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A reminder:
Neither the Antique Airplane Association of Colorado nor
the owners of Antique
field organize, control or provide airplane rides or
flight instruction!!!
Any airplane rides or instruction are a private
arrangement between the pilot and
the passengers--_NO Exceptions.
Last Workshop on 7 August 2010 :
1. Willie J. massaged the wingtip leading edge that is
being fabricated from flat piece of aluminum. There was quite a bit of
thought and some progress in fitting the new aluminum to the front of
the fuselage. So far the a new blank seems to fit pretty well. There is
some uncertainty about the vent tube on the main fuel tank (hopefully to
be cleared up today witha phone call to the holder of the STC for
installing the larger engine).
2. We have the “finger strainers” (fuel screens that go
into the tanks and keep the largest chunks from going thru the system
and blocking the flow—which results in a silent engine and nervous
pilot.
3. It was verified that the brown wrinkle painted
instrument panel is an original style and matches the pictures in the
parts book.
Next Workshop on 21 August 2010 :
1. We will try to have at
least half of the ribs ready for assembly on the LH wing!
2. The fuel tank for the second wing will at the welding
shop to have a vent fitting installed.
3. The first wingtip Leading Edge should be ready to get
a coat of filler to smooth the front.
4. The instrument panel will need to have the paint
stripped in preparation for some smoothing and minor repair.
5. The fuselage is ready to have the bottom stringers
fitted and installed.
6. The control cables are still awaiting someone to
install them.
We have received some appreciated offers to our request
for instruments. The weather should be good and I look forward to a fun
and productive Saturday.
Last Workshop :
There was no workshop over the 4th
of July weekend but a wonderful outing
at the Longmont Airport on the 10th
of July.
Next Workshop on 17 July 2010 :
We will work on a wingtip leading edge for the first
(RH) wing after discovering that the leading edge that had been massaged
to fit was for a LH wing.
We need a “ground plane ” for antennae on the top of the
fuselage and we will have material and a drawing for an aluminum plate
to be bent to fit over the cabin.
We will identify the proper locations for the
compression struts in the secondwing using the first wing as a pattern
and marking the compression struts.
Work can continue on the fuselage to complete control
cable installation and planning for the fuel supply and vent tubes.
If we have time we can start the forming of the “boot
cowl” behind the firewall.
We appreciate the participation and especially mentors
to guidework on the Taylorcraft. Please volunteer your talents. On the
other hand if you have questions – ask one of the mentors andwe’ll find
an answer or make up a good bluff.!
WANTS and NEEDS:
Sensitive altimeter
Airspeed indicator 0-140 mph
12.5MHz Transponder.
Com. and GPS antennae
I apologize for the missing last May and June reports. I
was out of town for the entire month and without internet access.
Jim Thurman (Editor)
Last Workshop on May 1st
2010 :
The seat support structure received some more fitting
with a determination that we have different sets of support wires.
It was determined that the tip rib flange slopes in the
wrong direction (later investigation with Jack G. showed that the
installed tip rib was miss-identified and was for the other (RH) wing).
[New ribs appear to be scarce- Univair has a RH set of tip ribs.]
The links for the brake pedals were being bent to shape
and contoured.
A group consisting of Nancy Fowler and Destiny made a
trip to Carol’s shop to mark and cut out the envelope for the fuselage
Work was continued on the wood parts that go under the
floorboards..
Next Workshop on May 15th 2010:
The tip rib can be
removed and replaced with the correct one after a clip on the rib is
relocated.
The fitting of woodwork can
continue along with planning for the interior fabric.
The fitting of the door latches
can commence.
If the engine parts are
available and Georg Becker agrees the engine assembly can commence.
The aileron controls and other
items behind the instrument panel and below the fuel tank need to be
connected and safetied.
Hopefully the wind will die down and the airfield will
be operational.
The group of youth from Denver will hopefully make it to
this
workshop.
Last Workshop on April 4th
2010 :
The seat support structure received some more fitting
with a determination
that we have different sets of support wires.
It was determined that the tip rib flange slopes in the
wrong direction (later
investigation with Jack G. showed that the installed tip
rib was miss-identified and
was for the other (RH) wing). [New ribs appear to be
scarce- Univair has a RH set of
tip ribs.]
The links for the brake pedals were being bent to shape
and contoured.
A group consisting of Nancy Fowler and Destiny made a
trip to Carol’s shop
to mark and cut out the envelope for the fuselage
Work was continued on the wood parts that go under the
floorboards..
Next Workshop on April 17th
2010:
• The tip rib can be
removed and replaced with the correct one after a
clip on the rib is relocated.
• The fitting of woodwork
can continue along with planning for the
interior fabric.
• The fitting of the door
latches can commence.
• If the engine parts are
available and Georg Becker agrees the engine
assembly can commence.
• The aileron controls
and other items behind the instrument panel and
below the fuel tank need to be connected and safetied.
Hopefully the wind will die down and the airfield will
be operational.
The group of youth from Denver will hopefully make it to
this
workshop.
Last Workshop on March 20th :
1. The leading edges on the first (LH) wing were removed
and reshuffled (factory outer and factory center interchanged) to place
overlaps over the ribs.
2. The problem occurred because of a lack of factory rib
placement information. A perfectly acceptable and workable rib locations
were copied from wings restored on the East Coast restorer of several
Taylorcrafts. It took very little time to reshuffle the leading edges
and for Steve Beach, Wilhelm Jung and Dan Luer to get the top side
screwed back to the ribs.
3. J.D. Gleitz and Al addressed the interference of a
small strut with the aileron cable.
4. Two new volunteers ( I don’t have their names or the
signup list at hand) dug in and figured out how the Bugs Rogers” spider
web of wire is attached to form the pilot/Co-pilot seat frame.—
Thanks—that has baffled many of us.
5. The installation of fuselage stringers and other wood
progressed,
Next Workshop on April 3rd :
1. Finishing the installation of fuselage stringers.
2. Finalizing the cable attachment to the brake pedals
3. Inspection of the attachment of ribs, compression
struts and wires to the front spar.
4. Flipping the LH wing and screwing the of the leading
edge in place (only after a pre-close out inspection by Jim Denly).
5. Installation of the wing tip bow to the LH wing.
6. After the tip bow is mounted the aileron can be fit
checked and signed off for covering.
7. Stringing of navigation light wires and control
cables.
8. It is time to take inventory of the ribs for the RH
wing.
We should have all of the engine parts back from the
machine shops and the assembly may ready to start.
We will need some magnetos or magneto cores.
Last Workshop on the 6th of March 2010:
• It is my understanding
that there were about seven youth from On Laughter’s Silver Wings in
Denver attending and digging into the efforts.
