Tsunami rebuild update

[Lockheed Bob]

Thanks for the continued updates. I know it's a labor of love & at 88 years old I hope to get to see it fly again as a Gold Winner.

[Samuel]

Sweet update! Anyone know what the tail gear is out of?

[RAD2LTR]

Sweet update! Anyone know what the tail gear is out of?

If I'm not mistaken, the tail wheel itself is off an S2 Tracker. I think the rest of it is all P51 stuff.

Will

[RAD2LTR]

An update from the Tsunami guys....

"
The skins are going on permanently. We riveted the right skin to the top longeron this week and started riveting to the bottom tonight. Also the tail gear is coming along well and is almost complete. "









Will

[RAD2LTR]

This is a bit exciting, Tsunami's fuselage is out of the jig. Time to build a fixture for the tail and start assembly of the empennage.



Will

[AAFO_WSagar]

Way beyond exciting Will! This entire project is a huge reminder of how it used to be! A bunch of guys "rebuilding" an airplane into a racer...

BTW, is anyone else as impressed as I am with the level of workmanship?

[RAD2LTR]

Wayne, I hear you. Yes, the workmanship is top notch. I mean look at the reflection of the polished metal. From what I can see, there isn't a divot around a single rivet. Its really impressive work. I so wish I could routinely show up and help out with the project. Being on the wrong coast kinda makes that tough to do.

They might bring this out to Reno if they can afford to do so. They want to, but from what I understand, its just a matter of fuel costs to do so. I think for people to see the fuselage sitting there in the tent would move the project from a publicly perceived dream to an actual reality. I've spoken with a lot of people who remember Tsunami from back in the day, who had no clue it was being rebuilt. Its one thing to see pieces of the tail sitting there, its a totally different deal to see a new fuselage sitting there waiting to be joined together with the rest of the plane.

Will

[AAFO_WSagar]

They might bring this out to Reno if they can afford to do so.

Weeeelllllll Reno National Championship Air Race Fans...

How many of you, I know, there are really too dang few of us regulars.. but, how much would each person reading this pledge if there were a fund set up??

Will, do we have an idea of how much they need to make it happen?

We really gotta make this work!

[Desertdawg]

Will,

Thanks to you and the Tsunami team for sharing their progress here.

In 2010 when they were here they were selling some very nice work shirts. I treat it just like my Dago red shirts and only wear on special occasions.

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In 2017 when they returned there was signs of progress.

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If they come back in 2021 that would be awesome. They definitely need to bring some stuff to sell.

[Desertdawg]

Idea, get RARA to give "Team Tsunami" a pit spot with tent. Every day after the races they can have open house, let people admire the workmanship (entry requires of Pit pass) and have a 1-2 hour Q & A session.

During the races have something on display in the general admission area highlighting the meet & greet in the pits after races.

What a way to help fund bringing one of the legends back.

Maybe show fans some of the processes. Change the process daily.

Perfect opportunity to help the team get-er-done.