Wing Men

These wings may be fabric covered, but they are heavy and awkward to carry.  Tom Damico, Tom Garden and Bob Oxford had just taken them from the hangar and the waiting fuselage.  We're lucky to have a paved apron for the assembly.

Nick looks a bit like an orchestra conductor here...

After a lot of muscle strain and patience, the wings were on.  

Mellow Yellow is beginning to resemble something that will fly!

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Mellow Yellow

Meet Mellow Yellow! Photo by Tom.

We wondered if this day would ever come. Tom and I also wondered what color was waiting for the Clipper, since Nick was keeping it sort of secret (as in: he bought the paint so long ago his memory wasn't cooperating).  Then painter extraordinaire Bob Oxford arrived one recent morning and "let there be paint!". Bob makes it look easy. I've seen another plane that Bob painted and it was breathtakingly beautiful; the man doesn't disappoint. Just wait until he paints the stripes!

That's Bob with Nick last winter, planning and joking.
 Sure, it all looked like fun back then. Until the heavy-duty respirators went on.

The above three photos show the silver and white undercoats that had been applied prior to the final yellow. It had been an ordeal applying these coats because the paint sprayers, including a newly purchased one, malfunctioned.  Worse than malfunctioning, the sprayers caused mayhem, uneven spraying, clogging, choking off. It was so frustrating, but it makes the sight of Mellow Yellow, oh so sweet. Thank you Bob!

Ready

Set

Fly!

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Poly-Fiber Predicaments

Nick has restored many planes using the Poly-Fiber system, and he has a copy of their manual in the hangar. I wish I'd read it before we started. The manual is full of tips and advice, and would have forewarned that trying to apply a subsequent coat of Poly-Brush over a not-quite-dry previous coat can cause the second coat to lift up and off the Poly-Fiber.  Note the light color spots on the fuselage just over Tom's right shoulder.

Looking closely you can see a couple of "lifted"spots where another coating of Poly-Brush will be required.

Another coat  of Poly-Brush is generally a good idea.
The orange tint becomes deeper and richer and any missed spots become quite evident.

Executive decision making...

...or deciding if the work table can be cleared for lunch?

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Hangar Talk

Loitering around hangars, checking out the latest projects, swapping stories (controller transgressions are especially popular), are a pilot's version of the post-game replay.  Pilots like to tell tales and share information as well; so it is that people are making their way to Nick and Tom's hangar to see how the Clipper is coming along. It's a good excuse to take a break from the Poly-Brush.

Don Perricone talks to Tom while George Hernandez and Nick figure something out...

Don Perricone has aviation and restoration experience, click on Don's name for a small piece of his story. George Hernandez, my partner in a Cessna 150 here at Marcellus, has a great aviation website that you're going to want to see; click on George's name for his blog "SOARCNY".

Student pilots with airplane restoration skills drop by too (this includes me, more or less); Bob Oxford, master painter  (I recently saw some of his handiwork and it was flawless), stopped by to see Nick and the Clipper's progress.

Bob and Nick

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

More Fun Than Golf

  

Not that I've ever actually played golf, so what do I know, but watching (ahem, "assisting") Nick and Tom restore the Clipper sure has been fun. Even when parts don't fit, parts vanish, or mystery parts present themselves, these guys keep smiling.  If I've learned anything from this experience it's that persistence pays off; re-think, re-jigger, go home and sleep on it, and try again tomorrow -  somehow the parts will fall into place.

Sometimes the parts really do vanish.  "Did anybody see where that went?"

Not all work sessions leave us this happy - this was a good one.  Wayward parts notwithstanding.

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Poly-Fiber Couture

Let the nip & tuck begin. Tom stands ready to fill our workspace with toxic glue fumes as the Poly-Fiber is secured. It was a painstaking task for Tom as he secured the sleeve with clothespins, trimmed excess fabric, then glued the fitted and aligned covering to the frame. Nick worked alongside, enduring Tom's jokes about Aviation Inspectors ("AIs").

AI wisdom...or a discussion regarding lunch?

Beautiful, isn't it?

Tom looks so happy and serene here...could be the glue fumes.

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.

Bit by Bit, What it Takes

Tell someone that you may have to rebuild the engine of your restoration project antique airplane, and they likely will nod their head in empathy and admiration. Bring up your travails covering the airplane's frame with fabric and dope, and you've instigated a heartfelt reminiscence of blind rib-stitching, Poly-Brush highs, (no-heat) heat guns, migrating Poly -Fiber seams, and needing just one more inspection ring.  If you want to burst that bubble of awe --- show them your workspace. emphasis on WORK!

Bit by bit, the job comes together and it's not just an abstract idea. An airplane takes shape.

And through it all, Nick and Tom are still smiling.

Photos and text by Kathleen Jacques.