AirCorps Library

I'm going to put together a video collage of them to run on a loop at my booth at Nationals - so anyone who wanders by will be the audience!

Perfect! My goal is to include both finished project photos with a few "work in progress" shots to show the details. There is plenty to choose from here

Very nice!! Is there a thread with more info on scale/history etc?

Yeah, I think you would be hard pressed to find a business of any size that was functioning during WWII that wasn't producing some part or component for the war effort. What gets really hard is when a company was making something completely unrelated, like air conditioners and then started making aircraft actuators (just an example), and then post war immediately stopped actuator production and went back to making air conditioners. I find this a lot, and it usually means that any proprietary data that they would have had from the 1940s is long gone - probably purged by a later owner or manager. It's sad, but also the reality of not knowing the value of what you have until much later!

For anyone who is interested in the Luscombe Phantom, I'm really excited to announce that we just added a set of original engineering drawings for this aircraft to the AirCorps Library website! The set includes 461 original Luscombe drawings, each of which is searchable by its part/drawing number. In the coming months we'll also be working to add descriptions to each drawing so that searching for what you need is a bit easier. The Phantom was Luscombe's first aircraft and only a handful were built. Currently there are several of these very rare birds under restoration, including one by Kevin Eldridge (who provided us with the drawings and is mentioned in the attached video from 2021 where the only 2 airworthy Phantom's were in attendance!). In my humble opinion there is not much cooler than the Phantom cowling, and I hope some of you can use these drawings on current or future builds! Note - you do have to be a member of the AirCorps Library website to access these drawings (and the other half a million engineering drawings we have), but it's only $9 bucks a month or $75 for the year to start a subscription.

Many model builders use the drawings in the Library to confirm that their parts match the original engineering data exactly. Using these drawings you can do things like confirm exact rivet placement, understand structural differences between aircraft models, get exact dimensions of every part for scaling, find information on original materials used, and much more. I'd say about half of the users of our site are model builders who are using our data to make their projects incredibly accurate. (I'm thinking of you @airscale !) I'm definitely not looking for any specific proof of use, and there is no situation where anyone would "have to" use the site. I'm just on the hunt for people who know that they have used the data on the website as a reference when working on their build!

The drawings we have on the site are for parts and assemblies that were being fabricated specifically by aircraft manufacturers during WWII. Drawings and engineering data for parts that were being fabricated by sub-contactors, and then purchased already assembled and ready for installation on an aircraft, would have been held by said sub-contractors. Unfortunately, this sub-contractor data is really difficult, if not impossible to find - but I'm always looking! Bombs would have definitely fallen into this group as they were not manufactured by say Curtiss, Boeing, North American, Republic etc. Hopefully someday I'll find a cache of this data and make it available!

Thanks Matt!! I particularly appreciate the engine exhaust markings on the fuselage, beautifully done This will make a great addition to the video. Will you be at Nationals this year?

Unless you are talking about something different (correct me if you are) there were flight operating instruction that were kept behind the pilot and co-pilot seats of the B-17. It is referenced in the maintenance manual for the G model. The operating instructions were made up of four charts: an operation chart, range chart, general operating instructions, and pitot correction, stalling speeds, bomb loading, and take-off, climb, and landing charts. These four charts were pressure sealed between sheets of cellulose acetate into a double sided folder of sorts, with a cloth hinge so that it could be folded in half. The cloth hinge was also secured with 8 AN240 eyelets and had a beaded chain looped through one upper right eyelet for hanging. Unfolded, the size of the "folder" was 19.3 inches long by 11.25 inches tall. The actual drawings for the entire armor plate installation, which shows the pilot and co-pilot armor plate (part number 65-7387) does have the disclaimer "marked side of armor plate to be installed against seat back". However, the drawings for the individual armor plate panel (part numbers 3-15141 for the B-17F, and 6-11597 for the B-17G) only give dimensional and material information, with nothing about a placard or decal to be affixed anywhere.

Awesome, thanks Richard! I'm looking forward to gathering project pics together and seeing them all in one video - it should be really neat!

