Brodhead Pietenpol Association

Original Posted By: "Jim Malley"
Jim; how did you determine that your wings need to berecovered? Maule fabric tester, visual inspection, orjust your personal preference to redo them?Also, that sure is beautiful workmanship and a greatchoice of finishes for visual impact. I assume you arerunning an inline Ford on the airplane, and is that theradiator hanging out the bottom of the cowling?Thanks.Oscar ZunigaAir Camper NX41CCnow A75 poweredSan Antonio, TXmailto: taildrags(at)hotmail.comwebsite at http://www.flysquirrel.net________________________________________________________________________________

Original Posted By: "Oscar Zuniga"
Visual. Finish is cracking in the middle of the bays, probably laid it on too thick in 1986. The underlying fabric still appears okay.The Ford is an in-line 1980 Fiesta. On my first flight the engine overheated and the coolant boiled out, spraying green slime all over me. I quickly sought a landing and the engine quit on short final. Landing was smooth (and quiet). Not wanting too many more such adventures, I spent the next couple of weeks investigating the problem, flew dozens of in the pattern flights with and without the cowling, put in various baffles, experimented with small fans, and even added tabs to the rear of the propeller in an effort to get more air through the radiator. I finally concluded that the original radiator was large enough but that the flat front of the cowling was causing air that hit it to move sideways, forcing some of the air that would have gone through the radiator to be swept across it instead. Adding a small radiator down where some air blows through it unimpeded solved the problem and the temperatures have been steady ever since.Jim----- Original Message -----

Original Posted By: Jim Markle