Gary ~ What's The Plan For Diamond Lil ? 2006 and Beyond!

[Shay]

Gary

Well I think you're doing a great job however you decide best to do it. Just as long as it get done in the end, is how I look at it. And once you get it built up and maybe put some fake rivet lines in it, no one would probalbly ever suspect that it wasn't an original part.

So keep on, keep'n on. Oh and keep posting your progress pictures. I think I'm starting to feel some withdrawl effects from not knowing whats going on. TTFN

Shay
_____________
Semper Fortis

[retroaviation]

Well Shay, I don't really have any progress pictures on the B-24 from yesterday. I spent all day working on the CAF Dauntless. I will be moving on to another project with the B-24 today, as I have decided to start over on the tailgunner's fairing. More to come on that...stay tuned.

There is a vicious rumor that I will actually get volunteer help not only for today, but for tomorrow as well. So there is a chance that something will actually get done around here for the next day or two.

I'll keep the updates coming and will try to be a little more timely with them.

Gary

[peter]

Gary will you be able to continue with the work on the B24 after having to drop the PBY??

[retroaviation]

Gary will you be able to continue with the work on the B24 after having to drop the PBY??

Oh yeah, the work here hasn't stopped. The PBY deal was just something I was doing in my "spare" time. But as I mentioned in the other thread, I have just had some personal issues come up where I won't be able to continue on the PBY bidding. I have been and will keep working on the B-24. I'll get everyone an update soon.

Gary

[ALAN.L]

Hi Gary,
First of can I say thank you for sharing your work with us, so that we can see what is involved, after all I cannot think of any other refurbishment projects, let alone rebuilds that have been covered to the extant that this has.This thread should be book marked to all the aviation fora around the world, just so that folks can see what is being done!
Also I cannot believe that there is not a queue of volunteers coming along to get involved. From what I understood of the CAF , I thought that there would have been teams of folks all around the USA, just waiting to help out and 'keep them flying'! Is it just because folks don't know that you need help or because they don't think that they can?

I for one would be there like a shot but it is a long way across the pond for a days volunteering!
I am a volunteer with the Air Atlantique Classic Flight (www.classicflight.com), here in the UK and I feel really priviliged to be able to go along every few weeks and help out, just giving a little bit back, to something that has given me a lot of pleasure over the years....
Anyway enough from me, well done and don't get disheartened, it will all be worth it in the end.

Best wishes, Alan.
Ps come on guys get down there and give him a hand

[Dan K]

For the love of Pete, ALAN; stop thinking like a Brit for a moment and review your world geography.

The STATE of Texas is larger in area than the entire COUNTRY of Great Britain. Although I don't know how far you travel each month to get to Air Atlantique and back, I question whether you would pay for an airline ticket to do so--which is what would be required for either of us to volunteer at Midland, Texas, for a weekend.

Your post did provide a chuckle for most of the Yanks here though!

[Eric Friedebach]

Also I cannot believe that there is not a queue of volunteers coming along to get involved.

Take it from someone who’s been involved in a lot of projects over the years – it’s tough to find qualified volunteers sometimes.

However, with Gary taking the time to share what he’s doing here is an excellent way to stir interest!

[retroaviation]

Okay, here's today's update. Really not much to talk about here, but I don't want anyone going into convulsions from their "update withdrawals."

I actually had three people show up to help today! And they worked hard too. They got the rest of the inspection panels off and removed the passenger seats. They also took all of the windows out of the fuselage. Pretty good amount of work done for one day.

I, on the other hand, didn't get squat done. There were lots of guests in the hangar today and I ended up giving lots of FIFI tours for "special museum guests." All I managed to do was to start working on a hinge design for the entry door that will be on the left side of the aircraft. No, this won't be an exact duplicate of the factory B-24A door, but with our facilities here, I am limited to what I can fabricate. I will use the existing door frame to put the new entry door. It will be about four feet further aft of the original "A" model door and about twice as wide. This will certainly not please the judges at the next "B-24 Fly-In and PX Extravaganza," but it will help with the "wider" tourists who come through the airplane.

The pictures below won't really help to explain what I've got in mind for this, so you'll just have to use your imagination for now.

The process starts with getting 3/4" steel rod and parting it off on the lathe...


Then I started milling the two pieces to the shape I was looking for. One piece is male, one piece is female...


Here's the two pieces separated...


And here they are simulating how they'll end up...



