Fagen Fighters’ Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver – Restoration Update – February, 2022

It has been a while since our last report from the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum regarding progress with Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver Bu.83393, which their restoration shop has been working on in Granite Falls, Minnesota. This past Friday marked a major milestone for the Helldiver, with the permanent mounting of its Curtiss-Wright R-2600 Twin Cyclone engine!

The aircraft is rapidly approaching completion now, with an anticipated first flight coming this summer, as the museum’s Evan Fagen noted to us in an e-mail yesterday: “We plan on doing all the firewall forward, electrical, oil, fuel & hydraulic systems now and fit the cowlings before final paint. The tentative plan is to do it’s first engine run this spring — this can mean April or early June! …Outer wings are still being worked on at Tri-State Aviation, and in house we’re finishing up the bomb bay doors along with several other components and lot’s of electrical systems & wiring. Still aiming for Oshkosh, but our outer wing completion is the driving factor there.”

The Helldiver is fast approaching its first flight; it will be magnificent to see in the air again! (image via Evan Fagen)

Many thanks to Evan Fagen for the additional details and photographs regarding progress with the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum’s Curtiss Helldiver project!

Moreno Aguiari

Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.

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