Progress from the week of 2/22

As we come down to the final weeks of work on the aircraft, systems are starting to be completed.  

PNEUMATIC SYSTEM

With the installation of the air bottles, the system became "whole."  The process of checking the system, fixing the inevitable leaks and safety wiring dozens of fittings was a time intensive task.

Emergency (top) and main air bottle installations.  

DAMAGED SKIN REPLACEMENT

One of the wings on this aircraft had a damaged skin.  While airworthy, the wrinkles were ugly and we elected to replace it.  Above is the old alodined skin on the left, which was used as a pattern.

As of today, the riveting was complete, less 6 rivets.  Thank goodness for ear plugs!

ELECTRICAL

The airframe wiring is nearing completion.  

VOR antenna installed on top of vertical stab.

Comm 1 antenna on bottom of fuselage aft of wing.

Front headset jacks installed.  This is a blank right side panel that is in the process of being customized with a circuit breaker panel, etc., and will be painted once all the holes are drilled.

Rear headset jack install.

ADAHRS mounted in tail.

COSMETICS

Header tank painted and ready for install.

Landing gear door assembly prior to installation. All hardware is either Cadmium or Zinc plated.

Rudder pedal rebuild...

As the cockpit build up continues, the rudder pedals are complete.  As the pictures show, these are intricate assemblies and the work is tedious...but the results are worth it!

Chrome pedals, machined WW pedal extension brackets, and some painted parts prior to assembly.

More of the nearly 6 dozen parts of the assemblies.  All hardware is CAD plated, all fittings and couplings are honed.

The assemblies completed and ready for installation in the aircraft.  Our rudder pedal extensions give an additional 3+" of leg room and make cross country flying much more comfortable.

FWF and Wiring progress

We are nearing the completion of both the aircraft wiring and the engine installation. We hope to be very close to complete on both of these by the end of next week.

ENGINE COMPARTMENT

Smoke system lines installed and other engine hoses.   All are done except the oil lines.  All the strings you see are for the routing of hoses.

Oil tank w/shut off valve installed (black and red anodized piece in middle of screen).

ELECTRICAL

Components mounted to bracket ready for install on secondary firewall.

Right side firewall wiring complete!

Brandon, hot on the job...literally...watch those fingers!  A new father, he is the one responsible for all that great work!

There has been much more progress in other areas and we will post those pics soon...

Firewall, pneumatics, and other progress

With the engine mounted we are installing many components on the firewall.  Additionally, electrical and antenna installations are in progress throughout the aircraft.  Below are a few pics with comments.

PNEUMATICS

Left side firewall pneumatics installed.  It doesn't show up well in these photos because the stainless stell firewall is also polished, but all the B-nuts are polished, as well.  The gascolator shown installed  in the top pic (lower left, fire red).

Right side pneumatic hard lines.  Wherever you see a string in the picture that denotes a forthcoming soft line install.  Notice the reflection of the start solenoid valve on the polished firewall.

ELECTRICAL

Brandon working on the right side engine wiring.

Left side firewall showing wiring installed and oil filter (ADC screen type) installed.

Left side engine mount and open new magneto (being wired).

Strobe lights installed in wing tips.

Strobe pack installation.  All empennage wiring is wrapped in "snake skin" for durability.

Comm 1 antenna (test fit, will be replaced with stainless steel type), and MB sled antenna (behind ADF hole).

COSMETICS

New stick boots with polished frames.

Underside of stick boot showing inner sleeve to reduce updraft of air around stick.

Stripped and prepped baggage doors ready for powder coating.

Electrical and Avionics Progress

Below is some recent work as we progress with instrument panels and wiring...

Rear instrument panel with all gauges installed.  These are all original gauges that have been rescreened in English.  The only unoriginal gauge is the tach, which has been replaced with a solid state LED display from Horizon Instruments.  The panels are laser cut, instruments test fit, wiring completed, and then the panels are disassembled for powder coating prior to installation.

Front panel with all gauges installed except for the Advanced Flight Systems EFIS, which will be delivered in January 2010.  This is a fully redundant IFR set up with a Garmin 430W, Becker 2nd comm, GTX327 transponder, PS Engineering PMA-4000 intercom, MB-10 marker beacon, Tru Trak ADI with GPS heading and battery back up, 2-1/4" stand by airspeed, altimeter, and a G-meter.  The EFIS will provide full engine monitoring and use the 430 to drive it's moving map.

Jim at the avionics bench wiring the rear panel.

