The fuselage has now been painted internally. We have gone back to the original style with silver in the rear fuselage and cockpit green in the cockpit. We have carried out the repair work required on the rear fuse transport joint. There were some irregularities in the fit between the skins on the forward fuse and the rear fuse at the joint, and we have corrected these. We have applied a seal of PRC to both faces to ensure a neat gap free joint.

We have completed the rebuild of the left aileron. Final alignment checks were carried out with the surface fitted to the wing before the riveting was completed. With the completed aileron installed on the wing we have been able to confirm the acceptability of the shroud gaps and carry out the refurbishment and installation of the main bellcrank and pushrod for that side. This work has been completed and we have begun the same work on the right aileron control system.

Work continues on the elevator with the assembly now well underway. With the spar and leading edge sections complete, attention has been directed to attaching the fabric patches to the skins and spar to replicate the original covering style. These pieces of fabric have now all been fitted and the spar and leading edge assembly have been fitted to the jig and finally riveted together. The main operating horn, which we have fabricated from scratch, has been fitted with a new bearing and is ready to attach to the spar assembly. The tip, ribs and trailing edge components can now be fitted and work continues in that area.

Work has begun on the main gear doors. The original doors required a number of new components and new outer skins and all of these components have been fabricated and trial assembled, and some of the final assembly has been completed. Work has been suspended on this job while we wait for the steel components to return from the plating shop.

We have begun sorting out the lower fuel tank plumbing and fuel pump installation. The system is incorporating a style of installation where the pump is located in the bottom of the lower tank and this has resulted in the need to fabricate some new connection fitting and adaptors. We have overhauled the shutoff valve and completed the fabrication of the adaptors and are now sourcing the appropriate hoses for the installation. Seems we are missing the fuel filter mount bracket, so we may have to fabricate one of these also. We have overhauled the filter assy, shutoff valve and tank level transmitter.

We have completed some outstanding work on the inboard flaps and the flap operating mechanism and have trial mounted the assemblies to the wings and are in the process of completing the return spring rebuild and ram overhauls.

We have begun the overhaul of all the main and tailwheel undercarriage components. The main legs have been completely stripped down and inspected for corrosion and cracks etc. and the hardware sent away for plating. We have new manufacture seals in stock for the legs and will begin the re-assembly when the parts return from the platers. The tail wheel leg has also been fully stripped down as have the retract cylinders and tail oleo. All the components will be assembled with fresh seals and replated hardware when available. We have trial fitted the main gear locking pintals and sourced new lock operating chain. These units have been dismantled for painting.

We have started the electrical and instrument system rebuild by sorting the electrical components into groups, determining what shortages there are, and dismantling some instrumentation that requires remarking. It is our intention to reuse the original panel, with new lettering highlights and a protective lacquer finish.

We have begun work on the firewall components and sorting out what parts are missing and what needs to be repaired or repainted. We have fabricated new mounts for the pneumatic water separator and are in the process of building a new throttle actuator shaft and mounting the pneumatic regulator and the hydraulic relief valve. Allied to this work forward of the firewall is the refurbishment of the armour plate mounting assy. That is fitted to the rear side of the firewall in the tank bay. A replacement piece of armour plate has been fabricated and the mount hardware overhauled.

We are expecting to re-assemble a large number of components this coming month start wiring and the cockpit fit out. The ailerons will be completed, and work will begin on the right wing tip.