Adam Savage Examines a WWI Aircraft!

Upon entering the National Air and Space Museum's Restoration Hanger, Adam made a BEELINE for the Lincoln-Standard H.S. Modified Standard J-1 aircraft that was JUST inside the entrance. Nelson Blankenship, Preservation & Restoration Unit Chief, explains how he and his team are completely restoring this historic (and extraordinary) aircraft, which flew from 1918 until 1964!
Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar: airandspace.si.edu/visit/udva...
Shot and edited by Joey Fameli
Produced by Kristen Lomasney
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Kishore Hari / sciencequiche
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Ariel Waldman / arielwaldman
Darrell Maloney / brokennerd
Kristen Lomasney / krystynlo
Intro bumper by Abe Dieckman
Thanks for watching!
#AdamSavage #Smithsonian #WWI

[@tested]

Have you been to the Udvar-Hazy Center? What was your favorite relic there? Watch more videos of Adam's time at the National Air and Space Museum here: kzbin.info/aero/PLJtitKU0CAeiJ7tjkIqcrRPfIYZHPW643

[@JoseAlvarezV]

No never, big fan of your work btw!

[@donjones4719]

Been there. Want to sound original, but it's the SR-71. Can see it so up close. Those subtle curves upon subtle curves! It's incredible how those body panels were crafted in those "primitive" years, and more how they were designed with slide rules and "primitive" computers.

[@Lanthire942]

I hope Adam had a look at Flakbait while he was visiting, it's a pretty incredible aircraft! I've been following its restoration for a few years now, but information has been pretty sparse.

[@michaelmclaren7373]

Yes, pre-Covid while working with a client in DC. Wished my client was the Smithsonian; but I’d pay to work in the Mary Baker Engen Hangar. Full stop.

[@tested]

@@Lanthire942 We'll have to catch it next time!

[@absolutechaos13]

My dad was one of those "tree-shade" aviation mechanics when he was younger. One day when my dad was "on-duty" a guy came in with engine troubles. Dad explained that he would not be flying that day. Guy had places to be and managed to convince my dad to put a rush on it. He scrounged up the replacement jugs for the cracked ones and got to work. A few hours later the plane was fixed. Guy asked him what he owed him. "Parts were this much." "What about the labor?" "What labor?" "Your's, you spent hours working on this. How much do I owe you?" "Nothing, i can't charge you for something that never happened. And if you tell anyone this happened the FAA will red tag this plane and you will pay for your new engine then. Assuming they didn't die laughing after you tell them some 14 year old kid rebuilt your engine because you couldn't wait for his dad to get back from his trip to Texas." Got to love old school grass strip airports.

[@sinebar]

When I was in engineering school I did a project where I reverse engineered an antique 5 cylinder radial model airplane engine in CAD software. I completely disassembled the engine and reproduced every component in CAD software as a complete 3D model including even the screws, nuts and bolts. It was a difficult but very satisfying experience.

[@konradfritz27]

Wow 👍👍👍 my greatest respect 😃

[@steamfire]

Would you release it open source?

[@paraicoreilly81]

\m/

[@hadleymanmusic]

Yea Ive been for years trying to imagine the Arup s-4. Its led me to variations along the way

[@Psych02K]

I am no engineer but I once recreated my Zippo in Solidworks. It's amazing how many parts there are in even a simple device. My dad built a working Bentley Br2 radial engine in scale, no CAD, just books and a drawing pad. (It works, I've seen it run once but it is a very very dangerous engine. One of the sparkplugs is still embedded in the ceiling)

[@MianCowell]

I work in the UK where we have a fleet of different WW1 aircraft and even some pre-WW1. The amount of effort it takes to restore something and keep it in flying condition is insane.

[@curiousentertainment3008]

Yep and I’m very surprised that ANY of those aircraft are flying at all right now. Wouldn’t be a terrible idea to just store and conserve them. The WW2 aircraft probably can be flown over 100 years but airframe stress and metal fatigue will limit how much they will fly.

[@thetourettesgamer8851]

Do you by any chance work at the shuttleworth collection?

[@MianCowell]

@@thetourettesgamer8851 Good guess! :)

[@ExUSSailor]

@@curiousentertainment3008 What a terrible waste that would be! Those machines were built to be flown, and, they are MACHINES. Parts can be fixed, rebuilt, or, replaced. They should be kept flying for future generations.