• There was the usual
group sorting out the fuselage details.
Next Workshop on the 20 th
of March 2010:
• Continuation of the
fitting of wood fairings and floorboards to the fuselage.
• Some rebuilding of the
LH wing leading edges to place the joints over ribs. This may require
relocating some ribs.
• If we arrive at a cost
for the engine core the engine assembly could begin probably identifying
pieces we need to replace to achieve a certified overhaul.
• The routing of control
cables and wires in the wing and final fitting of the wingtip bow could
also be on the do list
• We have the spars for
the RH wing ready and the area for building the RH wing and placement of
ribs could be set up.
• EAA chapter 43 will
bring some rib building kits and Ch 43 may provide some help for kids to
build sample ribs for this year’s Air Venture
We need additional Technical leaders to oversee various
portions of the Taylorcraft rebuild and assist in gathering the needed
background data that we are sorely lacking and aid in planning the
workshop tasks!
Folks like Steve Green that have or have had Taylorcraft
projects would be of great help!
The weather may not be optimum so dress accordingly. The
weather will limit some of the work (painting etc.) that we need to get
done.
Last Workshop on 20 February
2010 :
1. The rear side windows were attached to the fuselage
for the final time.
2. The old boot cowl was used to make a paper pattern
and cut ut a blank from new .025” thick aluminum.
3. The aileron cables were strung thru the LH wing and
it was found that they were screwed in place where a brace was in the
way of the cables and will need to be moved.
4. Trim round the doors and the fuselage stringers were
being fit in place ad trimmed to their final length.
5. The cables that connect the chain on the control
columns to the cables running to the rudder were assembled by Jim D. and
are ready for installation.
6. On the other side of the hangar the Peitenpol wings
were trial fitted with ribs.
Next Workshop on 6 March 2010 :
1. With the spar for the RH wing varnished it is time to
rearrange the tables and start assembly of the second wing.
2. Offline the missing wingtip bows were found and one
was rebent for the second wing with a similar curve to the first (LH)
bow and both are complete with the clips for landing lights. The clips
are installed from the outside and if someone downstream wants lights
they can remove them, insert them from the inside and mount wingtip
lights.
3. The internal parts for the engine are back from the
shop and are ready (after an inventory of parts) for assembly to start.
The cylinders are within a couple of days of being absolutely ready and
new pistons should arrive next week.
4. There was quite a bit of confusion as to how the seat
is installed and perhaps Mike G’s trip to Platte Valley to look at their
Taylorcraft will shed some light on the subject
5. The work on the boot cowl could continue with the
punching of an opening to go over the fuel tank neck (the punch is in
our toolbox).
Carol and I will be on tour to aviation seminars in
Missoula Montana and Fargo North Dakota during this work session---stay
safe and have fun.
We lost one of our volunteers - Richard Oliver.
Last Friday he lost a battle with pancreatic cancer.
Richard was active with his
grandson --- a great display of intergenerational
cooperation and learning. Richard
was instrumental in arranging for Brig. Gen. Steve
Ritchie’s inspirational talk to the
AAA of Colorado .
Last Workshop on 13 February 2010 :
The cables attaching the
ailerons to the control yokes were sorted out and the terminations to
attach the chain to the sprockets will be made by Jim Denly and ready
for the next workshop.
The rudder and
elevator cable routing was checked and notes made of where the rudder
cables will pass thru the fuselage fabric. The back ends of these cables
will be terminated when the final fitting of the tail feathers is done
but the turnbuckles were found.
The brake cable
attachment to the pedals was discussed and it was agreed to attach them
with short link bars rather than the Factory looping the cable thru
holes in the pedals.
Stringers and wood
cabin fairings were Epoxy varnished along with the spars for the second
wing.
Mike G. diverted a
little and helped Jack by trimming the Pietenpol spars and checking the
fit of the ribs to the spars.
Next Workshop on 20 February 2010:
The emphasis will be:
1. Completion of the aileron cable installation in the
fuselage.
2. Fitting the wing aileron cables and solving any
interference problems.
3. Fitting of the wood stringer and fairings
4. Fitting of the wingtip to the LH wing
5. Fitting of the floorboards and other misc. wood trim.
6. I will bring over a roll former and some aluminum so
that a new boot cowl skin can be
started.
Last
Workshop on 16 January 2010:
Status:
Both doors are now fitted to the fuselage, the main
landing gear [MLG} is covered and the fabric detail work (ironing and
drip removal) is progressing. We have two aileron frames that are ready
for pre-cover inspection and fitting to their respective wings. And we
have the larger floorboard parts being fitted to the airframe.
1. The LH wing work is creeping along with the conflicts
at the wing tip being worked out.
2. The stringer blanks shaped by Mike Gugeler and Jon
Baker were trial fitted to the fuselage and a decision made to build the
fuselage with no skylight (the skylight would be a modification to the
factory configuration)
3. The other wood parts that go on the fuselage we
sanded in preparation for an application of Epoxy varnish.
Between workshops activities:
Mr Jung rescued the RH wing spars and sanded out some
scratches in preparation for inspection and Epoxy varnishing. They will
need to be stored so that they are off of the concrete floor and do not
get new scratches that would affect their durability!
The Crankshaft, camshaft and connecting rods are at
Aircraft Cylinders and Engines in Greeley and that shop is working on a
set of C-90 cylinders to provide harder valve seats( for the 100LL fuel)
and new C-85 pistons to match the C-85 rods we have. (C-90 pistons are
designed to work with long connecting rods and would give us a very low
compression ratio with our rods). The hydraulic valve lifter bodies will
need to be refinished or replaced before the engine assembly can start.
Next Workshop on 6 February 2010:
The emphasis will be:
1. Inspecting and Epoxy varnishing the RH wing spars.
2. Pre-cover inspection of both ailerons.
3. Inspection of the LH wing to verify that all
fasteners are in place, tight and secured.
4. Completion of the fitting of the tubular wing tip bow
and associated pieces.
5. Change-out of the trailing edge fasteners to screws
of known origin.
6. If time permits (and if we round up a 24”x 100” x
.025 piece of 3003 or 5052 aluminum.) we may be
able to start the fabrication of a new boot cowl to mate
with the firewall salvaged from the second
Taylorcraft.
That’s the “shopping list” of tasks and I think the
weather gods may smile on us this weekend.
If anyone has the time this week to look thru our stash
of parts in Jack’s hangar and find our other three
wingtip bows it would be appreciated.
We are also short one 1” OD metal pulley for the 3/32” brake cables.
