Smiles sweat and tears. Part 1
This article follows the announcement in October 2020 of the recovery of the ground radar Radom of the Orly control tower.
The Radom was dismantled on September 19, 2019 and taken to a storage centre while waiting to obtain the transfer documents thanks to the DGAC memory mission. A few months later, due to the disruption caused by the pandemic, the packages will be delivered to the museum by the Civil Aviation services.
As soon as the first boxe was opened, we begin to realize what awaits us in order to be able to honour our commitment to the realization of the project.
Of course the company that carried out the dismantling despite all the promises, to us and to the official services, to date has still not provided the assembly plans.
It will be up to us to manage.
Time is running out and we are already arriving in September 2020.
As our association is responsible for preserving our aeronautical heritage, managing, presenting, maintaining the site and the aircraft and ensuring the proper functioning of the museum, it is up to us to take care of the administrative procedures.
To start the project, "Free Lance ARCHITECTURE" is in charge of the study of the location on the museum site and is realise the building permit, which the association finances from its own funds**.
The building permit is submitted to our competent city department at the end of 2021.
Pending the start of the project and after prior authorization, the extension of the land is carried out at the end of March 2022.
Finally arrive the agreement and confirmation of the building permit at the end of May.
And that's where the period of smiles ends...
Now we get to the heart of the matter.
To prepare the land, the city's green spaces department arrives with a “ 4X4 super-mower ” to clear the overgrown land.
After obtaining an estimate for the construction of the first phase of our building permit, for which we obtain the support of the city which grants us financial assistance in addition to the association's own funds.
At the beginning of July we are joined by Tony, a 2nd year student at ESTACA to do a work internship with us. We offer him to do some electrical work in the cockpit of the Concorde. In a few hours, calm and patient, he redid the connection of the engine instruments on the central panel of the dashboard. A great start of participation.
As we find ourselves in front of the Radom a true "CHINESE HEADLOCKER" Tony proposes to take care of the reassembly of the base of the radom.
Taking advantage of documentation from the DGAC- SNIA / BAT, with some images " before dismantling“ and the information that the majority of the parts contained in the transport boxes are numbered, we quickly manage to identify the triangular elements with the soles by which the radom was fixed to the top of the tower.
We can start the puzzle...
The soles are identified with a number from 1 to 10, assembly begins and very quickly the base is assembled under our Barnum which will protect us well from the sun during an unusual heat wave.
Now we will have to find each triangular element made by the Irish company ESSCO COLLINS LIMITED and installed the radom on the tower in 1982. Unfortunately, the Essco company was bought in 2021 by an American group that we tried to contact to possibly have a documentation, but we have received no response, certainly this Radom dates back to prehistory for them...
Tony begins to identify the elements by arranging them in ascending order.
Even without the documentation we can start the assembly by connecting each plate of the sole to the tip of the triangle and it begins to take shape...
The work is progressing well, while waiting to go on vacation, the team is joined by Joseph who has just passed his BIA (aeronautical initiation certificate) and he immediately puts his observation spirit to find the right outer plate because of course they are not numbered.
For two weeks Joseph will spend all his afternoons with us and to clear his mind after dozens of screwed nuts, climbs into the cockpit of the SA to mentally prepare himself for his job, which he dreams of becoming a pilot.
Installation is progressing well...
At the same time, work begins for the construction of the slab which will receive the first part of the building permit the installation of the Radom.
Taking advantage of the days when the museum is closed, the work is progressing rapidly.
Tony and Joseph continue the assembly but this time well in the shade in the “most beautiful workshop in the world”, under the wings of the SA, naturally air-conditioned by small gusts of wind.
The work continues, and soon, the time for tears.
To be continued …
** A little reminder, the association is self-financing by the income generated by the modest visitor participation which is
5 € for an adult
2 € for children from 5 to 12 years old
Free up to 5 years old and for the city’s schools
