trim jack screw parts
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We are almost finished with the machine work for this piece. We need to weld the case halves and install the bushings. This piece is part of the trim system for the Strutter. The strutter was one of the first aircraft to have an adjustable stabilizer. It is cable operated with a large trim wheel on the right side of the cockpit. The trim wheel is in the process of being made.
The process of learning is challenging and rewarding at the same time. The excitement of understanding how something is made and fabricating it is part of what our aviation maintenance school is about. In the first four pictures one of our students, Anna Brown illustrates this in the making of a fuel line for the Nieuport 24 (N24) aircraft we are building. First she cut the hose to the correct length and the pictures show a sequence of actions she takes installing the hardware to the hose and connecting it to the aircraft. The size six hose is a gravity fed off the fuel tank to a firewall connection. Hoses such as this are assembled in our Fluid Lines and Fittings class but working on the N24 Anna gets to hone her skill even more. In the last two pictures welding is being done on the oil tank. Please click on all pictures to enlarge.
Reward yourself with a career, learn aviation.
Sopwith weigh in
[/caption]Team Kansas City has moved the Morane’s wing into position (supported by some home-made scaffolding) to enable us to determine the final measurements we need for the struts. There are still some unanswered engineering questions regarding the struts that we need to solve before the final units are constructed. This was a weak point in the original design, and the factory fix involved installing a lot of additional wire bracing. We will install the wires to maintain authenticity, but would like to know that our struts are stronger than the originals.
With the aircraft in flight position, the wing in place, and the engine temporarily mounted, it will allow us to weigh the aircraft and make a preliminary center of gravity calculation. Based on our findings we will have the option of adjusting a few dimensions to ensure a safe finished product. At this point, the easiest way to move the CG will be to modify the engine mount. That is why we aren’t worried about building the final mount until the weigh in is done.
With the engine in place, we can contine to add ignition wiring, fuel and oil lines, and other hardware required for the finished product. At this point we know that nothing will change too much, so it is safe to start installing these components.
In the top photo, student Tim Rahija is taking advantage of having the engine in place to route the ignition leads from the magneto to the spark plug. Part of the conversion from Russian installation to this unique French application necessitated a change in spark plugs and leads. The second photo shows instructor Jim Dent helping “ring out” the wires to ensure that everything is installed on the proper cylinder.
Stay tuned for more information on fine tuning the exhaust system, fitting up the struts, and the weigh-in.
Work was done on the fuel and oil tank this week. The oil tank is temporally secured into the proper position for a dry run fitting. One item that came up with the fuel tank is that since we originally welded the tank on the outside when we placed the tank in the aircraft it did not sit properly because of the weld bead. We went ahead and re-welded the sides from the inside and removed the bead on the outside. Now the tank fits well sitting on the angle iron. Mr. Joe Eggers an A&P instructor and project manager for our Nieuport 24 is helping Anna Brown with the ribs at the end of the spar in the first picture bottom row. The next picture is Anna and Pete Legarski with rib work in action and the last picture Kevin Mulrine is placing some sand bags to help form the plywood for the leading edge. Please click images to enlarge.
A good career starts with a good school, call us.
The AIM World War I aircraft construction project is proud to be featured in the Winter 2008 edition of Over The Front. This quarterly journal is published by the League of World War One Aviation Historians. This is a non-profit organization established exclusively for literary and educational purposes whose goals include the accumulation, preservation, and publication of this history and traditions of factual data concerning aerial activity of World War I.
We would like to thank editor, Jim Streckfuss for making this possible, and a special thanks to all of the league members who have helped our various teams with information necessary to the completion of these aircraft.
If you are interested in learning more, or subscribing to Over The Front, they can be found at www.overthefront.com
The basic shape was relatively easy to obtain, but details on the internal structure were not available. It took a lot of research and application of TLAR engineering principles to finally arrive at a solution that provides both the look, and the structural integrity that we were looking for.
While the ailerons were being finished, work on the engine exhaust system also has resumed. After many telephone calls, procuring the correct welding rod and stainless steel sheet material, and more than a few practice pieces, the exhaust collector is going back together in its new (and much closer) position. This re-build was necessary to compensate for the difference in the clearance available on the Morane compared to the Yak the system was designed for.
Here at Indy we only have students working on the project which ranges from working on the airplane and even writing these blogs. Which means we dont have anyone that builds airplane kits as a hobby helping us or odering any pre-fabricated frame parts or other pre-fab stuff for the airplane so in the end this airplane will be built correctly after many trial and errors. Now I assure you all, that no part will be put on the plane unless it meets the requirments of the IA signing off on this and the FAA. This week was one of those trial and errors. We made our airframe from tail to fire wall free standing and when we came in this week Bill and Jason noticed the frame twisted on us. Now we can speculate on why but our best idea is that we didn’t support the frame with a jig during the process and with the heat of the welding and some internal stress it finally twisted. When I say twist please don’t take it out of porportion, its only about 1 1/2 twist. So this week went to studying the plans once again and writing down mesurments and we are now in the process of making a metal jig to support this frame.
Also, This week Jason Meadows stepped down as Project Manager and handed the reigns over to Bill McMahan. Jason has some up coming military dutys that will take him out of school for around 5 weeks. Bill will be a excellent PM, he has a history in fabrication combined with aircraft experience and has excellent attention to detail which makes him the better student for this job.
Kevin Mulrine is standing next to the engine cowling he just put on. Kevin was a student at our campus awhile back but due to military obligations he withdrew. Along with finishing school now he also wants to see this aircraft finished so he can see it fly. After he completes his classes and takes his tests he is looking forward to a career working for the airlines or in the general aviation sector. Either way he said he is happy learning all the information he needs to succeed and he really likes the hands-on opportunities he gets in the classes and on the Nieuport 24 project.
We attached the cowling to help us fabricate the rest of the sheetmetal. In the next picture Kevin is drilling out some holes and Phillip Schroder is assisting. In the following pictures you can see how we formatted our lines for future cutting.
Also this last week the oil tank has been tacked welded and some fittings welded on to the bottom of the fuel tank. Please click on all pictures to enlarge.
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Jason and Bill talking about the future of the spars
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One of our new guys Rick working on the Jointer
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we seem to be rolling right along now that we have a group of dedicated students working on the project. I’d like to welcome Steve Baucum, Tobias and Rick Livingston to the team. This makes 7 dedicated personel to the all student project.
