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The 180.. saving a ramp mummy

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Posted

Well thanks to Larry egging me on, I decided to post up the work going on with the 180.  When we bought it we were "hoping" to get in a couple hundred hours before a major, but that was just not in the cards... So I will keep this thread updated as work progresses on the ole bird and hopefully, come spring time, she will be back in the air.

 

 

I guess I may as well turn this into a rebuild / repair / tinkering thread.. Not going to be as impressive as Bigrennas thread by any means, but it gives me something to do while I am at work and have time to kill..

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At the dock after a quick flight to the lodge. Was a great flight and she flew nice and straight. Hauled in 50 gallons of Diesel to them to help hold them over till the water freezes and we can use the sleds to freight in fuel and supplies.

After this flight it was time to pull the plane out of the water as the lake started building ice the next day. The trailer I use for my Avid and the PA 12 was too small for the 180 so it was time to get to building. All the iron came out of scrap piles we have stacked up behind the hangar so it was nothing but time to get it built.

 


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I didn't get any pics of it in the trailer as it was blowing wet snow and rain and we were scrambling to get it inside before we lost all the heat in the hangar.

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It took 2 days of parts blaster, home make concoctions and me turning out a tool in the lathe to try and get the damn tail spring out. The cross tube was rusted in SOLID! I ended up cutting the cross tube with a sawzall to get the tail spring out, then we had to carefully split the tube inside the mount to fold it into itself and pound it out of the mount. That was a bugger that help to expand my vocabulary into something any sailor would be damn proud of!

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After much going back and forth, we went ahead a humored the IA by putting the 7/8" tail spring back on.. After the annual it will probly take a magic viagra and turn into a 1 1/8" that happens to be hiding on the shelf in the hangar. The gear and wheels came from Denalipilot and look sweet on the old gal. According the the log books and the previous owner, this is the first time since 74 that she has seen wheels.

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While we were busy replacing the right hand elevator, servicing the jack screws and putting in new trim cable and chain, the wife spent 3 days up to her arm pits slopping out the belly of 40 yrs worth of dirt, oil and crap build up. It took multiple applications of Stoddard solvent and lots of cussing to get the crap scraped out and cleaned up, but I bet it was close to 10 pounds of crap that came out. 5 full coffee cans of sludge and dirt came out of the belly not to mention what I was able to vacuum out before she went to work on it.

Interior has been stripped and the old ADF system and various other antiquated crap has been removed. I dont have any scales at the hangar, but I am certain 35-40 pounds have come out. We will see how we do when we put it back together and put it on scales for a new WB.

we are thinking of sound proofing and perhaps kydex to take care of the ceiling and aft cabin from the doors back. Extended baggage will be installed as well.

 

Some of the names mentioned in there probly wont make any sense to you unless your a member of BCP or back country pilot.  Its a pretty good group of guys with a passion for leaving the pavement behind and getting out and exploring the back country and hanging out around campfires at night telling lies.

 

More to come as the work progresses.

 

 

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Posted

Sorry to hear of the mishap over on BCP.  Care to share more here?

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Posted

2 steps forwards 10 steps back... The engine was tore down scattered across the country to have this shop rebuild that, that shop overhaul that etc at the various shops my IA was all warm and fuzzy dealing with. The plane got rolled out of the hangar to bring a couple other projects real quick.. Got hit with 60 MPH winds about 1 am yesterday morning and I got the dreaded call while I was at work yesterday morning.. Seems we just added a wing tip, left aileron, left horizontal stab and elevator to the list of shit to rebuild or replace. I'm waiting on pics now that shows the damage. I guess the plus side is, the ailerons were going to get re-skinned one day anyhow, so why not do it now up front....

 

It is no ones fault other than mine and my partners. Unless we want to pissed at the almighty for leaving us lacking in the brain department and for creating the winds that hit us LOL.

We had pulled the 180 out to put my Avid on skis and to work on his kitfox.. The intent was to pull the plane back in when we were done, but it got left outside and we were too damn stupid to tie it down. Live and learn I spose.

 

:BC:

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Posted

Damn Larry, they guys here know me better than over there so I wasn't gonna tell these guys my stupid pilot tricks :lol:  But ya got me to fess up to being STUPID yet again..

