Another airworthy Lanc on the cards?!! Maybe. Possibly

Mark,
ok not sure where your going with the above but you would not have the section from KB941 as I have seen pics of it and it is not a complete floor section only the outer sides of the bombay framework in use as a trailer.

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Peter,

As you know, we have a Lancaster centresection floor and spar web section with our Lincoln project at Moorabbin, that approximates to the removed section in FM212 (possibly the elusive KB941 centre-section supposedly acquired from Canada by Charles Church, and perhaps consumed in the rebuild of the KB976 Centre-section now with Kermit Weeks, and the centre-section remains of KB994 remain intact in that fuselage project).

At this stage this section will possibly be used as the basis of donor parts for a Lincoln cockpit replica floor, given the cross-section dimensions are identical.

regards

Mark Pilkington

I will join in on this one.. The aircraft is owned by the City of Windsor not CH2a and it would be up to the City to decide on wether or not to fly it. From what I have seen worked on and been told about her, the restoration is going to be static ground runnable possibly taxiable if the funding is available. Right now they are doing a merlin224 and prop assembly for display in the terminal at Windsor Airport. Believe me, the damage done when the floor and spar web was torched out is not pretty by any means and will be a labour and cost intensive restoration.

Canada only has 2 other Lancasters that can be made to fly once again. This of course is excluding KB944 in Ottawa Museum. The two candidates would be our own FM159 in Nanton but same problem with FM212 in Windsor it was given to the town plus there is no runway nearby so we are happy to ground run it outside the hangar.
KB882 at Edmunston New Brunswick is the second likely to fly again if money and repairs can be done. She was never stripped of parts and still has her engines fitted. My friend Troy Kirkby heads up this project and he will be sending me an update this summer which I will share.

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There have been many static restorations being claimed to be restored to “airworthy condition” as a measure of the quality of work, rather than the actual intended purpose.

I wonder if that is the situation here, as it would seem a massive project to reconstruct the wing centre-section floor to be structurally sound for flight operations, it would seem to be a significant load bearing area.

Regards

Mark Pilkington

Wonder what sort of state the main spar is in.

The centre-section main spar is in an awful state, it had a big chunk chopped out of it when the aircraft was mounted on its concrete pedestal back in the 60’s, and the porous concrete then transferred a lot of moisture onto the structure causing extensive corrosion. The aircraft would need a replacement centre-section main spar, which don’t grow on trees.

Wonder what sort of state the main spar is in.

Sorry what day is it tomorrow ??

To my untrained eye, it looks like a restoration/repair, not a rebuild to fly. With the comments (and evidence) of reskinning needed, the damage done when it was mounted, lord knows what in the way of water, snow, wind – not by any means impossible I guess, but I just don’t see it there?

Still, a restored Lancaster in any guise is a good thing – especially recalling the images of her before, IIRC in some dreadful colour schemes as well ?

I wouldn’t get too excited over this. I remember seeing this Lancaster in Jackson Park, Windsor about 35 years ago and it was looking rather tired even then. I dread to think what it would have been like after another 30 Canadian winters.

A large amount of money might get it to taxiable condition but I can’t see it as a flyer I’m afraid.

Peter

perhaps peter can enlighten us?

Let us just dream for one moment, of this and the CWH machine in the air, together. Mmmmmm

Wow, would be great 🙂