I used to know an old boy from Ireland, that worked as an engineer/safety officer for delta, but previous to that - in the 1960's, he told me the most difficult job he had ever undertaken was removing a wing off a DC-3 at a bush airstrip in Africa. He was a really nice guy, and I miss our conversations.
@@callen6893 battery used to be a big no no due to the risk of explosions and fire,,,so you would really use air,,,, and using a gun was always another big no no as you can cause a lot of damage if you get it wrong,, not so much of an issue though on this old bird
Good work getting the wing off. How about a battery powered impact wrench to run the bolts off. Lot quicker than a wrench. Wing is easy to handle with those wheels under it. You all did great work. Nice going. Thanks Kermit.
It’s important to document these procedures so that DC3 mechanics 80-90 years from now will know how to keep their birds flying on scheduled commercial service.
When I worked at YVR, several mechanics had a trick; they cut off a small tip of a wrench, allowing it to back ratchet without having to re-position it on the nut. The Snap-On salesmen loved it.. they could sell two of each wrench.
I have been involved in that job, also on C-123 wings. There is a sling that bolts on the top of the wing makes it much easier. I am always reminded of the DC-3 in China that they put a DC-2 wing on an flew it for a while like that. The next time you go to Alaska go out to the Air Guard at Elmendorf and take a look at the C-47 on display. It is a original D-Day aircraft as I understand. The wing only has half the bolts installed.
That was interesting. Now I have a trivia fact in my head about how many bolts hold a DC-3 wing on. Love the ending sequence. I am so sick of the Swamp. They serve themselves and not us, the people.
Colonel Kermit, you need a battery powered ratchet. You're not removing or installing fuselage access panels using a speed handle to prevent stripping out. Should have sprayed all.the hardware with Krud Kutter days before. Of course it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a Colonel with a wrench in his hand instead of a clip board.
Reminds me of Flight of the Phoenix: "Now let me get this straight, you're just gonna unzip that starboard wing, lift it all the way over and tack it onto this port boom, is that right?". "Yes, the tapers will be the wrong way, but....". "The tapers - forget about the tapers - do you know what that wing weighs!" "I estimated it at just over a ton." Awesome movie, and thanks for recreating that scene, Kermit.
Sad to see an Icon that I drove by (and visited ) so many times over the years be gone. A true landmark in the greater Orlando area. Just a thought, maybe you could gather up the old bolts as souvenirs? I know that I would be proud to own a few as I have so many memories attached to FOF.
Well done. Removing the wing was a great job, just with what you had available in tools and people. BTW this portable Gantry Crane might have been a little bit better suited for bolting the DB 605 on the Bf 109 fuselage, because the chain driven lifting device can be moved up and down in tiny increments (compared to the forklift). Might be easier to get the exact location for the bolts without any load on them. Good idea with the dollies under the wing, easy to move with three of them.
kermit you need to look at the cordless makita inpact guns and milwaukee stuff you won,t look back and you may last a bit longer than the dinosaurs we are
How do you define "passion"? A guy fixing his own B-17 in the mid 1980's and 40 years later, he's on the wing of a DC-3 at the crack of dawn trying to undo dirty bolts himself...
Nice project! 😉Here in Hungary the Goldtimer Foundation restored an old Lisunov Li-2 plane (the "russian" DC-3) some years ago. The HA-LIX is flyable and all hungarian airshow's star 😊
Seeing Kermie helping out on the wing reminds me of myself struggling on projects. Looks like cleaning up all the bolts lying on the cement will be fun... Great video!
"I feel you pain..." Just be glad you aren't dealing with a mix of SAE, Whitworth, and God only knows what else in bolts. I think I'd be tempted to haul out a small generator, a small air compressor, and an air powered ratchet...
5 in the morning, 3 and half hour's later and 30 bolt's undone OMG ! What a nightmare , DC3 take a bolt out , explanation of reality LMAO 🤣💦👍 Good on you Kermit 👍👍👍
We used a light tow truck and lifted them from the top utilizing those three points, went on the same way, lined up perfectly. Interesting that the wings we finally used were from a 1944 R4D, the center section and fuse were a 1935 DC 3, American Airlines Flagship Texas.
Hey, grew up in tampa. Always saw the DC3 going to Orlando and back. I live In jupiter now. Would be nice to see some fabulous looking aircraft out there mounted. Maybe even two ? I enjoy mounted planes everywhere. Down here there' a T33 , and in another town an F84 thunderstruck. I pulled over to look. 😊...T37 jet mounted at entrance to Bartow airport.
With a roof fall protection harness you can inspect the underside of the wing instead of the ER nurse. Little known fact, the starboard wings on DC-3 are fastened with left hand threaded 10 mm bolts made in France.
