Cessna UC-78 Restoration

[Stony Jim]

Hold on! I get up there Tues., I'll get measurements. Suppose they would be helpful to you.

[hang the expense]

You bet, glad to help.

[XL446]

Thanks for the photos and the news of this restoration! Always happy to see this category of aircraft restored to (hopefully) flying condition.
Do you think the restoration might be ready sometime next year, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the type?

[SaxMan]

Thanks for the photos and the news of this restoration! Always happy to see this category of aircraft restored to (hopefully) flying condition.
Do you think the restoration might be ready sometime next year, to coincide with the 75th anniversary of the type?

Jack once told me "If you're going to go through all the trouble to fix up an airplane, let it fly". The plan is to restore her to airworthy and to do so as authentically as possible. There's never a set timetable for any of the restorations, and honestly, I couldn't even venture a guess on when it would be ready for flight. I imagine it will take less time than the TBM, since the project was substantially complete and generally in pretty decent condition.

The Bobcat just has such wonderful, art-deco, lines that are so reminiscent of the time it was designed. I'd put the Douglas B-23 in that same category.

[SaxMan]

Pics taken from today's workday

Workday begins:

DSC_0001 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Frank Darney working on the rudder pedals:

DSC_0004 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Tailwheel strut:

DSC_0005 by onyxsax, on Flickr

The job I was assigned, along with Dave Harris, was painting the metal tubing today. Here I am prepping the tubing by sanding it with mesh. I quickly put on a pair of gloves after this picture was taken. That stuff can tear your hands up!

DSC_0008 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Tiny, Jack Kosko (bending) and Gene Ambrose (seating) working up near the front of the plane:

DSC_0010 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Dave Harris and Bill DeHaven working at the tail end:

DSC_0012 by onyxsax, on Flickr

[SaxMan]

More detail work up near the nose:

DSC_0020 by onyxsax, on Flickr

All the metal tubing had to be painted by hand. Here I am painting:

DSC_0025 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Dave Harris painting "his" side of the airplane:

DSC_0027 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Bill DeHaven prepping additional tubing, while Dave Harris paints:

DSC_0030 by onyxsax, on Flickr

The plane has been rotated onto its right side, and I had to work my way into the tubing to get at some of the areas that needed to be touched up:

DSC_0039 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Work continues on wiring up the instrument panel. :

DSC_0049 by onyxsax, on Flickr

[SaxMan]

Before:

DSC_0055 by onyxsax, on Flickr

After - it's not exactly the same spot, but the structure is virtually identical:

DSC_0056 by onyxsax, on Flickr

The Bobcat's seats. I'm going to guess that they probably aren't too comfortable to sit on at this point!

DSC_0062 by onyxsax, on Flickr

Another shot of some of the detail work being done up in the cockpit:

DSC_0064 by onyxsax, on Flickr

[PropsRule]

Thank you for the detailed pictures of one of my favourite aircraft!

"Rotisserie" restorations are the way to go for cars or (small) airplanes.

[JohnB]

Every time I see one i can hear Sky say..."Come on Penny, we can get there before dark..."

Great plane, too bad there aren't more flying.

[Warbird Kid]

You guys are Pros. Once we get the Curtiss Hangar finished, we'll gladly give her a great home! The Bridgeport Flying Service did fly UC-78s at one point.

[jasonp51d]

Fantastic to see photos of the restoration - superb work.

Bobcats were used by many 8th AF fighter groups as hacks.

A colour photo of ours can be found at:-

http://www.361fg.com/Main/Enlarge/JamesD/9.htm

Unfortunately it met a very sad end when it crashed into a hillside in thick fog near RAF Halton in Buckinghamshire on 14 November 1944, while returning from Exeter. The crew of a RAF ambulance recovered the pilot, Lt. John J. Sadinski of the 376th Squadron, and his passenger, Lt. Charles R. Law, Group Transportation Officer, both seriously injured, but Lt. Sadinski later died in the ambulance.

I would one day like to add a Bobcat cockpit or display to our museum to honour Lt. Sadinski.

Cheers

Jason

http://www.bottishamairfieldmuseum.org.uk
http://www.361fg.com

[SaxMan]

You guys are Pros. Once we get the Curtiss Hangar finished, we'll gladly give her a great home!

Jack and his regular crew are definitely the Pros. The knowlege and the level of craftmanship that they posess is mind boggling. Me? I'm just trying to learn as much as I can.

[The Inspector]

A bit O.T. but a tip to make the tubing painting got faster I know it works on iron railings and fences. wear a heavy duty pair of gauntlet style rubber gloves, put cheap cotton garden gloves over them, dip your gloved hands in the paint and start sliding your hands along the tubes. Finished? just peel off the gloves and toss in the garbage then do touchup and corners with a brush-
mom raised ugly kids, not stupid ones

[Obergrafeter]

Question: In the picture of the tailwheel strut there is a solid "Grizzly" tire on the workbench, what is it for? I have two identical NOS tires and cannot figure what they are for. Anyone need them?
3 1/2x7s' 2 ea. NOS

Last edited by Obergrafeter on Mon Mar 18, 2013 7:26 pm, edited 1 time in total.

[1/5_UC-78]

A bit O.T. but a tip to make the tubing painting got faster I know it works on iron railings and fences. wear a heavy duty pair of gauntlet style rubber gloves, put cheap cotton garden gloves over them, dip your gloved hands in the paint and start sliding your hands along the tubes. Finished? just peel off the gloves and toss in the garbage then do touchup and corners with a brush-
mom raised ugly kids, not stupid ones

There is a suspension bridge in Michigan(I think) that the painters use this technique to paint the steel cables so that paint gets down in the crevices of the twisted cables. I think there was a Dirty Jobs episode on this.