Some students stayed after graduation and worked on some wood fabrication.
Some work after graduation
June 26th, 2009More Nieuport 24 Wing Work
June 26th, 2009
Students were applying the adhesive to start the construction of another wing spar the first part of this month and now you can see it here on the wing table trimmed down to the proper dimensions waiting for the ribs to be installed on it. A metal wing bow is also in the process of being fabricated which is placed at the end of the wing.
A little while ago some of our Nieuport 24 Team Builders took time away from the Nieuport construction and helped the school set-up a Baken Duce for the Festival of Flight in Suffolk, Virginia. One aircraft that was present is pictured here it was a nice Nieuport 17. Please click on the pictures to enlarge. Thank you.
Future Aircraft Mechanics Start at AIM.
Busy Week
June 22nd, 2009Had big “doins” this past week so no Pup work.
Side Formers Nieuport 24
June 19th, 2009
In the first two pictures are four students taping up the side formers to the frame of the Nieuport 24 (N24) aircraft. From left/forward to right are Matthew Rethemeyer, Chance Torain, David Gun and Cameron Lowe. With the side formers temporally in place you can picture how the N24 gets its round fuselage vs. the earlier Nieuport aircraft such as the N17 which had more of a rectangle form to it.
Last week you met a new student, Matthew Rethmeyer working on the N24 for the experiences and he mentioned that you get awards after so many hours worked. Here we have Anna Brown and Joseph “Blake” Barnett receiving three laser grades testing coupons for all their volunteer hours. To earn these awards they had to spend 150 hours each working on the Nieuport 24. Congratulations to both and thank you.
The volunteer hours are adding up and so far this year we have about 200 student hours working the N24 which would give us a total of 1,578 student hours for this project.
Please click on pictures to enlarge. Thank you.
Future aircraft mechanics start here!
More Cowling Progress and Colors Too
June 16th, 2009
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- Brad Helwig installing belly fairing
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- Cowl securing cable turnbuckle
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- How we looked at 1st Gardner fly-in
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- Reference for color markings
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- Belly painted ready to mask off
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- Masking sides. Belly already yellow
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- More-masking-for-pattern-colors
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- Layout of ship number
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- Trial fit of panels made 1 year ago with cowling panels
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- Visual proof that moving the engine aft kept the “stub-nosed” look
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- Assembled for the Gardner KS fly-in this weekend
Work on the engine cowling is moving ahead and looking good. Many more rivets to be laid out, drilled, dimpled and squeezed. To attach the cowling, a cable and turnbuckle system was used on the original aircraft. Reproducing this arrangement has been interesting. Making a “bead and groove” in the aft edge of the cowl panel and its support ring went well. Aligning them with each other took some forethought and a little builder’s luck. Lastly came fabricating the securing cable with a turnbuckle for tightening.
There were a few anxious moments when we put all of the pieces, panels and fairings made over the past year together for a trial fit. (see photos)
On father’s day weekend for the last 13 years or so, WWI replica aircraft builders and enthusiasts gather in Gardner KS for a fun fly-in with people coming from all over the country.
Last year when our Morane made its début, the fuselage had fabric installed and was up to a silver finish coat for UV protection. (photos) This will be our 2nd visit to the Gardner event. The team’s aim has been to make progress that would be easily seen by last year attendees. The attatched photos will give an idea of how easy it is to see progress.
Colorful camo schemes were the standard in WWI. Unfortunately color photography didn’t exist and detailed drawings of color schemes are rare. Working from black & white photos and an occiasional drawing with colors written in, here’s what we think these aircraft really looked like.
Don’t let appearance fool you, we’ve still got a lot of work left to do before engine runs and taxiing!
Nieuport 24 Vickers Gun
June 12th, 2009
The Nieuport 24 (N24) student project has had many students work on it that have graduated and now have successful careers. Pictured here is a new student Matthew Rethemeyer who wants a successful career also and feels that volunteering to help on the N24 will give him some unique experiences to take with him after he graduates. In the first two pictures Matthew is doing some sanding on the ribs which will eventually be part of the wing assembly. Matthew’s family has a history of working on aircraft. Presently his Dad owns and operates a business that does contract maintenance for some regional airlines in Richmond, Virginia. Matthew’s goal is to get his A&P and help open up another facility in Raleigh, North Carolina. Working on the N24 is “pretty cool” Matthew said because you get log books and all the hours you work on this project add up to benefits such as T-shirts, hats, and even free testing at the end of the program. In the next pictured Tien Le is cutting some metal pieces for the N24 aircraft and Joseph “Blake” Barnett is categorizing the pieces.