Last Workshop on January 2nd:
• JD Gleitz,
active in the flying at Antique Field, dug into the fitment of the wing
tip on the LH wing
and arrived at a solution.
• We will
duplicate this geometry on the RH wing. Mike Gugeler took charge of the
trailing edge
attachment situation and gave our younger helpers a
tutorial; on solid and pull type rivets.
• The Fitment of
the both doors to the fuselage is now complete thanks to Dan Luer and
Willie Jung.
• Singh removed
the old finish from the wood doorframe parts in preparation for
refinishing.
• The wood cross
member from above the cabin seems to have disappeared and Mr. Jung is
building a
new one!
• Manson made
further headway in assembling the second aileron frame.
• The “finishing
tapes” on the landing gear front and rear edges were glued in place.
• Pizza from Old
Chicago was the fare for the day.
•
OFF LINE:
Mike Gugeler is routing wood stringers for the fuselage
(between his regular aircraft work).
I believe that Dan Murray is working on a new (from
scratch) wingtip leading edge for the RH wing.
The engine crankshaft and rods are completed. Shipment
is awaiting the finish machining on the camshaft
which required plating of the bearing journals to bring
them up to size. [Whenever electroplating is done on
stressed parts they are baked out within hours of the
plating to vent trapped Hydrogen which can cause
enbrittlement of the base steel.]
Next Workshop on January 16 th
2010:
The emphasis will be:
• wood trim
• firewall
• brake cables
• wing tip
• Trailing edge
• Wing aileron
cables
• Completion of
the second aileron frame.
• Ironing and finish work on
the Landing gear tapes.
Last Workshop on 21 November:
Some work was done to reconcile conflicts between the
wing tip bow tip rib and wingtip leading edge
and the fuselage received some self etching primer in
the areas previously sanded for the welding.
The workshop was somewhat abbreviated in order to
rearrange the hangar for Brigadier General
Stephen Richie’s presentation. The presentation was
centered around the need for dedication, resolve
and purpose in every endeavor.
Next Workshop on December 5th
:
• The engine internal
parts are still in Oklahoma getting measured , machined and certified
as airworthy. Those parts as well as the cylinders
should be available for the 19 December
workshop.
• For this workshop
issues on the wing such as location of the overlap between leading edge
sections, tip fit, and the replacement of the ” pop”
rivets in the trailing edge with sheet
metal screws will occupy some of the effort.
• The new brake cable
pulley brackets may have to be modified to have rods which keep
the cables from coming off of the pulley groove and
becoming jammed beside the pulley.
• With Mike G. back in
town after his Alaska vacation the floorboards and other fuselage
wood fairings can be figure out and new parts made as
required.
• We have new brake
backing plates and the brakes can be cleaned, primed and assembled.
• The wing can also
benefit from installation of the navigation wires and control cables.
We can use more of our experienced members to mentor and monitor the
rebuild !!!!
SPECIAL EVENT:
Last
Workshop on 7 November:
1. The brackets for Co Pilot brake pedals and cable
pulleys were welded in and
ready for priming of the affected area.
2. The rivets securing the Trailing Edges were of
unknown origin and are being
replaced with Cherry Q or N series rivets.
3. The fitting of the tip portion of the Leading edge
was attached with vigor. We
may want to reevaluate the choice of parts – we may have
a better fitting tip
than I suggested we use.
4. Work continued on jack’s Pietenpol which has sprouted
rudder pedals and
looks less like a boat project and more like an airplane
project now.
5. There was a lot of parts cleaning and sorting (Thanks
Steve) and Kenny led
the removal of our better firewall from it’s slightly
used Boot Cowl. The plan
is to build a new aluminum boot cowl to mate with the
steel firewall.
Next Workshop on 21 November From 10AM to
about 3PM:
The emphasis will be:
1. Sort and box parts so
we can find parts we have when we need them.
2. Spray can prime the fuselage areas where Dan welded
last session.
3. If we can build up the cable/chains for the aileron
controls they could
be installed – bringing the cockpit closer to
completion.
4. If Mike G. arrives, the floorboards and other wood
trim can proceed.
After lunch we will set up for our very special guest
speaker, Brigadier General
Ritchie. Please RSVP if you plan to be there and haven’t already.
Last Workshop on 17 October:
There was some welding on guides for the control cables,
some gas welding instruction and further
progress on the leading edge installation and paint
stripping (enjoying great Colorado Weather .
Work progressed nicely on the shiny glossy floorboards
and in figure ring out where all of the other wood
parts go.
Next Workshop on 7 November:
1. The steel door frames
are back from being media blasted and powder coated.
2. We will have some
pictures of Taylorcraft dual brake installations to guide us in welding
the brake
pulley cable brackets in place. The early versions used
cables and pulleys like we are using and the
later Taylorcraft used cables in sheaths (like bicycle
brake cables) and no pulleys except at the
bottom of the landing gear .
3. The brake backing
plates are here and the brakes can be cleaned and assembled.
See Jack for the
printout describing Shinn brake assembly and adjustment.
The Weather should be good and the emphasis will be:
•
Completing the welding on the
fuselage and protecting the steel with spray
can self etching primer (to be followed with Epoxy
primer later).
• Cleaning of the door skins and reassembly to the door
frames.
• Completion of the gear leg covering.
• Work on the wing to install the leading edges and
string wiring thru them.
• More wood and floorboard work..
• Building a tick tac toe fixture to hold the fuselage
in any of four rotational
positions for ease of work.
Last Workshop on 3rd
of October:
1. Work on the floorboards is nearly done with the
exception of heel plates and access holes for
adjustments and inspections.
2. A lot of progress was made in identifying other wood
trim in the cabin and baggage areas.
3. The wing n received the leading edge and some fitting
of the wing tip portion of the LE.
4. The aileron parts received some smoothing of wrinkles
from life’s experiences and those parts are ready
to be attached.
Next Workshop on 17th
of October:
The emphasis will be:
Completing the installation of the Leading Edge on the
first wing.
This is a demonstration of techniques to align two parts
with one of the parts being inaccessible from the
backside!
If we are blessed with the presence of Dan Smith we will
weld in place some tabs and control cable
guide tubes on the fuselage and perhaps weld the last
brake cable pulley brackets in place. Photos
showing the routing of the trim cables have surfaced!
The brake cable materials (cable, turnbuckles and
nicopress sleeve) are ordered and should be available.
Ordered and should be available. We will need the
nicopress squeezer.
We bought a gauge (for AAA) to gauge the crimps on the
cable sleeves.
The floorboards and other wood trim for the fuselage are
progressing under the care of Mike Gugeler
and volunteers.
The engine parts are still out at the machine shop.
