Building Focke-Wulf Fw 190s! GossHawk Unlimited Tour - Part 1

Father and daughter team David and Lindsey Goss run one of the world's leading warbird restoration and maintenance companies, GossHawk Unlimited. Back in February, they kindly welcomed us to have a tour around the shop, learn about how GossHawk came about and, this week, what goes into rebuilding Focke-Wulf Fw-190s.
Next week, we tour the world's last airworthy Consolidated PB4Y-2 Privateer.
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[@achillesavendano5267]

This video is just awesome. I'm from McAllen, TX. I clearly remember the Texas air museum. I also have original pictures of white 1. John Houston took this aircraft and restored it to static display. The pilots name was Owalowski. He was shot down protecting the German battle ship Turpitz. The museum also had artifacts of the ship itself connecting the fock wulf with the mission. Discover channel sponsored the trip to bring the pilot down to see his aircraft one more time. He even signed the fuselage. The museum at one time also acquired the island of the U.S.S.IWO JIMA, the Apollo 13 recovery ship. I also clearly recall they were restoring a 2nd butcher bird. I had the honor of flying with John in a L-3 observation plane. I also have those pics.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+@achillesavendano5267 "White 1" was lost on 9-Feb-1945 during a mission to protect the German destroyer Z33 from Beaufighters and P-51 escort aircraft. Pilot Orlowski was engaged with a P-51 and managed to set the P-51 on fire. P-51 pilot Cecil Claude Caesar continued the attack with his burning Mustang and damaged "White 1" before going down in a forest and was KIA. The Fw-190 was crippled and pilot Orlowski attempted a low bailout and was saved by deep snow before "White 1" crashed.

[@Jones607]

Before they could build an FW-190, they had to build the tooling to make one. That’s impressive!

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+@Jones607 Flash back to the early 1990s when the original tooling for the Yak-3 fighters was discovered in Russia and was used build a series of brand-new Yak-3 airframes typed as Yak-3M aircraft.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

More credit should be given to Mark Timkin for his very hard work on White 1 in Florida. He is a super nice guy. When the Texas Air Museum constructed the four Fw-190 wrecks including White 1 they were not done correctly. Norway was especially unhappy with the work and Mark took their Fw-190A-3 W.Nr. 0132219 as a project to build correctly for Norway in exchange for help with White 1.

[@frankdillon6127]

i once watched the video of the German pilot seeing the 190 he flew at the Texas air museum, but haven't been able to find it. was amazing he was located in Germany and convinced to go to Texas to see the plane. it was one of 5 that Sweden agreed to send to be static restored. restorer was paid by keeping one plane.

[@johncashwell1024]

@Damcasterspod - I am sure you are probably already familiar with him, but, Christoph Bergs, who runs the Military Aviation History KZbin Channel, would be a valuable resource for this team on the Fw-190 and any other German WW2 aircraft as he has direct access to the various German & Luftwaffa archives and, of course speaks German & English. It was just a thought, considering their need for authentic, original data and information from those who originally designed & built the aircraft. I would not be at all surprised if he's already talked with them, since has made several trips over here for the purpose of seeing warbirds, visiting aviation museums, etc.

[@natopeacekeeper97]

This is a great story. I grew up going to airshows in Cape Girardeau, Missouri and being around both modern and classic aircraft was a wonderful experience. My friends and I were always building models of World War II aircraft and reading about them as well. It's very important to keep warbirds flying and maintaining them so we don't forget our history. My dad enlisted in the Army right after Pearl Harbor and I asked him what it was like in those dark first years when Germany and Japan seemed to be marching from victory to victory and he just said, "We had to listen to the radio every day to make sure we were hanging on." Thanks for this great video.

[@damcasterspod]

Thanks for watching!

[@romeotango8650]

I supported the White 1 foundation when they were in Kissimmee and donated an optical comparator. Visited multiple times and sat in the cockpit, got some great pics. Great to see it progressing. Thanks for showing this!

[@damcasterspod]

My pleasure!