[@55elledge]

Sooo I feel like I have to ask. Is Adam going to build a biplane of his own one day? If so that will be the coolest Tested series ever. Even a small scale model built with 1920s techniques would be interesting and cool.

[@ShamWerks]

longest One Day Build ever.

[@tested]

He's never mentioned that as a potential project, but you never know!

[@robnor1029]

@@tested well it looks like you can forward the suggestion and take credit for it 😆

[@WalrusWinking]

The ultimate 3 month long 1 day build.

[@Makkenhoff]

@@tested It's worth thinking about. Especially at scale.

[@Rembrant65]

I work in Aerospace. One of the coolest jobs we have done was for the WB-57 when NASA had 3 of them refurbished. We were working from scans of the original 1:1 scale drawings. We were cutting the honeycomb core for the wings and the drawings were huge. I can't tell you how much of a thrill it was when SpaceX's Crew Demo flight did it's reentry. We had parts in the Dragon 2 and on the airplane filming the reentry. Also lots of parts in the Falcon, but that's another story.

[@hoyteq]

Just the wood work on those old WWI planes is art work in itself, thanks for sharing this Adam

[@hannahpumpkins4359]

More airplanes! Especially these WWI planes - they are awesome; I've wanted one forever! I grew up with my Victorian-Era grandmother, and she would tell me stories about having to take a biplane; how you were out in the open, and that the engine was loud and shook the airframe, and landing on a farm field...

[@MartintheTinman]

I flew in a De Havilland Tiger Moth for my Fiftieth birthday. It was excellent. I recorded it with my phone and a GoPro. I'm hoping to go up in another one at an airfield much closer to me

[@manfredbobski8114]

07:37 The scalloped beam in the wing is too beautiful for words. What an amazing detail to lighten the structure of the wing. As a woodworking I think that I could watch this video on repeat to marvel at the skilled it took to make aircraft at the turn of the century.

[@jpeterman57]

Aircraft mechanics are still taught how to build/restore and repair wooden aircraft. A skill that I found to be very handy for some ventures. Those skilled techs still exist.

[@SVSky]

You can build a Pietenpol to the same standard if you wish! =)

[@DarkAeroInc]

The craftsmanship of this aircraft is phenomenal! The horse hair for comfort was great. :)

[@zacharyhenrichs7067]

I love seeing Adam get excited to be inches away from this amazing history it gets me excited and want to learn more.

[@Arclite02]

And yet he's missing out on the MORE amazing history of Flak-Bait, sitting in the background! 200+ bombing missions in WW2 (where 25 was considered incredible), shot to pieces every time, patches on the patches on the patches, on the patches, multiple engines blown out, multiple crews served aboard, NO CREW FATALITIES, only one or two injured, night missions, decoy missions, a confirmed kill on a German fighter... As his guide says, you could absolutely go on for HOURS.

[@thumbprintsinputty6168]

The model company in Cleveland may be Cleveland Model & Supply Co. which still sells plans for many older planes. They were originally a balsa wood model manufacturer.

[@danielcox5849]

Until covid shut things down I was doing volunteer work in the Udvar-Hazy restoration center. I spent my time cleaning and waxing a DC-3. It was very interesting seeing the aircraft up close and personal including the subject of this video.

[@MartintheTinman]

I've flown in a DC-3, unfortunately I missed out on a C-47 flight because of bad weather

[@peterkelley6344]

Another great deep dive into the restoration of airplanes. Thank you Adam for this video footage!

[@ekner]

I'm floored. It's like fine furniture and an old riveted steel bridge had a baby. I want one so bad.

[@Dean_Smith]

Could watch this for hours. The sheer infectious enthusiasm from Adam and the glowing pride from Nelson in what the team are capable of producing.

[@koga1330]

What a great machine! I never realized how intricate these were until now. And Adam just casually mentioning Peter Jackson... priceless. :)

[@jonh901271]

The engineering and craftsmanship in this airplane are mindboggling!

[@malfattio2894]

What a cool plane. It looks simple enough that someone could built a functional copy in their garage.

[@olsonspeed]

Aircraft are indeed very special machines that have pushed their creators skill and materials to their limits. Thanks for the tour of the aircraft restoration facility, it is always a pleasure to see the engineering our forefathers employed to solve the problem of heavier than air flight. When Adam outgrows his cave he should look for a hanger.

