Warbird Information Exchange

Winter's here. Air show season ended a while back, and Chuckie's last flight was December 14th. Now it's time for winter maintenance! We began that effort today. The first job on our long list was to replace the engine mounts on #2. It's amazing what 4 or 5 guys can accomplish in one afternoon in a cold, dark hangar with just hand tools! Today's team included Steve, John, Chris, and me (Dean), with Joe, James, and others pitching in as well.

Here's the accessory section of the Studebaker-built Wright R-1820-97 Cyclone engine after we hoisted 'er down to the hangar floor:


Here's John (one of our dedicated, talented volunteers) posing with the empty firewall, obviously happy that the extraction went well:


Sorry for the terrible pics. All I had with me was my cell phone, and there was very little light available.

The amazing thing is that not one of us shed so much as one drop of blood the whole day! Next weekend, we'll assemble a team to replace the rubber engine mounts, clean all of the spark plugs, and do a full visual inspection on the entire engine while it's down on the ground where we can see everything. Once that's all done, we get to hoist it up and put it back in place, and then hang the prop!

There are plenty of other tasks in store for this winter, including:
> rebuilding both main landing gear trunnions;
> pulling the #3 prop and sending it out for maintenance (say, does anyone have an extra $1,500 they'd like to donate to cover the cost of that?);
> changing both main gear tires (again! );
> Steve talked about wanting to replace a few pieces of skin on the belly of the fuselage;
> I want to get a team together and get started on the restoration of the radio compartment;
> and, of course, there's THE ANNUAL (which takes about two months to complete).

No two ways about it... if ya wanna fly 'er, ya gotta maintain 'er!

Cheers!

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

She looks very clean. That B-17 is a great looking bird. Keep up the good work.

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Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager

Thank-you for the informative illustrated update. It helps us understand all that goes into "keeping them flying".

Cool update. We look forward to seeing the progress as you continue. Make sure you post daily reports for us.

Gary

Thanks for the cool update pics Dean!

On a side note...were you the guys that wanted to refit the radom assembly on Chuckie? I remember somebody asking about it and wanting to know where they could find a B-24 ball turret lowering mechanism (pole) which was supposedly used to lower the radom (I know a guy in the U.K. that has one).

John

mustangdriver: Thanks for the compliment. Our volunteers work hard to keep the airframe clean. Whenever we arrive at an air show, we immediately attack the underside of the airplane with avgas-soaked rags to wipe off the oil. Same deal when we get back to the hangar. As soon as she's inside, we're back at it with the cleaning rags. Four radial engines spew a lot of oil! I was pretty surprised at how clean the firewall and accessory section of the engine were when we pulled the engine. There's a lot of oily grime, to be sure, but it's nowhere near as bad as I expected, and it should be easy to clean up.

John: Yep, that was us. 44-8543A is the world's last surviving PFF ship, at least as far as the warbird community is aware. A well-known warbird parts dealer has offered to sell us a group of PFF radar antenna components, which I believe included the radome and lowering mechanism, but at the moment, the money is simply not available. I'm keeping the radar parts deal in my back pocket for now. There are much more important tasks for us to concentrate our funds on... like keeping Chuckie airworthy and show-worthy!

Gary: DAILY updates? Dude... you must have us confused with the CAF, whose deep pockets can afford to hire a huge staff of highly-paid, full-time, salaried, A&P mechanics! Seriously, we generally only work on weekends because we either have regular jobs or are going to school full-time. If I can get away this weekend and help with the re-installation, I'll bring along a real camera and try to take some better pictures.

Cheers!

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

Deep pockets? CAF? Deep pockets? I think it's someone else here (pronounced Dean) that's confused.

When I said "daily updates," I meant each day you're working on it. I think that what you're going to be doing on the airplane will draw a similar interest to our project on the Liberator. I'm kind of hoping others will also give more frequent updates so that the Warbird public out there can see what it takes to keep these ol' airplanes flying.

Y'all are doing great work on that B-17!

Gary

Dean,

I hate to sound like goodie two shoes preacher but in the interest of personal safety (Your personal safety), you and your crew should really be using rubber gloves and Stoddard solvent for the heavy stuff and Orange Clean for lighter residues. The latter is non-corrosive and works sweet! Buy them with your own money if you have to! Avgas contains a whole bunch of wickedly bad things for you including Tetra-ethyl-lead (TEL). That stuff will soak right through your skin and build up in your system. It will cause brain and nervous system damage among a whole host of other bad things…not to mention how dangerously flammable the fumes are. I like and admire a clean airplane too but please don’t short change you life for it or risk a fire. True it maybe how “they did it back in the day” but I like to think we’re getting smarter as time passes!

Love the B-17…keep up the great work!!!

Thanks,
John

I hope so, Gary. Part of what I was trying to convey with my original post is that you don't have to be an experienced A&P mechanic to get involved with warbird restoration or maintenance at your local warbird museum. Look at me. I'm not an A&P mechanic. I'm not even a pilot. But, I have skills that the Museum needs, I have the desire to be an active participant in the warbird world, and I have the opportunity to do so. All I did was join the Museum and show up one Saturday morning, ready to work. I started out sweeping the hangar and emptying trash. Then I started giving tours of the Museum. Next, I got on the air show crew and got to do some flying and work some air shows (seriously fun!). I've been able to do some mechanical work on the airplane here and there, with the engine R&R being my first "big job". It's a progression. Mine took less than a year. Your mileage will vary.

