We stripped her naked.

[BEN S]

Vance, we all see what we want to see.
As someone who knows next to nothing about grades of steel, his insight seemed like it would be germane to the context.
I would no sooner tell you that you must like him or his posts than I would listen to someone telling me I have to respect that schmuck who flew against the pattern traffic just so he could wave at people head on!
All I was saying is there are people on this site who need to have copious amounts of life's doo doo heaped upon them, but these guys didn't seem to be them.
Fly safe, but not too safe!

 

[Vance]

I didn’t make my goal of airworthy today.

I didn’t make my goal of airworthy today.

I worked on her till late last night and found that I had installed the solenoid too soon.

I was missing a screw in the floor under the rotor tower and the solenoid was in the way.

There are lots of big wires coming off the solenoid that I didn’t want to disturb making reaching the nuts and washers on the mounting screws very difficult to reach.

I lost control of one of the nuts and imagined it fell to the metal floor that I was working on that contains the battery and the driver for the anti-collision lights. In other words there are a lot of dark places for the nut to hide. I spent a lot of time looking for the nut with a flashlight (the hangar lights aren’t very bright) and eventually gave up and headed for home.

I picked up the painted and reworked for the second time rear body section at 3:30 today and headed for the hangar. I dug around in the dark places that were less dark with the sunlight pouring in to no avail. I like to be the only loose nut on board so finding the quarter twenty elastic stop nut was important to me.
I needed a rest so I started to work on the pins for the rudder cables beneath the horizontal stabilizer and in the light of day I found the nut had made it all the way to the floor also beneath the horizontal stabilizer. The search for the nut had probably cost three hours. This was even more frustrating because the first time I had installed the solenoid it had gone so well. I was pleased that I maintained a positive attitude throughout the search.

I did get the rudder cables hooked up and the rotor control is again hooked up with the control rods carefully adjusted.

I have an EAA meeting that I want to go to in Santa Ynez Saturday and then I am planning on spending the rest of the day working on her.

I need to hook up the battery and put the front tower panel in place, install the rest of the rear cyclic control and adjust it. I still have to replace the gas lines and install the rear body section, the tanks, seats and seat covers. The tower side panel is probably last. The nave lights and anti-collision lights are on that panel and hooking them up with the little brass screws is always a challenge.

I want to redo the ground to one of the landing lights that connects to one of the fuel tank mounting bolts because it seemed a little frail when I disconnected it.

Phil won’t be back till Monday to sign her off so there is no hurry. I can finish her up on Sunday. I may get some help from Ed on Sunday, she is babysitting the two of the grand kids till midnight tonight.

My list is getting shorter and I am satisfied with all the things I have done.

I find a sort of serenity in the process of putting The Predator back together.

Major repairs on The Predator are always a test of my patience.

 

[Arnie Madsen]

I found the nut had made it all the way to the floor also beneath the horizontal stabilizer. The search for the nut had probably cost three hours. .

Glad you found it .... I know the feeling .... haaaaaaaa

I spent many years in the Autobody business and we had to save and reuse every fastener because they were usually one of a kind and to get a replacement from the factory was nearly impossible and took weeks.

If a clip or bolt or nut fell into the inner panels of a car , or on the floor , or rolled into the drain grate , it was a matter of patiently looking until we found it.

In all those years I was only skunked once ... a specialized spring clip flew over my shoulder and after 4 hours searching I gave up and had to source a new one .... the customer's car was tied up for 4 days and they were not very happy.

The following week I was sending my work uniforms to laundry and found the clip ... it had bounced off my shoulder and landed in my shirt pocket

 

[j4flyer]

If you drop a bolt or nut inside the airframe you can bump along the belly and move or hear it. I also use compressed air to blow it into view. A magnet will work as well.

 

[Vance]

A little more progress today and a great EAA meeting.

A little more progress today and a great EAA meeting.

I love your stories Arnie. This was a common nut, I just didn’t want it shorting things out.

Thank you for the advice Bob. I have been down that path and worn out several telescoping magnets.

I thought the nut had fallen in between the driver for the anti-collision lights and the battery and was still on top of the aluminum floor under the rotor tower.

There is a forest of wires back in that corner and lots of nooks and crannies.

The hangar is not well lit and after looking for a long time I decided to wait till the next day.

My fear was that the nut would find its way to short out the positive wire to the battery. There are three of them, one directly to the starter, one directly to the pre-rotator and one directly to the main solenoid.

