1 July 1999
Happy Canada Day and Hello to All,
This is my first attempt to contact en masse our Tiger Friends
worldwide and , more locally, members of the Toronto Aerospace
Museum's Tiger Moth Restoration Team with an update and SITREP.
The purpose of this report is to keep our members informed and
involved with the project and to facilitate the scheduling of
upcoming activities, the hunt for parts needed and found, any
special tools or materials required and generally to make the
entire project more productive and enjoyable for the Team as a
whole. This form of contact may eventually evolve into a Tiger
Moth web site linked to the Museum's web site ( when we get one
:) ) Anyone interested in developing or assisting with that mission
please step forward... haha.
I would also like to hear your suggestions for improving our effectiveness-
which may be a challenge considering we are severely constrained
by a lack of space, finances, tools and time - but let's hear
your ideas anyway.
The restoration of dh82a CG-NGS is appoaching it's first year
anniversary which makes me somewhat nostalgic, impatient and proud
all at the same time. The "wreck" was transported to
the Museum on 8 July 1998. I'm sure back then I believed it would
be flying by now ! Seriously, haha. OK so I was a little optimistic.
However I had no idea at the time how difficult it would be to
locate drawings, parts, tools, materials, volunteers, etc. to
carry the project forward. Now I understand why NGS sat in a barn
for almost 20 years!
The past year has seen the development of an impressive global
network of contacts. The engine has been overhauled by Watt Martin.
Parts were inventoried and assessed for usability and many missing
or damaged parts were sourced and acquired through Malcolm Goosey,
Tom Deitrich, Watt, Jerry Fotheringham and my old alma mater,
the Great War Flying Museum. Many drawings of original parts were
located through Watt, George Neal, Skytrade, Bill Orbeck and Flying
Wires. Stan Finch lent his artistic skills to reverse engineering
many undocumented parts for replication. Alaskan Sitka Spruce
and Baltic Birch plywood for all new wings and upper decking woodwork
has been purchased and ripped to size. All ribs, spars and miscellaneous
bits have been drawn on Autocad by the fastidious Brie Gillespie
and plotted to full scale for use as templates. All rib jigs have
been constructed and are undergoing quality control checks. (
How's your wrist now, Ian ??)
Building technique testing of rib part measuring, marking, cutting,
fitting,sanding, steaming, bending, bradding and gluing ( and
glue removal !! ) skills are all coming nicely. It's hard work
rediscovering and learning methods commonly used in the 1930's
as it always seems like there HAS to be a better way. The urge
to substitute technology for craft runs rampant specifically between
myself and our resident Russian Aerospace Engineer, Comrade Kopylov
!!
We finally have a dedicated and expanding work space within the
Museum and an even more dedicated team of over a dozen volunteers
and for that I am most grateful. Without your assistance and support
the restoration would be impossible to finish in time for our
new "Millenium" target deadline - Thanksgiving 2000
!! I believe that is realistic given the rapid improvement apparent
in our output lately. We are starting to achieve a critical mass
of workers, skills, materials and a clear direction for our efforts
( Ribs !! ) This finally makes it possible for more independent
work by individual Team members once appropriate building skills
are learned and demonstrated.
Of particular importance is our continued search for an appropriately
licensed air maintenance engineer to oversee our work if NGS is
to be re-certified upon completion. Without this it will be necessary
to reclassify her as a homebuilt which I think would be a shame
given we have traced her roots courtesy of Stuart McKay of the
DH Moth Club to the Indian Air force during WW2 . Any leads on
this one would be most welcome !!
The project and the Museum in general has ongoing needs for non-construction
input such as development of a computer database inventory of
parts and artifacts, photo - documentation of parts and progress,
maintenance and canvassing of a growing list of contacts worldwide
for parts, info & technical support, web site setup, publicity
and networking ( scrounging ) etc.
