Warbird Information Exchange

More winter projects...

The port and starboard forward windows were no good. One was lexan and sun-grayed, the other, as you can see, was badly crazed.



Getting it out was awkward. The nuts require fingers that are 8 inches long, triple-jointed, and as strong as vise grips. But we persevered.



Then the cracked old peeling paint had to come off -- a very fussy, time-consuming job, since much of the aluminum is dimpled or creased with age and use.

Epoxy primer on, 2 coats.



My son, a bush pilot flying Caravans out of Red Lake, helped a lot, though he took time-out to sit in the left seat and make engine noises with his lips... (just kidding, Austin, though I've done it myself).



And eventually, we got the darn nuts back on new bolts (6 x 32 x 1/2 SS Truss Head -- very hard to find) and they're in. I'm sure glad I didn't grind too much off. Easy to do.



Just final paint to go, then a sign-off.

Can't wait for the strip to dry out!

Looking good Dave. You sure do keep busy. I showed Berni the photos and she just said Robin’s hair looks great

Eric

_________________
The air resounds from the Rolls-Royce roar!
To an enemy the warning is dire: here only eagles soar,
and the last thing he'll see is a mirrored Spitfire!

Hey, Eric. I do try. And Robin says hello Berni, and Thanks!

While I was away in NZ overseeing the completion of the P-40, Robin stayed busy in the hangar.

First she sanded and painted the baffle behind the cylinders of the Warner, which were showing about 4 different colours of old coatings.



Then she cleaned the various Pegasus's.



Then we layed out the skid plates for the new carpet. (Man, that took a lot of time, that carpet. The template was endlessly complicated to make.)

Dave,

I noticed that you replaced the windows. Did you use Lexan? If so I hope you put the UV barrier on the outside. Usually the UV coating is on the side that had the printed flexible peel ply. Many Lexan suppliers forget to inform customer of this. I was a GE tech rep for 6 1/2 years here in Canada.

Jim Mantyla
Barrie, Ontario

Thanks for the note, Jim.

Actually, we used plexiglass. The windows came from LP Aero, a mainstream supplier. I was surprised at how simple and cheap it was to acquire windows for a 1947, uncommon, airplane, but they have the shapes in their database, and it all happened no sweat.

The windows arrived oversized about 3 inches in all dimensions. I laid the old ones on, matched up the bends as well as possible, and marked. Then I ground off the excess by using a 60 grit belt sander clamped upside down on the bench. Then I bevelled the edges a hair.

They went in with very little stress. The Fairchild windows are well-designed in that they fit into slots and channels. There are no holes to be drilled. Probably not watertight totally, but this free-floating design meant that in decades of use there were no cracks and no stop-drills.

Dave

A little late now but I always used a rope caulking when installing windows. Very pliable and a good sealant.

Sully

Airborne again!

After a long winter of tinkering the snowbanks melted, the grass firmed-up just enough, and the Fairchild came out of the hangar.

I forgot my camera, but at the end of the day I dropped in on a friend. I flew overhead just as he was driving out his laneway, but, being an aviator, he had one eye cocked skyward and saw me circling his airstrip. So he drove back in!

I dropped in and took him for a ride. He snapped these with his cellphone.

Beautiful, Dave & co.! Great job.

_________________
"I love the smell of 100LL in the morning."

More fun today after a week of Spring gales -- all direct crosswinds.

Still learning -- it's an awkward prime on this engine. I was sure I'd flooded it, so while a gave the battery a bit more juice, waiting, I pulled a plug and it was dry as a bone. Squirted gas in with a small sringe and it started the instant the mags went to on.

Then put in a couple of hours with my son Austin. Good fun! He makes a living with a Turboprop Single, so he enjoyed having to use his feet again.



Then Robin showed up and we went and looked-over a friend's cottage on Lake Simcoe.



Hard to ignore!

We've actually had a few trips in the Fairchild, including one that was perfect -- we flew from Barrie to Sarnia and landed at a farm strip near our cottage.



Then, after waterskiing and the other cottage things, I checked my Dad out on the airplane. He was very enthusiastic.



We also brought along my nephew, who had his first ride in a small aircraft. Good multi-generational-male-bonding thing.





And then the flight home was a lovely 1:40 in smooth evening air, replacing 5 hours on freeways by car.

It actually all worked perfectly!

Dave

Hi guys,

I am the new webmaster for the Fairchild Club. I need some stories, such as this with pictures, for the website.

Can you write up a little bit and send it to me for the site?

Thanks!

Don Parsons f24@fairchild24.com

webmaster-Fairchild Club

www.fairchild24.com

flyingantiqueairplanes.blogspot.com

I have LOTS of old Fairchild photos Don if you need any for the website. 1960's-present, all models to include KR's, FC.2, F.71, F.45, F.24, PT-19, PT-23, PT-26.

_________________
President National Waco Club
Curator for the Waco Historical Society Air Museum
Writer for VINTAGE AIRPLANE, SKYWAYS, BARNSTORMERS.COM EFLYER

Hey Andy,

I'd love to have them. Any and all would be appreciated. I'm going to be changing the site around to provide more information on Fairchilds for all. I'm currently going thru the FAA Database to get all registered Fairchild owners...ugh.

don

More wandering...

I'm on vacation, and have no real ties to worry about, so we fired up the Warner and headed southwest.

The corn has grown tall at the home airstrip in Alliston. It's 7 feet at the moment. I'm glad I have a really high-wing airplane. The strip is 60 ft wide, and the Fairchild is about 38. But at least when you drop below the corn there's no crosswind.



The first destination was Stratford, where there is a major concentration of Theaters. The Shakespearean Festival was on, but Robin opted to see West Side Story. (A lot of guys dancing -- no airplanes.) Anyway, it's a lovely municipal airport close to town with lots of handy tie-downs. And after every flight, the Warner requires us to wipe down the airplane, although in the photo Robin is cleaning the bugs off the prop. (It works a lot better when it isn't crusty with thousands of deceased insects.)