While the team at Pioneer Aero Ltd has made great progress rebuilding the SBD’s upper fuselage and tail fin, the lower rear fuselage has had to wait its turn. Well, that situation changed recently, when William and Nigel Lowen began building a jig to hold the structure during its rebuild.
"The purpose of the jig,” as William noted, “is to support critical points of the structure while we disassemble, repair and reassemble it. While making jigs is not the most exciting part of the job, it's important as it will hold everything straight, and in place while it is assembled so we can be certain of the dimensions of the finished product.”
This is an exciting stage in the project because, other than the horizontal stabilizers, the lower rear fuselage is the last major subassembly which had yet to receive attention. We look forwards to reporting on the progress as Pioneer’s engineers get to work on this structure!
Nigel Lowen is seen here near the end of fabricating the jig for the SBD’s lower rear fuselage. Note the new legs which he has welded onto the main, rectangular frame seen in the previous image. He has also placed (temporarily) new horizontal mounts across the frame, resting the lower SBD fuselage section on top of them. Lowen has positioned and final-fitted the horizontal mount for Fuselage Frame #9 and is is in the process of permanently fixing it to the jig. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
The SBD’s lower rear fuselage jig, its horizontal mounts having all been permanently fitted across the frame, is seen here in the paint booth following the application of a new coat of paint. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
The completed jig is seen here in the process of being properly leveled prior to the installation of the SBD’s lower rear fuselage subassembly. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
The SBD’s lower rear fuselage installed atop its jig, ready for restoration. It is mounted upside down to provide optimal positions for working on the skins and, in due course, riveting them back on. This mounting technique also provides reasonable access to the inside of the structure, which will make bucking the skin rivets much easier. A closer look at the rear bulkhead revearls the tailgear mounting points. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
A side-on view of the SBD's lower rear fuselage mounted to its restoration jig. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)
A view of the SBD’s lower rear fuselage installed on its jig looking down the inside towards the tail end. You can see where the end of each fuselage frames attaches to its appropriate, vertical mounting plate. This ensures that the end of each frame returns to its correct position, allowing it to realign properly with the fuselage’s upper half when the time comes. Note the black line inked in the middle of the nearest horizontal beam in the jig - this marks the datum for the fuselage centerline. (image via Pioneer Aero Ltd.)