RivetBangers.com

Hope everyone is out flying or in the shop building! Been awfully quiet around here for several days...

Spring fever I suspect. People are getting out of their houses and
smelling the freshly laid cow poooh.

Spike



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Bottom wing skins are on. Wing tips are fitted and on. Battery, solenoids, contactors ready to go on the firewall tonight. Bought the EFII boost pump this weekend (did a visit to Cable airport in Upland, CA and met the owner/designer this weekend), met a bunch of others at EAA 448 working on RV's and other planes. I'm running out of things to work on. My finish kit should be here in a couple of weeks!

PS. Spring started a couple of months ago here in SoCal, after our long 2 weeks of winter.

I'm still trying to get my 40hr complete in between storms..we've had the worst spring weather. If it isn't snowing, the wind is hollowing or both or I'm working. We drove to Utah for Grandkid fix and spent the first day battling a flooding house we had borrowed....serenity NOW! Had tocome bck to work just to get some rest.

the good news is I should be able to find a window finish off the 40 this week.

Hey guys!

I haven't been doing much building (sorry to say) but on the other hand I just recently BOUGHT a building! I actually will close on the house next Tuesday April 19, 2011. It is my second home way up in Rangeley, Maine!

In the past couple of weeks I have been flying there quite a bit, as it is almost a 6 hour drive but only about 1.3 hours by RV. Bill and I took his RV-6 there this past Saturday.

The house is only 0.6 miles from the airport! It is also on the snowmobile trail and only a couple minutes walk from the Lake!

I have been going to Rangeley since the late 80's and have always wanted a place there. Now, I DO!

It is very accessible by plane and I WILL BE renting it out! The area is really cool! Google up Rangeley, Maine and check it out. I plan on having some RV fly-ins up there and can do airport pick-ups if you fly into town!

Pictures to follow. I am going up there all next week to get everything all squared away.

If you guys want to come up, just let me know!

CJ

can a Cessna heretic join the house warming party?

As for the building. I'm working on my shop, not my plane. In the next month or so I'm planning on pouring a floor. A bit of insulation, some wall board and electrical work, and I'll finally have a proper shop to work in. It's been a long road getting to this point.

I'm also knee deep in a Factory Five build with my Father. The hot rod and working with Dad takes precedence over most everything else.

And, just because I'm not scattered quite enough, I've also been looking at the Vision. It looks like a neat project.

Currently doing my conditional inspection on 782P. Today marks the 5 year anniversary of it's first flight!

Great updates guys!

Good to hear from ya PK!

I'm planning to fly later today to knock out a bit more of my 2.9 left!

Starting to polish again, and working on getting the intersection fairings installed.

papakeith wrote:can a Cessna heretic join the house warming party?

No such thing really. Cessna makes a great plane, fans are more than welcome

I haven't gotten much airplane building done lately, though I have moved onto mounting the gear weldements. I have been spending most of my non working hours loving Carrie, feeding her, and changing diapers. Now that is a cool project!

Spike

I'm working on wiring my avionics. Wiring harnesses are the best thing since frozen pizza. It's hooking things together that get me.

"Damn it Jim. I'm a programmer, not an electrician!"

Weather and splitting an fallen oak tree into firewood has kept me from my RV for the past 2 weekends. I was able to get a couple of touch and go's in on Sunday afternoon after the weather broke. My nose seal is slowly leaking oil. I have heard of a number of Superior engines having this problem. I am not looking forward to yanking the prop off and replacing this seal!

papakeith wrote:can a Cessna heretic join the house warming party?

PK, OF COURSE!

How ya been!?! Sounds like you are building a really nice shop. That was certainly desperately needed!

Keep in touch!

CJ

I've been trying to figure out how to land a very light high wing again. The RV can really spoil a guy.

Half hour to go now!! I flew 2.4 tonight before I ran out of daylight. Just .5 to go, and I'll be givin' rides!

cjensen wrote:Half hour to go now!! I flew 2.4 tonight before I ran out of daylight. Just .5 to go, and I'll be givin' rides!

drat! I was hoping you were delayed and I'd pass you.....oh well congrats

Well I do have a right brake issue to deal with now that will keep me down for a few days. It's rubbing/dragging, and I think I've burned thru a set of pads already. I need to get better at not relying on the brakes so much, lest it get very expensive to taxi the dang thing!!

So...you have a few days to get caught up!

cjensen wrote:....So...you have a few days to get caught up!

guess I better run out to the hangar and get with it

cjensen wrote:Well I do have a right brake issue to deal with now that will keep me down for a few days. It's rubbing/dragging, and I think I've burned thru a set of pads already. I need to get better at not relying on the brakes so much, lest it get very expensive to taxi the dang thing!!

So...you have a few days to get caught up!

If it's dragging it is most likely because the caliper isn't floating properly on the two pins. Check for binding at the pin/guides and also check that the brake line isn't restricting the movement too.

Yep, I'll check all that before I pull the linings, but it doesn't "drag" when I'm not on the brakes. It's just when I'm applying pressure to the pedal, which leads me to believe that the linings are thin and the rivets are starting to rub. We'll see...I'm gonna pull the wheel pants off tomorrow evening to start looking at it.

Well the verdict is in on my grinding right brake. Installer error when I did my annual back in January. I installed the inner liner (against the piston) backward after inspecting them, and it was rubbing the rotor. I am having the guys at work look at it tomorrow, but the rotor looks good to me (no grooves or uneven wear), and the fact that I've only flown it three times since the annual means minimal use since I pulled this bonehead mistake.

I hate to admit that because it's embarrassing, but at the same time, I feel mistakes need to be known to learn from.