WEBVTT 00:02.940 --> 00:06.210 On April 6 , 1917 , the United States 00:06.210 --> 00:09.340 declared war on Germany . The thomas 00:09.340 --> 00:12.030 More's s foresee Scout was a late war 00:12.040 --> 00:14.490 american advanced fighter trainer . The 00:14.490 --> 00:16.268 plane nicknamed the Tommy , saw 00:16.268 --> 00:18.550 extensive service across the US and had 00:18.550 --> 00:21.950 a Postwar career in movies . It wasn't 00:21.950 --> 00:24.010 long before hundreds of young flying 00:24.010 --> 00:26.470 cadets wearing identifying white bands 00:26.470 --> 00:28.610 on their hats , began reporting to 00:28.620 --> 00:30.731 flying schools in the United States , 00:30.731 --> 00:33.260 Canada and europe . The U . S . 00:33.260 --> 00:35.427 Struggled to build up to date aircraft 00:35.427 --> 00:37.316 as other nations far outpaced the 00:37.316 --> 00:39.149 american aviation technology and 00:39.149 --> 00:41.316 production for advanced single seat or 00:41.316 --> 00:43.427 suit training . Many pilots had to go 00:43.427 --> 00:45.690 to europe in 1918 . However , that 00:45.690 --> 00:47.579 thomas Morris esports , sea Scout 00:47.579 --> 00:49.690 became readily available for training 00:49.690 --> 00:51.746 american fighter pilots at home . It 00:51.746 --> 00:53.746 represented a small step forward in 00:53.746 --> 00:55.801 aviation manufacturing independent . 00:55.801 --> 00:57.857 The basic s . four model designed in 00:57.857 --> 01:00.820 1916 and built in Ithaca New York flew 01:00.820 --> 01:03.530 in 1917 and with refinement became a 01:03.530 --> 01:05.870 serviceable trainer . The Army bought 01:05.870 --> 01:09.290 about 500 S4Cs and around 250 saw 01:09.290 --> 01:11.179 domestic service during the war , 01:11.640 --> 01:13.870 Museum technicians spent approximately 01:13.870 --> 01:15.926 two years to completely restore this 01:15.926 --> 01:16.926 aircraft . 01:20.940 --> 01:23.040 Okay , yeah , 01:27.040 --> 01:29.207 yeah , we go through the galleries and 01:29.207 --> 01:31.318 we assess conditions and when you see 01:31.318 --> 01:33.730 one like the Scout that had a big split 01:33.740 --> 01:35.907 right down the belly of the airplane , 01:35.907 --> 01:37.962 it's like , okay , this one needs to 01:37.962 --> 01:40.129 come sooner than later on the schedule 01:40.129 --> 01:42.690 to be restored . That split in looking 01:42.690 --> 01:44.801 in the airplane taking fabric off was 01:44.801 --> 01:46.912 caused by oil that was leaking out of 01:46.912 --> 01:49.134 the oil tank dripped down on the fabric 01:49.134 --> 01:50.968 ran back the whole length of the 01:50.968 --> 01:53.134 fuselage and that weakened that cotton 01:53.134 --> 01:55.190 and cause it to just split apart and 01:55.190 --> 01:57.079 there's a cowling panel that goes 01:57.079 --> 01:58.912 underneath the airplane and it's 01:58.912 --> 02:00.690 referred to as the oil pan . So 02:00.690 --> 02:02.857 anything that would drip down would be 02:02.857 --> 02:04.857 caught basically by that . And that 02:04.857 --> 02:04.430 would have prevented that big old split 02:04.440 --> 02:07.200 from being in the aircraft . So we took 02:07.200 --> 02:10.940 it off display and two years ago , um , 02:10.950 --> 02:13.061 it was during the time that we were , 02:13.061 --> 02:16.040 had finished the avro 504 and we had an 02:16.050 --> 02:18.217 empty space on the floor that we could 02:18.217 --> 02:20.272 then take the scout off of the polls 02:20.272 --> 02:21.883 that it's on , set it down , 02:21.883 --> 02:24.161 disassemble it and remove the airplane , 02:24.161 --> 02:26.383 took it back over to restoration and it 02:26.383 --> 02:28.606 actually set in restoration for about a 02:28.606 --> 02:30.772 half a year without much being done to 02:30.772 --> 02:32.661 it because this restoration was a 02:32.661 --> 02:34.828 little different than the rest because 02:34.828 --> 02:36.939 the pandemic hit right about the time 02:36.939 --> 02:38.939 we took the airplane over , we were 02:38.939 --> 02:41.106 able to come back to work , but we had 02:41.106 --> 02:43.106 to do a few other prioritize things 02:43.106 --> 02:45.217 while nobody was here at the museum . 