Couldn't help myself

Today was such a beautiful day, after almost 2 weeks of 100 degree days I just had to get back in the air.

No work on Cherokee today...all play time!  Check out the videos in HD!

New fuel lines...

The temp dropped below 100 today to a very chilly 88 so we decided to tackle the fuel lines. 

I'm pleased to report that all fuel lines under the cowling have now been replaced.  In addition all of the fire sleeve on all the fuel lines has been replaced.  

She's coming right along! 

More parts!

Rest of the parts came in today..it's like Christmas at the hangar...

New Firesleeve for all the hoses...

 

New oil / brake and fuel hoses

 New Gaskets!

First new parts arrive!

The first of the new parts arrived today and were installed.

Brand new gasket cover valves!  We removed the old cork gaskets which were old and gross and replaced them with brand new silicone gaskets.  

The older cork gaskets were a pain to get off as they "fuse" to the covers and dry out.

Old gross valve covers and gaskets












New valve cover gaskets in place.  so shiny!

Annual inspection complete

Hey guys,  just wanted to drop a quick update to report that the first inspection for the annual is complete. 

I'm pleased to report that there are no major show stoppers that were found.  We've got the expected hoses that need to be replaced, most due to age time out (8 years minimum), the only issue we've got is the muffler has a hole in it and needs to be replaced.

Other than the muffler and replacement of hoses, it looks like we're on track to get her back in the air soon!

Screw these screws

I have never been more frustrated than trying to change out these screws before the annual.

I spent 6 hours and only got 16 screws out, broke 4,  left at least 9 and broke 3 easy out tools. 

Quick Update

I've gotten a few messages about the lack of project updates in the past week or so. 

My apologies, the project is still moving forward but we are now into the "big" items (like removing all the inspection panels or wing tips ..etc) and since I do not have a hangar I can only do these items on the weekend when I have time to tear the whole plane apart and put it back together in one day.

We've also hit our prime airshow season and the crew has been traveling to airshows on the weekend, which also takes away days that we can work on the little plane.

Strut up or shut up

We were finally able to carve out a few hours to service all the struts.  Also we started the official inspections for the annual.

This was a very dirty job...

Here is a strut with the wheel off and with the plane up on jacks.

We were able to totally remove the struts to replace the O ring seals on the top and bottom.

After replacing the struts we had to service them with fluid which prompty sprayed all over me causing a massive mess and an immediate need to chane clothes as the smell was overpowering lol

Afterwards you can see now her struts stay up just fine!!

In addition we were able to do the first compressions on the engine for the official inspection.  I'm very pleased at how the engine is shaping up.

And most importantly with the struts now holding I was able to take my nine year old nephew out for a quick taxi around the ramp.  He's been asking me to take him around for weeks.  

As you can see he was ready to go! 

Registration Update

Nothing like waking up and checking the FAA Aircraft Registry and seeing that the offical records have been updated to reflect my name.

When you purchase an airplane (much like your license) you receive a temp certificate.  However it's a very reassuring feeling when you finally get to see something offical.

It just reaffirms my feelings that the aircraft is now mine  :)

What's behind panel #1

So quick update today....we are starting to get ready for the annual and part of that is taking off and inspecting behind all the inspection panels.  I removed all the panels under the wings and using my phone took a few pictures inside the wing.  

Here is what the panel looks like under the wing...held on with a couple screws. 

First up is the left wing! 

And here is the right wing!

Everyone is pleased with the condition of the interior of the wing.  It also means that when we apply the corrosion x coating it will forever protect the wings.  

I also oiled and lubed all the cables and hinges on all the flaps and stabaliator.  She's all moving a lot better now and is smooth as silk.  

Hopefully we can get to the struts sometime this week.  That's a big job! 

Big Saturday Update!

A full Saturday of work with all new parts and repairs going in.

