Yesterday afternoon (I took a day off to take care of a dental appointment and some other personal business in the morning) I spent 5 hours in the maintenance hangar putting N24286 back together again. Every inspection plate (new and freshly painted to match) was replaced, the wing root strips (freshly painted) were put back in using stainless steel screws, and I took the time to hook up the handheld antenna a bit better (locknuts and washers). The antenna is solid and the top nut area is protected from moisture with a coating of RTV sealent.
The rudder assembly cover gave me some problems (it's not clear which way is up), but it's back on.
All accessible pulleys and cables were lubricated with LPS-2.
I put the fuel gauge assembly back on (the cap repainted, a new length of duraluminum 1/8" gauge wire, and a re-varnished cork bobber).
I put the floorboards back in with new screws (after one final clean up of the exposed fabric). The carpet cut out fit perfectly and lays nicely without moving. The carpet runs up and overlaps the seat fabric, helping seal out anything from sliding under the seat and back towards the tail.
The Sporty's Handheld radio was given a new strip of velcro and so was the mounting plate. It's straight and secure.
I finished painting the few spots I missed in the engine compartment. I checked the fit and look of the nosebowl -- it looks good. I found the right size screws to replace the rusty ones that were in there.
John tried to put the induction tubes back on but the hose collars were too short. New ones are on order.
I was going to put the anti-chafing seal on but we dedcided to remove the Venturi and clean it and see if we can get the bank indicator working. We'll see.
The skull-cap spinner looks good -- all corrosion removed and it looks nice and shiny. Not mirror-smooth since I'm not that patient.
I found replacement nails to use as door hinges. I may try the thin steel wire I tried as a fuel gauge replacement.
So far so good -- pictures to come once the windshield is in and the induction hoses installed.
Saturday, October 30, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Good News!
Full inspection of the airplane revealed no other issues -- some afternoon or this Saturday morning I can put all the covers back on, put in the new stainless screws, and snap on the refinished cowling!
The propeller looks great in matte black with white tips and a single 1" stripe. The spinner has been polished and is in fairly good shape -- though I'll look for a replacement.
The interior is looking very nice, the engine looks almost new, the new induction tubes will go on tomorrow (the old ones were dried out and probably leaking), and all the control pulleys have been lubed.
The propeller looks great in matte black with white tips and a single 1" stripe. The spinner has been polished and is in fairly good shape -- though I'll look for a replacement.
The interior is looking very nice, the engine looks almost new, the new induction tubes will go on tomorrow (the old ones were dried out and probably leaking), and all the control pulleys have been lubed.
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Progress!
I spent most of today painting, painting, and painting!
The engine is finished and is looking very good. The firewall is nearly finished but will require a long-handled brush to finish.
All inspection covers, wing root covers, cowling, and interior tubes have been repainted and look very good.
The cowling was in terrible shape before, it's not perfect, but it's better now.
The aileron hinge bolt was replaced (was bent), all control pulleys lubed with A/C lubricant.
The propeller was refinished in flat black with white tips in accordance with Sensenich guidance and AC 20-37E.
The windscreen should be formed early this week. Hopefully we can install it, get all the old screws replaced, and get the bird signed off and flying by next weekend!
The engine is finished and is looking very good. The firewall is nearly finished but will require a long-handled brush to finish.
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| Cylinders and engine block painted Lycoming Gray |
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| Interior tubes painted flat black |
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| Rear view of engine |
The cowling was in terrible shape before, it's not perfect, but it's better now.
The aileron hinge bolt was replaced (was bent), all control pulleys lubed with A/C lubricant.
The propeller was refinished in flat black with white tips in accordance with Sensenich guidance and AC 20-37E.
The windscreen should be formed early this week. Hopefully we can install it, get all the old screws replaced, and get the bird signed off and flying by next weekend!
Monday, October 18, 2010
Still Working...
We drove out to Lancaster County this weekend and spent Saturday at the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire. It was well worth the trip -- we had a good time, the weather was perfect, and the shows and site were top notch.
