C45 Expeditor Rudder Desk
C45 Expeditor Rudder Desk has been one of the most challenging projects of late. But in the end it also turned out to be one of the most rewarding.
Each aviation furniture piece has a great history behind it and this one had double interesting history.
C45 had been in use since Second World War and were deployed by USAF, RAF and later by RCAF. You can read more about the history here.
Bought the C45 rudder along with 2 engine cowlings from 2 very interesting legendary men from Carmen, Manitoba in Canada named Bob and Chris. They have been innovative aviators all their lives and although long retired, still work on some very interesting aircraft build projects with great exuberance. Bob also was one of stunt pilots in the epic film Battle of Britain flying Hawker Hurricanes!
Back to the project build. One of the most challenging parts of the project was to fabricate the table frame and legs that had a lot of compound cuts.
I envisioned designing legs that were in character with aircraft design and was pleased how the legs ended up with circular holes reminiscent of airframe construction.
Original C-45s in RCAF and USAF were not fully painted but had mirror polished aluminum for most part. I thought of leaving it mirror polished but that would not really do justice to beautiful construction of the rudder when under a thick glass top so I tried few zesty colors before settling on bright green that was military’ish yet being modern and energetic.
After the legs and rudder finished it was time to adorn them with a glass top that would compliment the curves of the rudder so I designed and got the tempered glass custom cut to follow the curves of the rudder.
Lot of sketches, calculations, perseverance, enthusiasm and elbow grease resulted in truly one of a kind desk fit enough to see many more ideas to take flight.
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