Warbird Information Exchange

Glad its not just me who keeps getting asked that one.

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We salute the Rank,not the Man.

Hey my photos from so long ago really are hung in the hangar! Now that makes me feel good...

Great thread, Rich! Thanks for all the effort..





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Neal Nurmi

---Wingman Photo---

Great pics Neal. I mentioned your photos had a place of prominence in the hangar.
Today I finished the mechanical end of things. We'll fly tomorrow.
My oldest son doing some cleaning.

Installing cowling.

Finally complete.


Rich

Very nice work Rich!

And now for something completely out there: Does your son go with you to help because he wants to or does he do it because he feels he has to? My teenage son looks a lot like yours may be the reason I thought to ask. I have tried and tried to get the warbird bug to bite him...still patiently waiting. Must be great for you to get to spend some really fabulous quality time with your son on a project like this? Yeah, I am jealous.

Sorry to go off-topic

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Earn my respect and never lose it.
Demand my respect and never gain it. -Me

...just another plane dreamer.

My oldest is Chris at 17. At 6'2" or so I have him reach the areas out of my reach. He studying computer stuff and would spend his time operating electronics if allowed. He doesn't have the deepest interest in the aircraft but is interested in earning some dough.
This is something Chris conspired while looking at the craft. I thought his commands of "a little to the left" was going to lead to the perfect picture, instead I got this-

Michael is my middle son. He is 15 and moderately interested in warbirds. He recently turned 15 and I bought him a small toolkit he has at the hangar. He was shown in the cockpit doing the gear swing here helping with the cowling-

I also coach a couple Ice Hockey teams and so get to interfer with all 3 of my boys lives that way. They use some of the money they earn to pay for sports. Both Chis and Michael were Cal kids. We moved to PA from Chino when they were 4 and 2. They do a lot to keep the planes clean.
Stephen is 9 and full of energy. He likes being around the hangar and is the gopher for things at times.

My wife also helps out at the hangar but she takes the pics so I don't have one of her to throw in.
Rich

OK, so my wife usually doesn't like being in the pictures.
However she didn't want to be left out so here is the whole family.
Sorry about the picture composition but a ladder only works so good as a tripod.
Hope you all have a great Memorial Day!
The Palmer's-

RIch

I heard the sound of a Merlin around my house this afternoon and turned on the radio and heard Jim's voice so I am assuming that Bald Eagle is up and running. I am guessing he was up for a test flight. This is great news!!

Greg

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Greg Witmer, V.P. of Operations
Airboss / Ground Boss / WWII Aircraft Coordinator
David Schultz Airshows LLC

Well yes and no.
News to follow.
Rich

I hear you. I heard Jim on the radio and figured something was up.

Greg

_________________
Greg Witmer, V.P. of Operations
Airboss / Ground Boss / WWII Aircraft Coordinator
David Schultz Airshows LLC

We got our 1st flight today and it will be quite a while before we need to worry about corrosion.
Departure and Clean-

Arrival and a little oily-

Getting more oily-

It's a gusher, More buckets-


The culprit, a cap on an AN -4 line which came loose and was found when we removed the lower cowl. The uncapped line is to the left of the large nut and is a test port for low pressure oil circuit which feeds the cam racks. Normal pressure is around 15 psi.

First time I have found a puddle of engine oil inside a brake housing. Each rotor and stator had a film of oil between them.

More to follow.
Rich

WOW!

Hope things work out on the sparrow motor...........was it hurt?

betcha Chris ran the other way!

this is a first, a Merlin that thinks it is a radial, or is it a new way to do a oil change ?

You might want to remove the rocker covers and take a good look at the cam rack assemblies by disassembling them. That is the oil feed line to them, so with it uncapped, the path of least resistance for the oil would be (and was) out the open fitting rather than to the cams. If the camshafts were suffering from or show signs of oil starvation, so were the valve stems and valve guides as they are splash lubricated from the oil slung off of the cams. A stuck valve on a Merlin can be exciting.

Just something to consider.

Glenn

OK, so please no judgement passing, just a plain and simple question, no finger pointung etc.

How, after such a great project how do we miss an oil line? In another arena, I spent the night before Indy safety wiring every connection on the car.

It may not last but the effort was well worth it. Hope all is well.

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"There are old pilots and bold pilots but few old, bold pilots."

I plan to install a cap that is safety wired at this fitting.
As stated this was a part of the engine's oil system but not a connection used in this installation. Some pre-oil systems connect to this fitting as that type of system only pre-oils the cam racks. Ours connects to the oil regulator and oils the complete engine.
Rich