Wet Paint

Project Kilo-7 is well into the paint process. The last K-7 update we were starting the cover process, now paint and soon final assembly. Photos make it appear black however its a very deep, dark blue with cream and gold pinstripe. We're very excited about this airplane and pleased to be again doing something out of the norm. The owner has been wonderful to work with and is responsible for all the fun details and creativity going into this one. We are merely guides to the whole process. It won't be long and this one will be ready for the air!! Stay tuned for more updates and thanks for visiting our website and blog.





Next project we're dropping the hammer on...completion of the Doyle Stearman!

We have returned from Brazil after another successful mission with new found perspective, better forged friendships and plenty of great stories. We gave the F-2 a check up and found all to be well. It receives the best care and is flown regularly. The Fairchild received a check up as well and we placed the original brakes and wheels where they belong, the garbage can. An upgrade to Cleveland wheels and brakes gave it a new lease on life. The ZQC-6 arrived well and without damage. We assembled the C-6 with lots of help from all around. The upper wings are pretty good size so we were happy to have all the extra hands when it came time to hoist them up in the air. Of course the lowers went into place first. We were running and conducting the first taxi test in two days.
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The first flight went well as did the following flights. Some training with the chief pilot Cassiano was done as well as some pleasure flying in the F-2. Cassiano was kind enough to give me the back seat for the F-2 flight. I really miss that F-2 as it's my favorite. Having the opportunity to take it for a spin was a real treat. I snapped a photo of our flight in the F-2 while over the city. The other photo is of Cassiano and I in the Cabin during flight #1.


The weather there is nothing short of spectacular as was the flying and new sights. Many wonderful memories were made. I will definitely say the best part was being treated like family by the entire team. Being so far away from home can be difficult but the hospitality, enthusiasm and warm reception by all made it a wonderful experience. Many in Brazil have earned a permanent place in my heart as family. I truly feel as if I have new found family members. To be honest I really can't begin to put this experience into words. Yes, I know, even the guy who always has something to say about everything is at a loss for words. With that being the case I will say something about the stars of this show, the airplanes......
It never ceases to amaze me how these old airplanes take us on such adventures. Many of them offer an adventure when we meet them for the first time. The Fairchild, I met tucked away quietly in a Quonset on a little grass strip in Iowa. It offered a two day wrench turning adventure followed by flying it home. If at that time you told me on the other side I would be in Brazil with it a year later I would have laughed and called your crazy. The Cabin Waco, I met tucked away sitting in a quiet hangar on Washington Island. Dusty and lonely it had been left to sit. Its mags were tinkered with and left apart, fuel tanks empty and tires flat. Three trips and many hours were spent reviving the Cabin with a great adventure in the retrieval alone. It was with us for quite some time, received new cover and paint and well, you know the rest. Now having been through a few "meetings" with many old airplanes I always ask them the same question on our first introduction, "where have you been and where will you take me" because as I always say, airplanes are people too. If you don't think so, you're not listening to them.

Cover Week

This week the team has been busily covering Kilo-7 and they are sure making good progress. All surfaces are covered and rib stitching begins today.


It won't be long and you'll be seeing some color! Thanks for checking in and we'll be sure to post some more progress photos soon.

Project Kilo-7 Update

We're moving along at a nice clip with the latest WACO project. Pre cover assembly will be complete Monday and covering will begin! It won't be long until you'll be seeing completion photos of this exciting newly remanufactured ZPF-7. Lots of exciting little extras will be featured on this airplane and we're pleased to be painting this one a color set we have not done before. What colors would those be....

Lots of skilled hands at work to make this much progress in such little time.

The customer works directly with Curt to come up with a tailor fit custom interior and matching custom baggage! We would be pleased to offer an interior for your own project or existing airplane as well.









Thank you for visitng our website and blog!

