OK, Here we go - again!

I have determined that my Pitts will take standard C wings. I am NOT going to spend hundreds of dollars on wing rib jigs from the commercial markets - I'll make my own low-tech rib jigs - after all, we did so on the Miniplane, the Hatz and the Acroduster - so it's not a big deal for us. I used a partially broken rib from the Pitts and outlined it on paper, duck taped it (clear duct tape) to a 3/4 sheet of plywood and nailed blocks in the appropriate locations - Wala! my low-tech Pitts Wing Jig.

Currently I am cutting out all the gussets from 1/16 spruce ply (I got plenty of this stuff left over from other wing projects). On payday I'll order a bunch of capstrip and start putting ribs together - this will take a couple months.

On the Aeronca - Katie and I have removed and replaced the main gear tires/tubes and repacked the wheel bearings. We also fabricated and installed a new magneto harness. Now we are just waiting on new engine cylineders so I can put the engine back together. Spring is comming quick - but we should have her done by June.

Sometime in early JUN Chrissy and I will be packing our motorcycles and heading North towards Alaska for a couple months. Over & Out!

Katie and I have finished the Aeronca wings (stored in brown paper in the background) - until spring when the weather is warm enough for us to spray the silver and color coats. All control surfaces are also done. Next up - landing gear refurbishment.

The Pitts wing (only one not totally destroyed in the crash) is on the saw horses. It is one bay longer than standard Pitts wings. The fuselage is 13 inches longer than the standard Pitts. I believe this Pitts was built as more of a fast Sport Plane rather than a competition style Pitts. The paint was really thick - adding about 20 or more pounds to this Pitts - it was a beautiful paint job - and she was FAST! Would have made a good candidate for the Reno Air Races. So the question becomes - will standard Pitts C wings work with this stretched fuselage? What would be the effect on stability? Center of Pressure? Stalling and Landing speeds? There are several C wings for sale on Barnstormers - but I am hesitate to buy any of those wings until I find out from someone who REALLY knows the answer. OK, back to the shop to tear down the Aeronca wheels and brakes. Over and Out!

Some Updates

I have dropped off the Pitts engine at Bolduc's Aircraft Engines at Anoka County Airport - they will do a crank run-out check and let me know if it is OK or not. I have also dropped off the propeller at Maxwell's Propeller Shop in Crystal MN. It is repairable so they will refurbish it.

Now - back to work on the Aeronca. Bolduc says they now have 2 good cylinders for me and still looking for the third - this is welcome news. Katie and I are working on the left wing and should have it finished by the end of this month.

Target date for test flight is May 15th. Over & Out.

FAA is finished with their inspection. Found water and contaminates in the PS5C carb. Exactly what I had expected. I was a little suprised not to find water in the sump.

This weekend I will remove the engine and transport to our engine shop in Minny for a crank run-out check. I'm pretty sure there was no damage to the engine since it was not running when I landed.

In the following weeks I will continue to remove components from the airframe and evaluate. At the moment it appears the only damage to the fuselage is the right gear attach mount and the rudder post. I think it will be a few years before she flys again. Over & Out!

Crash Landing

On Thursday, Jan 4th, I crash landed my new Pitts S1C on highway 14 in Southwestern MN. I had taken off from Madison SD just 30 minutes prior. Flying East towards Lakeville MN at 2000 feet and 180 MPH everything was going great - engine running like a fine Swiss watch, the weather was 100 miles visibility and light winds. I switched the center wing tank on to let fuel drain down into the main tank so I could make it all the way to Lakeville (KLVN). five minutes later the engine surged and quit. It continued to surge and quit for several minutes. I was going down fast. After checking all switches, trying the wobble pump and anything else I could think of I decided it was time to switch my focus to landing. I picked highway 14 which only had one truck on it - comming my way. I was NOT going to try any of the farm fields as they were freshly plowed and that would have been REAL bad. I set up my dead-stick approach at 90MPH - and made a perfect wheel landing (so I could see the narrow highway) I bleed off airspeed to around 50 and the tailwheel came down, nose up and I lost all sight of the road. My right wheel caught some soft ground and pulled me down to the right into a ditch where I ran over a BIG bush which then tossed the Pitts and me upside down. I quickly shut off all electrical switches and tried to reach the fuel valve but could not as I was hanging upside down in my harness. I slid back the cockpit canopy, released my seat and shoulder harness but was still hung up in my parachute. I finally released all my parachute straps and exited the cockpit. I had a bruse on my left arm and a scratch on the top of my head - that was it. The Pitts is pretty much a total loss.

So... what caused the engine to quit? At the moment I am blaming bad fuel or water in the wing tank. In the comming days I will assess damage and find the cause. Over & Out..

Work on the left wing has been going very well - the leading edge is smooth as a babys ass on this one. It's ready for the hold down screws then tapes to finish.
Tomarrow (JAN 4th) Chrissy and I are driving to Madison SD to pick up my Pitts. I'll fly her home on THU.
I am a die-hard country music fan - but recently I discovered a pop singer I really like - ADELE - she's kind of a smoky-blues type singer - I really like "Someone Like You", "Set Fire to the Rain" and "Rolling in the Deep". I think I will have to adjust my "I-POD TOP TEN list".

Hey ! I know this aeroplane...

This is the Pitts S1S featured in the documentry film "Barnstorming". Back in 2001 my flying buddy Pat Wright and I drove my truck and trailer out to Brackett Field in California to buy her. We took the wings off, loaded her up in the trailer and tied her down. It was the day after Thanksgiving - everyone in LA decided to drive up to Las Vegas. 14 hours in bumper to bumper traffic we finally passed Las Vegas. A day and half later we were home in Lakeville MN. Pat terrorized the S. Metro for an entire Summer before having to sell her. She was a fun little Pitts. She was orginally built by Dr. Jim Young at Corona Airport back in the 70's. Just a few hangar rows down from where I built my Smith Miniplane. Jim also built "Big Red", a beautiful Starduster Too that took Grand Champion at Oshkosh and the "Sunbird" a modified Pitts with an IO-540. OK, that's it for now, Over & Out