My 7AC project is now in my hangar, but the project seems daunting.
Is there any publication, guideline or checklist as to where to begin or in which order the restoration should take place?
I will have to undertake a complete restoration, i.e., everything will have to be done...fuselage, wings, engine, prop, interior.
I don't want to start on something only to find it will need to be redone later. Any help I can get to make some sense of this insanity would be greatly appreciated.
Restoration guide or checklist
Biggest things I can say to do are:
Put all of the cables, controls and so on (floorboards etc) in before covering the fuselage.
Put the headliner in before covering the fuselage.
Install all fuel tanks and fuel lines before covering the fuselage.
Do a "test fit" of the wings to the fuselage before covering the wings.
Hope this helps!
Put all of the cables, controls and so on (floorboards etc) in before covering the fuselage.
Put the headliner in before covering the fuselage.
Install all fuel tanks and fuel lines before covering the fuselage.
Do a "test fit" of the wings to the fuselage before covering the wings.
Hope this helps!
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james gevay
- Posts: 380
- Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 18:39
- Location: Anoka County MN
- Contact:
There's lots of advice to give but a lot depends on you and your situation.
First off, don't pull the entire plane apart all at once and have all your parts in a pile.
Get a digital camera and take lots and lots of pictures of all the parts and systems and how they go together. You will need the pics later as you forget how everything used to go together. Get oganized and keep track of parts, and descriptions of how the parts came apart.
Look at your situation, how much space do you have, money, skills and tools. If you've never done anything like this before, maybe you would feel more comfortable working on the wings, or the fuselage first.
Once you pull the wings off, you will need some saw horses to set them on, same with the fuselage eventually. You can start by making them or a wing rack to store the wing panels.
If your plane has never been restored before, then you will find unexpected things that need to be fixed or replaced. Just consider that it's a 60 year old plane and it has it's share of bumps and bruses along the way.
If your going to all the work and money to restore this plane then do it right! Don't do half baked repairs like it had many times over through the years.
Remember, this isn't the space shuttle, it's only 40's technology, so everything is some what easy to work on. Most things require basic skills.
After stripping fabric, it's listing what needs to be done, disassemble, clean parts, primer and paint, replacing hardware and cables, reassemble system by system.
Look at it as one part or system at a time, not the whole project at once.
Good luck and post some pictures when you get a chance, Jim
First off, don't pull the entire plane apart all at once and have all your parts in a pile.
Get a digital camera and take lots and lots of pictures of all the parts and systems and how they go together. You will need the pics later as you forget how everything used to go together. Get oganized and keep track of parts, and descriptions of how the parts came apart.
Look at your situation, how much space do you have, money, skills and tools. If you've never done anything like this before, maybe you would feel more comfortable working on the wings, or the fuselage first.
Once you pull the wings off, you will need some saw horses to set them on, same with the fuselage eventually. You can start by making them or a wing rack to store the wing panels.
If your plane has never been restored before, then you will find unexpected things that need to be fixed or replaced. Just consider that it's a 60 year old plane and it has it's share of bumps and bruses along the way.
If your going to all the work and money to restore this plane then do it right! Don't do half baked repairs like it had many times over through the years.
Remember, this isn't the space shuttle, it's only 40's technology, so everything is some what easy to work on. Most things require basic skills.
After stripping fabric, it's listing what needs to be done, disassemble, clean parts, primer and paint, replacing hardware and cables, reassemble system by system.
Look at it as one part or system at a time, not the whole project at once.
Good luck and post some pictures when you get a chance, Jim
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k2bords
Some non-technical advice, but something that's help me to keep going. I always try to take a minute at the end of the day after I've put stuff away and before I turn off the lights to look at what I got done. That way I always acknowledge, sort of really make it register in my brain that I got something done. It's sort of a glass half full thing-take a little time to focus on what you have done, not what's left to do.
Like James said, take lots of pictures. The wing cradles have been worth their weight it gold. I put mine on casters so that my wife can move them when she gets in the mood to clean!!!
I went to the auto parts store and bought some ID tags they use parts. Worked well for the Champ too. I too found many things that were not done according to the book. I didn't want to go back with a Bubba produced part so I have used the service manual and Todd's CD collection of drawings to help put things back the way they were in 1947.
