Recovering a cruisair

Bernie Ferrie

Bernie Ferrie

New member
G'Day my name is Bernie Ferrie and I live in Melbourne, Australia and I would like to recover my Cruisair. I'm very interested in anyones experience in this area - traps, pitfalls do's and don't. I am also very keen to totally overhaul the undercart, has anyone got any information on the best approach. My legs are quite out of round, is machining and replating the best thing to do? Also very interested in anything else people think I should do while I have her apart.

Australia is quite a distance from the State so any information would be very helpful. My Cruisair is the only one in the country, so I haven't got much to compare.

Thanks Bernie
 
Bern, get yourself a Poly Fiber manual.( http://www.polyfiber.com) (e-mail info@polyfiber.com). This 135 pg. manual covers it all! I rebuilt the gear legs on my Cruisemaster with parts I bought from Alexandria Aircraft the price was right and it did the trick. My other suggestion is when you have it uncovered replace all the old aluminum wiring with new wire. I'm struggling with this problem now on the fuel senders. Bellanca stapled the dame wire to the wood and it is pure hell trying to replace any of the junk aluminum wire. You will learn lots of new swear words if you don't replace this junk. LYNN N9818B :D
 
Lynn's right..... the Polyfiber manual is a great way to go, and the video is well worth the money. I've been covering for 25 years now and even though I've tried almost all the other systems, I keep going back to Polyfiber. There are some other systems that are really great, but for overall ease of use and final results, it just hasn't been beat..... yet. There are health issues that arise from the solvents used, but if you're willing to put up with that and take the proper precautions, you'll be fine.
Just make sure that you do a very detailed inspection of the tubing,
and that it's in good shape.... there's lots of horror stories out there
and I've found quite a few in my shop too. When in doubt, look again.
The other thing is to keep asking questions. The only stupid question is the one that hasn't been asked. I don't know how to stress that enough.... There's always someone around that will help.... this forum is a great place for that. Once you get going on the project, there will be lots of us around here that would be glad to answer anything that we can for ya!
Enjoy!!
John H.
 
lwford said:
Bern, get yourself a Poly Fiber manual.( http://www.polyfiber.com) (e-mail info@polyfiber.com). This 135 pg. manual covers it all! I rebuilt the gear legs on my Cruisemaster with parts I bought from Alexandria Aircraft the price was right and it did the trick. My other suggestion is when you have it uncovered replace all the old aluminum wiring with new wire. I'm struggling with this problem now on the fuel senders. Bellanca stapled the dame wire to the wood and it is pure hell trying to replace any of the junk aluminum wire. You will learn lots of new swear words if you don't replace this junk. LYNN N9818B :D
Click to expand...

Thanks for your help the links are a great place to start.
 
My AI asked me to go with Poly Fiber. Who am I to argue?

I'll try to stay in touch to let you know how things are progressing. My first task is recovering the ailerons. I removed the hardware and glued/ ironed in a patch into the hinge areas. I will seal the fabric up with Poly Brush and try to get some silver in there in an area just big enough to cover when I reinsert the hinges. After hinge reinsertion (and control horn) I'll cover the aileron normally wrapping the fabric around the trailing edge so the seam is hidden by the wing's aileron cutout. At least, I'd like to do it that way. The clearance between the wing aileron cutout gussets and the ailerons themselves may force me to wrap around the leading edge of the ailerons with the seam at the trailing edge. Comments anyone?
I'm hoping to create a waterproof seal around the hinges. :roll:
 
I live in Alexandria, MN near the Bellanca factory. I am in the process of restoring a 47' Cruisair. A friend of mine is an engineer who used to work at Bellanca and he gave me a bit of advice. He said the only time that he saw problems with wing rot was when the drain vents were plugged. (Wasps love them.) [/b]
 
Any comments on fabric on the wings? Did all the Bellanca's come with it. Its not structural so if you have a hanger, don't fly IFR and only fly 50 or so sunny hours a year why have it? Some aircraft did not have it. Any thoughts on this? After all, boats sit in the water for years with only paint for protection and my house does not have fabric on it and it is 120 years old.

Kevin
 
Ken (Mechanic exta-ordinair) here
I got to rebuild a Mooney M-20A (wood) wing recently because the owners thought the fabric had no real purpose and had never changed the 30yr old Grade A cotton covering. Snow blowing in through cracks in the hangar saoked through the rotted fabric which acted like a sponge & helped rot the wing structure badly.

All Bellancas which set outside are being ruined in short order even if drain holes are open. If you can't afford a hangar sell it immediately. Rain soaks in through fuel cap screws, lg sprocket inspection cover, wing root cover. etc. Fuel leaks also damage wood. Hangars with tin roofs and dirt floor can cause an endless cycle of night condensation & morning evaporation that seems to promote dryrot. After leaving your plane out in a rain on a cross country you should open inspection covers and set a fan by the plane to circulate dry air. The bellancas were built with no good varnish or wood preservative applied to inside parts. I always polyurethane the inside surfaces of all repairs to prevent wood deterioration. No one expected these planes to still be flying after 55years.