[@FiveCentsPlease]

@romeotango8650 White 1 was fully together and ready to being taxi testing, but I think Collings found a problem with the engine and it has been sent back to Vintage in CA for work. I think that's why White 1 has not had a test flight yet. I think White 1 will probably make a few flights and retire to the museum in Stow, MA. And Collings has just announced a flying Stuka D-2 project and I'd like to see that flying but I think it will also eventually retire to permanent display at the museum in Stow.

[@electraglide2818]

The more i hear/read about the "butcher" bird the more I like it

[@garypankratz9352]

Great video! What incredible work they do there. Just spent a couple of days with the great guys at Aero Services in Florida. I have to thank them for spending the time to answer my questions on the large variety of Warbird projects they have going on there. It’s fascinating to talk with the people who are so dedicated to bringing the planes back to life in as original condition as possible.

[@damcasterspod]

It is pure craftsman/woman-ship to the highest of degrees. I'm sure you'd agree!

[@ianbeale2527]

Absolutely love the FW 190 in all it's iterations. Would love to see a D9 flying in the future - now that really would be something !

[@damcasterspod]

Dave and Lindsey did the D9 for Collings and have another as one of the projects they are staffing up for. Watch this space!

[@ianbeale2527]

@@damcasterspod I certainly will. Thanks.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

@@damcasterspod I've not seen any information that Gosshawk had actually started working on the D-9 for Collings. When Mark Timkin was working on White 1 in FL he told me that he had really wanted to do a D-9 but could not find a wreck or ID plate to start a project. Later he was able to get the data plate for Fw-190D-9 W.Nr. 210096 JG26 and this was going to be his D-9 project. I guess when Collings bought White 1 they also got 210096 as a project. I think Timkin was able to get one of the Jumo 213 engines there were dug out of the ground during construction at the Frankfurt Airport as a parts engine. Mark wanted to do his D-9 in JV44 colors, so it will be interesting what Collings chooses for paint.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+ianbeale2527 There are several D-9 projects, all moving slowly. I didn't think any work was actually started in W.Nr. 210096 for the Collings Foundation. The Cavanaugh Flight Museum in TX has Fw-190D-9 W.Nr. 400616 JG54 in storage and it was basically a static rebuild done by Sandy Air Corp in Austria and not to airworthy standard. You would have to start over to make it a flyable project. Cavanaugh is moving or closing so I don't know where that one will go. Jerry Yegan in VA has the wreckage for Fw-190D-9 W.Nr. 210028 JG26 but it think it's a future project. Yegan also has a Flugwerk A-8/N that is converted to D-9 standard and he's built an engine for it. I don't think it will start for a while and I don't know if Gosshawk will work on it or Meier in Germany. There is another group that has an Allison-engined Flugwerk but I've not seen anymore about it. Also there is a D-9 project in Europe but the owner has died so I don't know when it will be finished. So, the short answer is that it will be a while before there is a D-9 flying.

[@mgbrv8]

I volunteered at the Rio hondo air Museum in tx as a kid and I did a ton of work on all the 190s especially white one.

[@SimonWallwork]

I met David Goss years ago in his hangar in Arizona. Very nice gentleman, and thanks for taking the time to let me look in.

[@petesmith8362]

Great interview and tour! But you have to increase the volume!

[@robertfeeley8269]

I met Dave in 2020, fantastic that he spent time with me

[@wolfganggugelweith8760]

Very interesting! In our ex-baracks in Linz Austria 🇦🇹 Europe they found a DB-605 engine from a Me-109 and a radial engine from a Ju-52 in a not bad condition. We have stored them in a barn here. We try to get those engines for our army museum. Greetings from Linz Austria 🇦🇹 Europe! 🫡🪖😺💪😎👍🍀🪖🍺💙🐺

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+@wolfganggugelweith8760 My reference list is only showing two DB engines on display in Austria. There is a BMW 801 with a propeller and a DB 603 in the Aviaticum in Theresienfeld. My list is probably out of date. And there are a surprising number of relics that are not documented in private collections and museum storage.

