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Thread: Building a Nieuport 11...

  1. #941

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    The very thin coat of JB Weld seems to have worked a treat! It's kind of nice to fly around and know how much fuel one actually has in the tank.

    This Summer I'm going to have to pull that fuel tank (major surgery!) and file down the welding flashing around the filler neck where meets the tank on the inside. While it doesn't interfere with the cork working, it makes it difficult to put in and out of the tank.

    I may go crazy and put a proper sleeve for an actual fuel cap on it as well.

    We had that rare window of acceptable weather, so up I went a couple days ago.

    While the wind wasn't high, the front was crossing very slowly and the air was about as squirrelly as it gets. Not the big swing turbulence of Summer, mind you, just really uneven; I felt like I was flying down a backwoods dirt road at 60 mph rather than through the air.

    I caught some nasty little bit of air on landing, and since I was a bit fast had already flared to slow, just did some pilot-y stuff to keep things okay - only to find myself making a pretty acceptable three point landing. Huh.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  2. #942

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    I was reflecting the other day that my approach to the building the aircraft was to make it a sound, safe aircraft to fly, leaving a laundry list of things that aren't critical that can be fixed later. I think it was a good approach, as I'd rather have an aircraft with small imperfections in the air than an almost perfect one sitting in the backyard waiting to be finished.

    I've been putting together this Summer's list of improvements to the aircraft, and it's fairly short - but involved.

    The last flight around I took the little lumbar pad I've been using and flipped it sideways so it ran all the way up the seat with much relief. Yeah, I'm a little slow sometimes and should have figured out I could do that a long time ago. So coming up with a pad for the seat back is pretty high on the list.

    Part of the discomfort is that I tend to really crank down the shoulder harnesses, probably tighter than they need to be. However, this habit served me well on the morning when I inverted the aircraft on the ground. So thick padding it is.

    I'm going to cover the wheels. It's an afternoon's worth of work, but one I've been putting off for no particular reason. Purely aesthetic, as the plane is such an exercise in drag that I don't think it will seriously improve airspeed.

    While I'm at it, I need to replace the wheel bearings again. They're really inexpensive, so I bought a bunch of them and it's dead simple to do. It doesn't take much on the grabby grooved pavement to make them sloppy. Fifteen minutes for all four.

    Replace the oil cooler with a standard sized one. This winter I blocked off most of it and still didn't get up to full operating temperature. It did get closer, and with it the oil pressures approached more closely to what is optimal. Whipping up a mount for it to hang below the engine will be a snap.

    Here's the big one - pull the fuel tank. The flashing from the welding on the neck on the inside makes putting in the cork float a real pain, and the only way to file it down and remove the slivers of aluminum is to flush it completely. So the wings come off, the rivets drilled out for the top of the fuselage, and up and out it goes.

    I'm toying with rotating it 180 degrees and putting in a sight gauge. The issue is that Robert put the access for that on the opposite side of the fuel output at the bottom, meaning I'll have to either work out some sort of system to work the fuel cutoff lever or do without it completely.

    I will also make a neck to fit the top of the fuel tank that accepts an actual gas cap rather than some cobbled together PVC fittings.

    Since the wings will come off, they'll have to go back on, which leads me to my last real task - properly safety wiring the turnbuckles. My current job is barely adequate, so I'm going to use the double wrap technique to hold them more firmly (as I did the turnbuckles for the rudder cables).

    Add in the coaming, which is version number three, but still crappy.

    Oh, and touch up paint all around.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  3. #943
    Frank, I have kinda the opposite philosophy. I like to make everything as nice as possible without getting way overboard. I have found it doesn't take much more time to things to a higher standard. You have done a great job on the Nieuport and you are flying it. That is way ahead of over 50% of the people who start a homebuilt project. On your next build (you know you want to build another airplane) you know where to improve things. I have a reputation of building nice airplanes and turned it into a business building Supercubs. I'm finishing up the fourth one and have a PA-12 coming in after this one is finished. Anyway always do the best you can do even if its only a bracket. I might have put this here before but here is a website with a Supercub I built. http://geared2survive.com/supercub
    RV7 N212MD
    Backcountry Super Cub N646CH

  4. #944

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    At our last EAA meeting (which was up at the hangars, which was sweet) we were reflecting how the homebuilding community has always been split between "airplane builders that are pilots" and "pilots who build airplanes," and how they both are really necessary to keep the ball rolling.

    I've fallen into the latter - while I can say that building the airplane was rewarding, the only way I'm going to build another one is if something really bad happens to my current one.

    And yeah, if I were to build the plane over there's a bunch of things I'd do either differently or better, taking advantage of the "education" part of what I learned. Like every builder, I walk up to my airplane and see imperfections that nobody else can. Some make me smile - there's usually a story behind them - and other just frown a little, as it's indicative of the holes in my skill set (like the coaming around the cockpit).