Also in this blog we have posted pictures of our first attempt for the Vickers gun installation. This museum quality Vickers gun was made by Repligun. For more information about Repligun please see their web page. http://www.repligun.com/
Please click on all pictures to enlarge. Thank you.
Your new Career Starts Here, Call Us.
More sawdust!
June 8th, 2009Lots of fabrication this week on wing components.
More progress on the Morane nose bowl, cowling and fairings.
June 7th, 2009
A view inside of the nose bowl showing the support ring tack welded in place.
As our sheet metal classes continue on, so does progress on the Morane’s cowling and nose bowl. Jeromy McCaskey, Tommie Barnes (not shown) and Jeffery Cook are fitting and riveting a flange to the nose bowl where the forward edge of the cowling will attach. Because of the softness of the bowl, all of the rivets are being set using a manual rivet squeezer.
Next posting we hope will include adding color scheme to the fuselage and tail group
Nieuport 24, Another Wing Spar Started
June 5th, 2009
This Nieuport 24 (N24) is a student project with the guidance from our FAA certified Airframe and PowerPlant instructors (A&P). Our students come from all over the United States and from other countries. One of the students pictured here is Vong Oulay who is sanding on the lower wing. Vong is from Bowling Green, Kentucky and now is working on the N24 aircraft. He said that this is “awesome” to be able to work on a project like this to gain more hands on experiences. Being a new student Vong is taking advantages of all the schools many opportunities to succeed and the N24 project is just one of them. He has done a lot of flying visiting family in Thailand and on one of those flights he decided to become an aircraft mechanic. Reading the Daily News in Bowling Green he saw an advertisement for our schools and called for more information. Vong decided to enroll in our aviation maintenance technician program and his goals are to get his A&P and get a job as a civilian working for the military or work in another country, either way he is ecstatic about being here and doing something he loves.
One of our top instructors Mr. Joe Eggers (A&P) is pictured here in the blue shirt helping our students getting the adhesive ready to be applied to the wood to make a wing spar. Joe has been with this project from the very beginning and is our in-house “engineer” for the N24. Here he is pictured with numerous students accomplishing a very important task in the construction of the wing. Please click on all pictures to enlarge. Thank you.
Classes Start Soon, Call Us
Beat it, Heat it, Beat it again to be Cool
May 29th, 2009With the engine in its final mount position, we can now work on enclosing the engine for cooling air flow by working on the nose bowl, engine cowling and firewall. Our current classes Metallic Structures and Induction/Exhaust Systems fit well with these tasks. 
Here you see photos of the nose bowl before and after creating the inlet for engine cooling air. The process was fairly simple but time consuming. 1. Roll aluminum tubing in a circle to the desired inlet diameter then weld ends together. 2. Center circle inside of nose bowl and secure (tack weld). 3. Mark and cut out metal about 1-2 inches less than inner diameter of rolled tube circle. 4. Turn nose bowl over (fwd surface facing up) using leather mallet start to form inner metal edge around tack welded tube. Small hammer blows will start metal to bend as desired. Too large an area will cause creases and poor results. The aluminum will get harder with each blow so you stop hammering, light your torch and heat the entire area being worked to soften (anneal) the metal then do some more. With hammers, heat, patience and time the process worked great.
These are views of the engine accessory section before and after making the firewall pieces. Students in our metallic structures class are fitting the pieces in place, riveting some areas and installing nut plates in other areas so pieces of the firewall can be removed allowing access for maintenance and inspections.
In our last blog we were trying to check our weight distribution in near level flight attitude after relocating the engine further aft. The final picture shows the amount of weight on the tail wheel (skid) yes 25lbs!! When the horizontal surfaces and brace wires are added, we’re seeing about 35-38lbs. Looks like the engine moving aft 7-8 inches did exactly what we planned (hoped wished prayed) for.
