It has been a couple of months since our last report on progress with the restoration of Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver Bu.83393 at the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum in Granite Falls, Minnesota, but a lot has happened in the interim. As you will see from the video featuring the museum’s Brandon Deuel, the restoration team recently trial-fitted the windscreen, canopy sections and turtle decking to the upper fuselage, which marked a significant project milestone. They were able to add the canopy hand cranks during this period to ensure their proper operability. In recent days, the team has removed the turtle decking and moveable canopy sections to allow further work on cockpit control systems. One of the aircraft’s engineers, Jay Bosch, has been working on the Helldiver’s electrical systems, with the main gear bay hydraulic and electrical work now approaching completion. Presently, they are in the process of installing the hydraulic actuators which operate the dive bomber’s flaps.
Up next, the restoration team will be focusing on further work in the cockpit and fuel bay. Be sure to check out this video which covers some of the latest restoration progress with the Helldiver!
Many thanks to Anna McCosh and the rest of the team at the Fagen Fighters WWII Museum for providing the images and details for this latest update on the Helldiver project!
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