In 1939 N2008 had a wing tip, prop, and gear strut rebuilt due to a ground loop. (There may be other rebuilds in the logs.)
In August of 2006 I ground looped the aircraft at Joseph, Oregon and damaged the same set of components. The Joseph volunteer fire dept. then crunched the underside stringers while wheeling the plane off the runway using a tow truck dolly. There was no sudden engine stoppage (one plus for a wooden prop) and the crank dialed precisely to spec.
An extensive and expensive ($20K- thank you, AIG) restoration and repair was made at Zema Aviation in Colville, WA. Monte Zema, IA, directed the work. He can be reached at (509) 684-2601 for any questions about the condition of the aircraft.
I had a modern, steerable tailwheel replace (on a 337) the troublesome free pivoting, always shimmying Fairchild tailwheel, and Monte finally fixed the Warner mechanical brakes, which grabbed viciously on one side or the other unpredictably. A bushing was missing from each brake — three IA's had looked over these brakes before and assured me they were correct. We have no drawings of these brakes. Correctly assembled, these brakes are trouble-free compared to the finicky expander-tube brakes used on 1940's vintage 24s.
N2088 has a new prop and is now in the best condition it has been in ever. The airframe and engine were gone over with a fine tooth comb, and Monte Zema did a first class job. It is almost impossible to discern where the repairs were made. Thanks, Monte.
