Building a Nieuport 11...

[DaleB]

Oh, I wasn't really concerned about it as much as just curious. If I end up building something that could be painted with house paint, it's probably going to get house paint. As much as I fondly recall the smell of butyrate dope from building R/C planes with my dad back in the 60s an 70s, I really don't think I'd want to do a full sized airplane that way.

I'd love-love-LOVE to build one of the Airdrome planes, but I really want two seats and I'm not a good candidate for a narrow side-by-side cockpit. So a Fisher Celebrity is looking more like the way to go. I'd build more than one, but I can't afford the hangar space!

[Frank Giger]

The AA planes are definitely niche sort of day flying aircraft on one's own. There's a pilot at my field that is one of the faster-longer-more kind of guys and just scratches his head at why anyone would want to cruise in the air slower than highway traffic...and I look at his aircraft and think "functional but not fun."

Naturally, since we're both pilots we laugh about it and give each other a hand on stuff.

Drag/anti-drag wires in place, ribs re-attached, and the leading edge pounded to get most of the terrible creases out of it and partially put back on. All of my batteries for my drill were dead, and I took that as a sign it was time to stop.

I'd of been back up there this morning to finish up, but the wife announced with a big smile that we have dentist appointments instead. A smile because there is a possibility that they'll have to replace one of my early fillings...apparently 40 years is about the shelf life of the things...and I rarely ever need any sort of dental work done. For a host of reasons that aren't her fault, she's a dental misfit and if it wasn't for modern dentistry would probably have her smile in a glass by the bed in the morning.

[Frank Giger]

Upper wing back together, so let's start covering the lower wing!



Since it's narrow, I'll use the "wrap" method and use one piece of fabric, gluing it at the bow on the trailing edge.



Things are a lot slower than last time I covered. Last time was in the middle of summer at over 100 degrees, and with cold fall weather (it was in the low 70's) it takes a lot longer for the glue to dry.



Gonna run the iron over the glue and put in the patch for the interplane strut before I do the shrinking, put in the rib stitching rivets, and tape.

[pittsdriver3]

Frank, on something like that interplane strut you should slit the fabric so it will barely fit over it, then shrink and do the re enforcement patch. You want to do all the patches after you shrink to the final temp. On something like that strut attach I'll cut a Kydex or an .020 aluminum re enforcement that fits around the fitting perfectly and is about 1/2" wide all around something like your round inspection hole re enforcement. Then do your patch with a 1-11/2" border. Looks like it is well on the way to flight. Don

[Frank Giger]

I like using the cardboard the bottles of Coke-Cola come in for reinforcing on patches. It's thin, rigid enough to hold its shape, easy to work with, and just flexible enough to work around when fastening the bolts at the bottom of the mount without creasing.

I was very pleased on how it worked out the first time I covered.

[Frank Giger]

Bottom wing needs rib stitching rivets on the bottom, but otherwise done.

I hate to say it, but my covering job isn't much better than my original...

[Frank Giger]

I used aviation grade thin cardboard for my reinforcement around the interplane strut mount.



It may cause a chuckle, but it works great! I need the fabric there to flex enough to get at the nuts and bolts for the struts and still be firm enough not to let the fabric flap about and rip.

Lower wing ready for paint!



On to the upper wing. One of the things that crossed my mind is that the compression strut on the wing that holds the interplane struts might not have the holes lining up. In a rare moment of foresight, I checked and they weren't. So I rotated the wing compression strut until they both agreed with each other and the holes in the mounts for the interplane strut.



It would have been a nightmare to fix after covering. Note the rubber mallet laying there for an idea of how nightmarish it would have been.

Here's how to get a sharp glue line across the leading edge. The fabric above the glue line was trimmed away.



The clamp is there just to keep the fabric in place initially. Once the glue went down it wasn't needed any more.

So bottom fabric is on and I'll go out after Thanksgiving and finish covering it.

[Frank Giger]

Just a quick update at my progress:

Upper wing primed and ready for color!

There's a wayback moment in that pic, too. The board with a rudder shape showing where the plywood formers where was what I used for the rudder kit I ordered before committing to the full aircraft. I didn't use that rudder (it became a test piece for covering), as it was acceptable on the lowest level and the stuff to make a new one was part of the kit anyhow.



Lower wing primed and ready for color!

Note the special Aviation Grade latex primer I used. It's terrific stuff, being meant for placement on stucco and brick, and sealed the fabric with one thin coat. The faint glue lines showing through aren't a concern, as the glue most definitely sealed the fabric.



While I was waiting for the lower wing to dry, I decided to tackle the gear repair.

First, my hangar/workshop is in a total state of chaos. There's a bit of a reason for this. Once I covered the wings I couldn't sweep. The amount of dirt that would fly up would put a layer on the fabric that would cause all sorts of problems. Why didn't I clean and sweep before covering? I was in total work mode, and when I finished the repairs on the wings went straight into covering.

Hey, at least I know where everything is in all the clutter, and those rivet mandrels aren't hurting anything.

Anyhow, my idea was that I'd have to suspend the gear assembly off of the ground in order to allow it to center properly. I didn't really like this, but figured it was an eventuality. It was. Jacking up the gear from either the struts or the axle just wasn't going to allow me to work.

So I lifted the front end with my engine lift, removed the bungees, and one wheel, thinking I might have to remove the axle in the repairs. Turns out the axle is just fine where it is, and serves as a nice guide as a double check of original position.

I removed the center section that was bent and after many attempts learned that straightening it for measurement for the replacement wasn't going to happen. So I put it on the end of the new piece, marked a common center, rotated the bent tubing, and made a mark at the end. What a smart fellow am I!

(It's a quarter inch too short.)

The big hint is the cross wires. They self-center the gear when tight. So I need to make a new cross bar of the right length, plunk it in there with tension on those wires, drill and bolt in place.

The bent landing gear strut was removed by simply drilling out the rivets that held it in place. Fortunately it did straighten out very well, and will be a good template for the replacement. I should be able to slug it in there, drill through the holes in the gussets, rivet and be back in business.



The wood blocks, boards, and cinder block are there for placement when I was done under the gear legs. I don't know how good the jack in the engine lift is, and if it relaxes I do not want to open the door to find the aircraft in some unusual position.

The square tubing looks organic and no the least bit weird. The type of person who would know it shouldn't be square will also be the sort of person who would know better than to criticize.

Oh, and quick question for the gurus out there:

I know how I'm going to put all of this in the air frame and engine logs, but what about the propeller? Do I just close the first one out with a "Prop destroyed, no longer in service" along with the date and start a new one, or can I update the old one with the new serial number, as they are otherwise identical?

[Dana]

You don't need a separate propeller log for a fixed pitch prop. It should simply be an entry in the aircraft log that the prop was replaced.

[martymayes]

I know how I'm going to put all of this in the air frame and engine logs, but what about the propeller? Do I just close the first one out with a "Prop destroyed, no longer in service" along with the date and start a new one, or can I update the old one with the new serial number, as they are otherwise identical?

I wouldn't go through the effort to document what happened to the prop. It's just no longer in service. Toss what record you had away in the trash with the prop. Then start off clean sheet.