The wiring for the wingtip lights can be routed at this
time. The factory pre-wired all of this series of
plane but not the fuselage to facilitate later addition
of lights for night flying.
There is still fabric work to be done on the gear legs.
Last Workshop on September 19th :
1. Under the tutorage of Bill Truax the leading Edge
skin for the first (LH) win was deburred,
positioned on the wing and installation of the “PK” [a
term referring to the original supplier of
such screws-Parker Kalon] sheet metal screws holding the
LE skins in place was started.
2. Many of the sheet metal parts brought out of storage
were stripped of paint and grime and one of
the surplus ailerons yielded a reinforcement plate for
the aileron being built up.
3. The stringing of the trim cable and control cables
proceeded and it was discovered that we have a
couple of short tubular parts to weld to the fuselage to
hold the plastic fairleads (guides). We also
discovered that the routing of the trim cables to avoid
rubbing on the vertical stabilizer was not
“intuitively obvious to the casual observer”. Some
additional research is required.
4. The cable installation for the dual brakes will
proceed even without the promised information
from the Taylorcaft Foundation. If one of you has a
Taylorcraft F-19 manual/parts book showing
the dual mechanical brake installation we would
appreciate use of it!
5. Some of the wood fairings for the top of the fuselage
cabin were fabricated (by Willie Jung) and
they were positioned and a missing mounting tab welded
to the fuselage.
6. The floorboard fabrication (under the direction of
Chief Wood Muncher Mike Gugeler)
progressed well.
Next Workshop on October 3rd :
The emphasis will be:
1. Finishing of the wing LE installation
2. Completion of the aileron frames.
3. We need to put the final tapes on the gearlegs.
4. The brake assemblies can be assembled. There is a
good set of instructions available –see Jack Greiner.
5. If The final
location of the RH brake cables pully brackets can be determined the
fuselage
can be flipped overanfd these parts welded in place .
6. The floorboard fabrication and installation
(temporary) can proceed.
We should have more great weather, food and Flying Tales.
Last Workshop in mid August;
Too long ago to remember what was done. But the visit by
the antique motorcycles
was unforgettable!!
The intervening weeks included a trip to the Antique
Airplane Association annual
fly-in in Blakesburg Iowa for many of the AAA of
Colorado Members that work at
the workshops and a few of the younger participants.
The City of Longmont in cooperation with this group also
held a city supported
“Airport Expo” with excellent participation from our old
and newer members and
participants.—Thanks for the boost for General Aviation.
The internal parts for the engine for the Taylorcraft
are out for evaluation,
machining as required and certification (as being within
serviceable limits –with the
valued “FAA Yellow Tag”).
Next Workshop on Sept 19 :
The emphasis will be:
1. Fastening the Leading Edges on the first wing
2. Work on the floorboards
3. Work on brake system
4. Work on cables and wiring for the wings
Last Workshop on August 1st
[Colorado’s Birthday]:
1. The fitting of new leading edges to the first wing
started and a process evolved – with the help of several
of our younger volunteers.
2. The tail feathers received some careful hand sanding
are ready for another coat of the silver filler/UV
protection PolySpray. The sanding showed the previous
work to be exceptionally well done.
3. The ”official”
information on how cables for a dual brake installation are routed but
mocking up the
cable routing with twine and much discussion lead us to
a viable approach .
4. We also did some
practice covering for folks who had not done any before.
Next Workshop on 15 August :
The emphasis will be :
1. Finishing the installation of the leading edges.
2. Completion of any remaining work on the trailing
edges and wing tip.
3. Completion of the installation of the leading edges
on the aileron.
4. Fabrication of the floorboards.
5. Identification anf fitting of the wood trim around
the top of the cockpit.
6. Completion
and installation of the cable/chain that ties the LH and RH control
yokes together .
We need the crimping tool Jim.
7. If the promised information from the Taylorcraft
Foundation is available we can
weld the pulley brackets for the RH brakes to the
fuselage.
8. The installation of new brake linings can continue –
it would help if someone
could bring a brake riveting tool!
Be sure to check out the website for more pictures of
the project and social activities.
Check out the other websites on Taylorcraft restorations
and bring information you find to help us .
If you are a member who has not visited the
workshops—come join the heart and soul of the AAA of Colorado!
We need the technical inputs and encouragement for the
new workers and budding pilots.
Last Workshop on June 20th:
1. The brackets for the copilot were welded into the
fuselage
2. The fuel tank was mounted into the R+LH wing
3. The structure for the LH aileron was assembled.
4. The main fuel tank (epoxy primed off-line) was trial
fitted to the fuselage-not mounted yet to
allow access to the control column
Next Workshop on July 18th:
We will probably have warm/hot weather so bring water to
stay hydrated.
The emphasis will be:
1) Completing the first (Left) wing
Trailing edge
Leading edges
Route the navigation light wires
2) Fit leading edge material to the ailerons using old
ones as a pattern.
3) Build and install the cable assembly that connects
the left and right control wheels
4) Determine how the dual brake cables should be routed
and perhaps mount the pulley
brackets.
5) Continue cleaning and sorting out the best brake
parts
6) Install (riveting) new linings in the best wheel
pair.
7) Complete the cleaning of the doors and determine fit
to the fuselage and identify any needed
repair in preparation for priming
8) Fabric covering
a. Continue to build up the fabric surfaces with “the
pink stuff” that provides the bond
for the paint to the fabric and sand/ iron any areas
needed that attention to be
smooth.
9) Find old wood trim parts for the fuselage and start
repair or new parts for installation.
Do
we want skylights???
10) Cut out the floorboards and associated wood parts .
11) Mount the main fuel tank in the fuselage
We will have other parts to sort/identify and repair or
replace.
We can use all of the experienced helpers we can muster
This is a forum to exchange and share ideas on solutions
to restoration problems and
challenges. It is the AAA of Colorado’s opportunity to
show potential members how
membership will provide access to expertise, information
and camaraderie
We have the engine crankcase back and ready for assembly
and the crankshaft and other internal
parts will go to the machine shop next week.
We completed repairs to a Taylorcraft L-2A observation
plane in the Colo. Classic hanger this week
and delivered it to Erie. The repair taught us some more
about Taylorcraft construction. This tandem
seating Taylorcraft came wit a set of military manuals
that had far more information than the
manuals for the civilian A/C we have in the workshop.
The Fourth of July workshop has been cancelled- Hope to
we’ll see
you all on July 18 th!
Last Workshop on June 20th :
1. More progress on the LH wing
2. We have the rebuilt engine crankcase ad the
crankshaft,camshaft and rods will be shipped to the
machine shop next week.