I'm fairly confident this is the way Douglas recommended the removal of the wing. The one exception was you didn't use the box spring for the mattress.
Was shocked to see one guy cutting them off and you using a pair of wrenches. I would have buzzed them off with a drill, socket and flex extension. Maybe half hour? LOL
I've removed frozen bolts on a DC-6 project that had not been removed since it was built in the mid 1950's, and that was a giant pain to do. Just the idea of removing hundreds of them from a plane built in the early 1940's, yikes! .😂
Kermit, you guys really need to try "Free All" penetrating oil. Spray it a day or two before you try to remove stuck fasteners. At a bare minimum, spray it on and leave it overnight. All you need to do is to try it once.
Sorry Kermit. but I'm sitting here laughing, remembering what a WONDERFUL job that is, and you're doing the easy part when you're on the top of the wing!! BTW (2) there is no socket that works either the bolts are too clos to the floor of the wing. You're probably better to back them off and use a Dremel tool to cut the dang things off.
These old planes were built strong. I would wear a good pair of gloves to protect my hands. Hopefully the right wing will be a little bit easier with fingers crossed no injuries.
Two hard poinst about a third of the way up from the trailing edge, the first looks like its above the inboard aileron attachment, the other inboard of that. We had the tips off and used the outboard edge to strap to, according to a pic I have.
I was traveling south through Ohio on I-71 north of Columbus today and saw two wide loads traveling north with what appeared to be large wings of an aircraft. They were wrapped beyond recognition. Could they have been?
Man I hear you! Fifty million nuts and bolts, a quarter turn at a time because they are so close. We installed ours, then a couple of years later had to move the airplane so had to remove them again. Our oleos were collapsed so you had to do the trailing edge in a half crouch. So glad I was a lot younger in those days!!
I like when Kermit refers to something as "the deal". He cracks me up.
The boss himself doing such a hard job! My respect!
Getting old isn't the problem, its the aches and pains that get you!
I used to know an old boy from Ireland, that worked as an engineer/safety officer for delta, but previous to that - in the 1960's, he told me the most difficult job he had ever undertaken was removing a wing off a DC-3 at a bush airstrip in Africa.
He was a really nice guy, and I miss our conversations.
"Not as exciting"? Are you kidding? My heart was in my mouth when you crazy guys lowered the wing onto the dollies. Great work, Gentlemen!
I was a new A&P in 1983 working on DC-3's. I was amazed that the wing was held on by 1/4 inch bolts. Something like 156 bolts comes to mind
From one weeks to another get a battery powered impact
So it won’t take week 😂
Came here to say that! Wow! I can see tightening is a no but undoing come on.
While I also thought the same, I don’t think there’s enough room to get a socket around the bolt or nut.
@@callen6893 battery used to be a big no no due to the risk of explosions and fire,,,so you would really use air,,,, and using a gun was always another big no no as you can cause a lot of damage if you get it wrong,, not so much of an issue though on this old bird
Good work getting the wing off.
How about a battery powered impact wrench to run the bolts off. Lot quicker than a wrench. Wing is easy to handle with those wheels under it.
You all did great work. Nice going.
Thanks Kermit.
It’s important to document these procedures so that DC3 mechanics 80-90 years from now will know how to keep their birds flying on scheduled commercial service.
When I worked at YVR, several mechanics had a trick; they cut off a small tip of a wrench, allowing it to back ratchet without having to re-position it on the nut. The Snap-On salesmen loved it.. they could sell two of each wrench.
I have been involved in that job, also on C-123 wings. There is a sling that bolts on the top of the wing makes it much easier. I am always reminded of the DC-3 in China that they put a DC-2 wing on an flew it for a while like that. The next time you go to Alaska go out to the Air Guard at Elmendorf and take a look at the C-47 on display. It is a original D-Day aircraft as I understand. The wing only has half the bolts installed.
That was interesting. Now I have a trivia fact in my head about how many bolts hold a DC-3 wing on.
Love the ending sequence. I am so sick of the Swamp. They serve themselves and not us, the people.
After doing exactly this job on several C-47s in Timmins, back in the 1970s, I never want to see an AN4-7A bolt ever again!
Colonel Kermit, you need a battery powered ratchet. You're not removing or installing fuselage access panels using a speed handle to prevent stripping out. Should have sprayed all.the hardware with Krud Kutter days before. Of course it's a once in a lifetime opportunity to see a Colonel with a wrench in his hand instead of a clip board.
Reminds me of Flight of the Phoenix: "Now let me get this straight, you're just gonna unzip that starboard wing, lift it all the way over and tack it onto this port boom, is that right?". "Yes, the tapers will be the wrong way, but....". "The tapers - forget about the tapers - do you know what that wing weighs!" "I estimated it at just over a ton."
