Restoration Updates

Pioneer Aero has nearly completed the SBD’s inboard leading edges, with the main structure for the left and righthand examples now permanently riveted together and having received a layer of topcoat paint, a first for the project!

After rebuilding and trial-fitting Fuselage Frame #1 into the Wing Center Section jig it became practical to perform a similar task for the structure linking this bulkhead to the rest of the airframe.

This article covers the trial-fitting for the top section of Fuselage Frame #1 into the SBD’s Upper Fuselage jig along with the structure linking it to Fuselage Frame #2.

Pioneer Aero has begun refabricating numerous electrical junction boxes for the Military Aviation Museum’s Douglas SBD-5 Dauntless. While it may seem like a mundane item to discuss, the manufacturing process is fascinating!

This is a bumper article describing major progress to the SBD’s forward fuselage. Fuselage Frame #1 is now fully restored and undergoing trial-fitting in the Wing Center Section jig along with the Bomb Displacement System support structure which connects it to Spar #1.

Pioneer Aero has made significant progress with restoring the components which comprise the SBD’s Lower Rear Fuselage, being able to reuse much of B-22’s original structure. They have now begun trial-fitting the Fuselage Frames back on the jig.

This article covers the trial-fitting of the SBD’s wing leading edges to the Wing Center Section jig, a major milestone in the Dauntless restoration, as this marks the first time since the aircraft’s wartime crash that the forward wing profile has returned to its true shape!

Over the past few months the team at Pioneer Aero has spent some of their time working on engine bay components, using the forward fuselage of the former Hollywood wind machine as scaffolding for trial-fitting various firewall-forward components—as discussed in previous articles. Some of the more recent work has involved refabricating engine linkages, plumbing and cowling-related items.

The SBD restoration is progressing very well at present, with Pioneer Aero having made great strides in the project. However, there are a few difficult-to-replace parts which we need to either acquire in the near future, or begin remanufacturing. Perhaps YOU CAN HELP find what we are looking for? Read on for more information…

In this article, we see the progress which Pioneer Aero is making while trial-fitting the skins for the SBD’s Wing Center Section between Spars #2 and #3.

With the SBD’s Wing Center Section beginning to take shape for trial-fitting in the main jig, Pioneer Aviation has also been able to begin reconstructing the middle section of the central bomb fairing on the aircraft’s belly.

Pioneer Aero’s father-son team of Nigel and William Lowen have taken on the challenge of restoring the SBD’s fuselage-to-horizontal stabilizer fairings, which involve several components featuring complex curvature.