- Joined
- Mar 25, 2013
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I had meant to write a post on the first anniversary of joining this forum--which roughly coincides with starting my mid-life biplane adventure. That first post was this one from 25 March: http://www.biplaneforum.com/f11/how-did-you-all-gain-your-mechanical-knowledge-7745/. Around that same time I took a few lessons with Johnny White and Budd Davisson. I joined IAC 52. And in late spring I bought N127A. Thus began a summer of learning life hanging from the straps and doing that which worried me the most--wrench turning.
The first small project was to replace the tailwheel lock release mechanism. Working on that broke the very brittle trim pushrod (the release is co-located with the trim). I modified the design a bit and replaced it with stainless piano wire. Then came a suspected leak from the tach drive. I plugged it and installed an electric tach. That didn't fix the leak but it did make the panel a little sexier. The season came to a close and 27A relocated to VAY to have some basic work done (including fixing the leak) and getting annualed. I finally brought her back to Blairstown in January. Flew once on the first warm day and killed the 1982 Toyota starter that had served the plane faithfully since the '90s. I replaced it with a nice new Skytech. But now the B&C battery was showing its age and reluctance to provide the Skytech the amps it needed. So I bought an Odyssey. But that required a new tray and some marginal wood working skills. Between the starter and the battery I flew on a cold and blustery early april day for the first stab at practicing the 2014 Sportsman Known. The tailwheel broke at the weld taxiing back to the hangar. Joe Flood recommended welding it back but doubt crept in and buying new seemed safer. I mistakenly thought the wheel was a Raven and emailed Rob to see if I needed to buy just the wheel or a new stinger as well. Based on my description of the wheel he determined that it was actually an original Haigh. I was still willing to buy a new one but he suggested I take it to an auto shop and have it welded--just as Joe suggested. Guy lost a sale but earned a lifelong fan! I had it fixed and flying again in a few hours for $25.
So that's my wrench turning. It may not sound so impressive among most of you builders. But for me, a guy who stresses fixing a bicycle flat, it was sucking from a firehose. There is no way I could have kept this thing in the air without the advice from this forum as well as many calls to Joe and Johnny among others.
So this thread is something of a birthday "Thank You!" to all of you. Thanks for the support that everyone here generously provides new entrants to the sport like me. As a hobby, we are nowhere near the heydays of the '70s. But keeping the sport/hobby/biplane enthusiasm alive has made its remaining small population generously unselfish yet still competitive.
The first small project was to replace the tailwheel lock release mechanism. Working on that broke the very brittle trim pushrod (the release is co-located with the trim). I modified the design a bit and replaced it with stainless piano wire. Then came a suspected leak from the tach drive. I plugged it and installed an electric tach. That didn't fix the leak but it did make the panel a little sexier. The season came to a close and 27A relocated to VAY to have some basic work done (including fixing the leak) and getting annualed. I finally brought her back to Blairstown in January. Flew once on the first warm day and killed the 1982 Toyota starter that had served the plane faithfully since the '90s. I replaced it with a nice new Skytech. But now the B&C battery was showing its age and reluctance to provide the Skytech the amps it needed. So I bought an Odyssey. But that required a new tray and some marginal wood working skills. Between the starter and the battery I flew on a cold and blustery early april day for the first stab at practicing the 2014 Sportsman Known. The tailwheel broke at the weld taxiing back to the hangar. Joe Flood recommended welding it back but doubt crept in and buying new seemed safer. I mistakenly thought the wheel was a Raven and emailed Rob to see if I needed to buy just the wheel or a new stinger as well. Based on my description of the wheel he determined that it was actually an original Haigh. I was still willing to buy a new one but he suggested I take it to an auto shop and have it welded--just as Joe suggested. Guy lost a sale but earned a lifelong fan! I had it fixed and flying again in a few hours for $25.
So that's my wrench turning. It may not sound so impressive among most of you builders. But for me, a guy who stresses fixing a bicycle flat, it was sucking from a firehose. There is no way I could have kept this thing in the air without the advice from this forum as well as many calls to Joe and Johnny among others.
So this thread is something of a birthday "Thank You!" to all of you. Thanks for the support that everyone here generously provides new entrants to the sport like me. As a hobby, we are nowhere near the heydays of the '70s. But keeping the sport/hobby/biplane enthusiasm alive has made its remaining small population generously unselfish yet still competitive.
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