WACO Propellers

Happy New Year to all our Waco and antique aircraft friends!
Let’s open the New Year with some talk about propellers. It’s a subject that’s of interest to all of us since each of our airplanes has one! We all have a rudimentary knowledge of props; low pitch, high pitch, wood, metal, cheap, expensive (although most are in the expensive category!).
Props are a subject that can fill a book, or several books. So let’s begin with just one…the constant speed Hamilton Standard, commonly referred to as the “2B20”. This tells us that the hub is a type 2B that fits an SAE no. 20 shaft (20 spline). This is a good place to start.
Calling the prop a “2B20” only identifies the hub, with no reference to the blades. The blades, in a sense, ARE the prop. That’s what makes the airplane go. So let’s address the blades.
The common blade model number mated with a 2B20 hub is the 6135A. Following this blade model there is always a “dash” number, which causes some confusion.
It would be more correct to call the “dash” a “minus” because it actually tells us the length of the prop below full spec. Full spec of a 6135A prop is 108 inches. Therefore, a -15 (dash 15) is 15 inches less than 108, or 93 inches long. A -9 (dash 9) is 9 inches less than 108, or 99 inches long. A -6 (dash 6) is 6 inches less than 108 or 102 inches long. Pretty basic, huh! Now let’s inject a little history.
The most common WWII aircraft using the 2B20/6135 prop was the venerable Cessna UC-78 Bamboo Bomber. The UC-78 primarily used -15s. There were 5200+ built which means that the production generated about 10,000 props. Some UC-78 wonk will probably e-mail that there were variants with other props, which I acknowledge. The point is, however, that there were a BUNCH of -15s available surplus, and many made their way to our treasured antiques.
Numerous Waco Aircraft Company models left the factory with the 2B20/6135 prop pre-WWII. Several of the cabins specify -6 (102”), others -9 (99”). The exceptions are some Wright powered models that required -13 (95”) because of their need to reach 2400 RPM on takeoff. I’ve examined records of a couple C6s and they both left the factory with -6s (102”). OK, so what’s the deal about length?
Prop length is one of the single most important items relating to aircraft performance…a BFD to quote our VP. We all know that the prop converts power to thrust. That’s pretty basic. So let’s consider some statistics.
A -15 (93”) has a prop disc area of: 47.17 square feet.
A -9 (99”) has a prop disc area of: 53.46 square feet.
A -6 (102”) has a prop disc area of: 56.75 square feet.


So…
The -9 has 6¼ more sq ft of prop pulling you than a -15.
The -6 has almost 10 sq ft more pulling you than the -15.

I’ve been quoted as saying “A dash 15 doesn’t fly a Waco worth a s---.” Maybe now you can see why.
That’s why we equip all our Jacobs powered Wacos with the -9. It makes the UPF-7 (more correctly a ZPF-7) a dramatic performer! No Jake powered open cockpit Waco can touch it!
A fixed pitch prop on a 275 Jake? Doesn’t make any sense to us. Why have the 275 horsepower and not be able to develop it for takeoff & climb? Especially considering the Jake is all set up for a 2B20/6135 and a governor.
For the Cabin guys…A ZQC-6 came to us several years ago with a -15. It had been operating in that configuration for many years. The first thing we did when we got it home was swap the prop for a -9. The performance change was dramatic. Cruise increased over 10 mph. Takeoff performance improvement was striking as well, and we didn’t need a stopwatch or a tape measure. Not surprising when you consider that the airplane was designed to fly with a -6.
Now, I’ll be the first to admit that finding a 102” 2B20/6135 is nigh unto impossible these days. The 99 inchers are out there, though. Yes they are expensive, but what good prop isn’t?
Hope I haven’t worn you out. I don’t have a reputation for brevity.
Cheers,
Roy

What a year! Looking back at 2010 I wonder where it all went so fast. Having moved into our new facility at the end of March after breaking ground the November prior made for an interesting time. The move was a feat in itself. Thanks to all for your support and to those who said it couldn't be done, well.......come on by and we'll show ya around.


Personally, I had the joy of another great year with my family doing what we love to do. The best part about working with family, you can say what you want to get things done. The worst part, you can say what you want to get things done...... Working with family and our tight knit group in the shop plays a major role in the creative process. I believe it demands a higher level of standard and pride beyond what can be found in a factory or corporate setting type of shop. Everyone in the shop is an integral part of the process equally important in their contributions to the end product. Each year brings a new set of challenges and accomplishments for our team. I look forward to seeing what we can do in 2011. Immediate family aside we also have our extended aviation family that gets larger every year. I know it sounds cliche to say such because you hear this often with different aircraft manufactures but, we really do gain family in what we do. So many "customers" have become very close to us and a very important part of our lives. So call me a bit bias but I think aviation people are the greatest on earth and that's why its so easy to make such great friends when you play with airplanes.
Looking ahead to next year I'm very excited to see all the great friends we have throughout the industry. Often seeing everyone is only a yearly event but we talk on the phone regularly. The best laughs and memories are made at the shows with you all. I feel very fortunate to call many of you friends and look forward to making new as well. Happy New Year to all!! I'm already excited about the possibilities for 2011!

Cheers,

Ben


P.S. One of these days I'll figure out how to get the photos and text the way I want them on this darn thing!!

Stearman? Really a Stearman?

We've done them before and we'll do them again. Actually my first rib stitching lesson from Dad was on a Stearman wing. This may be somewhat of a surprise since we're known as Waco people. After witnessing and admittedly partaking in some of the lively banter between Stearman and Waco folks I'm sure we'll take a few in the ribs over the one in our shop, um I mean two, oh wait, THREE!?! These things are multiplying! Actually we have two in restoration and one airworthy for sale. To date Wacos are our most numerous restoration however we still do handle airplanes in the other category from time to time. Staggerwings, Stearmans, Great Lakes, a Luscombe or two and I think I see a Howard in our near future.....very near.

The two Stearmans in restoration are quite the contrast. One is a stock Navy N2S-3 that will remain so. The other will be an airshow airplane and is already a notable one at that.

A feature of each will appear on the blog soon. We're looking forward to seeing these well built beloved trainers through restoration.

The N2S-3 arrived last Thursday....