Awesome movie, and thanks for recreating that scene, Kermit.
Good to see the PBY5-A in the background being worked on too.
It is amazing that this fastening system actually works.
Kermit! Killing me man! Power tools and wrenches it would be done in a short time and less effort!
Sad to see an Icon that I drove by (and visited ) so many times over the years be gone. A true landmark in the greater Orlando area. Just a thought, maybe you could gather up the old bolts as souvenirs? I know that I would be proud to own a few as I have so many memories attached to FOF.
Well done. Removing the wing was a great job, just with what you had available in tools and people. BTW this portable Gantry Crane might have been a little bit better suited for bolting the DB 605 on the Bf 109 fuselage, because the chain driven lifting device can be moved up and down in tiny increments (compared to the forklift). Might be easier to get the exact location for the bolts without any load on them. Good idea with the dollies under the wing, easy to move with three of them.
Nice ,,,watching a few episodes of plane savers uncle Ronnie would have showed you how it’s done,‘you got it done perfect
My dear Kermit. The last time that I had visited Florida,that plane was there. Now I am not visiting again till you replace it😂
Hey Kermit, Milwaukee makes a really cool electric ratchet.
kermit you need to look at the cordless makita inpact guns and milwaukee stuff you won,t look back and you may last a bit longer than the dinosaurs we are
I swear the Douglas engineers had brother-in-laws that they did not want to see out of work! Thanks for the videos!
How do you define "passion"? A guy fixing his own B-17 in the mid 1980's and 40 years later, he's on the wing of a DC-3 at the crack of dawn trying to undo dirty bolts himself...
Still waiting on conclusion videos of b17
well you all made it look easy. i half expected kermit to jump up and down on the wing after the last bolt just for the fun of it lol.
Nice project! 😉Here in Hungary the Goldtimer Foundation restored an old Lisunov Li-2 plane (the "russian" DC-3) some years ago. The HA-LIX is flyable and all hungarian airshow's star 😊
Kermit was on the top of the wing like the gremlin in the The Twilight Zone (look there's a Man on the wing) ..lol
Seeing Kermie helping out on the wing reminds me of myself struggling on projects. Looks like cleaning up all the bolts lying on the cement will be fun... Great video!
Great video
I like the analogy, neither wing is suitable to fly at this point
I've always wondered if that flange with the bolts is what held the wing on. Never too old to learn.
You're the man, You're going to be sore the next day😅
"I feel you pain..." Just be glad you aren't dealing with a mix of SAE, Whitworth, and God only knows what else in bolts. I think I'd be tempted to haul out a small generator, a small air compressor, and an air powered ratchet...
5 in the morning, 3 and half hour's later and 30 bolt's undone OMG ! What a nightmare , DC3 take a bolt out , explanation of reality
LMAO 🤣💦👍 Good on you Kermit 👍👍👍
Back in the day, Douglas built them solid! That thing looks like a bridge section....
Kermie is Awesome.
That flight line looks good for a RC and Controline show .
might be a dumb question ,but battery power tools, impact, even a ratching end wrench would be better and faster.
We used a light tow truck and lifted them from the top utilizing those three points, went on the same way, lined up perfectly. Interesting that the wings we finally used were from a 1944 R4D, the center section and fuse were a 1935 DC 3, American Airlines Flagship Texas.
About 25 years ago I helped put a set of wings onto a DC-3, and we had a sling bolted to the lift points in the top surface?
Hey, grew up in tampa. Always saw the DC3 going to Orlando and back. I live In jupiter now. Would be nice to see some fabulous looking aircraft out there mounted. Maybe even two ? I enjoy mounted planes everywhere. Down here there' a T33 , and in another town an F84 thunderstruck. I pulled over to look. 😊...T37 jet mounted at entrance to Bartow airport.
With a roof fall protection harness you can inspect the underside of the wing instead of the ER nurse. Little known fact, the starboard wings on DC-3 are fastened with left hand threaded 10 mm bolts made in France.
I'd rather inspect the ER nurse.
Kroil and ratchet wrenches....nuff said
Each wing has 328 nuts & bolts holding them to the ship. They're not your average hardware store variety either, so they're worth keeping around!
That Kermit Hammer looks like it has been around for awhile.
I bet it’s a lot less work to get that Hien running! Haha
Yeah, I'd like to see some effort put into that before all of us get old and croak...plenty of old DC-3's still around...Ki-61's, not so much....
I'm fairly confident this is the way Douglas recommended the removal of the wing. The one exception was you didn't use the box spring for the mattress.
Was shocked to see one guy cutting them off and you using a pair of wrenches. I would have buzzed them off with a drill, socket and flex extension. Maybe half hour? LOL
I think Kermit found there wasn't enough clearance for a socket. Would have made it much easier.
