Almost, But Not Quite, DONE.

I really can't believe I am at this stage.  Almost 4 years, and nearly 3500 hours and all that is  mostly left is mounting the wings and rigging!

I am sorry to say, though, that this will be the last post on the restoration until probably next year.  I'll be moving my shop from the Ogle County Airport in Mt. Morris, IL to the historic Brodhead Airport in Wisconsin.  The move itself will take a while.  Then, I'll be building a heated shop and making other updates to the hangar.  We are very excited about being at Brodhead.

I want to thank all those that have read this blog and supported me along the way.  Many have stopped by and seen the progress in person, and I welcome anyone to come and see the airplane at Brodhead as well.

A lot has happened that last couple of weeks...

 All the painting is finally done!

This particular red has the been the worst I have ever sprayed.  I've been painting cars and airplanes for about 40 years, and I have never had anything as translucent as this color.  The match between the dope and enamel is very poor.  I am going to see how bad it bugs me out in the sun, but I may spray the red on the fuselage again.

Rear Cockpit Cover

Sheet Metal Forward of Front Cockpit

Misc. Cockpit Pieces

These pieces stiffen the cockpit as you climb in and out and provide a hand-hold.

The LP used leather as the anti-chafe.  Here you can see the rear, side cowling support with this laced in.

 Here is the original turtle deck.  In good shape overall.  Like most of the other sheet metal, just needed some smoothing.

One thing very cool I found - the original owner's name was written on the inside of the wood that the head rest attached to.  Hard to see in this picture, but it says "Chuck Balling, Wheeling, IL.  Chuck ordered the airplane new in 1928 and ultimately crashed it in 1929.

Here's an "action shot" of Cindy sewing up the new head rest.  It is made from the same cobra-grain leatherette material as the rest of the upholstery.

Got the windshields fabricated and installed too.

I took the exhaust over to my local powder-coating guy.  I had them ceramic-coated in flat black.  More than likely, these were originally coated with stove black paste, but wanting something a little more durable, I opted for the ceramic.

I am a sucker for the little details.  I found brass tags on the original flying wires that Macwhyte installed when they made them.  I made tags for all the wires.  Here they are on the tail brace wires.

Here are some misc. overall shots...

Sorry for not including much detail, but the pictures pretty much speak for themselves.  I'll probably add a post or two to update everyone on the move.  Otherwise, I'll pick this up when the final rigging and engine runs happen.  Thanks again to all those who have faithfully read over the years!

Happy Easter everyone!  Go to church tomorrow!