My new plane, 4971H

[cafi19]

Douten,

SJ has you covered. Click on the "help me" button on the home page and click on the 3rd video. It walks you through attaching pictures. Real easy!

cafi

[39-J3]

Tom, I haven't figured out how to do the pictures yet, will need to have someone walk me through it sometime. Had a good time but only got in a couple of hours as I had to work last night ( Today it's better than yesterday so may need another fix ). Thanks Chris you made me feel better X2.

Sounds like a good excuse to drop in and show you how to post pictures!! What do you say Tom Ford, JP, Scouter, PZinck, Rene and FMD? Impromptu Fly In???

Larry

[RaisedByWolves]

Sounds like a good excuse to drop in and show you how to post pictures!! What do you say Tom Ford, JP, Scouter, PZinck, Rene and FMD? Impromptu Fly In???

Larry

Like i need an excuse to fly...

I'm in


Chris, finish your -11 and you could be having this much fun...

[nesincg]

When I finish it, it'll be half the weight of that chump. Speaking of, who did you bribe to make the calendar?

[RaisedByWolves]

I don't know. Maybe SJ wasn't wearing his glasses and accidentally put that in there. Pretty cool though.

And I don't think your -11 will weigh 500lb empty....
My next plane will be lighter. Gotta find one to rebuild.

[Douten]

Tom Keep flying with Glenn, Tim, John,and Dick and before you know it you will be rebuilding the plane your flying. MikeDick beach is a good place to start making flying airplanes into projects . Glenn got your message just been too busy to get back to you.

[RaisedByWolves]

Ha. I don't want my flying plane to be the project though. Only way I will go to mike dick beach is the same way you do... On floats.

I'm going to torment err check on Tim's project now.

[swoeric]

wow cleaning and blasting looks like no fun at all...you might try a section of sewer pipe cut in half...methylene chloride to remove the paint painlessly..couple hours or so... alodine separately..prime separate....you might just check to see how cheap it would be for a metal finisher near you to just do it...you could have it all stripped alodined and painted in a day

[WindOnHisNose]

Chris, I just wanted to say that I have enjoyed and had many, many positive comments about the piece of 71H I obtained from you. I had it, a copy of Rinker's book and the letter with your diagram framed and hanging in my hangar. It is a great addition. Thank you.

photo (12).JPG

Randy

[nesincg]

So the part about running out of parts to clean was dead wrong when it came to the ribs. I haven't posted much because all I've been doing is cleaning ribs. It honestly took me several hours and several cleaning per rib. That doesn't include the compression struts false ribs and all the other aluminum parts.



Also a setback was the unavailability of more Alumiprep 33 that I ran out of from Wicks aircraft. I waited several weeks and then gave up and paid the hazard shipping from Spruce. I now have hundreds of clean parts scattered around my guest bedroom and under our bed. Its official, this project is taking up living space.



P1040981.JPG Snowboard hard side tube makes excellent transportation of ribs. Airline safe.


I was able to make it down for to Texas and work on several ribs at Pierce's seminar. Rib repair is a rather simple process when you have some wood jig and several experienced people showing how fix stuff correctly. I brought with me a rib repair kit from Wag Aero (I know farris, but they had them and Univair didn't.). I got in late Sunday but by Monday I had 4 or 5 people working away on rib repair.

P1040933.jpg P1040978.jpgP1040979.jpg

By Tuesday I was working on the small outside ribs repairing them, thinking I would never be able to get to them. I also used a new/old stock nose repair kit on one of my ribs which worked GREAT but later found out was part of Steve's sacred “don't you even F*&$ing think about touching this stuff” stash. If you find some they are a great way for repairing whole section in front of spar. After a big backlash, and Steve's help, I was able to find 3 and send them to Steve. I now have all original ribs except for the butt ribs which I will replace dues to the amount of holes.

