As always WarbirdsNews will post updates from restoration projects as they arrive. We have a small report from the Sandbar Mitchell project for you today. These guys are continually marching forwards with their work on the center section.
The team have completed their visual inspection of the rear spar for the left side. They have paint-stripped all of the removed parts including the spar webbing, webbing stiffeners, castings and spar caps. As you will see in the photograph at left, they painted the corroded, unusable left spar parts red, and will replace them in time, but they are currently keeping the assembly clecoed together to preserve its shape while they work on the forward spar. They have already started drilling on the forward spar webbing, and hope to have it apart in May. Once the left forward spar is inspected, and clecoed back together in a similar manner to the rear left spar they will start to disassemble the right side of the center section.
Tyler, one of the museum’s youth volunteers, drew up the “Warbirds Of Glory” logo in a CAD package and then sawed it from aluminum sheet using the water jet cutter at his school. Tyler then donated it to the museum, and it looks great up against the B-25’s fuselage.
Work continues on the Pratt & Whitney R-2800 display engine. The youth volunteers are enjoying the learning experience of taking apart such a large engine. To date they have removed the valve covers, magnetos, exhaust and baffling. With special tools in hand they will detach the intake, pushrod tubes and cylinders next.
There are also new items coming to the Sandbar Mitchell online store!
WarbirdsNews will continue to bring news on this fascinating project as soon as it becomes available. Please click HERE to see our previous stories. Please also visit the Sandbar Mitchell Team’s website to find out more about the aircraft’s history and how you too can help the project… Or join their Facebook page.
