Yet another fabric covering question

sillsaviation1

sillsaviation1

New member
I remember a fabric tape joining the horizontal stab. with the elevator, I don't recall if the vertical & rudder get a simular tape.
I have not come accross any information on this in the books and DVD's I have on the 14-19 or the 14-13. Any help out there ?
 
Hey Joe!

As you know I'm as far from an expert on such matters as you can get without a prescription :) Nonetheless I do recall clearly how my airplane is set-up even though it's 3084 sm away at the moment.

There was an AD long ago addressing the issue of elevator flutter in 14-19s. The trim tab, under the AD must have tight free play tolerances, and an S tape joining it to the elevator. I believe the overall elevator and the horizontal stabilizer were taped together as well, though this was not mandated by the AD.

I hope Lynn jumps in here. I will contact Russell, who's stuck with my 'Master at the moment to look and confirm this.

Jonathan
 
Yes, there is a tape on all cruisemasters between the vertical stab and the rudder.

Same is true from horizontal to elevator.

The 14-19-nothings have special tape and stitching treatment for the trim tab. The design of the tab is different on 14-19-2s.
 
Thanks, Russell!

One nit, though:

"The 14-19-nothings..."

I think you meant "The 14-19s" didn't you? You know...the last Bellancas MADE by G.M....the last true Bellancas :wink:

Jonathan
 
I did some homework on the Cruisemaster tapes. They are on the rudder to fin and the elevator to Stabilizer. I wanted to elimate these and use a system as the Pitts aerobatic planes use, This way you can pull the rudder and elevator and not have to cut any tapes. Found the people who do this is Dan Rihn (Rihn Aircraft Corp) Seal Beach Ca. BUT the tubes used on Pitts are smaller than the Bellanca. They of course are not interested in any ***** Cruisemaster but I love the idea all I have to do is find a suitable size material. Check his web site or your local Pitts and you will see what I want. LYNN N9818B the crate :roll:
 
Thanks all.. I knew the elevator had an "S" tape and I know of the trim tab AD , I couldn't remember if the rudder to vertical had the "S" tape or not . About to start putting Wilders 14-19 back together , at least the tail feathers and then start on the wings.

joe:
 
My first major stumbling block! Ok, the crate is all in pink. The tail is on and the flying wires cut into the fabric and patched( piss me off Bellanca should of mounted those like a Super Cub--but nooo). Now what about the tapes, when do you put them on? I called my expert Jim Miller at Polyfiber and his guru Dondi told me that now is the time to add the tapes. I found that the Pitts idea was not going to work. I then found that the Husky uses a neat clear tape for their planes but it won't stand up to the sun. I'm now going to install a regular "s" tape. John G. at Polyfiber suggested "x" tapes but I don't have a Margrett like Double D, I do all the sewing at my house. I'm into this but a month behind my schedule. So far 33 yds of fabric, 4 quarts of Polytac, 8.2 gals of Polybrush , yds of 2 &3 inch tape. My hvlp is saving me money as the Poly manual suggests 13 gals of Polybrush this crap is 74 bucks a gal and my face is taking on the groves of the fresh air mask. If I make Osh I'm going to really be happy :lol: . Lisa at www. pabarnstormer.com has dated pictures and I'm far ahead of that. Like Lewis and Clark we press on! LYNN N9818B the crate :mrgreen:
 
Running a double stitch down the center of a pair of tapes worked out real slick . Better than trying to do the "S" thing.
 
I did the S thing with advice from http://www.aircrafttechsupport.com. They had me glue the tape on then build up with PolyBrush. Worked pretty simple. This blew my plans to paint all the pieces individually. Had to assemble the tail and rig in the pink. Missed the AOPA Flyin and now I feel really far behind. Starting the silver next. :cry:
 
I have been watching this column and hoping for answers. However, I am restoring a 14-13-2 and I believe it only has the tape on the trim tab. How long do I cut my tapes for making the X? Do they run the full length of the trim tab or just fasten in the center? My bird came to me in pieces so I never had the oppertunity to look at at it when it was "whole". :?:
Thanks,
Gary
 
Gary, For the trim tab, cut two lengths of 2" tape, slightly longer than the span of the trim tab leading edge. Lay one over the top of the other, lengthwise. Double sew down the middle. Trim to fit the tab span. You now have an 'X' tape, with the sew line as the hinge. Remember, to use a ball point needle to sew dacron. Any sewing supply store has them. Same thing for the rudder and elevators.....except use 4" tapes.
 