Because of an impending snow-storm in STL on Thursday, I left on Wednesday but happy I accomplished all my goals. I was a bit sad about not being able to help somebody else on another project. I was ready to start fitting pipe on Chris Pierce's 18 but needed to leave for DAL to catch my flight. I was also not able to bring my ailerons to be worked on because they don't fit in checked baggage. There might be a possible short trip back to Graham to work on them, by car (Driving is for the birds).

P1040982.JPGSteve's simple but very useful rib jig.



Just before I left, I bartered with Steve and got a pair of new landing gear, shock sets, and a horizontal stab. All mine were bent or pitted and unusable. I might had a good short strut but they were well used and I felt I didn't want to risk gear collapse. At least for the first few years, I won't have safety cables on my gear so this was some added insurance vs the well used pieces. Bill and Yvette dropped by for the night on their way back from TX and delivered my new goodies. Unfortunately, I forgot to get two compression struts and some N brace parts I badly needed.



Thanks again for everyone that helped me down there. Too many to name. Also thanks for dealing with my retentiveness and me watching over your shoulder.

[Steve Pierce]

Got the replacement repair sections yesterday Chris. You and Travis are now back in good standing. I will dig you up some compression struts.

[fly_cubs]

Steve, you are going to let them off with just replacing the parts? I think some alone time with Paco is in order for them to fully pay back their transgressions.....

[nesincg]

I spent the last few putting my new found welding skills to work. For Christmas, my wife decided that I needed a new Tig welder. It was a surprise, and I don't care if I really needed it, because it is fun to use and make stuff. First thing last month was to make a welding table. Looks ok, works great, just the size for my 1 car garage. Fits over the machine to save space when not in use.

P1050043.jpg


P1050042.jpgTuesday I started out with a good(ish) rudder pedal



P1050011.jpgAnd made this horribly ugly but useful jig



Each rudder pedal was used so much, that the shoes had worn almost through, and in the front pedals, actually through them in spots. Sticking with my idea of preservation, I decided to repair them. And it does save a ton of money. Yes, I'm working on saving money to pay for the Tig too.

P1050037.jpgFirst I cut the cable attachment off, grind and sand for re-use.


P1050026.jpgExactly like I did repairing the longerons, I repaired the pedals. Start by cutting around the weld.



P1050024.jpg Then cut right in the middle.

P1050029.jpgThen grind the weld until you get close to the tubing. Then sand the tubing until you can see a small gap where the metal meets.

P1050035.jpgJust a bit more fine grinding and the old tube will pry out.


P1050040.jpg Then weld the new one with the ends back together. Whola, I have 4 brand new quality but original pedals.



There was also quite a bit of corrosion on the aileron hinge, extension, thingy, holder, so I decided to make six new ones. Love the 3” wide flat 4130 you can buy from Spruce and make most of the parts you desire. I flattened one, sandwiched it on 6 right size pieces, then cut and drilled them to shape. A bit of bending and I was in business.
P1050015.jpgP1050020.jpgP1050012.jpgI also managed to repair an aileron travel limit where one of the tubes had rusted away but the rest was in fine shape.

Yesterday I tried to make a new aileron rear spar attachment extension thingys. The thicker steel 4130 put up a good fight but my mechanics brake finally put shape to it. I got the bend off just one thickness and will probably not work. I'll give one more try before I scrap it and just buy a new one.

[Steve Pierce]

Looks great Chris.

[nesincg]

So someone asked my by PM "If I had to do it over again, would I have done it again." It was a fair question, but not a simple answer. To others whom may have the same, I'm posting my answer below.
----------------------------------------

Honestly to me the fuselage had more history behind it then just the tail number. To me, it was not the same just to build a brand new plane and slap the tail number on it. Had it been another plane, and my only restoration, I would have considered a new fuselage more.

But another question you ask is about the sense of accomplishment I feel. It is great. I've always done things myself, though. I was taught to by my dad who did everything as well. I repair my cars, I've built boats, and even musical instruments. I redid my entire kitchen myself including inlaid tile flooring and custom cabinets built from 4x8 sheets of plywood. About the only thing I don't do myself is drywall, painting, and roofing. Other then that, I get a great sense of accomplishment from creating physical stuff.

