09-15-2023
A side view of a freshly manufactured SBD fuselage assembly. In good time, the restoration team at Pioneer Aero Ltd will return our Dauntless fuselage assembly to an equally pristine condition. (image taken from page 89 of the SBD-6 Erection & Maintenance Manual) Fuselage Disassembly: Over the past few weeks, the aircraft restoration specialists at…
08-23-2023
Progress in July: The team at Mil-Spec Vehicle Restoration has made significant progress on several fronts with our CCKW 353 Fuel Truck this past month. The once tired-looking frame now appears virtually brand new and is beginning to resemble a truck once again! This month saw the team focus on installing the remaining differential unit…
08-07-2023
A view through an access hatch in the SBD’s rear fuselage before the teardown began. Most of what is visible here is the wiring for the radar and radio systems. (photo via Pioneer Aero Ltd.) The Big Strip: Following its arrival in late May, the restoration team at Pioneer Aero Ltd. has finally had the…
07-20-2023
Our SBD arriving at Pioneer Aero Ltd. aboard a truck in late May, 2023. (photo via Pioneer Aero) Ardmore Arrival: In late May, the container ship Olivia Maersk finally arrived in New Zealand following a nearly month-long journey halfway across the world bearing the fuselage of our SBD-5. Following a period in customs for inspection,…
07-10-2023
Three of the vehicle’s five drive shafts propped up in the foreground against the chassis frame awaiting the completion of their inspection and refurbishing process. Note that further back on the chassis, it is possible to see that the intermediate and rear axles are slowly being repopulated with their associated backing plates and brake hardware….
06-28-2023
The righthand gun trough is virtually hidden beneath the top cowl in this image taken during the trial fitting of the engine accessory bay cowling assembly. It is represented by the bare strip of metal towards the bottom of the image. (photo via Pioneer Aero Ltd.) Gun Troughs: The gun troughs sit at the top…
06-06-2023
Our fuel truck’s fully assembled and repainted gearbox on a stand in the shop. Note that the gear shift lever has its bakelite pommel firmly in place again. (photo via Mil-Spec Vehicle Restoration) Our CCKW Fuel Truck is an all-wheel drive vehicle; each of its six wheels receives drive power from the engine. Indeed the…
05-08-2023
The vehicle’s chassis prior to wheel removal and sandblasting in April, 2023. (photo via Mil-Spec Vehicle Restoration) The fuel truck’s sandblasted chassis frame sitting on blocks in Mil-Spec’s workshop. Note the other interesting military vehicles under the same roof. (photo via Mil-Spec Vehicle Restoration) There were a few areas of the chassis where the corrosion…
05-04-2023
With its departure from the USA being complicated somewhat by the global logistics situation, we are pleased to announce that our Dauntless has now boarded the container ship Olivia Maersk for the trip to Ardmore, New Zealand, where Pioneer Aero Ltd. will lead the SBD’s restoration. A secondary workshop, Aero Trader, of Chino, California, has…
04-21-2023
This is the oil cooler air intake cowl prior to bead blasting. The front of the cowl sits at the lower edge of this picture.Note the dents in the intake door which will need planishing out. Each of the Dzus fasteners needs replacing as well. (photo via Pioneer Aero Ltd.) Oil Cooler Air Intake: The…
03-27-2023
Trial fitting the restored engine accessory bay cowlings to the diaphragm. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.) Assembling Accessory Bay Cowlings: After restoring the engine accessory bay cowlings and the diaphragm, Pioneer Aero had to ensure that they fitted together properly as an entire assembly. This is where the Banshee-based MGM wind machine came in handy,…
03-20-2023
A Douglas Aircraft multiple-view assembly drawing for SBD Dauntless part# 5191901 – the upper lefthand cowl for the accessory section. Accessory Bay Cowls: Currently, Pioneer Aero Ltd is restoring cowling panels for the SBD’s engine accessory bay. While the project came with a complete set of these hard-to-find components, largely in excellent condition, several issues…
03-15-2023
A question which arises regularly at the Museum is, “How much of this airplane is actually original?” We always answer, “As much as possible!” While items like the worn-down rub strips described in our last update absolutely must be replaced, this update will focus upon the dedicated effort involved in refurbishing what otherwise might be…
02-27-2023
More progress forward of the firewall is taking place! Pioneer Aero is continuing to work on the dish pan, addressing several areas which show signs of wear. The engineers who originally designed the Dauntless anticipated some of these locations where metal vibrates against metal, installing rub strips at those spots to create a barrier of…
02-21-2023
Mil-Spec has stripped the fuel truck’s chassis all the way down. Following the removal of brake lines, running board mounting brackets, battery box, the radiator and its frame, the truck is now about as disassembled as it ever will be. The restoration team has sandblasted the frame to remove surface corrosion and has begun the…
02-16-2023
Amongst the components shipped to New Zealand was the partial fuselage from Douglas RA-24B Banshee 42-54593, an Army Air Forces variant of the Dauntless. The MGM movie studio once used this airframe, along with a number of other examples, to simulate wind on their film sets when needed. While the film company had cut away…
01-26-2023
The Dauntless team is presently focusing on the control surfaces. The rudder, in particular, is receiving a lot of attention. Although comprised of mostly original components (from a parts donor airframe) the rudder had undergone disassembly and reassembly at some previous point in its life, and some of its components did not align properly. The…
01-05-2023
It has been a while since our last Dauntless Update, and the eagle eyed amongst you will likely have noticed that the fuselage is still here at the Museum awaiting transport to New Zealand (much to the frustration of the whole team!). The shipping challenges we have encountered have slowed the project down, preventing the…
01-05-2023
2020 seems like so long ago! We located a WWII Fuel Truck in Ohio, and we added it to the collection with a plan to make it serviceable for refueling our airplanes. We contacted the fine folks at Mil Spec Vehicle Restorations in Belvidere, New Jersey (a beautiful town if you ever get the chance…
11-18-2022
The newest addition to the collection is an SNB-1! The Navy version of an AT-11 Kansan, this sometimes overlooked warbird had an outsized impact on the war! The AT-11 was the standard bombardier trainer for the US Army Air Forces during World War II and would be used to train around 90% of the more…
04-14-2022
Following right along behind the Fuel Truck restoration is another new piece of equipment for the airfield! This 1941 International-built Fire Engine has come to us from North Carolina, and we are excited to get started. The current condition of the vehicle is being surveyed (it does run!) and a couple of ground rules have…
05-17-2021
After a couple of weeks of assembly, test runs and other pre-flight procedures we have a flying Fleet Model 2! Although it was test flown in Texas before being disassembled for transport to Virginia Beach we are no less excited to see the airplane back in the air! The images here were captured on Saturday…
04-20-2021
The Military Aviation Museum collection is home to a large number of aircraft that the public does not regularly have the chance to see. These airplanes wait in storage for the opportunity to be restored. Which airplanes get finished in what order is not always an easy decision, with thought given to available resources, and…
04-08-2021
BuNo 36175’s accident report card indicates that the aircraft’s pilot, Lt. Charles L. Ford III, survived the ditching, suffering two deep gashes to his forehead. The team here is working actively to collect more information on the pilot and we welcome any help! The card, shared below, depicts the specifics of the accident which occurred…