Wings

Finally, the time to put the wings back on came. They have been sitting on a rack since 1½ year, waiting to go back where they should be. Here's a shot of their last minutes on the rack, once I removed the accumulated dust:

With dad's help, I carefully moved back Luc's S2 and prepared the fuse (I always feel guilty of touching someone else's plane):

Then my friends Danny and Luc arrived and helped us for the big work! Here's a shot of myself in front of a monoplane:

Once the top wing was holding in place, We installed what made it a biplane : )

Then the I struts:

I kept all the wires and hardware loose for now since I didn't need a full team to rig the wings. We proceeded with the disassembly of the wings rack to make more space. This allowed us to put back the airplane on its original spot. The feeling was awesome.  

Huge thanks to Danny, Luc and my dad to help me out. It was an enjoyable afternoon during this rainy Saturday. 

Electrical + Master cylinders + Preparation for wings

Been a while since my last post, but I have been pretty active on the Pitts over the last month.

Electrical system

My objective was not to redo the whole electrical system although it wasn't exactly what I wanted. I replaced damaged terminals, replaced wires that had more than one splice, etc. I was surprised to find that my fuel boost pump wires were not protected (!). I fixed what I couldn't resist to fix, but I keep the revamp of my electrical system for another time and focus on the reassembly.

The old wiring was a little hairy so I made nice bundles with lacing like my friend François. One day I will make a new instrument panel with digital oil temp/pressure and fuel pressure. I don't really like the idea of having a hoses with pressurized fuel and oil going aft of the firewall, but I will keep this as is for now.

Master cylinders

While my fuselage was being welded last summer, I took the master cylinders home and changed all the o-rings. It was a good thing since they were pretty dried up. In the process of doing this, I realized the roll pins that hold the spring in place were not in good shape so I ordered new ones (see item #16 below).

I recently pulled back the box with the two master cylinders and reinstalled them on the airplane. It took a few adjustments to ensure proper geometry since the attachment points were replaced. The old bolts were secured with AN365 lock nuts which is not per AC43.13 for elements in rotation. I therefore replaced them by drilled bolts with castle nuts and cotter pins. I didn't change the brake hoses, but keep this on my list for next winter!

Preparation for reinstallation of wings

One night after work I came to the hangar and realized I was out of things to do on the fuselage. After more than 18 months of on/off work, I must admit it was a strange feeling! I decided to make a small plan to prepare to put the wings back on. Replacing the AN665 clevis hardware since the old one was getting corroded was part of it:

Since the removal of the top wing had been difficult with only 2 guys, I decided to plan for at least two other people to help me out to reinstall it: two holding the tips while one putting the bolts on the cabane...