Thorp Air Command - T18.net
http://thorp18.com/thorpforum/

N12055 SN79 Coming Back
http://thorp18.com/thorpforum/viewtopic.php?f=36&t=7876
Page 10 of 19

Author:  jtwigg [ Mon Aug 28, 2017 8:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

Thanks for the insurance info, guys. N12055 went out to the airport on Saturday to be assembled and checked out. It will take about a month and I hope to be flying in October.

Author:  jtwigg [ Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

I have been working on N12055 at the airport on Saturdays and some weekday nights. I've been buying some needed parts from Cubes as I find I need something. This past week I've been taking apart the rudder pedals and controls to strip, prime, repaint, and re-lubricate them. I've put in all new nuts and bolts hardware while I was at it. Once again, it's the prep work that really eats the clock. >:( :-\

Attachments:
File comment: Control system parts in various stages of restoration. Look at those rudder pedals painted with GM "gunbarrel metallic" paint!
20170911_231858.jpg
20170911_231858.jpg [ 1.73 MiB | Viewed 12994 times ]

Author:  James Grahn [ Wed Sep 13, 2017 10:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

She is in good hands John.
Cubes

Author:  Bill Williams [ Thu Sep 14, 2017 5:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

I don't know if this is a service letter in regards to the rudder controls. I don't see them on John's
Did some builders put gussets at the 90* junction where the controls attach to the floor, It was triangle about 2 1/2" long which wrapped around the 3/4" tube and welded in place

Author:  Tony Ginn [ Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

I live in a high wind area and may have worked mine harder than others. (Cubes and Fraser can attest to that from one blustery formation practice weekend!!) I had an upper 90 degree weld break while landing on a dicey, high crosswind day. After that scare I put wrap-around gussets on ALL of the 90 degree welds.

This December will be 25 years since I made it's first flight. I don't expect any rudder bar problems for the next 25 years. -- Tony

Author:  Tony Ginn [ Thu Sep 14, 2017 9:20 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

I live in a high wind area and may have worked mine harder than others. (Cubes and Fraser can attest to that from one blustery formation practice weekend!!) I had an upper 90 degree weld break while landing on a dicey, high crosswind day. After that scare I put wrap-around gussets on ALL of the 90 degree welds.

This December will be 25 years since I made it's first flight. I don't expect any rudder bar problems for the next 25 years. -- Tony

Author:  jtwigg [ Wed Sep 20, 2017 8:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

Hi Bill and Tony, thanks for the posts. Does anyone have a newsletter #, drawings, or pictures of this mod?

Author:  Jeff J [ Wed Sep 20, 2017 10:14 am ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

If it helps, EAA Sport Aviation had a good article about welding gussets in the October 2016 issue (the one with the radial engine RV on the cover).

Author:  jtwigg [ Fri Sep 22, 2017 12:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

Tony, what did you do to keep control of your plane when that upper weld broke?

Author:  jtwigg [ Fri Sep 22, 2017 12:47 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

thorpdrvr wrote:
John,
Since you are replacing the pushrod tube seals, you might want to consider also replacing the cylinder base o-rings. You can leave the pistons in the cylinder and just pull the wrist pins out (just don't pull the cylinders up too much or the rings will pop out). It would suck to go through all the work and then have the cylinder bases leak because the old o-rings did not seal properly.


Bernie - I'll be doing exactly what you suggested here tomorrow morning at 8:00. Thanks!

I also pulled out all the control cables and am shipping them off to McFarlane to have new ones made. The carb heat cable was too short and never quite closed off the heat flap, the throttle was a vernier type that you had to push the button to increase the throttle, and the mixture was too short.

Author:  jtwigg [ Sat Sep 23, 2017 9:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

I spent five hours today replacing the O-290's pushrod seals. Since this is an O-290, it doesn't have the clips inside the valve cover that allows you to easily remove the pushrod tubes. As I learned a couple months ago, on the O-290 you have to loosen and pull each cylinder about a half inch or more away from the block to get the pushrod tubes out and change the seals. Bernie Fried suggests (and I'm glad he did) that if I'm going to go to the trouble of pulling the cylinders a little bit, that I might as well pull them away just far enough to remove the piston wrist pin and then change the O-ring at the bottom of each cylinder. It was actually fun to have some excellent help today (thanks RV-driver Steve!) and see how to do it. The best reward was finding out the N12055's engine is very clean inside. No corrosion, pitting, spalling, etc. on anything - cam shaft, wrist pins, cylinder walls, etc. Very lucky to see this engine in such good condition after sitting without running for 13 years. Sometimes you do get lucky ::) . After the engine was back together I went home and grabbed the wings and threw them into a U-haul and took them out to the airport. This was a very productive day.

The pictures below are in no particular order.

Attachments:
20170923_114708.jpg
20170923_114708.jpg [ 1.5 MiB | Viewed 12790 times ]
20170923_113805.jpg
20170923_113805.jpg [ 1.49 MiB | Viewed 12790 times ]
20170923_092827.jpg
20170923_092827.jpg [ 1.56 MiB | Viewed 12790 times ]
20170923_092028.jpg
20170923_092028.jpg [ 1.52 MiB | Viewed 12790 times ]
20170923_121021.jpg
20170923_121021.jpg [ 1.47 MiB | Viewed 12790 times ]

Author:  jtwigg [ Tue Oct 10, 2017 1:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

The wings are on as of last Monday, 10/2. No work this past weekend as my son and his family are in from Alaska. We all went out tonight and my 5-year old grandson was helping me put the control sticks back in the plane after I painted them. All new hardware, a paint job, and Lubriplate really makes a difference in appearance and smoothness :D .

Author:  jtwigg [ Thu Oct 19, 2017 3:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

bfinney wrote:
I whet through Sky Smith (a broker) and am insured with AIG/Chartis, they were half of the other companies that quoted. Avemco would not give me a quote 10 years ago.


Bruce - thanks for the info on Sky Smith. I just got off the phone with Scott over there and he is sending me a quote.
John

Author:  jtwigg [ Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

Guys - I need to get a new life insurance policy with accidental death by aviation included. It appeared that my current Prudential policy didn't cover aviation after renewal - but (whew) it did. However, it is still expensive as hell. Anybody have a good provider who doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

Author:  jtwigg [ Thu Oct 19, 2017 4:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: N12055 SN79 Coming Back

N12055 is starting to look like an airplane...
Image

Page 10 of 19 All times are UTC - 6 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
https://www.phpbb.com/