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RV-1 Photos - Work Day #14 - Engine Start

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Well Known Member
A milestone in the "Restoration" of the RV-1
a very successful Engine Start

Thank You... Aero Sport Power!

Click on photo for link to Picasa Album >>




Link to Boomer's video of the event >> HERE

Work Day #14 report –
Since our last work day, the following items arrived at RV-Central: a set of really cool ‘period’ seat cushions from Oregon Aero, a beautiful custom propeller from Catto, a shiny new prop extension from Saber, a new set of Champion spark plugs from Tina’s Pilot Shop, and a vacuum pump driven gear from Air Salvage of Dallas. Generous vendor support has been the foundation of this project and they deserve your continuing support. Friday was a visit to Grady at Glo Custom for an update on the canopy, cowl, and wheel pants... and they’re right on schedule. The ‘crew’ gathered Saturday morning with Jay’s ‘punch list’ in hand, and by noon were ready to install the new Catto propeller.

Before installing the new prop, a trial fit of the new Saber extension revealed that something just wasn’t right. The extension fit the crank flange perfectly, but the flange bolts were the wrong size and appeared to be ½” too long. A quick call to Sam Tilleman, President of Saber Mfg., and all questions were answered – “the extension was ordered for an O-320 and you’re describing an O-290 with a thin flange”. Sam’s next words were; “My shop is in Granbury, and if you bring it over now I’ll machine the extension for an O-290 while you wait”. After a two hour round trip and one hour in Sam’s shop, the extension and a new set of bolts were back at RV-Central by 3:00pm. I could write pages about my experience at Saber Mfg. and Sam, but I’ll just summarize by saying the man, his company, and his product, are among the best of the best!

The crew didn’t waste any time waiting on my return from Saber. They used the time to give the aircraft a thorough inspection and take care of loose ends. When I returned from Saber however, it was like ants to honey to get their hands on the prop extension. The new extension fit like a part in a jeweled watch, and thirty minutes later it was safety wired in place and ready for the new Catto prop. In the next hour the prop was mounted, safety wired, and Jay had the spinner cuts made. This accomplishment was a huge visual milestone in the RV-1’s “restoration” and everyone gathered around to enjoy the moment.

But wait… its still daylight, there’s fuel in the tank, and Walt said all the wiring was complete. Then, as if it were a voice from heaven, someone said “let’s start this thing”! After dispelling all the reasons why we shouldn’t do an engine start, everyone joined in a mission to hear it run... check the oil (drain 2-quarts), connect the battery and confirm switch operations, locate wheel chocks and a tail tie-down strap, etc. Ready now to push the RV-1 outside, we hear another voice…“Where’s the key?” And another… “What?, we don’t have a mag/start key?” A call to Walt at 52F confirmed that he inadvertently put the key in his pocket on his last visit. “We’ll wait for you, Walt… we’re ready for an engine start!” While waiting for Walt to fly over from 52F, the RV-1 was moved to the pad in front of RV-Central and safely secured. Where’s Walt?.... Where’s Walt?... Here he comes! And the rest in now in the history book! The engine start was uneventful (mechanically not emotionally) except for one loose oil line fitting.

Special thanks and acknowledgement go out to Bart & Sue at Aero Sport Power. They donated not only a complete engine inspection and test run, they paid the freight both ways! /reb
 
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What do we mean by "Restoration"

When you read about Friends of the RV-1 or the RV Community “restoring” the RV-1, you may have noticed that references to 'restoration’ are generally enclosed in quotes. This is done to bring attention that the restoration of the RV-1 is not a full ground-up restoration, but a restoration none the less. The following paper by Paul Dye describes the mission, approach, and processes that were defined before work began. /reb


What Do we Mean by “Restoration”
-Paul Dye

The mission on the RV-1 project is to “restore the airplane to flying condition” so that it can visit as many events as possible between Sun ‘n Fun and Oshkosh during the 2012 flying season. Restoring the airplane to airworthy status is not, in and of itself, a terribly difficult job, as it is basically sound in the first place – it had been operated regularly by the previous owner until engine problems effectively grounded it in 2008. But getting it flying is only one part of the equation, because at the end of the touring phase of the program, the airplane is going to go into the EAA museum so that visitors can see and inspect the “airplane that started it all” – the progenitor of the RV line. Therefore, the work that is done should to be true to the original, at least inasmuch as the general public will see while the airplane is on display.

