The Restoration of N2120E

[shorty]

So here's where I sit:
1) I can let ACSpruce mill out spars from larger boards, I eat the extra time and cost of a larger board, but they eat any additional wood while trying to meet spec.
2) I mill out larger boards and run the risk of not meeting spec and eat the difference of a large board verse the spec board.
3) Try Wicks Aircraft Supply.


nkh

4) Home Depot

I built a bunch of ribs from Home Depot.
Hadda buy a bunch of lumber to get enough kite sticks that meet spec.

[Nathan K. Hammond]

Three months on the road over the summer made for little progress, but I'm back at it again.
Finished the tip skin with a piece of .016 2024T3 will little to no problem. It's a little different than the original but I'm very happy with the results. No oil canning which is a big plus.

Starting the fit...







Having to trim the nose so it doesn't pucker or kink the leading edge.



I'll end up adding a block under the leading edge in the second bay to keep it from oil canning.



Finished up with tape holding the skin to the bow. When I cover it, anti-chafe tape will be used in place of the duct tape. Also I did a little trimming around the bow so it would lay better.



Off to the airport for safe storage...



nkh

[drjeff]

congrats to you on the progress! I know your time to play is spread thin......

[MikeB]

Nathan
Keep posting the pictures. That leading edge tip (I assume you used the Wag Aero one) caused me much loss of religion with the compound bend but looks like you have the technique down. I believe I finally gave up and cut the *##@## thing apart to make it fit but then, I'm not much of a metal worker either.
Looking good!

Mike

[pmanton]

Nathan
Keep posting the pictures. That leading edge tip (I assume you used the Wag Aero one)
Mike

Is there any source for parts other than Wag Aero?

Paul
N1431A
N83803
2AZ1

[MikeB]

Not that I'm aware of.
Mike

[Nathan K. Hammond]

Univair makes some ribs as well as fittings and several other parts. Aircraft Spruce made a deal with both Wag and Univair to sell their Aeronca parts; when you get a part it still has the Wag/Uni stamp. It's nice though when you need other stuff like aluminum or hardware and combine the shipments to save a little cash.

Mike, I made the tip from scratch. I don't consider myself a tin smith, but it went fairly smooth. Using the drawing, I made a cardboard template, then trimmed it to fit and lay down without puckering. By cutting the slot a little wider, and enlarging the hole at the end, made the last bay lay down much better. I also eliminated the tab that bent around and screwed to the bottom; that made things much easier. The tab would probably make the fabric transition look a little cleaner, but not enough to put up with the forming headache.

nkh

[MikeB]

I think the WA tip is just about impossible to make lay down without puckers. The outboard leading edge has a nasty compound bend (as you most likely know) and I just couldn't get it to form to my satisfaction. Part of the problem might be that the original material was .016 and the WA piece is .022 or .024. The thinner stuff might work a little better. That being said, I thought the rest of the leading edge fit from WA was outstanding and took very little pulling with tie straps to make it fit properly. There is an old fellow up north of us who made a leading edge jig with a wood piece that forms the nose rib area but I figured by the time I bought all the material, trucked it up there, etc. it was just better to bite the bullet and go with the WA kit and other than the tip I had no complaints. I don't think the price was too bad either...something like $150 each side.

Mike

[Nathan K. Hammond]

I pulled all the fittings off the right wing, and plan to leave the ribs and Leading/Trailing edge on for now. Eventually I'll pull it all apart or hang it up at the airport.







No major issues found, but the front strut fitting had serious pitting. The left side had the same issue, so at your next annual, it make be a good idea to give them a hard look. I replaced the left side with a new one from Wag, and will have to do the same for this one.

I'll try to get some better pics tomorrow.





And one of the drag/anti-drag wires was soft and easily bent. All of the wires will be replaced (several on the left side had pitting.)



nkh

[Nathan K. Hammond]

With everything blasted, and a couple false starts, all the wings parts and tail section were primed. Note to self, don't blast steel parts and let them sit for any amount of time.

Before mixing the paint, there were a couple of issues to clean up.
A couple of pin holes had to be welded up and ground back smooth.



The screws holes all needed to be filed down. PK screws tend to lift a little bit of material when they're installed.





An angle grinder with a 120 grit pad makes short work of it.




nkh

[Nathan K. Hammond]

Time to shoot paint...

The hangar door works really good to hold parts. You can adjust the height of the part REAL easy! Ike the wonder dog keeps an eye on things. *Side note, it took 3 cups of paint to prime all that.*



Once primed, I moved them into the parts room of the hangar where I had a space heater to keep the temp at 70*F or higher.



nkh

[Richard Murray]

Nathan,

I have had the same issues with steel parts and letting them sit too long. A friend in the auto body business suggested I phosphatize the parts after blasting to prevent the onset of flash rust. I just finished blasting my horizontal stabilizer and then washed it down with Eastwood Fast Etch. A very easy process and the part has a zinc coating ready for the epoxy when I can get to it. They claim you can wait up to six months before corrosion sets in.

[Nathan K. Hammond]

Thanks for the info Dick, I'll check it out.

While paint is curing, I pulled the fuselage out of the deep storage hangar and into the shop. After washing off 10lbs of dirt and dust, the fuselage actually looked better than I remember.



Then I took my pocket knife too it.



I had noticed there where no sewn seams on the fuselage, so I was careful to remove the fabric in order to see how they covered it. I started at the rear carry through where it became apparent they had glued to the second upper stringer.



Then I carefully peeled back the glue joint and finish tape in one piece, and cut around the rear "D" window.





This is what it left.



I'm showing these next photo's in the order they installed the fabric, so it will be easier to understand the covering method. They actually covered the airplane with six different pieces of fabric; top, bottom, left side, right side, left fin, and right fin. The top piece of fabric was glued tot the rear carry through (I have a citabria skylight), the second stringer all the way back to the fin, where the second stringer transitioned into a fuselage tube. Where the fin protruded above the top, they simply split the fabric. Then using a different piece of fabric, they covered the fin.













nkh

[TomFord]

Look's good. Wouldn't it be easier to do an envelope, and a bottom?


Tom

[Nathan K. Hammond]

Probably, but I never liked the way American Champion used an envelope with the seam running up the spine. On a Cub with the center stringer you can hide the seam, but on a 7-series it stands out; especially if the seam isn't straight.

I'll most likely cover it back the same way with 4 pieces plus the fin, one for looks and two because it's easier for me to glue than run a sewing machine.

nkh