Cadet Air Corps Museum AT-10 Restoration Report – Winter 2024

Beech AT-10 Wichita restoration continues to make great progress at AirCorps Aviation!

A rare color image of an AT-10 during refueling. (USAAF photo via National Archives)


Periodically, we have presented reports from Chuck Cravens detailing the restoration of an ultra-rare Beechcraft AT-10 Wichita WWII advanced, multi-engine trainer. As mentioned in previous articles, the project belongs to the Cadet Air Corps Museum and comprises the remains of several airframes, but is primarily focused upon Wichita 41-27322. The restoration is taking place at world-renowned AirCorps Aviation in Bemidji, Minnesota, and here is their latest update on progress with the Wichita as it stands presently:

Most of the recent work on the AT-10 has focused on the empennage. The restoration team removed, refurbished (or remade) and reinstalled each component from the original vertical stabilizer, one-at-a-time, so everything stayed in alignment, negating the need for a fixture. Some fuselage work also took place – such as test-fitting the tail wheel, tail cone, and the skin under the horizontal stabilizer.  The team also applied a second coat of varnish to various wooden parts, along with the fuselage assembly and cockpit floor. 

Empennage

As Aaron inspected the empennage, it became clear that the vast majority of its glued joints required separating and re-glueing. Thankfully, most of the interior wooden structure is in good shape, so Aaron, as already intimated, was able to use a procedure for restoring the vertical stabilizer without needing a fixture. He went through the structure, removing one rib at a time to assess its airworthiness potential, then refurbishing or remanufacturing it as necessary. He then added the now fully-airworthy component back to the main assembly before beginning the procedure anew for the next rib. By removing only one rib at a time, the overall structure maintained its alignment. Aaron only had to remake two of the ribs, being able to restore all of the other components by simply separating them into their individual parts and then re-gluing the joints.

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AirCorps Aviation’s CAD department has produced a rendering of the AT-10’s horizontal stabilizer. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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In this image, a newly-refabricated root rib is being trial-fitted to the vertical stabilizer structure. The unusable, original rib lies atop the fin. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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In this image we can see the spruce cap strips and upright strips have been glued and clamped to the plywood part of the root rib during its remanufacture. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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This is the other rib which had to be remade due to the original being beyond salvage. It is the third rib up from the base rib in the vertical stabilizer, and is in the process of being glued together. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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The newly-manufactured root rib now attached to the vertical stabilizer. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Here we can see that the newly-made third rib and a 1/16” plywood reinforcement strip for the rudder hinge installation are glued and clamped in place. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Aaron painstakingly sands the vertical stabilizer trailing edge
spar cap to create a perfect fit. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Strips were glued and clamped to some of the forward rib sections. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Here we can see the locations where the restored forward rib sections will be reinstalled. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Clamping these components together during re-glueing can be complex! (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Factory markings are always intriguing on old aircraft. The inked ‘F 183’ seen here is actually an inspection stamp. If you look carefully, you can see that someone wrote “Globe“ beside it in pencil. This indicates that Globe Aircraft originally manufactured this component rather than Beechcraft. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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He we can see additional factory markings, and these appear to indicate a part number change. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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The fairing strip in Aaron’s hand fits between the vertical stabilizer and the rudder. It has a concave form which matches the rudder’s rounded
leading edge. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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In this image, we can see that the rudder fairing strip has been re-glued to the rudder’s rear spar. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Here we can see the concave surface of the rudder fairing strip. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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As this image reveals, the vertical stabilizer’s inner structure is nearing completion. (image via AirCorps Aviation)

Fuselage

The cockpit section is currently at the paint shop where the dash and the instrument and auxiliary panels will receive a coat of black paint. 

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The cockpit floor is finished and has received its two coats of varnish. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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The aluminum tail cone during its trial-fitting to the fuselage. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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The tailwheel mount has been painted and fitted to the fuselage’s rear bulkhead. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Here is a view of the tailwheel mounting structure, as seen from the rear of the aircraft. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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An unrestored tailwheel strut is test-fitted to the
mounting structure. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Another view of the tail wheel strut from a different angle. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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The tailwheel protrudes from the tailcone. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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The horizontal stabilizer mounts atop this
fuselage skin section. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Attach fittings for the horizontal stabilizer have been installed. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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A new belly skin section is in the process of being trimmed to fit. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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These brackets will hold pulleys for the control system. The brackets on the left and right are for rudder control cable pulleys. The center bracket will hold the elevator control cable pulley. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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This bracket is for a trim cable pulley. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Here is a view looking back into the fuselage from the forward end of the wooden fuselage section. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Aaron restores longerons which will run beneath the floor aft of the cockpit. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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The floor aft of the cockpit has a removable panel which is held in place bye Dzus fittings. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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The wooden section of the main fuselage is structurally complete and has had both required coats of varnish applied. (image via AirCorps Aviation)

Nacelle Components

There are several landing gear mounts available to choose from; following inspection, the best two examples will become part of the restored AT-10.

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One of the project’s original nacelle internal framework/landing gear mounts awaits inspection. (image via AirCorps Aviation)
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Here’s another of the project’s landing gear mount/internal nacelle structures. The tubular component with a chain running above it is the retract slide tube. (image via AirCorps Aviation)

Want to get involved?

AirCorps Aviation is constantly looking for new technical material related to the AT-10. Due to the rarity of this aircraft, and the relatively low number produced, acquiring engineering drawings, parts catalogs, maintenance manuals, and other documentation has been much more difficult than with our past restorations. If you have any AT-10 material or know someone who does, the team would love to hear from you!

Be a part of helping the AT-10 return to the skies! Contact Ester Aube, by email or phone [email protected] or 218-444-4478. Furthermore, should anyone wish to contribute to the Cadet Air Corps Museum’s efforts, please contact board members: Brooks Hurst: phone: +1-816-244-6927, e-mail: [email protected] Todd Graves: e-mail: [email protected]

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Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.

After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.

Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.

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About Richard Mallory Allnutt (Chief Editor) 1060 Articles
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends. After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups. Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.

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