May 20, 1976, 50 years ago, arrival at Orly of F-WTSA - Part 3

il y a 2 jours
3 min de lecture

How the SA will replace WOODY.

Consultations between ADP and SNIAS begin in March.

Initially, the fuselage of the F-WTSA was valued at 62 tonnes and the purchase price of the scrap metal was 62,000.00 Francs. But the problem of transport was bound to arise..

We do not have the frequency of contacts between ADP and SNIAS, but following the meeting of March 21, 1976, this document was issued which we were able to consult, the telex message of March 27 addressed to Messrs. PETILLAUT, VAN VORMOUDT and LECERF of ADP by Mr. G. ROCHE of SNIAS.

Further proof of the determination of ADP's decision-makers to finalize the acquisition of SA.

This telex specifies:

- the costs of restoring the aircraft to flight condition

- the cost of transporting the SA to Orly.

Given the decision to allocate the insurance funds to this project (described in Part 2), this message will certainly be considered a quote and will definitively seal the fate of the SA. It deserves to be detailed to understand everything that will need to be done to allow the SA to fly one last time.

The original telex is over a meter long, and here is the transcription of the most interesting parts:

1 - PRE-FERRY FLIGHT PREPARATION

A/ Wheel and brake assembly

B/ Engine and nozzle assembly

C/ Replacement of the IEEV with a CEV flight recorder

D/ Testing and flight preparation

- Testing of hydraulic flight control systems, engines, and AFCS

- Checklist

- Weigh-in

- Grounding point

TOTAL COST OF PRE FERRY OPERATION : 385,450.00 Francs

2 - WORKSITE AFTER CONVEYING

A/ Storage Equipment

- Design

- Implementation

1/ Air Inlet Plug

2/ Nozzle Plug

3/ Connecting Rods for Dump Door Position

4/ MEPU Plug

5/ Flight Recorder Plug

6/ Forward Jump Hatch Plug

7/ Shock Absorber Brace

8/ Dummy Servo Control

9/ Nose Landing Gear Attachment: Support Plates, Turnbuckles

10/ Main Landing Gear Attachment: Extendable Chocks

11/ Plug on Nacelle Doors

12/ Air Conditioning and Fuel System Plug after Equipment Removal

B/ Equipent models of cockpit estimated at 150 photos

- Creation of 1:1 scale photos

- Construction of a wooden model

C/ Storage on inspection airfield

1/ Aircraft preparation

- Draining hydraulic circuits

- Installation of dummy equipment and calibration station

- Sealing of air intakes

- Sealing of nozzles

- Installation of dump doors

- Sealing

- Nacelle doors and nacelle sealing

- MEPU (Mechanical Equipment Unit)

- Flight recorder housing

- Wind deflector hatch

- Intermediate jump hatch

- Installation of dummy servo control and fairings

- Sealing of fuel and air conditioning circuits

- Sealing of overpressure valve

- Installation of 28 windows (replacement of blind windows)

- Miscellaneous unforeseen events

2/ Towing (participation)

3/ Mooring

- Draining of brake circuits and removal of the yellow accumulator

- Removal and refitting of wheels after tire replacement by the supplier

- Installation of shock absorber mounts

- Mooring of nose landing gear

- Alignment of main landing gear

- Pitch check (OU leveling ?)

COST OF OPERATIONS AFTER FERRYING 233,600.00 Francs

3 - FERRY FLIGHT 30,000.00 Francs

GENERAL TOTAL ** (Excluding taxes) 649.000.00 Francs

This message was followed by the sending of the site layout plans and all the work to be carried out by SNIAS, which will be the subject of the next article dedicated to the developments.

** You may notice a difference in the grand total because some amounts have been rounded. Another surprise awaits us in the final contract, which we will discuss in a later section.

*** Here, the amount is simply shown to illustrate the cost, as it is included in the paragraph's total.

But for what comes next, you'll have to wait a little while...

To be continued…