But it can be stressful at times. I'm not the type of person who can stop working on a unfinished project and then settle down in the evening. I focus on it all the time. You have to do more then participate too. I estimate, I've done 90% of the grunt work so far. Many people have given me a lot of guidance and shown technique, but I've done the physical and a lot of the mental work.

It is a TON of work. So the answer is: After learning all the knowledge and acquiring all my new skills, build an experimental cub. They don't have that great of a resale value. But if you never sell it, what does it matter. If a certified cub came into my hands, I'd do the repairs vs new fuselage, but only because I already have done it. Don't do the repairs just because it may be cheaper, it won't be worth your time. It may actually cost less, but your satisfaction won't amount enough to the time lost.

[Greg Campbell]

Chris, hang in there, the hotel is yours for a reason. You're breathing life into a legendary plane. I've watched with my own eyes the devotion you've put into the Hotel. The best things in life are worth the grind. Get It Done Brother. Greg

[nesincg]

So I need some info. I don't have the book in front of me, but near the front is a picture of Kern from when he did his first solo. Behind him is a nice view of the instrument panel. Anyone have an idea of sizes and placement on the dash? I may not do it exactly like this, but will try to be somewhat close. Are they black faced? Time to send some instruments out.

I've been unable to get a hold of the brothers for these details. I wish to respect their privacy.

Thanks Greg. We shall meet again someday with our new planes at a fly-in.
Chris

[RaisedByWolves]

ImageUploadedByTapatalk1362479427.824798.jpg

That the one?

[nesincg]

Yeah. Thanks Tom. That's it.

[Bill Rusk]

Chris

I have really enjoyed your thread. Keep the faith. You are doing an awesome job with a wonderful piece of history.


Bill

[Flying Miss Daisy]

So the part about running out of parts to clean was dead wrong when it came to the ribs. I haven't posted much because all I've been doing is cleaning ribs. It honestly took me several hours and several cleaning per rib. That doesn't include the compression struts false ribs and all the other aluminum parts.



Also a setback was the unavailability of more Alumiprep 33 that I ran out of from Wicks aircraft. I waited several weeks and then gave up and paid the hazard shipping from Spruce. I now have hundreds of clean parts scattered around my guest bedroom and under our bed. Its official, this project is taking up living space.



P1040981.JPG Snowboard hard side tube makes excellent transportation of ribs. Airline safe.


I was able to make it down for to Texas and work on several ribs at Pierce's seminar. Rib repair is a rather simple process when you have some wood jig and several experienced people showing how fix stuff correctly. I brought with me a rib repair kit from Wag Aero (I know farris, but they had them and Univair didn't.). I got in late Sunday but by Monday I had 4 or 5 people working away on rib repair.

P1040933.jpg P1040978.jpgP1040979.jpg

By Tuesday I was working on the small outside ribs repairing them, thinking I would never be able to get to them. I also used a new/old stock nose repair kit on one of my ribs which worked GREAT but later found out was part of Steve's sacred “don't you even F*&$ing think about touching this stuff” stash. If you find some they are a great way for repairing whole section in front of spar. After a big backlash, and Steve's help, I was able to find 3 and send them to Steve. I now have all original ribs except for the butt ribs which I will replace dues to the amount of holes.

Because of an impending snow-storm in STL on Thursday, I left on Wednesday but happy I accomplished all my goals. I was a bit sad about not being able to help somebody else on another project. I was ready to start fitting pipe on Chris Pierce's 18 but needed to leave for DAL to catch my flight. I was also not able to bring my ailerons to be worked on because they don't fit in checked baggage. There might be a possible short trip back to Graham to work on them, by car (Driving is for the birds).

P1040982.JPGSteve's simple but very useful rib jig.



