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Chronological selection of photos
during final assembly.
Hangar space provided by the Aviation Training Center ... located in the school hangar at Flying Cloud Airport, Minnesota. ... a division of MCTC, Minneapolis Community & Technical College Note:
|
| Kit Building | For 3 years, Dale Johnson built a "kit" for
the Wright Flyer. We are now in the process of assembly these parts.
Some of the team members also did some work in their homes. |
| Cottage
Industry |
Steve Adkins wrapping
strut ends at home. Mike Hagberg also wrapped struts.
|
| Wed,
Jan 15 |
Initial assembly of landing gear
and wing spars
Center section of lower
wing and landing gear
Front motor mounts on front spar Detail of intersection of motor mount and front spar |
| Friday,
Jan 17 |
Installation of ribs. Sewing
of wing cover.
Sewing diagonal panels for lower-center
wing
Lower wing (center section) and muslim covering bolt Close up of engine mounts on lower wing Plans for same |
| Wed,
Jan 22 |
Sewing of wing cover, adding
pockets and Velcro
Dale Johnson sewing cover
Claire and Dale sewing cover Installing ribs on spars ... (middle portion of lower wing) Wing ready for cover |
| Friday,
Jan 24 |
Covering of middle portion of
lower wing
Original and New tools used to attach
covering
Lower covering installed with "rib pockets" shown Cord used to tie cover and wire to ribs Plans Rib pocket in lower cover Plans Finished: cover end view of lower side Plans for tacking cover front view of lower side 3/4 front view ... covered! |
| Wed,
Jan 26 |
Built upper-center wing section |
| Friday,
Jan 28 |
Sewed cover for upper-center wing section
Modified wing fittings Installed metal fittings on lower wing |
| Various | Dale modified wing fittings
Complete turning cylinders |
| Wed,
Feb 5 |
Completed upper-center wing section,
ready to install
Completed sewing cover
Installing wing cover on upper wing section (Dale, Clair and Bill shown working ... Dale, Clair and Bill ... Adkins behind camera Installed wing fittings on upper wing section Left early due to blizzard Installed controversial cross-bar on tension wires behind props |
| Friday,
Feb 7 |
Now it is a Bi-plane!
note level on upright struts
View of under side of upper wing Installed upper-center wing section Clair making wire collars Soldering iron and close-up of strut, mounting bracket, wires Bill and Dale installing upper wing and adjusting guy wires Corner of upper wing - showing guy wires Planned work on scaffolding over wing deferred due to wire conflicts - (Anybody know how the engine was dropped in place?) |
| Sunday,
Feb 9 |
Dale delivered engine parts to
Dick Burns for turning on lathe
|
| Wed,
Feb 12 |
One propellor installed and both
prop support structures
- Installation process (Bill, Clair, Dale) - Prop shaft, mounting plate and thrust bearing close-up - close up of mounting pipe and prop ...different angle Installed lower pulleys for wing warping Started assembly of right-lower, outer wing panel Initiated sewing for right-lower, outer wing panel Installed upper tail structure ... fitting shown (close up) |
| various dates |
Dale Johnson continues to produce
additional parts at home
|
| Friday,
Feb 14 |
Installed upper pulleys for wing warping
Nearly completed right-lower, outer wing panel Finished tension wires for landing skid |
| Wed,
Feb 19 and Fri, Feb 21 |
Front Rudder (we call it Elevator)
Completed rough assembly of all remaining wings
Installed elevator and front supporting structure Installed lower-outer-right wing section (3 installed, 3 to go) |
| Wed,
Feb 26 |
Installed upper right wing (4 installed, 2 to go) |
| Friday,
Feb 28 |
Pilot aboard! Wing Warp Saddle
Installed wing warp saddle and foot rest for pilot
Pilot aboard for the first and last time .... more brumm... brummm .... rear view with tangle of wires We are having a debate about boarding .... |
| Wed,
Mar 5 |
2nd Propellor and Rear Rudder
Installed 2nd propellor and rear rudders
... more distant view
.... note faint X-wire bracing wires on front (rear side hard to see ... better view) - Installed lower rudder braces (detail) - Rudders mounted on pivot bar - Stretchers mounted between rudders - Tension wires added, rigidity results like magic ... middle tension wire (note, decided not to solder wire twist) Dale continued sewing Clair produced more collars and soldered wire branding onto wing-tip bows (wire banding covered with muslin) |
| Fri,
Mar 7 |
Finished sewing muslin wing cover including "pockets" for wing ribs
Assembled wing including sliding cover onto wing ribs using new system - Dale and Clair tie trailing wire to rib ends with waxed cord - Adkins soldering bands around front end of ribs Covered and installed 5th wing section (1 to go!) Started installing wing warping control wires (Lift wires) - bicycle-type chain ready for installation ... Plans of pulley ... edge view - wing warping wire (lift wire) installed with chain through pulley - loop soldered onto warping wire for connection to saddle and tensioning wire |
| Monday
Mar 10 |
Fire in the hangar
Dale Johnson and Steve Adkins travel to site to assess damage to Wright
Flyer, take photos and preliminary clean up. Wing is partially rewired
to eliminate "sag" from fire.
