New owner.... 14-13

M

Mikedanford

New member
Well almost, need to send a check and get my son to go pick it up.

It's the "hangar queen" project that was on barnstormers. I have no clue what the old girl is gonna need!

I'm currently finishing up a quick recover only the wings which turned into complete tear down and restore of a 11 ac Chief. So the Cruiseair is next.

First things first, the plane is in a hangar and the field has since closed! Probably needed taking apart anyway. So.... How does it come apart?! I'm sure the son can figure it out, but some pointers couldn't hurt.

More details as they become available!

Mike Danford
Oshkosh WI
 
I was wondering when someone would pick that plane up. I have taken apart several, and the hardest part usually is getting the aileron cables loose without having to cut them. Undoing the turnbuckles (behind the panel) is easy, but the cable ends wont go thru the sheeve on the control bow without pulling the bolts that hold the sheeves. It all depends on if those bolts were put with the nuts toward the inside of the plane or the outside. If toward the inside, there is not enough room to pull the bolt out without putting a dent in the boot cowl. Unless it was a show plane paint job, I would be tempted to put a hole in the boot cowl and make it an inspection port and make working on it easier. The other place that gets to be an expensive problem is tail wires. They are sometimes frozen and people have broken them off trying to remove them. They are very expensive, and a long wait to get new ones. The wing bolts are 1/2 inch and not too hard to reach, but he may need a brass drift and a hammer to knock them loose. Most Cruisairs have jack points just inboard of the front wing bolts. Some are just 1/4 inch holes in the spar carry thru and some have put bolts into those holes so the jack wont slip off of the head of the bolt. I dont think those holes are factory original, but most Cruisairs that I have seen have them. Oh yes, back off the adjustment on the gear chains enough to get the chain off of the fuselage sprocket and free. Wiring, fuel lines and pitot line are all easy, so the weight of the wing is the only issue. I assume your son is airplane savvey so he wont need reminding that when the plane is on jacks a removal of one wing will cause the plane to tip and land on the other wing tip. Saw horse with padding will keep that from happening. I would recommend that when everything is loose and disconnected that your son hire 2 or 3 young strong men for the wing removal. They are not light weight. removing the gear legs takes a lot of weight off, but they are still heavy. I would highly recommend that your son be supplied with the aircraft owners manual and the parts manual before he starts. A picture can explain a lot. I am sure that other folks will chime in with even more advice. Best of Luck, and let us know how the adventure turns out. ____Grant.
 
Aircraft owners manual? And it has pictures? If the words are short and the typeset large, this sounds like a publication I'd love to have!

Where can I get one?

THANKS for the reply, all sounds really helpful!

Mike
 
Ah ha.... There's a link on that decathalon page. Found 'em, ordered 'em!

Mike, who really likes books with pictures...
 
Ah Yes, I forgot about legs. I will try to take some photos of storage legs in the next few days. Having them ready when you arrive will save time. Using the planes wheels will be complicated. A couple of strong wheel barrow wheels will do just fine and you can buy axle materiel at the same time. I would leave the engine on, but be aware that the plane will be nose heavy without the tail feathers and wings. I have a set of 50 lb weights that I tie to the tail to keep from nosing them over. You can build storage legs that angle forward, but again, that is time and complication. No need to pull the prop, but I would take a strap (or gorilla tape) so that the cowl cant pop open by accident. Towing tail first is not what they were designed for, and there is more chance of doing damage. Cabin door also. For wing cradles , make sure the wing rests with a nose rib sitting on a well padded cradle. If weight is placed between nose ribs there is the chance for damage. How many miles do you need to move the plane? _____Grant.
 
Just remembered something. Make sure to label the aileron cables, since the manual shows them wrong. There is an AD on that, but I bought a lot of parts from an old boy that spent years rebuilding his Cruisair and wrecked it before he got 10 feet in the air. People will say that it should be obvious, but it can be overlooked with bad results. _____Grant.
 
I was initially a little put off by $38/yr for access to this forum. Long past that sentiment now!

Really really really appreciate all the info. Reading old posts was able to find a 14-13 really near my son who is going to fly over and give it a good once over before going.

Not sure if we will bring it to oshkosh where I am, probably 8 hrs, or chattanooga where he is, 13 or so hours. Might take an enclosed trailer which uncomplicates things a little, but requires removing the tail.

Would love to see pics of the temp gear legs. Other wheels probably especially a good idea as the brakes are known to be frozen on this one.

Thanks again, always open to suggestions!

Mike

Edit: even more thanks for the aileron cable heads up. Saw that AD and was wondering! Dad owned a boat marina in the days of the old cable and drum steering on small boats. Lots were hooked up backwards! No matter how hard you tried, and even knew ahead of time it was wrong, couldn't trailer those suckers!

Edit edit: is rib placement obvious?
 
When you say remove the tail, I assume you mean the horizontals. The vertical is not removable unless you cut it off and re-weld it later. Not a good idea!!!. The ribs usually can be seen or if not tapping with a screw driver handle will tell you where they are. Good luck. ____Grant.
 
Give me a call 7-9pm PDT...253-631-5280 and I'll give you a 30 minute briefing on how to disassemble and load a Bellanca.
I have done this more times than I can remember........
In short, you must have all basic tools, a couple cans of PB Blaster or spray lube, a "cherry picker,"
the dummy landing gear, a pair of sawhorses, a lot of patience and sweat.....and it really pays to have
a couple helpers.
Dan
 
You bet! Thanks!

I don't like inventing things, much less reinventing.... Or, as a ten yr old not aired all that often TV commercial advertising motor oil once said... "I love new things, especially when they're old!"

Mike
 
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