Those were the days...

Boundary Waters

Pre-takeoff checklist
Joined
Sep 24, 2021
Messages
153
Display Name

Display name:
Luscombe Driver
Looking for something else I found the following quoted vermatim from our airplane's 1940s "MANUAL OF MAINTENANCE"

UNCRATING: See that the crate is placed right side up as marked and that there is sufficient room to layout the various components as they are unpacked. Open both sides of the crate. Remove the wings, tail group and struts. Loosen the bolts securing the fuselage and slide out of crate.

Bolts are in the proper bolt holes and contain washers as needed. Any bolts not so placed are in a small sack in the cabin. In assembly, be very careful to replace all washers as they are placed on the ship so that the cotter keys will fit the castle nuts properly. Never draw a nut up more than snug. All nuts with castle nuts must be safetied with cotter keys, which are in a sack in the cabin. Do not use the bolts attaching fuselage to crate, but attach landing gear with the new bolts in the sack in the cabin.

If the bolts do not fit easily into the holes, use a drift. Never attempt to force a bolt through holes that are not in line, as this injures the threads. Do not change adjustments of rear wing struts or tail brace tie rods, as these were correctly set at the factory.

ASSEMBLY: Block up the fuselage by a saw horse or heavy box under the rear lift strut fittings, and a chain hoist or step ladder under the prop shaft. Be careful that the weight of the fuselage is supported at rigid points and not at intermediate points of the longerons or by fairing.

LANDING GEAR: Now attach the landing vees to the fuselage...

(Imagine just posting a check and having a big crate show up at your door. With instructions not written in hieroglyphs. Hilariously, the $1395 that was its advertised price in 1940, is supposedly worth $27,333 today. Very close to what we paid for the now 80 year old airplane.)
 
Somewhere I’ve got instructions for uncrating and assembling a Staggerwing.
 
Back
Top