02:45.217 --> 02:47.383 Once that was taken care of and people 02:47.383 --> 02:47.120 were starting to come back into their 02:47.140 --> 02:49.400 little bit normal routine . I guess . 02:49.410 --> 02:52.690 We started back on the Scout . So the 02:52.700 --> 02:55.730 process involves fully documenting 02:55.730 --> 02:57.952 everything you have in the condition of 02:57.952 --> 03:00.063 the airplanes at . Then we can remove 03:00.063 --> 03:02.286 all the fabric and we want to get in to 03:02.286 --> 03:04.286 see what the structure looks like . 03:04.286 --> 03:06.508 Once we have all the fabric removed and 03:06.508 --> 03:08.563 all the pieces disassembled . We can 03:08.563 --> 03:10.730 then document all of that to keep that 03:10.730 --> 03:12.508 as a record . Then we can start 03:12.508 --> 03:14.230 cleaning things and then start 03:14.230 --> 03:17.670 repairing things . So once you have 03:17.670 --> 03:19.781 everything taken apart , everything's 03:19.781 --> 03:22.040 cleaned , everything is repaired . Then 03:22.040 --> 03:23.870 that can be when when you start 03:23.880 --> 03:25.936 actually fabricating new pieces that 03:25.936 --> 03:28.440 you need . And then uh prepping those 03:28.440 --> 03:31.790 parts that have been repaired too last 03:31.790 --> 03:33.790 for their long journey that they're 03:33.790 --> 03:35.957 going to be on . So you clean the wood 03:35.957 --> 03:38.123 structures and now you need to put new 03:38.123 --> 03:40.290 varnish on it . So we would re varnish 03:40.290 --> 03:42.512 structures that had to be , we would do 03:42.512 --> 03:44.401 whatever we could to save the old 03:44.401 --> 03:44.080 varnish that was on parts that were 03:44.080 --> 03:46.150 fine would in but it's also a 03:46.160 --> 03:48.104 protective coat . So it will be uh 03:48.104 --> 03:51.100 doesn't speak to the world like a lot 03:51.100 --> 03:52.933 of the fuselage . Was that way ? 03:57.440 --> 03:58.440 Yeah , 04:00.940 --> 04:03.460 after you fabricate your parts , put 04:03.460 --> 04:05.571 your varnish on , get it all ready to 04:05.571 --> 04:07.238 go . Then the fabric starts . 04:12.540 --> 04:16.370 So we uh cut , measure uh drape the 04:16.370 --> 04:18.980 fabric on the parts so it all together . 04:18.990 --> 04:21.420 Once it's sewn , then we have to uh 04:21.430 --> 04:23.541 once it's machine zone , then we have 04:23.541 --> 04:25.597 to hand so any of the parts where it 04:25.597 --> 04:27.319 tucks in and finishes it off . 04:31.440 --> 04:32.440 Okay , 04:43.240 --> 04:45.400 then we go on with the process that's 04:45.400 --> 04:48.660 known as doping , which is actually a 04:48.660 --> 04:50.827 structural adhesive that goes onto the 04:50.827 --> 04:52.890 airplane . So that gets brushed on , 04:52.900 --> 04:54.900 you get about four or five coats of 04:54.900 --> 04:57.067 that . These are the tail surfaces off 04:57.067 --> 04:59.289 the Thomas . More scalp . They have one 04:59.289 --> 05:01.620 coat of 5050 applying to them of the 05:01.620 --> 05:04.340 nitrate . So we're just starting to see 05:04.340 --> 05:06.562 the process . It'll , when you first do 05:06.562 --> 05:08.784 it it will get really baggy and it gets 05:08.784 --> 05:10.784 kind of scary . But after you get a 05:10.784 --> 05:12.951 couple more coats on there , it really 05:12.951 --> 05:15.118 starts to tighten down . This airplane 05:15.118 --> 05:17.173 gets the insignias of the time . Now 05:17.173 --> 05:19.284 there were two different ones , There 05:19.284 --> 05:21.507 were ones that were just round els that 05:21.507 --> 05:21.210 they would use when they