Have you used the information on AirCorps Library in a current or past build? I'll be attending Nationals this June in Madison, WI and will have an AirCorps Library booth in the vendor area. I'd like to create a video to play at the booth that highlights LSP member projects who have used the AirCorps Library site during the course of their build. If this applies to you, and you are interested in sharing your project, please post any pictures you would like me to use, along with the following information (as I would like to give credit where credit is due!) Your Name and location (such as state or country) Project specifics, such as scale, serial number, aircraft model, theater, or any other identifying information Length of time spent on the build (feel free to send in-process pictures if you're not finished with a project but would still like to be included!) A sentence or 2 about how you used the website (not required, but appreciated) If you would not like to have your name listed along with your project that is fine, just let me know and I'll leave that bit out. I'm really excited to be attending Nationals for the first time, and I can't wait to see you all there and highlight some of your great work!

If you're interested in the original data, there were several different drawings for this decal that Boeing produced. The drawing/part number for the B-17F placard is 9-3745 (sheet 1). The drawing for the B-17G is 9-3745 (sheet 1A and sheet 1B). All three of these drawings list the overall dimensions of the placard as 12.50 x 12.25 but includes more info on where the text is to be placed etc. I believe that @thierry laurent may have used these drawings to recreate the placard that he posted above, but if anyone would like to look at the additional drawings and the data they contain you can use the links above to see a preview, or if you're already a member of AirCorps Library they will take you directly to the drawing itself once you login!

That's very true Tim - modelers have different needs than the restoration community, and it's really fun to help on both sides! Plus there are hundreds of thousands more model builders than there are people who restore and fly the actual aircraft! For this reason I'm planning on having a booth at IPMS in 2024 - excited to meet some of you in person! Ester

You are correct! This airplane sat in the jungle for years, then went to Australia, and came to our shop in 2010, and we've been working on it ever since!! Some fun facts for everyone reading this feed: When we receive an aircraft the entire thing is disassembled and every part is inspected for airworthiness. Our goal is to keep as much of the original airframe in the finished restoration as possible (while considering the safety of the pilot) Bonnie in particular can be considered as 30% original. 10% of her parts are original to the aircraft that was pulled out of the jungle in New Guinea 20% of her is new-old-stock parts that we sourced from collections all over the world and were still airworthy from the 1940's! Of course this means that we had to fabricate 70% of the aircraft in house! No small feat when you consider that the aircraft has 40,000 parts (not including the engine and propeller assemblies!)

This SN aircraft was very likely flown by Bill Dunham, as it was assigned as a training aircraft to his squadron. Because it was originally a training aircraft it was never assigned to a specific pilot, but flown by many. Due to this, the owner decided to choose a pilot who flew in the squadron, and paint this aircraft to honor him, rather than painting it in a generic scheme that wouldn't have one pilot attached to it. Bill Dunham was an incredible man, and we were very lucky to have both his daughters present at Oshkosh, and get to sit in the airplane, and watch it fly!

Bonnie is the only restored P-47 with a fully functional turbocharger!

As someone who works at AirCorps Aviation, I can confirm that nothing on this aircraft was polished, we don't even have polishing products in the shop We keep all our sheetmetal covered with a protective film for the duration of the project, and only peel it off when the aircraft is complete and ready to fly. The pieces that are the shiniest are like this because they required the least amount of forming - the more a piece is shaped the less reflective it becomes. The perfection of the skins is a testament to the talent of the guys in our fabrication and restoration shops, they are truly amazing! mkd1966 is correct, This aircraft will never be polished, and as the years pass it will age naturally.

Honestly, there is not too much that makes me happier than to see the drawings and manuals on our site getting used to create amazing project like this one! Just goes to show what hard work (oh, and 4.5 years of your life) will get you Congrats JayW, can't wait to see the next one!

Waroff is right. Curtiss drawing 75-69-085 depicts the blast tube support assembly, and drawing 75-69-001 shows the entire gun installation in several orientations. The main vertical gun supports are located between stations 1 and 2

Just wanted to let everyone know that I posted a new set of engineering drawings to the AirCorps Library website yesterday. Over 5,000 drawings for the A-24 Banshee / SBD Dauntless! I'm really excited about this one because many people love the SBD and I have been asked many times when I was going to post drawings for it. I digitized the drawings for the SBD restoration that will be done at Pioneer Aero out of New Zealand, and they were generous enough to allow me to make the drawings available to all of our Library users. If you want to see some sample images that I pulled of the microfilm click here.

I've shared some images of this build with a number of enthusiasts, and almost all of them had a hard time believing that this was not the airworthy version of Lopes Hope!! Looking at the pictures side by side is truly a testament to your skills Peter. Absolutely amazing work!

