dismantling the frame and wheels

Front wheel.

Rear wheels and tripod frame.

Rotted rear tire which required cutting to remove.

Last Saturday a group of volunteers met to continue the work on the Curtis pusher.  It is interesting to be around this group and listen to their analysis of the various problems this plane presents.   The engine had been completely opened up and the main and rod bearing s checked.  The low end of the engine seem to look great with little apparent wear. Ben assigned jobs and mine was to remove the wheels and take a spoke out of one of them.  The tire was completely flat and wires were sticking out from the side walls.  To remove it we used a vice and a saws all.  I then went back to the frame and began labeling parts.  This is a must if we are going to reassemble this machine.  The landing gear is a tri-cycle type with a wooden center piece .  Connect to the center piece are several braces which form a V.  We labeled these V brace 1 ,2 etc.  As they came off they were taken to a sand blasting machine for removal of paint and crude.  This could be the bottle neck in the project be3cause so much material need cleaning and there is only one machine to it.  Later in the day the entire frame was taken apart and labeled.  Next week a new wooden yoke will be brought in and fitted.