DH2 repair/refurb

hi folks

not sure if this is the best place for this thread but hey ho we can always shift it later, as i said a couple of weeks ago i will try to keep a thread log of the repair of my Dawn Patrol DH2

Well its time to extract me digit where the DH2 is concerned, for those who dont know it suffered an engine failure during the climb out phase at last years Euroflug event at Rehidt in Germany, about 20 kilometers from Kohln (cologne) and has been in hiding ever since :'' new year and all that, so here goes, i have given meself a deadline (or two!!) first is to get it to static displayable state for March LMA event in Manchester, second is to have it flyable again for May :af

just to scare me i did a list of things that i need to do and want to do in the time allowed,

to this end spent a few hours the last two days stripping all the gear out of the remains of the fus, cleaning and making sure all the bits are there to reassemble the 3D jigsaw. a few pics of the fus post removal of the rx servo,s and all wiring/switches etc

a couple of pics before i start the work










more to follow

CJP

so first bit of fixing was the nose section of the fus, here it is in jigsaw form!!














not boring anyone am I

chris

Hi again

Before i carry on with "build" a few more bits of info for those not fully conversant with the over 20kg requirements.

as the DH, at 22kgs, falls within the scheme its repairs have to be to a standard and inspected by my appointed inspector, so whilst all this is being forced on me i will also include many new upgrades on radio equipment and installations as these will also need inspection if done separately might as well do it all in one :af and as it is having a complete re cover (ordered the fabric yesterday) i am also researching a new scheme for it, probably one from 24 sqdrn.

Chris

looks an interesting repair.
so they have to come and inspect every stage of the repair then.

so onward we go

after several hours of stripping out everything from fus, servos, linkages engine reduction unit wiring and lots of bits such as its working rudder bar and joystick and simulated internal rigging i have several piles like this




and so to start it all off i need to get the nose block back to its original shape, as this fastens the two fus sides together and along with the firewall keeps the fus the correct shape.

so a couple of hours got me here











so next installment to follow imediately

chris

You are in the right place, and not boring anyone Chris

Garry

the nose block has now had all the bits of dammaged and soggy wood removed and new replaced all soft balsa has had 3 coats of sealer (dope) applied and all the paint removed down to is glass cloth covering, all repaired areas have had a skim of Isopon easy sand filler and are currently curingin the workshop, all the fus formers have been removed cleaned of old glue and replaced and glued with nice fresh 30 min epoxy, and to finish todays epic tale one of those lets see what it all fits like pics with everything held in place by gravity and will power,










oh! alright then 3.

once sanded smooth, tomorrow, the nose block will have a new layer of glass cloth applied then it will be refitted to fus and the rebuild starts to get fiddley

off to lock up the workshop now more to come later this week,

chris

impressive.

This is good Ceejay, im enjoying it, the inside of the fuselarge looks black as if it has had fuel on it ??

Very enjoyable refurb,I assume you have to call the inspector in at certain stages for his approval.Do you get a certificate of air worthiness at the end.

to answer you questions

yes the fus had lots of gunk and oil and dust "settled" in it, some there as part of its weatherd war warn appearance, but most as a result of 10 years of flying/abuse.

the airframe gets checked at regular intervals during the rebuild, it is only to ensure that any changes i make are OK, i like the proccess as it give another view on how to solve problems and give me a person to bounce ideas off, the first important point will be when all airframe repairs are done as i will have to replace critical components, ie spars, this work will be completed and then prior to hiding it all with 12 meteres of covering it will get the OK from inspector, after that it will be the radio installation as i have completely removed it and will be replacing it with an updated system, once this is approved then it needs a private test flight program to be completed prior to its first public appearance, as it is a proven airframe the rebuild proccess is only for 30 mins total airtime of at least three flights, but i will do as many as it takes to get it right before i get it signed off by CAA, it sounds more daunting than it actually is, i find it quite theraputic knowing that what i do is seen as of a standard acceptable to people responsible for Airbuses:)

chris

Here.s a couple of pics from two years ago, just to see what shape it should be!!









Chris

I do like the bigger models, its just all the caa business that scares me off.

still i will watch your rebuild with fascination to see how it is all done.

CeeJayP wrote: i find it quite theraputic knowing that what i do is seen as of a standard acceptable to people responsible for Airbuses:)

chris

Airbusses like this? i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg317/Mary69...flying-rudie-bus.jpg :silly: :silly:

i like it where,s me building board!!

cjp