News
Winter is a time when there is not much flying to be done, most of the aircraft and ground equipment maintenance is done and it is time to get on with the longer term projects.
One of these is the A3 fuel trailer, used during WW2 by all branches of the US armed forces. We’re putting it together from a complete wreck, and given the extreme difficulty of finding spare (and often missing) parts, it’s a time-consuming project. So any progress, however small, is important to us.
The trailer now has its wheels back, and despite all the parts being original and therefore eighty years old, everything works perfectly.
The year 2023 has been a challenging one for many people in the world, and for many of our friends. Although our focus has been on activities other than the preservation of historic aircraft and technology, we have continued our work here as well.
Slowly but surely, the incomplete wreck of the Type A3 fuel trailer is once again a trailer in the form in which it served Allied soldiers on all the battlefields of WW2. Our two aviation projects, the Piper L4 and the Messerschmitt Bf 108, are also progressing. We believe that this year could well be the year we complete them.
As well as the work in the workshop, we have also tried to showcase some of our collection at public events, and we hope that 2024 will be even richer in this respect.
May 2024 enable you to fulfill your dreams and wishes.
An open day was held at the base of the 43rd Airborne Regiment at the airport in Chrudim. In addition to the opportunity for the public to visit the otherwise inaccessible premises, all those interested were introduced to the capabilities of this elite unit of the Army of the Czech Republic. As the 76th anniversary of the Czechoslovak Airborne Units was celebrated at the same time, we were asked to give a flight demonstration of our historic aircraft.
Although our morning departure from Točná airport was somewhat delayed by bad weather, we finally arrived on time. The problem was not even a joint flight in a formation of two aircraft from different time periods. Aero C 104 was piloted by Milan Mikulecký and Zlín C 305 by Albert Jelinek.
It’s summer, we try to spend as much time as possible in the air with our planes or on the road with our vintage cars. However, occasionally we manage to move our projects along. The A3 fuel trailer has already had its undercarriage completely overhauled and we have now added the hose mounts, and fuel nozzles.
There is a lot of work and not much time. Now we are continuing the restoration of a relatively rare fuel trailer in Europe, used by the US ARMY AIR FORCE during World War II.
The problem is the lack of relevant documentation and spare parts, however we are slowly moving forward. The trailer is rust free and has had primer paint applied. Leaf springs, brakes, wheel hubs are completely repaired.