We returned home Sunday morning and after lunch and some Steeler game I set to work on the cowling and induction tubes. The tubes were sanded and refurbished inside and outside and are now sprayed with gloss black high heat paint -- they look great!
I continued working on the upper and lower cowling. Sand, sand sand, remove dust, spray with filler primer. Repeat. It's a tedious process but I think I'll sand out the few remaining pits and flaws and wrap up the priming. Hopefully it will warm up again and I can spray the primed and prepped peices with Appliance Biscuit White and see how it looks.
I still have to complete the stripping of the cowling nose and side pieces. I'll try to get that done tomorrow night.
This afternoon after work I'll head straight to the airport and concentrate on repainting the engine. I'll use Lycoming gray on most and gloss black high heat spray on the cylinders. It should look much, much better!
We returned home Sunday morning and after lunch and some Steeler game I set to work on the cowling and induction tubes. The tubes were sanded and refurbished inside and outside and are now sprayed with gloss black high heat paint -- they look great!
I continued working on the upper and lower cowling. Sand, sand sand, remove dust, spray with filler primer. Repeat. It's a tedious process but I think I'll sand out the few remaining pits and flaws and wrap up the priming. Hopefully it will warm up again and I can spray the primed and prepped peices with Appliance Biscuit White and see how it looks.
I still have to complete the stripping of the cowling nose and side pieces. I'll try to get that done tomorrow night.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tasks To Do
My to do list for the Chief during this year's annual inspection:
- Open boot cowling and clean inside
- Remove floorboards and clean
- Vacuum interior
- Remove glue and old carpet residue from floorboards
- Cut floor covering to fit over floorboards (temporary installation – not fastened to airplane)
- Remove and replace all inspection covers and paint
- Remove cowling (5 pieces), strip old paint, reform, prime, fill, sand, repaint
- Remove and replace windscreen
- Refinish interior (pilot and co-pilot yokes, panel, structural tubing) in flat black
- Remove and inspect prop
- Replace prop retaining bolts
- Refinish wing root panels (sand, prime, paint)
- Reconnect wing root-mounted handheld radio antenna
- Replace all screws with stainless steel screws
- Compression test (70-71 over 80 for each cylinder)
- Clean engine compartment
- Wire brush corrosion on engine
- Repaint engine with Lycoming grey engine enamel
- Remove doors and replace door hinge pins
- Refinish aluminum windscreen retention strips
- Replace wood windshield retention strips
- Remove corrosion from gas cap retention fingers, replace wire, refinish cork with several coats of varnish
- Fix left aileron hinge and replace pivot bolt
- Re-run handheld radio battery and antenna wires
- Replace Velcro mounting for handheld radio
Monday, October 11, 2010
1940 Chief Maintenance
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| N24286 Ready for inspection |
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| Underneath the floorboards. all clean and grime free! |
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| Ugly Cylinders and fins -- All wire-brushed and ready for Lycoming Grey paint. |
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| Nose piece on the Garage floor ready for stripping |
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| Lower cowling -- looks like it was in a hail storm |
First Annual
I pulled all the inspection covers, the cowling, and everything else I could off the Chief the last few days. This afternoon John called and said his hangar was open for my airplane (John is the local A&P on the field at Waynesburg).
Once we got it all set up he decided to do compression check first to see how this old engine was holding up.
I watched as each of four cylinders read 70 or 71 out of 80.
Not bad for a 70-year-old engine rebuilt in 1979!
Once we got it all set up he decided to do compression check first to see how this old engine was holding up.
I watched as each of four cylinders read 70 or 71 out of 80.
Not bad for a 70-year-old engine rebuilt in 1979!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Fall Fly In
This Saturday I flew the Chief about 90 miles southwest to a Pilots of America fly in at the Windwood Fly In Resort near Davis, WV, in the Canaan Valley.
