Small Tail Caddy wrote:Looking at your pics kinda put a lump in my throat, with the thought of selling mine .

ditto

Tadpole wrote:..... The thing I have to keep reminding myself is that my goal here is to repair and fly. I keep getting sidetracked by disassembling more and heading down the road of restoration...which I don't have the time or money for yet........

That's an easy road to go down- exactly what happened to a buddy of mine who bought a beater Pacer for a cheap tailwheel trainer, time builder, and fun flyer. He went from getting a few things squared away so it'd pass muster for an annual, to doing a total rebuild with plenty of mods. It'll be an awesome airplane if and when he gets her done, but he's owned it for almost 4 years now and it ain't even close. Stay focused, get her flying, and start saving money & making plans for your rebuild/restoration on down the road a few years. Besides, from the pics it looks like a pretty nice airplane as is.

You just need to put in alittle gusset around the radios to bring the look up to the level of the rest of the panel.

Throttle Pusher wrote:You just need to put in alittle gusset around the radios to bring the look up to the level of the rest of the panel.

Any tips on what material to make one from that looks nice? I was thinking it'd be great to do something like that, but haven't really an idea on where to begin. I've browsed around a bit online and not found any leads.

How about some small 1/4 round molding from Home Depot?
How much does the radio stack stick out? I'm betting that it's something you can live with, esp after you get used to it. Some things just aren't worth putting too much effort into "fixing", esp if they're not a problem. And maybe it's like computers- it's not a problem, it's a feature.

Tadpole, I agree with Hotrod 150. Get 'er flyin' and then you can fuss with some of that stuff.

That said, there have been several good strings relating to panel design and installation, as well as radio installation on www.supercub.org . Whilst the details behind the panel are somewhat different, the thought process, and some tips and tricks are very good. There have also been a couple strings on fabricating interior panels (e.g., side panels) from aluminum and from Kydex. Kydex looks to be fairly easy to work with by heat forming to a mould (no experience here). And of course, TONS of information on wing repairs, rigging, working with fabric and stuff.

I'm enjoying your pix and descriptions, keep 'em comin', eh?

Thanks. cubscout

And if an in-panel installation can't be easily doen to your satisfaction, there's always the below-panel option- either in a sub-panel or just bracketed off the bottom of the regular panel. I've seen a couple Ercoupes done this way, and it's surprisingly clean.

Well I didn't get to spend as much time at the hangar this weekend as planned. Things come up you know, like the wife wanting to go look at flooring....

So I went out for a few hours today and got a couple things done. To finish up a few things on the right wing I cut down a grommet to make a custom fit for the wiring to pass through the wingtip for the position light and strobe. I also got schooled on setting the drag wire tension...of which I ordered a better tool to use to set it than my finger...so I can get that finalized once it arrives.



Then I started on the left wing. All I had done to this point was clean it. The previous owner had removed most of the damaged parts already, and cleco'd in the new spar tips. Here's a pic of how it sat when I started today.



So I removed the bad nose and main rib.



Then I match drilled the forward spar tip, along with drilling out the holes to rivet on the drag wire attachment block.



I ran out of time and had to do "home" errands, so that's it for now. Next up is continuing to work on the left wing! I'm in a race against the temperatures now. I want to get the wing covered and painted before it gets too cold.

I got in several more hours on my left wing today. Here is how it looked from the last time I left it...



And this is how it looks after today...the outboard main rib is cleco'd in at this point, but the spar tips are riveted on.



I need to order some cherry max rivets, there's a handful of spots I can't buck rivets into. Plan to go out tomorrow and finish assembly of the wing other than the rivets I can't get in right now. Although I may not get it done, that long trailing edge piece is gonna be a pain in the butt!

Alright, today's update...

I went out the hangar and spent the first hourish figuring out how much fabric, tapes, chemicals, paint, and so on I need to get. Then bushwagon stopped by for a look see. Then I got to work. I was able to use a different bucking bar and buck all but one of the rivets I thought I'd have to end up using a cherry max in. So that's good. I got all the way to the wingtip mounting and positioning the trailing edge skins.

So compared to the last image from yesterday above, here's the visual progress today...

Tadpole, the one thing I'd highly recommend you do, since you have cover off your wing, is to install the "mooring fitting" that they call out in the parts list. It is a tiedown loop that attaches to the spar web, and spreads the load much much better than the "ring" on the lower web of the spar. Somewhere around here, I have the drawings for them. They are a "must do" item for every Stinson that goes out the door here!!
John

hardtailjohn wrote:Tadpole, the one thing I'd highly recommend you do, since you have cover off your wing, is to install the "mooring fitting" that they call out in the parts list. It is a tiedown loop that attaches to the spar web, and spreads the load much much better than the "ring" on the lower web of the spar. Somewhere around here, I have the drawings for them. They are a "must do" item for every Stinson that goes out the door here!!
John

I'd be interested to know more about this, but I only have one wing uncovered.

Didn't get much done today. Put in all new clamps in the wings and secured the wiring and new pitot tubing. Tomorrow's plan includes tensioning the drag wires, putting on the final leading and trailing edge skins, and maybe install the fuel tank. I pressure tested it a couple weeks ago and found some leaks that I was able to tighten up, so it's good to go now.

Monday I go pick up my order of all the poly-fiber materials, paint, and so on.

I sure enjoy your posts and pics, keep 'em coming!

wirsig wrote:I sure enjoy your posts and pics, keep 'em coming!

X2

Thanks guys. I had the camera there today but nothing really exciting to take pictures of with just clamping stuff. Maybe I'll be able to get a picture tomorrow of the left wing finally all put back together.

Maybe you need an official photographer-- I'm sure a shot of your face when you get your thumb caught in a clamp would be noteworthy.

Update time.

So this past week I was able to pick up most of my Poly-Fiber order from a covering place in Longmont, then a stop at Univair for some other parts. Then I didn't get out to the hangar until today. So inconvenient having the project 30ish minutes away.

I was able to completely finish the wing repairs and modifications today. Got it all together, YAY! Next up is to prepare for fabric covering.

After how chilly it was out there today in an unheated / insulated hangar, I decided that between temps and distance I'm going to do the fabric and painting in my garage. We run an eBay store out of half of it, so the other, longer half, I'll clear out this week. Going to do my left aileron first, then I'll bring the left wing home to do the whole deal. Temp paint booth and all.

I'm looking forward to being able to come home from work and just go out in the warm garage and work on the plane. So much more convenient.

Here are two pictures of the finished left wing...

Watch out for flammable vapors if you have a gas water heater or furnace in the garage. Now breath deep and get a buzz.

RobBurson wrote:Watch out for flammable vapors if you have a gas water heater or furnace in the garage. Now breath deep and get a buzz.

none of that in the garage...so all the fumes are for me to enjoy!