 

:BC:

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Posted

See-- the original post made it sound, to me at least, that the plane was in your A&P's shop. It sounded like you werent even there. That's why I commented the way I did. I couldn't tell you were just covering your own dumb ass.

Cuddos to you... Kind of.

Now get back to work. You've got a shitload of certified scrap metal to replace.

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Posted

Ouch!  Sorry to hear about that Leni.  The winds were brutal here yesterday.  I was unloading some buiding materials I had delivered so I can build a mezzanine in the hangar and it picked up a sheet of 3/4 OSB and flew it over to the edge of the hangar pad.  The main hangar door was really being tested so I didn't dare open it.  I opened the roll up door on the side addition and thought it was going to blow my roof off with one gust.

 

Glad it didn't roll the 180 up into a ball.

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Posted

See-- the original post made it sound, to me at least, that the plane was in your A&P's shop. It sounded like you werent even there. That's why I commented the way I did. I couldn't tell you were just covering your own dumb ass.

Cuddos to you... Kind of.

Now get back to work. You've got a shitload of certified scrap metal to replace.

 

I was not there when it happened.. I was at work 800 miles away :lol:  I thought the 180 was going to get put back in the hangar once the kitfox was taken out so it would be safe and sound... I was wrong..

 

I did learn that the ice screws I use to anchor the Avid out on the lake work well.  They are rated at 450# each and seem to hold really well in good clear ice!

:BC:

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Posted

This is about to start coming together.  All the engine parts are back and waiting to be put back into a nice neat package that should keep the pilot cool fan turning for many years to come.  The cooling fan is also in paint now and ready for us to come pick it up in the next few days.  The elevator and stabilizer are getting rebuilt by a cool old feller in Homer that has been doing this stuff for something like forever!  He has been part of war bird rebuilds, a B24 salvage project up here and is used by all the flight services in homer to fix their little screw ups.  It was cool walking into his shop and looking at the collection of old sheet metal tools he has from the beginning of time.  He has a cool 42 Ford military jeep he restored with his grandson a few years ago as well as a few other oldies he has restored...

 

 

 

 

While walking around his shop I noticed a nice new set of wing tips just like mine (except the ones he has are not shattered).  After a bit of going back and forth and talking about his other projects he told me for 100 bucks I could take them... SCORE! 

 

So now the head scratching starts.. the original plan was to fly the crap out of the plane this summer then give her a face lift next winter, but now its going to have new tail feathers and control surfaces and the rest of the plane will look ratty... is it better to just strip it down now and go for a full repaint, or just do the new parts now and stick to the full face lift next winter :dunno:  I am leaning towards at least shooting the top of the wings and  getting them smoothed out as the old moss and crap that was on there etched the paint pretty good and it is anything but smooth up there. 

 

Next question that some of you here can help me with.  I have painted lots of fabric, steel and fiberglass but never any aluminum.  Whats your favorite product to use?  how do you prep the aluminum and what paint is good, but not STUPID expensive?  In the end, I want a nice clean plane, but I am not going for an oshkosh award winner.  This plane is a 4x4 of the skys and will be used for hunting and fishing and beating around the bush like it was meant to be used not a pampered hangar queen.  I am ready to jump in and tackle the job, I would just like to learn from others mistakes before I try to make them all on my own :lol:

 

:BC:

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Posted (edited)

Leni,

      Call UAA Aviation Dept. and ask them what they use for a conversion coating - I think that is what they called it - I haven't worked with old aluminum for so long that I have forgotten.   I have just been using Alumi-Prep, and Alodine, primer and Stewarts on new aluminum.

      We painted my Ercoupe with Ford enamel from the auto paint store - looked great - not Imron, or any of the Poly stuff -

But, guess old style Dodge or Chevy or VW paint would do just as well.....Not the new water-based ones! 

EDMo

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

 So now the head scratching starts.. the original plan was to fly the crap out of the plane this summer then give her a face lift next winter, but now its going to have new tail feathers and control surfaces and the rest of the plane will look ratty... is it better to just strip it down now and go for a full repaint, or just do the new parts now and stick to the full face lift next winter :dunno:  I am leaning towards at least shooting the top of the wings and  getting them smoothed out as the old moss and crap that was on there etched the paint pretty good and it is anything but smooth up there. 