I was only there a couple of hours but a gorgeous location on a perfect day.
I couldn't take off until after 0915 as The Greene County Airport near Waynesburg was fogged in. I arrived at the airport at 8 AM, and tinkered and prepared the airplane and walked the taxiways until the fog lifted. ON the eastern edge of the airport property some folks were setting up for an event. They were well off the aviating parts so they were no problem.
I propped the Chief, checked everything, pulled up my stakes and chcoks, loaded up, and hopped in. The motor was putt-puttting smoothly and all was well. I taxied to the end of Runway 27. The valley to the north was still filled with fog but straight ahead and left all was clear. I added power and soon was climbing smoothly in the cool, still air.
There was not a single cloud in the sky and the fog was patchy along a few rivers and streams. It was an absolutely perfect morning and I was glad I had the time and this opportunity to fly on such a day. I continued climbing to 3500' and leveled off, letting the engine cool after the long climb. The ridges to the east slowly grew in the windscreen as I flew east at 75-80 MPH. Winds aloft were light and variable, so my groundspeed matched my airspeed closely.
I called Morgantown Tower and let him know I was overflying the field. The frequency was quiet as Morgantown was covered in fog, while immediately west and south it was clear and fog-free.Some valleys ahead were still filled with fog, and I kept a tight watch on time and fuel used so I could turn back if I ended up over widespread fog.
The ridges were higher east, so I climbed to 4,00 feet -- high above where this little airplane is meant to fly. The engine ran strong and all sounded well despite the thinner air, and I pushed on eastward. Ahead I could see windmills along the ridge on a heading of 155 or so -- right where I expected to see them.
I was flying pure pilotage -- following waypoints on the ground -- so once I spotted the Windmills I turned right up the valley and experienced some rotor turbulence off the mills and ridge -- wow!
There's one more smaller ridge before WV62, though, and after a few minutes of terrain associating figured it out and skimmed over the last ridge. In front of me lay the valley and the ski resort on the west face of the next ridge. I couldn't make out the airport so flew south until I was nearly on top of it.
I entered a left downwind and tried landing on runway 24 but wasn't happy with the airspeed once I cleared the trees so I flew about 20' off the ground and then climbed and went around for a landing on runway 6.
The result was the worst landing of the year with a bit of bounce quickly dampened with lots of up elevator.
Folks were at the tie down area so I met some and more came down to meet us. Everyone had questions about the old bird and seemed impressed by the Art Deco panel. It was nice to meet everyone and get a ride in Tim's Miata up to the lodge. We talked on the deck for a while and enjoyed the sunshine.
About noon the wind started picking up so I decided to head back before it got too rough. Takeoff was not optimal but a 70 degree crosswind on the narrow runway made it interesting. I lifted off and headed towards the left to avoid the trees on the 24 end of the runway. It was a rough ride climbing northeast along the valley but soon I reached 4000' and had enough altitude to clear the ridge.
It was pretty bumpy coming back from local winds and thermals -- it;s always this way mid-afternoon and clear days. I tried to enjoy the view and even took a few pictures but most of my time was spent keeping wings level and airspeed and attitude.
In the distance I spotted the tiny plume from the Morgantown powerplant and headed that way.
Bounce, bounce, bounce across the ridges with the engine running a bit rich at near service ceiling (no mixture in the airplane and it's really not meant to fly more than 5k). I reached the final ridge and descended over Cheat Lake and called MGW tower to let them know I'd be just outside the Delta airspace. A drama ensued as a Seneca called in with intermittent engine power on the right side. He was cleared straight in for 18 but I never saw him. I listened as long as I could then switched to the Waynesburg airport frequency.
My landing in the grass next to runway 27 made up for the lousy landing at WV62. Oh well.
Windwood Resort is a beautiful venue and seems like the perfect place for a Fly In -- especially in fall! While the leaves haven't peaked it's still that time, and the view from above is priceless.
I heartily recommend more attend next year!. I'll be there!
