As we were going over the 3 Blanke cameras we showed last week, we found that the 2 GCs were missing their flywheels, and all of the cameras desperately needed to be serviced after sitting unused for so long. These cameras were previously used to shoot time lapse sequences, and it was common to remove the flywheels for this type of photography. This also seemed like an opportunity to show those who have not seen the inner workings of a Mitchell GC just what that looks like. We began with GC #903, which was originally sold to the United States Air Force in 1952. The movement was removed to be serviced, a flywheel from a destroyed Fries camera was retrofit, new timing marks were established, the shutter and dissolve mechanisms were lubricated, and everything was reassembled. Back to work again!
