MUSTANG MEMOIRS
November 15, 2009
Just a quick update..... Curt has nearly finished removing linkages and lines from the right landing gear well and will begin bead blasting soon. I managed a few hours at the shop on Sunday, installing the lines on the oxygen panel shown earlier. The tubing and fittings were scavenged from old pieces found in the shop, straightened, cleaned, painted and re-installed.
November 08, 2009
Work progresses as Curt has been removing parts from the landing gear wells in preparation for blasting and repainting. As he goes along, Curt has been refurbishing parts, and repainting them to be ready for reinstallation. The first picture is of the hydraulic timing valve as it appeared while still installed on the plane. Next is a picture of the same valve after rebuilding and repainting. Next to it is one of the gear door retract cylinders. The third picture is the oxygen control panel that I have been reassembling. Lines and labels have yet to be installed. When complete, the assembly will be installed complete into the right side of the cockpit.
October 18, 2009
Curt has been hard at work in recent visits, rebuilding components from the gear wells and canopy. Recent work has included rebuilding the hydraulic timing valve that controls the gear and door retracts. Although not required for a static restoration, rebuilding these parts help preserve them for years to come. Next up is before and after shots of the gear door retract cylinders and the canopy side rails that Curt has cleaned and repaired. The gear retract cylinders, like most of the gear parts get finished with a coat of silver for protection. The canopy rails are stainless steel which Curt polished by hand. The perforated rails are part of the emergency canopy release mechanism. Among the cockpit parts being refurbished, the fuel selector valve and vacuum/pressure lines for the instruments get a clean up and paint. The line fittings are painted silver, then painted over with blue Krylon X-Metal paint that reproduces the anodized blue finish of the original fittings.
A quick addendum to feature the great photography of Brian Silcox and FLIGHT OF 2 PHOTOGRAPHY. Brian visited us in January to photograph the Packard-Merlin V-1650-9 on the Mustang for his upcoming book. The results are amazing and this copy does no justice for the detail and quality of the original work. To see all of Brian's amazing photography, stop by his sight at www.flightof2photography.com
I want to invite Mustang enthusiasts to visit the P-51 Mustang Special Interest Group Forum. There you will find a friendly group of some of the most helpful Mustang experts you'll find anywhere. Discussions include Mustang Technical Data, Scale Modeling, Pictures, Pilot and Fighter Group histories and just about any Mustang trivia you might wish to learn. To visit, just click on the image below or click HERE
To save on your load time, I'm archiving previous months updates into zip files. Past months are available by emailing the months you would like to me.
Zips Available
October 2003 / November 2003 / December 2003
January 2004 / February 2004 / March 2004 / April 2004 / May 2004 / June 2004 / July 2004 / August 2004 / Sept-Oct-Nov-Dec 2004
Jan-Feb 2005 / Mar-Apr-May 2005 / June-July 2005 / August 2005 / Sept 2005 / Oct-Nov 2005 / December 2005
Jan 2006 / Feb-Mar 2006 / April-May 2006 / June 2006 / July 2006 / August 2006 / Sept-Oct 2006 / Nov 2006 / Dec 2006
Jan 2007 / March 2007 / April 2007 / May 2007
/ June 2007 / July 2007
