Focke-Wulf 190D restoration

Flight Journal, Jun 2002 by Germain, Scott

With so few Fw 190s still in existence and none currently flying, it is heartening to see that the restoration of Doug Champlin's ultra-rare Fw 190D-13 to airworthy condition is well under way. Dave Goss, owner of Gosshawk Unlimited, is in charge of this mission.

In the Champlin Fighter Museum, Mesa, Arizona, Gosshawk has the fighter disassembled into its major components. Stripped to bare metal, the main fuselage is on a rotating stand. and "There is remarkably little corrosion," states Goss, running his hand over it and noting "... a large portion of the interior was not primed by the Germans." The interior has already been primed in RLM 02-an acceptable mix of conservation and historical accuracy.

The aircraft has also been involved in a "truth is stranger than fiction" situation. Some time after the War, the U.S. Air Force saw that it had two Fw 190D airframes. It kept one for its museum and sold the other, which eventually ended up at the Champlin Fighter Museum.

Unfortunately, when the two air

frames were put together, it was discovered that the Air Force's Fw 190D-9 had the D-13's wings and vice versa. The only difference was in the aileron control sticks' attachment points.

"In the end, it all worked out," Goss explains. The two groups traded wings, and the fighters are now complete. Goss has put the original wing into a jig and has almost finished reassembling the left wing. "The Germans have to be commended," he says. "We built our Mustangs in jigs and could pump them out pretty fast. They built these in burned-out buildings and caves, and they don't go together as well as our planes did." Truly, they do not. The Fw's wing is built in upper and lower halves that are riveted together. Even the side ribs are made of two portions-- upper and lower.

Although Champlin's Fw 190 will be restored to airworthiness, it will not be flown. "The one thing that was holding this plane back from flying was the prop hub. As it was, the engine could be run, but the prop was fixed pitch. We'll substitute a D-9 hub so that the engine can be run to full power and the prop pitch can be changed." Some of the fiberglass items that had been added to represent a complete airframe have been reproduced in metal. The vertical tail's leading edge and some fuselage doors have been reproduced to German specifications and are operated by one locking fastener in the middle of each plate. New, bulging cannon breaches have been made, and there will be copies for the Air Force's Focke-Wulf to improve its appearance.

"This is supposed to be a two-year project," says Goss. His dedicated and talented employees spend five or six days every week on the project. When this D-13 is finished, it will be the closest to being an original example of the vaunted German fighter. "We're working smart on this project," Goss says. "We could go faster and spend more money, but we're going to work at our pace and produce a restoration that's on a par with our previous work."

-Scott Germain