|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 3, 2018 19:28:34 GMT 12
Just wondering how you guys were getting on regards paint stripping. I remember some very old parts I got to do while I was in and found some primer coats were very hard to get off. Even lots of MEK and scotchbite didn't help much. We have found this with the fin which we recently repaired. It had horrible green and white paint on it and we started scraping it off. We easily went down to the USN paint and then it became difficult to shift it. We have given it a quick sand and it looks like a good base so we intend to leave it there. It is probably better than we could do if we went down to bare metal.
|
|
|
Post by Mustang51 on Mar 5, 2018 8:42:24 GMT 12
MEK....keep away from that as far as you can. Some of the British primers like that on the Bluntie, (the yellow stuff), are incredibly difficult to remove. Took forever on bits I was stripping. Don't know what they are made of but by the time I had finished those few bits I was sure there was concrete in there.....
|
|
|
Post by shorty on Mar 5, 2018 11:50:13 GMT 12
You want to avoid sanding if possible as the abrasive will scratch through the protective aluminium coating on the skin exposing the dural underneath to corrosion. Thats why it is called Alclad, there is a thin layer either side of the dural sheet Dural is aluminium/copper alloy and any scratch in the outer costing will result in corrosion starting, hence the reason for painting it and things like overwing mats, soft soled shoes etc. US navy aircraft also use an anodised surface for corrosion prevention and sanding will abrade this.
|
|
|
Post by agalbraith on Mar 5, 2018 13:02:07 GMT 12
Agreed, I usually find after initial paintstripping to scrape the bulk off. I then add another layer of paintstripper and scotchbrite this whilst adding MEK or Thinners. Keep a clean rag nearby as it all just turns gungy whilst scotchbriting it. This ends up by final cleaning with MEK(or thinners) and a rag a few times. Scrubbing a few stubborn areas to a nice clean allu surface with that protective layer that shorty talks about still in tact.
Some of these old paints are hard work getting off, but necessary where corrosion is present to treat it.
As always, masks and gloves!!!
Cheers Anthony
|
|
|
Post by ZacYates on Mar 5, 2018 13:23:43 GMT 12
I'll repost what I put in the Forum Meet thread: It was also great to have a close-up look at Avenger Three-Nine. The work the team is doing is fantastic, and the aircraft itself is a sitting contradiction: parts of the structure have been badly eaten away, yet other parts have paint and labels as they left the factory without any degradation save some dust. It's a strange machine but it was wonderful to have a decent inspection. I took a few photos to share with my grandfather on Facebook.
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 5, 2018 16:05:04 GMT 12
Thanks for the comments guys - they are appreciated. I would like to have met you Zac and to have had a conversation. Whilst there I found the offending bearing sleeves and have taken a couple of photos to show you this part of the engine. As you can see they are both badly scored and it was a mission to get the rod and its bearing sleeves off the crankshaft journal. Will see what transpires with the search for replacements. The rest of the engines looks to be in good condition so replacement sleeves should have it running again. 040318 (1) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 040318 (4) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 040318 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by ZacYates on Mar 5, 2018 16:13:27 GMT 12
I would like to have met you Zac and to have had a conversation. Hopefully next time, when there's not an event going on!
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 5, 2018 18:09:04 GMT 12
Okay - will keep that in mind.
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 7, 2018 14:50:47 GMT 12
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 7, 2018 14:58:23 GMT 12
Des and I have just about finished the first aileron which would be the easiest one to complete. The inboard trailing edge was crushed and had to be cut away and a new section inserted. One of the outboard hinge points had been smashed off and the other had an elongated bolt hole. Chris turned and new bush as we drilled out the hole oversize and then made a new hinge piece which has now been riveted in place. 070318 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 070318 (1) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 070318 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 10, 2018 16:32:14 GMT 12
Yesterday Des and I de-skinned the rudder to see what lovely sight awaited. Although it had been covered with light gauge steel sheet and riveted on with steel rivets the structure was in excellent condition. What really annoyed us was that when who ever came to cover in the fabriced area they had smashed off the actuating arm for the trim tabs. Luckily we have a couple of spare tabs and most still have the combined hinge point/actuating arm intact. The major structural damage was to the two trim tabs and the top fairing. We can de-rivet that and beat it out from the inside. The hinge arms and their bearings are in good condition on this item so that we don't have to have these manufactured which will certainly save some time. We will do the same next week with the two elevator halves so that we can get a handle on what items we might need to have manufactured like the hinge arms. Covering with Ceconite will be coming up soon and we are just about out of fabric. If anyone is aware of any around that we might be able to obtain we would love to hear from you. 090318 (1) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 090318 (2) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 090318 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 090318 (4) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by avenger on Mar 13, 2018 19:36:56 GMT 12
Yes I was sent these photos of 2539 at Bennetts but I don't know the original owner of them. I would be happy to acknowledge that person if we find out their name. Roger Dalziell - AKA "Avenger."
