Building the Light Airplane: a historical video

I really enjoyed seeing the components of the airframe being built. In addition to efficient functionality, the wings are things of beauty. It was cool to see how little things like the landing gear bungees worked. I've always known they were there, but had never seen a photo of them without the covers installed.

The ailerons are surprisingly large. Does the Cub have a sporty roll rate?
 
I noticed that. Must have been brutal on their health. Personal protection was non--existant back then. Watch a few videos of autoworkers running forges and presses with no hearing protection or steelworkers operating open hearth furnaces with nothing more than gloves and goggles.
 
One thing they did back then was apply lots of Zinc Chromate without PPE. Hexavalent Chromium is a particularly nasty carcinogen, and they practically bathed in it. I've got a copy of an old Aeronca factory video where they have a big vat of Zinc Chromate and are using what looks like a hose to literally douse the fuselage frame with it.
 
kyleb said:
One thing they did back then was apply lots of Zinc Chromate without PPE. Hexavalent Chromium is a particularly nasty carcinogen, and they practically bathed in it. I've got a copy of an old Aeronca factory video where they have a big vat of Zinc Chromate and are using what looks like a hose to literally douse the fuselage frame with it.
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That's exactly what is shown in this Piper video.
 
Thanks for the movie. Seems they were very organized and everyone knew their job and performed it efficiently. The Cub is a thing of beauty with or without the covering on.
 
Hank S said:
That's exactly what is shown in this Piper video.
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Yeah, I watched it later. Pretty much the same process as used by Aeronca. The main difference between the Aeronca factory and the Piper factory is/was that the Aeroncas used formed, not riveted ribs. The cutting/welding/assembly processes were remarkably similar.
 
Brad Smith said:
Thanks for the movie. Seems they were very organized and everyone knew their job and performed it efficiently. The Cub is a thing of beauty with or without the covering on.
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Yep. It is really neat watching the craftsmen ply their trade.

I didn't know that Piper immersed the fuselage in zinc chromate. Maybe that's part of the reason there are quite a few J-3s still chugging along.

With regards to that hazardous substance, back in 1986 I was the general superintendent on the construction of a jet engine test cell at NAS Kingsville. Being that BuShips produced the specifications, there were a lot of aircraft type requirements in the construction documents. This included priming every steel surface with zinc chromate, and it was the same MilSpec as the stuff used on naval aircraft. Another requirement was, of course, providing every fastener with a captive device, it was a usually a castellated nut and drilled bolt for safety wire, but some in non-critical areas were just nylocks.

Everyone that worked on the installation of fastener safety wiring had to exhibit competence in safety wire procedures. Personnel had to take a written test and perform sample wiring for a Navy inspector to obtain the certification card. The 1.5" triple pane bulletproof glass in the control room 3' X 7' viewing port was held in place by 1.75" gasketed angle iron on both sides of the glass. The 5/16" bolt holes in the steel channel frame were drilled and tapped to secure it every 6". Since there were three panes of glass in the window, this meant there were about 150 fasteners to wire. I did 'em all myself, and when it was done it was a piece of art if I do say so myself. I wish I had kept a photo of it.
 
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