Just before I left, I bartered with Steve and got a pair of new landing gear, shock sets, and a horizontal stab. All mine were bent or pitted and unusable. I might had a good short strut but they were well used and I felt I didn't want to risk gear collapse. At least for the first few years, I won't have safety cables on my gear so this was some added insurance vs the well used pieces. Bill and Yvette dropped by for the night on their way back from TX and delivered my new goodies. Unfortunately, I forgot to get two compression struts and some N brace parts I badly needed.



Thanks again for everyone that helped me down there. Too many to name. Also thanks for dealing with my retentiveness and me watching over your shoulder.

I guess I need to ask what this means....retentiveness....... Were you obstinate with your free help!!! or am I being obtuse Keep the faith man this plane is in the right hands I have come to learn.

[nesincg]

Since i had gotten all my ribs repaired in Graham, I was itching to put my wings together. But I was really nowhere near. There was some aileron work to be done, a bit more blasting, and a ton of painting.

I decided that I was going to take the wings down to Charlie Aaron for assembly. Since he will be doing the cover and paint and has the know how, I thought it prudent just to get them down there. Besides I really didn't want to risk trailing fully assembled wings 500 miles.

P1050047.jpg Not much room to work when I have my Jeep pulled into the garage.

So, a week ago I was welding up what looks to be a trident for the front and back of my Jeep. I didn't want to put 17 foot spars on an 8 foot trailer because how far they stick out and the beating they'd take riding the light trailer load. So Saturday I enlisted my friend Stewart's help and we carefully sandwiched all spars together. To keep it rigid, and waterproof, we wrapped the spars in plastic wrap and put 8 foot sections of 1x6 pine to stiffen it more. Just fitting the length of my Jeep, it looked like a giant joust.

P1050056.jpg Strapping the front trident. My welds held at 80mph no problem.

Last Sunday was spent wrapping and packing everything else into the inside of the Jeep. It is amazingly light but bulky stuff. April mentioned it looked like we were being evicted because of all the junk in the yard. Poor Lenny was quite unhappy there was no room for him. Besides I had to go straight to work and would be upset at me for leaving him with strangers.

P1050053.jpgLooking like being evicted from the house.

Staying the night on the road, I got to RM Harris airport Monday morning. I quickly wasted the day away unpacking, eating Mexican, and listening to Charlie and the Donald stories. Donald and Becky had come out in the afternoon to help me with my project. We cleaned up some compression struts, touched up some ribs and alodined the aluminum repairs getting them all ready for paint. Thanks to Charlie and Steve Pierce, I now have all aluminum drag and N struts getting rid of the heavier steel ones.

Tuesday and Wednesday I was up to a number of things around Charlies hangar. One task was cleaning up the right aileron getting it ready for re-assembly and disassembling the right aileron hinges. If you don't do this during your recover, this an eyeopener for you. Those steel hinges look real ugly on the back side. Luckily my aileron spar was serviceable and we'll be putting them back together soon.

P1050066.jpg P1050061.jpg Front and Back. Drill rivets from the back require a bit of drilling.
P1050065.jpgP1050069.jpg Taking off trim and removing trailing edge allows access to drill.
P1050070.jpg The whole reason you take these apart. Both these parts cleaned up fine but leaving them as is could be a disaster. The middle hinge with the control horn is even more difficult to disassemble.

Thursday ended up being crazy paint day for Charlie and I in the hangar. Each wing consists of 7,340 parts, all of them that should be painted on these older wings. I might be a little off on the parts count but it sure was 4 paint booths FULL and a long ass day of hanging parts. After each would dry, we'd search around the hangar for any space that they could hang to cure for the night without being damaged.

drying.jpg Parts hung all over the place

During the time that he would paint, I devoted to finish repairing his blast cabinet. Charlie is a very busy guy with projects recently and hasn't had the time to fix it. Since he was painting my parts, it was a great time to work on it. Other than cleaning the glass, putting on new sheets, and installing a new light system all it needed was a new gun. I had ordered a new one from Amazon and after lunch I was in business blasting the remaining aileron hinges.