After doing a deep dive into both the manuals and drawings for the P-51, I recorded this trail in chronological order: 26-Nov-1942 -The Preliminary Maintenance Manual for the A-36A "Mustang" shows a plywood pilot seat that is similar in appearance to the Schick-Johnson seat. https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/document/viewer/ju6p51jw12?p=319 29-Oct-1943 - One year later a short Tech Order is released detailing the reinforcement of the pilot seat (the illustration of which also bears similarity to the Schick-Johnson seat). The reinforcement is to "reduce the possibility of cracking or breaking the back of the pilot's seat, when extreme pressure is applied" - likely due to the presence of the plywood backing. https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/document/viewer/ju6p51jw23 1-June-1944 - About 8 months later, the Parts Catalog dealing with the P-51B-1, -5, -10, -15, and the P-51C-1, -5, and -10 also illustrates the Schick-Johnson style seat. https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/document/viewer/ipcp51c?p=183 This parts catalog lists drawing number 102-53009 for the pilot seat installation. On this drawing which resembles the Schick-Johnson seat, there also a note that some parts may be procured from Warren-McArthur. https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/drawing/viewer/102-53009?p=4 25-July-1944 - Two months later, the initial version of the P-51D specific parts catalog is released showing the Warren McArthur seat for the first time. The link below to this manual has a revision date of 25-Oct-1944, but the page showing the seat remained un-revised in Oct-1944. https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/document/viewer/ipcp51d?p=197 This parts catalog lists drawing 106-53009 as the seat assembly, which is the bucket seat variation https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/drawing/viewer/106-53009?p=4 10-Mar-1945 - The Parts Catalog for the P-51D and P-51K on this date has entries for both the Schick-Johnson AND the Warren-McArthur seats. https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/document/viewer/finallyp51dk?p=169 Both seat variations are also listed in the later revisions of the Parts Catalog from: 12-Apr-1946 (Parts Catalog for P-51D and P-51K) https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/document/viewer/ju6p51jw7?p=289 31-May-1949 (Parts Catalog for P-51D and P-51K) https://app.aircorpslibrary.com/document/viewer/m20p51jhack3?p=166 29-Oct-1954 (Parts Catalog for F-51D, TF-51D, and F-51K) From this info, it's pretty clear that these seats were used interchangeably for the majority of the history of the P-51. Ester

Curtiss drawing 75-21-001 titled "Fuselage Skeleton Assembly" gives an overview of the entire fuselage, and in the bill of materials on this drawing lists the individual part numbers for each skin section, which would have details about the rivet spacing on each piece. Also on listed drawing 75-21-001, is the types of rivets use in each skin, and where each one was used. This original factory engineering drawing, and almost 16,000 more, are available for the P-40 via AirCorps Library.

Those were the days - not a hard hat or pair of safety glasses in sight!

There are 2 Technical Orders published by the military that deal with the addition of the "dorsal fin" on the Mustang. The first is T.O. No. 01-60JE-8 dated 14-Aug-1944 that relates specifically to the P-51D. The second, T.O. No. 01-60JD-43, dated 20-Dec-1944 applies to the P-51B and P-51C. Both are titled the same - "North American - Installation of Dorsal Fin and Reverse Rudder Boost Tab". The introductory paragraph runs as follows: "To correct the tendency, existing when certain maneuvers are performed, for P-51D airplanes to assume a high angle of yaw which may result in overloading the horizontal stabilizer, a dorsal fin will be installed. In conjunction with this, the rudder trim tab will be converted to a reverse rudder boost tab in order that the forces required to operate the rudder will increase in proportion to the rudder throw and thus decrease the tendency for the pilot to inadvertently overcontrol. Model P-51D airplanes, AF Nos. 44-13253 to 44-13902 inclusive will be reworked in accordance with the instructions contained in paragraph 2. Model P-51D airplane, AF No. 44-13903 and subsequent, will be modified by the contractor prior to delivery." This paragraph is the same in the P-51B/C T.O., with the following differences in AF Serial No's: P-51B: 43-12093 to 43-12492 inclusive 43-6313 to 43-7202 inclusive 42-106429 to 42-106538 inclusive 42-106541 to 42-106978 inclusive 43-24752 to 43-24901 inclusive P-51C: 42-102979 to 42-103978 inclusive 43-24902 to 43-25251 inclusive Another obvious difference between the B/C version and the D-model document is the disclaimer "The work directed herein will be accomplished as soon as possible and not later than the next 100-hour inspection period by service activities with the aid of base maintenance facilities." NAA wasn't churning out early model P-51s at this time, so all mods would have been done in the field for any operational B/C's Ester