"Details Make The Difference"

 

We were contracted to recover the control surfaces for a DC-3 located in Tampa, Florida. Though we were currently working on a Decathlon, this project took precedence since it was to be completed prior to the Decathlon. There was quite a bit of corrosion repair to be done and that impacted the speed of the project. In addition, all of the control surfaces were rib-stitched with one inch spacing, which proved tedious.

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Most of the corrosion damage found had been in the left aileron. There were several bulkheads and ribs that needed replaced or repaired, as well as some leading edge skins. We also came across an attach fitting that had been over-torqued at some point in its' life and cracked. The customer eventually opted to replace the entire aileron, rather than do the extensive repairs. Other than that, there was small amounts of corrosion damage to the other control surfaces. We have had to do some sheet metal fabrication and repair but nothing too serious.

 

Once all five control surfaces were finished up to the final silver coat, we stored them in a separate hangar to gain some much-needed space. These flight controls proved to be an interesting learning experience on many levels. It was also great rib-stitching practices with well over 1,200 stitches, all done by hand.