Update: New Plans for Plane

The plane is still moving right along. I don't spend as much time as I would like at the hanger, but I have still managed to make some progress. Right now, I've got the trike structure completely assembled. Tomorrow, Mark and I will take apart the 503 (that's the engine Mom) at his shop. Luckily, Mark's shop is heated and we won't have to bear the 40 degree windy weather. Up next is the seat and harness attachment, followed by the pilot faring (pod) fitting. Then the instruments, engine mounting and wiring and finally painting.

I'm still planning to get the plane completely assembled prior to leaving for California on the 25th. However, instead of doing the recovering here and risking damage to the shiny new sail set during the move, I'm going to wait to re-cover the wings and tail until I get to Cali. This will make transport a lot easier as well because now I can remove the old sails and just deal with transporting the tubes. I still have to find someone to follow me to Corning in a U-haul though.

Hopefully, I'll still be able to do the test flight at Kittyhawk with the old sails. They are in good shape (just ugly) and I just need to inspect the wing structure to ensure that it's ok too. (picture pending)

It's almost a go cart

Finally

Something that looks like progress. I've been real slow getting anything done lately, but I finally got some momentum going today. Finished refitting the new axle and attached the tension struts. I'm hoping to install the root tube and tri-bar assembly tomorrow.

Sorry for the long delay

Since I've been back from California, I've found it pretty hard to post. I'm staying in a different place every night and continuing to live out of a duffel bag. As far as the plane goes, progress is slow but I'm not too worried just yet. I moved it to one of the T-hangers so that I could work on it without distraction, but that hasn't worked out that well. I'll try to be better about posting.

Update: Status of Airplane

Recently, this blog has turned into a commentary of my day-to-day rather than an account of the Super rebuild. Unfortunately, being in California precludes me from getting any work done on the plane, so I have to either write about what I'm doing or risk falling out of the habit of writing and giving up on the blog all together. Truthfully, I don't think all two of the people that follow this site mind if I digress from talking about the plane every once in a while (especially given that neither of you two are pilots).

However, given the original intent of the blog and the lapse since the last "plane post", here is the current status of the whole thing. As I write this, the airplane sits in pieces, in boxes in San Antonio. I have all the parts necessary for the rebuild save one Chromoly tube (which I will order this week) and the BRS ballistic chute (which I actually have, but need to send off for a repack when I get back to Texas). I think that's everything but I'm almost positive more items will come up as I start the reassembly.

Here's my plan. When I get back to Texas, I'll chill out for a day or two in Austin and then I'll stay in SA until the job is nearly done. I plan to work only on the plane (in addition to providing flight training for my one real student). My goal is to get the trike together and the engine running within one week. Beyond that, I'll probably need another two weeks for the rest of the assembly (sails included). So three weeks is the goal which means I'll probably get it done in three months, but I guess you'll just have to wait and see.

In the Spirit of Halloween

I've decided to go with a pumpkin color scheme on the new sail set for the Super. No sense in talking me down, I've already placed the order with Quicksilver. Before you criticize my sense of style, let me explain. The burnt orange you see in the picture is actually not anything close to what the finished sail will look like (and thus, it will not really look like a pumpkin). The actual color is called Day-Glo Orange and it makes the plane stand out like a red-neck at a Radiohead concert. I'm not even sure if I'll install a radio, so I really want people to see me. From what I've heard, planes with the orange sails can be seen as far as ten miles out.

Black is favored on the bottom of the wing to offset the glare from the sun. I convinced the guys over at Quicksilver to do a non-standard stitching pattern that allows for different colors on the top and bottom of the wing. Whereas the colors normally wrap around to both sides, mine will be stitched together just aft of the leading edge on the lower wing surface (that is, the color pattern will be inverted here). Hopefully, this will keep the brightness to a minimum in the cockpit. Thanks to Richard and Barry at Quicksilver for working with me on the stitching.

Mark has also agreed to help me paint the pod. I'm thinking of a black and orange starburst. Whadaya think?

Clarification

Just in case anyone was wondering how I'm spending so much time on this, here are a few things that I've been dealing with. Pictured below is a tube that has been compressed by an overzealous bolt-tightening previous owner. It's not necessarily detrimental to the overall structure, but it is a weak point. I've replaced a few tubes like this.



Next we have an elongated bolt hole. This occurs over the years as a bolt is stressed to and fro during flight (or often during taxi which is the most stressful portion of a flight). The elongated hole pictured below is on the chromoly-steel frame that supports the pilot and the overall structure. Some suggested that I simply sleeve the inside of this tube with a smaller diameter aluminum piece and then redrill the hole. That would work, but it would also be slightly weaker. You could also weld over the hole and redrill it, but that requires special welding equipment that I don't have. Luckily, my good buddy Danny has an extra set of these tubes that he is willing to give me.



Finally, some tubes were just worn from abrasion with attached parts (tube clamps, throttle housings etc.). Below is an example of this where the seat downtube was rubbing against the exhaust system. Though this tube is double-walled and it would've taken another hundred hours or so to become a problem, I went ahead and replaced it.