Avstar Aircraft of Washington, Inc.

10415 172nd St. E., Hangar A1
Puyallup, WA  98374
office (253)770-9964
or (253)770-0120
email:  avstarair@att.net

Belly landing addressed on a pressurized Baron, Part 2

Continued from part 1

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

P-Baron ice shield

P-Baron with new skins

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.

Beechcraft 58P carry-through 

P-Baron with donor spar web carry through ready to install 

Assemblying the carry-through from a donor airplane to our 58P project 

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!

Installing the new carry-through on the P-Baron 

Carry-through install on a 58P Baron 

Side skin, undamaged, was reinstalled.

Skin replacement on a Beech 58P 

Skin replacement from the inside on a P-Baron 

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

Ready to rivet the skins on a pressurized Baron 

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.

New antennas on a Beech pressurized Baron 

P-Baron antennas are installed 

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

Baron fuselage fresh from the paint shop 

Nice rivet lines, huh? 

Dale working on the Baron after it is painted 

Smooth lines on the newly repaired belly of a P-Baron 

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.

Loading the P-Baron for it's trip home 

The P-Baron as it is leaving