Texas Flying Legends’
by Chuck Cravens
The guys guide the trailer into the shop to unload the wing.
Update
The big news for the Lope’s Hope 3rd project this month is that the wings have been completed by Odegaard Wings. They have been transported to Bemidji and work will begin on installing landing gear and other equipment. The next step will be fitting them to the fuselage, finishing the wing to fuselage fairings, and eventually disassembling the wing and fuselage to be transported out to our hangar for the final assembly.
The gun bay was finished up at Odegaard’s before shipping.
The casting painted green is the slanted gun mount found in the B and C models. Slanting the guns caused some feeding jams and Donald Lopez experienced that twice in Lope’s Hope 3rd after lining up for a clean air-to-air shot at the enemy.
The center rib and fuel tank bay show clearly in this image before the wings left North Dakota.
The wing looks ready for transport!
Moving, loading, and unloading an assembly as large as a complete wing requires a great deal of care and planning. The arrival of the wing at AirCorps Aviation is a major milestone in the progress of the Lope’s Hope 3rd restoration, so all that care was worth it!
Everyone watches to be sure there is enough clearance.
The legs on the fixture needed to be adjusted to clear the forklift tires.
The work is finished and the wing is all set for installation of landing gear and other equipment.
