May and early June have been busy times as the basic fuselage framework has been completed.  Flight control systems have been installed ready for connection to the rudder, elevator, and ailerons once the wings and tail assemblies are added. The seats were refurbished and many small parts had the zinc chromate applied. Skin panels for...Continue Reading

May found Lope’s Hope 3rd getting more fuselage frames fabricated and installed. Randy and Ryan were fitting more skin sections.  It is a long process to make a replacement skin section.  If an older but unserviceable section is available, it can be used as a pattern to layout the new section and a template for rivet hole...Continue Reading

The assembly and rigging day keeps getting closer as more and more parts get their coat of yellow and any markings needed. Cockpit systems and gauges are being finalized.  It’s one of those times where the project looks close to being finished because the larger parts are complete.  There’s plenty of detail work yet to...Continue Reading

The fuselage frame parts have been produced and fitted together in the jig. Turtle deck frames distinguish this fuselage as a C model. Once that was done the frame parts were disassembled and given their first coat of zinc chromate,  the yellowish colored first coat that goes on before assembly.  Later on , after complete fuselage...Continue Reading

In April the  fuselage frame received its coats of zinc chromate.  The flight control and  trim tab linkages were installed and the flight control lock also put in. The “bird cage” stringers and former assemblies are nearly finished on the spare mock up frame. The end of April marked the arrival of some major components that had been...Continue Reading

Sierra Sue II’s owner, Paul Ehlen, picked her up and flew her to her new home at Flying Cloud Field in Eden Prairie, Minnesota today.  It was the first time he’d flown his beautiful, virtually new Mustang.  I can only imagine the thrill that must have been, but I didn’t have to imagine the look on...Continue Reading

With the horizontal and vertical stabilizers complete and the rear fuselage done as well, work moves on to the forward fuselage structure fabrication.  This part of the fuselage is in the jig and it won’t be too long until it comes out, joins the firewall forward structure and is mounted on a stand. The firewall forward structure is...Continue Reading

Beautiful wood work left top wing and center section Horizontal stabilizer Firewall formed Poly-Fiber envelope on the wing tubular fuselage frame repaired to original specsContinue Reading