were over in 05:21.210 --> 05:23.690 the actual the war . Uh , this airplane 05:23.690 --> 05:25.857 served in the United States and during 05:25.857 --> 05:28.470 its time period it gets the circle with 05:28.470 --> 05:30.637 the white star and then the red circle 05:30.637 --> 05:32.803 inside of that . So on this airplane , 05:32.803 --> 05:34.859 I hand painted those all on there is 05:34.859 --> 05:37.380 able to uh cut out a template out of 05:37.390 --> 05:39.700 cardboard type material . Was able to 05:39.700 --> 05:41.756 trace that out on the wings and then 05:41.756 --> 05:43.867 actually hand painted all in with the 05:43.867 --> 05:47.130 brush when it comes down to putting the 05:47.130 --> 05:49.130 finish on it . Doing the insignia , 05:49.130 --> 05:51.297 doing the numbers . That is absolutely 05:51.297 --> 05:53.352 my favorite part because that's when 05:53.352 --> 05:55.686 the airplane really starts to look like , 05:55.686 --> 05:57.574 what you see in the pictures . It 05:57.574 --> 05:59.519 transforms it from this blank form 05:59.519 --> 06:01.630 basically to what it is in my mind at 06:01.630 --> 06:03.630 least of what it's supposed to be . 06:03.630 --> 06:05.797 Once that's all done . Then you can go 06:05.797 --> 06:07.908 in with your color and really started 06:07.908 --> 06:09.908 to make the airplane look like what 06:09.908 --> 06:12.650 it's supposed to . Yeah , okay 06:20.040 --> 06:22.790 brian is absolutely a wizard at doing 06:22.790 --> 06:24.957 this sheet metal stuff . He's , he was 06:24.957 --> 06:27.220 able to patch in the pieces that have 06:27.220 --> 06:29.387 been cut out replicate the rolled edge 06:29.387 --> 06:31.660 that's on the cowling , all the dents , 06:31.660 --> 06:33.882 he's able to , to knock all those dents 06:33.882 --> 06:36.560 back out , able to smooth it out , get 06:36.560 --> 06:38.616 the finishes on it and it , it looks 06:38.616 --> 06:40.838 like a brand new accounting . But it is 06:40.838 --> 06:42.949 the counting from the airplane . It's 06:42.949 --> 06:45.004 the original ones so that preserving 06:45.004 --> 06:46.949 preserving those original parts is 06:46.949 --> 06:48.727 crucial to preserving what that 06:48.727 --> 06:50.800 aircraft is . The airplane had been 06:50.800 --> 06:52.967 changed at certain times where someone 06:52.967 --> 06:55.133 had shoved the cowling farther back on 06:55.133 --> 06:57.290 the aircraft . So there's a stop ring 06:57.290 --> 06:59.346 that goes in the counting , they had 06:59.346 --> 07:01.512 moved that , they had cut spots out in 07:01.512 --> 07:03.512 the cowling for it to go around the 07:03.512 --> 07:05.512 Cobain struts so all that had to be 07:05.512 --> 07:07.734 repaired so we could get it back in the 07:07.734 --> 07:10.068 proper position . A metal aluminum ring , 07:10.640 --> 07:12.990 the test on the inside as a stuff . I 07:13.380 --> 07:15.640 want to get slid onto the airplane and 07:15.640 --> 07:17.696 the in the past they've had it on in 07:17.696 --> 07:19.751 different locations . So wherever we 07:19.751 --> 07:21.973 needed to go , I have to fill the other 07:21.973 --> 07:23.973 holes basically . It's like I did a 07:23.973 --> 07:25.751 patch , it will just be a rivet 07:25.751 --> 07:28.029 squeezed in there and they can go away . 07:28.029 --> 07:30.140 We're going to make it look as smooth 07:30.140 --> 07:32.196 as possible because it's an original 07:32.196 --> 07:34.251 counting and we program to work with 07:34.251 --> 07:36.140 this one instead of trying to get 07:36.140 --> 07:38.307 another one . It's kind of exciting as 07:38.307 --> 07:40.307 far as the C . M . I . The colors , 07:40.307 --> 07:42.196 markings and insignia because the 07:42.196 --> 07:44.140 rudder gets a red , white and blue 07:44.140 --> 07:45.973 stripes . So instead of just the 07:45.973 --> 07:48.196 english , khaki gray everywhere . So it 07:48.196 --> 07:50.084 was fun painting the painting the 07:50.084 --> 07:52.251 stripes on there and then it gets also 07:52.251 --> 07:54.418 the aircraft numbers . So I got to lay 07:54.418 --> 07:56.362 out the little aircraft numbers on 07:56.362 --> 07:58.418 there and hand paint those on and it 07:58.418 --> 07:58.250 really makes a nice look when it's done . 