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Post by craig on Aug 18, 2017 5:59:49 GMT 12
Thanks Guys. It feels great to finally be making significant visual advances. It still surprises me how a seemingly simple component can take days to fabricate and then the fitment all happens reasonably quickly. Although it did take me 2 hrs to fit 4 bolts a couple of days ago!!!!
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Post by agalbraith on Aug 18, 2017 7:20:47 GMT 12
Yep, lovely work Craig....time and patience will show quality results! You are doing a wonderful job!
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Post by isc on Aug 18, 2017 16:00:07 GMT 12
With careful work(not working to the clock), a rebuild can often be better than the origional aircraft. isc
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Post by baronbeeza on Aug 18, 2017 16:27:47 GMT 12
This is the Tomahawk production line of 1979. They managed to get 8 aircraft a day out for a while that season. Over 1100 made in the year. Some of the pics are comparable to major repair or rebuild work.   Thanks to Mark and Airport Data for the pics and links. I reckon Craig would have his Cropmaster pretty well down that line. The difference is the Piper one is an assembly line and at that rate the machine must have advanced the length of the line in two or three days. One of the workers said they tried to move the line every hour. You can see the clock (middle of each pic) but it has a placard in the 2nd pic with the time for the advance. He said it wasn't always easy due lack of parts and other delays. That is just the line, perhaps the guys making the sub-assemblies up were under as much pressure as a result. |
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Post by baz62 on Aug 18, 2017 18:37:41 GMT 12
Great progress Craig. Just looking at the colour of your fuselage frame and thought it looked similar to the blue used by the RNZAF on the Harvard cockpit interiors during the major overhauls (in the 1950s?) I agree about ending up with a better than original factory build quality. Having the time to get things just right especially regarding fitting of panels, etc, if you get the chance to see Anthony Galbraith's Auster rebuild it's a case in point. One comment from TVAL pilot Greg MacDonald was "You'll have to fly it in your socks!"
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Post by Mustang51 on Aug 21, 2017 8:40:13 GMT 12
That's the difference between a company and a personal rebuilt in most cases. You agonize far more over the preparation of a part or its painting and certainly about how it actually fits.
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Post by craig on Aug 30, 2017 17:49:17 GMT 12
 CTX Aug 2017 by Craig Dowden, on Flickr Packed my gear up today and stowed the fuse away in the container with the wings. Time to focus on lambing...... |
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Post by isc on Aug 30, 2017 20:16:40 GMT 12
Hope you get some fine weather for lambing, good luck. isc
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Post by craig on Aug 31, 2017 6:48:46 GMT 12
Cheers. On duty 7 days a week for the next 6 weeks, so will be glad when its over and I can get back to plane building.
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Post by craig on Aug 31, 2017 6:57:07 GMT 12
Still haven't resolved how to heat the Perspex to 120 deg C for shaping. I was wondering if a oil bath heated to the correct temp might be an option. However I have concerns how the oil might affect the perspex. Imagine it could cause it to discolour over time. Any thoughts?
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Post by Mustang51 on Aug 31, 2017 8:07:11 GMT 12
Heat gun and practice. I watched an expert form a P.51D canopy to the Dallas profile in his garage in LA using a flat sheet and wire cage mold guides. Had it done in 20 mins. If you wanted to go down that route he said you need to practice with several small pieces to know when the heat has gone too far.... and believe me he said he played with lots of little pieces. The Croppie pic looks great. Cannot wait to see the next installment Great work !
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Post by craig on Aug 31, 2017 8:16:34 GMT 12
Tried a heat gun. Had two guns on it and still couldn't get it up to temp (mind you it was winter). Also apparently uneven heating can cause distortions in the optics.
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Post by Mustang51 on Aug 31, 2017 12:25:03 GMT 12
Craig, I watched him and he started on low heat gradually building this up to near max I think this is how he did it without distortion. I know because it is mine. He also had a heat source underneath constantly providing the warmth to the sheet. The canopy was formed without distortion. He made it look simple but he has been doing it for years. He was also doing a B.17 nose perspex for us which eventually went onto "Nine-O-Nine" after we cut, trimmed and put it all together with the access panels and bomb aimer's glass mounting ring - man that was thick - and the joining stiffener. He did not place either of them over a mold but had it formed upside down letting gravity do its' thing" down to the wire form basket but not touching it. Guess its a matter of experience.
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Post by craig on Sept 4, 2017 13:12:41 GMT 12
I just got a bill from CAA. $197 to keep the rego CTX on hold for another 2 years. User pays I know.... but does it really cost that much in CAA staff time to simply roll the rego over for another 2 years?
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Post by Deleted on Sept 4, 2017 13:25:17 GMT 12
It's shocking to see how much those cost. I wanted to reserve CBG so it couldn't get snaffled up but there's more important stuff I could do with that money!
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Post by baronbeeza on Sept 4, 2017 13:57:49 GMT 12
The rego fees have just been revised, you now have provision to put the rego 'on-hold'. In previous years it was the full annual levy regardless of whether the aircraft was operational or not. With user-pays I guess we are using part of the CAA service, the likes of sharing AD costs and the likes. No-one likes paying good money but I am far happier this year than I was before.
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Post by isc on Sept 4, 2017 15:02:06 GMT 12
About heating the Perspex, you might need to build a cabinetto hang the Perspex sheet in, with an element in it, and a fan to ciculate the hot air. The cabinet could be built up from MDF, or ply. You would need a thermometer so you don't get it too hot, but ensure that it is up to temp. Sorry can't remember the temp range required. It's probably a two person job getting it out of the cabinet to place over the mold, or what ever you are using to form the shape. isc
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Post by Mustang51 on Sept 4, 2017 15:23:44 GMT 12
Ahhhh yes ! Its the Cost + a contingency + another contingency + CPI + 123.5% of the first number you thought of. $197 for two minutes computer work..... sounds about right to me.....
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Post by craig on Sept 4, 2017 17:55:29 GMT 12
I know in the big picture its peanuts. But it is just the principal... In the private sector a service provider would be expected to justify or even itemize their account. If they are excessively expensive the client has the option to change to another provider. A government controlled monopoly, should be held (by our governmental overlords)to the same standards. But back to the real world, oh well never mind......
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Post by Peter Lewis on Sept 5, 2017 9:23:12 GMT 12
I just got a bill from CAA. $197 to keep the rego CTX on hold for another 2 years. User pays I know.... but does it really cost that much in CAA staff time to simply roll the rego over for another 2 years? No it doesn't, but they simply add up all the costs of the downtown office with a prime sea view, the Iwi consultations, the MBA course for the chief exec, the equal pay for gay whales and the OSH program, divide all that by the work they do and that's what you - as the captive customer with no other choices- must pay. At least that's what they did with the medical cert process. |
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