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Latest NewsKeep up to date with the latest news here at Beech Restorations by visiting regularly! We will also cover notable events in the Beech world as and when we hear of them, so if you know of anything newsworthy you'd like to see on this page, let us know! We also have a Beech discussion forum (new address Jan 2010) on which news updates are posted from time to time. |
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It is with great sadness that we have to report the sudden passing of James (Barry) Wright. Barry lost his battle with lung cancer last Monday 12th April 2010. Only the week before he had planning to return and continue to wire up the Beech and then move on to the Harvard/T-6s. Barry had been helping us for a number of years and he was always willing to throw himself into anything we needed him for. Once an integral part of the Duxford scene, Barry answered our call and gave sterling service.
Barry will be missed. We had a drink for him after work last Saturday. Barry - everyone at Beech Restorations thanks you.
Well our external spraybooth and workshop is now pretty much complete, work is ongoing with the Beech headlining, interior and electrics. Our T-6G G-TOMC is being worked on when time allows and Harvard II G-CCPM is feeling the benefit- its centre section is almost complete and the machine will be on its undercarriage in the first quarter of 2010.
Adrian's Willy's Jeep continues to progress, Phil has solved the clutch problem with the Kettenkrad and is now concentrating on his Kubelwagen which has been confirmed as a 1944-build. The picture shows new floor pans being installed on the chassis.
A new visitor to us is a Max Holste MH1521 Broussard - G-CBGL recently at Norwich Airport. This lovely machine is in for some TLC and currently wears Portugese Air Force markings. The type has a strong link with our T-6G which has Algerian combat history since the Broussard was often used for Forward Air Control duties during the same conflict:
The MH1521 Broussard was designed to meet a requirement for a lightweight liaison and observation aircraft. It is a braced high- wing monoplane with twin vertical tail surfaces. It has a fixed tailwheel landing gear and is powered by a P&W R-985 radial piston engine (exactly the same as the Beech)
A smaller 220hp (164kW) Salmson Argus powered prototype aircraft, the MH.152, was first flown on 12 June 1951; it had room for a pilot and four passengers but was too small and underpowered to meet the Army requirement. The company decided to develop a slightly larger version and changed the engine to a R-985 which at 450hp provided almost twice as much power. This model was designated the MH.1521 and later named the Broussard (lit. Man of the Bush, in the context of Bush pilots)
The prototype Broussard first flew on the 17th November 1952 and was followed by the first civil and military production aircraft in June 1954, and 363 were built between 1954-1959 Its similarity to the de Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver in looks, capability and performance lead it to be nicknamed "the French Beaver".
We will update you again soon, but in the meantime, all the best for Christmas and a Very Happy New Year from the Beech Restorations Team!
Well its been a while since the latest update from Beech HQ. Now that PT is safely ensconced in Australia, all work is concentrating on the Beech. The instrument panel is now wired and ready to install, we just need to get the mounts made. The Hangar is FINISHED! Though the spraying area outside needs a bit more work. Phil has cured his brake problems with the Kettenkrad and is well stuck in to his Kubelwagen. Adrians Jeep is in component form but should begin to represent a vehicle again soon.
We hope to post some more updates soon, but in the meantime thanks to Alex 'The Eyetie' Taffetani here are some pics of Texan Tomcat when she masqueraded as a Mitsibushi A6M Zero for the 1987 film Empire of the Sun... thanks Alex! All images (c) Warner Bros...
We are pleased to report that we have heard that PT and N2500 have completed their epic journey to Australia and that the aeroplane is now taking a well earned rest in Queensland!
More updates on our activities at Bruntingthorpe in the New Year - meantimes compliments of the season from all at Beech Restorations!
After some fun and games preparing the aircraft for her flight to Australia, PT's Volpar left Bruntingthorpe on 14th October and is now well on her way - last we heard, they're in Bahrain. A few piccies from the test flights on Saturday 11th:
Beech restorations at Bruntingthorpe have been helping the owner
of Beech C18S Reg # N2500 with a total repaint of his aircraft. PT
brought this aircraft over to the UK almost 3 years ago to the day
back in October 2005. Since then PT has been assisting us with
building our hangar and other projects.
Over the last several months he has been very busy preparing the aircraft for it's flight to Australia. Currently the aircraft is undergoing an Annual Inspection. Teething troubles with the port engine now seem to be overcome by the fitting of an exchange/ overhauled magneto.