08:02.140 --> 08:04.280 What is it you're doing adam . These 08:04.280 --> 08:07.260 are the brackets for the hinge pin 08:12.540 --> 08:14.707 so there's a big giant peanut good all 08:14.707 --> 08:16.850 the way down in here , wow . 08:24.740 --> 08:27.640 Yeah , yeah , yeah 08:30.640 --> 08:33.670 on the fuselage . The style of the font 08:33.670 --> 08:35.892 of the numbers do not match the numbers 08:35.892 --> 08:38.114 on the tail and that's the way it is in 08:38.114 --> 08:40.448 in all the period photographs . So it's , 08:40.448 --> 08:42.670 you have to recreate that . You may not 08:42.670 --> 08:44.670 agree with it but it creates a cool 08:44.670 --> 08:46.670 look . And throughout the process , 08:46.670 --> 08:48.670 West Henry and research was able to 08:48.670 --> 08:51.380 find a photograph of the airplane right 08:51.380 --> 08:55.120 after ours . So it was 38945 . 08:55.130 --> 08:58.370 So ours is 38944 . So I was really 08:58.470 --> 09:00.581 happy to find that because I was able 09:00.581 --> 09:02.910 to rely on this one or two pictures of 09:02.910 --> 09:05.530 this airplane and focus on , you know 09:05.530 --> 09:07.641 what style are the number is supposed 09:07.641 --> 09:09.863 to be on the side , which when you look 09:09.863 --> 09:11.863 at different S . Four B . S . And S 09:11.863 --> 09:14.086 foresees the numbers on the side very a 09:14.086 --> 09:16.308 lot the style of the font that they are 09:16.308 --> 09:18.363 the thickness of the , of the stroke 09:18.363 --> 09:21.620 for the numbers . So I had a reference 09:21.620 --> 09:23.787 photo , one airplane after ours that I 09:23.787 --> 09:25.940 was able to really say , you know , 09:25.940 --> 09:27.960 this is most likely what ours would 09:27.960 --> 09:29.016 have looked like . 09:33.540 --> 09:36.240 It has four instruments 5 . If you 09:36.240 --> 09:38.462 count the fuel indicator for the tank , 09:38.540 --> 09:40.484 we were able to find those down in 09:40.484 --> 09:42.800 collections . It's the type that should 09:42.800 --> 09:45.700 be in it . So , um , in having to make 09:45.700 --> 09:47.644 a new instrument panel because the 09:47.644 --> 09:49.867 instrument panel we had was incorrect , 09:49.867 --> 09:52.033 we were able to fit the original style 09:52.033 --> 09:54.256 instruments in there . So that's what's 09:54.256 --> 09:56.478 in the aircraft now and they look great 09:56.478 --> 09:58.700 because it matches pictures that I have 09:58.700 --> 10:00.811 from , You know , the 1918 , and it's 10:00.811 --> 10:03.033 like , Wow , this is what it's supposed 10:03.033 --> 10:04.978 to look like . So we have original 10:04.978 --> 10:07.033 instruments , The two upper wings on 10:07.033 --> 10:09.200 this aircraft , uh you have your right 10:09.200 --> 10:11.200 wing , your left wing and they just 10:11.200 --> 10:13.144 come together . There's there's no 10:13.144 --> 10:15.367 center section . A lot of the airplanes 10:15.367 --> 10:17.478 that we deal with , they have a small 10:17.478 --> 10:19.533 little uh center Cobain section that 10:19.533 --> 10:21.644 the wings hook onto . Well these it's 10:21.644 --> 10:23.700 just wing to wing . One of the wings 10:23.700 --> 10:25.867 has two male fittings . The other wing 10:25.867 --> 10:27.867 has two female fittings , they just 10:27.867 --> 10:30.089 come together and you get two bolts and 10:30.089 --> 10:32.200 that's what holds the two upper wings 10:32.200 --> 10:34.311 together is just two bolts overlooked 10:34.311 --> 10:36.422 with these airplanes