[plowboy]

OK, Thanks Dave, I was thinking that I missed the Dedication ceremony Thanks, and good luck on your future plans.... Al

[mwavesdave]

I'm finally getting the time to start fully organizing the photos, notes, etc, from this build. In order to ensure that funds will be available to keep the Hurricane in pristine form, I'm soon going to be publishing a coffee table book, highlighting the build, the history, etc, and the best of our collection of build shots. It will also have a Photo CD inside, with every single shot of the build, from start to finish. All monies will go to the museum, for the Battle of Britain/Hurricane Exhibit. If you're interested, rough cost estimates are around $35-40, plus tax and shipping. Let me know if there's enough interest, if we can drum up enough, we can look at bulk deals (over 100 books), that will bring the costs down for everyone. Thanks!

[Dave Holmes]

I'll be the first to say I'm in.

[mwavesdave]

Cool, thanks. The nice thing is, once the design work is done, it stays on file, and we can print off a book at a time if need be. I'm just about done the narrative, and finishing off sorting through the photos, organizing them by build phase, selecting the top ones for the book. CD will have all photos of course.

[Max]

I've got too many airplane books as it is.

A lot of them have to go. Been taking them to club meetings just to raffle them off to whomever wants them.

[mwavesdave]

Forgot to post that I built a pair of stub spars for the wing last weekend. They will slide into the wing center section, and act as jacking points for the aircraft, when time comes to get it into position. We also got the serial numbers printed off in vinyl, so they'll be installed shortly. As well, I finally finished our Squadron's pictorial history book, and first run arrived today, after our 75th Anniversary celebrations this weekend, I can get to work on the book for the Hurricane!

[mwavesdave]

Some shots of the Hurricane, and preps to move her into position. Wings are back on, for the final time. We've borrowed one aircraft jack stand, with one more on the way. We'll have to jack up the Hurricane high enough to pass over the top of the vertical stab of the Harvard, and clear the back of the Tutor. When the height is good, the Hurricane will be rolled forward into position. Then, we'll have to use a pair of wing cradles to support the main gear, at the desired height, until the permanent stands are built, and ready to install. It's slow, delicate work, as we're not just taking a risk with the Hurricane, but the Harvard and Tutor as well. Before anyone asks why there's a Snowbirds Tutor at a Maritime Aviation Museum, we're all asking ourselves that, but hopefully someone will eventually trade us something good that actually belongs here. Sadly, there's both a Seafire and Sea Fury out West, but none at Shearwater, their home base.

[mwavesdave]

Well today was certainly a fun day. We managed to get the Hurricane jacked up, moved over the tail of the Harvard, and into it's final position. Metal fabricators will be in tomorrow, to take a look at the custom jack stands they'll be doing for the mains. These will fit into the main gear legs, not under the tires. This perfectly aligns the stands to the main gear legs, which are through-bolted to both the spar, and a 3/4 in ply wing rib. Also avoids any issues with the tires, doing custom chalks, etc, and leaves a better look of the aircraft flying. We'll raise the tail to give it an approach to landing look, gear down, flaps down, canopy open, ready to land after a successful mission. Just awaiting some photos, when I've got them I'll post.

[CF105]

They'll need to put a mannequin in the cockpit, otherwise it'll be a drone!

[mwavesdave]

True enough! lol I've already offered to be stuffed and put in the cockpit, but only after I die of a natural death!