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These days I don't have a lot of time to devote to updates and I do apologize. My duties at CAF have expanded. With 13 airplanes and the two new hangars that we are building along with fund raising, cadet program, helping with weekly hangar events and now and then banging rivets or turning a wrench as well as family and friends I'm darned busy. Oh and I do get to fly often so no need to weep for me. I'm having a blast!
I will share the following report written by long time head of our project Marc Russell. I hope this will bring you folks up to speed.
Dan
Hello to all,
Haven't been in contact for a short while so here we go.
Avionics. I have, or will shortly have just about everything we need for the plane. I can't tell you just how much that means to all of us. We are going to have an incredible panel that will provide us with great information and be extremely reliable. As soon as we have it all hooked up, we will send out pictures. I sat in the left seat the other day and was mesmerized by just how fantastic it is going to look. All antennas are installed except for a transponder unit, but that is coming.
Wiring Jeff Nelson is working on getting out here in the near future and will figure out just what he needs in the way of hardware to finish everything. After he has it, his next visit will be to do just that. It is our intent to run the engines as soon as he has finished his work to make sure we have the generators and everything else working just right. What a day that will be.
Fuel Tanks All four mains have approximately 30 gallons in them and they are all dry on the outside. We have had to do some extra work on the aux tanks but that is coming along. Right side aux tank has about 7 gallons in it, which is enough to indicate any leaks. Left side is going back together and will have fuel in it hopefully tomorrow.
Batteries Got a great call today. I have two batteries coming and all we are paying for is the shipping. They are heavy duty units for more cranking power, and I think they are the sealed type. Either way, we are in great shape.
Flaps are still a work in progress but nearly complete. A couple more days and all of the parts will be in place. In fact, the parts being adjusted right now on the flaps are pretty much the last parts from our stash that have to go back on. All we have now on the racks are odds and ends.
Hale's engineering is making up seats for us right now. I will have those installed as soon as we get them. These seats are the ones that are going to make us money when we give rides. Two in the aft section are already in place.
Oil shut off valves were ordered on Tuesday. These valves should show up in the next day or so. They will be used to keep oil from slowly running from the tank and into the engine, where it might cause hydraulic locking. They are going to be wired so that the starters can't be activated unless the valves are open, and if there is any oil pressure in the system, they can't be closed.
Chip detectors. I had given up on a donation here so I ordered two of them. They showed up a couple of days ago and are in John Syrdhl's hands. Today, I was sent an email that the donated ones are indeed on their way. Usually, we have one up in the nose section of the engine as that is where metal chips are the most likely to show up. But, there is another location we can use them as well so we will put all 4 to use.
Wheels When we first got the plane, Aero Trader gave us all sorts of stuff. Included were 4 brand new tires. While the tires on the plane seem fairly good, I only plan to use them for taxi testing and then I want new tires installed. Over the years we had a couple of wheels show up and one was a B-25 wheel, while the other is an unknown. After some horse trading, we now have two B-25 wheels, complete with new inner tubes, tires and bearings installed. These will go on for final taxi tests and flights. Putting those tires on the rims is a major amount of work and we thought our only option was to use Aero Trader. But, a visitor, who does tractor tires, said no problem, and he was right. Luck has been shining on us.
To say we are thrilled is an understatement. We still have a few things to do like final gear swings and such, as well as buy and install a few components such as the bomb racks and overhaul the props, but that's about it. Putting power on her for the first time is going to be exciting to say the least.
As big events occur, such as the engine runs, we will send updates ahead of time. Thanks to all who have supported our effort. We couldn't do it without you guys. Its been nearly 22 years, but we will be flying this year.
_________________ Check out our new website. CAF SoCal Wing http://www.cafsocal.com/
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