PIREP - THE AVIATION FORUM RUN BY PILOTS FOR PILOTS.

[bafanguy]

Things like this are really great to see.


http://community-2.webtv.net/DC7B/DC7BN836D/
_________________
"Damn these human beings; if I had invented them I would go hide my head in a bag." Mark Twain

[Chimbu chuckles]

The forum owner asked me to post some pictures of my own aircraft during the restoration process that is on going so rather than start a new thread I thought I'd add to this one.

The aircraft originally went in for a a re paint, new interior mid last year. I also bought new intertia reel harnesses for the front seats and new engine baffles. It soon became a bigger job, as these things often do, due to corrosion. Thankfully the corrosion is 'only' lap joint corrosion in skins and nothing structural.

Before.



Stripping the paint and removing the flight controls took only a few weeks and then work just stopped dead. There is a chronic shortage of Licensed Aircraft Maintenance Engineers in Australia and the place where the aircraft is maintained is snowed under with work on our aging fleet. My aircraft is a 1970 model and probably average age/condition for the fleet. They didn't get near it again for best part of a year. Yes that drove me nuts but what do you do when the aircraft is un-flyable and you live in Asia? I spent the first few months ringing them all the time to see if they had done an assessment of the underlying condition of the airframe...each time they assured me all was ok..it wasn't but more on that later...I went down there on a layover and inhibited the engine which is very low time. Late last year we actually removed the engine from the airframe and topped up the inhibiting..it was by then obvious this was going to an extended project.





The horizontal stab had significant skin corrosion and so it was decided to de-mate it completely and replace/repair skins etc as necesary. It turned out to be all new skins (some could have been cleaned but in the end it was deemed not worth the time) and 1 small rib was replaced. The spar was fine so we sandblasted it and painted it and all the ribs with Boeing 1079 primer which is corrosion inhibitive...magic stuff. The new skins come already painted.

As an aside this is the main issue with these older aircraft. Up until the mid/late 80s they were put together and then painted rather than painted and then put together, which is the way they are done since the mid/late 80s, well Beechcraft anyway. This means there is corrosion potential where skins overlap and moisture can be trapped.

This is the lower horizontal stab showing severe lap joint corrosion...amazing what hides under paint.



This is the horizontal stab spar before cleaning and painting. It now looks like a brand new one.



In the end I decided that this aeroplane meant a lot to me and the only logical course of action was a ground up restoration. It also became immediately clear that if I was to just say to the shop "Make it beautiful" that it would be uneconomical at the shop labor rates of $105/hr + 10% GST. I have all the time in the world but significantly less than all the money in the world.

On advice from friends who are Lames and/or amateur aircraft builders and after discussion with the shop I decided that the only answer was for me to do as much of the work as possible. As more than one Engineer said to me "These aircraft are not built by Engineers they are built by min wage itinerant workers...there are no skills you can't learn and become very good at...none of this is hard just VERY time consuming"

Earlier this year we also pulled the wings off and removed the undercarriage.



The vertical stab will also be removed, de-mated, cleaned and primed inside and out like the horizontal stab was...not because it needs to be but because I want it to be. It is clean as far as we can see (a tiny bit of skin corrosion about the size of a 20 cent coin half way up. Its verical orientation makes it less prone to corrosion than the horizontal stab.



Last November/December I took leave and, with the help of a mate, removed the interior and floor and cleaned out 37 years of accumulated grime all the way back to the tailcone. I didn't take a before picture but if you look mid upper right in this picture where the control cables exit under the rear wing spar carry through box you'll see a bit I have yet to get to. The ENTIRE underfloor was like this or worse...it was a long, dirty job...you just couldn't pay anyone enough to do it properly.

In March I began detailing the engine bay and have been concentrating on that whenever I get enough days off in a row to justify flying down to Brisbane.






Well that is an overview...if a little disjointed. In a few weeks I am on leave again for 6 weeks and will be working on the old girl throughout. As time and progress allows I'll post progress reports and photos but I'll be a bit more section specific. Engine bay, wings, instrument panel etc.

Last edited by Chimbu chuckles on Tue Nov 25, 2008 8:31 pm; edited 1 time in total

[SID]

Great stuff Chuck! I look forward to your future updates on the progress of your restoration. Obviously a true labour of love.
Cheers SID

[Chimbu chuckles]

Some updates...look at the 'before' picture of one of the horizontal stabs above and ponder the way they look now.

L/H

Finishing off the R/H this afternoon


I hasten to add these were not my efforts but rather those of a professional.

The vertical stab is now off the fuselage and my job for Friday is to drill out all the rivets and de mate it, clean it all, paint it and then hand it to the people who know what they are doing to rivet it back together.



