We are coming up on a year since we have begun this odyssey to bring Sis back to flying condition.
Sis is a 1947 Beechcraft Bonanza model 35, one of the first 1000 off the assembly line. For all intents and purposes, she is my big sister as I have grown up flying with her and now am her caretaker.
So much has happened during that time, both to us and to Sis, pushing the project forward. Some days, it feels like forever since it has begun and will never end – today is that day for the restorer.
A good friend of his who has experience with more complex airplanes as the restorer does was available to lend a hand as well as his trailer and transport of the Beech Jack.
The restorer has focused on getting the jack down for the past week or two. Things always need to be done with a project – some things make sense with the timeline, and others, like the jack, need to happen before a big part of the project moves forward.
I can provide support and encouragement on some levels, but what is needed for this project at the moment is to have someone with more technical knowledge to bounce things off of and give him a break mentally.
Working on the jack problem today has been a diversion of sorts from working on the baffle connection – we will be back to that tomorrow and working forward with the remainder of the ferry checklist, which the two of them discussed over the day.
The gear swing and other lubrication points must be addressed before the ferry flight occurs. Some repetitive AD’s have been addressed already as part of the tail inspection – and our work with the tail staying in place.
After the restorer is satisfied the airplane is sound, a call to the FAA and request a ferry permit if all areas of the annual inspection have not already been satisfied.
The restorer’s good friend will accompany me to fly Sis up to New Carlisle. I am used to much longer runways, and while I can likely handle this on my own, having someone used to the area by my side makes both the restorer and I feel much better.
Gear swings are a part of the annual inspection of a retractable gear airplane. Ensuring the mechanism works as intended or is repaired as needed is a massive part of the process.
The Bonanza landing gear assembly is an electrically activated, mechanically driven gear with a mechanical backup.
If the gear does not go down as it is supposed to normally, the procedure calls for pulling the circuit breaker and selecting the down position on the gear indicator, then mechanically crank the gear down.
The crank is located below and behind the pilot’s seat.
50 cranks.
While flying the airplane.
In reality, it’s flying the airplane, cranking while looking outside for traffic, then stop cranking to trim the airplane. Return to flying the airplane crank until the gear light is green and the mechanical down indicator is in the appropriate position.
As the gear swing is required for the inspection, I will take that time to review the procedure in the airplane and cranking as necessary.
It takes time and patience, like so many things in life.
Like this project in and of itself is doing.
Through this project, I have learned so much about myself and understand that the only constant in life is indeed change – that Sis reinforces.
We will continue with the baffle attachment tomorrow, securing the ones we clecoed in place earlier this week and the one the restorer found online for the back of the engine.
Like the casting for the tail, it’s a piece that has never been installed on an airplane. It will take time to position and install like the baffles the restorer has built, but it will continue to take shape as we progress.
The Beech jacking system the restorer uses consists of a single unit that rolls under the airplane and is raised onto the three jack points at the wing roots and behind the wings.
Conventional jacks are three independent units placed below the wing roots and the tail assembly, then raised to where needed before securing in place.
It had been some time since the restorer or his friend had used the jack, so they placed it to ensure Sis would be stable during the gear swing and tire changes.
Before the jack arrival, we had already ordered new tires for the main landing gear. After inspecting the nose gear more closely when it was off the ground, we realized it also needed to be replaced. Add to the list.
It took most of the day to get the jack situated, but the restorer is now comfortable with the setup at the hangar, and work can continue with the baffle installation.
We began the next work day by finishing the installation of the side baffle we had previously clecoed in place.
The process called for using a template to drill holes in either side of the holes previously drilled into the baffle. These would eventually hold rivets used to hold a screw channel in place. The entire assembly is called a nut plate.
Once all the attach points were created, the side baffle was screwed into place with clips we had fabricated and through the newly installed nut plates.
Turning his attention to other areas, the restorer used the Dremel to clean up and round the ragged edges of the new rear engine baffle.
He stressed the time cleaning up the edges would mitigate cracking of the parts and extend their life.
Once the part was cleaned up, I held it below the rear engine baffle while the lower engine baffle was positioned over the new part. Clecos were used to keep everything together, and holes were drilled into place to accept screws.
While installing the screws into the holes, the restorer was muttering in frustration. Like so many things, this particular arrangement was revamped by the C model. He is considering replacing the nuts below with nut plates like we did on the baffle after we reposition Sis to his hangar for easier assembly down the road.
After installing the rear engine baffle, we could begin fitting the other side baffle.
We knew some fitting would be necessary once in place, as we had done that with the previous side.
To our surprise, it only took trimming and sanding in a couple of areas before ready to drill holes for permanent installation.
The hardest part was getting the side baffle into place.
As we were fast losing daylight, another work day ended.
In the discussion of the next few steps, after the baffles are installed, the exhaust system and remaining bits of the engine compartment can be replaced, then moving on to the remainder of the airplane with inspections and the gear swing.
The restorer mentioned getting the ADs complied with for the annual will happen while we do the gear swing and install new tires.
He sent over the guidance for the engine break-in procedure, and we began to discuss the process for engine runs before the flight.
Time is approaching for the flight – I need to get my head back into the pilot game and review procedures and airspeeds in preparation for the repositioning.
The restorer and his friend said an hour’s flight at 75% power would get the cylinder rings to seat. Once the rings are seated in the cylinders, oil consumption will drop.
For some time, I had thought of the flight route in the back of my mind and began planning our flight earnestly.
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