OzSTOC
No Parking Zone! => Hobbies outside of OzSTOC => Topic started by: Me_3 on April 29, 2014, 07:43:07 PM
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Well, work is a hobby in some ways.. I always seem to be there!
We just finished our last workshop project that might interest a few members here...
1959 De Havilland Canada DHC-2 Beaver
We purchased this as a write-off after it crashed off Green Island just off Cairns and sunk with the intention of it becoming a hanger-queen. Well its taken 3 1/2 years of getting in the road, annoying us, and getting worked on as time allowed but it was officially finished yesterday as it went on its first real test flight.
What we started with... A very sad looking machine after getting sunk & recovered. In this photo its prepped for transport.
(http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/ben398/73235_451277814884_6493882_n_zps10a3aef3.jpg) (http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/ben398/media/73235_451277814884_6493882_n_zps10a3aef3.jpg.html)
And Here it is now:
(http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/ben398/1896833_10152203670914885_1545055573_n_zps19358232.jpg) (http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/ben398/media/1896833_10152203670914885_1545055573_n_zps19358232.jpg.html)
(http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/ben398/1897906_10152203670844885_1417877699_n_zps7a2e350d.jpg) (http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/ben398/media/1897906_10152203670844885_1417877699_n_zps7a2e350d.jpg.html)
(http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/ben398/1510354_10152214886929885_2084888729_n_zps58a0a893.jpg) (http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/ben398/media/1510354_10152214886929885_2084888729_n_zps58a0a893.jpg.html)
(http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/ben398/1901626_10152214887134885_1569251863_n_zps523f0fc6.jpg) (http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/ben398/media/1901626_10152214887134885_1569251863_n_zps523f0fc6.jpg.html)
And one from just after getting back from our test flight..
(http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/ben398/10155072_10152386244244885_6414379675363889054_n_zpscc579e7b.jpg) (http://s1275.photobucket.com/user/ben398/media/10155072_10152386244244885_6414379675363889054_n_zpscc579e7b.jpg.html)
Oh, and a small video of the first real power run of the engine after install... Its not making full power in this one, and I was at the controls for the full power run so didn't get a chance to video it..
(http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/ben398/th_1925735_10152214912254885_193717536_n_zps45382c8d.jpg) (http://i1275.photobucket.com/albums/y451/ben398/1925735_10152214912254885_193717536_n_zps45382c8d.mp4)
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What was done:
A few structural repairs due to crash damage
5600 LB Weight Upgrade Kit
Engine moved 10" Forward, to help with the weight upgrade.
New Paint
All new wiring, instruments, radios. All done from scratch using modern materials and instruments
All new interior (I'll get some photos next time its out of the shed)
Replacement (Overhauled) engine
Overhauled Propeller
Cleveland Wheels & Brakes (Upgraded for the max weight increase)
And a hundreds & hundreds of man hours worth of work.. We should have a total worked out in the coming weeks just to scare ourselves...
Something you don't see a lot of these days, especially in this condition..
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I can only imagine just how rewarding it would be to complete the work and get the aircraft in the air again. Well done :clap :clap :clap
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Well done, from one who works in the industry....
I know the work involved .
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Brilliant job. Amazing
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Dont let Biggles see it, he will want to go for a fly...
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Bring it to the Gloucester RTE . . .
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A beautiful restoration.
Dunno if I'd want to fly it or be in it. In the video the prop keeps changing between clockwise and anti-clockwise rotation. Wot thuh
The manhours is part of the equation. There was a bucket of money dipped into there, too!
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Well done.....that's an expensive hobby if you had paid for it yourself :thumbsup
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Awesome work, thanks for sharing :thumbsup :clap :hatwave
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What a lovely job. While I have no direct connection with the aviation industry both my father and brother were LAMEs and as a mechanical engineer I can appreciate the work the that has gone into the repair. Was it originally a sea plane?
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What a lovely job. While I have no direct connection with the aviation industry both my father and brother were LAMEs and as a mechanical engineer I can appreciate the work the that has gone into the repair. Was it originally a sea plane?
It was delivered to us quite a few years ago on wheels, which we then converted into a sea plane upon delivery. It operated out of Cairns for a number of years doing scenic flight on & around the reefs & islands. In October 2010 they aborted a takeoff and bent it quite badly, and it overturned & sunk later on that night. We did the recovery, and repair quotes but the owners decided they didn't want it so we purchased it as a long term project.
It has been stripped to a bare frame, and every component has been removed, cleaned, repaired/replaced. New paint, interior, every wire replaced, all instruments & radios replaced, overhauled the brakes & hydraulics, overhauled engine purchased & installed, and god knows what else.. The paperwork package is now over a few hundred pages! :o
It has been a great achievement for the shop not only to finish the machine & have it flying again, but also be one of the best beavers around, possibly one of the best in australia we have been told.
As for a lot of money... We stopped counting around the $300,000 mark... :eek
As for bringing it down to the Gloucester RTE.. Sure, you paying costs? The damm thing drinks $250/Hour in Avgas alone.... :rofl
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The damm thing drinks $250/Hour in Avgas alone...
Thats a good weeks worth of touring on the ST. :think1 1 hour in the Beaver or 1 week on the ST. :blu13 :thumb
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Gotta appreciate a nice beaver....... WOW: :crackup :rofl
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:rofl :rofl
Gotta appreciate a nice beaver....... WOW: :crackup :rofl
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Gotta appreciate a nice beaver....... WOW: :crackup :rofl
Yes, perfectly put... :wht11