Aug 5 2005 Cayman Airways 737

Restoration and Transition to Next Generation

STS-107

My nephew Tony ( on the roof ) brought over his chop saw for the first cuts 5/20/02

The first cut removed 4' of fuselage , the pile of wires is from the overhead panels alone

Here I am trimming off more of the floor 5/21/02

Flight deck prior stripping interior and wiring

Making a some progress

After this side was done I had to look forward to the pilot's side 6/02

Each breaker was removed and cleaned prior to being re-installed,

some of the more important breakers will be used in the simulator

The first week of July 2002, the flight deck was pointed skyward. At that time I found out that there was a lot of damage. The toe brake mechanism was cut off with the cutting torch (not by me). The whole unit will have to be hand made by me. The damage is in the yellow rectangles. The following photos below are close-ups of damage.

I spent most of August and September trying to find the toe brake mechanisms . I then removed the throttle quadrant, which was about a 4 hour ordeal. The avionics bay (above in yellow) was removed to make room for new 3 bay next generation avionics bay. Here is the 3 bay being test fitted. The sheet metal that you see over hanging will be bent and then flush riveted by my friend at Continental Airlines. A real 737-900 3 bay on the left.

I completed the frame with heavy duty coasters in mid October 2002

Moving DAY!!! November 1, 2002

Once again, My nephew Tony and his friend Jason came thru for me. They brought a crane from their work to lift the flight deck back over the fence so it could be placed in the garage

My moving crew: Rob Lucas, me, Tony Vickers, and Jason Wright. The spindly front wheels were temporary used for the moving. I had to jack the front up 3' to get the monster in the garage

The first night in her new home

January 2003

1/5/03, here is sim before priming and painting

After being primed and painted, thanks to Dave Allen who helped acquire the correct color of "Boeing" gray. The columns were later removed and painted.

Here is Dave Allen re-wiring the yoke, Dave stayed for a week in January right after the space shuttle launch. Dave brought "snow flurries" (first time in 16 years) with him when we went to Cape Canaveral to see the space exhibits. We didn't know that the souvenirs we bought for STS-107 would become collector's items

Dave and I after a hard day of working on my sim

February was boring, more work on the breakers

March 2003, I painted both columns and installed one. Both columns were wired with new wiring loom. The rudder pedals were cleaned, painted, and installed. I then cased in the rear and will carpet it. I picked up some passenger seats and might mount them here for friends waiting their turn to fly.

On May 17,2003 I finally salvaged some toe brake mechanisms from a teardown. Above is a test fit, remember, my toe brakes and their mounts were cut off. I had to make the mounts myself.

May 26, 2003

Here is the finished product, and now I have toe brakes

June 23, 2003

I bought a pair of 747 seats and their rails. They should fit and make getting around the 3 bay avionics console easier. They were very clean over all but, I will clean them anyway, and I will have to replace the vinyl on the arm rests. Close up of the track system.

Complete set of seat rails

July 8, 2003

I mounted the J rails to a pallet so that I could get the rail alignment right. I then made a template

Here is the template in place The seat is in place on the mounted rails

August 10, 2003

A seat prior to being stripped to bare metal. Years of touch-up paint on the seats

Seats stripped to bare metal. The arms have been already painted with zinc chromate paint

First Officers seat after painting and before I applied the Velcro fasteners. Completed seat, only need to have armrest reupholstered. After installing the seats, I had my neighbor who flies the B737-700 for Southwest Airlines come by the sim to check the spacing between the seats and the 3 bay avionics console. After articulating the seats and walking between the seats and 3 bay, he said I had just like the real thing.

September 5, 2003

The seats are finally done. They have been reupholstered and the armrests and back coverings have been changed from the old black to the current gray color of the 737

September 10, 2003

I went to an aviation auction in Miami, FL and picked up a set of Pilot and Co-Pilot slider windows. The picture below shows the Pilot window already broken down for repainting. The window weights 38 lbs, and 28 lbs. of that is the glass which is 1.084 ( 27.55mm ) inches thick. I had to remove over 100 screws to get this apart. The glass was mounted and sealed with some type of resin that had to be soaked in carburetor cleaner to soften up enough to "pry" it off. I removed the glass on Pilot's side due to cracks and delamination on the Co-Pilot's side

September 15, 2003

Here is the Pilot's side Slider window after being stripped down and repainted

September 21, 2003

I received my Jump Seat cushions that go behind the Captain's seat. I have not had them dry cleaned yet.

September 28, 2003

I made a complete set of 737-700 Next Generation circuit breaker decals. The photograph quality is not that good but the decals look Great!!

October 22, 2003

First Officer's slider is now done. The glass for both windows is being replaced. I am using 3/8" tempered glass and lexan spacers to make up for the gap left by the 1" glass. All I need now is to find a set of Next Generation lower window trim to buy or make moulds of. The P6-2 panel has been removed for painting, and the P6-11 and P6-12 panels are being modified with the handles that go on it as in a B737-700 model.

Completed P6-11 and P6-12 panels

October 29, 2003

The old 737-200 P18-1 panel on the left has four rows of circuit breakers and will be replaced with a new P18-1 panel with five rows of circuit breakers as found on the 737-700, 800, and 900

Test fitting of the new P18-1 panel

Finished new P18-1 panel

P18 circuit breaker panels are finally done. I am in the process of building a plastic shroud that covers the lower portion of the P18 panel that houses circuit breakers that are no longer used (See actual photos below)

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