[@unkie_walt9017]

Adam, I really enjoyed this, Thank you!! My Grampa had Higley Field here in Denver where he flew Hispano-Suiza powered Waco 10s, Fs, UPF-7s, and Stinsons J and Fs. I loved the stories Gramma would tell about how mad she would get when he damaged one of the planes because then he would bring the wing or what ever, into the house apply a new skin and then dope the part in her kitchen!!

[@simonhoney2050]

Always charming to visit a museum with Adam and listen to him probing the minds of the knowledgeable.

[@TheNadOby]

Looks luke all those museum visits will finalize by Adam building some encredible detailed WWI aircraft model. I would watch this, no doubt. Adam and spools of tiny winy wires!

[@KiwiHelpgeek]

Fascinating video! It is so great seeing people restoring these planes from our past back to as close to original as possible. Their artistry, skill levels and undoubted patience is awe inspiring.

[@thompuckett9547]

Thank you so much Adam. As an old balsawood builder of WWI kits I found this video very enjoyable. So much I shared it with a couple Facebook groups I am in for model building.

[@petermerz2704]

Very cool Adam! It’s amazing the engineering that went into those early planes! Thanks for sharing!

[@MattHaugh]

Thank you for this Adam. My lifelong obsession with WWI aviation feels right at home watching you chat about this gorgeous aircraft. Keep it up man!

[@lucaslac124]

This is one of the coolest restoration processes that I've ever seen!

[@maciek_k.cichon]

Yellow plane shown here on the vid end is the original from the Great Waldo Pepper movie. That exact plane restoration is ongoing on Kermit Weeks' yt channel.

[@Finallybianca]

I am taking flight lessons here in Lincoln Nebraska at the Airport these were converted at. Sadly when the airport became a bomber base and an air force base durning the Cold War the Hanger is no longer there as it was demolished.

[@paulstan9828]

You have the greatest career. You get to see so many amazing things.

[@chuckvanderbildt]

I could listen to this guy telling stories about all the artifacts in that facility all day.

[@katrix110]

As someone who volunteers in the hangar and has spend an ungodly amount of time in that museum, the J1 is low key my favorite artifact in the hangar. The woodwork on it is absolutely spectacular and you can’t fully appreciate the lamination and precision craftsmanship unless you see it up close. It’s gorgeous

[@rrl4245]

Very cool. Thanks Adam.

[@f1matt]

Visiting the Smithsonian is very high on my bucket list. Thanks for sharing!

[@HeirloomReviews]

WOW! 🤩 Super video my friend! 💯💫Thank you so much for sharing!!!✅🌷👍👍👍👀💗2.9k

[@DougPalumbo]

Super cool! Great look into aviation history!

[@talexander7217]

I would love to watch a whole docu-series on this restoration. Love it!

[@billdodson5703]

Glenn Curtiss would be so happy to see this - except maybe to hear of the Wright engine haha

[@KnightsWithoutATable]

One of the slang terms for planes of this era is to call them a kite. As in, "He kept the kite up in the air long enough to get back over to our lines before he crashed it."

[@erictheepic5019]

I not only like this video because of the history of the aircraft, but also because of my history with the place! I just think it's funny that I can point to that long stretch of windows in the background and be able to say "I stood there!" Happy to be able to 'stand' there again with this video after the two and a half years since I've been there.

[@jamesallred460]

Wow, what a treat! So amazing.

[@samuelpolden5207]

This was AMAZING!

[@lonnierivenbark1188]

In 1990 I visited the Smithsonian's Paul E Garvey restoration facility during their open house. At the time, they were restoring the Enola Gay. In one hangar they had planes packed together very tightly while they waited their turn for some TLC. Fast forward to January of 2015, when I visited the Udar-Hazy for their open house (mostly to see the USS Enterprise model before it went through its own restoration.), I saw the Enola Gay on display, as well as some of the other aircraft I saw 25 years previously, including a WWI Nieuport 28C.1.

[@mtgering]

As someone currently going to school to get my A&P, I found particular pleasure in the safety wire work on the turnbuckles briefly visible at 13:49.

[@xINVISIGOTHx]

You should build one!

[@ec5838]

Those old wooden planes were beautiful pieces of engineering.

[@zimmy1958]

Thank you.

[@glideking]

Love love love this kind of content!