@@andrewwaterman9240 Did not think of that. 🙂
What’s the plan for the C-47? Put in storage,scrap it,or sell it?
Always good to see a new FoF video. Great work Kermit.
Another wonderful video. Thanks for sharing. One wing low but still all the best success on the RH wing removal.
Great job! Lots of work!!!
Yay! Power tools. There's no need to suffer and do that by hand.
I've removed frozen bolts on a DC-6 project that had not been removed since it was built in the mid 1950's, and that was a giant pain to do. Just the idea of removing hundreds of them from a plane built in the early 1940's, yikes! .😂
Mikey from the alaska Airlines (i forget there name) had a good series of videos on a restoration of one of these.
Great job Guys!
Go soak in epsom salts, boys. Great job.
Kermit, you guys really need to try "Free All" penetrating oil. Spray it a day or two before you try to remove stuck fasteners. At a bare minimum, spray it on and leave it overnight. All you need to do is to try it once.
Amazing how you simply line up the wing flanges and just bolt em together ..long old job that is though!
Great job Kermit, remember to wear disposable coveralls on the next wing.
Sorry Kermit. but I'm sitting here laughing, remembering what a WONDERFUL job that is, and you're doing the easy part when you're on the top of the wing!! BTW (2) there is no socket that works either the bolts are too clos to the floor of the wing. You're probably better to back them off and use a Dremel tool to cut the dang things off.
These old planes were built strong. I would wear a good pair of gloves to protect my hands. Hopefully the right wing will be a little bit easier with fingers crossed no injuries.
Two hard poinst about a third of the way up from the trailing edge, the first looks like its above the inboard aileron attachment, the other inboard of that. We had the tips off and used the outboard edge to strap to, according to a pic I have.
Pre soak the bolts with lots of WD-40?
Nice to see the wing rates a Posturepedic mattress. LOL
The load capacity of even the smaller forklift is more than enough for that piece.
Wherein we learn that Kermit doesn't own a ratchet, gear-wrench or any power tools.
I was traveling south through Ohio on I-71 north of Columbus today and saw two wide loads traveling north with what appeared to be large wings of an aircraft. They were wrapped beyond recognition. Could they have been?
I second the Get you a battery impact
Yes you can get a 1/4" thin wall socket to fit!
Can you get a thin wall 11/32" socket? (which would actually *FIT* the head of the 1/4 inch bolt)
I still miss seeing the old girl from I-4😞
I like the title !
I wish we could get rid of the left wing.
Kermit you need battery powered power tools. Save you a lot of work. And some WD40. Way to hot to hang out on top of a wing.
Kroil,not WD 40..🙂
Three auld lads, two forklifts and telly handler talking apart a DC 3. What could go wrong?
Ei Kermit, por que não utiliza uma chave de roquete e um pouco de WD-40?
Try using a 90° battery ratchet may help ,Harbor Freight
Hardest working gazillionaire on the planet
Kermit, you are so busy. How about taking a 3 week vacation and do some more flying videos?
thoses electric saws are great... but the blades... they never last long
Were the ailerons controlled by wifi?
Question; is this for restoration back to airworthiness?
No. Just to secure it for Hurricane season here in Florida. As I state in the videos, I have a future use for it in Act III, as a static.
Impact drills and socket's will stop all of that just doing it the hard way
Better sockets /tools needed.
What’s the fate of this airframe? Going to return to flight sometime soon hopefully?
now what is the airframe restorable at least for a display ???????????
Man I hear you! Fifty million nuts and bolts, a quarter turn at a time because they are so close. We installed ours, then a couple of years later had to move the airplane so had to remove them again. Our oleos were collapsed so you had to do the trailing edge in a half crouch. So glad I was a lot younger in those days!!
I'm amazed there is no wing spar.? It's just held together by bolts?
It’s a very close to zero tolerance flush fit that the wing is virtually a one piece unit.
Did you ever have any dealings with the Mosses at Shell Creek Airstrip ??
Nice teamwork to get the job done. Anyone know what the plan is for the DC-3? Restoration or scraping?
"Scraping".
A crackerjack team of able-bodied scrapers is being recruited as we speak.
They should have it scraped clean in short order.
Did I miss the part that showed getting the gear down?
Looks like maybe you should have power washed the wing before you started.
Seems like an Hour or so on the pressure washer prior to all this wouldve made a big difference???
Are the wings potentially airworthy??
What's happening with the DC3? I've missed this series so far
Angle drill and flex driver?
And thin walled sockets
Could it be saved by Basler?
WD-40! :)
I hate to point this out but here it goes: If you are disassembling a non flyable plane why not use an electric drill with a socket?