October/November Dakota Territory Air Museum P-47 Update

All four main wing spars have been test fitted to the fuselage.

Update

The wing spars were fitted to the fuselage this month before anodizing. After that, they went back into the fixtures as wing construction progressed.

Press

The work at AirCorps is sometimes a strange combination of modern technology and WWII era methods. Modern CDC machine tools, digitized engineering drawings, and CAD renderings make the restoration more efficient, but sometimes the forties technology is the best way to duplicate parts made during WWII.

Often, a combination of the two gets the job done. A perfect example is the 1500 ton Dominion hydroforming press. It is the best tool to use for pressing parts over REN plastic machined forms that are created on CDC mills or routers.

Rubber die forming is based on the principle that rubber, when subjected to high pressure, behaves like a fluid. In the fluid state, the rubber pad distributes the pressure uniformly over the sheet blank. As the pressure increases, the rubber assumes the shape of the single rigid die.

Matt operates the huge forties era rubber die forming press.
Here is a view under the raised hydraulic ram after some aluminum parts have been pressed by the four inch rubber pad mounted on the ram.
The rubber pad behaves like a liquid under the extreme pressure and precisely forms the sheet stock over the machined REN plastic form.

Fuselage

Looking forward from the turbocharger area, the auxiliary fuel tank bay is visible in the lower center of this image of the rear fuselage.
The details of the radio mounts and rollover structure are shown here.
The grey tube in this shot is the elevator pushrod, the curved green tube is part of the ring that mounts the turbo supercharger.
The turbo supercharger mounting ring is visible in more detail in this photo looking up from the bottom.
The intercooler exit door control system linkages are the two vertical green tubular objects connected to levers in the foreground.
Connected to the intercooler door control linkages is this intercooler exit door jack. It moves the door linkage with a jackscrew. The threads are just visible on the right side of the photo.
The tubular rod on the left of the image is the linkage running back from the intercooler door control jack.
The cockpit enclosure awaits its turn.

Wings

The spaces between the spars continue to be filled as work on the wings goes forward.

George works on wing sub assemblies destined for the main wing assembly in the fixture.
The two wings in their fixtures take up a lot of floor space in the restoration shop.
The main spars have been clecoed in place in the wing fixtures for fitting purposes.
Clamps and clecoes hold the forward spar in the station points.
A longer view gives more perspective on the spatial relationship between the forward main spar and the rest of the right wing.
Here the forward main spar is mounted on the station points temporarily.
George works on rib assembly 142 that spans between spar #1 and #2.
Most of these parts are original P-47 wing fittings that have been cleaned by bead blasting, and are now awaiting dye penetrant inspection.

Spar Fitting

One of the exciting developments this month was the way the fitting of the main wing spars to the fuselage helped us to visualize the P-47’s appearance once it has been assembled. The spars fit to the fuselage had to be perfectly established before they went back into the fixture for the fitting of the other connecting wing structure. The spars and other parts will go together and come apart several times through the fitting, deburring, and painting processes before they are permanently assembled.

The fuselage and spars are mated for fitting.
The dihedral angle of the wings is evident in this longer view.
The tip rib holds the spars in alignment on the right wing during the fitting process.
The left wing spars and tip mirror the right.
The left wing extends just under twenty feet from the fuselage.
The left main spar is shown from a rear quartering angle.
An overhead angle gives another perspective. With the spars fitted to the fuselage, it's easy to see just how much larger the P-47 is than a Mustang.
The dihedral angle also clearly is visible in this view from the rear of the fuselage.

Nic Johnson, AirCorps Aviation Art Markings & Creative Specialist

Employee Profile: Nic Johnson AirCorps Aviation Art Markings and Creative Specialist

Nic grew up in Walker, MN, about 30 miles south of AirCorp’s Bemidji location. He received a scholarship to The Art Institute of Chicago and graduated with a degree in New Media. After a career working in film and television production as a weapons armorer, prop master, and Art Director based out of Los Angeles, CA., Nic decided to make the move back to Northern Minnesota.

California’s loss was Minnesota’s gain here at AirCorps.

In 2016 AirCorps Aviation bought famed aviation historian, author, and Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame member Noel Allard’s replica decal and data plate business. Nic came on board in 2018 and has consulted with Noel extensively. Besides creating and producing placards, paint masks and water transfers, Nic has developed new AirCorps Art promotional and retail sales products.

Some of the services offered by Nic for warbirds and legacy aircraft like Globe Swifts, Stinsons, Luscombes, etc include:

Complete Aircraft Paint Schemes – From Concept to Production
Placards (Etched Aluminum, Screen Printed Phenolic, Polycarbonate, Water Transfer, and Vinyl Decals)
Aircraft Markings (Paint Masks, Metal Stamps, Rubber Stamps, and Stencils)
Promotional Products (Displays, Wall Art, Apparel, Decals, and Motoart)

The P-61 Black Widow is Nic’s favorite warbird. His favorite memory from his AirCorps career thus far is working on the Sierra Sue II Superbowl LII flyover, and he looks forward to future Oshkosh AirVentures. Nic thinks the best part of working at AirCorps Aviation is taking on new challenges and helping customers achieve the best possible scheme for their restoration project.

Nic and his wife Sarah welcomed their first child, Asher, in January 2019. Asher lets his parents live in his house near Akeley, MN where opportunities for outdoor recreation abound. Like many of the AirCorps team, Nic is an avid outdoor sportsman.

Nic and Asher enjoying a boat ride.