wow - when you say madness - you mean madness

I like how you roll

I think the red guy with the pitch fork on your shoulder is thinking ABW's soon. I would love to help you out,I'm thinking those (old tires) with only a few landings on them would work great on my 180 for when we finally get to go fly together. I can't wait to see this thing up in the air.keep pluggin your almost there.

Featured Bush Planes is waiting for the post-first-flight report

Crzyivan13 wrote:I think you should name her 'Oh Cee Dee'.

This is coming from someone with the same disorder.

I'll say it again, this 180 is sick....... Like OCD

I'm thinking more like "CDO" (that's OCD in alphabetical order, one of the most extreme cases you can have)!

CW

Some talk about jackscrew cleaning etc so I thought I would post a photo. My screws were rebuilt pretty recently, but we cleaned em out just the same. Nice and smooth now.

Also replaced the ratty old phenolitic sheets to make it pretty.

I agree with you about removing the tail feathers to do the job completely. I am getting ready to do just that soon after looking through the logs. Thanks for posting. Have you started on the sportsman install yet? Send me a note if you need another set of hands and I'll fly down. Keep plugging you should be all set for an awesome summer (and Spring) of flying.

Thanks for sharing all of the good info Bigrenna! I will be following your lead on this one.

Scolopax wrote:Thanks for sharing all of the good info Bigrenna!

Couldn't agree more. This thread is pretty much amazing!

CW

This thing is as close to a 2014 Skywagon as there ever was.

I have been watching this thread for a long time and I can only say- Dude, you do some unreal work

After lots of sitting and staring at the vert stab, I came to the conclusion that it was missing something. The harsh transition from polish to paint was a bit jarring, so back to paint for a 3/4" stripe of Vestal White. This will be good as I always intended on some outboard stripes on the WingX.







The wings will eventually be solid red to match the horizontal w/ Vestal White stripes on the outboard ends.

Looking good, Greg. I have a question for you about the cabin heat vents that attach to your lower door posts. Did you fabricate the end pieces yourself or did you reuse pieces from the old side panels? I'm not sure what to do with this on my 170, the side vents were built into the old side panels.

These are the stock vents from the 180. Give Peter at Skywagon City a call. Im sure he has a set you can use from an early 180.

Got this done last week, but here are some pics....

Hung the Wagon on the hoist and pulled the gear. Used a 2 part epoxy prime, then a couple of coats of Imron. Since Imron is an industrial paint, there really aren't any metallic choices. Luckily, they make a metallic silver which happens to be a great match for polished alum. Imron is already hard to shoot cuz it is so thick, but the silver complicates it a bit further as the metallic flakes can run/sag if your not careful.

When they went back in, of course that was the time to add the PPonk kit. (those photos later) All and all Im really happy with how it looks. Much better to have that ratty old "Moon Dust" yellow gone. Just have to get the last bits off the wings!



light coat of grey primer





Finish coat of metallic silver Imron

Hopefully, you had the gear legs dye checked before painting? Not a bad idea....these things are all old, and most have been subjected to some serious abuse.

MTV

Thanks for posting your project it has been enjoyable watching the entire process. Your work is unbelievable!

Thanks guys. I really do appreciate the feedback.

bigrenna wrote:Thanks guys. I really do appreciate the feedback.

One of the things I like about this thread and others is a sense of the logical order of operations during restoration projects. For instance, 'if you're going to do this, think about doing this, this and this at the same time', or, 'don't bother to do this, if you're thinking of eventually doing this'. I expect you worked a lot of that out with your 170. Does it feel any more efficient this time through? Just knowing the sources for stuff must be a big advantage the second time around.
A friend says that you should build three houses: The first for someone you don't know, the second for someone you do know, and the third one for yourself. Just imagine, if you sell me this 180, the 185 you restore for a keeper will be out of this universe!
Keep up the great work,
-DP

p.s. Really great fortune for us that you're also a professional photographer.

denalipilot wrote:

bigrenna wrote: I expect you worked a lot of that out with your 170. Does it feel any more efficient this time through? Just knowing the sources for stuff must be a big advantage the second time around.
A friend says that you should build three houses: The first for someone you don't know, the second for someone you do know, and the third one for yourself. Just imagine, if you sell me this 180, the 185 you restore for a keeper will be out of this universe!

I sure hope I dont do this again! Twice is enough for me I think. Also I think that I really do prefer the souped up 180 rather than the 185. So much lighter!

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