    We've got a guy in our chapter a lot like you - his aircraft are simply perfect out of the gate, and while he hasn't gone professional, when he sold his last creation - Murphy Rebel - it took about a week for someone to snatch it up. It's neat to be at a local fly-in and have him troop the line saying "I built that one....and that one..." He also is the go-to guy when someone is thinking of buying an Experimental and wants help in evaluating it.

    Time for that bi-annual flight review, and following the advice given a long time ago, I'm adding in a new wrinkle. This time around it's up to Tuscaloosa to not only get the sign off in a "fancy" airplane with flaps and lights and doors and stuff, but to also get signed off on controlled airspace.

    Because most CFI's aren't really familiar with Sport Pilot stuff, I suppose I'll need to bring along the verbiage for the endorsement to go in my logbook. It's usually a surprise to PPL guys that it's an extra for us.
    Last edited by Frank Giger; 03-27-2019 at 11:21 AM.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  5. #945
    rwanttaja's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frank Giger View Post
    Like every builder, I walk up to my airplane and see imperfections that nobody else can. Some make me smile - there's usually a story behind them - and other just frown a little, as it's indicative of the holes in my skill set (like the coaming around the cockpit).
    I flew Pete Bowers' original Fly Baby prototype for eight years, in the 80s and 90s. About fifteen years ago, Bob Dempster bought it from the current owner and donated it to Seattle's Museum of Flight.

    I heard they had it on display at their restoration facility at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, so two months ago, me and a buddy went for a visit. After explaining I used to fly that plane, the docent let me behind the ropes for a close-up look. I then started point out the imperfections of the airplane...

    "See the burned mark on the cowling? The exhaust pipe blew off one day when I was doing touch-and-goes."
    "Patch mark at the bottom of rudder? Found the tailwheel control horn half-torn off when we had it at an airshow."
    "Flat spot on the bottom of the wingtip? Was towing it and the wing swung open and the tip ground against the concrete.
    "See the patch on top of the wing? Windstorm blew a big toolbox down onto the wing, broke a landing wire turnbuckle and one of the internal brace wires.
    "See the funny patch around the wing-spar connection? That was a repair after they crashed it on floats."
    "That bracket? Oh, that's for the biplane wings."

    Word is that the museum is going to preserve...not restore...the airplane, and eventually hang it from the ceiling in the main museum.


    Ron Wanttaja

  6. #946

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    Very cool! Btw, I had to look twice at the photo, as initially I thought it was high winged.

    Today was very unusual in that the weather report predicted winds, making it an 80% no-go sort of day. The only reason I drove up was to get my logbook for tomorrow's Flight Review, but was shocked to see the wind sock limping from crosswind to down the runway.

    Well, that's simple enough - up I went for a mildly bumpy hour.

    They're doing a bunch of controlled burns in the forests, so it was very smoky, with some bands thick enough to have me flying around them.
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  7. #947
    Frank, I agree that there are usually two camps in the EAA. I balance building with flying. There are a couple of Cubs and a RV7 that I built or did major parts of the build that I can fly anytime. Plus I get to fly some other cool airplanes like the N3N. I do work in the Hangar about 100hrs a month as I am semi retired and work less than 20hrs a week in the Dental Lab. I still enjoy that and not ready to give it up. It also helps to have a wife that is understanding. I keep eying the AA Neiuport 28 and I think it would be very cool with a Verner radial in it. My friend with the RV7 is interested in it also so who knows there might be one flying soon. And Frank. you know you want to build anther one. As always I enjoy your adventures so keep on posting.
    RV7 N212MD
    Backcountry Super Cub N646CH

  8. #948

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    Flight review went well; even though the C152 had all manner of excesses - flaps and trim and yokes oh my - and it was my first time talking to a tower (which was this time's goal), I am validated as a pilot for another two years.

    Perhaps my reputation has preceded me, but the instructor said I was "surprisingly good" at the whole pilot thing.

    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

  9. #949
    After flying a light squirrelly tailwheel airplane it is amazing how easy it is to fly a heavy tricycle gear plane.
    RV7 N212MD
    Backcountry Super Cub N646CH

  10. #950

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    Went up to the airport yesterday to finally cover the wheels.

    It went well, including replacing the wheel bearings.

    I only had time to cover and paint one side, so I went on home, thinking about how the patches for the hole to inflate the tires turned out not so bad.

    And then it hit me. I've done the wrong side first. The inside of the wheels has to be covered first so I can access the nuts on the inside for the brake drum.

    So the plan is to paint over the first of the red stripes back to off-white, put on the brake drums, leave the hole uncut, and call it the inside.

    Damn you, Order of Operations!
    The opinions and statements of this poster are largely based on facts and portray a possible version of the actual events.

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