May

P-47 THUNDERBOLT WING INSTALL

May 11, 2021

Dakota Territory Air Museum, P-47 Thunderbolt, Republic Aviation, Restoration

P-47 Thunderbolt: Wing to Fuselage - AirCorps Aviation

The wings are on, though they will come off again before the final assembly. The trial fitting went remarkably smoothly.

TIME LAPSE - P-47 THUNDERBOLT WING ATTACHMENT

Randy Kraft, Robb Lindbery, Chad Hokuf, and the talented restoration shop team managed the breakdown and reassembly of the historic razorback “Jug” fuselage and wing assemblies. The exacting detail of the fixtures and parts produced by the AirCorps fabrication team culminate as the two primary airframe structures are mated together on P-47 Thunderbolt (Serial Number 42-27609). Systems and surface control components installed by Aaron Prince, can now be attached and exciting new work can be initiated. Our resident artist, Nic Johnson who heads up AirCorps Art, captured the time lapse.

P-47 WINGS ARE FITTED TO THE FUSELAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME

P-47 Thunderbolt: Wing to Fuselage Attachment - AirCorps Aviation

A gantry lift has been moved close to the right wing.

Chad (left) and Randy plan how to proceed with this all important step.

The fuselage in its rolling fixture, ready for the wings. Notice the shine of the mill run, unpolished aluminum skin.

The ammunition bay opening is visible on the left wing as it rests in the movable dollies.

The guys move the right wing toward the fuselage.

The aileron control rod is the first of several connections that have to slide into the wing as the process proceeds.

The cannon plugs that connect the fuselage wiring to the wing wiring harness are visible here.

The wing is slowly moved in closer in small increments as everything is aligned properly.

The holes in the wing attach fittings have to precisely line up.

As each component is aligned, the wing is pushed closer and closer to its connection with the fuselage.

Chad lines up the large, machined, temporary wing retaining pin. Even though these are just temporary for the fitting, they had to be made with close tolerances.

The moment of truth. Because each wing has four attachment points and the precision required to line up the four temporary retaining pins; everyone feels a little pressure, even though they know they’ll fit. These pins will be replaced by the permanent wing bolts at final assembly.

The upper rear right wing temporary retaining pin is in place.

Here is a close view of one of the two forward temporary retaining pins. There are upper and lower forward pins, and upper and lower rear pins on each side.

The right wing is on, so it’s time for the left.

The wings are on, though they will come off again before the final assembly. The trial fitting went remarkably smoothly.

Here is an angle from the forward right side.

A closer view shows the open accessory section behind where the R-2800 will go.

Here is a similar view from the left side.

The wing tips haven’t been installed yet.

The larger openings on each side of the lower secondary cowl are shrouds for the oil coolers.

The oil cooler shrouds show from the front along with the oil tank and many accessories behind the engine mount ring.

The assembly surrounding the green ring that is the front of the engine mount is called the preheater.

The gear wells and gun openings are clearly visible in this photo.

AIRCORPS TEAM THOUGHTS - P-47 WING ATTACHMENT

Randy Kraft said, it is a great feeling to reach this milestone in the restoration of such a historically significant, rare warbird. “It went really well, it is always a concern that everything fits and when we got to that step we were able to just slide the fixture pins in.”

Robb Lindbery said, the things that come to mind are a sense of pride and accomplishment achieving the goal. “It was a huge step. There was also a feeling of relief in meeting the deadline and the ease of the installation.”

What is next? With the fuselage and wing structures now mated the restoration shop team will transition to control surfaces. The rudder, elevators, ailerons and flaps all will be assembled in the coming weeks.

TIME LAPSE - P-47 THUNDERBOLT WING ATTACHMENT

P-47 WINGS ARE FITTED TO THE FUSELAGE FOR THE FIRST TIME

AIRCORPS TEAM THOUGHTS - P-47 WING ATTACHMENT

AirCorps Aviation

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