[@adorimable9690]

My favorite ww1 plane is the Bristol f2b, such a beautiful piece of history

[@markfryer9880]

A lot of the timber work for this aircraft reminds me of how sweep oar rowing hulls and sailing skiffs and dingies used to be made. Mark from Melbourne Australia

[@popeyepiggy2538]

Another great video 👍👍

[@unheardstingray7048]

i like that comment at 11:00. it reminded me of when people say that ancient structures were impossible to build or that we don't know how to repeat it without modern technology.

[@flyingardilla143]

The wood I-beam spars of those wings are really cool.

[@Cr125stin]

I believer the model company he was referring to is the Cleveland Model & Supply Company, Inc.

[@nilemerton9558]

Goosebumps!

[@gustavofigueiredo1798]

Fascinating.

[@TheOddVideoChannel]

Hi Adam, I am currently restoring a 1970s airplane. It is funny to see that the construction of it is still really similar to the one shown here. Wooden wing structure and steel 'girder' style fuselage. Of course, there are improvements (and some fiberglass parts) but the idea is very similar. We bought the plane as a project, every month I upload a video of our progress.

[@FarrellMcGovern]

You should watch Mickey McBryan's restoration of a DC-3 to full flight status here on KZbin! An amazing daily in-depth look at what it takes to restore a WWII aircraft to full flight status!

[@markdavis2475]

If there were awards for KZbin channels, "Plane Savers" should have got one! Incredibly inspiring!

[@FarrellMcGovern]

@@markdavis2475 Yup! Mikey and the crew did a fantastic job with the plane, and the video series documenting it!!

[@wilgarcia1]

Damn those are beautiful!!!! =D I hope someone makes replicas with modern way stronger materials for airshows and general fun one day.

[@haulngrassracing]

I would love to have just that wing hanging up in my house! So much history and the cool factor is enormous. I bet you felt like a kid in a candy store there. I know I would have been. 😊

[@PostalTwinkie]

These Smithsonian videos are the best Tested content! You do amazing work all around but getting behind the scenes is unbeatable!

[@stevetheduck1425]

Briefly saw what I believe to be the fames Curtiss R3C racer? as seen in historical newsreels, the Schneider Cup races and Porco Rosso? I'm sure Studio Ghibli would want to contribute to the costs of restoring that one!

[@mandybarton6820]

Using model airplane plans to repair a full sized craft sounds like a real "Flight of the Phoenix" moment

[@Batalia122]

It also took them 60 years to being out the only surviving Horton 229 and can't wait for them to finish the restoration.

[@ibeckengineering]

nice one

[@robertl6770]

More content like this!!!!!

[@Makkenhoff]

The only aircraft that to date still 100% fascinates me. Despite the fact I'm scared of heights. (WW1 Era craft)

[@p.d.nickthielen6600]

I want to intern there .... do they allow 60 year old engine4ering interns?

[@chloehennessey6813]

Hispano also did a lot of the machine guns as well.

[@GHILLIESARCADEANDMORE]

Cool

[@BGraves]

They didn't cut out those wing spars by hand, for sure. For example, the first hand operated electric router existed before 1910. No doubt they were making wing spars with at least a templating machine

[@jerrylitzza8842]

Kermit Weeks is rebuilding the Waldo Pepper Jenny. re: The picture at closing.

[@Robert-pg2id]

You guys know Gustave Whitehead flew 2 years before the Wright Brothers in 1901 in Bridgeport CT, I assume!!

[@maciek_k.cichon]

Yes! Thank you and more ragplanes, please!

[@ConnorEtch]

You guys should check out Kermit Weeks! He has so many older aircraft that they restore and even fly, it's awesome to see!

[@TimmyB1867]

Hi Adam. It's me again. Still jealous of the cool stuff you get to do.

[@spaddriver1957]

Maybe the seats are so wide because they thought about how much they had to wear to stay warm at altitude?. Not every day they might have to fly was a warm, sunny summer day.

[@jpeterman57]

My former boss was killed along with an FAA rep when the prop on his museum Jenny broke during takeoff causing a ruptured fuel tank and fire. It had just been beautifuly restored even better than what I am seeing here.

[@jeremyunsworth2373]

What I find amazing is that they could build hundreds of these things in a year and yet now it takes years to restore just one. Crazy skills back on the day.

[@murphsmodels8853]

Not really. They had a dozen people working on each plane, with the set goal of slapping each one out as fast as they could. A lot of stories from pilots in WWI involve receiving their brand new plane, and having to rebuild it so it was flyable. Restoring them involves 1 or 2 people who spend hours to days researching and recreating the exact methods used to slap each part together.

