Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

[VictorBravo]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

[off topic] Nice to hear from you again, Bill, where have you been hiding?
[/off topic]

(equally off topic) My wife chose the wrong day to make an offhanded comment to one of her friends, that "Oh... Bill loves talking about Taylorcrafts with his electronic friends more than he likes to actually work on it or fly it..."

Nothing like a wake-up call with a ten pound sledgehammer centered on one's ego... at one time I was a fairly "good stick" and considered myself fairly competent in some reasonably exotic aircraft. The sight of myself in the mirror as an old fart at the airport who USED to fly a lot was just too damn much.

I also had one or two of my forum posts edited with no notice or real cause, which no writer likes. I also found that I was getting far too involved with trying to solve all the world's problems, and found myself getting too emotional about certain issues.

In short, I made a decision to be more like an average forum lurker and occasional poster... and less time trying to be some kind of a comic book hero helping humanity fight off equally cartoonish villains and inept bureaucracies

Last but not least, I've become infatuated with an ugly little airplane called the Zenair CH-701 STOL, with which I can do things that would be inappropriate and disrespectful to do with a pre-war T-craft. I do NOT plan on selling my T-craft, just (hopefully) scratchbuilding the CH-701 on the cheap to do some off-field and more risky types of STOL flying. The T-craft has been used as a STOL airplane long before I came around, but the experts would certainly agree that there are some deficiencies in the airplane that make it less capable of real off-road work (needs more precise glidepath control,needs better speed control during landing, no high-lift devices, etc)

Sorry about being off-topic and giving more personal detail than asked.

But if it ever becomes truly necessary or needed, just shine a big searchlight on the clouds over Gotham City with the silhouette of a Taylorcraft, and I'll stick my head out of my little cave and do what I can.

[Robert Lees]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

[off topic] Nice to hear from you again, Bill, where have you been hiding?
[/off topic]

[Carl E. Carson]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

I like what Bill has suggested and have another option. Look up a local canvas shop that does tops for boats, convertibles, etc. They no doubt have some scraps or small pieces of the clear plastic window like that used on the convertible back window. It is pliable, quite clear and easy to mold around curves. It is also great to cover the openings around ailerons and not very expensive, if not free.

Carl Carson

[VictorBravo]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

I like the idea of using molded clear plastic. Got to make a master to pull one from.
Hank

Hank, find a clear plastic soda bottle that's the right size to fit (my guess is a 1 liter club soda bottle) , cut out about a 90 degree quadrant of it (looking from the end), then make a slice from the back that allows you to slip it on from in front of the struts.

Take a heat gun and a pair of sheet metal flanging pliers, heat the edges to bend a 90 degree flange that fits against the fabric that can be double-stick taped on, or a bunch of tiny screws and washers behind the fabric.

Mask off a window that you can look through to inspect it on every preflight, and paint the rest to match the airplane. Poke about 10 tiny drain holes in the bottom that the bugs can't get into, or cut one 1/4" hole and glue a screen inside the fairing to keep them out.

After about two or three tries you should have a decent teardrop fairing that cleans up the airflow a little, keeps the water and dirt out, and allows a straight visual inspection from above and below on every pre-flight.

If you want to get extra fancy, the clever model airplane guys make wooden plugs of the fairing/canopy/cowling they want, heat up the soda bottle plastic with a heat gun, and push the plug into the soft plastic to thermo-stretch-form their parts. Cost is next to zero, materials available 24/7, re-usable tooling, no vacuum pump or vacuform box needed. Will work on any non-complex shaped fairing that is all convex.

For whatever it may be worth, I've been planning to make up several small teardrop fairings this way to protect the tail wire junction fittings, jury strut junctions, etc. to protect against corrosion and pitting.

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

I have the fairings that wrap around the bottom of the struts (look really nice, but I don't have them on the plane since the strut mess started). I may try modifying the fuselage fairing in the picture to flare out over that fairing doing just what you suggest. What would make it perfect is if it could be removed quick enough to look at on a preflight, like looking under the cowl. That might be pretty hard but I'm betting I can make it so I can look at it every few weeks. We get a lot of birds and mud daubers here.
ALL these fairings come off every annual, but that isn't often enough for me. I like the idea of using molded clear plastic. Got to make a master to pull one from.
Hank

[VictorBravo]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

Although the fairing in the photo is a respectable effort, it provides no protection from water and dirt at all. IMHO It should surround the fuselage fitting on at least two sides (top, front), of course allowing water to drain away under the fitting but also shielding it from water in flight and from above when parked. A full coverage teardrop fairing (like a wheel pant) with a 1/4" drain hole on the very bottom would provide more protection. A clear plastic model airplane "bubble canopy" cut to fit would allow full visual inspection, and keep out any water.

[Robert Lees]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

Here's the fitting cover (I couldn't attach the image, so I had to embed it from my site).

[whake]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

I had non-skid on the old struts...

[T.Taylor]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

I cut the required clearance in the fabric and added the reenforcement patch did some borscope checking. I intend to do more when the struts are removed this week. I also made a mirror which works pretty good except for the center section when the struts are in place... The front struts from Univair are about 1/4 inch larger than the original struts on my plane...The attachment so far looks great..see attached pictures

IS that really non-skid on the strut??, or am I viewing something ackbards, ifter al it is Christmas eve, Merry to all, T. Taylor

[Hank Jarrett]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

OK, from the most computer illiterate (but REALLY LUCKY this time) member.
Just double click the file on the post so it opens, then go to "file" at the top and click "Save As". Change the location to "desktop" and rename it "T strut Fairing", or whatever floats your boat. Hit save and you should find it as a Word file on your desktop.
Hank
Can't believe it worked, I was just guessing. (;f

[dsmuda]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

It worked for me

[dewhitaker]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

Yes Forrest, Home Depot Aircraft and Supply Company sells the blank stock to make the owner produced fuselage strut attach fitting inspection plate. It is indeed .032"

[Robert Lees]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

I get the same, Dave. I'm not at home at the moment; I'll need to get to an image editing suite before I can upload it.

Rob

[Robert Lees]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

Don't know, Dave, email it to me a robert dot lees at taylorcraft.org.uk and I'll have a look.

Merry Christmas!

[dewhitaker]

Re: Fuselage strut fitting - FAA Airworthiness Concern Sheet (merged)

Hey Rob or any other computer guru out there - I tried to upload a picture of my inspection cover but I keep getting an error message.

inspection plate.jpg:

This is not a valid image file

Any ideas? I am lost.