Friday, May 6, 2011 On to the Next Thing

Off to the airport on a rare non-weekend. The weather was forecast to be warm and dry, so I decided to play hooky from work. The wheels project is complete, so the next subproject is to mount the motor and get it running. I was able to get the motor mounted except for two stubborn bolts that wouldn’t line up. I didn’t have a pry-bar that would help, so that will have to be done next time.

Not much new to report, except that progress is definitely happening. Maybe I’ll be flying yet this year.

Saturday, April 30, 2011 Wheels Up!

Last week I extracted the main axles housings to replace the 1” axles with 5/8” axles. I didn’t know who I would get to do the machining work, but after some research, I finally made contact with Bob Herman at Herm’s Welding and Repair in Minnetrista. I showed him the axles and told him what I wanted done. He said it might be two weeks, and the cost ballpark would be “60 or 80 dollars”. But he got the work done early and called last Thursday to tell me he was done. I was able to get there on Friday afternoon. What I saw was excellent work, and I’m pleased with his professionalism. Everything looked beautiful and will work great.

I took the axles to the airport on Saturday. It was cold, windy, and rainy, but inside the hanger it wasn’t bad, even though it isn’t heated in there. The front wheel needed some work; when I reassembled it after the accident I had left out the spacers, but was able to get them put back without much problem.

I also installed the rear axles and everything fit perfectly. I didn’t attach the wheels because I had not moved the tires and tubes to the new rims from the old rims. On the way back from the airport I stopped at Menards and picked up a tool to remove the valve stems and with its help later Saturday night I was able to move the tires and tubes to the new rims. So next time I get to the airport, I’ll put the wheels on, and that subproject will be complete. I put the old wheels on Craigslist for $20 for both, so I’ll see what happens.

Finally, I worked on completing the mounting of the Kawasaki motor. Things progressed very well. I was able to complete the attachment of the front mounts including the front engine cables. But the rear mounts were a problem because I did not have enough large saddles and large washers. Now the adventure begins to find some large saddles. First of all, I didn’t know what they were called—round plastic washers with one flat side and the other side curved to fit the tubing. I spent hours on Google trying to find what these things were called. In the assembly manual they were known as “large saddles”, but a Google search didn’t result in finding them anywhere on the web. Finally, after paging through seemingly hundreds of catalogs, I spotted a picture that looked like the right part referred to as “cove spacers”. But even though my earlier attempts to locate them as “saddles” using Google proved fruitless, I found the saddles were in the LEAF catalog all along. Apparently Google search does not search detail in the LEAF catalog. So now I need to order some of these saddles and I should be able to complete the mounting of the motor, and start connecting the muffler and the fuel lines and throttle controls. So it was a very productive time at the airport.

April 23, 2011 Saturday Before Easter

Went to the airport today for the first time this year. The Jetwing is largely untouched since October, when the weather turned cold and has stayed so until the past couple of weeks. It’s still cold and rainy, but tomorrowed is promised to be sunny with highs in the mid-60’s. So it’s beginning to look a lot like Spring, and flying weather.
My goal today was to make some progress with the wheels and try to get the motor mounted. It’s been a frustrating experience to try to get the wheels either fixed or replaced. Most of the problem has been with the hubs, which on the old plastic wheels were worn to the point that the bushings were loose, resulting in wobbly wheels. But I could not find any replacement wheels that would accommodate the brass bushings with 1” axle diameter, which was what is compatible with the axles.
Finally, I am resigned to replace the axles, and so I ordered and received new 16” wheels with 5/8” axles. The old 1” axles are tubular aluminum, and I want the new 5/8” axles to be hardened steel, so I’ll have to find a machine shop that can make that modification for me.
So my goal today was to take out the old axle sleeves so I can take them to the machinist. I’m always unsure of whether or not things like this will happen easily, i.e., the old axles might be bent or binding and would not come out easily, but viola, they came out easily.
I also needed to take the nose wheel axle out and put in the two spacers that I had neglected to replace earlier, another adventure that I was unsure would happen easily, but success here also.
The only other thing I wanted to do on a time-available basis was to try to mount the motor. I knew with my weakened physical abilities since the accident I would not be able to hold the motor up by myself and mount it on the support tubes, but I thought I might be able to set it on the ground on the prop and lift the Jetwing 90 degrees to line up with the mounting holes. I was dubious of the chances of this working, but amazingly I was able to get the motor mounted, including the upper engine support cables and all four mounting bolts. They are just in finger-tight, but after restoring it to its 3-point stance, I can work with each mounting bolt individually and get the engine mounted properly and start to connect the fuel/air lines and the throttle cable. That will result in the Jetwing being closer to operational, and perhaps I’ll be flying this year!
So all went well today, and I’m pleased with the progress.
And most importantly, Praise God for the resurrection of my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in whom I trust and hope.