If anyone reading this is unsure whether or not they'd be allowed to work on the aircraft, just take this simple quiz:

(1) Do you know how to work with tools and are you good with your hands?
(2) Do you know how to work safely, and will you?
(3) Do you know how to follow instructions, and will you?
(4) Do you have a few hours here and there to spare?

If you answered "Yes" to all four, then your help would be most likely be welcomed by the experienced team leaders and team members! You probably won't start out working on the big jobs, but you can work your way into it. Taking the load off the experienced workers by doing the smaller tasks will be a huge help to the overall project because it allows the experienced people to concentrate on the jobs that must be done by them only. You'll always be working under the close supervision of an experienced A&P mechanic, and I've never met one who wasn't willing to help others to help him (or her!).

If you're not "mechanically inclined" but still answered "Yes" to #2, #3, and #4, there's probably plenty of other work for you to do that doesn't involve actually working on the airplanes. No museum that I've ever visited would turn down volunteers asking if they can help out!

So, guys 'n dolls, if you wanna get involved, then by all means, get involved! Don't wait for someone to come knocking on your door. Get out there and offer your time, your skills, and your enthusiasm. Those of us who are involved will welcome your help and your friendship, and we will certainly offer you ours.

Cheers!

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

Excellent post, Dean!

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Warbirds of America

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YIKES! OK, now my lack of knowledge and "greenhorn-ness" has been publicly exposed. I had no idea that avgas was that dangerous. I thought TEL was no longer used. I will purchase some chemical-proof gloves (the kind we use at work) and have them with me when I think I am going to be on cleaning detail. I'll also bring this up with the crew. I probably should have known that avgas contained TEL, but that very important bit of knowledge escaped me. We work with chemicals and cryogenics at work, and I have to go through annual training for both. How could I have been so naive? Jeez...

Thanks for setting me straight!

Dean the idiot!

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Dean Hemphill, K5DH
Port Charlotte, Florida

Dean

Excellent reply to Gary’s post…completely on target!

You…a Greenhorn? C’mon man, you deserve more credit than that! If it’ll make you feel better, I’ll give you a little story about a boneheaded fledgling Warbird mechanic from about 20 years ago…yes, me! I was washing a bunch of engine parts that had years and years of gunk and carbon petrified on them. This crud was laughing at everything I threw at it. I was getting about as impatient and frustrated as a twenty something could get so I went to the paint cabinet, found the methyl-ethyl-keytone (MEK) and started after it. Worked like a charm. All I could think was, “It’s a wonder chemical…what else can I use this stuff for! It’s great! Better life through chemistry.” After about a half hour working bare handed with this stuff in the shop, another volunteer came in and was totally blown away by the fumes. I didn’t realize it at the time but it was strong…real strong! I went outside to get some fresh air and realized my hands were tingling and I felt like I had shot gunned about four shots of tequila and ate the worm! If it would have been a cocktail buzz I would have been OK with it but I knew otherwise and it had me bothered. The maintenance chief came back from a parts run and asked if everything was alright. After I got my butt chewed for using MEK (Because it’s so toxic) I was not asked but told to read its entire MSDS. Lesson learned. MEK is contrary to life. Use in a well ventilated area under controlled conditions with the proper safety gear ONLY. Sometimes a good a$$ chewing is needed! It was another good wake up call for me to pay more attention, stay alive and healthy. By the way, that maintenance chief is still a very close friend of mine.

It’s real easy to not give some extremely toxic chemicals a second thought because they surround us and are part of our everyday life. Heck, if a five year old can buy it in a hardware store, how bad can it be, right? Well the answer is 100% lethal! From toilet cleaners and laundry soap to Gasoline and paint thinner, they all have the potential to make us extremely sick (If not worse) and leave permanent damage to our bodies…not to mention the potential to give us cancer years from now. We’re all guilty of a casual attitude towards them and when used in manner they were not intended they’ll bite ya like a rattlesnake.

Nope, I’m not Chicken Little and the sky is not falling, we just need to be careful what we come in contact with out there. In some cases it may not be apparent today but years from now it could make the difference between a happy retirement and one filled with doctor visits.

Not a rant…a friendly reminder!

John

I know two people suffering from Parkinson's Disease. Neither have a family history of this disease. One is now in a wheelchair and is in his mid 50s. Both have had their quality of life substantially impacted. Both are convinced that it is as a result of doing fabric covering using the Stits process specifically. Always wear gloves and always work in a well ventilated area. In fact have a large fan to blow the fumes away from you as well. Spray outside unless you have a full face pressure mask providing fresh air.

I also have a friend that worked at a paint shop and went through many months of withdrawl symptoms when he quit painting. The solvents are not only bad to the touch but are also dangerous when the fumes are inhaled, even through a cartridge type mask.