There have been quite a few parts coming together this month and we have moved the aircraft into place to accept the wings.

We have re-furbished the external fuel drop tank jettison lever assembly mount brackets. We have re-assembled the jettison and fuel shut off lever assemblies and checked the fit in the fuselage. We have re-furbished the locking bar and cover plate for the assembly.

We have re-assembled the elevator trim hand wheel and checked the fit in the cockpit.

The elevator and rudder trim chain guards have required some adjustment in the cockpit to improve the fit and these have now been painted black.

The blind flying instrument panel has been restored and finish painted black also.

The square tube structure at frame 9 has been refitted following restoration. We have made the required shims, distance tubes and straps as required. We have riveted the drop tank locking bar assembly into the cockpit floor at frame 9 also. Allied with this is the installation of the drop tank release cable pulley bracket on the R/H lower corner of frame 9.

The voltage regulator mount bracket has been fabricated from the drawings and mounted at the top of frame 11.

The overhaul continues on the control column with the re-furbishment of the hand grip and camera push button mounting bracket.

The battery mount tray and relay mount assemblies have been completed and the new battery has been painted black along with the clamp assys.

The compass has been mostly rebuilt and we have completed the repaint and the unit has been returned to the instrument shop for final assembly. The IFF set push button shrouds have also been attended to and we have made a replacement cover and closing spring to suit.

We have painted and detailed the undercarriage emergency operating placard.

The cable fairleads have been installed at the back of frame 8. The undercarriage lock cable pulley mounting bracket on frame 8 has also been fitted and the fit checked with the chain guard and selector. We has secured the U/C selector wiring conduit to the R/H cockpit wall.

The location of the pilots shoulder harness release lever has been determined and the holes drilled for this. The lever has been bolted to the longeron. A new seatbelt release mechanism has been fabricated from patterns. A new retract spring has been custom wound, and the entire assembly is now complete and fitted to the fuselage. The release cable outer has been run between the release lever and the latch and a new inner Bowden fitted. The harness components have been sent away to the seatbelt fabricators for replacement webbing.

The cockpit entry door has been stripped down and primed and is ready for top coat painting.

The cable guard assy. For the central aileron cable drum has been refurbished. New rollers and roller attach brackets have been fabricated and are ready to install.

The control stick lower section, mount structure and pedal box has been fitted and centred. The elevator bellcrank from behind frame 11 has been reassembled and fitted to the structure as has the rear elevator bellcrank. The cables have been trial fitted. In addition to the bellcranks the fairlead structure at the rear has been fabricated from new.

Good progress has been made on the engine mount. The lower main beams have been away and bent to 4 degs. The tubes have all been set up on the firewall and all the ends have been drilled. The centre horseshoe structure has mostly been riveted. The tubes have all been treated internally with corrosion etch and coated with preservative before assembly. New forward mount blocks have been machined from billet and these are also now drilled and fitted to the tubes.

The radiator fairing and exit door have been completed. The anchor nuts for securing the fairing to the wing have been fitted to the lower skin of the wing and the fairing is now ready for installation. The mounting points for the radiator in rib one have required modification to match the position of the mounting lugs on the radiator and new doublers have been fabricated for this.

Work has progressed well on the elevator and this is basically complete now. All that remains is to fabricate the 1/2 “ braces tubes and send them for heat treatment. After these have been fitted the elevator can be covered. The trim tabs are next to build and we have samples of these to duplicate.

The rudder repairs have also been completed. A new balance weight fairing has been fabricated and fitted. Some correction of the trailing edge profile was also required and this too is finished. The trim tab horn required rework as did the lower fairing cap.

The upper section of the fireproof bulkhead has also been fabricated and this is now awaiting paint. The fuel tank straps have been fitted to the fuselage for the bottom tank.

The tail leg assembly has been finished and fitted to the fuselage. The leg has been top coated, the tire mounted on the wheel, new bearings installed, the wheel fitted to the axle and the oleo installed.

The tail section of the fuselage with its new frame has been fitted to the main fuselage and the transport joint bolts fitted. Fitting the new frame has enabled us to further improve the fit between the two sections and we are very happy with the way it has turned out. The tail will not come off again until we ship.

The plumbing for the flaps has been installed into both wings and the rams fitted. New hoses for the rams have been fabricated and installed a shave the flap return spring assemblies. The flap cylinder trunnions have new bearings fitted and the flaps have been tested and operate correctly.

New access panels have been fabricated and fitted to the U/C bay. Fastener catches and the required tension packers have been installed on the panels from the underside of the wings and work continues on the inspection panels for over the machine gun bays and ammo bays.

We have completed the fabrication of the mounting structure for the master and ground power relays and attached the supports for the battery tray. The wiring diagram has also been worked on and we now have a single readable diagram for the complete aircraft system.

The modification to the main wheels is now complete with the new brake drums installed and we have supplied a new set of tires and have had these fitted to the wheels. New bearings and seals have also been fitted and the wheels are now ready to be painted.

The wings have been fitted to the fuselage and we are in the process of levelling and setting the dihedral before reaming the mounting bolt holes.