Pietenpol-List: Next steps or... HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!
Posted: Tue Apr 06, 2010 4:17 pm
Original Posted By: shad bell
Okay, here goes...First of all, thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for your genuineletters of encouragement and sympathy. No feelings have been hurt, and Iactually appreciate the "kick in the pants" approach.I spent the morning going over the damage. The end result is that I willabsolutely rebuild her and plan on bringing her home this week to start.Won't be at Brodhead this year, maybe next?The main damage that I am a bit unsure of how to fix is to the left wing,outboard of the strut attach points. As it rolled, the leading edge waspushed down and cracked the leading edge ribs and the bottom of the ribsfrom the struts outward. The spars are fine and the leading edge is fine,just the ribs are crunched. Just ordered the FAA repair manual to see whatit has to say, and any suggestions would be appreciated. Anybody up for awing fixing party (Larry Williams, Gene??)other fixes:Fix, recover and repaint left wingfin leading edge crackedvarious brace cables bustedwheels, axle and brakes shotwing tank dentedrad dentedreplace propsome bulkhead damage in pilot leg holescross brace busted loos behind pilot seatback bulkheadcheck out engine (sure it's fine, didn't really hit, just the prop tips hituntil it turned over).some sheet metal repair.turtle deck repair where shoulder harness pulled up and through fabric asLowell hung there.try to match paint and repaint turtledeck to match rest of fusebent throttle rod at quadrantleaky fuel connectionnew diagonal cabane bracesdid I miss anything?....A few lessons learned from inspecting the damage.1. If you used 1/16th cable to brace your tail... double nicropress them,two or three pulled out of the nico sleeve, and I had gauged them. I willuse heavier next time.2. Don't try to save a couple ounces with the diagonal cabane braces, makethem stout enough to keep the wing back because if you have a wing tank, ora passenger, you really want that wing to stay put.3. The "Jenny" gear is as tough as BHP said it was, while the wheels tookup a lot of the impact, and were trashed, the basic gear is fairlyunscathed. I have no doubt the slit gear would have sheared off, I'm notsaying one is better than the other, they are just strong in differentareas.4. USE GOOD SHOULDER HARNESS, AND ANCHOR IT WELL!! mine is the short fuseand you are right up to the instrument panel. Lowell didn't even scratchhis nose, yet he rebounded hard enough to break the brace behind theseatback bulkhead. Thank God I spent a lot of effort here. Also, theseatbelt held him in as he hung there and maybe prevented some nasty neckinjuries. This was just a simple ground loop that can happen to anyone, butcould have been disasterous because of the ditch, but it wasn't because ofthe belt and harness.5. Lowell suggests, padding or rounding under the edge of the instrumentpanel. When upside down, crawling out, that edge peeled some skin off hisshins which were already skinned by the tops of the leg apetures in thebulkhead. Maybe enlarge these and pad them?6. You guys building wood struts or cabanes, don't worry about theirstrength.thanks again guys!Douwe________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 14:25:17 -0700 (PDT)
Okay, here goes...First of all, thank you guys from the bottom of my heart for your genuineletters of encouragement and sympathy. No feelings have been hurt, and Iactually appreciate the "kick in the pants" approach.I spent the morning going over the damage. The end result is that I willabsolutely rebuild her and plan on bringing her home this week to start.Won't be at Brodhead this year, maybe next?The main damage that I am a bit unsure of how to fix is to the left wing,outboard of the strut attach points. As it rolled, the leading edge waspushed down and cracked the leading edge ribs and the bottom of the ribsfrom the struts outward. The spars are fine and the leading edge is fine,just the ribs are crunched. Just ordered the FAA repair manual to see whatit has to say, and any suggestions would be appreciated. Anybody up for awing fixing party (Larry Williams, Gene??)other fixes:Fix, recover and repaint left wingfin leading edge crackedvarious brace cables bustedwheels, axle and brakes shotwing tank dentedrad dentedreplace propsome bulkhead damage in pilot leg holescross brace busted loos behind pilot seatback bulkheadcheck out engine (sure it's fine, didn't really hit, just the prop tips hituntil it turned over).some sheet metal repair.turtle deck repair where shoulder harness pulled up and through fabric asLowell hung there.try to match paint and repaint turtledeck to match rest of fusebent throttle rod at quadrantleaky fuel connectionnew diagonal cabane bracesdid I miss anything?....A few lessons learned from inspecting the damage.1. If you used 1/16th cable to brace your tail... double nicropress them,two or three pulled out of the nico sleeve, and I had gauged them. I willuse heavier next time.2. Don't try to save a couple ounces with the diagonal cabane braces, makethem stout enough to keep the wing back because if you have a wing tank, ora passenger, you really want that wing to stay put.3. The "Jenny" gear is as tough as BHP said it was, while the wheels tookup a lot of the impact, and were trashed, the basic gear is fairlyunscathed. I have no doubt the slit gear would have sheared off, I'm notsaying one is better than the other, they are just strong in differentareas.4. USE GOOD SHOULDER HARNESS, AND ANCHOR IT WELL!! mine is the short fuseand you are right up to the instrument panel. Lowell didn't even scratchhis nose, yet he rebounded hard enough to break the brace behind theseatback bulkhead. Thank God I spent a lot of effort here. Also, theseatbelt held him in as he hung there and maybe prevented some nasty neckinjuries. This was just a simple ground loop that can happen to anyone, butcould have been disasterous because of the ditch, but it wasn't because ofthe belt and harness.5. Lowell suggests, padding or rounding under the edge of the instrumentpanel. When upside down, crawling out, that edge peeled some skin off hisshins which were already skinned by the tops of the leg apetures in thebulkhead. Maybe enlarge these and pad them?6. You guys building wood struts or cabanes, don't worry about theirstrength.thanks again guys!Douwe________________________________________________________________________________Date: Tue, 6 Apr 2010 14:25:17 -0700 (PDT)