Arrival - After VAHF was given approval to restore the V-173 aircraft, it was transported to the Vought facility in Dallas, Texas, arriving November 1, 2003. The Pancake transportation saga began with the development of a shipping program and design of a shipping box. A giant blue box was fabricated to protect the fragile airframe of the V-173 during transport. The box was very large since the airplane was built in a single section. The landing gear and horizontal tails were removed to reduce the box size. This left a 35 x 35 foot airframe box, which challenged road clearances. This required the airplane to be rotated 32 degrees from horizontal to maximize top and side highway obstacle clearances. A Vought team preceded the Chapman Trucking Company box carrier to assure that the highway path was safe and clear.

The aircraft was showing its age after fifty-four years of storage. The outer skin fabric was torn and missing over large areas of the surface. Fortunately, the wood truss structure underneath was in good condition. There was small damage to the right hand and left hand outer edges of the wing. The aircraft was partially disassembled but all of the parts came with the shipment to Vought.

Select:

Owner - Background

Restoration

Current Status

Craftsman

Support