I had no idea the nut had made it all the way to the concrete floor under the horizontal stabilizer until I lay down on it yesterday.

I cut and installed the new fuel lines and cleaned up the details on the rear floor today. I have the panel behind the seat mocked up but not installed. The failing light made it too hard to find all the little nylon washers that go under the screws. I still have to manage the plugs for the head set and the push to talk. I may have to redo the grounds.

Tomorrow Ed and I are going to install the repaired and painted rear body but we have to wait till Monday to install the fuel tanks because Phil has the tool and the parts for the connectors for the fuel level senders. I am hoping to get the left rotor tower panel buttoned up and the navigation and anti-collision lights hooked up. That is always a challenge with the little brass screws.

The rear seat needs to go back in place with the cover and the front seat belts need to be installed. I still have to adjust the rear cyclic.

The list keeps getting shorter. I find it cathartic working on The Predator but it was 99 degrees today and I worked up quite a sweat.

I am hoping to get The Predator signed off as airworthy Monday morning so I can schedule the retest with Terry and begin practicing for the practical test after some maintenance flights.

I checked the weather and as of now there is a 20% chance of light rain and a chance of thunder storms beginning at 11:00 Monday morning and lasting till Wednesday morning.

Lots of people have stopped by the hangar and said they miss seeing The Predator in the sky.

 

[Vance]

Close but not quite finished.

Close but not quite finished.

The Predator is mostly dressed again.

The rear controls are in and adjusted.

The front panel on the rotor mast is installed.

The rear seat is installed with the cover and the seat belts complete.

The repaired rear body section is mounted. Ed was a great help, I could not have managed the rear body without her. She is also the one that finds things when I lose them and cleans up around the hangar. I love Ed!

Phil has the tool for the plugs for the fuel level senders so I have to wait for him to mount the fuel tanks. The front lap belts are a part of that process.

The left rotor tower side panel is in place but I did not finish the wiring for the navigation lights and the anti-collision lights.

It was over ninety degrees most of the day and I feel it is not the best time to exercise my fine motor skills on the tiny little brass screws. The sweat gets in my eye and makes it hard to see.

I don’t have any parts left over and I found all the parts I needed to put her back together.

I feel pretty good about her condition. Besides fixing the frame we cleaned up a lot of nagging squawks on the aircraft.

Other than installing and wiring the fuel tanks, mounting the front lap belts. hooking up the navigation and anti-collision lights she is ready for her airworthy inspection.

We are down to an 8% chance of rain tomorrow and no thunderstorms predicted.

I have most of tomorrow set aside for flight testing and to see how well I fly The Predator after abandoning her for fifteen months.

She is on the battery charger now.

 

[MarkG]

The Predator is mostly dressed again.

The rear controls are in and adjusted.

The front panel on the rotor mast is installed.

The rear seat is installed with the cover and the seat belts complete.

The repaired rear body section is mounted. Ed was a great help, I could not have managed the rear body without her. She is also the one that finds things when I lose them and cleans up around the hangar. I love Ed!

Phil has the tool for the plugs for the fuel level senders so I have to wait for him to mount the fuel tanks. The front lap belts are a part of that process.

The left rotor tower side panel is in place but I did not finish the wiring for the navigation lights and the anti-collision lights.

It was over ninety degrees most of the day and I feel it is not the best time to exercise my fine motor skills on the tiny little brass screws. The sweat gets in my eye and makes it hard to see.

I don’t have any parts left over and I found all the parts I needed to put her back together.

I feel pretty good about her condition. Besides fixing the frame we cleaned up a lot of nagging squawks on the aircraft.

Other than installing and wiring the fuel tanks, mounting the front lap belts. hooking up the navigation and anti-collision lights she is ready for her airworthy inspection.

We are down to an 8% chance of rain tomorrow and no thunderstorms predicted.

I have most of tomorrow set aside for flight testing and to see how well I fly The Predator after abandoning her for fifteen months.

She is on the battery charger now.

Vance

The rear body tub looks purrrdy again!!

 

[Vance]

The Predator is a very nice design Mark Givan.

The Predator is a very nice design Mark Givan.

Vance

The rear body tub looks purrrdy again!!

Thank you Mark.

As I was putting her together I realized again how nice the shapes are that you came up with for her rear body.

The body shop did not add as many layers of glass as I would have liked so the rear body still won’t hold up to people using to lift themselves out of the seat or kicking it on their way out. For now it looks good.

