Saturday, July 31, 2010 Axles and Wheels

I went up to the airport to hopefully get the side rails done and attach the front wheel assembly and rear swing axle and attach the wheels. I also wanted to redo some of the connections I had done before to add the plugs on the ends of the side rails that I didn’t include last time, correct the installation of the gas tank sling and seat, and replace the old AN hardware with new bolts, washers, and nuts wherever possible.
It took awhile to all the rework done, but then I turned my attention to getting the axles and wheels installed. The axle bracket on the left side (away from where the crash damage was) went together smoothly, but the right side wasn’t so slick. I worked the rest of the morning on getting the holes aligned for the main axle bolt. No luck. It came to within about 1/4 inch of aligning, but no further. I think I need a come-along or clamp or something to compress the brackets to get the bolt to go in. It’s a complicated sub-assembly and everything has to be perfectly aligned for it to come together. I left and went home without resolving the problem.
Chad, a friend of John’s, owns every tool known to mankind, so I asked him for help, and he kindly loaned me a C-clamp to compress everything so the holes in the axle brackets can be aligned and the axle bolt can be pushed through the brackets and axle tube.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010 Collecting Carriage Parts

Called around the Minneapolis area for tubing to have Victoria Repair fabricate the uprights again, using the correct lengths. No 1 3/4” available anywhere, so placed an order with Aircraft Spruce. It will arrive Friday the 30th.

Saturday, July 24, 2010 Jetwing Rebuild Chapter Two

I’m calling this post “Chapter Two” because it refers to rebuilding the carriage part of the trike. I have already completed the rebuild of the wing, or at least 90% or so of that part of the project. Now it’s time to get started on the carriage rebuild.
Last night as I was loading the car, I found that Victoria Repair’s fabrication of the upright support tubes, the main tubes supporting the wing connection, were cut five inches short of what was on the instruction sheet I had given them, 54 9/16” instead of 59 9/16”. The 54 9/16” was the length of the side seat rails, so it’s obvious where they had gotten the wrong dimension. In spite of this mistake, and even though I won’t have the uprights to take to the airport, I will take everything else up and get as much done as I can.
Saturday morning I went to the airport. The first thing to do is to unload the car and lay out the parts. I’ve decided to use the side of the hanger that is cleared out and has nothing to obstruct the project. There doesn’t seem to be very much here, but on the other hand, there isn’t too much to the carriage, just some tubes and cables. I’m not very impressed with the machining work done by Victoria Repair; things fit together, but not perfectly. I had to redrill one of the holes on the front wheel bracket to get the bolt to go through, and the bolt holes on the front bent downtube don’t line up and I’ll have to redrill those, but otherwise there are no show-stoppers so far.
Part of the challenge is to cope physically with the work. I’m working on the floor and the bending down and up is hard. I think next time I’ll sit in the wheelchair; I can maneuver it around and it should be easier to work from that level. Also, the hanger is very dusty and dirty, so I need to spend some time cleaning it and sweeping the dust from the work area.
At least the job is started. I connected the side rails to the seat plate and swing axle cables. Also I attached the gas tank sling and seat and the front wheel bracket. Overall I’m pleased with the work, even though it doesn’t look like much was accomplished.

Tuesday, July 20, 2010 Carriage Parts Complete

It’s been a long couple of weeks. Since before the July 4th weekend, I had taken the tubing and instruction sheet to Victoria Repair so they could fabricate the carriage parts. There had been a number of delays due to the guys being gone during the holidays and their not understanding the instruction sheet, but finally today and several visits, the parts are ready. I will take them up to the airport on Saturday and begin the actual reconstruction of the Jetwing carriage.
Meanwhile, last Tuesday, I flew with Don in his Airborne for 1.8 hours. I felt more in control than ever before, from initial take-off to final full-stop landing, and the T&G’s in between. Don complimented me on my increased skills, and agreed that I need to fly with more regularity. Don’t know if he’ll sign me off for solo in 10 hours, but I’ll give it my best effort.