RE: Don Smith Cessna T-50
Hi Jeff,
There is stitching on the fuse back to under the rear windows. If you go into MAX AIR2AIR Pictures,scroll down and click on the shot of N30F,you'll come up with a fantastic set of shots of it. One is close enough to see the stitches a bit. You can also Google Cessna N30F and find a vedio of it. I became friends with Larry Kelly (silver AAF "415")back in the 90's when the EAA East Coast Flyin was held herein Delaware at the New Castle County Airport. One year early on he came taxing by to his display space and the center stringer or just the fabric was loose and flapping and billowing down the right side in the prop wash like a flag. I haven't seen him for a few years,but they have since done "Panchitta"(a B-25) and both were on his web site "Ragwings To Radials". Larry is a great guy and gave myself and my fellow Bobcat nut buddy permission to come to Caimbridge,MD Airport and take all the photos we wanted. It ended up as a 64 shot photo pack for Bob Banka's Aircraft Documentation. He has several different Bobcats listed. Larry also lent us his Cessna "restricted" shop manuals to copy. In the airframe repair volume there are drawings of the stitching placement and spacing and 3 views of all inspection panels also done on 3 views. There's a strip of stitches near the wing tip on the ply sheeting and a little group of 3 stitches on the leading edge sheeting just ahead of the open bays on all ribs. There are drain grommets galor under the wing and stab also. These books are the next best thing to having a real T-50 to ponder. If anybody's shooting for museum scale,I'd be glad to make and send copies to you. She's a pretty little airplane that is dripping with 30's/40's class, but up close there's a lot of little lumps and bumps to duplicate. It will take some time. I don't have half the details on my 85" version,I just got tired of adding weight! If you go on Mid Atlantic Air Museum's site there's tons of close-ups of their Bobcat in the bones. The Big Sky Stearman site also has one now and they are going to make replacement wood for it to sell. It just says "possibly the most expensive replacement parts available"!
Tony A.