Gary and Bernie and everybody else that will do the inevitable covering job. I must start by saying that I have never covered anything, but I have parted out a number of Bellanca,s and I have seen the good the bad and the ugly and the results of these. I recently parted out a 14-19-3 and when I removed the rudder I noticed that it had a really big trim tab on it. I didnt give it much thought until I looked at it from a distance and realized that it had an actual airfoil shape to it. Apparently whoever recovered the plane had done a very uneven job of heat shrinking the fabric and had sprung the metal ribs enough to warp the rudder and require the monster trim tab. This must have given the plane a bad case of the slows. The cover job was a beautiful thing to see and the paint was just as nice but the bottom 6 inches of the trailing edge was dust (not rust ,but dust) since there where no drains in the bottom of the rudder.I have seen several rusted out rudders from lack of drain holes. What prompted me to write this is that I went to the the Bellanca Fly In at Colombia this past weekend and walked the line of triple tails and looked at all of the rudders. Almost half of the planes had a twist in the rudder from top to bottom. None were as bad as the -3 rudder that I removed but the amount of twist seemed to be reflected in the size of their trim tabs. I wonder how many Cruisairs dont make book numbers because they are dragging around rudders or ailerons that have a twist in them from poor heat shrinking? The planes at Columbia were beautiful but a small detail can give you the slows.Be careful with Mommas iron! Grant
 
Yes, and although it is redundant, I will repeat an earlier message that I posted. A friend of mine used to work at Bellanca as an engineer. He told me that many time he had seen aircraft come in that need repairs to the wings because the drain vents were plugged...often due to insects. His advice is to check the wing vents periodically to make sure the drain vents are not plugged. Thanks for the good advice...and I bought my own iron so that mama doesn't kill me. :D
Gary
 
Ok, now 6 months into this pig. I'm in 3 coats of silver and ready to install a new windshield. This should take about 3 days and then I'm going to paint the pig. I got the elephant ears painted one side polytone and one side Aerothane a vast difference. This convinces me that aerothane is the choice. Lp Aero was going to cut and trim the windshield but would take at least two days. I decided I will do it myself,just like everthing else. I hope to make Osh but I have to put the pig together and test all the systems, I can write a book on this but I think Tony Markel has it. His book is worth all the money you pay besides if you have a question just call. I press on Lynn N9818B the crate :mrgreen:
 
An update, 3 hours into it and I broke , yes broke that brand new windshield! I will have LP Aero make and trim a new one for me as it is only 30 miles to their factory,. Should of did this in the first place but---NOOOO! I wanted to save time and trim it myself. When doing work by yourself sometimes another set of hands and eyes save the day. I press on Lynn the crate :oops:
 
Hey guys,
Thanks for all this information, it fills in the gaps!!
Sorry to hear about the windshield, it breaks my heart. A second pair of hands can be a wonderful tool. I have bought Tony's markl book and your right full of really smart ideas - well worth the money.

Good luck.
 
So...when my Cruisair is done, it will be a hybrid. I didn't like the small opening to the fuel cell caps so I cut a 4" hole and have put Viking type of fuel cell covers on the wings. I am putting Viking bucket seats in the front and Piper latches on the door. Viking axels with Cleveland brakes and strobes on the wing tips. My question is: Will it still be a Cruisair??? :shock:
Gary
 
In base color Dayton white, then the rains came. :x Living here you can see why there is no east coast flyin! Could be worse like those poor people next to the mighty Mississip. Osh is fading as reality and weather are serious set backs,Lynn the crate :mrgreen:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top