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Thread: The Barn Find Build

  1. #81
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I'm curious about the bore scope too.

    I've only attended a few of the EAA meetings in Puyallup but that chapter has a very nice unit which is pretty amazing. You can stick in through a spark plug hole and then control the camera so well you can turn it around and inspect the valves.

    A few years ago I bought an eBay item referred to as an endoscope, and I'm old enough to know what that is. The camera portion was easy to set up and drive from a beater laptop but the cord is just a floppy wire like a USB cable.
    I didn't intended to use it as the name implies (I was trying to get a look at some very remotely mounted turbochargers). In order to get it to look where I needed it to I had to tape it to a stiff piece of wire and it took several tries to get the view I needed. It was cheap and I still have it but man that one the Puyallup chapter has would be the shiz.
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  2. #82
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Quote Originally Posted by bbs428 View Post
    Which system did you go with Eric?

    I bought a cheap unit from AliExpress, not expecting much, but it's actually not half bad. It creates a WiFi hotspot that I connect my iPad to, then run an app to display the images, take still photos or record videos. Here's a link to the unit I bought. I got the 3.5-meter cable.

    Depending on the results of your tank inspections, maybe two new resin formula tanks from Kitfox might be the way to go?
    Perhaps, but I'd really like to avoid that if possible. Removing tanks, waiting for replacements and installing new ones would be a big delay that I don't want to endure. Fingers crossed.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  3. #83
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Quote Originally Posted by alexM View Post
    A few years ago I bought an eBay item referred to as an endoscope, and I'm old enough to know what that is. The camera portion was easy to set up and drive from a beater laptop but the cord is just a floppy wire like a USB cable.
    Yeah, that's what this one was called. They come with either "soft" or "hard" cables; I got the hard one and it's plenty stiff to put it where you want it, within reason. It doesn't have any ability to steer the camera precisely, and I don't think you'd be able to use it to inspect valves unless you rigged up some kind of tiny mirror (it comes with a mirror attachment, but it only shifts the angle of view by 90 deg).
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  4. #84
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    After reading about it in several aviation maintenance articles authored by Mike Busch and Dave Prizio, I bought the Vividia VA-400 Ablescope (just checked on amazon , $250) . What I like about it is the articulating head that allows you to curl the head 180 degrees once it is, lets say placed in a spark plug hole that allows me to check valve condition etc. It plugs in to a cheapo tablet I have for viewing (theres an app for that) . Recently had to install a new wall mounted light in my house and was struggling with fishing the romex wire thru the wall. Out came the boroscope to show me the plumbing obstructions in the wall that allowed me to get the wire thru. So its use full for more than airplane stuff (thats how I justified buying it), heck I do colonoscopy's on the side so if any of you guys are due......... Dr. Bruce N199CL

  5. #85
    Senior Member bbs428's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    "So its use full for more than airplane stuff (thats how I justified buying it), heck I do colonoscopy's on the side so if any of you guys are due......... Dr. Bruce N199CL"


    Roflmao!
    Somebody said that carrier pilots were the best in the world, and they must be or there wouldn't be any of them left alive. — Ernie Pyle

    Brett Butler
    Flying: 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul Zipper 110hp, G3x avionics, ss7 upgrades

  6. #86
    Senior Member Kitfox Pilot's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    [QUOTE=bbs428;95980]" heck I do colonoscopy's on the side so if any of you guys are due......... Dr. Bruce N199CL"



    About spit my breakfast on the screen, LOL


    Harlan and Susan Payne
    Sold Piper Archer
    Flying FarmFox STI Kitfox N61HP
    Rotax 915is, Airmaster prop
    https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC5A...oCVUP15G0uB-Yw

  7. #87
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I turn 50 next year, Bruce; I'll be in touch. I just hope you're in-network...



    I made some good progress today, and stunk up my house real good in the process. It's too cold to open the garage door while painting and the air handler is in the garage, so the result was entirely predictable!

    I started by working on the rudder torque tube parts. I sanded down a couple of sharp spots on the welds, then scuffed them up with a Scotch-Brite pad and wiped them down twice with acetone. I sprayed three light coats of self-etching primer, with about ten minutes and some mild heat gun assistance between coats. While I waited for that to flash off, I moved to the fuselage.

    Rudder Tubes Primed.jpg

    There were a number of plug welds just behind the firewall that needed to be sanded flat, top and bottom, then scuffed and cleaned the same way.

