Good morning Biplaneforum.
I've been MIA these last few months, winter was not kind to me and lots of life stuff got in the way of any real progress on repairs for the Acro II. Not to mention that it was cold as hell, and as several of you pointed out there was no real way I was going to heat that hangar at Marcellus.
Here's one of my older threads:
https://www.biplaneforum.com/threads/new-to-me-acro-ii-first-looks-and-questions.16287/page-4
Last weekend I re-opened the hangar and started getting to work. I have decided to take the advice of a number of folks and "Do the repairs it needs and get it flying again!" rather than digging into a restoration. With that said, I am planning a multi-year phased approach:
Immediately I need:
- To pull and repair the manual boost pump. It does not pump, I cannot start the plane with less than 3/4 tank of fuel (It will not gravity feed below that level). This is a safety issue, as with less than that amount of fuel I have only one functional fuel pump on an injected engine. I hear there is a guy out in CA maybe that still repairs these Christen wobble pumps. I cannot find the info about getting this rebuilt that I found last fall - if anyone has any info I would love it. If I cannot repair it, I will have to convert to electric and that's getting into a bigger project.
- Recover at least the rudder. Fabric is loose (not bonded to the frame) on the lower 1/4. Debating on recovering from the cockpit back, although it's in decent shape except for the belly. I'd rather not get into this right away, as long-term I plan to metalize back to the rear of the rear cockpit like Chris did. Thats a longer term project. In the interim - the belly fabric is missing ALL the paint in a large section. NO paint, no silver. Its ceconite. I was considering doing either:
- "Paint repair" - peeling what is peeling off, and shooting it with silver, then white paint. This is a temporary repair (1-2 years).
- or slit off the belly fabric only, and do a new fabric repair to the longerons. Only the belly fabric. Neither option will be beautiful, but either would probably be safe and work.
- Figure out why the alternator is not charging, and fix it. Could be as simple as a bad regulator, or could be as big a PITA as replacing wiring and the alternator. If replacing the alternator is in the cards, I would highly consider one of the accessory-pad driven small replacements and trashing the old ford-style front mounted. Opinions?
- Treat the minor corrosion on the wing attach fittings and anyplace else I see anything (Have not seen anything else).
Beyond that, full condition inspection, all new hardware wherever I can, and re-rig it and get it back in the air.
Longer term - metalize back to rear cockpit, recover fuselage and rudder, paint fuselage, possible full panel re-do and new wiring. Add spin-on filter adapter and filter. Electric boost pump.
Really longer term - Wing and elevator recover and paint, replace front cowling, review engine cooling configuration.
Looking for advice on my short term plans: any info on getting that boost pump rebuilt, covering repair ideas, and anything that should be added to the must-do list.
Taking tailwheel training now in Ithaca in a Citabria (Its all I can do for now). Plan to go to one of the aerobatic schools before I try to take up the acro.
Thanks!
Jeff
I've been MIA these last few months, winter was not kind to me and lots of life stuff got in the way of any real progress on repairs for the Acro II. Not to mention that it was cold as hell, and as several of you pointed out there was no real way I was going to heat that hangar at Marcellus.
Here's one of my older threads:
https://www.biplaneforum.com/threads/new-to-me-acro-ii-first-looks-and-questions.16287/page-4
Last weekend I re-opened the hangar and started getting to work. I have decided to take the advice of a number of folks and "Do the repairs it needs and get it flying again!" rather than digging into a restoration. With that said, I am planning a multi-year phased approach:
Immediately I need:
- To pull and repair the manual boost pump. It does not pump, I cannot start the plane with less than 3/4 tank of fuel (It will not gravity feed below that level). This is a safety issue, as with less than that amount of fuel I have only one functional fuel pump on an injected engine. I hear there is a guy out in CA maybe that still repairs these Christen wobble pumps. I cannot find the info about getting this rebuilt that I found last fall - if anyone has any info I would love it. If I cannot repair it, I will have to convert to electric and that's getting into a bigger project.
- Recover at least the rudder. Fabric is loose (not bonded to the frame) on the lower 1/4. Debating on recovering from the cockpit back, although it's in decent shape except for the belly. I'd rather not get into this right away, as long-term I plan to metalize back to the rear of the rear cockpit like Chris did. Thats a longer term project. In the interim - the belly fabric is missing ALL the paint in a large section. NO paint, no silver. Its ceconite. I was considering doing either:
- "Paint repair" - peeling what is peeling off, and shooting it with silver, then white paint. This is a temporary repair (1-2 years).
- or slit off the belly fabric only, and do a new fabric repair to the longerons. Only the belly fabric. Neither option will be beautiful, but either would probably be safe and work.
- Figure out why the alternator is not charging, and fix it. Could be as simple as a bad regulator, or could be as big a PITA as replacing wiring and the alternator. If replacing the alternator is in the cards, I would highly consider one of the accessory-pad driven small replacements and trashing the old ford-style front mounted. Opinions?
- Treat the minor corrosion on the wing attach fittings and anyplace else I see anything (Have not seen anything else).
Beyond that, full condition inspection, all new hardware wherever I can, and re-rig it and get it back in the air.
Longer term - metalize back to rear cockpit, recover fuselage and rudder, paint fuselage, possible full panel re-do and new wiring. Add spin-on filter adapter and filter. Electric boost pump.
Really longer term - Wing and elevator recover and paint, replace front cowling, review engine cooling configuration.
Looking for advice on my short term plans: any info on getting that boost pump rebuilt, covering repair ideas, and anything that should be added to the must-do list.
Taking tailwheel training now in Ithaca in a Citabria (Its all I can do for now). Plan to go to one of the aerobatic schools before I try to take up the acro.
Thanks!
Jeff
