The Uiver restoration project is complete – but it’s not the one you have in mind.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
A near-exact model of the historic DC-2 Uiver replica being restored at the Albury airport has recently been brought back to life after it was damaged while on display.
The Uiver Memorial Community Trust, who use the model at functions to demonstrate the real thing, approached the Twin Cities Model Aero Club about a repair job.
On Wednesday, TCMAC vice president David Balfour handed over the model, restored pro-bono.
“The project has taken six months; the whole aircraft was badly damaged and we had to dismantle it, repaint and repair it,” he said.
“Whoever built it did an amazing job – it’s very accurate – there is all the detail inside, with curtains, seats and even a toilet in the back.”
The static balsa wood model, with a 3.5-metre wingspan, has been owned by the Uiver Memorial Community Trust for three years.
Chairman Pieter Mol said a board member had spotted it for sale on eBay, of all places.
“The owners in Sydney had a hobby shop and they were retiring,” he said.
“It was all painted up as the Uiver; because that particular DC-2 has so much significance historically, a lot of the models that are out there are representations of that airplane that landed here in 1934.
“I think the man who built it basically used his knowledge of what it would look like, and the people who restored it found it was quite ingeniously built.
“Because it’s so fragile, when a gust of wind came through at one of our functions, another model fell on top of it and it was badly damaged.”
While the mini Uiver is complete, the restoration of the much larger replica of the famous Dutch airliner was charging ahead.
Following an appeal for volunteers, Mr Mol said a group of about 45 people was now helping with the restoration works.
“We had a pretty good response to that and the project now is at a stage where we’ve been able to completely dismantle the aircraft into its major components and we are commencing restorations,” he said.
“On a Saturday, we have 10 to 12 volunteers who turn up to help out with various aspects, and we probably have two or three pieces restored and in storage.
“We’re working on two dozen different aspects with various volunteers – we have to manufacture and source a lot of parts, which is a big challenge.
“Over the next 12 months we should have additional items restored.
“We’re making very good progress.”