Overview:
Our volunteer restoration team has been hard at work with the restoration of the Museum's former Royal Canadian Air Force Fairchild Cornell (EW444) over the past couple of months, following a carefully pre-determined plan of action. An appropriately-licensed mechanic from the Fighter Factory's staff must be on hand to supervise and approve all of their work, which is partly why the team limits their weekly endeavors to Thursdays and Fridays. Even so, the team has made significant progress since our last report, disassembling the airframe into its primary component parts, ready for restoration.
Tail Feathers:
The outer wing panels were removed several years ago when the Cornell first entered storage, as were the tail feathers, so this saved the team a little time as they got started. The first task they tackled involved stripping the elevators of their fabric covering to examine the aluminum structure beneath; it appears to be in good condition. They also inspected the horizontal stabilizer, which comprises a wooden spar with associated ribs, held rigid by a thin, moulded plywood shell forming the outer skin. The wood appears to be in excellent condition. With all of the parts being glued together, they needed a borescope to inspect its interior, since it is virtually impossible to remove the skin without damaging it. The glue joints all seemed to be intact, but a 'tap test' offered further proof. Using much the same technique one does to find cracks in fine bone china, cracked glue joints on a wooden flying surface will reveal themselves by the sound the plywood skin makes following a few gentle taps nearby. Among other evaluative measures, they also measured the wood's moisture content, to ensure it wasn't too high. This thorough inspection of the horizontal stabilizer was a vital step in the process of verifying the component's structural integrity.
Canopies, Fairings and Panels:
With the horizontal stabilizer inspected, the team got to work disassembling the fuselage; first removing the cockpit canopies, fairings, instruments and access panels. Each part has been carefully tagged, catalogued and stored away for future attention. They will soon send the instruments off for overhaul to minimize the possibility of delays awaiting their return.
The Cornell's instrument panel while it was still in place. The gauges have since been removed for overhaul. (image by David Rathman)
The rudder pedals, still in place, during the process of stripping the cockpit. (image via Keegan Chetwynd)
Removing some of the metal panels and fairings from underneath the Cornell's wing. (image via Keegan Chetwynd)
Removing the fairings from the airframe. (image via Keegan Chetwynd)
Engine and Propeller:
Then it was time to unbolt the Cornell's propeller and engine, which they successfully decoupled and detached in early February. The engine will likely go to an outside overhaul shop familiar with this kind of powerplant, helping speed up the project.
The team discussing how to unhook the various lines and linkages attaching the engine to the aircraft. (image by Keegan Chetwynd)
Steven Battle, Brett Berard and Mark Davidofsky preparing to dismount the Ranger engine from the Cornell's fuselage; the hoist is already in place bearing its weight. (image by John Kirkland)
Using the hoist to move the engine from its mount. (image by John Kirkland)
Steve Satava standing beside the Cornell soon after engine removal. (image by John Kirkland)
Fabric Stripping and Separating the Fuselage:
With the engine removed, the team then stripped the fabric from the fuselage, and removed any remaining components such as the seats, rudder pedals, floor and other ancillary items. They then went methodically through the process of unbolting the fuselage from the Cornell's wing center section. With the latter subassembly fitted, upside down, into a purpose-built jig, the mechanics conducted a preliminary inspection of the main spar, which appears to be in excellent condition; the flap bays will require some TLC, however.
The Cornell's wing center section, mounted upside down in its jig following its separation from the fuselage in late March 2025. (image via John Kirkland)
A constructor's plate on the Cornell's wooden wing center section, indicating that M.P. Möller, Inc., a Hagerstown, Maryland Pipe Organ manufacturer, fabricated this major subassembly on behalf of Fairchild Aircraft. (image by John Kirkland)
The Cornell's fully-stripped welded steeltube fuselage on a dolly. The team will construct a "rotisserie" unit to hold the fuselage so that they can rotate the whole assembly longitudinally, which will allow the restoration team to access the entire structure more easily while they work. (image via John Kirkland)
Gently sanding away the surface coating on one of the wooden laths strapped to the steel-tube fuselage. (image via Keegan Chetwynd)
Fuselage Rotisserie Jig:
After initially placing the fuselage on a dolly, the team fixed it within a specialized rotisserie jig which some of them built for the project. This jig will allow them to rotate the fuselage around it longitudinal axis so that they can more easily inspect all of the welds in its steel tube structure and conduct any repairs as (and if) necessary. While all of the steel fasteners will need replacing, the fuselage structure itself appears to be in sound physical condition, based upon visual inspection; more formal, non-destructive testing will likely take place in the near future to ensure that this is the case.
What's Next?
The team's next task involves inspecting each of the welds on the steel-tube fuselage frame using dye penetrant testing. While they are confident that the structure is in excellent condition, should any welds show signs of cracking, they will of course be repaired. The team will then revarnish the wooden fuselage laths they sanded earlier using the same phenolic-based spar varnish which Fairchild used during the aircraft's original manufacture. Once that process is complete, the team will scuff sand, prime and repaint the steel fuselage frame, after which it should be ready to recover with the pre-sewn  PolyFiber envelopes already acquired for the project.