20130306_161501.jpgApril mentioned this looks like an art installation and I should photoshop out the bucket.

Friday was a shorter day as I had to leave at 4pm. I placed a hefty order with Univair for all the wing parts that I still needed. We ended up doing the forth paint booth spray early afternoon after I'd hung up all the parts. The drag wires, and all their intricate pieces just take forever to get hung up.

I had to leave with a few items I really wanted to get done, but had gotten most pre-assembly items completed. I left NW Georgia with a nice stockpile of wing parts ready to be put together. After the Univair parts come in, I should have all the pieces for assembly. I hope to get back there a week from now and start that process. Super excited.

P1050082.jpgEverything ready to be put together. Well almost. I had a paint booth full of parts I didn't get a chance to put away.

[nesincg]

We are live again on Ustream, for a short time before dinner. Don't tell charlie.

[RaisedByWolves]

Got a link?

[SJ]

http://www.ustream.tv/embed/10198913

[Darrel Starr]

This is a very worthwhile project -- I loved the book. Please keep at it and return this iconic plane to the air.
http://www.randomhouse.com/boldtype/...interview.html

[royevansii]

Looking great Chris! We're about at the same steps on our projects! This week we're rebuilding the left wing/aileron.

[nesincg]

Looking great Chris! We're about at the same steps on our projects! This week we're rebuilding the left wing/aileron.

Looks like you got your frame all done. I'm still months (or maybe years) away on that. I do need the motivation.

Ustream is on and off over the next couple of days. Charlie is under the weather so can help when he can. Actually, Charlie comes out and gets more done in 1 hr then i do in 5.

[nesincg]

March 19^th


Well, if I could find my camera, I'd post some pictures. In the mean time, some narrative. Maybe I can throw in some camera phone pics.


Saturday I got in after lunch and met Charlie as he was getting out of the paint booth. It was a beautiful day and I had the top back on my Jeep for the first time this year. That was exciting. I had some aileron work to do but Charlie asked what I wanted to do. “I want to put some wings together!!!” I answered.


So out came the Left spars from their plastic wrap. Starting with the N strut and the two spars, we quickly added my numbered ribs and formed the base look of the wing. This was simple and it looks like you are getting so much done in such a quick time. Charlie started putting in the tiny #4 screws into through the ribs with lightning speed. I could get one done in the time it took him 5.


Charlie then started adding more compression struts not forgetting the drag wire attachment fittings. Check back on my pictures we had to double check pulley locations to make sure things were going together.

891654_548633545167932_240250614_o.jpg Wing quickly takes shape.

Another reason I wanted to start the wing was to check that I had all the parts that I needed to get the other wing started. I'm not sure why I was in a hurry. Take any good plan in cub rebuilding and easily double it. I might could start putting the other together but I'd be taking up more room than is needed. Time to keep the focus on the Left wing.


Sunday Charlie woke up with an awful cold and looked as well as sounded bad. I could tell he really wanted to help me but he needed the rest more. He came out a few times during the day to find tools for me and give some pointers.


Since I was pretty well into the aileron repair, and that is a single person job, I kept at that all day. I had to replace one leading edge skin because of a hole that had just been taped over. That along with the steel hinge rehab, I had LOTS of work to do. By 9pm, I was building a jig of sorts to hold the aileron at all the proper points and by 1am I called it quits.


Monday Charlie felt ok in the morning and worked for a few hours with me. Becky and the Donald were suppose come by and help out but Donald decided to sleep in and not bother. Charlie was able to give Becky work putting on false ribs and wing bow attachment fittings. I was there helped some but mainly kept to my corner working on the DARN ailerons.


The afternoon I was solo again and did some work on the aileron cove but really needed to return to my aileron table. I needed this left one and soon so we could attach it too the wing and place all the hinge supports in place and line everything up. Quite a bit of stuff depended on it being done.


