ZK-JPA, an historic Williams Mark 4 homebuilt, needed some TLC recently. Before it could be issued with an annual Permit-to-Fly, a cracked stringer underneath the fuselage needed to be repaired .
Mike Nicolson, the current owner, asked me to tackle the job. Although it was very easy to glue the spruce, it was tricky to work in such a confined space with access only from underneath.
It was great to see the inner structure of such an aircraft. It reminded me of the plywood/spruce frames of 1950’s canvas canoes. everything was nicely sanded and still well-sealed with varnish.
Job done, JPA is once again airborne and awaiting a buyer.