Fiat G.46 Project

chippie51 · **Joined:** Fri May 18, 2007 6:28 pm **Posts:** 192

Well, our G.46 project has now arrived and is safely tucked away in our hangar.

An initial assessment has been carried out and she'll require structural surgery and a complete system rebuild, but that's no more than was clearly obvious when we brought the old wreck. 30 years of neglect, weather and deliberate damage have all but killed the old girl.

Anyway, we've had an opportunity to do a brief check of some of the bits we'll need and an initial list looks as follows:

Throttles (front & back)
Trim controls (front & back)
Canopy (front & back)
Oil Tank
Wheels, tyres and brakes
Pitot head and mast
Flaps (2 off left, & 2 off right)

If anyone has any of these parts available, or if you know of any bits which may help get this old bird back in te air again please drop me a PM.

Thanks,

G

Fouga23 · **Posted:** Fri Nov 21, 2008 5:29 am

Any pictures you can post?

chippie51 · **Joined:** Fri May 18, 2007 6:28 pm **Posts:** 192

Certainly can, will upload some to photobucket later today.

G

chippie51 · **Joined:** Fri May 18, 2007 6:28 pm **Posts:** 192

I've uploaded a couple of photos, one of the fuselage and one of the wing. As follows:

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq17 ... ery064.jpg

http://i445.photobucket.com/albums/qq17 ... ery040.jpg

As per my previous, she's currently in poor shape but is a fair basis to start from. We're fortunate in having both fuselage and wing jigs, a whole bunch of tooling and all the manuals (although these are of course in Italian).

If anyone knows of any parts which may be of use in rebuilding the old crate I'd be very grateful to hear. Additionally, if anyone in the UK is interested in getting involved with the project we'd be really pleased to hear from them.

Thanks,

G

AndyG · **Joined:** Thu May 06, 2004 4:39 pm **Posts:** 93

chippie51 wrote:

As per my previous, she's currently in poor shape but is a fair basis to start from.
G

Poor shape??

It looks like an whole Aeroplane to start with, that is a lot more than can be said of some of the beginnings of more challenging projects currently flying. There's at least one Spit flying in the UK under the 'thin but robust provenance' (TBRP) category, which started with little more than a burnt firewall.

Good luck with your project and keep a regular (posted) photographic record of its progress for us to enjoy.

DaveM2 · **Posted:** Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:03 pm

Chippie

Check your PM

Dave

JDK · **Posted:** Sat Nov 22, 2008 6:27 pm

Good news - good luck.

Hotlinked to your photobucket:

(You can do this yourself, have a look at the instructions sticky at the top.)

Does anyone have a list of surviving G-46 aircraft? It's one of those interesting types that gets overlooked.

chippie51 · **Joined:** Fri May 18, 2007 6:28 pm **Posts:** 192

They're a lovely little aeroplane - and I do mean little! Complete opposite to a T-6 in so far as design and build is concerned. They're both really great aeroplanes, one is a hulking sumo wrestler, one a slight ballerina. The thickness of the metal used in the Fiat’s primary structure is thinner than the paint I’ve seen covering some T-6’s!

G

Yak 11 Fan · **Posted:** Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:28 pm

Nice to see the Fiat again, not seen it since it left Duxford a good few years ago.

chippie51 · **Joined:** Fri May 18, 2007 6:28 pm **Posts:** 192

Yes, mid 90's I guess? You know where we are, come and have a laugh (sorry, look!). You can have a crack at the PT while you're around - just bring some warm clothes!

Anyone know of her movements between being sold at the Sarrffend auction and being dumped out at Duxford?

G

Yak 11 Fan · **Posted:** Sat Nov 22, 2008 7:45 pm

Would be early to mid 90's from memory, it would be good to pop round and have a look over the old girl.
I beleve it went down to Lympne from Southend and remaimed in some sort of storage until it ended up at Duxford.

chippie51 · **Joined:** Fri May 18, 2007 6:28 pm **Posts:** 192

Yes, the British Air Reserve at Lympne I believe. Just wondering how a fairly complete aeroplane, at that time a fairly simple rebuild prospect, could be allowed to deteriorate to such an extent.

G

Yak 11 Fan · **Posted:** Sun Nov 23, 2008 1:48 pm

I thought that the British Air Reserve were wound up around 1986, the Fiat didn't move until 1992. Same damage could have been caused in those 6 years.
The same organisation also had the Anson that was allowedto deteriorate at Southend after the Auction.

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