Cavanaugh Flight Museum has provided an update on their 1950 CASA 2.111E one year after the aircraft was transported to Ezell Aviation of Breckenridge, Texas for restoration.
For those that may not know, the Construcciones Aeronáuticas SA CASA 2.111E is a Spanish license built German Heinkel HE-111. More than 200 2.111s were built. The museum’s CASA served in the Spanish Air Force and was featured in the 1969 movie ‘Battle of Britain’ and the 1970 movie ‘Patton.’ The museum acquired this CASA in 1995.
Work done so far is described as “impressive” with the aircraft being completely disassembled and the fuselage separated into three sections for inspection, repair and priming. All cockpit components have been removed for inspection, repair or rebuilding. A new instrument panel is in the process of being crafted which will house gauges for the Packard built Merlin engines that will replace the machine’s previous Roll-Royce 500-45 engines.
An 18′ tall jig has been made to mount the wings so they can be stripped and inspected. A smaller jig was also made for the stabilizers. As of this writing the right stabilizer has been completed and the left one is underway. In addition, the center section has also been stripped and repaired. New wing spars have also been fabricated. Work on the main landing gear struts and tail gear have been completed.
Currently the aircraft is expected to return to flight around 2029-30. Click below to check out the complete update along with photos of the progress.
(via Cavanaugh Flight Museum Photo: Valder137, CC BY 2.0, [Cropped, Brightened] via Wikimedia Commons)
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