Propeller problems may prevent the aircraft leaving as soon as PT would like and it may stay for another over-winter with us at Beech Restorations... I would like to thank PT for his valued help over the last 3 years and we sincerely hope he gets to see his family soon in Australia.
We discussed at length the kind of finish for this aircraft. After playing around with a few design we settled upon this. It uses the same blue as on our Beech 18 but highlighted with cream fuselage and wing bands. American, English and Australian decals adorn each fin, representing the journey the aircraft has taken over the years. We also added a little Beech Restorations Bling in the form of a Beech Restorations logo.
Just to finish off, here is a picture of our Beech:
It is our intention to undertake the remaining elements of out restoration and hopefully have our engines running during the spring of 2009.
Hope you like the pictures... she does look stunning.
It should be noted that the vast bulk of the preparation work was undertaken by PT himself under the most arduous conditions, wind, rain and all sorts. Adrian single handedly painted the Beech with only a little help from myself and this also was under less than ideal conditions. Painting an aircraft outside is hard enough but one of this size is another altogether. Rain on several occasions fell on wet paint and this required the areas affected to be rubbed back all over again.
Well done guys... all we have to do now is find a prop blade!
Should this aircraft stay longer in the UK, she will be covered using our own Beech covers and we will ensure she is ready to go when PT comes back.
As reported last time, the Bruntingthorpe open day was held at the weekend - we opened the SRA Hangar to the public following a spruce up inside. The new mezzanine has now been finished and the engine shop and engineering facility is virtually complete. The three T-6/Harvards nestle in nicely round the Beech and G-CPPM now has its tailcone fitted!
It might be a while until we report in again - but now at last- back to aeroplanes!
Beech article online!
Well known aviation author Steve Darlow visited us recently to prepare an article on the Beech and Harvards for his online e-zine 'Fighting High' - have a look here and download it for free!
In the meantime the mezzanine is now up, nearly fitted out, the lights are wired in, the engine shop ready and the Kettenkrad now has an exhaust! We will post some new pics when the weather gets better.
The rumour mill tells us that a Bruntingthorpe Open Day is planned for next month - all things being equal we hope to have the hangar open for inspection...
Just to bring you up to speed with latest developments at the SRA hangar - our mezzanine floor has now been delivered and is in the course of construction, this will contain a plant room and an engine shop with panel stowage above and significantly improves the useful space in the hangar.
Meantimes, the Volpar Beech (N2500) is pretty much now in bare metal with the control surfaces being worked on prior to a repaint in the summer for its owner. Our Beech is shortly to be put on jacks both to enable the wiring to be completed and for retract tests to commence. The instrument panel is now effectively finished and will be installed in due course.
Life is quiet for our T-6 at the moment, but the RCAF Harvard now has a spruced-up tailcone which will shortly be painted in bright yellow which should brighten up the hangar no end! Phil's Kettenkrad is on the final straight and hopefully will be fired up shortly.
Don't forget we have an extensive spares holding for the T-6/ Harvard/SNJ NA-16 Series and are always looking for parts and have lots available for sale or trade - need a bit for your Pilot Maker? Contact us!
Its been very nearly a year since we last updated the site - sorry about that!
Our excuse is we have been very very busy working on the hangar to the point
where it is almost complete! As reported last time, the front cover on the hangar was
irrepairable so the first job was to have a replacement made and fitted. This was
done in March. Following that the front and rear of the building have been clad in
metal, the doors and frames constructed and installed together with door runners and
support frames as you can see in the pictures. Wat a difference a few months make!
The Beech and T-6 (s) are now in a weathertight building for the winter... at last!
Last week concrete was poured at the rear of the hangar ready for the installation
of a mezzanine level (already acquired) which will be collected shortly. This
will mainly be used for panel storage with the engine shop below it. Since last reporting
in, a new Harvard has joined the fleet, owned by a friend and work is ongoing to bring
that back to stock RCAF condition as a rebuild to flight. This brings the number of
T-6/Harvards under our wing to four together with our Beech and the Volpar Beech which is
presently outside pending a repaint.
