Overview:
Nigel Lowen has continued his efforts in restoring the SBD's lower aft fuselage. In the previous article covering this subassembly (Update 82), Lowen had completely stripped the structure into its component parts and made significant progress in their restoration. Happily, he has been able to return much of B-22's original material to airworthy condition, and begun trial-fitting the fuselage frames back into the jig.
A rear view of the SBD’s Lower Rear Fuselage jig showing restored fuselage frames being reattached. They run from Fuselage Frame #9 is at the left to Fuselage Frame #15 at right. Each of them is original to B-22 and required only minimal refurbishing before returning to airworthy condition. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
A similar view to the previous shot, albeit from the opposite perspective—Fuselage Frame #9 is in the foreground, with succeeding frames running aft to Fuselage Frame #15 towards the rear. All of these frames are original to B-22. Note, however, that only the left half of Fuselage Frame #10 is in place, since the right half was still under restoration at the time this image was captured. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
Another aft-end view of the SBD’s Lower Rear Fuselage jig showing some of the freshly-restored fuselage frames during trial-fitting; Fuselage Frame #11 is in the background whilst #16 is nearest the camera. These are all original B-22 components, as are the two keel stringers running across them. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
Stringers:
Lowen's more recent work has focused upon the numerous stringer sections. After media-blasting and inspection, any pieces with minor corrosion had it removed and blended out. Impact damage did affect some of the stringers, however. Lowen was able to straighten those with minor kinks, but anything with more serious damage required either splicing (in accordance with the Structural Repair Manual) or remanufacture. Once returned to airworthy condition, the stringers received a coat of primer paint.
Here we see the two keel stringers—original B-22 components—sitting in the paint booth awaiting a coat of primer. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
An array of original stringers and other components from B-22 following bead-blasting, inspection, repair and primer-painting. The repairs included the removal of minor corrosion and/or distortion. They are seen here awaiting trial-fitting and the refabrication of stringers too damaged to reuse. The stringer with the rectangular cutout seen at the far left of the image straddles the diaphragm at Fuselage Frame #9. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
Tail Gear & Arrestor Hook Structure:
Lowen has also drilled apart the tail gear support structure at the aft end of the fuselage, inspected the parts, performed minor repairs where necessary, and prepared the airworthy parts for primer-painting. He has begun the same process for the arrestor hook mounting structure too.
This rib sits between Fuselage Frames #16 and #17 in the SBD’s lower aft fuselage and holds the lower face of the righthand tail gear mount. For reference, this is the bottom face, with its lower edge facing aft in the aircraft—the parallel rows of holes being where the tail gear mount attaches. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
A closeup of the component depicted in the previous image showing the small areas of minor corrosion revealed following bead blasting. Pioneer will be able to return the part to airworthy condition after blending the corrosion smooth. Some of the original, factory-applied ink which identifies the aluminum’s material specification is also visible—it will be left in place, but painted over with primer to help protect the component from future corrosion. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
These two stiffeners form part of the structure which holds the arrestor hook mounting brackets in the lower aft fuselage. They attach the keel stringers to the arrestor hook mount between Fuselage Frames #13 and #14. They are original B-22 components and are seen here in the paint booth awaiting a coat of primer. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
