Northwest Aerospace News October | November Issue No. 5 | Page 59

S yd had made a model of the exhaust manifold based on photos and drawings of an example manifold. The next steps for us were to create a non-contact laser scan from his prototype and then model it inside Geomagic software with a 3-D Creaform scanner. After spending many hours to fully model the exhaust man- ifold, the geometry was inputted into Mastercam software for milling a two- part mold lay-up tool. General Plastics in Tacoma generously donated materials (tooling material FR4540 was used for the project.) Using our Haas CNC Mill, we started to sculpt the tooling using a long reach one-inch ball end mill. After a day spent machining the tool, the fit was perfect and ready for delivery back to Syd to start the molding process. The original exhaust manifold would have been formed from steel, hydro- formed over expensive tools. Composite tools allowed for the fabrication of a museum-quality plane to be reborn, as the original components are no longer available. Boeing’s elite paint crew, up in Paine Field, Washington, provided expert finishing and chose a color that closely matched the color of steel as it would have looked in 1942. This bird now proudly sits on exhibit in the open hangar space at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington — sporting accurate detailing construction techniques known only by the restoration team. The “T-Square 54” B-29 was manufac- tured at the Boeing factory in Wichita, Kansas. After acceptance by the Air Force, she went into action flying from the islands in the Pacific. She was flown on 36 missions over Japan, an exceptionally high number for an aircraft to have survived. After her wartime service she contin- ued to be used, modified by the U.S. Air Force for flight refueling experi- ments and spent some time in Korea. On being declared surplus, she was sent to the Naval Air Weapons Station at China Lake, Mojave Desert, California. She joined several other famous B-29 aircraft, including “FIFI”, currently the only flying B-29 in the world, and “DOC”, a B-29 undergoing restoration in Wichita, Kansas. Our “T-Square-54” was rescued from the desert and went for a time to Lowry Air Force Base to be displayed in their new museum in Denver, Colorado. The museum staff undertook some initial restoration and preservation but when museum plans fell through, she was dismantled and sent by several trucks to Seattle. She currently can be seen at the Museum of Flight, 9404 E. Marginal Way, Seattle, Washington, on loan form the National Museum of the United States Air Force. Northwest Readers SHARE A STORY Have a story to share with our readers? Get in touch with us: [email protected] Photo: Author Steve Kidd previous CEO of Cimtech and current founder of Aerospace Vendors with over 40 years in the industry. OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2018 ISSUE NO. 5 59