ME 262 PROJECT & THE U.S. NAVY
Status Report No. 4: 05 November 1999.
The engineering and manufacturing activities accomplished during the month of October 1999 included the following:
Cockpit Reconstruction
This activity continues with the basic seat structure and foot pedals being installed. Side panels for controls have been sized and cut and will be installed later this month.
Instrument panels for the front and back cockpits are cut out and have been sent to a supplier to begin the building of the fiberglass resin instrument mounts.
Instrument photography is being done by a local photo lab of each instrument we have, with the glass removed. This approach will give us excellent representation of an original Me 262 cockpit.
Additional information concerning cockpit components is being extracted from books in our technical library.
Jumo Engine
Cowl reconstruction continues with the finalizing of the new shape tool that will allow us to build new cowls. The cowls in our inventory were scrapped, due to dimension problems that prevented their use even on a static airplane.
A request for bid has been released this week for the building of 2 hand ring assemblies for the Reidel starter. We have acquired detail drawings and photographs from the Messerschmitt Foundation, so we can now proceed with manufacture of these highly visible components at the front of the Jumo engines.
Landing Gear Doors
Middle landing gear doors have been manufactured in our factory. They are going through final fit check prior to installation this month.
Wing to Body Fairing
The wing to body fairing remains a problem. We have been unable to find any of these parts, but have arranged with the Planes of Fame in Chino, California to "borrow" a front fillet section so we can duplicate it. The aft segment is not available to us from any source, but we are still pursuing leads before we attempt to manufacture these parts from hand drawn templates.
Flaps and Slats
The fist assemblies of mid-flaps and front slats arrived this week in our facility from our subcontractor. These parts will be installed within the month.
Nose Gear Door - Front
The front mounted nose gear door is in stages of final manufacture and finish. This assembly should arrive mid-month and be installed shortly thereafter.
Aft Engine Thrust Bulb
The aft engine thrust bulb (referred to as the "onion") was removed from the Jumo engine. It has been sanded and the major dents/holes sanded and filled. A new fiberglass supplier has been located and will produce two of these difficult assemblies from our part.
Wing Tip Lens Light
Wing tip assemblies are in final paint and will be modified to fit each wing. A contract to manufacture the lens light will be released as soon as we have developed the final dimensions.
*** Historical Event ***
A visitor to our site recently identified himself as Mr. Eugene Freiburger, who served as the "repo-man" for Watson's Whizzers. He was responsible for preparing 11 Me 262 jet airplanes at Lechfeld, Germany for flights to Cherbourg, France. He provided us with a picture of the airplanes, taken just prior to takeoff on June 10, 1945. He pointed out that name "Vera" was painted on the nose of the airplane and informed us that this is the airplane we are restoring for the U.S. Navy (WNr 110639). In addition, Mr. Freiburger brought the actual "Vera" along -- his sister -- and she got to see the airplane that was named for her after it was first captured some 54 years ago.
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