:BC:

I would do it all asap. No time like the present and, as you know, young uns are cheap but the kiddie bills start soon enough. :-)

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Posted (edited)

Leni,

     I just bought a used set of Horton STOL Droop tips for a 182 - Hoping they will work for my extended leading edge on Foxy - If I don't use them, then the NEXT TIME you need a set.......They wont be as cheap as your bargain - but a whole lot less than $1500 to $2000 for a new set!   Avids are a LOT cheaper!

EDMO

Edited by Ed In Missouri

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Posted

I would do it all asap. No time like the present and, as you know, young uns are cheap but the kiddie bills start soon enough. :-)

 

I hear ya on the bills!  At least this time around I am working a much better job and it wont take 3 jobs to support the family!... well... I guess that will depend on how the 180 rebuild goes :lol:

 

:BC:

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Posted (edited)

The 180 is family and is already not a cheap little kid! :lmao:

Edited by lostman
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Posted

well it is slowly coming together. All parts for the engine are back and at the IA's shop, new carb, mags etc. The prop is in the hangar waiting for the IA to get the engine built and hung back on the plane. I took the elevator and stab to a guy 75 miles away who has been doing sheet metal repair work for 50+ years and came highly recommended..... He called and said the shit was ready to pick up so I drove down there and this is what I got for $3650.00...

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big gap on the stabilizer skin overlap

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Clamp / plier marks all along the edge of the elevator

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crack in the skin on the bottom of the elevator

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top side of stab had a bubble in the skin and the rivet was pounded in so hard that when you put a straight edge over the skin the rivet head is almost 3/16" below the surface of the skin.

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The stab skins dont even come close to matching the fiberglass tips

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99% of the rivet heads were pounded down below the surface of the skins.

When I confronted the guy, he said all he would do was "repair" the crack in the elevator and put a 185 leading edge skin on the stab to hide the shitty work and big gaps. But as far as the rest of the rivets being pounded too hard, I was just being "to nitpicky" I don't think it is too much to ask that new skins not look like they have been through a hail storm. The bad part is he has these tagged as serviceable... anyone else see anything wrong here?

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Posted

... anyone else see anything wrong here?

 

Yes, yes I do. >:D

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Posted

Maybe he will use your money to go to Anchorage and get new glasses - evidently he is going blind in his old age!]

Sorry you got such bad results.

EDMO

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Posted

Stop payment on check?

Call local FSDO?

Open up a 2-liter of whoopazz?

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Posted

Larry, I think we are going to take them up to the FSDO and see what they think about that work coming out of a certified repair station... The bad news is, when the FAA inspectors have an issue with something and are wondering how bad is bad enough to not be safe or fly able, this is the guy they call.... So we may just be screwed on this one..

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Posted

Flyable and airworthy are not the same as "Quality of workmanship" - The repair station should be held to higher standards.

Maybe FSDO will have 2nd thoughts about his "expertise"?   I would go there and bitch.

EDMO

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Posted

Man, that's a bummer. Sorry to see that it turned out this way. In situations like this, it's hard to know whether to just chalk it up to a bad experience and move on, or see if you can get some kind of resolution. Sometimes it's not worth the extra headache. I guess everyone is different. Of course, I know it would probably bug me every time I saw it. Like you said in one of your earlier posts though, this plane is a pickup truck of the sky not a hangar queen. If it's airworthy, maybe just go with it.

 

The thing I can't understand is that this guy isn't willing to work with you a little more. Like they say, a happy customer might tell one other person, but an unhappy customer will tell ten other people...

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Posted

Dang that sucks man.

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Posted

Leni - Why not take your boy up there with you, tap him with a cattle prod and step back to let nature take it's course?

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Posted

That makes me feel bad. It more than sucks!

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Posted

one step forward 3 steps back..had what looked like some light corrosion on on of the engine mount tubes.. After stripping it turns out its worse than we thought.  Found one that has just been overhauled and powder coated for 1000.. and the guy will load it up in his 180 and deliver it to us saving us 6 hours of driving.  still not sure what we are going to do with the stab and elevator.

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Posted

When you take them back to the SOB, I'd like to see the photos of him eating them...

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