When you start a project, like restoring a Chief, it is equal parts of being a historian, purchasing agent, researcher, craftsman and scrounger. When 3286E's road to flight began again, we took inventory.
We were missing only a few parts... the ashtrays, a few nuts and bolts, windshield mounts, tailwheel parts, interior pieces and a good prop. It had been a very complete airplane and we were thankful that the folks had stored the airplane so well over the last twenty years. Most of the metal pieces were straight, the metal was clean and the plane was in great shape. And we were lucky in another way. The previous restorations to 3286E hadn't been all that complete. There were plenty of traces of original paint and color in the tubing, so we could get them matched at the local auto paint store. In the meantime, a research project was started too... turns out that the Champ is pretty well known, but the Aeronca Chief was a forgotten item.
Letters went out to other Aeronca restorers and fans, the Smithsonian Institution, Aeronca in Middletown and to all the various clubs.... the clubs were a tremendous help in getting the right information. At the time we worked on the fuselage and the left wing at the hangar and the right wing panel at home in the shop. We also uncovered a little bit of damage on the cowling that needed to be welded back up... the Champ and Chief cowling has a tendency to crack at the bottom of the air filter box, where the cowling is thinnest.
The Chief on public display as a new project at Arlington's NWEAA Fly In and Convention...
Updated 4-20-99
