The Fairchild model 24, was introduced in 1932 with the C8 model. Most of the early 24s were two seaters, powered by Warner radial engines and a few Menasco in-line four cylinder engines. Starting in with the 1934 model 24 C8C, they had a third seat. They were attractive and practical, and had performance and features that captured the respect of the aviation community. In 1934, the 24 C8D model was introduced, and it was powered by Fairchild’s new Ranger engine. The in-line inverted six cylinder (with overhead cam) transformed the appearance from attractive to stunning, and the performance improved dramatically. In 1938, Fairchild introduced the K model, with a wider fuselage and four seats and a 165 horsepower Ranger. The engine mount is an integral part of the fuselage. The following year, Fairchild changed to a removable engine mount, to allow the use of a Ranger or Warner engine on the same fuselage. Most ranger engines were being diverted to the Army Air Force’s PT-19 trainers. The removable engine mount added about 9 inches to the length of the later Fairchild 24’s, thus the K model is the first of the ‘wide body’ 24s, and the last of the ‘short nosed’ rangers. These two features make it appealing because it has more power than its predecessors, and can carry a heavier payload than its successors.

NC-18681 was originally purchased by South Bend Tool & Die company in South Bend Indiana, but by 1942 was sold to an individual in Flitchburg MA, near Falmouth field, and was used as a submarine spotter in the Coastal Patrol. It then passed through many owners in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Georgia, North Carolina, and then to Michigan, where its flying days ended sometime in the 70’s. The unrestored plane was carried to Minnesota where it passed through a few more owners before Bob purchased it in late 1991.

Bob spent the next four and a half years working on the ground up restoration, working every Saturday and every Wednesday night, and a lot of Sundays and vacation days. Bob invested a lot of time and money in the project, and his friend Dennis Hoffman spent an equal amount of time. Although they spent about equal amounts of time, Dennis did most of the difficult and complicated tasks while Bob kept the work area clean and kept the coffee pot full. All these efforts were under the guidance of our A&P, Bill Shanks, and with the constant advice of our IA, Jim Montague. Jim later completed all paperwork for NC-18681, and that paperwork is the envy of most who have seen it.

Bob and Dennis (with the aid of a some occasional helping hands) did all the work on NC-18681 except for two items. Since the seats were missing from the project, a professional was hired to build and upholster the seats. The two cheek cowls were hand formed by a local sheet metal artist who restores antique exotic cars.

One of the first tasks was to assemble all of the pieces and fit them together (including the wings but excluding the landing gear) to see what parts were missing. Fortunately Lee Hurry stopped by a few times. Lee restored the ill fated Fairchild 24 that was destroyed in the England-to-Australia race in the mid 1980s. We were also an hour flight away from Mora Minnesota, which is the home of Cleveland Mason. Cleveland owns the twin sister to NC-18681, and occasionally partially disassembled his airplane to help us find out how things were supposed to fit together.

When Bob purchased the project, the fuselage had been covered and painted up through silver. We discussed whether we should start over or continue. The folklore at the airport says that Bob stepped out of the shop to answer nature's call, and when he returned, Dennis had removed the cover (there is only a shred of truth to that story). The frame was cleaned, tested for corrosion, and painted. A new Polyfiber envelope was purchased from Alexander Aeroplane , and everything was done up in the Stitts process using Aerothane. Dennis created a 30 foot rotisserie that allowed 270 degree rotation of the fuselage, which greatly improved the taping and painting and sanding. In retrospect, it seems that it was easy, but it sure consumed many weeks of the calendar. The rotisserie really made it easier to do a good job.

The wings only required minor rib repairs, and the covering and rib stitching and taping was fairly uneventful. Again the painting was not difficult, but consumed many weeks. The Stits process is nearly foolproof if you follow the book, and Polytone allows most mistakes to be repaired without showing. The final coat was wet sanded with 1000 grit 3M paper, then hand rubbed and waxed. It resulted a nice luster finish.

In addition to 3M TRIMITE brand sandpaper, we used large quantities of 3M SCOTCHBRITE brand cleaning material, and 3M masking paper, and 3M THINLINE brand masking tape, and 3M electrical connectors, and various 3M tapes, and numerous other 3M products including SCOTCHGUARD brand carpet protector were used in the restoration. Bob worked for 3M.

New control cables were installed throughout, including the elevator trim tab cables. The Fairchild 24 contains about 105 ball bearings in the controls surfaces and the control systems. Many of these bearings were replaced, and all of them were cleaned and greased. The original mechanical brakes had been upgraded in 1941, with a Fairchild field-upgrade kit, to hydraulic (expander tube) brakes. New tubes and pads were installed, and they work GREAT.

New glass was installed all around, and the crank-up window mechanisms were overhauled. There is very little room behind the instrument panel in the short-nosed versions of the Fairchild 24, the generator actually comes within three inches of the back of the instrument panel. Since NC-18681 is based at the Lake Elmo Minnesota airport within the Twin Cities TCA (OOPS -- class B airspace), we installed a transponder and COM. It was quite a challenge to come up with a layout that preserved the look of the original, but provided needed functionality to operate safely. The round transponder does not attract much attention, and the round Nav/Com is barely noticeable when turned off.

The upholstery, except for the seats and previously installed headliner, was completed by Bob and  Ileen. The upholstery and the instrument panel really do work together, and make the cabin seem even larger than it really is. The intercom is wired with the headset jacks located overhead behind the pilot’s head, which reduces clutter.

The day we installed the wings, NC-18681 was magically transformed from a project-in-progress to an airplane. What a great feeling. Dennis created a wing lifting attachment for his engine hoist, which allowed precise positioning of the HEAVY wings during installation

The project came with a Beech in-flight-adjustable propeller with a freshly overhauled hub and new blades. The engine was of unknown quality, and was replaced with a freshly overhauled 200 hp Ranger. The starter and generator are zero-time rebuilds. Jim Montague overhauled the Mags. For safety reasons, the complicated mechanical throttle and mixture linkages were replaced with vernier control cables. With all the drag from two venturies and an exposed oil cooler and large landing gear and struts, the cruise speed of NC-18681 is only 110 miles per hour, but the climb performance is an impressive 1500 feet per min.