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1930
Great Lakes |
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This Great Lakes Biplane is at last down to the final details. It was totally disassembled, cleaned and repaired, new fabric covering was installed, all wiring and fluid lines reinstalled, new sheet metal cowls and fairings fabricated, the engine and propeller were reworked, every part was primed and painted, new screws, nuts, and bolts installed,... not to mention the hundreds of other miscellaneous items that require cleaning stripping, sandblasting, welding, riveting, woodworking, sanding, painting, polishing, wiring, soldering, plumbing, etc.....There's a whole lot more to making these old ships airworthy than one might imagine. We honestly have to love this work to keep doing it ! |
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Nearly Ready To GO !!! | ||||||||||||
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The Great Lakes Biplane was one of the first civilian airplanes to be truly "structurally engineered" for advanced aerobatics. Even with its marginal 90 HP Cirrus engine, this particular example was used for "outside loop" training in Omaha in the early 30s. It was fitted with a 180 HP Lycoming engine, inverted fuel and oil systems, and a smoke system in the 70s... for airshow work. This combination of a late 1920s design and contemporary power makes for a great performing and practical vintage airplane. |
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AUGUST 2011.... THE GREAT LAKES FLIES ! |
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A shot of the Great Lakes with a 29 Pontiac that we had in for a new interior.. Yep, We also do vintage car interiors when time permits ! |
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1959
Bellanca 14-19-3 (260) -Total Restoration project -New fabric with Butyrate finish -New Interior |
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Our Bellanca 260 as of summer 2008...This is our own plane....so it's usually on the back burner ! | |||||||||||||
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In April 2010, the Bellanca 260 was completed and made its first flight ! |
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| The Bellanca 14-19-3 was the last of the low wing Bellancas to be built with the distinctive "3 tail" feature. The extra vertical fins were installed at the end of the horizontal stabilizers for added directional stability and for "spin avoidance". Stall spin events were a major cause of deadly crashes in the early years of aviation and designers went to great lenghts to make their ships as "spinproof" as possible. The next Bellanca evolution was the 260A, which had a larger, more modern swept vertical fin and rudder...and no extra fins. The 260 A and B models evolved into the sleek Bellanca Viking. | ||||||||||||||||
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1940
Bellanca 14-9 (Junior) -Total Restoration project -New fabric with Butyrate finish -New Interior -New sheet metal First production version of triple tail Bellanca Powered by LeBlond 5-F (90 HP) |
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| During over 50 years of developement, and as larger & better engines came along, the Bellanca 14-9 airframe evolved into the 260 model (above), and eventually into the more contemporary Bellanca Vikings with 300 HP turbocharged engines under the hood. | ||||||||||||||||
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Sept 08... This is the most recent arrival at our shop ... a 1946 Aeronca 7-AC "Champ." It is in for a complete restoration and we will immediatly start by disassembling the Champ right down to the bare frame, sandblasting the fuselage frame,and coating it with epoxy. Then we'll begin the reassembly process, cleaning, inspecting, painting, (or replacing), and reinstalling every part... It takes a bunch of time, but it's great to be able to bring these old planes back to life ! |
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In a couple of these pics, you can see some of the rust damage we found before and after sanblasting the fuselage, and then the fuselage frame with bad tubing replaced, epoxy primer applied, and new wood formers and stringers installed. | ||||||||||||||
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Here's the Champ with new wrap around (boot cowl) installed, along with a new interior headliner and shoulder harness for the front and rear seats. Windshield and engine mount are on temporarily just for fitting things up properly. | |||||||||||||||
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When the fuselage, wings, and tails are repaired and ready for fabric cover, we usually assemble the aircraft and check for proper alignments and clearances prior to installing the fabric covering..... This is the time to find and fix any problems ! | ||||||||||||||
| The champ was then covered and painted with Stewart Systems waterborne fabric and paint system....a new and different experience for an "old timer" like me, but it works! We have some final painting and assembly to wrap up and the Champ will be ready to go. |  |
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In 1945 - 46, the Aeronca Champ was probably the most mass produced civilian aircraft EVER ! It was a rival to the famous Piper Cub just as a Ford was to a Chevy. A post war collapse of the civilian light aircraft industry forced Aeronca to quit making airplanes in 1951, and they began making components for large aerospace firms. The Champ design was modernized through the years, (into the Champion Citabria, Bellanca Decathalon and Scout), and all of these, including the original Champ are being produced today by the American Champion Corp, in Wisconsin. The Aeronca factory in Middletown, Ohio is still producing civilian and military aerospace components for large aircraft manufacturers. |
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