NC77605 Rebuild - "Newer" Pics
Posted: Sat Oct 01, 2005 12:49 pm
'To All:
I just uploaded three newer pictures of the work on my project.
People keep asking when it will fly and I always tell them "I'll fly
it on Tuesday". I don't know which Tuesday it will be (maybe 2008?),
but it will definitely fly on a Tuesday.
The picture of the fuselage frame shows the tubing after cleanup and
paint, with the new stringers on and the headliner and wiring
substantially done. According to the manuals and the memories of
some of the old Temco guys still living in the DFW area, the fuselage
tubing was originally a color from Tennessee Eastman Corporation
called "Tenite" (# 6647-5171). I'm not sure what the word "Tenite"
means, but the color is basically a beige with quite a bit of Salmon
(pink) in it. I found quite a bit of this stuff in unmolested form
when I was stripping small parts and decided to go with a color a
little closer to beige, but far easier on the eyes. Kudos to Mike
Redpath for his attention to detail on the stringers. Getting the
contours just right took more labor than the manufacture of the
stringers themselves, but the finished product will be well worth the
effort.
The instrument panel is another feather in Mike's cap. The original
panel was in fairly good condition, but years of hard use and the odd
cutting or elongating of a hole here or an opening there required a
LOT of tedious sheet metal work to make the panel "right". I'm
putting a Garmin GPS / Comm and Transponder in the hump and you can
see the intercom installation and late-style ELT controls in the area
between the hump and the engine controls. The engine controls are
new cables, housings, and knobs fabricated from billet aluminum that
we'll paint to match the original Bakelite knobs, which I still have,
but they've deteriorated quite a bit. The rest of the panel will be
original, which seems to be a nice compromise between the need for
modern avionics when flying in the very busy Dallas-Fort Worth
airspace and the need to keep the airplane as close to original as
possible. I'm trying to find a correct vintage radio face to put
over the top of the modern radios when the airplane is on display.
Suggestions, anyone?
The last new picture is of the right wing just prior to covering.
Structural work is done and when this picture was taken new cables,
bearings, and wiring were being installed. The right wing is now
covered, stitched (OUCH!), and taped (I'll upload more pics soon). I
had never stitched an entire wing before and I can tell you the
Fairchild wing presents some unique problems for the amateur rib
stitcher, but it was still an enjoyable way to spend a couple days.
Please share your feedback or ideas on my project. This is my first
true antique (my old Apache definitely met the definition of an
antique, but I don't think it would get a good parking spot at
Bartlesville) and I'm wanting to do it "right" and do justice to an
outstanding airplane that was well built by folks right here in North
Texas.
Brad Donner
NC77605'
I just uploaded three newer pictures of the work on my project.
People keep asking when it will fly and I always tell them "I'll fly
it on Tuesday". I don't know which Tuesday it will be (maybe 2008?),
but it will definitely fly on a Tuesday.
The picture of the fuselage frame shows the tubing after cleanup and
paint, with the new stringers on and the headliner and wiring
substantially done. According to the manuals and the memories of
some of the old Temco guys still living in the DFW area, the fuselage
tubing was originally a color from Tennessee Eastman Corporation
called "Tenite" (# 6647-5171). I'm not sure what the word "Tenite"
means, but the color is basically a beige with quite a bit of Salmon
(pink) in it. I found quite a bit of this stuff in unmolested form
when I was stripping small parts and decided to go with a color a
little closer to beige, but far easier on the eyes. Kudos to Mike
Redpath for his attention to detail on the stringers. Getting the
contours just right took more labor than the manufacture of the
stringers themselves, but the finished product will be well worth the
effort.
The instrument panel is another feather in Mike's cap. The original
panel was in fairly good condition, but years of hard use and the odd
cutting or elongating of a hole here or an opening there required a
LOT of tedious sheet metal work to make the panel "right". I'm
putting a Garmin GPS / Comm and Transponder in the hump and you can
see the intercom installation and late-style ELT controls in the area
between the hump and the engine controls. The engine controls are
new cables, housings, and knobs fabricated from billet aluminum that
we'll paint to match the original Bakelite knobs, which I still have,
but they've deteriorated quite a bit. The rest of the panel will be
original, which seems to be a nice compromise between the need for
modern avionics when flying in the very busy Dallas-Fort Worth
airspace and the need to keep the airplane as close to original as
possible. I'm trying to find a correct vintage radio face to put
over the top of the modern radios when the airplane is on display.
Suggestions, anyone?
The last new picture is of the right wing just prior to covering.
Structural work is done and when this picture was taken new cables,
bearings, and wiring were being installed. The right wing is now
covered, stitched (OUCH!), and taped (I'll upload more pics soon). I
had never stitched an entire wing before and I can tell you the
Fairchild wing presents some unique problems for the amateur rib
stitcher, but it was still an enjoyable way to spend a couple days.
Please share your feedback or ideas on my project. This is my first
true antique (my old Apache definitely met the definition of an
antique, but I don't think it would get a good parking spot at
Bartlesville) and I'm wanting to do it "right" and do justice to an
outstanding airplane that was well built by folks right here in North
Texas.
Brad Donner
NC77605'