Here's How We Are Building Our Nieuport 11s, Page 5 -- We finish all the cutting and shaping of the tail pieces.
      
Within three days of receiving the aluminum shipment, the first pieces for the rudders, horizontal stablizers and elevators are fabricated. Since we are building five Nieuports, things are done in a mass-production like way, with each builder producing all of a certain part of the tail. For instance, Ralph bent all the aluminum for the tail. Ray made some nifty chromoly sleeves for the rudders and elevators. Ray , John and Wyman cut the rudder posts and one inch tubing for the horizontal stabilizers as well as filing and deburring them and the half-inch tubing pieces that Ralph had bent. The others carefully adjusted the shapes of the various sections to fit the patterns on the table.
  
Ralph made more forms to fit on the table.
The formed horizontal stabilizer pieces.
Parts of the horizontal stabilizer and the rudder were bent around routed forms fastened to the table.
Completed sections of the tail awaiting finishing, filing and deburring.
Some formed rudder pieces.
John and Wyman work on some tail pieces in the Nieuport factory.
Rudder sections waiting for some finishing work. EAA 172 member Bobby Braswell, John and Wyman work in the Nieuport "factory" assembly line cutting, deburring and finishing the one inch tubing for the the rudder posts and the elevators.
Some of the chromoly hinge sleeves.
A horizontal stabilizer laid out on the tail construction table.
A set of the chromoly hinge sleeves Ray made. Elevators and horizontal stabilizer laid out on the tail assembly table..

Go back Escadrille Lafayette Wrens Home Page Next, Go forward

This page Created with Netscape Navigator Gold

Last updated: 032199@0522EST