10415 172nd St. E, Hangar A1

Puyallup, WA 98374

(253) 770-9964

avstarair@att.net

Past Projects: P-Baron Fuselage (Part 2)

Continued from Part 1.

New skins and ice shield are fit and installed to the right side of the nose.

The main carry-through for wing attach needed new webs, as the old ones had been too damaged for repair.  The bad news turned out to be the failure of new parts delivery; we were told a couple of months after placing the order Beech could not supply after all.  An ensuing search found a suitable donor P-Baron, so a transplant was underway.

The replacement unit was test fit, and all alignment points checked.  As per usual with the major components from Beech, hole alignment to adjoining structure was amazing!

Side skin, undamaged, was reinstalled.

New keels, stringers and skins were then fit to the belly, drilled, de-burred and assembled wet with sealant for pressurization considerations.

New antennas, a Whelen LED beacon and gear doors were fit.  After checking the integrity of the pressure capsule, it was off to the paint shop.

Back from the paint shop, the nose gear doors were installed and the antennas sealed.

And then, ship it back to where it came from, where fresh engines & props await.  I understand the damage to the wings and nacelles was minimal, and was easily handled by the shop that took it apart and will do the final reassembly.  As a small side note, we also rebuilt the flaps for the aircraft.