We pride ourselves on not only proper functionality, but also show quality finish, as this terminal block installation in the tail illustrates....

Wiring Progress

Wiring is in full swing on 553MW. The first step in the process was to install all the terminal blocks throughout the aircraft. Brandon has been working on the wiring for the wings and the landing gear. Below are some pics with brief commentary.

This shot shows the detailed landing gear with the wiring run to the chrome gear leg light. As a side note, the landing gear have been completely overhauled. Each individual piece was painted in metallic grey and the gear were reassembled using Cad hardware throughout.

The main wiring harness for the tail is complete, snake skinned, laced and ready for installation.  This harness controls tail lighting and electric trim for both rudder and elevator.  The CJ in this photo (tail at the top of the pic) is finishing up work and will soon be headed to the Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum.

This is the left main gear looking up and from the center outward.  Terminated ground wires are pictured.

All landing gear micro switches have been refurbished and installed.

Cad plated uplocks installed.

Wingtip strobe/position light wiring ready for wingtips.

Inboard side of right wing with harnesses wired and tested.

Another WW Full Restoration is under way!

Welcome to the 553MW blog.  This blog will capture the full restoration project of another Nanchang CJ-6A by Worldwide Warbirds, Inc.  This aircraft is one of only 2 in the country that has undergone a thorough airframe overhaul in China to U.S. specifications.  This "IRAN" (Inspect Replace As Necessary) process was undertaken exclusively for Worldwide Warbirds, Inc., working in conjunction with Doug Sapp, LLC to provide an airframe with an unprecedented level of refurbishment for customers looking for the highest restoration level possible.  The scope of work prior to entering the US includes:

• All systems removed from aircraft and tested.  
• All pneumatic lines replaced with new
• All fairings replaced with new
• All damaged skins replaced
• Landing gear removed from aircraft and overhauled
• All bushings and bearings replaced with new
• All damaged hardware replaced with new
• All rubber hoses replaced with new
• All flight control fabric removed and control structure inspected (left uncovered)
• Stainless Steel firewall doubler installed
• All Chinese Radios and associated equipment removed
• Entire aircraft stripped of paint inside and out

This level of refurbishment would cost over $100,000 if done at our normal shop rate...these airframes were sold for $74,000, or less than 3/4 of US labor alone!

The airframes were shipped to us without engines as we anticipated most folks interested in this level of refurbishment would also want the upgrade to the M14P Russian 360 h.p. motor....and we were right!

Once the planes arrived here in the U.S.  We uncrated them, stood them on their "legs"and began work on them while they were awaiting buyers.  The work included:

• Disassembly of landing gear for paint and Cad hardware
• Painting of wheel wells and cockpits in light grey
• Addition of 3 axis electric trim to control surfaces and recover in Ceconite fabric.
• Detail work on all control knobs
• Painting of all pneumatic lines
• Bringing exterior up to primer and ready for paint.
• Removal of all Chinese electrical in preparation for new U.S. wiring to show quality standards (combed and laced).
• Wings removed and fuel bay sheet metal work begun in preparation for our extended range fuel tanks.

It doesn't look like much, but that's a ton of work!  When time allows, we will detail the hours involved in the above, but it's estimated at over 500 hours....which brings us to today.

The customer has requested the following scope of work.  Obviously, there is much to be done...check back often to see this story unfold, right before your eyes!

M14P engine with MT Prop and Slip joint SS exhaust (no heat)

Whelan Strobe, A600 (wing tips)

Electric fuel prime / boost pump

Garmin 430

Advanced Flight Systems 3500 EFIS w/ engine monitoring

Tru Trak Stand by 2 ¼” ADI

Becker 2nd Comm

GTX327 Transponder

PS Engineering 4000 Intercom

Cockpit Lights for front cockpit (none in rear)

WW Inc cockpit restoration

Upgraded canopies (Malcolm hood)

Powder coated baggage compartment

5 point Hooker Harnesses in both cockpits

Smoke System

CO Reduction Kit

US Nose Wheel conversion

High Quality recovered controls w/ 3 axis trim

Shine Package

Extended range fuel tank package

Chrome brake handles and sticks

Schrader strut adapters

Manifold intake drains

Oil Tank Shut Off Valve

Strong Parachutes

US Ground power  receptacle (wired for trickle charge)

Infinity Stick Grips (with adapters)

Horizon 336 Tach (for rear cockpit)

Caution Warning Press to test lights

CI-106 Comant Marker Beacon antenna

Comant VOR/LOC/GS antenna