3. Installation of the last pulleys on the fuselage
4. Stringing of aileron cables thru the fuselage.
5. Safetying of the ruder pedal and control column pivot
bots.
6. Welding of the RH brake pedal to the fuselage.[Bob
Leyner & Dan Smith (former welding
instructor)]. Dan made new RH brake pulley brackets in a
previous workshop.
Between sessions :
Contact finally made with Eric Baxter in the quest for
information on paperwork for dual brakes
installation. Paperwork or information from any other
source will be gleefully accepted.
Taylorcraft restoration information .
Wag Aero (Aero fabrication) now advertises that they
provide sealed struts AND will rebuild customer’s
struts to seal them in compliance with the FAA Advisory
Directive.
Taylorcraft built their won control cable pulleys
[drawings A228 (3” OD) and A 229 (1 ¾” OD) and
there has not been a direct replacement until now.
AeroClassics [AtlantaGA 770-446-6797) has Ball Bearing
pulleys in the correct sizes.
SkyBound [Gilbert,AZ 480-650-0883] has some parts for
Shinn/Firestone brakes. We have new linings –
donated by an AAA member but the steel and (shoe) that
expands to rub on the linings is in poor shape.
SkyBound makes new curved bands and attaches them to the customers
end fittings.
The crankcase has been machined and inspected returned
to us.
Next Workshop on 20 June 2009 10AM to 3 PM :
The emphasis will as usual be :
1. Completion of the LH wing to prepare for leading edge
installation and ultimately fabric covering.
2. Getting the control column cabling installed and the
remaining cables and pulleys in place
3. With the control column in place the main fuel tank
can be
installed.
4. Getting the RH brake pedal bracket welded in place.
Anyone have some 4130 rod to bring?
5. Working on the new floorboards
6. The tail surfaces and landing gear legs are covered
and can
be painted with “the Pink Stuff” and “the silver (fill
coating
stuff” to get them closer to being ready for color
painting.
What color do we want?
Last Workshop on 16 May :
Carol & I were at Platte Valley for their WWII flyin and
lunch along with some of our family.
I understand that there was progress on the wings and
some folks managed both Platte Valley and the
workshop.
Next Workshop on 6 June :
It’s summer and there are flying events all over the
Country. One of this week’s events is a Biplane Fly-In at
Bartlesville Oklahoma – sadly this will be the last
Bartlesville Biplane event. Some of our workshop attendees
will travel to eastern OK if the weather permits.
The emphasis will be :
1. Continuation of the assembly of the LH wing and
Aileron
2. Finishing the covering and painting of the landing
gears in anticipation of installing them on the
fuselage.
3. Installation of the remaining control cable pulleys
on the fuselage.
4. Installation of the cables thru the above mentioned
pulleys.
5. Installation of the main fuel tank (which is now
Epoxy Prime in white and has a new vent fitting)
6. Completion of the control column with new control
cables.
If you intend to fly in to antique field, be advised –it
is wet and the wettest areas has been marked off with
traffic cones. If in doubt call Georg Becker or Jack
Greiner! Fly safe, have fun.
On the fun side: Joe Scheer soloed The Jack Greiner/Jeff
Cain Aeronca today!
And the bright light a few days ago drew the Tiger Moth
out of the hangar for a couple of flights.
The first fuselage the workshop had has been converted
to cash along with other iron (Stinson fuselage etc.)
mined from our hangar. This is another way (clean the
hangar and garage) that volunteers can contribute to
the Teach/Train project.
The Taylorcraft L-2A in our shop has the welding
completed by Bruce LeMoine using a portable TIG welder.
Bruce is available for aircraft and aerospace welding.
The TIG process provides the highest heat intensity with
the best temperature control and minimal part
distortion but does require clean parts and tight joint
fits. It is used in Super Cub frames since 1970 and
allows the welding of the light but strong Titanium airframes for
competitive aerobatic aircraft.
Last Workshop on May 9th :
• Work proceeded on the LH wing in the aileron cove
and wingtip areas.
• The wing attach fittings were bolted to spars.
• The RH aileron assembly continued with the nailing
of the ribs to the spar.
• Blanks were cut out for
the wing attach brackets for the RH wing.
Next Workshop on May 16th :
Carol & Bob Leyner will be at Platte Valley for their
WWI aviation event
( www.lafayettefoundation.org)
.
• The emphasis will be:
• Installation of the LH wing tank.
• Installation of the aileron cove.
• Final trimming of the outer ends of the spars .
• Alignment checks of the aileron pivots.
• Installation of the fuselage tank.
• Installation of the cables and pulleys in the
fuselage.
• Welding of the RH brake pedal bracket to the fuselage?
The wing and fuselage are slowly taking shape.
We have hade tires donated by JD Gleitz , wheels and
brakes donated by Tom
Melsheimer, and Steve Stearns donated new brake linings.
Dave Fisher donated a copy of
the newest FAA 43.113 Manual on Approved Methods. Dave
had previously donated
some new aircraft fasteners to the project.
Next Workshop on May 9th :
We have new leading edge aluminum for both wings.
The emphasis will be:
1. Finishing the fitting of the wing Tip (LH wing)
2. Installation of the wing attach fittings (if ready)
and completion of the
trammeling.
3. Installation of the wing fuel tank (if available).
4. Fabrication of the wing portion of the aileron cables
5. Continuation of the buildup of the RH aileron.
6. Stringing the fuselage control cables.
7. Fitting of the Right Hand brake pedal bracket and
pulley bracket.
Following Workshop will be as scheduled on May 16th
Last Workshop on April 18th :
Between sessions:
• The wing tip has been
installed (LH Wing)
• The LH wing tank and
fuselage tank are at the welder to get a vent fitting
installed- as required by the change to the [higher]
85HP C-85-12 engine. They
will need to get epoxy primed before the final
installation.
• The wing attach
fittings are being built up and will need epoxy priming before
• final installation.
• The engine parts (crankshaft,crankcase,camshaft,
and connecting rods) are boxed
and ready to ship out for inspection and remachining as
needed.
• The weather was great
for the picnic last Sunday.
Because of the AAA picnic on May 3, the workshop has been postponed to
the following weekend.
Please join us at the AAA picnic and Fly-IN at Antique Field. There
will be lots of food, fun and flying
Next Workshop on April
18th:
WE ARE AGAIN EXPECTING HEAVY SNOW FOR SATURDAY.
THE GROUND IS SATURATED – PLEASE FOLLOW THE PARKING INSTRUCTIONS TO
MINIMIZE DAMAGE TO THE PARKING AREAS.
PLEASE PARK IN THE DESIGNATED AREA.