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 13, 2018 19:57:25 GMT 12
From the above post it is Roger Dalziell who owns the photos of the Avengers sitting in Bennetts yard at Te Kuiti. So thank you Roger for making these available so that we can share what the aircraft looked like at the time they were disposed of by the RNZAF.
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 14, 2018 15:19:18 GMT 12
Some time ago an old R2600 that had sat outside for years arrived at the hangar and today they brought it inside to dis-assemble it to see if there are any usable crankshaft bearings in it. Amazingly some of the rods still turn freely on the master rod. I have my doubts but one never knows until one looks. Dave started work on one of the undercarriage doors and again most of the main frame has been corroded away. He spent some time cutting out the worst of it and has now started to look at grafting new metal into it. There is quite a bit to do here. Des and I pulled both elevators out and have de-skinned the galvanised iron where the fabric should be. The first one was in great condition except for the smashed off actuating lug on the trim tab. The other one is a bit like the ailerons where some heavy mass has been dropped onto it and most of the ribs are crushed. We are getting to be experts at straightening ribs. On this one the trim tab appears to be missing all together and I'm not sure that we have ant spares of these. We will need new hinge arms as you can see just how much these have fizzed away. 140318 (6) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 140318 (8) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 140318 (9) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 140318 (20) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 140318 (21) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 140318 (12) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 140318 (14) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 140318 (19) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 16, 2018 15:20:25 GMT 12
The team members working on the old R2600 managed to get it apart on Wednesday and after some sweating managed to get one of the bearings off the shaft and it looks to be in good condition. Richard said it took about 10 ton of pressure plus a lot of heat to shift it though. We stripped the galvanised flat iron off the last elevator half so now we know what we are up against. The trailing edge at the tip has been ripped (lord knows how) and most of the ribs are showing some crushing. After lunch we had a go at straightening the ribs and in a surprisingly short amount of time we had then sorted. Someone has attacked the trailing edge with a sledge hammer and bent it over so we will have to try and straighten it out and pack it to give it its shape and strength. A couple of photos show the combined pivot point and actuation arm for the trim tabs and how they have been smashed off. We will try and make some of the missing parts and get someone to weld them up for us. Its all good fun and keeps the brain active. 160318 (7) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 160318 (4) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 160318 (1) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 160318 (15) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr 160318 (12) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by Dave Homewood on Mar 16, 2018 19:40:35 GMT 12
This just in! "Hi Dave, While my search for slides taken of "Havelock North's" Avenger continues, here is a photo given me by a friend who is seen posing on it in July 1972. Would you be able to post it for me please? Cheers, Ron Day (chbessexboy)"
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 17, 2018 8:03:00 GMT 12
This just in! "Hi Dave, While my search for slides taken of "Havelock North's" Avenger continues, here is a photo given me by a friend who is seen posing on it in July 1972. Would you be able to post it for me please? Cheers, Ron Day (chbessexboy)" Ron - would it be possible to obtain an email copy of that photo so that I can add it to my file on the aircraft.
|
|
|
Post by chbessexboy on Mar 17, 2018 18:19:44 GMT 12
Sure kiwi. PM me your address.
|
|
|
Post by kiwi285 on Mar 17, 2018 19:56:19 GMT 12
It was this bearing shell that was retrieved from the old case. Certainly in much better condition than this was when pulled from the crankshaft. They are working now at getting to the other plain shell out of the case. If we can get both of them in good condition we will be able to re-assemble the engine and hopefully get it to run again. 040318 (3) by Mike Feisst, on Flickr
|
|
|
Post by tongleighton on Mar 17, 2018 22:03:20 GMT 12
Fantastic guys really fantastic can't wait to see progress made on the avenger
|
|