I was able to put in 2 hours today in the workshop...............not much, but I got a lot done in the short time I was available. My friend Brian Zimbelman came down for his first day as a volunteer on the restoration, and he helped quite a bit.
We both started on the Hopp cockpit section, where I removed the exterior canopy access latch assembly, and Brian removed the throttle assembly and foot pedals. We then both headed outside to remove the skid fin bracket, which was relatively easy to remove..............except for one annoying bolt. With some effort and a little help from a pry-bar, we go it off the previously removed sponson from only days earlier.
I snapped a bunch more reference photos of the hull. Nothing too fancy in terms of overall exposure, just some close ups of the rib bays. The best part was that Dave Knowlen stopped by..................with a few ORIGINAL blueprints from the initial design!
Talk about hitting the jackpot!
It wasn't a complete set, but what he did have provided us with very crucial information. It's really great to see how much effort we are getting on this project. The main restoration group will likely remove the other sponson tonight, so that will be shown in the next update.