The Home of Photos in Dunnunda! Mk I
Grandpa Aerotart
ABX. Out of hand? No. Dragging on? Yes.
The aircraft was stripped and the controls taken off 6 mths ago...and then it sat...aircraft ahead in the que with issues (ALL these older aircraft have issues) delayed things. Those aircraft (a Twin Commanche, 2 206s and a couple of 172s are now, bar 1 172, finished and out the door...so things will start happening quickly.
The fuselage has some areas of minor surface corrosion, some in lap joints. Only to be expected in a 37 year old aircraft. The wings will need some relatively minor reskinning here and there due to less than excellent repairs done yonks ago and then hidden under paint. The horizontal stab has been completely demated and surface/lap joint/rib corrosion will be removed before zink cromating and riveting back together and painting...again not uncommon...there were some others there already done and they look great.
So I decided to have the wings pulled off and the engine pulled out (I inhibited the engine last week) and turn the excercise from a 'simple' paint job and interior into a ground up restoration. As an example the undercarriage will be pulled out and taken apart before beed basting and repainting and put back together with new seals etc. Once the engine is out I will hop into the engine bay with a pneumatic scotchbright whiz wheel thingo and make it all shiny before it is painted. With the engine out and on a stand I can remove the old baffles and fit the new Liquidaire Baffles I ordered. There are BAS intertia reel, 4 point harnesses waiting to go in for the front two seats. The Century 3 is coming out to be overhaulled back to 'as new' (about 10% of the cost of a new STEC which does no more, really)
She'll have a new leather interior, panel repainted/minor re arranging and I am thinking VERY seriously about fitting a Aspen Avionics EFD1000 ATP....google it and be amazed at what is available...I think Beechking might be keen too by his reaction on Sunday.
The Twin Commanche that is just out of the hangar (after 12 mths) belongs to a fellow RAC member and she looks as good as any new aircraft inside and out...in 4 to 6 mths so will mine...she'll be good for another 37 years.
Some of my handywork...as yet a work in progress.
Beechking's A36 and the FTDK arrive at Cherrabah International
The view during lunch...this is seriously a great spot to fly into...Da Beechboys will be back
Cherrabah is first on the list when my Bo breaks ground again...only next time it will be an overnight stay
The aircraft was stripped and the controls taken off 6 mths ago...and then it sat...aircraft ahead in the que with issues (ALL these older aircraft have issues) delayed things. Those aircraft (a Twin Commanche, 2 206s and a couple of 172s are now, bar 1 172, finished and out the door...so things will start happening quickly.
The fuselage has some areas of minor surface corrosion, some in lap joints. Only to be expected in a 37 year old aircraft. The wings will need some relatively minor reskinning here and there due to less than excellent repairs done yonks ago and then hidden under paint. The horizontal stab has been completely demated and surface/lap joint/rib corrosion will be removed before zink cromating and riveting back together and painting...again not uncommon...there were some others there already done and they look great.
So I decided to have the wings pulled off and the engine pulled out (I inhibited the engine last week) and turn the excercise from a 'simple' paint job and interior into a ground up restoration. As an example the undercarriage will be pulled out and taken apart before beed basting and repainting and put back together with new seals etc. Once the engine is out I will hop into the engine bay with a pneumatic scotchbright whiz wheel thingo and make it all shiny before it is painted. With the engine out and on a stand I can remove the old baffles and fit the new Liquidaire Baffles I ordered. There are BAS intertia reel, 4 point harnesses waiting to go in for the front two seats. The Century 3 is coming out to be overhaulled back to 'as new' (about 10% of the cost of a new STEC which does no more, really)
She'll have a new leather interior, panel repainted/minor re arranging and I am thinking VERY seriously about fitting a Aspen Avionics EFD1000 ATP....google it and be amazed at what is available...I think Beechking might be keen too by his reaction on Sunday.
The Twin Commanche that is just out of the hangar (after 12 mths) belongs to a fellow RAC member and she looks as good as any new aircraft inside and out...in 4 to 6 mths so will mine...she'll be good for another 37 years.
Some of my handywork...as yet a work in progress.
Beechking's A36 and the FTDK arrive at Cherrabah International
The view during lunch...this is seriously a great spot to fly into...Da Beechboys will be back
Cherrabah is first on the list when my Bo breaks ground again...only next time it will be an overnight stay
Last edited by Chimbu chuckles; 10th Dec 2007 at 16:29.
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aldee
That would be the Devon XNZ at Ashburton ?? Stopped in on sunday and it was out doing some training...
Not something you see at your local airfield every day
Not too hard to work out what but where ?
Not too hard to work out what but where ?
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Speaking of Ashburton....
Can you think of a better place to fly?
Those mountains are 45km away, with the ocean 15km the other way.
I grew up having picnics on sunday there and cadging lifts
Those mountains are 45km away, with the ocean 15km the other way.
I grew up having picnics on sunday there and cadging lifts
AustralianMade
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Chuck,
Interesting tale, sounds like a good idea to give her a full rebuild, at least you'll know that everything has been done and it should give her a clean slate for a while.
Looking at the pics inside the rear fuse has me wondering: as an aircraft ages does the build up of 'grime' change it's w&b? Does an old aircraft need to be reweighed and have it's w&b recalculated, or is the weight of the grime insignificant?
As for the Aspen Avionics EFD1000 ATP... that's a nice piece of kit Chuck:
Google did indeed bring up a lot of info, after reading the specs I want one! Of course it would be a waste since I don't yet own an aeroplane to install it in...
Cheers mate, thanks for the piccies.
Interesting tale, sounds like a good idea to give her a full rebuild, at least you'll know that everything has been done and it should give her a clean slate for a while.
Looking at the pics inside the rear fuse has me wondering: as an aircraft ages does the build up of 'grime' change it's w&b? Does an old aircraft need to be reweighed and have it's w&b recalculated, or is the weight of the grime insignificant?
As for the Aspen Avionics EFD1000 ATP... that's a nice piece of kit Chuck:
Google did indeed bring up a lot of info, after reading the specs I want one! Of course it would be a waste since I don't yet own an aeroplane to install it in...
Cheers mate, thanks for the piccies.
Landing mishap at Southport Flying Club on 21 April 2006. The main access road was closed by local police for over an hour to keep the TV cameras away from the publicity shy club.
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KC
The beer and the locals aren't half bad neither
Near 30 deg yesterday, beautiful clear skies, 27 and rain today, like being back in the tropics
Not a bad part of the world this time of the year.
Near 30 deg yesterday, beautiful clear skies, 27 and rain today, like being back in the tropics
Not a bad part of the world this time of the year.
Too easy