[@wolfganggugelweith8760]

@@FiveCentsPlease You are correct. Officially those both engines are not in a list. It was discovered by the monument office (Denkmalamt) of Upperaustria not long times ago. We from the army museum have a good relationship to the people of this office. We will see what happens. Perhaps they will give us both engines. They even found a VW Kübelwagen but in a bad condition and much more. Sorry I wrote Ju-88 but it’s a Ju-52 radial engine. The Aviaticum museum near Wiener Neustadt got a new location just now. I was in the old location to visit the Me-109 when we had an exercise with the army years ago. I was signal officer in the 4. Panzergrenadierbrigade until 3 years ago and now I am retired. I have a question: Where You come from? England? USA? ………. Greetings from Linz Austria 🇦🇹 Europe! 😎👍🪖🫡🏔🍺💪💙🐺

[@danshobbies123]

Great video. I've been following the White 1 project for many years and always appreciate an update on it. Dave and GossHawk's body of work is incredible.

[@damcasterspod]

Thanks! It was great to see White 1 coming along so well, just the lump in the front slowing things down.

[@alyciamarrison2916]

Incredible! The skins look brand new! Surely some had to be replaced??

[@damcasterspod]

All the skins are new. They have been marked up to look just as they would when the aircraft was originally built. Thanks for watching!

[@skunkworks2059]

Ok this video made me subscribe. I’ve watched several of your videos. Cheers from Canada p.s. I would move to that location to have the pleasure of learning and working with them.

[@damcasterspod]

I'd move just for the weather! :)

[@briandarnell5966]

Check out the guy's from Yorkshire restorations

[@regel303]

Very much enjoyed the interview, then really lit up when I heard mention of the JU-88. My father was a navigator bombardier in the JU-88.

[@jamestregler1584]

Thanks from the old German club of New Orleans 😎

[@damcasterspod]

You're very welcome!

[@robertfeeley8269]

I cant remember exactly, but is the dog called Sally?

[@kormos_peter]

I noticed that the wingroot guncover skin is made of at least 2 sheet aluminium and then riveted together. I thought it was originally just one piece. Is this done after an original piece like this or just a modern compromise that the team had to do?

[@damcasterspod]

It is based on an original piece. As Dave said, they wanted the aircraft 'perfect' so that is the output on the aircraft.

[@P51]

cool shot of the BMW 801

[@damcasterspod]

Beast of an engine, if troublesome.

[@P51]

@@damcasterspod yes they continually developed it throughout the war.

[@damcasterspod]

They did, but the issues with it meant that they switched focus on the Dora with the Jumo.

[@huskyflylangley6053]

I would love to help, worked on Stearman Dusters and AN-2s and can fly ANs as well. Where do I sign up to learn???

[@damcasterspod]

There is a link in the video description to the GossHawk jobs page.

[@kurtovesen2975]

im from norway. and i know the story abought the fw 190 s. and the one that were suposedly restored in texsas fore norway it ,were a fucking disaster .ive seen the airchraft my self and talked to some of the museum staff inn norway.

[@stuartelliston]

So where is the Privateer?

[@damcasterspod]

Coming this Thursday in part 2

[@skyd8726]

I was thinking the same thing " where are the future engineers to keep building these aircraft"? Also, the interview format is superb! Having the cameraman wander around whilst the conversation flows... Fabulous approach!

[@damcasterspod]

There are initiatives around to get new engineers in at the apprentice level, but the word needs to get out there that this sort of career is available. I hope to be covering those avenues in future. As for the cameraman (Pima boss Scott) I think he got bored of our conversation! :D Thanks so much for watching.

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+@sky8726 The future engineers are going to be the people working with computers. One major challenge will be to translate 2-dimensional, 1940s engineering specifications into the 3-dimensional engineering environment used today in software. This work is already happening with the Typhoon project in Canada where the only original survivor was 3D scanned to get the correct wing shape and to line up the rivet patters to build a new wing correctly. And Paul Allen's museum scanned the Stuka in the Chicago Museum to get missing data for their Ju-87 project. Having said that, a lot of these restorations are still relying on original metal forming techniques that will still have to be taught to a new generation. Flugwerk used a Romanian company Aerostar to construct the Fw-190 airframes because that company still had the lost manufacturing abilities for WW2-era aircraft.

[@damcasterspod]

You might be surprised to learn that major engineering firms want their apprentices to work in the traditional manner and there are a number of programs starting to cater for this. For all the techniques that modern engineering lean to, there is no replacement for bashing metal old skool. Where drawings are missing, the approach taken by the Typhoon Legacy project and their CAD work is the way forward. The issue they still have with the wing is the internal structure which alters outboard of the main gear by the cannon bays.

