1940 Taylorcraft BC-65 Restoration project

[Taylorman]

Hello all Taylorcraft fans,
My name is Jerry from Elk Grove, CA. I am a recent and new proud owner of a 1940 Taylorcraft BL-65 restoration project that I just picked up from Truckee, CA. least weekend. The plane was undergoing a full ground up restoration when its owner sadly passed away from cancer and I purchased the project from his wife. The project is complete (I think) except for the prop. Engine was upgraded from Lycoming to Continental C-65 in the mid 50's. I have logs for airframe and engine dating back to 1947. The plane is still registered with the FAA and I have applied for my registration.
Fuselage restoration was started and cover with Polyfiber only up to Poly brush stage. Wing are disassembled, but new spars were fabricated and already drilled and varnished.
All work was performed by A&P and looks to be very clean. I am looking forward to get started on this project but need technical assistance and since I do not hold an A&P license will need IA or A&P suppervision and sign offs.
The plane is currently in my garage and plan on working on it there until it is time to spray and reassemble the plane.
I am, looking for an A&P who is familiar with this type in the Sacramento, CA. area willing to provide project supervision and sign offs.
Thanks

[Larry Lyons]

Jerry goto the Taylorcraft Foundation chat group. There are people there who will be glad to help and are very knowledgeable too.
http://vb.taylorcraft.org/forum.php
Larry

[2VW]

Wow what a project. PolyFiber makes a install manual that is very helpful for the covering, although you may already have this. If not, You can get this from any of the distributors. Try http://spenceraircraft.com/hardware.html/ . Keep us posted on the project. Good Luck.

[Pearson]

Taylorman,
Since it is so close to you, I suggest you try to attend the annual Taylorcraft fly-in held in or near Columbia, CA every year. It is usually the second weekend in May, near Mother's Day. One year it was held in Sonoma, but even that isn't too far from you. There are usually anywhere from 10 to 20 or so Taylorcraft there. It is a great way to meet some of the owners who have already done what you are doing. They are a great source of information, and you can see their airplanes up close.

[Taylorman]

Taylorman,
Since it is so close to you, I suggest you try to attend the annual Taylorcraft fly-in held in or near Columbia, CA every year. It is usually the second weekend in May, near Mother's Day. One year it was held in Sonoma, but even that isn't too far from you. There are usually anywhere from 10 to 20 or so Taylorcraft there. It is a great way to meet some of the owners who have already done what you are doing. They are a great source of information, and you can see their airplanes up close.

Thank you for the sugjestion, yes I was aware of the Columbia Fly In and will make sure to attend.
Thanks a lot

[Kurt Flunkn]

Looks like a nice project! Good that you are looking for supervision. Keep in mind FAA recently (29 Nov 2012) changed FAR 43.3(d) to clarify supervision requirements. So unless, you are an A&P, repairman, or under supervision (i.e. readily available in person), you are limited to FAR 43 Appendix A section (c) preventative maintenance for certified aircraft. The FAR now says:

43.3 Persons authorized to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alterations.

(d) A person working under the supervision of a holder of a mechanic or repairman certificate may perform the maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations that his supervisor is authorized to perform, if the supervisor personally observes the work being done to the extent necessary to ensure that it is being done properly and if the supervisor is readily available, in person, for consultation. However, this paragraph does not authorize the performance of any inspection required by Part 91 or Part 125 of this chapter or any inspection performed after a major repair or alteration.

Good Luck!
K-

[Kyle Boatright]

Looks like a nice project! Good that you are looking for supervision. Keep in mind FAA recently (29 Nov 2012) changed FAR 43.3(d) to clarify supervision requirements. So unless, you are an A&P, repairman, or under supervision (i.e. readily available in person), you are limited to FAR 43 Appendix A section (c) preventative maintenance for certified aircraft. The FAR now says:

43.3 Persons authorized to perform maintenance, preventive maintenance, rebuilding, and alterations.


(d) A person working under the supervision of a holder of a mechanic or repairman certificate may perform the maintenance, preventive maintenance, and alterations that his supervisor is authorized to perform, if the supervisor personally observes the work being done to the extent necessary to ensure that it is being done properly and if the supervisor is readily available, in person, for consultation. However, this paragraph does not authorize the performance of any inspection required by Part 91 or Part 125 of this chapter or any inspection performed after a major repair or alteration.

Good Luck!
K-

I don't think your interpretation is correct. Otherwise, you'd have VAA members lining up with pitchforks and torches.

[Taylorman]

I don't think your interpretation is correct. Otherwise, you'd have VAA members lining up with pitchforks and torches.

What happend to the Taylorcraft forum page, it has been closed for over three days, anybody knows?

[Kurt Flunkn]

I don't think your interpretation is correct. Otherwise, you'd have VAA members lining up with pitchforks and torches.

Kyle,

No need for torches or pitchforks! I hate to go off-topic, as we're trying to help Taylorman with his project (which is gonna turn out awesome). Citing the FAR isn't my interpretation, the language seems pretty clear to me. Looking back at the historic versions of 43.3(d) shows that this language has been in place for a while. It's my mistake for thinking this is new(er). Now for my opinion:

1. Pilots remember the part about working under the supervision of an A&P <full stop> and don't know the limitations.
2. Flight training doesn't really teach maintenance, see the PTS if in doubt.
3. A lot of pilot / owners of certified aircraft perform maintenance beyond the allowed preventive MX defined in FAR 43 without supervision.
4. Violations for unsupervised owner MX are not common.
5. Not many A&Ps will put their ticket on the line in for a pilot / owner in the rare event of an unsupervised MX finding.

Cheers,
K-

P.S. Taylor, good luck on your project! The T-craft is one of my fav. pre-WWII designs.

[Taylorman]

Jerry goto the Taylorcraft Foundation chat group. There are people there who will be glad to help and are very knowledgeable too.
http://vb.taylorcraft.org/forum.php
Larry

Anybody knows what is going on with the taylorcraft forum page, it's been out of service for over a week now.
Is it still active? These guys are a lot of help for my restoration project and I still have a lot of unanswerd questions.

Thanks all