7AC rebuild and covering

Update...
The right (starboard for you rust pickers) wing went into the booth and got Polysprayed, white undercoat of Polytone then Red and White Aerothane...
When I shot the white panels on the wing I also shot the rudder. One more wing to do up from the Polybrush coat and I'll have all the big pieces done.
Polybrush sprayed coats.
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Polytone White undercoat.
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Aerothane white and red.
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While waiting on various things to dry I got the engine hung, finished up the wiring for the starter and got the brakes assembled and bled.
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I DID have one setback since the last update...my trusty spray gun I've used for 15 years bit the big one 😡. All I had left was my Iwata detail gun and it's way too small for painting a wing. I ended up getting a cool 3m Accuspray 2.0 gun that has easy-change heads, throw away liners and tops and a built on regulator.! It came with 5 each 1.3, 1.4 and 2.0 nozzles... the 1.4 worked great for the silver and the 1.3 @ 18psi really laid down the Aerothane (which is a real b-atch to shoot) great. I'm still playing with the setup but for $350.00 it's not bad at all.
On to the left/port/other wing tomorrow...
Chris
 
A small disaster...
I shot Red Aerothane on the ailerons, horizontal stabs and elevators.
I then left to get to an appointment.
I got back to the hangar Tuesday morning to discover the high winds we've had blew a vent cover off the rear wall and tore up the rear section of my spray booth. Inside I found lots of FOD in the fresh paint. 🤬🤬🤬
Right now my plan is to just let it dry for a month or so and color sand and buff it out...if I get most of the crap out I'll just call it good. After all; paint on warbirds was never that great...(at least none of my dads stuff).
 
Ugh, bummer. Seems like sanding out the crud and reshooting red would be no more labor intensive than color sanding and buffing?
 
Every paint job has those blemishes that irritate the painter to death, but no else seems to notice. Aerothane sets up pretty fast. I'd give it a few weeks and see what washes off. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.
 
Left wing is done. Starting to like my new spray gun...🙂
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I got tired of screwing around getting the FOD out of my flippers so I removed the covering, re-covered and painted.
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Also got about half the trim pieces painted...including some screws for the window trim.
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I've got the instrument panel (such as it is) going together and after I double check the fit of the boot cowl I'll get it, the door and the struts shot.
Then final assembly and paperwork...lots of paperwork 😳😳😳.
My wife said if I'm not careful I'm gonna finish this silly thing...

Chris
 
Big Ed said:
How long does covering a tail surface take?
Click to expand...
Actual covering, taping, riveting was a day and a half for all six pieces...
Paint thru red was another week...
Drilling out the old rivets wasn't as bad as I'd envisioned...
A dremal tool with an 1/8" tungsten burr bit popped the tops off the rivets without having to drill them thus not enlarging the existing holes.

Chris
 
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I found one of my mufflers internal baffle (firecone) was about to come apart 😡🤬😡.
As I haven't spent any money on airplane stuff yet this year (wife started to worry if I was OK) I decided instead of rebuilding my old muffies I'd spring for new!
I can't wait to hear the low, powerful growl of my C 85 emanating from these...just like a Merlin V-12 at full throttle.

Sort of. 🤗🤗🤗
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Chris
 
Finished all the interior panels this morning...
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This afternoon it was time to tear down the paint booth inside the hangar and clean (most) of the debris away.
Damn it was good to have all that space back!
Everything is painted...there are a few spots I'm not happy with but WTH...and as my wife opined; ..."that's a lot of RED...!
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Awaiting the Maltese Crosses
being delivered before I put the wings on, they're 44" wide on the top and bottom of each wing and I'm sure they'll be easier to apply with the wings on saw horses.
Chris
 
I've made lots of progress reassembling the Champ in the last couple of weeks but I was forced to re-think my vinyl Maltese Crosses...the guy who said he would do them for me kept putting me off and when he finally DID come to the hangar to quote the job the price was ridiculous.
So I'm back to painting them on...so much for trying to save time. 😳
Anyway; the interior panels are in, the electrical system (such as it is) is in and tested, radio and intercom are all ready to go.
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The engine was de-pickled (un-pickled?), prop was put on, gas in the tank, oil in the sump and she fired right up! As I didn't have the windshield on yet I kept the rev's low so as not to test the burst pressure of my new headliner material...
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I'm hoping to get it in the air by the first week in April if the weather cooperates for the paint and the paperwork is finished...
Chris
 
OK,
I got my Maltese Crosses all drawn up and cut out my templates. I was originally going with 22" Crosses on both the fuselage sides and the fin/rudder but I didn't like the way that looked after mocking it up so I resized the rudder cross to 18".
Anyway, I got the crosses marked out and started taping.
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After the crosses and stripes were laid out I draped the whole fuselage (this was quite un-fun) and got ready to shoot the fuselage trim...
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Of course everything in the hangar had to be covered up as my paint booth was in the recycling bin...🤬🤬🤬.
Two coats of Black paint later I had the fuselage of my Aeronca Eindecker VIII done!
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I finished the wing crosses this afternoon so, barring me doing something stupid the painting is done...
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The last big project is, of course, getting the wings attached. Then the rigging, weight and balance and final checks and adjustments and it'll be a real airplane for the first time in 11 years...
BTW; I kept the original N-number...after 75 years I didn't have the heart to change it. She'll fly as 82558. Again.
Chris
 
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I pinged a few friends and asked for strong backs and weak minds to meet me at my hangar this afternoon for a work detail. Great bunch of guys from our local EAA chapter and a couple others showed up to help me get the wings attached.
I had the wings, struts and hardware all layed out as well as a wing-sling, alignment bars and a small persuader (hammer). Start to finish less than an hour...I kept waiting for something to go wrong but everything went great.
I'd forgotten how big a Champ is (wingspan wise). 😃
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Waiting for the troops.
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Everything fit!
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Snoopy likes his new ride.
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Warbird parking at Fly-in's?
Still have a week or so of work to do but today was a big step...
Chris
 
Well shes actually finished!
I got all the small jobs and changes done last week...l got my scuff plates under each rudder pedal put on, new sliding window latchs made and installed and even put the covers on the vertical tubes that will keep the tubes from looking shopworn after 50 hours or so...
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a few minutes later
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Weight came in at 894lbs. with the CG 1/2" forward of the original balance point...it's 15lbs. heavier than I wanted but I do have the C-85-12 with a starter, a metal prop, a battery, two 5.5 gallon aux tanks and the radio and ELT. So with the Pancake STC raising the gross to 1320lbs. there's still a fuzz over 400 useful (legally).
Working on the paperwork this week so maybe it'll fly sometime in April.
Chris
 
I received the last piece of the puzzle that was the Grove toe brake installation on my Aeronca yesterday, an Official FAA Engineering Approval... so after I get the 337's done I'll have the same braking system on my 1946 bird as the 2005-2016 7EC using the same TSO'ed Grove components...
With a total of 11 337's and 7 STC's plus the logbooks and other required Aircraft Paperwork my typing finger(s) are worn to a frazzle...but N82558 should return to the sky sometime this coming week.
Should this actually occur pics will of course be posted...
I'm thinking Snoopy should get to go on the test flights...

Chris
 
They made you get engineering approval? Yow! I have routinely been getting simple field approvals.
 
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