I have recently had published by Grubstreet a book on the recovery from Rajastahn, India of two First World War bombers and rebuilt them - one for our own collection and the other was sold to the Imperial War Museum. I have written a book about this long journey this called 'From Ruin to Restoration - the Extraordinary Story of the Discovery in India and return to Flight of a Rare W.W.1 Bomber". This is the only original 1st WW bomber flying in the world. Happy to answer questions on this or any related to aircraft restoration.
What sort of 'ethical code' do you find to be applicable to work of this nature? My understanding of restoration work done for museums is that usually you don't want to go beyond what work can be done without destroying the 'historicity', so to speak. But given that the intention here is to make these aircraft once again airworthy, I expect that there is a different balance of concerns in play, as you also need to be considering the safety of any person who might be flying them!
What approaches do you take in your work to balance these concerns, and do you have any good examples that you might have to share?
What do you find to be the greatest challenges in doing restoration work of this nature?
Hello there, did you need to make new parts based on original designs and such?
If so, did the use of modern materials and techniques improve the quality or maybe also reduce weight of the aircraft restored?
And lastly, maybe this is a step too far, but do you run any simulations on the structures, parts and even the complete aircraft before completing restoration and making them airworthy? I am talking about finite elements, CFD and such?
Hi! Thank you for talking to us. What kind of historical research do you do when looking at a restoration?
I imagine some form of prints are necessary of the original designs. How do you procure those, and where are they from? Do you generally get them from government/military institutions, from the companies that made the planes, or private owners?
Excuse me if I'm completely off base.
Mr. Black, to what extent do you take advantage of very modern technology when restoring? For example, 3d scanning a part from an existing plane and then CnC milling or 3d printing a new part? Do you have a preference to use period-accurate tools and methods?
Thank you for doing this work, it's wonderful.
Click this link to purchase your very own copy of Guy Black's DH9: From Ruin to Restoration https://grubstreet.co.uk/product/dh9-from-ruin-to-restoration/ (signed copies also available on our website!)
Where are some of the more challenging locations you've been to in regards to restoration efforts and finding downed planes?
Hello and thanks for doing this!
Are there any Holy Grails as it were for you in aircraft that might be out there for recovery? Something which has no other examples perhaps or would be particularly poignant to recover?
Also is there an aircraft that is awaiting restoration anywhere by anyone that you most look forward to seeing completed?
I hope this isn't too late for a reply, but do you have any planes smuggled to the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War? And if so do you know how they retrofitted and refined the planes to make them ready for war