Adkins spends afternoon updating the website to reflect damage photos. Johnson goes home to build additional ribs. ... Looks like we are back to (3 done, 3 to go) |
| at home | Dale Johnson builds front portion of rib.
Steve Adkins adds webpage to reflect fire damage for assessment by team members. |
| Wed
Mar 12 |
General clean up after fire (vacuuming and sweeping) ... interesting
burn pattern in muslin.
Right wings segments are torn down to assess damage by fire. .... Mike Hagberg works on wing clean-up .... unburned muslin ... note how nose rib parts are saved by screwing to board Remaining muslin is cut to size to assess quantity remaining. ... appear to be short lacking enough to cover one lower (or upper) wing segment Ribs and spars are sanded to remove burned portions. Right lower wing segment is rebuilt using best parts from upper and lower wing Upper and lower elevator covered (front rudder) |
| at home | Adkins, webmaster, repairs segment of rib nearly burned through and devises better connection for false rib at wing end. A second rib with minor break is repaired. |
| Fri
Mar 14 |
Broken rear rudder lower left strut is repaired
using epoxy (OK, not authentic)
Wing warping tensioning swing wire (view 2) is added including connection loop Wing segment 6 finished ready to install ... (6 out of 6, except segments 3 and 4 require rebuild due to fire Metal wrap is added to glued rib for extra strength. Elevators are nearly ready to be installed |
| at home
|
Repaired several ribs. Small section
glued in place shown.
Sewing on wing covers to accelerate progress. Built additional new rib ... not needed, for trophy? |
| Wed
Mar 19 Fri Mar 21 |
Installed the 6th wing segment (upper-right).
Lower wing is complete.
(note: only missing segment is upper-left). Continued repairing and sanding burned ribs for upper-right wing. Preliminary assembly of repaired sections and new ribs for upper-right wing. Continued work on wing warping wiring. Getting tension correct will be fussy. Glued broken lower-strut on rear rudder. Note: discovered on new plans a similar repair on original 1903 Flyer Plans! |
| at home
|
Dale Johnson finished Intake and Exhaust manifold ... view 2 |
| Wed
April 2 |
Dale and Clair finish upper
and lower front rudders with some help from Steve
After Installation, the Wright Flyer looks ready to fly ... ... where's the engine? ... note the anhedral! Steve and Dale begin sheet metal work using school brake to start radiator School conducts tour of building including our Wright Flyer |
| at home | Dale Johnson works on chain shown installed with close-up detail. |
| Fri
April 18 |
Bill Igoe graces our hangar with 3 generations
and budding pilot.
Emergency phone call bring CAD-CAM team to hangar with computer generated drawings of the funnel-shaped bottom for the fuel tank. Extensive rewiring of wing truss wires including soldering ferrules on the wire. Much adjustment of the wing warping wires. |
... come back, visit often to view progress.