There are two parts that guide the work. First is to make sure that the airplane is safe to operate – and this is not really hard, as the airplane that Van flew was built using good aviation practices and equipment. Restoring it to safe flying condition is mostly about making sure that life-limited components, such as fuel and oil hoses, are replaced. In addition, normal maintenance for corrosion prevention, crack repair, and the like must be performed. This all amounts to doing a “Super Condition Inspection” and replacing such things as rusting fasteners. There will also be a few additions in places that the museum browsers may not see – for instance, installing up-to-date accessories under the cowling to make the airplane reliable enough to keep a schedule.

The second part of the restoration, however, is a little more difficult – returning the airplane to a configuration representative of when Van himself flew it. The problem with this seemingly simple statement is that this was Van’s development airplane – where he learned the secrets that he would need to develop the RV-3. To do that development, he was constantly changing things – some of those changes were accurately recorded in the logbooks in detail, and some were, shall we say, minor enough to not make it in to the book. All in all, the problem with trying to restore it to Van’s configuration is that in truth, there never was a single van’s configuration – things like cowl intakes, battery location, and the instrument panel changed – as they do on any tinkerer’s plane. The goal, therefore, is to rebuild the plane using techniques and hardware from the tome (so long as it is safe), especially when we see unique things that show Van’s creativity at work. Because photographs of the airplane are a little hit and miss, we have to accept the fact that we can’t represent the airplane on any given day in its life, but rather we will give the sense of a “work in progress” airplane.

And there-in lies the final part of the restoration – the question of the “quality” of the final product. In short – should this look like an Oshkosh Award Winner? Well, the truth is that while this airplane was an award winner for innovation and technological achievement, it would never win today in the world of flawless craftsmanship and perfect rivet lines. It wasn’t that sort of an airplane – it worked for a living! Van’s development work almost precluded it being a perfect example of craftsmanship, and therefore we don’t want a gussied-up airplane that never was. We are not building a 2011 version of the RV-1 – we want it to look much as it would have in the 1960’s had van flown it to Oshkosh and handed the keys over to the museum.

We want people who look at this airplane in the years to come to get a sense of its history, and airplanes with history have a few dents and dings, to be honest. There are some damaged areas that occurred late in its service life that being removed and repaired because we know that they weren’t there when Van had the airplane. And a new canopy and canopy skirt has been built to replicate what Van had, since those had been changed over the years by later owners as well. As was already mentioned, the FWF will be functional – new baffles will be built, for instance, to replace the plenum that was added a few years ago. Will the baffles be duplicates of what van had on the airplane? Probably not, since we don’t know what they would have looked like – but they will be functional, which was Van’s goal in the first place.

In order to operate the airplane legally and effectively in today’s airspace, it needs to have a transponder and at least a functional Comm radio – a GPS would be nice as well. But to keep these from distracting from the cockpit, they’ll be made easily removable so that when the airplane is on display, people will see the airplane as it would have been in the early days. The electrical system will be built with new material (and it will be very simple) rather than trying to find old technology wire that really doesn’t come up to code today, but the system will be true to Van’s ideas of simplicity and function. The tractor battery in the rear will be replaced with something more modern – and the CG checked carefully before flight!

So “Restoring” the RV-1 is not a simple task, but we feel that we have come up with a reasonable philosophy of bringing the aircraft to a safe and representative configuration that will be ready for display to give people an idea of what van flew in the first place. When the keys are turned over to the museum at Oshkosh 2012, hopefully by Van himself, we want to feel like it would have forty years ago if the museum had been around back then. The airplane had done its duty as a development vehicle, and it should show the scars of that life – well-deserved scars that taught Van what he needed to know to kick off the RV revolution in homebuilding! /pd
 
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Therefore, the work that is done should to be true to the original, at least inasmuch as the general public will see while the airplane is on display.



