Some warbird restorers
will tell you that this is all you need to rebuild and fly an old
aeroplane. It is commonly known as a Data Plate. One of these is
attached to every airframe when it is built, thereby conferring
an identity on that airframe in the form of a Manufacturer's Serial
Number.
When the Qantas Foundation Memorial team of engineers set out to
restore the former VH-EBA to airworthiness, they were fortunate
- the aeroplane was complete in every respect - except for the data
plate!
When it was decided by her former owners that her flying days were
over, the data plate was removed from the airframe and returned
to Boeing who safely filed it away in their archives.
Not many aeroplanes survive the removal of their data plate, for
it is the aviation equivalent of removing life support. When it
emerged that a dedicated group of retired Qantas engineers were
determined to restore life support along with unlimited doses of
tender loving care, Boeing conferred their blessing by returning
the data plate.
It was a close run thing.
Not only are the QFM engineers skilled 707 Whisperers, but
they also have a well developed sense of occasion and of putting
things right. On 26 November 2006, VH-EBA was made complete again.
The original stainless steel manufacturer's data plate was ceremoniously
attached to the aeroplane's primary structure, with Denis Martin,
Paul Wilkinson, Bob Horn and finally, Peter Elliott in turn riveting
one corner each. Just one week later, VH-EBA flew again for the
first time in six years, albeit under the nom de plume of
VH-XBA, but everyone, including the aeroplane herself, knew exactly
who she really was.
Peter
Elliott fixing the last rivet to secure the data plate to the
frame of the aft left main entry door. The plate is original
but the location is not. When VH-EBA was built in 1959, the
traditional location for the data plate was on the lower rear
fuselage near the horizontal stabiliser compartment access panel
on the right hand side. Modern airworthiness requirements stipulate
that the plate should be fixed to structure in a doorway and
easily visible. To achieve this, a hole was cut in the trim
of the aft left main entry doorway, a perspex window added to
the trim and the data plate firmly attached to the structure.
The team was not too disappointed at this departure from tradition,
figuring that this crucial part of the aeroplane's identity
had been out in the cold for long enough and deserved preservation
in its own right! Photo: Norman King |
Satisfied
that things have been put right, some of the engineers pause
for a photo after reuniting the aeroplane with her data plate
on 26 November 2006. Photo:
Norman King
Back
Row Left to Right
|
Norman
King
|
Roy
Finney
|
Middle
Row Left to Right
|
Robert
Phillips
|
Bob
Horn
|
Paul
Wilkinson
|
Peter
Elliott
|
Front
Row Left to Right
|
Ben
Hunter
|
Denis
Martin
|
Present
but out of Frame
|
Norm
Mackay
|
|
|