Morgan Parks and Colby Myers, a new volunteer from GTCC, worked inside the fuselage which is now getting close to being completed. There are still wires and tubing to be removed; however, that process won't be finished until the fuselage is lifted off the floor and placed on maintenance stands. We hope that can be done very soon.

Martha Jackson continued with cleaning the interior of the horizontal stabilizer. Those areas are very difficult to access but she’s finding ways to accomplish the task. Andy Ray was suffering from a hand injury so he was limited in what he could do; however, he was able to provide assistance to others. He also was the photographer for the day. Photographic records of the restoration process are very important for historical records. We currently have over 2,000 images in our digital files.

Charlie Hall and Oudom Leng continued work on the forward cargo door restoration while Walt Ryerson polished the prop blades which are now beginning to look like new. Oudom also helped with that task and began polishing the prop hub. The other prop is on display in the Aviation Exhibit and we’ll replace it with the polished one very soon. Charlie also worked on restoring the rotating beacon from the vertical stabilizer.

John Sink was back working on the center wing box removing wiring and tubing from the right wheel well. Perry, Walt and Andy also worked on the center wing box removing the three fuel tank float assemblies.

It was membership day at the museum with tours scheduled through the Back Ship to view the DC-3 Restoration Project. Bob Reed had an opportunity to speak to two of the tour groups to give the members a short briefing on the progress of the restoration.

We completed another very productive work day on the Potomac Pacemaker and look forward to our next scheduled session on May 19. Photos of Saturday’s activities will posted on the Potomac Pacemaker Facebook page very soon.

As always, please contact Bob with any questions, comments, or concerns:

Robert H. Reed
NCTM Project Coordinator
PIEDMONT AIRLINES
Potomac Pacemaker
118 Church Steeple Drive
Advance, NC 27006

Rick Eller is a professor at the Catawba Valley Community College in Hickory, NC and is the author of "Piedmont Airlines - A Complete History, 1948-1989" published in 2008.

Mark your calendar and set your DVR so you will not forget or miss this documentary about "The Model Of How Good An Airline Can Be."

As part of her research, Anne has three questions that she would like all pilots to answer and email those answers directly to her. Please take a couple of minutes to answer the three following questions and send them along to Anne. Her email address is margville3@aol.com.

1) Imagine that you arrive at Heaven’s gate and there lined up in front of you is EVERY aircraft you ever flew. St. Peter offers you an hour in the plane of your choice. Which one do you choose and why?

2) Do you have any specific memories of knowing you were on your last flight or a particular aircrafts last flight?

3) Did you ever take an airplane to the boneyard? How did you feel about it?

Again, Le Anne’s email is margville3@aol.com. Thanks.

If you live in the INT or GSO areas, you are invited and welcomed to join the INT group for lunch at 11:30am at Hill’s BBQ on the first Thursday of each month or in GSO for breakfast at Olympic Restaurant in Colfax at 8:30 on the second Thursday on the month.

To be added to the email reminder list which is sent 2-3 days prior to each meeting, simply send an email request to:

Bob Reed
RobtHReed@aol.com

Check EVENTS for latest location.

To volunteer to work on The Potomac Pacemaker Restoration Project, contact Bob Reed, the Project Coordinator, so that you can be added to the list maintained by the NC Transportation Museum (NCTM). His contact information is as follows:

Bob Reed
118 Church Steeple Drive
Advance, NC 27006
Telephone: 336-940-5046
Email: RobtHReed@aol.com
Alternate Email: PiedmontHistory@aol.com

A Section Coordinator will be assigned to each section of the aircraft to be worked upon and volunteers can choose which sections they prefer. If no preference is made, contact the Project Coordinator for a work assignment.

Bring your personal tools if you believe you will need them. After the first time working on the aircraft you will have a good idea of what tools you should bring. Arrangements will be made so that you can leave tools or other material at the work site in a secure locker. You will need to provide the lock. Specialty tools will be available at the work site. In addition, it is strongly advised that you have a pair of heavy work gloves, safety glasses, and a respirator/mask of some type especially if working in the fuselage.

The third Saturday of each month will be scheduled as a work day; however, other work days may be established from time to time by the Project Coordinator.

Contact the Project Coordinator or the Section Coordinator each time you plan to work, including the third Saturday of each month.

Volunteers may work any day, Monday through Saturday by contacting the Project Coordinator so arrangements can be made with NCTM for you to enter the work site. The project is being done in a large building called the Back Shop. Access to the Back Shop is restricted to museum staff and volunteers. Identification Badges will be provided by NCTM and should be worn at all times while working on the project.

Restoration has begun on N56V to eventually be a centerpiece display for the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer, North Carolina.

This particular Piedmont Airlines DC-3 saw it’s last flight years ago at Charlotte, North Carolina. About that time, some new-fangled technology had come along called the turbojet that made demand stall for the old reciprocating propeller-driven queen of the skies. The venerable old girl sat for years at Charlotte and became essentially a derelict.

Some years later, the Potomac Pacemaker was given to City of Durham as a display attraction when they updated a city park. This park was home to the airplane for for a long time until it was removed several years ago in serious disrepair.

The North Carolina Transportation Museum decided to accept N56V as a potential indoor display attraction for a planned major renovation of “the Back Shop”, a huge carnivorous building located on the museum property. The airplane was moved in pieces into this building where it sits today.

In April 2010, major renovation began to restore N56V to museum display status. It sits in major sub assemblies including the fuselage, the wings, the tail section, the center “wing box” section, and the engines. Work is being done by volunteers who formally meet for a full day of work one Saturday per month with other work being done throughout the month and by students of the Aviation Program at Guilford Technical Community College.

We do not have a formal timeline when the airplane will be finished, but it will undoubtedly be a couple of years at best. The plane is dirty, corroded in many areas and will require enormous work from thorough metal cleaning to seat refinishing to freeing up frozen controls, recovering of the control surfaces and rebuild of the cockpit area. The Guilford Technical Community College Aviation Program has been and will continue to be a major contributor of both work and expertise. Their help and involvement is greatly appreciated. The Piedmont Aviation Historical Society is also closely involved with this long-term project.

Jetpiedmont.com will keep you posted on major milestones for the restoration of N56V. If you are interested in helping with the project, simply show up at 9:00am at the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer on the third Saturday of the month. WEAR OLD CLOTHES and bring gloves – you’ll get dirty but you’ll have fun!

PIEDMONT: Flight of the Pacemaker is a wonderful book. It is one of those ‘must haves’ if you ever worked for Piedmont. You will enjoy it even if you did not work for Piedmont. It is about a lot of people who worked together toward a common goal to pull off one of the greatest success stories ever. It is both captivating and fun. It is a genuine pleasure read and to have.

PIEDMONT: Flight of the Pacemaker is a 9x12 hardcover 400-page volume is loaded with over 600 photos in 16 very easy-to-read and insightful chapters. You can read a little or a lot at one time. Each chapter is complete within itself. The whole thing is very well done.

Copies are available directly from the Piedmont Aviation Historical Society (PAHS) and in select book stores. If you care to order your copy directly from PAHS, just click the link and download the order form.

Makes a great gift, too!

Andy Ray
JETPIEDMONT.COM Forum Moderator