Steve Poole brings the Bolingbroke Restoration up to date:

Autumn 2004 was spent assessing the aluminium skinning around the nose area, deciding which could be saved (that was most of it) and panel beating with shaped wooden formers to bring is back to its correct shape. The inner nose skin on the port side was then stripped of its remaining paint.

The broken aluminium tubing in the nose area was then removed, tagged and placed aside ready to act as templates for new pieces. Having acquired a quantity of one inch aluminium tubing, the next step was to design and make a bending jig using the broken tubing as a template.

By filling the tubing with fine sand and blocking each end (a wine bottle cork was a good fit) then applying an even spread of heat along the tube to soften slightly the bending process began. It took on average four hours for each tube, try and do it to quickly and the tube would snap. Once bent to shape the tubes were trial fitted to line them up with the nose light fitting and the top glazing bars. To complete the fitting it was necessary to strip down the nose section of Bolingbroke 9978 for the tubing for the bomb aimer’s windows. This was trial fitted using ‘cleco’s’ to hold it in place and all lined up.

During the stripping of  ‘9978’ the Navigators table was removed. The electrical fittings were removed, tagged and bagged for future attention. The remainder of its top surface paint was removed and some minor dents were taken out, the table was then trial fitted in place in the nose and again all lined up pretty well. Before any of the above-mentioned components can be permanently fixed they will need to be removed, primed and painted appropriately.

The pilot’s seat and support framework was the next to receive attention. The seat was stripped down, the arm rest removed and the ratchet adjustment mechanism soaked in releasing fluid, some minor dents were knocked out and the seat is now ready for paint stripping. The frame was also stripped down; this took some time as the remains of the previous seat supports were still in place. When it finally gave up, the three-piece tube, which connects both sides, was found to contain the remains of two Canadian mice … not a pleasant smell after using a blowlamp on the tube.

The seat frame is also now ready for paint stripping and preparation for new paint.

The top of the control column has also been partially stripped down and the base is currently being soaked with releasing fluid. The control chain and sprockets inside are like new, interestingly the chain links are marked ‘Made in England’ so it would appear not all the components of the aircraft were produced in Canada. Once restored there is no reason why the control column should not function perfectly.

The apprentices at British Airways are well ahead with the forward escape hatch and are in the reassembly stage, using as much of the original skin and parts as is possible.