When I originally purchased my plane, I was only going to rework the wings. Good thing I closed my eyes and pulled that utility knife down the side. I found a postcard from back in the early 1990's, sunflower seeds, and a few chewing gum wrappers underneath the floor boards. Not to mention the rusted tubing in the tail and the crack in the front cluster where the door hangs.
Todd's CD can be found at Aeronca.com
Just remember the champ is a bunch of little projects that will eventually come together to make lots of people smile......
I went to the auto parts store and bought some ID tags they use parts. Worked well for the Champ too. I too found many things that were not done according to the book. I didn't want to go back with a Bubba produced part so I have used the service manual and Todd's CD collection of drawings to help put things back the way they were in 1947.
When I originally purchased my plane, I was only going to rework the wings. Good thing I closed my eyes and pulled that utility knife down the side. I found a postcard from back in the early 1990's, sunflower seeds, and a few chewing gum wrappers underneath the floor boards. Not to mention the rusted tubing in the tail and the crack in the front cluster where the door hangs.
Todd's CD can be found at Aeronca.com
Just remember the champ is a bunch of little projects that will eventually come together to make lots of people smile......
Many thanks to those of you who posted responses to my plight. I guess I'm thinking along the right lines, because the first thing I did was to build a wing storage rack. I completed it last night and my wife helped me put the wings on it. She was impressed that I had the ability to do it. Next, I'm building the work table that was in last month's Sport Aviation (EAA) magazine. (Oh, wait! The FIRST thing I did was to open a bank account. As anyone in aviation knows, that's the most important thing!)
Next, I guess I'll begin stripping fabric. Any hints or suggestions on that operation?
Again, thanks for the pointers.
Next, I guess I'll begin stripping fabric. Any hints or suggestions on that operation?
Again, thanks for the pointers.
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james gevay
- Posts: 380
- Joined: Fri Mar 09, 2007 18:39
- Location: Anoka County MN
- Contact:
Measure and record where all the inspection holes are on the plane. Sometimes their in the wrong place, on one of my wings they were centered under the spar and on the other they were behind the spar. They were covered at different times by different people.
Once you get the cover off you might find some suprises that you didn't know about.
Once you get the cover off you might find some suprises that you didn't know about.
Lot's good ideas here. Opening a bank account is a great idea 
. Figure whatever you planned on spending and double it. Least that's been my experience. Same for time... double it. Try to do something on it everyday, even if it's only a few minutes. Otherwise it's easy to lose interest and the project becomes overwhelming. I'd also suggest on starting with a small part with the recovering process. One of the elevators is a good one. Reason being it's much cheaper to start over if it's necessary rather than one of the wings or fuselage. Once open you'll probably find some "warts'. Some are cosmetic and others need to be repaired.
My personal opinion: if you find the lower longerons are badly rusted or improperly repaired, replace the tubing up to the 'fishmouth' behind the landing gear. I went through trying to repair someone else's poor repair and finally bit the bullet and replaced the lower tubing on both sides. It took less than a day with two of us working on it. You do need a good welder who can weld light tubing though. Best if you can find someone with a jig but it's not impossible to build your own 'temporary' jig if necessary. Be sure to measure back from a common spot (strut attach fitting usually) to the tail post so everything can be kept inline during the welding process.
Have fun......lots of good help on this site!!
Mikeb
. Figure whatever you planned on spending and double it. Least that's been my experience. Same for time... double it. Try to do something on it everyday, even if it's only a few minutes. Otherwise it's easy to lose interest and the project becomes overwhelming. I'd also suggest on starting with a small part with the recovering process. One of the elevators is a good one. Reason being it's much cheaper to start over if it's necessary rather than one of the wings or fuselage. Once open you'll probably find some "warts'. Some are cosmetic and others need to be repaired. My personal opinion: if you find the lower longerons are badly rusted or improperly repaired, replace the tubing up to the 'fishmouth' behind the landing gear. I went through trying to repair someone else's poor repair and finally bit the bullet and replaced the lower tubing on both sides. It took less than a day with two of us working on it. You do need a good welder who can weld light tubing though. Best if you can find someone with a jig but it's not impossible to build your own 'temporary' jig if necessary. Be sure to measure back from a common spot (strut attach fitting usually) to the tail post so everything can be kept inline during the welding process.
Have fun......lots of good help on this site!!
Mikeb