Getting back in....sorta

shipchief

shipchief

New member
My oldest son just bought N8533R, a 1966 14-19-3a. It's been sitting in a hangar @ Arlington for about 15 years, and Paul N basically condemned the engine due to internal rust.
Steve Knopp is just up the highway...or we rebuild it ourselves. Peter is working out the details. What a leap of faith, I hope my enthusiasm for Bellanca won't lead to restoration overload! I'm still trying to finish my RV-8.
I had been hot on the trail of a 14-19-2 a couple of years ago, but the FAA had pulled the certificate on a tri-annual review. The seller never re-contacted me when it was done, and sold it to someone else (for less than I agreed to pay, go figure). Anyway, that's water under the bridge, I'm about to put the wings on my RV-8, and Peter and I will be elbows deep into 8533R!
 
Peter and I went to the A&P to look at N8533R today. Looks kinda forlorn without the engine.
What a mixed bag of really promising stuff with some really aged stuff. Airframe and engine mount look great. Gear retract piston rods..not so much. Cleaveland wheels...rusty discs. Like that. I think this is going to work out fine after the initial engine and prop 'inspections', which are really tear downs to check for corrosion and replace/repair as required.
The A&P had done the service work in the past, and remebered that this plane was a 'real rocket', but then again, he flies a globe swift.
I don't expect the Narco 12b to work. I wonder how much it weighs?
 
Yes;
The A&P took off the engine and gave us our starting instructions.We put in about 8 hours today starting with the electrical system. All the lights, strobes, radios, fuel pump and even the auto pilot powered up! Although the autopilot is a bit spastic...and the radios have some static, but the ILS indicators are twitch'n and the ADF picks up the local news station...which was more than we expected for 15 years of sitting.
We used the electric boost pump to de-fuel the plane. we attached a hose to the firewall fitting, and ran the tanks out into 5 gallon jugs, 22 gallons of 100LL, 15 years old. The right tank was dry, with a stain under the drain tap, where it had leaked away. We took the hint and removed all these for service. We tested the fuel tank level senders, pretty easy with empty tanks, just reach in with a stiff wire and slowly lift the float while watching the gas gauge. even those work...in the way of their kind :wink:
Then we put her up on jacks and got to work on the wheels, brakes and landing gear.
Once the oleos were out and the hydraulic cylinders off, we pumped out the hydraulic fluid with the hand pump thru the gear hoses to flush them out into buckets, followed by the same treatment for the brakes. Hyd fluid, OK: Brake fluid....not so much.
Then out with the co-pilot seat, & inspect the battery area, the 'power pack', flap cylinder, fuel selector valve & linkage and work on the seat track / rollers.
Then under the wings again to check & lube the flaps & aelerons while inspecting for loose or rubbing flap brackets etc.
Finally the tail cone to check for the horizontal spar, / fuselage service kit brackets, and all the cables tim control etc. and look forward into the fuse at the aux fuel tank etc.
I think this plane just got saved. It's solid. We made up a list of jobs done, and a list of work to do...Now to the A&P for more direction.
Sure has a lot of draggy antenae all over it tho'.
 
My Cruise Master had set for over thirty years and I went through the same thing before flying it from Seattle to Oklahoma. You will learn a tremendous amount about your plane through all of this and that will be indispensable in the future. Make sure and change all of the flexible hose, brake o-rings, hydraulic o-rings and anything else you can find, you won't be sorry. Throw the radios away and put in new Garmin stuff, another you won't be sorry. I learned to just let the old stuff go it will cost you more in the long run. The new drain cocks are pretty cheap, I think I bought mine at Spencers...Greg
 
The work continued today;
Peter is very enthusiastic, and took the 3 lower gear pieces to his front end shop to work his magic. Front ends on cars & trucks is his specialty, so he is at home here.
These parts are amazing in simplicity. Lots of cleaning. Bead blasted the old paint off the lowers, and repainted; looks NEW! Everything is repairable by it's very nature. Bushings are still tight and wheel bearings good too. O rings seem to be the only thing needed except the springs: one main gear spring was broken, the others appear to be compressed beyond use. Monday we call Alexandria LLC....
I'm reading up on the front gear & steering link. Some Viking accidents have been attributed to the front gear? Also I read that main gear needs to be checked on the plane for toe in - toe out wobble, which can cause divergent steering. This all seemed tight on dissassembly, but reading about it makes us sure to double check.
Scott
 