'Rosie' the tug has also been spruced up (see pic) thanks to our resident mechanical
whizzkids, Eric and Leo and will be earning her keep in the new year with her
bigger Douglas Tugmaster brother 'Jim'. Work on Phil's NSU Kettenkrad is also progressing
well - and it should be running next year - see our forum for more details/photos.
2008 will see us returning to aircraft restoration rather than construction for
a change! We cannot wait!
Seasons Greetings from all at Beech Restorations and Tomcat T-6 Restorations!
Well, two steps forward, and one step back... unfortunately during the very high winds of last week our nearly-finished
hangar suffered some serious damage. The front was effectively destroyed by a very strong northerly gust hitting the
front canvas. It was peeled back onto itself and torn down the centreline and along the left side. The rear of the hangar thankfully
survived undamaged and is looking great with blue steel cladding to a height of about 18 feet to date. Most importantly
the aircraft also escaped being damaged. Hopefully the torn fabric can be repaired and re-fitted fairly soon so we can finish
the hangar and then start on the aircraft again after a gap of over a year.
So what HAVE we been doing since July!? Building the hangar, that's what - it is now at least nearly finished and
hopefully early in the New Year we can crack on with aviation (rather than construction) matters! Watch this space!
A very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from all at Beech Restorations.
Yes, it was difficult to arrange but we've pulled it off. Italeri are releasing a 1:48 scale model kit of the
T-6... and one of the markings options is for our very own Texan Tomcat (well, TT in her 'warbird' guise when
serving with the French, anyway). Actually we lied about arranging it - we had nothing to do with it!
Click here for more details...
Anyone visiting Bruntingthorpe over the last 3 months might have noticed some odd construction work going on. Well, after 3 months of very hard work in very cold and very hot weather, we have finally reached the first major milestone - the erection of another hangar. We must thank David And Peter Walton for allowing us the use of one of the RUBB Hangers to house our Beech 18 "Naval Encounter" and T-6G. They have been very and we mean very helpful with this project. David has allowed us unlimited use of any of the equipment we have required, and laid concrete for us as well - because the old wartime Wellington hardstanding is not wide enough for a RUBB hangar and the Beech 18). The project actually began last year when several of the chaps from Sywell Aviation Museum came along to dismantle the RUBB - thanks to Adrian Armishaw, Terry & Graham Levett, Dave Ellingworth and Malc Andrews. Malc was our crane man but Phil got the hang of it after a while too; thanks also go to PT Barnum, Leo Rowe, Ben Brown and "project leader" Adrian Marshall. The erection of this new hangar will enable us to get back to work on the Beech and T-6 after the problems introduced by being kicked out of the main hangar at Bruntingthorpe.
Some time now put into the T-6 as it is too cold to work on the Beech - the tailplanes and side panels are
now in paint (etch, primer, silver x3, lacquer x3) and with luck the tailplanes will be fitted to the fuselage in
the New Year. The aim for 2006 is to hang the engine now the engine frame has been x-rayed (it passed!) and install
the fuel system. These are relatively small aims as most of our work will be on the Beech this year readying her
for her first engine runs and installing the headlining and seats in the interior whilst the electrics are completed.
A Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all at Beech Restorations!
We have a new web site!
20 November 2005Work on the aircraft has slowed down somewhat as we no longer have the use of the large hangar at Bruntingthorpe. Continuing restoration work on an aircraft with no cover from the elements is simply not possible so we are seriously looking at the possibility of removing the wings once more so that the airframe can fit back into our small hangar and enable work to continue during the winter months. In the mean time, the aircraft has got custom-fitted covers wrapping her up from the cold and she sits outside. It would probably take us about 2 hours to get a wing off - we would need to undo about 50 screws on each wing, remove 2 wing bolts, aileron cables and electricals would also need to be disconnected. Not difficult but in this weather we would freeze our bits off! More soon... |
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15 November 2005A new UK-Based Beech 18, N2500, a Volpar Tri Gear Conversion has flown into Bruntingthorpe final leg of its trip from the USA via the North Atlantic Ferry Route (Goose - Greenland - Iceland - Wick - Sywell - Bruntingthorpe). The aircraft will hopefully be available on the airshow circuit in 2006, but needs a repaint first. The conversion to nosewheel instead of taildragger is quite a serious bit of modification, involving changes to the wing spars as well as the obvious relocation of each undercarriage unit. She'll be based in the UK for three years or so before moving on to Australia. |
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