I have been a very long-time lurker, but now that the Forum has a lull, I have decided to ask a question:
What would be the process to conserve/preserve the Electra? I assume that it is more than just hosing off the salt water residue and putting it on display somewhere, but I am interested in a discussion of the technical details.
From what little I have seen on the Discovery Channel, etc. large iron objects (e.g. cannon, anchors) are kept submerged in tanks for preservation reasons, but I know nothing of aircraft aluminum preservation or conservation techniques.
For sake of discussion, let us assume that:
1) A large piece (or even the entirety) of the plane is found off-shore of Niku
2) It is recoverable using currently available technology
3) All licenses, permits, permissions, and ownership issues are resolved
4) An institution has been identified that will preserve/exhibit the Electra in accordance with TIGHAR's wishes and guidelines
(Certainly, all of these are very important topics, but not really germaine to my question.)
By way of introduction, I am a librarian with a solid background in (mostly Canadian) history. I have some training in paper conservation, but my knowledge of archaeology is limited to a handful of popular works -- none of which have covered marine (or aviation) archaeology.
Thank-you.