Thomas Morse S4C Scout Restoration at the National Museum of the USAF 2020-2021

[@davidselvenis5947]

Beautiful restoration. One of my all time favorites after seeing one fly at Old Rhinebeck.

[@chrismofer]

was building my own S4C scout from Guillows while this real one was being restored. now i'm adding RC gear to it. thanks for documenting the restoration

[@peteaitchison4581]

I've also added r/c to my guillows sopwith camel. How's your conversion coming along?

[@peteaitchison4581]

Beautiful job

[@USAFmuseum]

Thanks so very much, we hope you can visit and see this beautiful AC in person!

[@dalecomer5951]

The Thomas Morse S4C has been my favorite WWI aircraft for a long time. Got a little choked up watching this video. Would like to see more of how individual parts are handled in the restoration process.

[@arthurengelbert788]

That’s pretty cool. 104 years old, and still here. Actually used by cadets who are long gone. Great piece of History 👍

[@bradalgra8088]

Been to the museum many times, and happy to see the Scout get such a beautiful restoration. Thank you for the many hours your team has spent on it. May she see another 100 + years of life !

[@davidkalbacker6033]

Super video - great to see a dedicated staff working so lovingly with these aviation artifacts. Keep up the great work !

[@kittyhawk3831]

Can't wait to come see this airplane. Great job!

[@HistoryX]

Restoration videos are so fascinating. What makes this one different from a WW2 restoration is that you're obviously dealing with a wood structure. Probably why I liked this video so much. Thanks!

[@daningrim475]

Excellent work on the aircraft--great work on all the camera angles and lighting too. You really brought the audience into the narrative of the story.

[@USAFmuseum]

Thanks so much Dan, we had a lot of fun showcasing the talents of the resto crew!

[@bobdyer422]

Great job & congrats to everyone involved in the restoration. She looks perfect!

[@sigvar6795]

Fantastic... How absolutely fragile, like an eggshell. How absolutely destructive for its time. The pilots, it wasn't about faith in the structure so much as the adventure of flying it. Knowing the risks and still taking the chance to go up. Amazing work on the craft. Thank you for this video.

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

Glad to hear and know this

[@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647]

:)

[@leetracy7143]

My wife and I had the honor of teansporting "Tommy" from the San Diego Air Museum to a hanger at the Ithaca Airport. Their intention was to restore the airplane to flight status and fly it in 2017. Did that ever happen?

[@donaldparlettjr3295]

Beautiful job, lots of love shown for her.

[@Chilly_Billy]

Beautiful work, gentlemen. If only we could crank the engine and see it take to the skies once again.

[@steveminniear1282]

Thank you for the work you do. It's inspiring.

[@mikehalm164]

Excellent skil sets. Hope it was a fun project.

[@garry4816]

Been across the bridge many times in Ithaca and and knew planes had been built there. First time I have ever seen anything about or the type of plane. Very interesting thanks for the video. By the way in the last year or so they no longer use that bridge so it lasted a long time.

[@wraitheful]

great work, beautiful plane - would’ve loved to see that fly.

[@tc1718]

Such precision. Amazing work. Thanks for all the hard work.

[@abundantYOUniverse]

Really really good thank you!

[@UltraMagaFan]

It's crazy how technology went from simple bi planes like this to technologically advanced jet fighters like the F-14 in the span of 50 years. Airplanes have evolved at an incredible rate.

[@monroetoolman]

Well done.

[@tomjohnson5597]

So cool to see it outside.

[@Wideoval73]

Another great video. Maybe an over used phrase, but it is very true. Thanks

[@tcepilot]

This is quality content worthy of tax dollars

[@Dog.soldier1950]

If you go to wiki this AC has many surviving examples

[@525Lines]

I wonder if any of their wooden aircraft have original fabric. Seems like the stuff they were removing wasn't period.

[@willausterman3104]

The observation balloon is original IIRC so there might be some others with at least a little original fabric.

[@anniecraig5867]

@@willausterman3104 unfortunately that balloon was folded up and stored in a box, due to its condition, probably never to be seen by the public again.

[@USAFmuseum]

The Tommy on display was donated to the museum in March 1965 by Capt. R.W. Duff, Miami, Fla., and restored by Aero Mechanics High School, Detroit, Mich. The museum's restoration team spent about two years restoring this aircraft which is now on display in the Early Years Gallery as of Oct. 28, 2021.

[@willausterman3104]

@@anniecraig5867 no it's very much on display...... quite hard to miss actually

[@jameshann7218]

The original would have been either Irish linen or grade A cotton, both natural fibers. Sadly, the durability is not very good especially when exposed to UV radiation. If they used those materials now and keep the aircraft inside it will be fine for many decades. The fact that the engine oil caused the fabric to fail makes me think that they used a natural product vs polyester like we use today for covering airplanes. On thing I did notice was pinked edges on some of the tapes, I didn’t think those came in until closer to World War II.

[@leroycharles9751]

Is the airframe actually restored to airworthy status?

[@USAFmuseum]

Are museum aircraft restored to airworthy status? While most of the aircraft at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force have the potential to be made airworthy, our conservation and restoration work is directed at preserving the historical integrity and accuracy of an aircraft rather than achieving modern airworthiness. In preserving historical accuracy, we choose to use original parts that may be unserviceable or non-airworthy, rather than modern substitutes. The Memphis Belle, for example, will use wiring made to original wartime specification, which does not meet today’s flight standards, rather than wiring used in modern aircraft. This is vital to our mission of preserving the record copies of these aircraft for future generations to come.

[@leroycharles9751]

@@USAFmuseum Thanks.

[@dalecomer5951]

@@USAFmuseum Amen.

[@russellharris5072]

Good work,but pointless if it doesn't fly.........................................