[@darkredvan]

It would be very interesting to know who the customers for the additional 2 Fw 190‘s are (or even is). But I guess this is one of those non disclosure deals.

[@damcasterspod]

I couldn't possibly comment... :)

[@darkredvan]

@@damcasterspod Of course you can not. I thought maybe some of the more knowledgeable viewers might heard / read some rumors, might have heard it through the grapevine….

[@FiveCentsPlease]

+@darkredvan Flugwerk in Germany produced 21 new Fw-190 airframes as kits. When Flugwerk closed it was Gosshawk that bought the Flugwerk inventory, jigs, parts and aircraft. So now Gosshawk is now the assembly and repair center for the Flugwerk Fw-190 replicas. They have been repairing a couple of Fw-190s that were ground-looped a few years ago.

[@thomaswulfing6471]

Shouldn't the text on the back lifting point be" Hier aufbocken" instead of " Hier aufholen""? I'm almost sure this is the case..

[@darkredvan]

No, it is correct. Originating in Sailor‘s speech „Aufholen“ is another expression for lifting something. Aufholen is not widely used in nowadays language, whereas „Aufbocken“ is. Technically speaking Aufbocken is used when you put a „Bock“ (trestle) under something.

[@alistairallan1178]

Great interview but could hardly hear it

[@damcasterspod]

Sorry about that, will work to improve in future.

[@dodgysteve7699]

Must be your sound system. Was all perfectly audible for me (pc outputting to a TV).

[@nissmoguy]

this is different from the flugwerk program ? of building fw190s

[@damcasterspod]

Yes, the Fw 190s that GossHawk are building are based upon recovered aircraft, while Flugwerk are true new builds.

[@darkredvan]

Flugwerk cut several corners, especially internally. Though looking externally (nearly) like a Focke Wulf, it is not exactly built like one.

[@nissmoguy]

@@damcasterspod the fw190 dora with junkers jumo, did flugwerk ever finish it,? or is that the one you built?

[@nissmoguy]

@@darkredvan not sure i agree on that they used original blueprints and crash reverse engineering to complete drawings

[@darkredvan]

@@nissmoguy Yes, they did. They ensured that the aircraft externally looks like a Focke Wulf 190. The but (other than due to the use of a different engine) was cutting corners internally by using different manufacturing methods (as initially it was only planned to produce 12 aircraft - later changed to 21 - it made sense to use modern, less complicated, cheaper production methods). Out of my head things changed was the main spar, main landing gear, use of bolts instead of rivets on ailerons, change of canopy release mechanism, different cowling, oil coolers, etc., etc. Just what I remember. All those things can be changed to original Fw specification, but it is a lot of small things taking many work hours. Some owners let their aircraft change from FW to Fw standard (at least 4 by a German shop), some more, some less original. It always depends on what you are willing to pay for. As GossHawk have the jigs and drawings as well as the expertise, they can do projects to Fw standard (which most financially sound owners would go for). The Flugwerk kit was a (relatively) cheap knock off even less wealthy owners could afford. BTW none of the kits was made in Germany.

[@alistairallan1178]

Alclad has a natural oxide surface layer and needs no additional anodising

[@jasonmelendez5216]

29:40 she wasn't haven't it.

[@1967250s]

Wonderful interview, but goodness, dont make these poor people stand in one place for so long, put in more photos of their planes. The 55,000 hours spent on ONE!, only 1, FW-190 should have been a clue that they are busy. Move around, or sit down with them, video the planes with relevant talk.

[@damcasterspod]

Thanks for your feedback. That was the original plan, we had only expected an hour but when we got going, Dave and Lindsey were very generous and gave us more time so we decided to work our way through the shop. The planned shot list went out the window.

[@frankdillon6127]

seems the quality of German aircraft especially late in the was very sketchy, at best. lots of French slave aircraft workers who were known to cause issues with the work they did. understandably!

[@damcasterspod]

Was the same for many of the slave workers, they tried valiantly to fight back in any way they could.