is okay . You've 10:36.422 --> 10:38.256 got wooden fabric and that's the 10:38.256 --> 10:40.256 airplane . Well , a really integral 10:40.256 --> 10:42.478 part of the structure is all the cables 10:42.478 --> 10:44.700 that are connecting everything . That's 10:44.700 --> 10:46.644 what's really uh , dissipating and 10:46.644 --> 10:48.867 carrying all the load from the airplane 10:48.867 --> 10:51.650 because you got wires for flying wires , 10:51.650 --> 10:53.761 you got wires for landing wires . You 10:53.761 --> 10:55.872 know , it all spreads that weight out 10:55.872 --> 10:58.094 evenly so that makes it a really strong 10:58.094 --> 11:00.150 structure . Even on the fuselage you 11:00.150 --> 11:02.261 have , it's basically a box structure 11:02.261 --> 11:04.206 of all this wood with little metal 11:04.206 --> 11:06.261 fittings that hold it together . But 11:06.261 --> 11:08.261 there are wires running between all 11:08.261 --> 11:10.539 that and you , you tension those wires , 11:10.539 --> 11:10.360 you basically tune the wires to the 11:10.360 --> 11:12.360 right tension they need to be . And 11:12.360 --> 11:14.582 that's what makes that structure really 11:14.582 --> 11:15.860 strong . But also like 11:21.140 --> 11:24.680 yeah , one of the really fun parts is 11:24.810 --> 11:26.810 one of the last pieces you put on , 11:26.810 --> 11:28.921 which is typically the propeller , we 11:28.921 --> 11:30.977 put it on last cause it's usually in 11:30.977 --> 11:33.088 the way when you're trying to work on 11:33.088 --> 11:35.254 everything else . So that's a , that's 11:35.254 --> 11:35.020 a really nice finishing touch to see 11:35.020 --> 11:37.131 that propeller go on the airplane and 11:37.131 --> 11:39.240 it's just like the crowning jewel , 11:39.240 --> 11:41.960 basically a lot of fun when it goes 11:41.960 --> 11:44.182 outside for its official photos for the 11:44.182 --> 11:46.370 museum . That that's a big time for me 11:46.380 --> 11:48.547 and I assume for the other guys on the 11:48.547 --> 11:50.713 project because that's the moment when 11:50.713 --> 11:52.936 it's like , okay , it's done . And it , 11:52.936 --> 11:55.520 and it , it's awesome . Um , you see 11:55.520 --> 11:57.520 the airplane the entire time you're 11:57.520 --> 11:59.687 working on it inside a building . It's 11:59.687 --> 12:01.687 under artificial light . You know , 12:01.687 --> 12:03.742 it's , it's just the way it is . But 12:03.742 --> 12:05.798 when you take it out in the sunlight 12:05.798 --> 12:07.687 then it starts to look like these 12:07.687 --> 12:07.360 pictures that you've seen because 12:07.360 --> 12:09.304 they're all the pictures are taken 12:09.304 --> 12:11.360 outside . It really makes the colors 12:11.360 --> 12:14.400 pop . It makes it look amazing . So 12:14.400 --> 12:16.740 it's just a really nice feeling to , to 12:16.740 --> 12:18.629 know that it's getting its beauty 12:18.629 --> 12:20.796 photos . It's glamour shots and it's , 12:21.340 --> 12:23.510 it's about to go in the museum and be 12:23.510 --> 12:25.780 ready for everybody to see once it goes 12:25.780 --> 12:27.947 into the museum and it kind of affects 12:27.947 --> 12:30.370 people . It touches people is an honor 12:30.380 --> 12:32.324 to the veterans that served in the 12:32.324 --> 12:34.324 military and , and actually flew on 12:34.324 --> 12:36.158 these airplanes and repair these 12:36.158 --> 12:38.380 airplanes And it's just really great to 12:38.380 --> 12:40.491 be a part of that to , to put that on 12:40.491 --> 12:42.324 display to honor everything that 12:42.324 --> 12:44.660 they've done and then to see people now 12:44.970 --> 12:47.880 connecting with that and being able to , 12:47.890 --> 12:50.190 to understand in some way what people 12:50.190 --> 12:52.357 went through back then . It's great to 12:52.357 --> 12:53.357 be part of that . 12:57.740 --> 12:57.910 Yeah .