Hi All:
My name is Joe and the past five years has found me working on the restoration of Lancaster FM104 at the Toronto Aerospace Museum. Though neither a pilot or aviation industry worker, I started volunteering on this project because I've had a lifelong interest in aviation.
My day job is electronic technician working mostly on wireless equipment. In my previous life in rock and roll, I ended up working for the 50th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain celebrations at the Hamilton Airshow where I had the honor of working with Dame Vera Lynn. This was one event that influenced my getting more involved in WWII aviation.
I had initially hoped to work on the radio systems in the Lanc, but as I soon found out a) there was none - they had all been stripped out to lighten the airframe for mounting on its display pedestal, and b) there is an awful lot of other work to be done before the plane will be ready to have the radios installed. So in the meantime, while doing some 'real' work on various projects including fully tearing down and rebuilding the front turret, I'm hunting down the needed radio, radar and avionics gear as well as anything else still needed.
I'm looking forward to sharing all sorts of information, but mostly that which deals with restoration.
Joe Burtinsky
FM104 Restoration Group
(sorry our website is currently down) but check out:
www.torontoaerospacemuseum.com