Oscar progress

Air Classics, Jun 2001

George Tischler of the Texas Airplane Factory has let us know the company is making excellent progress on the restoration of the Nakajima Ki-43 fighters as follows:

Fuselage: The wing fairing and the associated structure have been installed on the forward fuselage section.

Wings: The installation of the main landing gear is proceeding well. All clearances are being met and the functional checks are providing that the system will operate at lower hydraulic pressures than initially thought. The componentes will be taken out one final time so that various holes holding taper pins and bolts can be opened properly on TAF's Bridgeports then painted and permanently installed. The upper skins are being fitted to the wings. At this time, only the stringers are being drilled and riveted.

Stabilizers: The initial assembly of the horizontal stabilizer is going smoothly. A minor change to the jig extending the trailing edge of the skins is the only adjustment so far. The ribs for the tips are being located on the fixture. The initial assembly of the vertical is going smoothly.

Flaps: The initial starboard unit is being assembled on the modified fixture. The cable/pulley drive unit and the hydraulic drive cylinder for the combat flaps located above the wing aft of the cockpit are being assembled. The lower surfaces of these components have bends that are inconsistent with how it is installed in the Ki-43. Also, it appears that the hydraulic cylinders installed on top of these units are not the ones initially designed for it since an extension is added to the tail end of the mountin units. TAF suspects these mounting/drive units were originally custom-designed for the Ki-27 landing flap. These apparently were removed and installed in the Ki-43, using spacers between it and the floor. Then when butterfly flaps were installed, a larger drive cylinder was installed which required the extension.

Hydraulic System: During the landing gear functional tests, the hydraulic system and the method/procedures for initiating the retraction process worked as predicted.