Where have I been?
People have been asking, what's happened to the project? Where have I been? What's up?
Well, I was Shanghai'd by the wife into a massive home renovation project. Three bedrooms and two bathrooms later
here I am at the kitchen. The boss says this wall has to go. I've been at this since the first of the year and it looks like it'll be
end of summer by the time I'm finally through. Prayers for my release would be most welcome.
On the bright side, I got a new (well, new for me - it's a 2001) truck to replace the old S-10 Blazer.
Since I don't really have an airplane to fly (other than rentals) we were all set to drive the new Disco up to Pine Mountain Lake
for the annual Luscombe Luau at the Blankenbergs place. However....
Last week, on the way home from work the engine of my new Discovery CAUGHT ON FIRE!
Fortunately the guys behind me had an extinguisher so we were able to save the vehicle
but it's officially on probation now. After it comes out of the shop it's gonna have to behave and be nice.
Engine fires are definitely NOT cool.
So I didn't make it to the Luau but the next morning I managed to escape the house project and drove the Alfa
up to Columbia to at least spend a couple of hours at the fly-in
Hyway 49 was absolutely choked with Harley riders - you know, the accountants and dentists that like to dress up like meth dealers
and ride around the foothills on weekends. Ironically I was later bragging about my Alfa and complaining about the slow
Harleys to Dan McNeill as we were leaving the airport. A few miles down the road my throttle cable snapped and Dan, who luckily
happened by had to take me to, of all things, a BIKE SHOP, to get a makeshift replacement part.
I'm not gonna dis the bikers anymore - bad karma
Turnout this year was low - probably due to weather and fuel costs but my mission was to gather details and to utilize
the macro features of my new Nikon S6 digital camera. I took a bunch of pictures of hinges, door and cowl latches,
tailwheels, rudder pedals, starters, baffles and all sorts of other stuff that I won't bother wasting bandwidth on here.
Dan McNeill posted plenty of good picks at the PopAv Luscombe Home
One of the things I've come up against is this: every round tipped stab I've seen has about 35 or 36 rivets
along the center rib (center rib only) I didn't do this when I rebuilt my stab and so I'm going to have to do some research
If anyone knows the story on this please feel free to contact and enlighten me
Many attendees left early Saturday and as I returned home the weather was certainly making a turn for the worse
Okay, well I haven't been completely idle over the past 6 months. I put the new brake shoes on
There was quite a bit of nasty old crud to be cleaned up from under the old linings
and unlike your typical brake shoes there is some drilling and such to be done - follow the instructions
I also got around to doing the panel cutouts. I finally commited myself to doing a classic panel layout
The structural aspect of the panel itself and the part it plays in the overall structure of the aircraft
made it uncomfortable to be cutting a massive square hole in the center for a GPS installation so I abandoned the notion
The extra holes marked will be for a Becker VHF Comm and Transponder. I don't want to cut the holes until I have
the units on hand to ensure that the clearances will be adequate
I'm deburring the main instrument holes in preparation for the beveling
To create the bevels I rented this die from Doug Combs' Classic Aero Support for a nominal fee
A wee bit of white grease helps ease the operation
You may be able to tell that using my 12 ton press there isn't enough width to get on the upper holes
I had to take it to the shop in Byron where there was a larger press
Also, if you do this it would be wise to have the die on hand before locating the holes to ensure you have the
proper clearances for the glovebox and cross rib extrusions - it's very close.
The results are gorgeous - I couldn't have done this by hand with all the patience in the world
The bevels are delicate and subtle - just enough for the strength and that 3d effect
Perfect!
On the engine I started to lap the valves but after assessing all that I'm putting into this project and looking into costs
I've decided that it would be prudent to go with new valves and guides
So that's where I'm at. I know the wife doesn't want to have an airplane in the back yard forever and so sooner or later
she's going to release me from this servitude and I will be back on the Luscombe full time.
My visit to the fly-in has renewed my resolve and filled me with new enthusiasm
So stay tuned