Gentlemen:
Just thought I would share some before and after (restoration) photos of the Douglas C-124C Globemaster control yoke I bought on Ebay several months ago. Surprisingly enough (to me), the seller was in England! First, the before shots:

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Jabba:

Thank you for contacting your Swedish friend and coming up with the identity of the B18 aircraft. I have not been able to find any photos of the cockpit of this plane, specifically of the control wheel, online. But I’ve written and sent photos to the Swedish Air Force Museum, with a request to confirm my yoke/wheel is from a Saab B18. Hopefully they will be able to provide a photo or two of a B18 control wheel installed in the aircraft. Next will be for me to learn something of the history of the aircraft. At the moment I suspect this yoke is of WWII, not later, vintage. The main reason is that the autopilot switch on the right stalk/grip is identical to the switch mounted on the beautiful HE-111 yoke pictured on the cockpitinstrumente.de site.

I’m anticipating that overall production of the Saab B18 was fairly low and that few of the control wheels survive outside of the aircraft in museums. As an avid yoke/wheel collector, this one makes a very nice addition to my collection.

Nick

Ian, Darrell, Martyn….thank you all. I got lucky and found it soon after it was listed. I too spend too much time “grazing” Ebay.

As info to you, the digits “217” are also on the He-111 yoke I mentioned above. Thus I don’t think those particular digits reflect the aircraft mounted in. The suggestion of the yoke grips retracting for emergency purposes is very plausible. What looks like a small cylinder at the bottom center of the yoke is actually an adjustable spacing device to keep the grips in place. it has the remains of a cable-lanyard still attached to it. Would not surprise me if the design concept was; in emergencies, a good yank on the lanyard (probably attached to the flight suit) pulled the spacer out and the grip springs then smartly folded the grips. Just some speculation….

I’ll be doing some more research this weekend….time permitting, to reveal this yoke’s origin.

The exact number built escapes me but I think it was less than 20 that were built.

My records show 17 aircraft produced.

Nick

Yokes not really my area but, I did open the bidding on it with a modest ceiling as it was a 99p start!! It has a very airliner-esque appearance to it but, as to what, no idea :apologetic:

Gin Ye Daur & Hawker: That yoke came out of a later variant of the Douglas C-124 Globemaster…a bulbous and very successful outgrowth of the DC6. In fact, early versions of the aircraft used the same yoke as the DC4 and DC6. Generally the C-124 doesn’t have the cachet or recognition of some other aircraft. And not that many were built. I don’t know the production figures offhand, but I would guess that less than half of the production run used this yoke design. Combine that with its (shall we say) portly/homely appearance and it’s not difficult to see why few components made it out of the scrappers’ yards. In 10+ years of collecting yokes, this is the first one I’ve seen on Ebay. It went for a steeper price than I had hoped….but it was no surprise as at least two of the bidders (besides me) were knowledgeable collectors. So I knew if I wanted it I would have to ante-up. I’ll have some fun restoring it.

Swifter

The photo is of the cockpit of a C-124C.

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Anyway, the question I have to the assembled masses is, what would you reccommend to remove the white paint from the original (I think) black coating?

Hello Phil; allow me to add my welcome too. I’m a relative newbie myself, having joined about a year ago. As I’m sure you found in your reading…there is much knowledge on this site. Thanks for that CF-105 auction link! I recently read Murray Peden’s excellent “Fall of an Arrow”. Ian is right on point with his analogy to TSR2.

Could you post a couple of shots of your B-52 yoke? There are actually four diffenent yokes that were used in B52s (that I know of). The most common is that used on aircraft before the “G” model. As it happens, amongst the yokes I’ve restored there have been a couple of B52s. I’ve attached a photo of my restored “D” model yoke. All the engraved lettering in the thick coating on my yoke had been obliterated. I replaced it all with “dry transfer” decals available from http://www.woodlandscenics.com . It’s tedious working with the small letter decals and you’ll likely be doing some 2-3 times. But it can be done. As you can see, the STRATOFORTRESS lettering was also replaced. I happen to have an extra set of the STRATOFORTRESS lettering….and you are welcome to it (freebie !) if you decide to restore your yoke.

Good Luck with the yoke!

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Avro Anson control column, Mk1 Canadian I guess?

The exact same column/yoke sold for 1/3 the current asking price in May, 2011. Must be inflation :highly_amused: Going back many years, Anson yokes just haven’t fetched high prices.

Swifter

Regarding your ‘dancing girls’ B52 yokes, I raise you ‘courting swans’ F111 sticks, now sporting fancy bases. Also similarly erected P51 column. The holiday hasn’t been entirely wasted. Finally, the top of B26 Marauder column, just needing the yoke. I’m not holding my breath for one of them.

Hi Ian: Whilst the aircraft we’re collecting components from had very serious war/conflict oriented missions; such human constructs also had their moments of humor amid the terror. And I loved the humor of your….courting swan F-111s versus my “Ta daaa !” B52 yoke shot last year.

I’ve attached a photo the B26 Marauder yoke in my collection. If you’re really interested in obtaining a B26 yoke (wheel only), I know a gent in Washington state who might consider selling one of his. He’s a collector and knows the values of various yokes. If you’re interested I can contact him to see if he still wants to sell one.

Nick

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