Hangar Flying

Daudi speaks the truth.  
In terms of hiring an A&P to inspect the plane----for the most part they will only look at the engine----which is ok with me.  The big point is for the seller to be paying the A&P----not the other way around.  The BUYER should pay the A&P to give him the straight scoop on the engine.  

If you are not familiar with the type of airframe, it helps to get friends who are familiar to come take a look----but no guarantee either----but much much better than nothing at all.

In my mind, things that really make the sale---and add value to the airplane

-Seller reputation (as a person----honesty and integrity) (run if this is the seller)
-Seller reputation (as a builder or maintainer)----I would avoid buying from an owner who does not know how to maintain his airplane-----does not know how to install intercoms----does not know how to do fiberglass repair---in general, does not know how to do anything to the plane but fill it up with gas (run if this is the seller)
-Builder logs---want to add value to the plane?----have pictures and documentation of your build process.  (I would not run----but I would use this criteria to justify a higher price)
-Logbooks--things should be documented correctly in the logbooks.  I would not run due to a lack of a transponder check---but I would run if 17 years of conditionals were signed off by the owner who was not the builder----illegal.  In that case you are about to jump into an unairworthy airplane.  The plane becomes legal when the A&P signs off on it----but that is a lot of illegal flying.  There is nothing wrong with the owner inspecting the airframe and having an A&P come in to inspect the engine---and confirm that the airframe did get inspected.  However, A&Ps have to be careful---they are responsible for that sign-off.  A&Ps should not sign off an inspection if they don't trust that the owner knows what he is doing---after all---the A&P is sticking his neck out.  
Logbooks should also be current, neat, orderly, and document all the maintenance.  The guy who does not log every time he fills up with oil just decreased value in his plane in my eyes.  How much does the plane burn---don't know.  What else is not being documented?

There is nothing wrong with buying junk-----even buying junk at a premium price (free country).  There is something wrong with selling junk----and not advertising it as junk.

There is something wrong with every plane out there.  When I sell a plane (or a car), I document every known problem I can think of on a piece of paper and have the buyer sign it.  My last list was long----it had every scratch, flaw, things that still needed to be done listed.  In the end, I feel the list protects me.  Don't want to have a buyer come back to me and tell me that something is not right.

In this article I talk about some tips and tricks in getting the cable to go through the correct spot in the firewall:  http://ez.org/v-web/bulletin/bb/viewtopic.php?t=541&highlight=cable

Unfortunately, I am not at home and can't access my cheat sheet that shows me the cross ref to which CSA article----send me and email note to remind me and I'll send you the ref.

And for whatever reason, I am not able to pull up the spruce PDFs at their website.

So from memory...
-remove brock quad from aircraft (I think there are 6 bolts behind the panel---2 for the mix, 2 for the thrott, and 2 for the carb heat
-unbolt the big bolt that goes thru the whole thing
-You remove the bike cables from the brock quad (it is a wire attached to a small cylinder----like you would see on a bike brake caliper).
-You remove the knobs from the mixture and throttle arm (they just pull off)
-You remove the throttle and mixture arms from the quad (can't remember if they are rivited or screwed
-you make new aluminum arms---but these are shaped like boomerangs-template in CSA.  Three holes get drilled---one at each end of the boomerang and one in the center.  The center hole is where the big thru bolt goes back in.  The top hole is for the old knobs that you salvaged off the old arms.  The bottom hole is for a "fork" (clevis?) that bolts to the top end of a push pull cable (one end of a cut to your own length push pull cable has a bolt end----the other is just the solid wire).  So imagine that you push the throttle forward, the arm rotates around the bolt, the other side of the boomerang goes aft which pushes the fork which is bolted to the push pull cable.

There is a device that spruce sells that is meant to hold the cable in place.  I floxed that device to either the fuselage wall or the armrest---can't remember.

On the other side of the wire (read my other post about getting thru the firewall---learn from my mistakes), you need to attach a wire grip (spruce) which allows you to connect another fork on the back end.  There is another grippy type thing that spruce sells (blue in color) that you can attach to the carb bracket that keeps the cable from slipping.  

I did not use the plans built carb bracket.  I used the 0320 carb bracket that you can get from Vans.  You will want to turn the carb 90 degrees from plans so that you get actuation fore and aft (instead of left and right).  I had to bend the Vans bracket a little bit to get it to work for me.

I am not sure about your part number since my govt computer won't let me look at that version of adobe.  However, I did use solid wire cables from spruce---get more than you need then cut to size.

Unlike the bike cables, you will want to make as few bends as possible.  The BEST way to drill the hole in your firewall for the cable is to use some scrap cable and wire.  Attach the wire grip and fork---attach it to the carb---run it thru the cable sheath grip on the vans bracket----and see where it wants to go thru the firewall.  If you drill in any other spot than this, you WILL NOT be happy with the friction in the system. Then make an easy bend to the fuselage side.

Once you have the final assymbly all done---you may want to go to the wire grip and make sure that it can't come undone.  It sticks REAL good---but you may want to put epoxy on it or something-----not on the wire but on the threads of the thing that puts pressure on the wire---you don't want it to back off.

I'll miss the Turkey.  I have about 1500 hours or so riding around in the trunk.  Flight tested the last software tapes in the B and the D.  My first cruise was on the TR in 90-91 for Desert Storm (only Nuke out of 5 carriers present---America, Ranger, Kennedy, Saratoga).  Unfortunately, we were only air-air then.  It became a very capable bomber.

8000 ft is usually what we want for a runway.  You can probably get by with 6000 ft.  The shortest runway I was on was Muskegon (6500 ft)---not much room for error.  McMinnville is 5400 ft.  For Muskegon, We practiced at Oceana before going.  That is---practiced NOT flying the ball----but walked our way back to the end of the runway (the main gear is pretty far behind us).  Flying the ball sets you down right next to the ball----which is too far down the runway.  We also practiced the approach with the DLC off.  Direct Lift Control (DLC) is engaged by the stick and partially pops up the spoilers on the wing.  You can then thumb in or out---more or less spoiler to increase or decrease your descent rate without messing around too much with the power.  In the Tomcat, it is fairly easy to get over or under powered during the approach.  The DLC helped make more accurate landings at the boat.  However, engaging the DLC increased your approach speed by several knots----so if you had a real short landing---you may want to turn in off.  Note that the Tom does not have ailerons.  It rolls with differential horizontal stab----and with the spoilers.  Also of note was that putting a throttle cue on the HUD minimized the over/under power conditions.

Sad to see it go----but new toys already in use
McMinnville

The only caution I would give with the springs is that if you CAN'T actuate the throttle/mixture without the springs, you NEED push/pull cables.

If you don't have an accelerator pump (mixture/throttle feels flimsy), you can use springs.  But the check is to remove the springs to make sure that you can get actuation with a spring failure (even a multiple spring failure).  The purpose of the springs is to put tension on the cable to get rid of the spongy feeling.  It is not to actuate the mixture/throttle in the other direction.

To convert mine, I used the same brock throttle quadrant and cut new throttle arms per Central States articles.  Converted the brock quad for push-pull.

What kind of CHTs were you running prior?

Jack,
I would like to get some auto plugs for my Rose.  When you figure out what the part number is, pass in on.

Do you remember what the tip looked like?

It helps if you have the CPs with pictures---a picture is much clearer than an explanation.

This site: http://www.cozybuilders.org/ref_info/

has the CPs---but text only.

Searching this document shows that the heat shield info is in CP 57 and 70.

Joe--that was mine that you deleted---but you essentially captured it in your text.

Cheers!