We found an excellent drawing of the main gear assy in an old copy of the Bellanca Champion Club newsletter. I wish I had kept them on a bookshelf instead of scattered around my building area. :oops:
Alexandria LLC charged Peter $83 per each for the landing gear main springs. That seems OK. They have them in stock, so they will be here soon.
The strengthened main gear for 3200 lb gross weight was kinda spendy tho- Peter said the quote was something like $30,000? which includes a whole new gear and I think he said something about work in the wings too? That's more than the whole plane! I thought it was only applicable to the 17-30, but appearently it can go on the 14-19-3a too if you want it bad enough.
Scott
 
Peter received the gear springs from Alexandria LLC late last week, so he went out to the plane today and put the lower gear back together. What a mess, with all the oil and greasing and handling while carefully sliding the legs together, etc.
Then regasket the powerpack (old leak) and fill - purge- splooge :roll: Anyway, the gear retracts correctly looks great doing it, brakes too, and it's off the jacks and back on the ground.
AC propeller said the McCauley 3 blade prop was fine, but won't reuse the hub. Nothing is unairworthy, but you still have to buy a hub for $1500 anyway...WIsh we had just bolted it back on the plane, but who new it was still good?
The ELT battery leaked into the battery case, long term 'storage' :(
 
Marilyn my wife, and Peter flew up with me in the 182 to visit Steve Knopp, the 'famous' big Continental rebuilder on Canamo Island WA.
Peter's IO-470 was apart for inspection, and Steve was very happy to give us a tour of his facility and explain our situation.
15 years of sitting with an occational start "just to keep it in good shape" is just the wrong thing to do to an engine.
The oil pan is full of rust, and the damage is incomprehensible. The crankcase and the cylinders are good...but not much else.
Strangely, the airframe is in very good condition, as are the avionics.
It's just heartbreaking to see an engine so rusty inside. I do believe a 60 watt light bulb under the oil pan (for 15 years) would have prevented this, but that's mere speculation.
So I don't think a 14-19-3a is worth what we will have in this by the time it is done, yet we press on. When it IS done, with 0 time prop and engine, it will be worth it. Now is the painful moment prior to the reward. (maturity is a -itch)
This whole thing has me shopping for a 14-9-2 again.....
 
Looking at Ebay and Barnstormers sure is shocking for potential (and actual) sellers! Two EXCELLENT Cruisairs were listed on both, and couldn't even go for $20K. If only I could afford to buy all the planes I want. NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY A PLANE...if you can. I seriously doubt we will ever get the money back that we put in to them. We do it 'cause we like to...or we are just very sick!
Larry
PS-Robert S. please do NOT let this comment spark a political discussion. That is not the purpose of this reply. Times are what they are.
 
Yes;
Used goods are selling for ressesion prices, and labor costs are down in some trades, but hard goods that are new, especially technically controlled (Airplane engine parts) are at the highest prices ever.
If you can buy a used engine with low time, you can get a bargain. If your engine is somewhat rare, and needs custum parts; you pay full price.
 
I finished the restoration of my 14-19-3a last year. Wings off, beadblast the metal stuff, recover everything, rebuilt the gear and hydraulic struts, new radios, panel, fuel tanks out and sloshed, etc...... I was looking for a three-tail also but the -3a sure turned out to be a nice airplane. I hope you like yours as much as we like ours. I enjoy telling everyone, "No, it's not a Viking".
I'd like to see some pictures.


Steve Jones
N8506R
 
Peter scored an Aircraft Specialties rebuilt crankshaft for $1950 plus shipping with all documentation from a private party, it's going straight to the rebuilder. Now things are starting to move forward again. :wink:
 
Prop is back from the shop with an upgraded hub. Much cleaning and inspecting has been done. The left flap must have hit something in the past, the cable pully bracket that bolts to the rear spar at the gear attach bracket was bent just enough to drag the cable on the fuselage. Repaired both of those. Got the Davtron temp/ voltmeter/ TAS etc multi gauge back from repair ($50) half of the display had failed. Service and turnaround was good. Dead Narco DME 190 is out, Airgizmos panel dock for GPS 495 is going in. Pitot Static check is scheduled for this week. Plane is washed and waxed.
This plane is comming together. Peter puts in the required time and works efficiently. Hopefully the engine will be done soon, the weather is going bad, and it would be nice to get it to the 'home drome' soon.
The Avatar is N8533R.
 
1966 Bellanca 14-19-3A N8533R flew for the first time in 15 years!
More detail in the Viking section... :wink:
 
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