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After a three week repair that took 6 months... an STC upgrade that took 10 years (off my life)... and about 3 major episodes of a wife wanting to kill me... 1940 Taylorcraft N29544 s/n 2387 left the ground yesterday without major incident.
No leaks from a re-plumbed fuel system. No leaks from the A-65 that weren't expected (bottom of pushrod tubes 2 drops, bottom of oil screeen one drop...perfect). No carburetor malfunctions resulting in engine failure on takeoff (been there, done that 2 takeoffs ago). No control system failures after loosening and re-tightening the aileron circuit.
We made three smash and dashes, smelling for fuel vapor and feeling around under the fuselage tank for fuel leaks. On the fourth downwind abeam we departed the pattern for Agua Dulce airport 20 miles away. The airspeed indicator was 15-20 mph too high, because I put in a new pitot line and pitot tube, and then used the inside of the cockpit for a static source. It appears that the inside of the cockpit is slighlty lower than static pressure...oh well I had the world's first 115 mph BC-65 for a while
Will make other arrangements for a static port shortly.
In looking through the aircraft records today, I found that I had bought a real rarity of an airplane. s/n 2387 had copies of the entire chain of ownership from November 1940 to the present! It was first sold to an FBO at "Los Angeles Municipal Airport", before it became Mines Field and then Los Angeles International. I don't think we'd be welcome there anymore!
One interesting mystery I found is that the original weight from the factory (original statement of conformity, Ray Carlson signature) was 664 pounds. The brochure minimum was 641, and this one was built with dual ignition, 2 doors, brakes, tailwheel, etc. making it "664 pounds with installed extra equipment". Several years later, another document (an annual inspection/application for yearly airworthiness cert) lists the weight as 641. But I cannot imagine that someone converted this airplane back to single ignition and removed the brakes, etc. etc. to bring it back down to the brochure weight that was less than when it was built. The last weight and balance in 1997 listed empty weight at 806, but 2 days ago I had two professional aero engineers with high end electronic scales weight it and it came out at 776. This is still heavier than I had hoped, although it includes a metal prop, interior upholstery, a 1/8" thick aluminum plate instrument panel (why the hell ???), a radio, my skylight, two wing tanks, and Stits instead of Irish Linen.
With the 1280 pound gross after the STC mods, I still have 500 pounds useful, but there's still some weight in there that I can't figure out. How this airplane lost 30 pounds by adding a fuel tank, radio, and a skylight is beyond me.
But... the damn thing flies straight and floats on landing just like it's supposed to. Other than $3.69 a gallon for avgas at my home airport, it was a fantastic day. Tomorrow I hope to fly again
No leaks from a re-plumbed fuel system. No leaks from the A-65 that weren't expected (bottom of pushrod tubes 2 drops, bottom of oil screeen one drop...perfect). No carburetor malfunctions resulting in engine failure on takeoff (been there, done that 2 takeoffs ago). No control system failures after loosening and re-tightening the aileron circuit.
We made three smash and dashes, smelling for fuel vapor and feeling around under the fuselage tank for fuel leaks. On the fourth downwind abeam we departed the pattern for Agua Dulce airport 20 miles away. The airspeed indicator was 15-20 mph too high, because I put in a new pitot line and pitot tube, and then used the inside of the cockpit for a static source. It appears that the inside of the cockpit is slighlty lower than static pressure...oh well I had the world's first 115 mph BC-65 for a while
Will make other arrangements for a static port shortly.In looking through the aircraft records today, I found that I had bought a real rarity of an airplane. s/n 2387 had copies of the entire chain of ownership from November 1940 to the present! It was first sold to an FBO at "Los Angeles Municipal Airport", before it became Mines Field and then Los Angeles International. I don't think we'd be welcome there anymore!
One interesting mystery I found is that the original weight from the factory (original statement of conformity, Ray Carlson signature) was 664 pounds. The brochure minimum was 641, and this one was built with dual ignition, 2 doors, brakes, tailwheel, etc. making it "664 pounds with installed extra equipment". Several years later, another document (an annual inspection/application for yearly airworthiness cert) lists the weight as 641. But I cannot imagine that someone converted this airplane back to single ignition and removed the brakes, etc. etc. to bring it back down to the brochure weight that was less than when it was built. The last weight and balance in 1997 listed empty weight at 806, but 2 days ago I had two professional aero engineers with high end electronic scales weight it and it came out at 776. This is still heavier than I had hoped, although it includes a metal prop, interior upholstery, a 1/8" thick aluminum plate instrument panel (why the hell ???), a radio, my skylight, two wing tanks, and Stits instead of Irish Linen.
With the 1280 pound gross after the STC mods, I still have 500 pounds useful, but there's still some weight in there that I can't figure out. How this airplane lost 30 pounds by adding a fuel tank, radio, and a skylight is beyond me.
But... the damn thing flies straight and floats on landing just like it's supposed to. Other than $3.69 a gallon for avgas at my home airport, it was a fantastic day. Tomorrow I hope to fly again
Experts call it PR. It's real name is B-S, but just like Bucklyes Mixture it works!
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