The center hinge and control horn were just a disaster to get back together. This took hours. They are very tough steel rivets and take a lot of work to get in. I finally was able to get them in but not without lots of cuts, bruises, and swear words. Then goes the re-assembly of the rest.

886145_549579898406630_1341722412_o.jpgGood as new.

I could hear Steve Pierce saying “I told you so.” all day long. If I had to do it all over again, I'd probably order a new set and sell the old. If you find a lot of corrosion, best know what you're doing and have a lot of time to do it correctly. At some point I wanted to toss them out the door but I'd come too far, and needed them on the wing. At 1:30am, I finished the left one and hung it on the wing and cam in side to do the update. I imagine it'll be a later start in the morning after copious amounts of coffee.

[nesincg]

As it turns out, it was a good thing I stayed up until 2am to finish my left aileron. On Tuesday, Donald and Charlie had to have the aileron to move forward on my wing assembly. You need to have it on to line up the aileron hinges before you attach them to the fast spar (aileron cove). This makes these pieces amazingly rigid. You also need the aileron to line up and space the ribs at each end of the aileron. Cutting the rib tip bow to the correct length also requires the aileron. While is as an amazing amount of work, Farris pointed out I did save at least 2K that I can put towards my engine fund.

P1050089.jpgP1050096.jpgInstalling drag wires and drilling for aileron brackets.

By Tuesday evening we had gotten the drag wires trammeled and tight. We had gotten all the way to starting on the leading edge. Never throw away that outside compound curved leading edge. Charlie was able to work magic getting all of the noticeable dents out because this aluminum is so soft.

Wednesday Charlie worked a bit in the morning and then again had to retreat due to sickness. I really felt bad that he would come out when I know he really needed the rest. We got the next two sections of leading edge done in reasonable time. We spend the extra time making all the cuts and using sheet aluminum instead of the Univair leading edges. This is stronger T3 and I can't give away Charlie's secret for getting the curves just right.

P1050098.jpgP1050102.jpgMark and I cutting out and bending compound curves at fuel tank.

After lunch, my friend Mark, whom I've know since childhood, drove over from Alabama and was able to lend a helping hand. He had recently read the book and, as many, wanted to contribute to the rebuild. He is an engineer by trade and was the perfect person to assign the last leading edge skin what has compound curves for the wing tank.. It took him a while but was perfect in the end. Donald was again a no-show but Becky stopped by and I put her to work screwing in many of the braces that are in the tank bay area. Mark and I worked pretty much until 11pm finishing up the leading edge and getting it ready for cover. We celebrated our accomplishment with a bit of Tennessee water from the Lynchburg area.

P1050107.jpgThe finished edge, after Mark and to clean it for the picture.

Thursday morning we were able to able to start prep for fabric. Actually, Charlie worked like mad and we stay back watching with awe. Mark and I are trying to watch but any help is really just getting in his way. We were trying to weld up a wing rotator for Charlie while trying to soak up his style for covering at the same time. The Donald was back just before lunch and assisted him better since he had prior experience working with him. By the evening, Charlie was brushing on coats of dope to the top cover.

P1050127.jpgP1050128.jpgCharlie brushing on one of the MANY coats of dope.

Thursday evening I stayed up until about 11pm finishing up the right aileron. This one required no leading edge repair and I'd learned how to assemble it faster. I guess its a toss up weather to buy new ones now but it sure was good for my budget, but not for my time.


Friday morning was mostly clean up and go home day. I left Charlie in the middle of prepping to put on the bottom fabric. I really wanted to stay but I had to see my Wife at home for a few days before proceeding off to work again. Donald and Becky promised to return next week to help Charlie with any more duties and hopefully soon I'll have one finished wing. It is amazing the amount of work that goes into assembling one wing.

P1050124.jpgCharlie standing on a bucket to reach the middle of the wide part of the wing. He tried for days to con me into installing flaps.

