider spares .. please pm me with a list of what you have.

[Bearcat SA]

16 June 2018

[p51]

[Fouga23]

Nice to see restoration started. Hope you can find a new spar!

[Ken]

Thanks for the update!

Ken

[Bearcat SA]

Updated pic of this project 28 March 2021

[Zac Yates]

I'd forgotten about this one! It's great to see a new photo.

[Ken]

Would be great to see another AD in the air.

Ken

[Bearcat SA]

The owner is under no illusions as to how long this project is going to take.... he is of Dutch heritage (read stubbiness) and refuses the concept that something cant be done.
This may include forging new spars as these suffered corrosion during many years of open storage
There is also the drive to keep this airframe 100% accurate ....so even the aft radio bays & trays are either being restored or replicated which is what they were working on when I visited
Latest estimate is another 4 years ... and that's with folk working on it full time

[Zac Yates]

There is also the drive to keep this airframe 100% accurate

That is an admirable goal and one I'm glad to hear!