Wednesday, February 24, 2010

February 24, 2010 Replacing the Control Bar

Wednesday. I figured out the dimensions for the control bar pieces. It is a triangle, two downtubes and a crosspiece. The downtubes attached to the wing keel by an “A”-shaped bracket. There are two connectors on the bottom of the downtubes that connect to the crosspiece. All pieces are 1 1/8” outer sleeve and 1” inner sleeve. I decided to make the replacement of the control bar my first foray into the actual rebuilding project. I ordered the tubing from Online Metals in North Minneapolis and a few days later went down there and picked up the tubing. This part of the project worked very well.

After taking the material home, I found that the inner tubes fit nicely inside the outer tubes. The only thing left to do was to have the holes drilled in the ends of the downtubes where they attach to the “A” bracket and the crosspiece.

Saturday, February 20, 2010

February 20, 2010 – Find the Control Bar

I went back up to the airport to reconnoiter. One thing that I had seen when up there the last time was a piece of cut-up tubing whose function I could not identify. I thought at first that it might be a cut piece of the wing keel, but as I looked more closely, I saw it was a piece of the control bar. But only a piece. As I examined it, I saw that it included a piece of the crossbar and part of one of the uprights. I was disappointed that this was all that was left of the control bar that I could find. This would be a problem because there were connectors at each corner that were missing. Then I thought that maybe the rest of the control bar was zipped up in the wing bag, which under normal circumstances would be the place for the control bar to be kept. So it would make sense that the rest of it would be in the wing bag, and sure enough, as I opened the wing bag, there was the rest of the control bar. I detached it and put all the pieces into the trunk of the car to bring back home. One thing that will be a challenge to fix was that virtually all the flying wires have been cut. Hopefully I can find or have made replacements. It would probably not be a bad idea to replace them all anyway for the same reason I would want to replace all the bolts while I have everything disassembled. A good move and significant upgrade to the trike.

As I had the wing bag unzipped, without unfolding the wing, I checked it out as best as I could. I saw that the front part of the keel tube is slightly bent; not enough, I don’t think, to compromise the integrity of the keel. I think it could be straightened and restored to use. The wing itself looks good, although Steve had warned me that he thought there were some small punctures I will have to find and repair later when I can assemble the wing fully. Those will be easy to repair.

Since I now had the control bar pieces accounted for, along with connectors and wires that had been cut. It was enough to determine replacement aluminum tubing.

Monday, February 15, 2010

February 15, 2010 – Flying Again Soon B-R-R-R-R

Through the EAA web site, I found that there is a guy here in the MPLS area who gives dual instruction in a WSC Trike. His name is Don Lindemann and, after he responded to my e-mail, we talked by telephone and e-mail several more times. We decided to meet for lunch at an Applebee’s in Chanhassen. We met as planned and he accepted me formally as a student and promised we will get some dual as soon as the weather warms up above freezing or so (or a little warmer, I hope!). He lives in New Richmond, WI, which is across the river from St. Paul, MN, not too far, and flies out of the airport there. It’s about 1½ hour drive from here, but I’m looking forward to it.

Friday, February 5, 2010

February 5, 2010 – Disassemble the Carriage

As I had planned, I went up to the airport again. Sandra was visiting Judy and Larry Nelson in Llitchfield but made me promise that I would keep John informed when I went up to the airport, and when I returned. There was just a little nagging fear in her mind harkening back to the last time I went to the airport.
I started to dismantle the carriage. I took off the side rails, the uprights, and the wheel plate on the right side that would need to be straightened. I took off the remains of the wheel also on the right side to determine the diameter of the bearing to order a replacement.
Without taking too much time, and without any negative incidents relative to my physical situation, I collected the parts and put them into the trunk of the car and brought them home. Thus began my research to decide if or how to rebuild the carriage.
I found that most of the main carriage tubing is “sleeved”, i.e., there are outside tubes and inner tubes. The side rails and uprights are 1.750 x .058 outer sleeve and 1.625 inner sleeve. The best supplier seems to be Online Metals Store, which is in the Minneapolis area, so I wouldn’t have to worry about shipping. At least it seems like the rebuilding is possible.