I hope to return on April 15^th . The plan is to start putting together the right wing as well as do a LOT of rip stitching. I hope to finish down there for the time being so I can focus on the fuselage. I have some guests coming for a work party in May that expect to get a lot of stuff done.

[RaisedByWolves]

Wow at that rate, you will be flying by summer.

[Charlie Aileron]

Got fabric on bottom of wing. Ready for Chris to rib stitch.Bottom covered.jpg

[nesincg]

No pictures here, just an update.


Well this week was not quite a airplane rebuild oriented as I'd of hoped but I did get some important things done. Some other things were done without me even contributing.


Last Sunday was spent with April and friends celebrating Easter with a wonderful brunch. Easter is always a great excuse not to be productive. We did manage to take down a neighbors tree and start hording firewood for net winter. I think I'm the only person in the city limits that has a chain saw and log splitter. Gotta feed that wood stove.


Monday was do the taxes day and other importatant items day. About 14 hours worth. Good and bad, they are all complete which allows me to go on the 15^th back down to Georgia. Tuesday was similar but I started focusing on ordering parts for the build. The expensive part. I also started cleaning up the garage. With only a one car garage to work with, things need to be reorganized many times. With all the wing parts out, it is time to focus on the Fuselage.


Sometime while I've been gone, Charlie and Donald were up to plenty good down in Georgia. As posted, the bottom of the wing got covered. Later the whole wing was rib stitched. I can't say I “missed”this portion of the build but I'm sure there will be other stitching to do. They finished up the entire wing, glued all the tape, and added all the inspection grommets.


Wednesday was organizing remaining parts in the garage. In the afternoon, I got my handy folding trailer out and picked up the fuselage. There was somewhat of a panic as I seemed to be missing many parts that need painting. I searched where I blasted the parts and searched my rather empty hangar but to no avail. All was solved when the wife got home. “Hon, you put all those parts in the guest bedroom.” Saved again by my better half.


Today I made a pretty simple dolly with casters for moving the fuselage around my tight garage. I got the old boot cowl out as well as my new instrument panel. I checked to see how it fit and to aid in the construction and fit of the new boot cowl I've yet to make With my pre-made firewall from Clyde, I don't expect too many hassles. But then again, I should have finished this part a year ago.


So floorboards and lot of parts from Dakota Cub should be on their way soon so I can start getting interior done. Mid May I have a work party scheduled in STL. Farris and Ford, the “youngons” that probably know more than me, are coming out to lend a hand on 71H. My wife April has graciously taken off 3 days at the end of April to help me on the Hotel and get ready for this party. I hope to get the boot cowl complete and the floorboards cut out. Maybe a bunch of nutplates installed. Anyone else that wishes to come out and lend a hand, just let me know, however I'm all out of Southwest points.


I've decided to keep my C-85 as the Buck boys did, but do the 0-200 crank STC. I always loved the performance of the C-90 but they are just too rare and pricey. It'll be nice at the airshows to say it still an “85”. Ford will be here a bit longer so I he will probably get assigned the job of looking into the needed parts and maybe even start the overhaul process.


I'm spending the next few days with only the wife on a short get-away. This is much needed alone time since, with work requirements, I'll be away for most of the next three weeks. Probably no more updates until I get back to GA sometime on tax day.

[kevin]

Chris, I've got a friend here who has a C85 with O200 crank WITH a lightweight starter and battery in his J3. That set up is real nice. Consider installing a starter and battery. If you do it right, you can hide the starter button and battery and you will still look stock.

Kevin

[nesincg]

Hi Kevin,
Thanks for the suggestion. I'm going to make the simple mod that will allow the install of the lightweight starter and leave the brackets for the battery. That will be for later in life, but for now, I don't have problems with the hand prop.
Chris

[nesincg]

Flight of Passage is now available on your favorite ebook. Available for download.

[nesincg]

Anyone want to pick me up in STL and fly down to 4GA4 next week to work on a wing? So not looking forward to this drive.