One of my gear doors. They are all like this now...they were covered in grime and minor surface corrosion.

[bafanguy]

Apparently, here's how these great restorations are treated by the beady-eyed government droids:

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2008/11/05/318464/congested-heathrow-denies-commemoration-landing-slot-to-british-eagle-dc-6.html
_________________
"Damn these human beings; if I had invented them I would go hide my head in a bag." Mark Twain

[Kaptin M]

Nice job Chuck.
Are both sides treated, or only the external (outer) surfaces?

If you have any metal surfaces that need filling, I have the name of a pro panel beater in Redcliffe who is an expert in lead wiping (rather than bogging). Apparently there aren't too many left who know that skill.

Your before and after photos are going to make a memorable photo album for the future.

Thanks for sharing those, and look forward to seeing more as your project progresses.
_________________
A pilot is responsible for delivering the final product. The SAFE transportation of passengers to their destination.

[Chimbu chuckles]

All parts separately painted before being built back up to form a component like a gear door or horizontal stab. As I do the vertical stab over the next week or so I'll get some good pictures of the process.

[Chimbu chuckles]

Here is the progress on the vertical stab. 3 ribs and one rear skin were toast...the rear skins are flat and relatively small so we can easy make them here rather than order from Beechcraft.



De riveting



Before and after sandblasting.





Acid washing the leading edge skin prior to alodine and etch prime. It took me 5 hours with thinners/scotchbright and a pneumatic whiz wheel thing to get the leading edge skin to the point of being ready for acid wash/alodining and priming. I'd hate to think what a new one from Beech costs.





After acid wash/alodine and two pack etch prime.



Clecoing the lot back together...just a dry fit until the ribs arrive.



You can see where the missing ribs will go.



Last edited by Chimbu chuckles on Tue Mar 24, 2009 6:32 pm; edited 3 times in total

[reddo]

It will be worth it.

[bafanguy]

Another classic airplane being restored:

http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2007/12/28/220548/lufthansa-aims-to-restore-and-fly-lockheed-starliner.html
_________________
"Damn these human beings; if I had invented them I would go hide my head in a bag." Mark Twain

[Chimbu chuckles]

A few more pictures.

We are concentrating on the fuselage at present...specifically on the engine bay while also working our way forward from the tail correcting anything which isn't perfect.

I spent today swinging off a pneumatic drill drilling rivets out.



Which resulted in this.



Coutless hours removing everything from the engine bay including all brackets and all the engine/cowl flap/alternate air controls and cleaning with degreaser and/or thinners and scotch bright finally led to acid washing and Alodine treatment yesterday and 2 pack etch today...the nose wheel well is exactly the same - devoid of hardware and 2 pack etched awaiting final coats of Materhorn White...but required paint stripper as well as degreaser/thinners and countless hours...paint stripper stings like a wasp when you get it on you...and I manage to get it on me no matter what protective stuff I wear.






Last edited by Chimbu chuckles on Wed Dec 31, 2008 1:03 pm; edited 1 time in total

[Kaptin M]

It all looks good, Chuck

---- except for someone's skinny legs!!

Have you worked out what you're going to do with the leftover pieces?
_________________
A pilot is responsible for delivering the final product. The SAFE transportation of passengers to their destination.

[Chimbu chuckles]

A few more pics.

Engine bay finished - just gotta paint white and reinstall a bunch of stuff.





There is a very thick roof skin that forms the backbone of the fuselage that had visible corrosion so we removed it from here.



As removed...note corrosion.



Cleaned and alodined - yes they are my elevators.



2 pack Etch painted.



The rear fuselage ring frames cleaned and painted..all the longerons (removed) are also cleaned and 2 pack etched and ready to go on.



I have made up new skins to go on the upper rear fuselage and the vertical and horizontal stabs are finished as are the flaps/ailerons/elevators and rudder.

Oh and the quote for the 3 little ribs in the vertical stab was USD$800 EACH...for literally bits of pressed coke can thickness tin. So we found some scrap bits of the right thickness in the off cuts and one of the Lames made them in less than 2 hours. Works of art they are too...you really cannot tell the difference between the Bechcraft ones and the no name brand...and saved about AUD$2800.

We're getting there.

[Chimbu chuckles]

A little more progress in 4 days a week or so ago.

Pinning the cleaned and painted longerons and ribs/ring frames back in place. Did lots of riveting in the 4 days I was in the hangar on the way back from Wanaka...I am getting good at riveting...didn't feck up a single one.





Cowl door rigging.



New skins I made.

[Apicella]

Very nice detailed pictures.
Well done.
Will be nice to see the finished product.

_________________
To be at the right place at the right time.