Ian Baker Restores CAC Boomerangs

Today we share an update on the restoration by Ian Baker of CAC Boomerang A46-140, a RAAF CA-13 C/N 963 , which regular readers will know has been sold to a customer and is being rebuilt by Ian for the new owner. The aircrafts fuselage shell frame is now completed and is about to be removed for cladding with its timber skin. Once the shell is complete it will be covered in fabric and doped ready for refitting.

The fuselage frame is also being fitted out and will shortly be mated to a centre section so that it can sit on its landing gear again for the fit out of the fuselage to be completed. Once all of the systems are replaced into the fuselage the shell will be refitted and the centre section completed and the new build outer wings refitted to it. The empennage will also be new build construction and refitted upon completion. A newly overhauled Pratt & Whitney R-1830-90 Twin Wasp 14 Cylinder radial engine has arrived and will be fitted in due course. All of this activity does naturally take time, however the progress of this Boomerang has been impressive and we will continue to monitor the progress of its restoration.

Ian is about to move into new workshop accommodation, however he has been continuing work on the Boomerangs in the meantime. He has started to convert a number of the Harvard Mk IV centre sections for use in his 3 current Boomerang projects. These components are relatively straight forward conversions to Boomerang configuration mainly centered on the need to modify the outer wing mounting points to Boomerang geometry. The centre section is already strong enough to fulfil the Boomerang requirement and is so similar in all other respects to being almost indistinguishable from a genuine CAC item.

Ian has also completed additional work to his own aircraft CA-12 A46-90 including some system components and some of the forward fuselage panel components.   However pace on this aircraft has been delayed by work commitments and the pending relocation to his new workshop. Ian expects to move to his long awaited new accommodation in the very near future and will be then able to properly accommodate the 3 current projects A46-89 and A46-90 with A46-140. This new workspace will then allow for rapid progress to continue on these exciting Boomerang rebuilds.

Warbirds Online thanks Ian Baker for his continued access to these magnificent projects and we will continue to report on the progress to restore these great Warbirds.

© John Parker 2018