Photos and Commentary

Mar. 13 � Our 1940 AOPA Sweepstakes Waco UPF-7 open-cockpit biplane is nearing a milestone in its restoration at Rare Aircraft in Minnesota � the assemblage of the uncovered fuselage and wing to check the fit. Sometime in the next few days the wing, gear, fuselage, and tail will be rejoined to assure that the wing fits properly on the fuselage. It will look a little like a skeleton at this stage. Once only a steel-tube airframe and a bunch of parts, the airplane now has sheet metal fastened to the nose, a windscreen, and a wooden cage that covers the rear of the fuselage that will be used to anchor the Ceconite covering. The engine has arrived in Faribault, Minnesota, and is ready for installation. An article about it will appear in an upcoming issue of AOPA Pilot. It's been cold and often miserable � by East Coast standards, at least � in Minnesota in recent days, so the assemblage will occur in the factory hangar. The aircraft should fly in late September.