Our current list of Missing Parts includes :
H. Rear Trimmer Assembly
H.35274A Centre Section, Front Spar Tube Assembly
H. Front Cockpit Door Latches, L&R
DHC1973 Pulley Bracket Assembly
DHC1986 Wheel Brake Cable Assembly
DHC1729 Rod, Connecting Front & Rear levers
No. 4092 Cap, Vent Assembly
H.35708,9 Fixing Plate, Tank Support, L&R
H.34886A Connecting Pipe Assembly
H.28029 Adaptor, Petrol Tank
SP.331/3 Washer, Adaptor to Petrol Tank
H.31059A Operating Rod Assembly
H.11118 Fin Attachment Bracket
H.33307 Drain Plate, Rear Fuselage ( 10 )
H.33266 Clip, Assembly, Drain Plate to Fuselage ( 20 )
H.34900 Harness, Cable Shield ( 2)
H.39603 Mk. 3 Cover, Elevator Rockshaft
H.35673A,4A Acorn Assembly, L&R
H. Pitot Head Assembly
H. Navigation Light System , complete
H.19895A Cable Guide Assembly, L&R
H.37086 Fairing, Fin
H.25965A Rudder Hinge Plate Assembly
H.25996 Distance Piece, Rudder to Fin
P6 Tecalemit Greaser, Hinge Pin
H. Hub Cap, Mainwheel, DH Logo, L&R
Fabrication Drawings are required for the particularly elusive
:
H. Nosebowl
H. Side Cowling,L
H. Side Cowling,R
Persons with machine shop and metalworking skills are needed to
fabricate parts from drawings on microfilm. Does anyone have any
friends in the Toronto Society of Model Engineers ? This is right
up their alley. We also need a 35 mm Microfilm Reader-Printer.
( A-P, how about the Paper ? Do they have any castoffs ? )
I have contacted the Toronto School Board and many manufacturers
and distributors of tools and shop equipment to donate some of
their products to the Museum. To date only Busy Bee Tools has
responded positively with the promise of a drill press and a spindle
sander. The recent purchase of the scroll saw and belt sander
and Neil Steenberg's kind donation of the vintage Table Saw have
made rib construction a reality but we must continue our efforts
in this area if we are to move forward on other fronts. If anyone
has tools they could donate, loan or " store " at the
Museum it would be much appreciated. The Museum can issue tax
receipts for any charitable donations of tools, parts, materials,
artifacts, professional services, etc to the cause.
Project Volunteers can also claim tax receipts for time spent
on the restoration including travel costs, meal allowance and
potentially time donated to the restoration itself. It's almost
like getting paid for having all this fun!! haha. See me for details
and expense forms for record keeping purposes and making claims.
If anyone isn't yet an actual, bona fide, card carrying member
of the Museum, you should be !! Not only because the TAM needs
your financial support but because officially we are not yet open
to the public and all persons using the premises MUST be a member.
Please see Natalie McHaffie of myself to signup immediately.
By September, TAM expects to have the Lancaster Bomber on site
for a static restoration and hopefully a well equipped restoration
workshop. We plan to be open for regular school tours and the
general public next Fall and we are hoping to attract student
volunteers from aviation programs at Central Tech and Centennial
College. The excellent progress made on the full scale Avro Arrow
to date will continue apace and our membership will grow rapidly
from our present 250+ as our profile improves within the aviation
community and the public at large. In short, things are just starting
to get interesting !!
If anyone has any special interest or skill they feel they could
apply to the Tiger Moth Restoration Project or any other ongoing
project at TAM please let me know and we will try to accommodate
you. If you have a part or a drawing that could assist us to get
CG-NGS back in the air please give me a call to arrange a donation,
sale or trade !!
Thank you all again for your continued help and support. Your
comments and feedback are most welcome and encouraged.
Keep 'em flyin !!
Bob Murphy
Tiger Moth Restoration Crew Chief
Director
Toronto Aerospace Museum
65 Carl Hall Road
Downsview, Ontario
Canada
M3K 2B6
p 416-690-1083
f 416-690-1088
bobmurphy1@compuserve.com