Waco UMF 3 Restoration
Restoring the Waco UMF 3
The restoration was done by David Allen of Coronado, California over a period of years ending in 2011. Dave’s estimate of his total hours in rebuilding the plane was 12,000. Dave is retired dentist by profession and a licensed A&P. NC13571 was restored as his personal airplane and was the sixth aircraft restoration.
The project was sourced by Barry Branin of Morro Bay, California and originally consisted of fuselage framework, the original wheel pants, landing gear and some miscellaneous parts.
More Restoration Notes can be found in Waco UMF 3 Archives
Read more about The Interesting History of NC 13571 – The World’s Only Flying Waco UMF 3
Fuselage on its feet in Coronado, California
Wing before covering
Wing with leading edge metal installed
Wings under construction by Dave Allen
Wings being built
Wings before covering
Center section with leading edge applied and before fuel tank installation
Center section covered with tapes applied
One side of each wing is red and the other black
Painting wings
You can see both red and black on wings and N Numbers
N Numbers laid out before painting
Original metal wheel pants during straightening and dent removal
Original wheel pant and gear leg after covering and painting
Section of carbon fiber cowl after molding
Dishpan during fabrication
All new sheet metal and front windscreen cut down from Luscombe windshield to match original drawings
Original metal wheel pant during restoration
Fuselage painted with center section mounted
Carbon fiber cowl during construction
Fuselage with engine mounted on its gear
Detail of cowl
Fuselage with wings mounted
W670 Continental overhauled by Air Repair Inc.
Detail of right fuel tank cutoff and trim handle installation
Detail of fuselage sheet metal installation
The craftsman himself – Dave Allen – with his well deserved 2023 Lindy!
View The Archives
Flip through aircraft documents including….