The emphasis will be:
1. Completion of the
assembly of the ribs onto the first wing.
2. Tensioning of the
diagonal drag wires to “square” and stiffen the wing assembly.
3. Leak testing of the
wing and fuselage tanks and installation of the wing fuel tank and the
drag wires that pass thru them
4. Fabrication of the
aileron cove.
5. Epoxy priming of
the ribs.
6. Install leading
edge.
7. Installation of the
remaining pulleys in the fuselage and installation of the elevator and
rudder cables.
Last Workshop on April 4th:
Jack Greiner, Giaecomo, and Willie Jung
built up part of the first wing by modifying ribs to slip over the spars
and slipping them into place.
Jim Denly led Joe Sheer in cutting new
control cables and making the end fittings with nicopress crimped
fittings.
Between scheduled sessions:
• A lot of good problem solving has been
done on the wings.
• New Leading edges for two wings were
obtained from Univair (about $450) and are available, or refurbished
Leading edges can be used.
• One set of spar attach fittings is
ready to be fitted to the spars, tack welded and removed for final
welding and drilling and reaming of the attach holes.
• Georg & I have made the brass shims
for the rudder pedal and control column pivots.
• We still do not have paperwork for the
85HP conversion or the dual brakes.
• Georg Becker is boxing up the
crankcase, crank and cam for inspection, machining and yellow tags.
Last Workshop on March 21st:
There was light attendance but the kids that did
attend got a tour of the Becker shop and helped boring
out the cable pulleys for the
new bushings. The pulley attach bolts when installed on
the fuselage (the bolts that
came off of this airframe) were too short and the cables
that were to be made up and
installed never got built so that is delayed until the
next workshop.
Next Workshop on April 4th:
The emphasis will be:
1. Making new control cables.
2. Installing control cables and pulleys with the proper
bolts.
3. Start of the assembly of one wing.
4. Fit checks of the aileron to the wing.
5. Assembly of the control column.
6. Installation of the control column, rudder pedals and
LH brake pedals.
7. Fitting of the bracketry for the co-pilot’s brake
pedals.
8. Covering of the second gear leg. (perhaps).
9. Welding of the new wing attach fittings (perhaps).
10. If Mike G. brings the floorboards they can be cut
out for the pedals.
We also have some wheels that can be disassembled and
bead blasted so they can be
inspected for cracks, conversion coated as corrosion
protection and new brake
linings (courtesy of Steve Stearns a local Taylorcraft
owner) riveted in place.
We have two serviceable tires and a tube donated by J.D.
Gleitz who often flies in in
his polished Luscombe.
WE ARE EXPECTING HEAVY SNOW FOR SATURDAY.
PLEASE PARK IN THE DESIGNATED AREA.
Next Workshop on March 7th:
The emphasis will be:
1. Installation of the control pulleys in the fuselage.
Georg Becker has made new
bushings and modified the pulleys to accept slightly
larger bushing.
2. We should have new cable material and I hope Jim
Denly will demonstrate the
fabrication of cables.
3. We have some steel and drawings and the new stronger
wing fittings can be
cut out and bent.
4. We will again attempt to do a trial assembly of one
wing and once more
determine what does not fit and what we may be missing.
5. We’ll try again to cover the landing gear with the little metal
pieces
Last Workshop on February 21st: The ribs
for the first wing became a lot cleaner thru a lot of elbow grease. The
control column assembly was started. In the process it was noted that
the LH aileron sprocket seemed to have a crescent shaped woodruff key in
a keyway for a long conventional key. In looking at the other control
column assembly it had a woodruff key and the keyway slot was added by
unknown helpers at some point in the plane’s life. Ed Pruss sanded the
new spars in preparation for the epoxy varnishing. The gear leg fabric
covering was started but bogged down as the “Collective Memory” of the
group failed to remember that there was a metal strip at the bottom of
the gear. The frustrated fabric folks got the needed clue from Dan Leur
and of coarse Mike Gugeler remembered
this detail when asked. Lesson learned-
wait to throw away the old fabric! Neatness can be harmful!
The nearly $700 of fasteners that Dave
Fisher donated are in neat containers on the workbench.
Thanks Dave. We can use donations of
cash, hardware, instruments, tires etc. to the 501c3 effort.
____________________________________________________________________________________
Last Workshop on 7th
of February :
Jim Denly made progress on the new spars for the first
wing by checking all of the holes drilled for
attaching fittings and marking the sets of holes as to
what fitting they were for. We have both welded and
cast aileron brackets and bell crank assemblies to
choose from.
Flat black paint was applied to the control column and
the cabin tubes under the windshield.
More comparison of the wings to the drawings ensued and
ribs were sorted into a set for each wing.
CAP visitation:
The Broomfield Civil Aircraft Patrol visited the shop on
7 February with about eight cadet and three
leaders. They looked, listened, asked questions and then
traveled to Longmont and did the same at the
Murray hangar.
Next Workshop on 21 st
of February :
The weather should continue to favor our workshops.
The runway is clear .
The emphasis will be:
1. A trial assembly of the spars, compression struts and
ribs for the first wing.
a. I am hoping that we will have a larger and more
legible wing assembly drawing.
2. The main landing gear legs are primed and ready for
fabric covering
3. The fabrication of new floorboard will be started
under Mike Gugeler.
4. The fuselage can
start to be populated with pulleys and maybe even control cables
(depending
on the condition of the ones we have. Some of the cables
have “navy tuck” at the end rather
than the crimped sleeves (we will probably redo those).
5. The fuselage
bottom stringers can be installed and material cut from the old spars
for the long
stringers on the top of the fuselage.
6. The rudder pedals
are primed and can be installed. The clamps that hold them in place need
to
be found, stripped, primed and painted.
Bottom line that there will some rummaging around in the
boxes and head scratching to figure what goes
where.
____________________________________________________________________
Last Workshop on January 17th:
Welding on the fuselage was completed.
Cleaning of the ribs continued.
Lots of flying.
Next Workshop on February 7th:
The fuselage is currently being cleaned
up in the area of the new welds and epoxy primed along with two
landing gears, a seat frame, rudder
pedals and the control column. The new spars for the first wing will
hopefully be ready for start of assembly
of the ribs to the spars. If that activity runs behind we will be
varnishing the spars at the workshop
The emphasis will be:
1. Adding MLG (Main Landing Gear) stops to the fuselage
frame and trial fitting
of the MLG.
2. Fabric covering of the MLG units.
3. Sorting, identification and Inspection of the wood
fairings, floors and stringers
etc. for the fuselage and determination of what pieces
are to be replaced and
which ones are to be cleaned up and varnished.
