Vultures Row Helldiver restoration update 2014 ...

[Mark Allen M]

Chuck I finally found a photo of that SB2C-1 Gun Turret installation you were desperately looking for. This photo should help you out now with your fabrication and assembly.


SB2C-1 Gun Turret proposal


SB2C-1 Gun Turret proposal

Best you give the WIXers an update on that Helldiver project of yours. The wolves are hungry!


SB2C Helldiver Curtiss-Wright Production Plant 3A 4 May 1943


SB2C Helldiver Production A North Line 5 November 1943

[JohnCFord]

Very nice!!!

~J~

[Mark Allen M]

BTW as we all should know, chicks dig Helldivers!!! (careful )


Members of the Curtiss-Wright Engineering Cadettes Program experiment with model planes c 1943


Delta employees and a SB2C Helldiver c 1943

And these guys? yah! they dig em too!


Photograph of three men looking at a model airplane during a contest at VEISHEA 1948.

If I post enough Helldiver photos Chuck is bound to show up and give us an update.

[F4U-1]

Mark...
That's some cool stuff(as always from you so I expect nothing less).
Like the prototype pics.
The chics! Well ok then!
WISH I HAD THAT SPINNER that Delta employee is sitting on !!!!!
You must have slept thru this post Dec 30th...
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=51756
Chuck

[Mark Allen M]

I knew it would work. And no I didn't sleep through that one as that would have been impossible.
Maybe it's just me, but you can never see enough photos posted of the artwork being created at Vultures Row. Amazing and fantastic work Chuck and his crew are creating and greatly appreciated that you would take the time to share your creativity here. It's a rare treat for sure, and for these guys to take the time to share their creativity with the rest of us is nothing short of amazing IMHO.

When one becomes a master of his craft, it becomes an ever more difficult task to improve on the skill it takes to create artwork at Chuck's level. It's quite an honor that folks such as Chuck, Scott and a few others here allow us to have a look at such a high level of craftsmanship. Something that should never be taken for granted here on WIX, or anywhere for that matter.

One thing I can state for certain is that I, for one, don't envy (yet appreciate and respect) these guys who have achieved the highest levels of perfectionism, professionalism and craftsmanship. To always live by the code that one can do better than perfect most certainly must be an exercise in futility. But somehow these type of folks seem to find a way to improve on perfection. Baffling to me how they do it but greatly appreciate the results from my end.

[F4U-1]

Gee thanks mark.
I didn't expect you to say all that.
We just do what we do. Sometimes it amazes me also.
Not that I'm trying to dodge it but there's not enough time in the day to post pictures all the time.
I'm going to throw the hook and line in the water here and leave you with this...
There's some happenings (several things) behind the scenes here at Vultures Row and its big news.

Chuck

[Mark Allen M]

Not that I'm trying to dodge it but there's not enough time in the day to post pictures all the time.

Blah! Blah! If I can find the time to post photos, so can you
That's what midnight to 3am is for Chuck, and trust me posting old photos on a nutty website in that window of time is certainly much better than what I used to do at that time. Lol

Don't leave us hanging either ...

[CAPFlyer]

I personally love following the work that goes into putting these planes back together.

Chuck, don't you guys have an office person? That should be part of their job - taking pretty pictures.

Get those updates whenever you can, I think the view counts speak for themselves - we love looking at what you guys are up to.

[planeoldsteve]

Mark
If you can find a picture ? I was driving to work at Delta one day back in the late eighties with my room mate at the time, he ask me to stop and look at a ford ranger on the side of the road thats for sale. An elderly lady comes out of the house and tells us that it is her sons truck and he wont be home for a while, she see's our uniforms and tells us that she worked at Delta back during the war. I asked her what she did at Delta? She tells me that she was on a crew that converted P-38 to F-5's. At that time the only F-5 that i knew of was made by Northrop and I ask her if she ment DC-3 to C-47. She gets made and tells me I know what a C-47 is and thats not what she did!! We went on to work thinking she was losing it. Now I would love to talk with her !

Steve

[Mark Allen M]

Neat story Steve. And there ya go! just when we thought some of your 'seniors' were a bit whacky! lol

Chuck I have to be honest I'm not quite understanding why it's taking you guys so long to finish that Helldiver. From the looks of it in these photos posted so far, the thing really doesn't come across as so difficult a machine to tape together. What's the holdup?


Curtiss Wright R-2600 engine (SB2C) CASU-1, Ford Island, Pearl Harbor, Territory of Hawaii August 1, 1946 (looks simple enough powerplant)


Some sort of wind tunnel testing of an SB2C prop? Beyond my level of knowledge, which isn't much to begin with.


Yah I know it's an A-25A cockpit layout but a cockpit is a cockpit ... right?


SB2C and F4U collision 13 April 1945 (none of this nonsense when you get that Corsair and Helldiver out together)


SB2C with Bill Meyer testing Flaps 13 April 1945


SB2C-1 NACA Langley c 1943


SB2Cs pictured in hangar, probably at NAS San Diego, CA. (why build just one Chuck)

[Mark Allen M]

You going to be wind tunnel testing that Helldiver when it's complete Chuck?

[Mark Allen M]

SB2C-5 Gunners position. I did not know this top portion of the canopy opened like that, or did I? Sorry for the poor quality.

[Mark Allen M]

I don't know, I kinda like this turret idea. You modelers better get busy now.

Wind tunnel testing an SB2C-1

[Mark Allen M]

[Mark Allen M]