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new to forum and computer challenged

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Posted

First attempt on this forum, I frequent a skydiving forum but rarely post. I have 2 Avid projects,one is previously flown and has all the paperwork in place, almost ready to fly again. The second is a collection of parts with no paperwork. I have done alot of work to it and plan to build it as a MK4 with extended speed wings, kitfox 4 droop wing tips and a zero time 582,and Cbox. I have a build log and a million pictures of the work I have done so far. I bought alot of parts off Barnstormers and locally. My question is, can I get this thing legal?  I am a private pilot with a couple of thousand hrs, currently own and fly a Kolb (which I didn't build) and a Cessna 206. I have been messing with airplanes my entie life but I am new to the Experimental category. Are there any old threads that might cover my question? Thank you , Cliff

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Posted

Yes.  Get the paperwork kit from the EAA.  To register you have the option of "built from parts".

 

Link

 

I know of several (including mine) being built by this process.

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Posted

If you have pictures and make up a build log of some sort, and it has never been registered or issued an airworthiness before, you can also register as the builder and get a repairmans certificate for it, so you can perform your own yearly "condition" inspections.  Same thing as an annual, but in the experimental world, its called a condition inspection.

 

Looks like your figuring out the forum as you got your first post in the right place!  Welcome aboard here, I hope you find it useful and easy to navigate.  As always, if your having trouble with something, drop me a line in a private message and myself or c5engineer will try and help you out.

 

:BC:

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Posted

Mine is scratch-built too (not from a purchased Kit)- I have copied the form you fill out from the FAA site. I forget what the number is, but could find it for you.

Much better yet - You should join the EAA if you are not a member yet - They have a complete homebuilders' package ready to send for a small fee - It includes all of the forms you will need and the decal stickers for your "Experimental"

If you need more info, you can PM me.

Glad to have you here - ASK most anything here and you may get more answers than you dreamed of!

ED in Missouri (EDMO)

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Posted

Thanks for the replies. I will renew my EAA membership. I  will have my granddaughter show me how to private message. I have on occasion browsed this forum. My computer skills are getting slightly better so I decided to try to join in. Thanks again, Cliff

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Posted (edited)

Thanks for the replies. I will renew my EAA membership. I  will have my granddaughter show me how to private message. I have on occasion browsed this forum. My computer skills are getting slightly better so I decided to try to join in. Thanks again, Cliff

Cliff,

Welcome to the "Old Dinosauers List" of computers - I cant do much on the puter either, but this site is so simple, even I can do it - You can click on any members name and go to the part that says, "send them a message", or click on members list and pick the first letter of their "handle", and scroll down to find them and then do the same. For messages coming to you, look at the envelope at top right corner of homepage, and if you see a red 1 or 2 or such, then click on it to see a list of messages coming to you.  Click on a message to open it.

Don't worry - computers cant bite - they just make you frustrated!

I probably made this as clear as mud - if all else fails, post a message to Leni or Joey for help.

EDMO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

Cliff welcome to the forum. It sounds like you have plenty to keep you busy! Where are you located at? Once you get a little more comfortable with using the forum if you go to the upper right corner and click on your name and then "my profile" and then "edit profile" it will let you plug in your location which will show up when you post. There is also a button right at the top of that same page that says "change my photo". That is where you can upload a picture so that it shows up in the little box by your name when you post like the others that you see. Were always here to help if you have questions.

 

To post pictures of your project

 

1. Start a thread like you already did

2. Next to the Post button click the box that says "More Reply Options"

3. At the bottom of where you type you will see a box that says "Browse" Click on that and go to where the pictures are located on your computer and click on what you want to up upload.

4. Click on "Attach this file"

5. You can repeat this process with quite a few pictures and when your done just hit Post like you did with your introduction post and we will be able to click on your pictures and see them.

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Posted

I am knee deep in painting my 206 right now. As soon as I get that finished I will be ready to get to work on the Avid's again. I am browsing the threads right now to see what has all ready been discussed. I don't know how to down load pictures, I have just enough computer skills to be dangerous. I plan to learn more.  Thanks again for the tips, Cliff

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Posted

Cliff,  Your granddaughter can probably show you how to browse for your photos and attach them to your posts.

My daughter shows me how, and I cant remember, so she shows me again, and again and.........:lol:

EDMO

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Posted

I have been very busy for sometime now but, finally got back to work on the Avid. Paint work is finished, Need to cut and install new lexan for doors and windscreen, attach the wings , flaperons, rig, and a million other little things. 90% finished 90% to go.  Sold  my Cessna 206 and bought a Cessna 180, getting my tailwheel skills back up to snuff. 

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Posted

Sweet! I got to see the new engine for my 180 last night and drooled over it a bit. It's almost been a year since I last flew it. I can't wait to get it back in the air! :BC:

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Posted

It is like Christmas when you uncover your new engine and lay eyes on it for the first time after an overhaul.  My 180 is a 1953 and still has the original engine in it, O-470a with 550 smoh.  I plan to pick up a later model engine and get it ready to hang for when this old engine becomes too maintenance hungry. So far it runs like a top. My 180 has a Horton stall kit and is very light, it is a lot of fun to fly.  I am just as excited about getting this Avid in the air as a was about finding this 180. 

  Good luck with your engine install.