[@Beakerbite]

The craftsmen were skilled but modern craftsmen with modern machines can vastly outproduce them. You hear about all of the difficulties that restoration undergoes but it's all because the restorers are trying to reproduce the best examples possible. They didn't need to undergo such a lengthy process to produce a simple metal bracket. The difficulty came from wanting to reproduce a perfect copy of the original brackets. Same for the woodwork and everything else. We could easily setup a factory and bang out a version of these planes with modern materials, but that's not the goal of restoration.

[@smokejaguarsix7757]

Examine that aircraft Adam. Examine it! Harder!

[@justinove7521]

Another WWI restoration shop is Memorial Flight in France! And, there's a gentleman in Germany that builds reproduction Fokker aircraft using original methods and blueprints.

[@Killer_Tomato]

Please make a Brazil executive desk toy decision maker for a one day build.

[@evanswinford7165]

Model maker plans…reminds me of Flight of the Phoenix.

[@raffriff42]

_I love these like witness marks of the shift in your laminate_ Oh yes, I love them too! Who wouldn't? _Over the years they had inconel swedges put over the wires_ Inconel swedges!? Those Philistines! _We had to go back and replace all the wiring with the Navy 5 wire tuck_ Indubitably, the correct choice!

[@imbok]

Kermit Weeks (Fantasy of Flight) is currently restoring THE Standard J-1 that was used in The Great Waldo Pepper movie from 1975. Go over to his YT channel to check it out. These airplanes were real works of hand-made art.

[@maciek_k.cichon]

Just too bad Mechanics Corner updates are so rare and few between.

[@DFYLA72]

In Adam's mind: "I wanna touch it. I wanna touch it. I wanna touch it. I wanna duplicate it. I wanna touch it."

[@justincartwright6907]

Man where does Adam get those masks. Those look really comfortable.

[@BillyCustomTV]

This guy had his own tv show now youtube what’s next for him

[@gregmuon]

It's funny how he wouldn't cough up what kind of glue they used for the restoration. Non synthetic tends to imply hide glue or casein.

[@TTGIII]

What did he mean when he said "...unlike WWII where we scrap everything because we don't want to hurt the industry."?

[@mattskustomkreations]

The engine is by Hispano-Suiza “Spanish-Swiss”, who were famous for exquisite cars of the 20s & 30s. Suiza is more commonly pronounced “Sweeza”.

[@Capt.Marco-Hawk-L.L.A.P]

i love aircraft of ww1

[@dias_se]

If anyone is interested in what it takes to restore a Standard-J into flying condition Kermit Weeks has a great (ongoing) series here: kzbin.info/aero/PLc9R0Ar11YH2DzI8HknW2ssN87HHWTgeI Oh, and this is the original one from the movie "The Great Waldo Pepper"... :-)

[@toddrf4058]

Lots of metal in WW I aircraft. Look at the front end of a Fokker D VII. The “military color” is probably zinc chromate. “Feels bad to sit in a taildragger?” Not to those of us who fly them. It feels normal. Taxiing a tailwheel makes you remember the airplane is in charge and if you don’t treat it properly it will bite you.

[@mattsitsback]

Update us!

[@melaninxhalide1165]

CAN SOMEONE ASK ADAM HOW HE KEEPS HIS GLASSES FROM FOGGING UP WHEN HE’S WEARING HIS MASK?!?! HELP ME! 😩🤣😩

[@Cinkodacs]

Close fit around the nose. If the mask goes up high you could use the glasses themselves to push the mask onto your nose for a good fit.

[@gustavofigueiredo1798]

He did a video on it a while back.

[@tested]

Here's Adam's video about his mask: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iJWUnoeCeriKg6s

[@melaninxhalide1165]

@@tested THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU! ❤️

[@pimpompoom93726]

Standard J had a well designed air frame, but it had a poor base engine in the Hall-Scott A-7a 4 cylinder. The engine vibrated badly and was unreliable in operation. The competing Curtiss JN-4 had the Curtiss OX-5 V8 engine which was more reliable, smoother and a much better match to the airplane. For that reason, Jennies outsold Standard by about 2 to 1.

[@Neknoh]

So, Adam, when are you building your own?

[@sd4594]

When are you going to do a video about Peter Jackson's collection of world? world 1 memorabilia.

[@dylanpritchard4981]

Is his mask the space x dragon?