WIX Archives
Re: Data Plate restorations v. "original" a/c
Posted by Paul Stewart on Thu Apr 18, 2002 08:54:23 PM
In reply top Re: Data Plate restorations v. "original" a/c posted by Paul Coggan on Thu Apr 18, 2002 12:52:55 PM
Paul, I think structural failure was the cause of the Catalina accident in Southampton.
Ageing DOES matter in old aeroplanes, and it's not necessarily a fatigue problem - indeed I would say a more significant issue with old warbirds is dissimilar metal corrosion. The B-17 wing spar attach fittings referred to in another post are a classic example of this. The operators that have been doing the inspection required by the AD are not finding fatigue cracks, they are finding cracks caused by corrosion. Given enough time, the wings will fall off the static B-17s as well as the flying ones, unless the physical and chemical reactions taking place between dissimilar metals are halted.