4. The ribs or the first wing will be ready to have
spray can etching primer applied
in the morning. After about an hour of dry time they can
be handled.
5. There are about 5 compression struts/wing to be
sorted into the three lengths and
installed.
6. We have a lot of sorting and inspection of cables
pulleys etc. to determine what
needs to be built or bought in order to populate the
fuselage.
As always the flying and discussions are a vital part of
the learning at these workshops. If
there is interest we can talk about the engineering
behind some of the structures such as
stress concentrations at doublers and why the cuts and
welds at splices are at an angle.
There is a good chance that Andy Park’s Museum at Platte
Valley will fly their
Taylorcraft over with an instructor (and Andy’s
daughter) and give some instruction in
their plane.
______________________________________________________________
Next Workshop on January 17th :
We are working off-line on the wing spars
and procurement of some ribs that were not found in the set of wings we
bought and some found to be beyond practical repair and in need of
replacement.
However ---we expect the Lafayette
Foundation from Platte Valley Airport to come over with their
Taylorcraft and offer some rides AND the Tiger Moth biplane that is in
the workshop hanger should be ready to have it’s wing hung. This is a
great opportunity for the group to participate and learn about the
peculiarities of assembling these grand old biplanes.
Jack Greiner would like to start removing
the engine from the red and white Aeronca Champ that many of you have
flown in and upgrading the motor to incorporate an electric starter and
alternator as worn it’s newer cousins.
The emphasis on the T-Cart will be:
1. Completion of the welding
a. Rosette welds on a splice in the
rear of the fuselage.
b. Welding a plate over the joint on
the LH top of the cabin.
2. Cleanup of the wing ribs. ( we can
carefully bead blast these built up ribs without distorting them)
3. If the spars are complete enough they
can be epoxy varnished.
This will be a somewhat different set of
experiences for participants – and the weather
forecast is favorable for work and
flying.
For information on Taylorcraft and
discussions about building up wings from
components (as we are) visit
http://vb.taylorcraft.org/indx.php
.
Workshop on January 3rd :
The first workshop of the year was an
abbreviated one with about five people in attendance. The group looked
over the work done and discussed the work ahead and how to phase the
work and what parts and supplies will be needed.
Next Workshop on 3 January 2008 10AM to
about 11AM:
Our hosts June and Jack Greiner will not
be available and Inspector Jim Denley will also not be there.
We may get more of the high winds. If so
the fly-in attendance will be limited for this weekend.
This will be a very abbreviated session.
We are awaiting wing spar completion with doublers, attach fitting holes
& bushings and fresh varnish. The fuselage is two small (rosette) welds
from being ready for inspection and priming. The wings seem to be short
several of the short ribs behind the rear spar in the aileron area.
We will be at antique Field from 10-11 AM
this Saturday for those of you who want to see the project or make
suggestions or offers of help.
Happy New Year and thanks from the T Cart Project Team
for
your participation and support.
December 20th Workshop:
1. The fuselage received two new tabs for
attaching the wood trim.
2. The decision was made to use new spars
and the wing ribs were removed from the old spars.
3. The aileron was reassembled after
inserting the correct (left hand) spar.
IF you intend to fly in after rain or snow—check with
Georg Becker or Jack Greiner for runway conditions.
December 20th Workshop Agenda 10AM until
2:00 (note early finish) PM:
The emphasis will be:
1. Completion of the fuselage
welding.
a. Tabs for wood stringers at
front.
b. Reinforcing plate over spar
carry thru tube at LH top.
c. Examination of remaining
fuselage for areas needing attention.
d. Missing rosette welds (used to
retain inner tube in splices)...
2. Work on two new spars for the
first wing. Because of time constraints this may be epoxy varnishing
of the spars –except for areas that will be in the glue under new
doublers.
3. The spars will also need to have
fiber bushings made and several holes drilled before they are ready
for installation.
4. If we get far enough we can clean
up the weld areas and phosphate etch the fuselage to inhibit
rusting until we get a weather warm
enough to apply epoxy primer.
5. Strips of 4130 chrome moly steel
will be available for fabrication of the fuselage tabs.
6. We may chose to anti-corrosion
treat the wing ribs by etching and anodizing them! We have some deep
tubs ( Holiday wrapping tubs) for the etching and for the conversion
coating..
7. The aileron is progressing nicely
and can be further assembled.
I anticipate a slightly shorter workshop because of
the other activities of the season and because we need to do some
off-line work on the spars to prepare them for wing assembly.
We are expecting typical unpredictable Colorado Late
Fall weather and the forecasts vary from cold to colder and snowy
depending on what channel you watch! We’ll work with whatever
weather we get!
December 5th Workshop Report:
The fuselage welding is nearly
complete with only the addition of a few small tabs remaining.
A decision was made to replace both
spars in each wing and the wing spars were rather quickly removed.
The ribs received quite a bit of
cleanup and repair.
The built up Taylorcraft ribs are
repaired using the same techniques as used on Piper Cubs and other
classic aircraft using built up metal ribs.
December 6 th
Workshop Agenda:
The emphasis will be on:
1. Setting the fuselage onto the long table to
allow checks on the alignment of the rear portion.
2. A check to see if the (1946) rudder we have
(covered) has the same number of hinges as the (1945) fuselage and
vertical stabilizer.
3. Continuation of the covering –weather
permitting.
4. Continuation of work on the RH wing with some
rib repairs (using the repair technique used on Piper Cubs),
varnishing of the spars and straightening of the wing tip.
November 15th Workshop
Report:
There was a good turnout of young and
young-at-heart volunteers.
One of the attendees was Dave Margos
from Erie who brought his Taylorcraft and had some valuable
information on Taylorcrafts and modification to them. His T Cart has
small “wings” under the horizontal stabilizer which are the
adjustable trim (as on L-2’s?).
Work continued on the fuselage with
Bob Green finishing the welding on the new front spar carry thru and
welding on the RH gear fitting after it had been brought into
alignment. The landing gear and wing attach fittings are now in
alignment! The bracket for the elevator trim control was welded into
place. The front of the fuselage is now in good shape and needs only
addition of the thin brackets for the wood cabin roof stringer and
addition of a doubler over the LH end of the front spar carry thru.
The next work session 3 May from 10AM
to 3 PM:
Work will continue on
the three tail surfaces to get them thru PolyBrush and rib lacing in
order to have them for show-and-tell at the picnic.
The rudder needs a new
tubing section at the lower trailing edge and this will be a good
opportunity to demonstrate tube bending and fitting.