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Posted

ours is a 63 F model.  We are trying to lighten it up as much as we can.  It has the MASA stol kit which as far as I can tell is about the same as the horton.  She was a blast to fly and I cant wait to get her back in the air.  The plan now is to go ahead and strip the entire plane and repaint it while we are waiting on the final few parts to get back from being overhauled.. as in the horizontal stab.. It will have all new control surfaces, engine and prop and a shiny new paint job on her when she sees the air again.

 

:BC:

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Posted

Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. You will have an awesome bird when you are finished. I am in the process of buying a private airstrip in south central PA, so I won't have time or money to do any cosmetic stuff to my 180. It needs a paint job in the worst way. I restore cars and paint airplanes for a living and am finally taking the plunge into airport ownership so I can do all my  business under one roof. All my personal toy projects will be put on hold until I get my new shop up and running. I am pushing to get this Avid finished before I get too busy with real business and it ends up sitting unfinished for another 2 years. I will need it for my daily sunset stress relief flights once the work on my hangar begins. Good luck with your project , It will be worth all the effort.

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Posted

Congrats on your purchase of the airport, it sounds like a dream come true and a nightmare at the same time!  My partner in the 180 has a Kitfox and a PA12 both on floats.. he much prefers the kitfox for his sunset cruises around the lake to ease the business tensions of the day. 

 

I will hit you up on some tips for stripping the 180 and repainting it.  Right now I am torn between pulling the wings off for the paint or stripping it and painting with the wings on.  The tail feathers are off and will be painted separate as will the flaps and ailerons.   What is your favorite stripper??  The kind that removes paint not clothes :lol:  Do you have a primer or paint system that you prefer over the rest?  I am a rag and tube kinda guy and have done lots of painting on fabric, but this is my first aluminum job.  Any tips you may have I would welcome as I really only want to do this once :lol:

 

:BC:

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Posted

I use Sea to Sky eco friendly paint stripper. I buy it in 55 gal drums. It only takes about 15-20 gallons to strip an entire plane the size of your 180. I bought a stainless steel pnuematic pump to spray the stripper onto the airframe. I like the surface to be stripped to be as clean as possible so the stripper doesn't have to work through layers of dirt, oxidized paint and oil residue. I cover all plastics and areas I don't want the stripper to get into  with aluminum foil and aluminum tape. There are specific stripping foils and tapes but I find that plain old heavy duty foil and 3m aluminum duct tape (not to be confused with average vinyl  duct tape) work great. I usually cover the hanger floor with heavy construction plastic, pull the plane in, and start spraying the stripper. Use a white painters suit, goggles, rubber gloves and a resperator  when you spray the stripper. I like to spray the stripper at the end of the day and let it sit over night. When you come back in the morning a lot of the paint will have fallen off and will be laying on the plastic on the floor. At this point I scrape as much of the loose paint off with a plastic scrapper. Be very careful because the floor will get very slippery. I will scrape the mush off the wings into a bucket to keep the floor from getting so slippery. Once I finish scraping, I apply another coat to areas that need it or power wash the residue if it comes clean in one application. Water is what deactivates the stripper. I usually push the plane out side and roll up the plastic from the floor. This plastic is taken by the hazerdous waste removal people. I pull the plane back inside and power wash every sguare inch and take extra time to wash in the seams to remove all stripper. This is the most important step because any stripper that is left between layers of aluminum skin will cause corrosion in the future. I also cover the landing gear legs with foil and DA sand them to strip them. If you chemically strip them you will have a rust issue when you are done. I like to keep the entire airplane assembled for the initial stripping then remove all the control surfaces, cowling , and wing tips once it is stripped and rinsed. It is much easier to power wash the control surfaces while they are attached to the airframe. Once They are removed you will have some touch up stripping to do in the areas that the stripper couldn't get to.  I don't remove the wings most of the time unless the owner is doing a restoration and wants the plane completely epoxy primed inside. When I do remove the wings we mark where the wing attachment excentric spacers are so we can put it back as close as possible to keep the plane trimmed the way it was when it came into the shop. The next step is dent repair and then acid etch and rinse. For some one who doesn't paint professionally I would recommend using Aerothane paint from Poly Fiber to paint with. They have a great step by step paint guide and excellent tech support. I have painted a couple of planes with their paint and it lays out nice and is easy to spray. They have a complete system including Epoxy primer. Their step by step guide keeps the guess work out of painting your plane. I hope I answered some of your questions. Take your time and have patience, painting your airplane can be the most rewarding thing you can do to your airplane. You see the results of your hard work every time you open the hangar doors.

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Posted

Thanks for the info!  I wont hurt my feelings to leave the plane together to paint it.  I can make a rolling scaffolding to paint the top of the wings.  Stripping it is the biggest intimidator right now :lol:  I guess its time to order more strippers than I can shake a stick at and just get to it.  The tip on aluminum foil and foil tape is awesome, thats the kind of stuff that can can bite me in the ass.

 

:BC:

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Posted

akflyer, 

 

One way to make painting the plane easier is to tape up the fuselage and spray the wings, struts, and stabelizer first. Then tape up  those parts and paint the fuselage and vertical. Spraying an entire airframe by yourself is a lot of work and it is easier to keep it from having dry spots from the paint flashing off . I always hang all the control surfaces from hooks in the ceiling of my spray booth to paint them. I also paint the cowling and doors off the plane so I can paint the jam area and the area behind the upper hinge on the fuselage that is blocked by the upper door hinge. There are a million little tricks to make the process easier. I have been painting airplanes and cars since I was a kid and I learn something new every day.

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