Nice

hamer wrote:Excited to see the progress. I just did a new radio and relocated the headset jacks in my 120, very happy with the results. I'd highly recommend moving the plugs to behind you. So nice having them out of the way.

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I really like what you did with the headset jacks and how you sealed off the tailcone, I'll probably copy something similar to that, thanks for sharing!

Things are slowly getting shinier around here...

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Well, it's been a very long time since I updated this thread... quite a bit had changed! The wings have been removed, fabric stripped, and panel completely redone. The end result will be a newly recovered 140 with VGs, wig was leading edge landing lights, and ADS-B compliance. It's been a busy summer, but shes coming along nicely!

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Fly the airplane first without the VG's. Test it in all regimes of flight and record your findings. Then 2 side tape the VG's on and repeat, if you like the results then permanently glue them on, if not throw em away and chalk up the money you spent to lesson learned.

VG's work good on some airplanes and have no or negligible performance increase on others. On some airplanes they actually change some flying characteristics in a not so positive way. Buyer/owner beware, don't get caught up in the VG craze, proceed with caution.

Otherwise, VERY COOL rejuvenation!

Kurt

Nice work! You'll love the G5, I've really enjoyed having mine.

I would consider mounting a couple FlightFlix power boxes in the wings while you have them uncovered.

https://flightflix.net/product/aircraft ... er-supply/

G44 wrote:Fly the airplane first without the VG's. Test it in all regimes of flight and record your findings. Then 2 side tape the VG's on and repeat, if you like the results then permanently glue them on, if not throw em away and chalk up the money you spent to lesson learned.

VG's work good on some airplanes and have no or negligible performance increase on others. On some airplanes they actually change some flying characteristics in a not so positive way. Buyer/owner beware, don't get caught up in the VG craze, proceed with caution.

Otherwise, VERY COOL rejuvenation!

Kurt

Thanks! Plenty of others have already flown 120s and 140s with VGs and have had glowing reviews about them. Looking forward to flying again soon!

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Where are you working at this? Tanner?

pouellette wrote:Where are you working at this? Tanner?

Spruce Creek in florida, down here for school

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jlacharite wrote:

G44 wrote:Fly the airplane first without the VG's. Test it in all regimes of flight and record your findings. Then 2 side tape the VG's on and repeat, if you like the results then permanently glue them on, if not throw em away and chalk up the money you spent to lesson learned.

VG's work good on some airplanes and have no or negligible performance increase on others. On some airplanes they actually change some flying characteristics in a not so positive way. Buyer/owner beware, don't get caught up in the VG craze, proceed with caution.

Otherwise, VERY COOL rejuvenation!

Kurt

Thanks! Plenty of others have already flown 120s and 140s with VGs and have had glowing reviews about them. Looking forward to flying again soon!

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I bet they have, however have YOU flown them? Make sure they work for YOU on YOUR airplane. I have seen these issues before, one raves about em and another hates em, just say'n....

G44 wrote:

jlacharite wrote:

G44 wrote:Fly the airplane first without the VG's. Test it in all regimes of flight and record your findings. Then 2 side tape the VG's on and repeat, if you like the results then permanently glue them on, if not throw em away and chalk up the money you spent to lesson learned.

VG's work good on some airplanes and have no or negligible performance increase on others. On some airplanes they actually change some flying characteristics in a not so positive way. Buyer/owner beware, don't get caught up in the VG craze, proceed with caution.

Otherwise, VERY COOL rejuvenation!

Kurt

Thanks! Plenty of others have already flown 120s and 140s with VGs and have had glowing reviews about them. Looking forward to flying again soon!

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I bet they have, however have YOU flown them? Make sure they work for YOU on YOUR airplane. I have seen these issues before, one raves about em and another hates em, just say'n....

Very true... I'll take your advice and tape them first. I know how it performs very well without them, so I an definitely curious

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And weve got primer! Next come the new rags

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Lovely bones there [emoji1360]

Molokai to Florida. Joe, you are amazingly talented with the C140. Aloha from PHNL.

