Restoration Updates

This article covers the continued restoration of the SBD’s Life Raft Compartment, focusing primarily upon the rebuild of the fuselage access door and the final assembly of the main sub assembly. An additional section is included to share some details about inflatable life rafts and their use in aircraft during WWII.

Pioneer Aero had to remanufacture the SBD’s complex leading edge wing root fairings which had been crushed during B-22’s wartime crash. Lacking manufacturing drawings with sufficient detail, a 3D scan of the fairings on our former Hollywood Wind Machine provided the data for machining forming blocks to shape the new parts.

This article covers the rebuild of the diaphragm panel which spans the lower half of Fuselage Frame #4.

This article covers the trial-fitting of the pilot’s rudder pedal mounts which attach to the SBD’s Wing Center Section.

Overview: Over the past six months, Pioneer Aero’s engineers have made significant progress restoring elements of the SBD’s lower forward fuselage which are integral to the dive bomber’s Wing Center Section. This includes the stringers, joiner strips, mounting angles, skins and wing-to-fuselage fairings. This article will bring that effort into focus, picking up from where…

After restoration at a California workshop, the SBD’s horizontal stabilizers have arrived for integration with the airframe at Pioneer Aero Ltd. in Ardmore, New Zealand.

Updated: The SBD, like most US naval aircraft in WWII, had a life raft stowed in the fuselage for surviving aircrew to use in the case of an emergency water landing. The compartment which houses the raft forms part of the fuselage structure, and this article covers the complex effort to rebuild this section of the airframe.

This article covers the continued restoration of the SBD’s twin parachute flare canisters which sit behind the rear gunner’s cockpit. These fascinating components are now close to completion.

This article covers the restoration of a fuel sump selector valve from the SBD’s wing center section. These are critical devices involved with the distribution of fuel to the aircraft’s engine.

This report covers restoration progress with the SBD’s lower rear fuselage, with a focus upon the arrestor hook mounting structure, the lifting points and reskinning between Fuselage Frames #13 and #17.

Updated 28 March, 2026: There are numerous electrical junction boxes scattered throughout the SBD’s airframe. This is our third update on Pioneer Aero’s continuing effort to refurbish and/or remanufacture these small, but vitally important Dauntless components. Each of these boxes is now mechanically complete, with repainting and reintegration being the only tasks remaining before they are ready for installing back on the SBD.

Pioneer Aero is continuing to make strides restoring the SBD’s lower aft fuselage. This update reveals progress with skin refabrication, refurbishing and trial-fitting some of the original stringers, and reassembling the bulkhead diaphragm at Fuselage Frame #9.