The plugs for the fuel senders went well with only one redo. They do not use a conventional crimper and I don’t quite have it down yet. I was not using the correct procedure for installing the right tank so I pulled one of the wires loose.

I ended up taking the rear seat out again because it made it easier to get to the nuts that hold on the tanks.

It reached over 100 degrees in the hangar and when I returned from lunch the combination padlock was too hot to handle from the sun. It took a rag and some care to get it open. I still burned my fingers a little.

A friend helped me with the navigation lights and anti-collision so I did not drop any of the little brass screws.

Transferring the fuel from the 30 gallon drum back into The Predator turned into an ordeal because the hoses were a little too short on my syphon. I ended up pouring the last 4.2 gallons into a jug and then into The Predator. It is not easy to keep everything grounded and transferring fuel is one of the high risk of static electricity operations.

I ordered another new starter and it appears Sky-Tec is going to warrantee it again. It should be here Wednesday. The starter has not failed but the gearbox is leaking grease and that is the beginning of the end.

This will be starter number three for the IO-320 according to my log book although I may have missed one.

I got her down to Coastal Valley Aviation around 3:50 and they decided to keep her overnight so they can take their time inspecting her. The mechanic who found the crack liked the repair a lot. He understood the compromises well.

My transponder needs to be certified before she is airworthy.

I spent some time with the log books documenting the work and I may make up some stickers because my writing is not very legible and there are a lot of words.

I worked on cleaning up the hangar for the rest of the day into the evening. There are probably a couple more hours of work.

I feel the job is not finished till the paperwork is done and the mess is cleaned up.

I should be able to pick up The Predator from CVA around ten and do some local flying and then check everything before I wander away from SMX.

It is foggy now so I expect milder temperatures tomorrow.

Thank you all for following along.

 

[Vance]

The Predator flies again.

The Predator flies again.

Log book entries for;
Repaired exhaust.
Repaired crack in the frame at step.
Repaired crack in the frame at rear of body as per AC 43.13.
Serviced teeter bearings.
Repaired and painted rear body section.
Replaced all soft fuel hoses with new.

Inspected I.A.W. the scope and detail of appendix D to part 43 and was found to be in condition for safe flight.

Complied with tests and inspections as required by FAR 91.413 The work described herein has been performed and inspected in accordance with the repair station and quality control manuals of CRS CQ7R125C. The signature constitutes the return to service only for work performed.

I took almost an hour doing a preflight and was not able to find anything troubling.

I checked the weather and the wind was 290 at 10kts gusting to 18kts.

I called ground with Alpha and he said; “nice to see her flying again Vance.”

I went out and did seven patterns at SMX and have her back in the hangar checking her.

She felt very strange after not flying her for over 15 months.

I am pleased to report every take off but one was as nice as could be and every landing was a greaser.

My altitude and speed control was not to commercial standards but I am hoping that will come back quickly.

It took a little longer than I expected to repair her properly.

I am going to ground school with Michael Burton tomorrow afternoon.

Terry is going to get back to me with his schedule.

I feel like things are going well.

I hope to fly some more patterns this afternoon and maybe some ground reference maneuvers if the fog doesn't come in.

 

[Arnie Madsen]

.

Vance , I have not read all the latest posts on this thread , but I have been thinking things over for a couple of days , mostly my thoughts were about this thread itself and I questioned why I enjoyed it so much. Here goes.

I have spent so many years of my life fixing things that were no longer brand new , had wear and cracks and grease and stress and dirt and had to be fixed and made safe again.

Nobody realizes how hard it is to even spot the problem (crack) in the first place. It takes a keen eye , attention to detail , the perception of a detective , and loads of patience wiggling around a machine that was built to fly , not built to inspect easily .

Wiggling is a big fancy word that describes a mechanic with a mirror , dirt falling in his eyes , a light that is bulky and will not shine where you want it , on a day that is 100* and salty sweat rinses the dirt from your eyes and you are grateful

Never mind cleaning all the dirt and grease and paint and silicone from the fiberglass panels , and mild steel joints that need welding , never mind all the fuel , fuel lines , electrical wiring , that has to be removed before you even turn the sanders and grinders on to remove paint , rust , old welds and crap JUST to get it ready to repair

Without forgetting to make sure the small sparks from the grinder do not land in the pail of gas you drained from the tank , which of course you already sealed and put outside , but you must remember a drop or two of fuel may have come out of the lines .... and eventually after all that and more , you can actually do some welding and fiberglass repairs .... and then some painting , fresh paint of course , careful not to scratch anything , I am getting tired just typing all this. And I have left half of it out.