First up was to put on a brand new air filter.  On my plane the air filter simply goes on the front of the plane in the front cowling.  It is held in place by the landing light assembly.  

The air filter itself is technically two pieces.  A wire mesh support ring and the filter itself, which is foam.  You can get a paper filter but it is over 80 bucks, the foam filter is much much cheaper.  You can also order just the foam part without the wire mesh ring however since it's only a few dollars more for the whole assembly I just opted to get a complete replacement.

The foam filter itself is coated in a VERY sticky substance (think of honey) and it gets everywhere.  I did not realize this but next time I'm going to use some gloves.  It also explains what that super sticky stuff is under the cowling.  It's this stuff oozing out over time.

I know this is an odd picture but this is what it looks like installed.  It's basically held in place by wedging that front plate (with landing light) and the back of the cowling.  There is one long bolt that screws into the middle of that front plate and you tighten it down until the whole assembly firms up and holds in place.

The light will connect to those leads and then there is a ring that screws into the front plate to hold the light in.  (not pictured)

Next up was the rear cone that covers the cabling and trim spindle in the rear of the plane.  It's a plastic piece that comes in two pieces.  I needed to remove this and paint it with a paint to protect it as the A&P wanted me to get something on it to protect it from the sun.  I also wanted to soak and oil all of the spindles and cables in the rear assembly.

Plenty of new screws and washers!!!

First I needed to remove the rear cover, you see how dirty and gross it is :(   I used a very very fine sand paper to rough it up a little and to clean some of the really stuck on crud.  After giving it a very light sand,  you want to clean it with a light MEK wipe off.  This will remove any oil / dirt and grit and prepare it for some paint.

Here is what the rear of the plane looks like with the cover off.  You can see all the pulleys and cables in the rear of the plane.  All of this got a liberal coating of Mouse Milk penetrating and lubricating oil.   After letting it sit for only 10 minutes the trim was already noticeably smoother in operation.

Here is the underside of the mechanism.

This is a close up of the trim assembly and cable.  Pretty neat stuff.  It looks wet because I just re-oiled it.

Repainted and replaced!  Check out those brand new screws and washers...

Underside after reassembly.

 I also replaced the left and right main fuel sumps.  Check out the shiny brass!  These are super easy to change, just couple quick turns and it unscrews from the underside of the wing.  Just want to quickly replace it so all the fuel doesn't run out!

Now all the fuel comes flowing out at a normal rate.  Which makes it easier to sump.

I was flying solo today so all this took me a while to do,  I worked on the plane for about 6 hours, and at the end I treated myself to a quick taxi around the ramp down to the run-up area and did a quick run up.  She did great!

I'm hoping to get some time to do the struts sometime this week, but that is a def a 2 person job.   

The first new parts...

The first box of two arrived today with some new parts.  Even tho we've planned to work on it all day Saturday I couldn't wait to put something 'new' on the plane.  So I decided to go ahead and put the nav lens on, one red and one green!

Both of these lens were broken unknown years ago and in the case of the left wing tip something had actually bent the housing.  We were able to remove the assembly and repair the damage.  I know it's a small thing but every little bit is moving us closer to getting her airworthiness back!

I also replaced the gas cap gaskets to help keep the water out of the tanks.  In a perfect world your gaskets should be soft and supple, however after sitting for 10 years mine were hard as a rock.  This causes the cap to not seal properly which lets water run right into the wing tanks.

This is the old seal












This is the new seal, see how nice and white and fluffy it is.


















Look how brittle and hard the seal is, that is no good.

Waiting Game....

Not a lot mechanically has been going on with the little Cherokee since this weekend, but this is due to waiting on parts.  We have now hit the phase of the restoration where we are going to start replacing / repairing / rebuilding sections of the aircraft.  To do this we have a whole ton of parts coming in from our friends at Aircraft Spruce

Now is the hardest part because it's all a waiting game as you watch the little fedex package tracking meter edge closer and closer to delivery.