[nesincg]

So last Monday morning, I woke up at 4:30am and started the long process of getting to Eton, Georgia where 71H is being assembled. My goal for this week was to build my right wing up and finish Charlie's wing rotator I had promised him. I had decided to bring someone with me to keep me company on the long drive, instead Lenny snoozed in the back seat the whole way, waking only on the pit stops. As was my first goal, 7 hours later I pulled in behind Charlie, Janice and the Donald just as they where getting back from lunch.

20130416_102813.jpgLenny "helping" me in the hangar.

Charlie had already cleared some room and laid out the Spars in order to facilitate some progress. I had 3 parts that needed to be cleaned before Charlie could prime them and this wing could be fully assembled. I got to working on those while Charlie speed cut grass on his runway that had been growing vigorously since my last visit. He painted the pieces when he was done and we hung them to dry.

20130416_215011.jpgCharlie got this much done without any of my help.

Charlie then said “Get to welding.”, my indication that I need to get with finishing the rotator. In all reality, I probably would slow down Charlie as he assembles a wing from scratch. My numbering of the ribs did help with that portion and I'm glad I kept re-numbering them through the disassemble, cleaning, and painting progress. Charlie is a wiz with the long number 1 flat head screw and can have all eight #4x4 screws in one rib in no time.

20130415_210435.jpg Pre-fitting the hula hoop

I spent the better part of the first 48 hours working on the rotator while Charlie put my wing together. Working off my memory an two pictures of Steve pierces rotator, I started welding the pieces. We had gotten a local shop to bend the the large ring that holds the strut end. It is pretty amusing calling around and asking people if they can weld up a 7 foot steel hula hoop. They did kind of a crappy job, but it turned out that not perfectly round was not a big deal.

I was shopping the local Tractor supply searching for idler pulleys for the hula hoop to rotate on. Always looking to save money, I found that for ¼ of the price I could buy a 8” utility type wheel. I cut the hard rubber off and had a perfectly round pulley with ball bearings for smoothness. I had used some slightly larger steel than required because Charlie had wanted it on castors to move it in and out of the paint shop. After about 200 bucks in parts and two days worth of work, I had all the pieces come together.

On Wednesday I was a nervous wreck when we mounted my finished left wing into the rotatory. “What if I didn't do it right? What if my welds don't hold?” I questioned myself. There was a small learning curve for both Charlie and I on the first mounting of the wing. I had to make some “adjustments” but once it was together, it worked flawlessly.

20130417_134753.jpgMy finished left wing. While moving it on casters, I didn't trust it jumping out and "locked it down" with wide vise grips

Wednesday afternoon and Thursday I used the time to mount leading edge skins that Charlie had completed for me. With him assisting me in strapping them down, I would put the skins on individually screwing in 7 billion more #4 screws. That freed some time up for him to work on his Super 17 wings which cheered him up a bit. He has a lot of projects going on right now and doesn't get a lot of time for his own work.

20130418_141436.jpg8 wings, some not visible, in various stages. Looked like a small Lockhaven.
20130418_142220.jpgMy right wing completed and ready for cover,

Lenny and I left Friday morning. Having completed all I needed to do, I was somewhat happy, but always wished I could have done more or have more time to spend there. I managed to get a lot of fuselage parts blasted Thursday night, but had to leave before painting them. April has taken time off starting the 29^th and we hope get these parts ready to go back together.

[RaisedByWolves]

looking good, going to have a lot for us do do in a few weeks?

[nesincg]

I'm working on how to get a lot of interior parts painted so we can do some assembly. I plan on painting these parts flat black. over the epoxy primer.

I'll also have aluminum to start working on the cowling. Floorboards should be all cut out too.

I was hoping to get in some engine parts for me and you to work on but they might be economically unreachable at the moment. I'm going to send off the case and cam and see what comes back. Cylinders, 0200 crank, STC and such will come later.