Now I am not sure if I was trying to make a point , I just know all the unmentioned things that are part of a repair like that , I have done plenty , but always got satisfaction from maintain a machine that was dear to me , make it nice again and go enjoy what it can do . I see you doing just that Vance and I thank you.

 

[captgyro]

Good Luck

Good Luck

I have only been on this forum for 9 months now, but realize how hard you have worked over the years to accomplish your goal. Good luck Vance, a lot of people are pulling for you. I for one would have no hesitation suggesting your name to anyone in that part of the country to train with you. Stephen

 

[Brian]

Glad to see the predator back in the air good luck on the testing

 

[ckurz7000]

Good to see progress has been made. I am planning to visit the west coast again next year and hope that I can get one hour of instruction in with you in the Predator.

Greetings and best of luck, -- Chris.

 

[Vance]

800 overcast at SMX.

800 overcast at SMX.

I was set to go flying before the wind came up but at 8:30 it is 800 feet overcast at SMX so I have some time to respond to my friends.

I am glad to have you along on this adventure Arnie.

I find joy in your enjoyment.

I tried to express all those things and even with my visual aids I was not able to express the joy and cathartic value as well as you did.

One question you left out was; how far do I go to “fix” her?

It would be great to strip everything off and repaint everything, rewire, re-plumb and re-rig everything with new hardware. I did that every year with the motorcycle streamliner Mariah.

It would be a fun project but it does not fit my schedule or budget. The Predator is a much more low key adventure.

The salt air around here is very corrosive and it is an ongoing battle to manage.


Thank you Stephen, I love flying gyroplanes and love teaching.

I am not anticipating a lot of push back because of my handicaps.

I appreciate your vote of confidence.

It would be easy to imagine from reading this thread that there is very little support on this forum for my decision to become a gyroplane CFI. I suspect that a lot of people who know me thought the “questions and opinions” were so silly as to not be worth a response.

I try to be consistent and honest and some take that as a sign of weakness.


Thank you Brian; it felt good to have her up in the air again. I love the feel of the big Lycoming and the way she manages rough air. The wind picked up a little in the afternoon and I got in another ten landings.


I would love to go flying with you Chris and I suspect I would learn a great deal.

You are one of my favorite people and I would go to considerable effort to make any interaction with you happen even if I am not a CFI by then.

 

[StanFoster]

Enjoy your reacquainting period with the Predatir.

I love looking over your shoulder.

 

[Vance]

A story for Stan.

A story for Stan.

Enjoy your reacquainting period with the Predatir.

I love looking over your shoulder.

I story for you Stan so you can look over my shoulder as I rediscover the magic of The Predator. It was fun having you along and you helped me break out of my practical standards mode.

I was not satisfied with my speed and altitude control Tuesday in somewhat windy conditions at Santa Maria (KSMX) and figured on flying early on Wednesday before the winds came up.

Arrived at the airport is the ceiling was 800 overcast.

Some FAA people were out checking something on the runway making a challenge for ATC so I ended up taking off on 20.

My first pattern I busted my pattern altitude (800 MSL plus or minus 100 feet) and did well on the airspeed (plus or minus five knots).

The next three were easily to practical even though the wind was starting to come up.

I asked for a right crosswind departure to the North West and it was approved as requested.

I decided to try slow flight so I slowed to 20kts and did some left and right 360s.

I found it easy to control altitude, airspeed and heading within commercial practical tests standards
”Establishes and maintains a specified airspeed, +5,-0, in straight-and-level flight, turns, climbs, and descents as directed.
Maintains the specified altitude, ±50 feet.
Maintains the specified heading during straight flight, ±5°.
Maintains specified bank angle, ±5°, during turning flight.
Rolls out on specified headings, ±5°.”

So in my overconfidence I tried recognition and recovery from high rate of descent. I didn’t have any trouble maintaining my heading plus or minus ten degrees. I had cruise power in and even at 30kts The Predator would not attain a high rate of descent so I slowed to 20kts indicated air speed and pulled the power back. I lowered the nose and lost less than 200 feet getting back up to 50kts.

It was a beautiful day and I felt I had demonstrated sufficient restraint so I started sporting around.

I headed up the beach at 45kts indicated airspeed with the Lycoming just rumbling along at 1,820 rpm.

I announced Oceano Traffic, white gyroplane seven miles to the south, transitioning to the north along the shoreline at 500 feet and forty five knots.