I'm obviously not done, and yes, the pieces will have those rough spots polished out, so there will be more to follow soon. I'm just going past 76 hours for the week and still have tomorrow to go, which should add another 12-15 hours to that time. So I'm off to bed and will see if I can get anything else done for y'all tomorrow.

Gary

[bdk]

For the love of Pete, ALAN; stop thinking like a Brit for a moment and review your world geography.

The STATE of Texas is larger in area than the entire COUNTRY of Great Britain.

I think someone else needs some remedial geography as well. Should I tell him or will you ALAN?

[Dan K]

Yes...ahem...well...err...

That was meant to come out as Texas being larger in surface area than the sum of the area of THREE countries--namely Wales, England, and Scotland-- which, as a legislative union, constitute (and are encompassed by the geographical boundaries of the island of) Great Britain.

And yet, even the massive size of Texas has easily been eclipsed by the size of the foot I have deftly placed in my own mouth.

ALAN: Forgive me...Midland's just too far for a weekend drive.

Brandon: Thank you (I think).

Gentlemen & Ladies present: Next round is on me.

[bdk]

[Obergrafeter]

That and Midland is one of those places you just can't get there from here. Midland is not in the middle of anything except miles and miles of miles and miles. Hard to get to unless you have your own rapid flying machine. Thanks to you guys that can make it.

[K5DH]

Texas is a big place. To put it a different way, Texas covers a land area of 268,000 square miles.

[ALAN.L]

Hi Dan, not to worry, I must admit that I don't have an idea of the scale of the USA, , but my point still stands, if I lived in near proximity to something as rare as,one of only two airworthy B24's in the world then I would love to help out, even if it was only to give it a polish once in while! But as I said ,how come ,in an organisation as large and who's main purpose, is to fly these aircraft ,does not have the ability to get folks to,what is its main headquaters,to assist Gary with his work?
Eric, I hear what you are saying about qualified volunteers but anyone can weild a brush, broom, make the coffe andhold the other end of spanner, but only if they know that they are needed and that they can help.
There must be someone in the local area who would like to help...
Alan.

[needle]

That was meant to come out as Texas being larger in surface area than the sum of the area of THREE countries--namely Wales, England, and Scotland-- which, as a legislative union, constitute (and are encompassed by the geographical boundaries of the island of) Great Britain.

Dan, very well put... many Brits or those from the UK (the UK being the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) wouldn't have been able to put it in such clear terms, because they wouldn't have known either.

For the Brits, just to give a comparison of distances.

I live in Texas, just north of Dallas. For me to travel to Midland, which is also in Texas, is a 340 mile journey. There is (or used to be) a sign just outside of Kings Cross station in London, which stated 333 miles to Edinburgh. For those of us in the Dallas area it would mean the equivalent of taking a trip from London to Edinburgh, and there is no equivalent of the old "British Rail" commuter rail network to get us there. It is either fly or drive.

When I drove to Midland for the CAF airshow this year, it took about 6 hours, with just one "bathroom" stop. I would love to be able to go and give Gary some help, but with the limited time I can get off work, I would probably spend longer in hours getting there and back than I could give to assist him.

So I just have to console myself with working what few hours I have available each week with the great bunch of guys(and gals) at the Cavanaugh Flight Museum, flights in some awesome warbirds, and the opportunity to nearly kill myself by running 500 feet out to the airshow flightline, whilst carrying a "dummy" on a stretcher, so that spectators can see how the "litter" on the side of a Bell OH-13 was used in Korea. (And to give some credit to WIX, the "fool" on the other end of the stretcher was Curt, who is also a "WIXer".)

Gary, keep up the great work. The information and insight you have provided on this forum with your "interactive" progress reports on the work you are doing at Midland is probably one of the best and most succesful ways I have ever seen in promoting the CAF and getting people involved, even if they can't necessarily be there in Midland for the CAF "as it happens". During the several times we spoke (either in the hanger or on the bomber ramp) during the Midland Air Show, I sensed your overwhelming enthusiasm for the CAF and its warbirds, and I truly believe that this is now also being recognized by members of this forum.

Julian.

Oh, and for all of you Brits, who disagree with my response to Dan K, I am a Brit. I have, in person, come across many Brits who wouldn't know the difference between England, Great Britain and UK, but probably not as many as the number of Americans who don't even know that England is part of Great Britain, which in turn is part of the UK, and that they are not 3 separate countries.