I added VG’s during our restoration of a C-140 with an O-200. The plane behaves much different than before. During slow flight the plane has a very high nose high attitude up to stall. The stall itself has a much harder break than it did before, This goes for both power off and on. I’ve also done cross controlled stalls and spin entry’s and while the plane does seem to fly 2-3 mph slower. Once the wing lets go, it lets go pretty aggressively. But all planes are different and I can only report on how ours behaves. The roll control at slow speeds is better on takeoff and landing. Even with 8.50x6.00 tires if you tried to 3 point it the tail would touch WAY before the mains. We have 29” Bushwheel tires now and it’s almost perfect but even at low speed on rollout even if you think the tail is done and ready to be down for good you hold full aft wheel and the mains will get light or come off ground (BTW I wheel land 99.9% of the time). I really like the slow speed roll control and that being said, they are staying on.

The 140 is finished for now. It was completed and signed off back in november. But I've been having too much fun with it to bother posting anything! Empty weight came in at 893 lbs, and the VGs are great!

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Is the P-51 in the background your back-up airplane? Nice work on the 140 by the way. I can see why the P-51 might stay on the ground so you can take short hops in the 140

jlacharite wrote:The 140 is finished for now. ...

You're apparently not recognizing the several hundred hours of aluminum polishing in your future .

Well, for those who didnt know, I had an accident back in September of 2020 with my 140. While taking off from a grass strip, I hit a gopher hole with my left main gear, resulting in the aircraft being put through a fence and into a pond. The insurance totaled out the plane, and it was taken away by Wentworth Aircraft. With the insurance money, I bought a tailwheel converted Cessna 150. Around a year and a half later, I found that Wentworth had not yet sold my 140, and managed to buy it back (minus avionics and engine) for a steal! With the 140 back, I made the difficult decision to sell the 150, and get back into my old plane.

The damage overall consisted of a dented belly, a crunched right wing, a dented horizontal stab, and a dented cowling. In the process, I would need to find a new engine since the other one had been sold. Once I cut the fabric off my wings to inspect the damage, I found that it would probably be cheaper to replace them rather than repair them sadly. I sold the old wings, and found a new set for almost the same price I sold the old ones for! So that was a big step forward. Huge thank you to my fiance for letting me store them in her living room.... I recovered the wings with the stewart system and got those hung within 1 month and a half.

The engine was another part I found for a rather sweet deal. My 140 had the O200 stc done on it, and I found a propstruck O200 just a few miles from my old apartment in Florida. The engine was off of an EAA biplane which had a low rpm propstrike in grass with a wood prop. The engine only had 280 hours SMOH, and I was planning on doing a total overhaul anyways, so I grabbed it for a very good price. I pulled everything apart, got the steel and case inspected. The cam needed to be replaced since it was ground for the experimental engine evident by the big "X" stamped on the part number. The magnesium for the accessory case was also showing lots of corrosion, so that got replaced with a factory new aluminum continental accessory case. All other parts of the engine looked great and passed inspection, and so the engine went back together.

The panel I had previously done on the plane was fine with no real issues, however I chose to convert it back to original this time around since I had picked up my 170 project and would be putting the fancy avipnics in that one. Not much else to say about that.

The structural repairs were rather simple. A new leading edge for the right side of the horizontal took care of that dent, and a new belly stringer and a patch took care of the minimal belly damage.

A new weight and balance was done a few days ago, and somehow I managed to pull off quite the hat trick that Ill never be able to do again im sure. The empty weight was 880 lbs, and the empty CG was 13.60. These numbers, somehow, matched exactly the weight and CG that it rolled out of the factory with in 1946.

The annual was completed just after the weight and balance, and the plane will be flying within the next week or so (weather permitting). Its been fun getting this 140 resurrected from the grave, and I can't wait to report on how it flies!

Next up, the 170B

Below are some pictures from the process.

Awesome, thanks for posting all the pics.

Nice to see someone getting some work done! Looking good.