When I reported at five miles to the south my friend who flies the jump plane and has been flying in The Predator to Hurst Castle announced on the CTAF; “good to see you up in The Predator Vance, perfect day for it”.

I never tire of the curve of the shoreline and the deep blue pacific with the waves breaking white.

I loved the feel of the cool ocean air on my face and all the ocean smells.

I rumbled past Oceano waving at my friend and made my last call over the Pismo pier.

They should have changed the ATIS but it was still Oskar so I called the San Luis Obispo tower.

It was a new guy and he was panicked that he couldn’t see me on radar after I had hit the ident button. He kept asking me where I was and I suspect he didn’t know where Shell beach is or the entrance to the Avilla Pass. I was to report established on the downwind. Then he asked me if I had the Cessna in sight on a right base. I explained I was on the other side of the hill and could not see the Cessna. I thought I could hear one of the girls in the background “helping” him.

As soon as I touched down I was to call ground and one of the girls said “welcome back Vance; it is good to see you waving again!”

I came in behind a life flight helicopter and he came over to have a look at The Predator and ask the usual questions about gyroplanes. (Is it safe? Is it hard to fly?) I offered to give him a quick lesson but he was in a hurry to get back to Los Angles.

I took a table in the sun (the two seat tables are along the edge of the patio) and a very nice couple invited me to sit at their table in the shade. She was fascinated with The Predator and asked all kinds of questions and listened well to the answers. He was more pointed and asked engineer questions. They live up near Mount Shasta and were down for a family get together. Its wild fire country and we talked about the many California Wild Fires. Neither one of them was a Pilot but he was a planes, trains and automobile sort of guy.

I had to get back for an appointment with Michael so I flew to SMX direct with a short diversion over the house. Ed was babysitting Presley, our granddaughter and it is the first time she has seem me flying. She is only 14 months but Ed feels she understood that I was flying.

It felt great to be out in the open because it was a very hot day.

I love how easy it is to take pictures from the open aircraft.

I had cut the string off my camera for taking pictures in Puff and had to safety wire a new strap on.

I am still a little unsure of myself so I didn’t take a lot of pictures near the airport.

I loved the relaxed quality of The Predator and spent more time below 50kts indicate air speed than I would have in Puff.

 

[Vance]

I liked all the pictures so here are a few more.

I liked all the pictures so here are a few more.

I have lost my skill at selecting pictures so here are a few more from today's flight.

 

[PW_Plack]

Vance, it's great to see her back in the air.

 

[Timchick]

Vance, it's great to see her back in the air.

Ditto! Paul took the words right out of my mouth.

 

[Vance]

She didn't last long.

She didn't last long.

Thank you Paul and Tim; it feels good to be back in The Predator.

She has such a wonderful carefree demeanor.

Unfortunately my post flight inspection revealed a piece missing out of the exhaust pipe.

Upon closer inspection it appears to be a repair from long ago that didn’t quite work out.

It looks like it was repaired, then ground down to disguise the repair. We think the pipes are 50 years old although we are not at all certain of their heritage.

Those little light specks are actually tiny holes in the exhaust.

The pin holes are evident in the first picture but more evident shooting from the inside out.

We have been using the original head pipes from the beginning because they have a special formed end for the clamp and this is the first time we have had a problem with the pipes.

All our previous challenges have been with the muffler cracking because we tried to make it too light (used too thin a material). We have upped the thickness and hope are muffler challenges are over.

Smokey called me this afternoon to let me know they were finished and I immediately headed to Atascadero (48 miles north of Nipomo) and then back down to SMX to play with her.

The starter showed up last night and I just finished up installing the repaired exhaust and the starter.

The starter is a particularly nasty job because the special grease has been leaking out of the gearbox and covering everything with black goo. I have washed my hands at least three times with the best hand cleaner and they are still dirty.

Both the starter and the exhaust require a lot of positions that are hard on my body and the little washers tend to go bouncing across the floor and they are very hard to see in the poor light.

Michael signed my log book last night and we filled out the application for the retest.

Terry looked it over and in his words; “I didn’t send it back to you.”

The Van Nuys FSDO is communicating with the Phoenix FSDO so it looks like we are ready to go the second week in October.

I am anxious to have everything as good as it can be and be prepared for the practical test so most of my flying will be practice for the test. That is why I will be missing the California International Air Show, The Ken Brock Freedom Fly In, Autogyro Day at the Hiller Air Museum and the Oakdale airport day.