You won this item!

Today I worked on the exhaust system, it was clear and sunny but really cold. I can heat the shop when the sun is out but when it gets dark it's just not worth the natural gas consumption. I was making good progress until my neighbor came by to talk. Tomorrow is the city council vote on Proposed ordinance #11-01 establishing an arts and cultural district, just so happens they picked my neighborhood! Not sure how this will play out, but it looks to me like they want to buy up all the properties and then lease them out to artists. I plan on attending the meeting tomorrow, but I'm taking a friend to kick me if I try to say anything ! I'm planning to sit right by the door, I really don't care, but there are some big property owners that are upset because it severely restricts the type of business you can have. Only artsy-fartsey types allowed, no doctors, lawyers, dentists, or airplane restoration shops. Oh well, I will let you know how it turns out.
On a brighter note , today is the 4 year anniversary since I took possession of the Cub ! It was an Ebay purchase, I paid a little more than I wanted only because it was only one hour drive from my buddies home in Kinston NC. If you have not noticed, transportation is not inexpensive anymore . Not having to spend $2000 to go a 1000 miles to pick this project up allowed me to bid a little more. If  I remember correctly it was a clear warm day, we met the seller at the Mount Olive airport at noon on Saturday. Bill and Myron had driven over with Monte's trailer and were ready to work. I was a little sketchy as to who the true owner was and if there were any judgements or liens against airplane. It was an ugly partnership gone bad situation. Since we planned to load that day, I decided to take a chance and paid the man. In two hours we had the wings off, fuselage loaded and were on the road. They might have the paperwork but I had the airplane. It turns out it was a square deal and the paperwork cleared Oklahoma City without a hitch. Here are a few shots from that great day.

Of course we had to stop at the FBO so that Bill could play with his pickle ! Recognize the name of the airport now! Yes , that's where they come from.

Since it was not very far , and all back roads, we did not remove the tail. It rode on the trailer just fine.

The next day , Bill and I went back and picked up the wings. She was finally safe and out of the weather.

That was 4 years ago today.

Exhaust is back !

Today I received the exhaust back from Dawley. They built it exactly per my specs, however I think I made an error in my measurements. They managed to save two of my stamped collectors and they look real good. Here are a few pictures , check out that welding !

The problem is that when the muffler is lowered, it changes the position of the tailpipe. I lowered the muffler to clear the oil screen, and this came out great.

The problem is the tailpipe shroud is now too close to the gascolator outlet fitting.

I think I will send this back to Dawley with the muffler. First I'll have them check the tail pipe angle on the muffler. If that is correct, I will have them raise the muffler about 1/2 inch, that will move the tailpipe over about 5/16th inch. Unfortunately, there is no moving the gascolator. I can make this fit now, however I would like to get this fitting a little better.   

In the beginning

Sorry folks the cold and some car issues has really slowed progress on the Cub. Been working on a few detail items, compass card and other panel placards, mag switch wiring, etc. Today I fitted the eyebrows and worked on the throttle routing. Dawley called and the exhaust is complete and on the way back. They were able to use my original collector stampings so it should look good. They cost as much as a set of new pipes from WagAero, which are made from round tubes. Hopefully I measured everything correctly and it will all fit !
 
This project all started when I spotted the Cub in an Ebay ad. It was tied outside at the Mount Olive Airport in eastern North Carolina. On Jan 7, 2007 I flew down in the well used Trojan to look it over before bidding.

Well it's been 4 years to the day and it still is not flying ! Without doubt she is much better off than she was then.

It was a sad situation, caught in a dispute between a mechanic and the owner, she ended up tied outside with no engine, flat tires , and no tailwheel. All the removed parts were just thrown into the cockpit. Luckily the engine was stored inside a hanger.My friend Bill met me for lunch and we looked her over pretty good. It was really not in that bad of shape, and definitely need a new home/owner.

Hopefully 2011 will see her take to the sky again ??!!

Finally some progress

With  a cold front approaching from the west, we had a warm southwest flow today and the temperature topped out at 63 degrees! Supposed to be a warm rain tonight , that should finish off the last remnants of the Epic snow storm. I took advantage of the warm spell to finish a little striping , etching and painting, my favorite job ! First I had to clean up a little and get the fuselage outside. I know it is ridiculous, but I think I'm going to paint a ring of black on the hub caps so they look the same diameter as the old 800-4 style hub caps. Look at this shot, the wheels just don't look right.

With the fuselage outside , I primed the windshield trim strips, mag switch plate, cabane covers, throttle clamp, muffler clamps, and the replacement master cylinder covers.  Not sure I mentioned it in a previous post, but the right master cylinder started to leak where the brake line screws in. When I tried to tighten it the pipe thread bottomed out so the cover had to be replaced. On inspection the threads were a little buggered up, I cleaned up and painted two spares I had in stock. Should be good to go now. Managed to finish just before dark.

That was it for today, here is a shot of BC with his son (BC Jr.). All that snow melted in two days.