I am working to have a
fixture cage to locate the gear and wing attach fittings in their
correct locations as more tubing is cut out off the RH side. With the
cage in place the frame can be cut apart enough to bring the fittings
into position.
We look forward to
participation by as many interested members and non-members as possible.
The last work session (19 April ):
We gained two new (family) memberships. Oliver & Quinton Hennigh and
Alec & Bill Gee
We had most of our youth back and participating in covering and the
fuselage examinations- and asking good questions.
The
two horizontal stabilizers and the RH elevator (which had been
sandblasted in Ft Collins at AJs Enterprises and epoxy primed by Mike
Gugeler) were wrapped with fabric and shrunk.
The jig table was
covered with white paper and stations for the fuselage frame marked
along with a centerline.
The fuselage was
placed on the jig table and leveled so that the thrust line (and datum
for the drawing) were horizontal and centered above the centerline on
the table.
Measurements showed
the top and LH side of the fuselage to be in reasonably good alignment.
The lower left of the fuselage (at a major repair) has the gear attach
fittings not horizontal or parallel to the LH gear attach points.
The lower longeron
tubing at this area had pinholes and a section was cut out (releasing
the pent up stress in that area) revealing the poor splice at this point
but showing no significant internal corrosion.
A
plan of attack slowly has emerged!
ü
New
tubing is in the shop ready for use. .75” ODx.035” from Univair at a
good discount and some 16’ sticks of .625”, .50” and .375” from our
stock (we’ll charge Chassis Shop rates for amounts used).
ü
The
wood for replacement wing and aileron spars is on order.
ü
The
crankcase and crank are to be sent to AES for evaluation and
certification.
ü
The
condition of the crank and case will determine the price for the C-85
core.
ü
The
plan is to get the case machined including the through bolting mod. And
the crank machined and wait to do cylinders, accessory case, cam etc
until downstream closer to when the T-cart needs trust amd hopefully
after the chapter funds have recovered some of the lost value.
ü
Georg Becker delivered the Bill of sale for the airframe.
Update on the upcoming April 19th Work session
The April 19th session
will be at the Greiner and Becker hangers from 10-3.
come early and sign the list for lunch if you intend to
stay hand help thru the day.
We
need participation from AAA members to get your input
and guidance on various aspects of the restoration. The
objective is to use the project to stimulate discussions
on how and how not to do the tasks and meet the
challenges of sucjh a restoration. Discussion is
encouraged but in at the end of the day the vote goes to
those signing the paperwork. This can be a venue to
learn how to do those nasty repairs the most efficient
way!
Jack
had the tail surfaced sandblasted in Ft Collins.
Mike
Gugeler has primed the tail surfaces and the horizontal
tail surfaces should be ready for
final [flight] cover. This weekend.
The
material to fabricate new spars from is on order from
Wicks.
Steel
tubing to build a new aft bottom for the fuselage is in
Jack’s hanger as is a table on which to jig the bottom.
Help with the fitting and welding will be needed.
Further examination of the fuselage and plans for the
repairs will be a task for this weekend.
It
will involve the building of appropriate jigs for the
fuselage parts and determination of how the perairs can
be made in compliance with FAR Part 43 “Acceptable
methods, Techniques, and Practices –Aircraft Inspection
and Repair”.
On the
power plant side of the project this is a prime
opportunity to make a determination as to whether to
send the crankshaft, and perhaps rods and camshaft out
for magniflux inspection and rework to airworthy “Yellow
tag” condition.
It should be a beautiful weekend – come participate and
support our chapter and the freedom of general aviation
in the USA!
|
Bob's Report of March 28 including Next Work Session Information
The Taylorcraft restoration workshops are
continuing to draw about thirty interested youth, members and
potential members per session with most people being repeat
participants and the list of participants to date exceeding 45!!!
The next Event will be participation in the
EAA Chapter 43 Erie Tri-County "Snow buster Pancake Breakfast" from
7:30 to about 11 AM on 5 April.
Our intent is get as many of the potential members and as man of the
youth that are participants in the cleanup of TCart parts to attend
with rides for as many of the youth as we can muster. I also hope to
get a Taylorcraft or two so the kids can see what the pile of parts
can be assembled into!! Aeroncas, Taylorcrafts and Hatz to
participate.
The following Workshop will be 19 April.
We need experienced members to help with the workshops and
socializing. Bring a buddy.
We need photos of the project (Thurman?) and membership forms
(Barb?) for the Snow buster.
After that event winds down we can adjourn to Antique field to cut
into our fuselage and further assess it's condition, move a fuselage
jig table into Jack's hanger and discuss inspection and defects of
tubing and wood (spars).
Dan Luer has provided four CDs with L2 drawings -- some parts may be
common with the BC12D---for which we thank him.
Jim Denly and I visited a local Taylorcraft project --with a
fuselage requiring as much repair as ours. We obtained an
illustrated parts manual to copy and a lot of other information.
Mike Guguler is pursuing the donation or purchase of new spar blanks
( wing and aileron) Aircraft Spruce.
There needs to be a more extensive sorting of ribs to see exactly
what our stock of usable ribs is.
We are looking for .75" x .035" tubing for lower longerons -if we go
the route of building a new bottom for the fuselage.
Bob Leyner Project Manager 303-931-3867
Bob's Report Of the March 1st Session
There was a good turnout on the
March 1st session and
several people including about four
of our younger helpers worked with
Mike Gugeler to cover one of the
horizontal stabilizers with
“workshop (non-flight) fabric up
thru the pink PolyBrush and rib
lacing!
The fuselage was stripped down to
the bare frame which was later
transported (by Ramrod Jack) to Ft
Collins where it was sandblasted. It
proceeded to leak oil from some
pinholes in the tubing. This
Wednesday the core team of six
looked at the tubing and concluded
that it is probably repairable –
pending a closer examination of the
entire frame.
-
Therefore one of the primary
activities will be the
examination of the frame and may
include drilling some inspection
holes. This is an opportunity to
experience a real life corrosion
examination and learn the
criteria for acceptance and the
acceptable repair methods for
the defects that may be found.
-
There is currently an
opportunity to sell a pair of
gear legs that are slightly less
desirable than the two we
removed fabric from at the last
session. A group will be
assigned to clean up that pair
for sale.
-
The third activity of the
Airframe Workshop will be the
cleanup of the horizontal
stabilizers, elevators and
rudder and vertical stabilizer
(the whole empennage ) for
priming and covering for flight.
In
the Engine Workshop the teardown
will continue and should result in
exposing the crankshaft, camshaft
and other internal organs of the
mighty 85 HP Continental.
We will have gloves and safety
glasses – wear work clothes!
Bob Leyner
Project Manager
|