Saturday, October 16, 2010 Back to Work

It’s been quite awhile since the last time at the airport. The weather was beautiful for an October day; warm and breezy. We have been spending most of our time getting packed up for our move to our new house the first week in November, and the Jetwing rebuild project has not been on the top of my priority list.
I finished up my dual with Don without a solo endorsement. It seemed like all was going well, but a couple of poor landings did not give Don the assurance that I could be as consistent as he was looking for. Although I did better than most of Don’s student in only 10 hours, he couldn’t sign me off.
Today I went to the airport to pick up some tools and take some pictures of a couple of things stored there that we want to sell. I wasn’t going to work on the Jetwing, but after I got there and looked things over, I figured I could finish up the carriage side support rails and engine mounts, which I did. I think the next step will be to mount the engine and begin to task of getting it to run. The throttle cables, electrical wires, and fuel tubing were cut, so it will take some time to get everything re-attached.
One other task is to get the main wheels done. Larry Miller is also working on the same thing with his Jetwing; the Skyway plastic wheels get sloppy over time, with the brass bushings wearing the plastic hubs. We both need to find the right oversized bushings to press into the wheels so they are taut and strong. So that’s a project that needs to get done.
But I’m pleased with the progress. It might be awhile before I’m back up there, but I want to go as soon as possible after we’re moved. There will be lots of little things to do at the new house, so it might be awhile before I can get up there again.

Saturday, September 04, 2010 Continuing theWork

This has been a very productive week, not so much with the Jetwing rebuild, but with other things. I flew with Don twice and like many things in life, seemed to “catch on” to the landing technique. I flew on Thursday and also early today, a total of about 3 hours and 20 landings in just these two sessions. Don said the improvement in my flying was noticeable and he would be willing to sign me off for solo next session. That means it will be less than 10 hours total WSC time or maybe just over. He thought my airplane flight experience helps me in visualizing in three dimensions, a critical element for the landings.
On the way back from the flying, I stopped off at Crystal to work on the Jetwing. I got the nose wheel installed, along with the rear wheels and swing axle cables and front downtube. It’s beginning to look like a Jetwing should. I should be able to get the engine on soon.

Friday, August 20, 2010 Finish Uprights

The next task is to get the uprights on the carriage. I felt unsure of the measurements for the holes in the uprights, where the brackets go for the side braces, the engine mount brackets, and the attach points for the Upper Frame Plate that attaches the uprights to the main center boom. With Larry Miller’s help, I got those measurements so I could finish up the uprights.
I had used Wesson oil to make it easier to slide the inner sleeves inside the uprights; worked well. I took the uprights up to the airport this morning. I wasn’t feeling very energetic, but managed to get the holes drilled to attached the uprights to the center boom brackets, taking care to ensure correct alignment of the boom and ensuring the uprights were square with the side rails and each other. Everything seemed to work out, but as usual it seemed to take longer and took more effort than I anticipated. But that part is done, although I still need to get the brackets for the side brace and engine mounts done. That will be for next time.
For now, it’s time to go home.

Saturday, August 7, 2010 Try Again to get the Axles and Wheels Done

Last Monday I took the tubes I had ordered from Aircraft Spruce and instructions to Victoria Repair and asked them to redo the uprights. I picked up the redone tubes on Friday, the 6th. Everything’s wrong. Well, not everything, but they didn’t do much right. I’ll have to finish the work myself; they don’t seem to have a clue.
Today we’ll go back to the airport. Sandra wanted to get out of the house, so we drove up to the airport together and stopped at the Perkins in Crystal for breakfast. It was raining hard, but it won’t affect me because I can just turn on the hanger lights and keep the main door closed. I left Sandra at Perkins reading the paper and sipping iced tea and went to the hanger. The first job is to get that right axle attached. I worked for at least an hour with no results. The C-clamp I had borrowed from Chad wasn’t doing the job I had envisioned. The sequence of heavy brackets that attach the swing axle to the side rail weren’t allowing alignment of the holes well enough for the bolt to slip through. Finally I took the whole thing apart again and, using a hammer, was able to widen the small bracket just enough to finally get the axle bolt through. But the work was fatiguing enough that I didn’t feel like finishing the axles and wheels. I’ll do it next time. Time to go home.