    Rudder Mount Sanded Top.jpg Rudder Mount Sanded Btm.jpg

    With that done, I moved upward to the cross tubes right behind the windshield. There was a spot on both of them where something had scratched the powder coat down to steel and a little surface rust had started. I sanded that lightly with 220-grit to get shiny metal, then scuffed and cleaned. I repeated the same process of sanding, scuffing and cleaning on the top tube of the truss at the front of the seat pan, where something had made four equally spaced scratches.

    With all of the forward problem spots dealt with, I moved aft, prepping the welds at the tail post reinforcement, and the tubes forward of that area (I made a big mess of the powder coat there while removing Poly-Tack), for prime and paint.

    IMG_0808.jpg IMG_0809.jpg

    Next I got a bucket of hot soapy water and wiped down the whole fuselage frame. It had gotten really dirty during years of storage and because of the dust from my wing sanding, so it was in need of a good cleaning. Once that was done I went over the bare metal areas again with acetone, then laid down three light primer coats just like before.

    IMG_0804.jpg IMG_0805.jpg IMG_0800.jpg IMG_0810.jpg IMG_0811.jpg

    While I waited for the primer on the fuselage to cure, I went back to the rudder torque tubes. They were completely dry, so I gave one side its first coat of gloss black enamel. I'm no pro with a rattle can (is that an oxymoron?), but I think it turned out pretty well. Resisting the urge to lay paint on thick seems to be the key to success. I've had lots of runs with spray paint cans in the past, but this time it went on very well.

    IMG_0812.jpg

    Back to the fuselage, the primer was dry, so I went right to paint, laying down the first coat. Again, it went on smooth and shiny, so if I can repeat that performance with the second coat, I'll be very happy.

    IMG_0814.jpg IMG_0817.jpg IMG_0818.jpg IMG_0819.jpg

    I'm planning to get the painting finished on the rudder torque tubes and fuselage tomorrow, and hopefully get the flight control parts cleaned up and inspected as well. I haven't looked at those parts since I removed them a couple months ago, so I'd like to determine if they need any touch-ups.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  8. #88
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Today I put a second coat of paint on the fuselage touch-ups and got the rudder torque tube parts to within one spray of being done.

    Between those events, I cleaned up the notch in the wing where the replacement false rib will go. I started with a thin hacksaw blade to remove enough material that I could get a thin needle file into the notch, then I used the file to remove the rest of the material. It produced a loose fit on the rib, which should leave a bit of space for Hysol. Please ignore the extra, shallow notch; that's compliments of the first builder.

    IMG_0821.jpg

    Next I started working on the brackets that mount the rudder torque tube to the fuselage. The first builder made them from scratch, and he couldn't be bothered to deburr any of the holes, sand the marks left by the band saw blade, or deburr any of the edges. He did coat them with some kind of primer, but apparently didn't bother to clean the parts before coating them, as it was flaking off. Several weeks ago I put them in a Ziploc baggie with paint stripper overnight, which removed virtually all of the primer.

    I mounted a fine sanding drum in my drill press, turned the speed up, and started smoothing the rough edges. These two photos are typical before-and-after comparisons between the parts.

    IMG_0822.jpg IMG_0823.jpg

    With that done I moved to the bench grinder, where I deburred all the edges and polished the surfaces I could reach using a Scotch-Brite wheel. The parts still aren't perfect, and there's an extra hole in one of them (less weight!), but they're a lot nicer than they were and they'll do their job just fine.

    IMG_0824.jpg

    Next I got out the Alumiprep and Alodine. I've never used these chemicals before and the Technical Process Bulletins for them are a little thin on details beyond the dilution ratios, so I just winged it, and my first try was a failure. I put the parts in the Alumiprep for about 3 minutes, rinsed them off, then put them in the Alodine. I kept sloshing them around and checking them periodically, but they weren't changing color. I finally gave up and fished them out at the 10 minute mark.

    I figured that I probably didn't let them fizz long enough in the Alumiprep so I put them back in for another session, this time for about 15 minutes. When I got them out they definitely looked brighter, so I figured I was onto something. I rinsed them thoroughly, kept them underwater, then dunked them in the Alodine tub for about 5 minutes. This time they came out looking like a million bucks, with that nice, satisfying straw color.

    IMG_0825.jpg

    Today I made some progress, used some tools and learned a new skill. Winning!
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  9. #89
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Those look like they've been transformed into airplane parts!
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  10. #90
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Nice job Eric, you are turning this once forlorn build into something special by your attention to detail and craftsmanship. I suspect you will really enjoy the finished product, been flying my Series 5 Outback since 2003 , and its been a great airplane . Bruce N199CL

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