I was only there a couple of hours but a gorgeous location on a perfect day.
I couldn't take off until after 0915 as The Greene County Airport near Waynesburg was fogged in. I arrived at the airport at 8 AM, and tinkered and prepared the airplane and walked the taxiways until the fog lifted. ON the eastern edge of the airport property some folks were setting up for an event. They were well off the aviating parts so they were no problem.
I propped the Chief, checked everything, pulled up my stakes and chcoks, loaded up, and hopped in. The motor was putt-puttting smoothly and all was well. I taxied to the end of Runway 27. The valley to the north was still filled with fog but straight ahead and left all was clear. I added power and soon was climbing smoothly in the cool, still air.
There was not a single cloud in the sky and the fog was patchy along a few rivers and streams. It was an absolutely perfect morning and I was glad I had the time and this opportunity to fly on such a day. I continued climbing to 3500' and leveled off, letting the engine cool after the long climb. The ridges to the east slowly grew in the windscreen as I flew east at 75-80 MPH. Winds aloft were light and variable, so my groundspeed matched my airspeed closely.
I called Morgantown Tower and let him know I was overflying the field. The frequency was quiet as Morgantown was covered in fog, while immediately west and south it was clear and fog-free.Some valleys ahead were still filled with fog, and I kept a tight watch on time and fuel used so I could turn back if I ended up over widespread fog.
The ridges were higher east, so I climbed to 4,00 feet -- high above where this little airplane is meant to fly. The engine ran strong and all sounded well despite the thinner air, and I pushed on eastward. Ahead I could see windmills along the ridge on a heading of 155 or so -- right where I expected to see them.
I was flying pure pilotage -- following waypoints on the ground -- so once I spotted the Windmills I turned right up the valley and experienced some rotor turbulence off the mills and ridge -- wow!
There's one more smaller ridge before WV62, though, and after a few minutes of terrain associating figured it out and skimmed over the last ridge. In front of me lay the valley and the ski resort on the west face of the next ridge. I couldn't make out the airport so flew south until I was nearly on top of it.
I entered a left downwind and tried landing on runway 24 but wasn't happy with the airspeed once I cleared the trees so I flew about 20' off the ground and then climbed and went around for a landing on runway 6.
The result was the worst landing of the year with a bit of bounce quickly dampened with lots of up elevator.
Folks were at the tie down area so I met some and more came down to meet us. Everyone had questions about the old bird and seemed impressed by the Art Deco panel. It was nice to meet everyone and get a ride in Tim's Miata up to the lodge. We talked on the deck for a while and enjoyed the sunshine.
About noon the wind started picking up so I decided to head back before it got too rough. Takeoff was not optimal but a 70 degree crosswind on the narrow runway made it interesting. I lifted off and headed towards the left to avoid the trees on the 24 end of the runway. It was a rough ride climbing northeast along the valley but soon I reached 4000' and had enough altitude to clear the ridge.
It was pretty bumpy coming back from local winds and thermals -- it;s always this way mid-afternoon and clear days. I tried to enjoy the view and even took a few pictures but most of my time was spent keeping wings level and airspeed and attitude.
In the distance I spotted the tiny plume from the Morgantown powerplant and headed that way.
Bounce, bounce, bounce across the ridges with the engine running a bit rich at near service ceiling (no mixture in the airplane and it's really not meant to fly more than 5k). I reached the final ridge and descended over Cheat Lake and called MGW tower to let them know I'd be just outside the Delta airspace. A drama ensued as a Seneca called in with intermittent engine power on the right side. He was cleared straight in for 18 but I never saw him. I listened as long as I could then switched to the Waynesburg airport frequency.
My landing in the grass next to runway 27 made up for the lousy landing at WV62. Oh well.
Windwood Resort is a beautiful venue and seems like the perfect place for a Fly In -- especially in fall! While the leaves haven't peaked it's still that time, and the view from above is priceless.
I heartily recommend more attend next year!. I'll be there!
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