The second part of the restoration, however, is a little more difficult ? returning the airplane to a configuration representative of when Van himself flew it.

I was wondering about the "mission" of the restoration when I saw the seat.

_DSC3634.JPG


I suspect it is not too true to the original------at least the verbiage.:confused:

Looks great however:D

Wish I could make it down there to lend a hand.
 
We are still looking for pictures of Van's original "fiberglass bucket seat", but so far, have come up blank. In the meantime, Oregon Aero was itching to supply something better than what was in there, and we wanted something that would be comfortable for ferry flights around the country. The seat installs with two bolts, so it's pretty easy to swap out.

It is my hope that we'll be able to continue working on getting the configuration "right" as the season progresses, and then as it goes in to the museum. this is, as Ernie posted, an "incremental" restoration, and we want it safe for the tour.
 
Hi, Mike

I understand your comments about the seat and I hope this will help tie things together.

I've included a photo of the seat cushion that was in the RV-1 when we received it, and judging from the wear it's received, it's been in use for many years. Paul has worked closely with Van on this project and the seat has been discussed on several occasions. Truth is, the seat has been a story unto itself that in the end everyone agreed, at least for now, that the Oregon Aero replacement was the best choice. Our hope is that Van can eventually locate a photo of his original "lawn chair plastic seat" and that we can find one to match. Now THAT would be cool!

_DSC3787.JPG
_DSC3634.JPG


Have a great day!
 
Then and Now

I have the distinct pleasure and honor of working with Van and a number of others on the current Teen Flight II project at Hillsboro, OR.

We have talked some about the RV-1 project.

I think it speaks well of the man that Van is currently lending his long history and expertise in working with 15 kids (and some other mentors) to build an RV-12 that they will eventually fly. It takes a special kind of person to just fit it as "one of the guys" when he started the whole thing!

I doubt that the kids are fully aware of how lucky they are! Someday they will look back on this from the cockpit of an airliner or fighter and share the famous RV grin.

Jim F
RV-9A (220 hrs)
 
I have the distinct pleasure and honor of working with Van and a number of others on the current Teen Flight II project at Hillsboro, OR.

I think it speaks well of the man that Van is currently lending his long history and expertise in working with 15 kids (and some other mentors) to build an RV-12 that they will eventually fly. It takes a special kind of person to just fit it as "one of the guys" when he started the whole thing!

I doubt that the kids are fully aware of how lucky they are! Someday they will look back on this from the cockpit of an airliner or fighter and share the famous RV grin.

Jim F

Jim-

Thank you for sharing... The community of volunteers and vendors that have been involved in the "restoration" of the RV-1 also share your feelings of pride, privilege, and honor to work with Van. Van's dedication and commitment to youth projects that motivate and guide youngsters to become all they can be has also been an inspiration in my life, and a pattern for my senior years. It's not been widely publicized, but when the RV-1 Tribute to Van concludes at AirVenture, Friends of the RV-1 will already have a running start in an RV-12 project akin to TeenFlight - We recently acquired Bob Kelly's Eagle's Nest project at Jennings County High School in Indiana, and we have additional builds scheduled to begin soon.

The Eagle's Nest-1 project should be flying and on display at AirVenture and we expect that most, if not all, of the students will attend. I understand that TeenFlight II won't be ready for AirVenture, but wouldn't it be a spectacular event for your kids if they displayed TeenFlight-I along side Eagle's Nest out on Conoco Phillips Square! I think this experience would not only drive home just how fortunate they are to have Van himself working at their side, it would also provide and opportunity for the kids from both projects to interact and engage in a little "hangar talk". Personally, I would like to see the mentors and kids from both projects meet privately for a while and exchange ideas and experiences directed towards improving the projects. Just thinking out loud...
 
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Nice job to everyone working on this. I've been participatin vicariously through many folks and can't wait to see it in person! It'll be fantastic to see it in the air and at OSH.

Cheers,
Stein
 
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