Paul Dyck, EAA Regional Director, and Rick Riewe varnished Tiger Moth lower left wing

Over the weekend Gil manufactured a few more ribs, which will be for sale in the Brandon CATP Museum to raise funds to "Keep 'Em Flying" as the Museum's fleet of airworthy antique aircraft increases.

March 18 Gil Bourrier, Rick Riewe Paul Dyck and Jill checked each rib, spar, fitting...on the lower left wing one last time to confirm all repairs have now been completed before beginning the varnishing process. By late last night two coats of two-part epoxy varnish (donated by Rick and Jill) had been applied, waiting 8 hours between coats.

The lower right wing has now also been lightly sanded to remove loose paint, all parts inspected, blocks of sitka spruce have been glued between the ribs under the walkway using T88 2-part epoxy glue that Gil donated.

We are now looking for about 32' (four 8' lengths) of steel cable for the aileron control system, if you or someone you know has some aircraft grade cable left over from another project you'd like to donate, let us know.

We are also planning to replace the pitot tubing on the lower right wing and are looking for flexible tubing and aluminum tubing.

RAA Fabric Covering Workshop: Tiger Moth Rib Sampler

The Winnpeg area RAA, Brandon RAA, Brandon CATP Museum, and Springfield Flying Club hosted a fabric covering workshop March 15th at the RAA Workshop Final Assembly Building, Lyncrest Airport.with Gil Bourrier and  Henry Riege (from Oak Hammock Airport). Avid builders, designers, and pilots shared fabric covering tips and practised their rib stitching in preparation for covering the Tiger Moth ailerons and wings. March 15, 2012

 

 Steve, Gil, Steve, Bob, George, John, Jim, Harry, Ben, Jill, Don (left to right) are a few of the 15 people attending the workshop.

 Henry Riege (left) and Gil Bourrier, gluing the fabric to a wooden frame; Ben Toenders is in the background gluing fabric to one of the Tiger Moth ribs we built at the workshop last Thursday. We're planning to use the rib as a sampler (Larry Brown's idea) so some of the ribs sold at the Brandon CATP Museum will not only show the original Tiger Moth rib structure, they will also demonstrate the steps used to cover a part with fabric.

 Henry Riege demonstrating the heat shrinking system - 225 degrees at first, then 250 degrees, finish with 350 degrees, double checking that iron is at correct temperature. From left, Henry, George Inman, Jim, Steve Sadler, John, Jill, Ben and Gil.

 Ben Toenders heat shrinking the fabric on the Tiger Moth Rib Sampler, with Gil Bourrier advising.

 From left, Don Hutchison, Gil Bourrier, Ben Toenders, Bob Stewart and Peter Moodie, brushing on the first coat of PolyBrush. The Brandon CATP Museum Board recommended we use the modern system of recovering to reduce the amount of maintenance needed to keep the Tiger Moth flying once it is returned to airworthy condition.

 Henry Riege brushing the 2nd coat of PolyBrush onto the box sampler with Jim Oke, Don Hutchison, Gil Bourrier, Ben Toenders and Bob Stewart watching.

Henry Riege demonstrating how not to use bias tape - if you pull the tape it will stretch and deform so just lay it on the curved edge, clamp it in position, without pulling or stretching it. Jack Sauerbrei, Henry Riege, Peter Moodie and Jim Oke helping.

 Bob, Gil, John, Henry, George, and Peter watching Ben learn how to rib stitch following Henry's instructions.Peter Moodie's photo series of the knot Henry taught will be posted next week!

 Mark the position of the stitches on the top and bottom to help keep the stitches perpendicular to the wing's cord. (Cardboard is used instead of fabric for this exercise)

Congratulations Gil!! RAA President, Jim Oke awarded Gil Bourrier the ARRO Award during the business meeting at the end of the fabric covering workshop, acknowledging the many years of volunteer service Gil has provided to the RAA.

Varnishing Lower Left Aileron

The lower left aileron needed the trailing edge straightened, cap strips re-glued and fabric wraps removed to avoid trapping moisture. It is now finished with three coats of varnish and is curing for at least 7 days before covering with fabric. The part numbers, identification plate, and original hand written drawing number were documented in preparation for covering. Thought you might enjoy seeing what these 70+ year-old markings looked like...once its re-covered, these markings will be hidden again for who knows how many more decades.

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Removing fabric from lower right wing

 Tiger Moth Rib Jigs for full sized ribs and aileron ribs.

 Gil Bourrier demonstrating how to use the rib jig.

 Joel from CAHS checking out the camber on the underside of the rib.

Checking over the lower left wing's unique characteristics.

 Members from CAHS, Brandon and Winnipeg Area RAA and SFC help remove the fabric covering of the lower right wing to inspect and repair ribs if needed.

 Coiled steel sleeves used on drag and anti-drag wires

Cutting rib stitching while removing fabric.

Gil Demonstrates how to use the Tiger Moth Rib Jig

 Gil's Tiger Moth rib jigs for full-sized ribs and aileron ribs are ready to begin making ribs. Ribs will be sold by the Brandon CATP Museum to raise funds used to keep the vintage aircraft flying.

Allan and some of the other CAHS Members get their first look at how a rib is actually made!

Testing Rib Jig for March 8th RAA-CAHS-Brandon CATP MuseumWorkshop

Gil Bourrier prepared two jigs to create a duplicate Tiger Moth rib. On March 8th, Brandon RAA, Winnipeg RAA, CAHS, and Brandon CATP Museum are meeting at Lyncrest Airport, RAA Workshop Building to take a look at the Tiger Moth Restoration project and actually make a few Tiger Moth ribs. These ribs will be sold at the Brandon CATP Museum.

Cap strip repairs on the lower left wing have slowly been fitted, steamed, dried to curved silhouette, glued and clamped into position.

Volunteers include builders and neighbours who drop in when they have a couple of hours to help, let the Restoration Team know if you'd like to volunteer too.