Fabric covering adds a lot more impact resistance to the wings than you might realize & wieghs little more than the heavy crack prone paint you would have to apply to the wings to make them look smooth. ......but fabric application is a tedious job. Ken
 
I tried to get my IA to let me leave the covering off. The wood looks perfect when finished. He told my if I could talk the FAA into leaving it off we would. I asked, they said DID IT COME FROM THE FACTORY THAT WAY. You must be crazy to think we would let you do that. You could try your friendly(we are here to help) locall FAA. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Thats your mistake, asking the FAA. They don't know. If he knew he would not have asked if it came that way. And just because it came that way does not mean it is required. Maybe it is. Does anyone have any documentation from Bellanca that says it is required? I am new to Bellanca's so I don't have a lot of documentation. Your IA and FAA guy was probably like I was a couple years ago and had newer heard of not covering a wing. Then one day I pulled the cover off a PT-19 wing and was surprised to see the stars and bars painted on the wing under the cover. I got on the Fairchild e-group and found out that is the was they came. The Canadians put fabric on theirs, not for structural reason but for added weather protection.

Kevin
 
I asked them because my IA has been a friend longer than my IA and I would NEVER ask him to sign my log book if it wasn't right. would you sign a log book for say $1000 if it means you could lose your IA and livelyhood. He almost lost it over a strob light wiring on a little C140 a few years back. The FAA a not stuped, just hard to get along with. :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Of course not. I would never sign anything off or ask anyone else to sign something that was illegal. The question I had is whether it is legal or not. When you asked your IA it sounds to me like he assumed it was not legal. Or maybe he knows it is not legal in the Bellanca. In that case I am asking what his reference is because I want to know for myself. So he said in essence to you, go ask the FAA to field approve something that I think is not legal. Of course they will say no to that. It is not their job to research this or anything else for that matter and they will never field approve something illegal. Different yes, illegal no. I would think that somewhere there should be a document that states if fabric is part of the wing structure, not part of the coating-protection process. Then if would be more of a personal preference like having a metal aircraft with bare polished finish or paint. Like I said in my previous post. Most people, including myself until 2 years ago, never saw a wood wing without fabric and would just assume it has to be there without giving it any thought.

Kevin
 
Hi Guys,
Believe it or not 5 years later and I finally have a shed built in the back yard and the Cruisair is installed and FINALLY ready to start work !!! Things move pretty slowly in Australia sometimes..... The 165 Franklin is out the aeromatic is on the bench and fabric is coming off. That's the easy part ! So far so good - no expensive surprises yet. I will keep you posted
 
A little back ground information on My Cruisair it was flown out to Australia in 1990 in the World vintage Air Rally from England to Australia as N86811, taking about 146 hours flying. Once in Australia I purchased it and replaced the very sorry engine and cleaned her up and flew about 350 over the next 10 years, she has become a much loved member of the family, her Australian registration is VH -YBC and is the only one to grace our shores.

I am aiming for a ground up rebuild and the work has only just began. I would attach some photos but don't know how? Oh and expect a lot of questions
Bernie
 
To post photos (must be digital camera):
1) go to http://www.photobucket.com and register
2) download photos into your computer (file of your choosing- easy to find later)
3) download photos at Photobucket from computer file
4) Photobucket provides a direct URL under the picture. Right- click on the URL and copy.
5) go to this forum- select the "IMG" boolean (button ) above your post
6) Paste in the copied URL
7) select the "IMG" boolean again (this puts one in front of the pasted URL and one at the end)
8) type in any text you may want, and POST :D

Sounds like alot of trouble, but it really isn't once you get used to doing it. 8)
 
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/berniecruisair/101_0597.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/berniecruisair/101_0596.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/berniecruisair/101_0598.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/berniecruisair/101_0595.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/berniecruisair/101_0594.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/berniecruisair/101_0593.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/berniecruisair/101_0591.jpg
http://i287.photobucket.com/albums/ll126/berniecruisair/101_0599.jpg

Hope this worked!!!
These are the photos with myself moving the cruisair from my garage where I had stored her for 3 year into the shed I built to do the rebuilt. Anyone looking for a nice holiday downunder are very welcome, as long as you bring Cruisair knowledge!!!! Being the only one in Australia I don't have much to copy.

Oh and thanks for your help Dave
 
Bernie, If you haven't had experience covering an airplane, I would get some help. I know there are experienced individuals not too far from you. When it comes to specific techniques for that airplane, we'll be happy to give some input. For now, get ready to sandblast the fuselage [lightly, this is not a steamship!] Use 00 sand-like sugar. Get rid of all that 1946 wiring! Keep us posted.
 
Thanks Dan,
I do have some experience I am an aircraft mechanic by trade, did lots of work on Mirages and F/A 18's for the Australian airforce. I worked for the company that built them. I have tinkered with light aircaft for 20 years but ExxonMobil pay the bills now, don't yell at me I don't set the gas price, I just make it.
But I have never covered a complete aircraft, I figure if it was really hard no one else could do it either! I will take my time, do it slow but do it right. Unfortunately fabric covered aircraft are getting quite rare down here and the guys that do it very hard to find, but I'll look around.
The electrical wiring is going for sure, mine is just about all original and if its not its automotive rubbish.
I have the cockpit completely stripped now and its still has no nasty surprises. A lot more timber around the cockpit than I realized, but its all in very good condition, It will make great patterns for the new stuff, I guess its all spuce?
As soon as it's fully stripped I will have her lightly sandbastered and I'll paint her straight away. I was going to use 2 pack primer and top coat will that be OK? I believe the poly fibre paint won't soften 2 pack.
Regards
Bernie
 
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