Update
Posted: Wed May 06, 2009 11:06 pm
Just thought I'd update you guys on what's been going on. Well, I just couldn't bring myself to pull the trigger on selling the Brantly. I've decided, at least for now, to keep soldiering on. Turns out the job overseas did not materialize due to my lack of hours and since the CFI market is in the toilet for the time being, it seems the best solution is to try to continue on and get the old bird flying.
Of course, once again cherry drying season has come and gone without a helicopter and I just keep kissing those 20K contracts goodbye. It's getting really annoying, especially this year since all the growers seem to only want the light ships; R22, H300, etc. We even tried getting the 500 on but no dice, too heavy, too expensive!
Hopefully here in the next couple weeks I can get around to updating the blog. Perhaps if the guys at the factory actually see I'm ready for a canopy they'll get around to making some more??
I guess I should have bought the one they had last fall while I could but hey, at least it went on a production ship. 
On the mechanical side, the cylinders are finally done...to the tune of $3700. Ouch!
At least it's with all the right parts this time. Sal even upgraded me from the 7/16" exhaust valve to the 1/2". Next up is sending the case to Divco for machine work then buying all the bearings and fiddly bits. Mags went off to the local mag shop last week. Quite a cobbled together affair they were too. Kind of reminded me of college days rummaging through the U-pull-it yards trying to find parts to keep the old car running. After all this I sure do hope it runs purdy. 
I'm spending the week wiring a local shop's 172 panel. They had a trade going with the local interior / avionics shop to swap work but the avionics guy threw out his back. I'm hoping to trade my work in exchange for them doing my interior [crosses fingers
]
Somewhere in the midst of all this I need to break down the hub so I can send that and all the rest of the metal parts out with another shop's parts to be cad plated. It's a deal I picked up working with some guys who rebuild DC-6's for the Alaskan bush. Hey, I may never be rich but at least I'll have lots of diverse experiences.
I think I may wait till next month to order the stick grips. I need to cut and drill the cyclics before I can send all the parts off to the chrome shop to be plated. On the plus side, John was good enough to show me the drawings a couple months back so I can send my swashplate guide out to be re-chromed without having to replace it. The local shop is expensive but they do work for Boeing just across the field so it's all MIL-spec.
I had a local guy do a few re-paints of my preferred paint schemes for the B2-b model for flight simulator so I guess till I get this thing flying I'll have to content myself with flying that. All the rest of you that are flying yours, just know that I am green with envy!
Of course, once again cherry drying season has come and gone without a helicopter and I just keep kissing those 20K contracts goodbye. It's getting really annoying, especially this year since all the growers seem to only want the light ships; R22, H300, etc. We even tried getting the 500 on but no dice, too heavy, too expensive!
Hopefully here in the next couple weeks I can get around to updating the blog. Perhaps if the guys at the factory actually see I'm ready for a canopy they'll get around to making some more??
I guess I should have bought the one they had last fall while I could but hey, at least it went on a production ship. On the mechanical side, the cylinders are finally done...to the tune of $3700. Ouch!
At least it's with all the right parts this time. Sal even upgraded me from the 7/16" exhaust valve to the 1/2". Next up is sending the case to Divco for machine work then buying all the bearings and fiddly bits. Mags went off to the local mag shop last week. Quite a cobbled together affair they were too. Kind of reminded me of college days rummaging through the U-pull-it yards trying to find parts to keep the old car running. After all this I sure do hope it runs purdy. I'm spending the week wiring a local shop's 172 panel. They had a trade going with the local interior / avionics shop to swap work but the avionics guy threw out his back. I'm hoping to trade my work in exchange for them doing my interior [crosses fingers
] Somewhere in the midst of all this I need to break down the hub so I can send that and all the rest of the metal parts out with another shop's parts to be cad plated. It's a deal I picked up working with some guys who rebuild DC-6's for the Alaskan bush. Hey, I may never be rich but at least I'll have lots of diverse experiences.
I think I may wait till next month to order the stick grips. I need to cut and drill the cyclics before I can send all the parts off to the chrome shop to be plated. On the plus side, John was good enough to show me the drawings a couple months back so I can send my swashplate guide out to be re-chromed without having to replace it. The local shop is expensive but they do work for Boeing just across the field so it's all MIL-spec.
I had a local guy do a few re-paints of my preferred paint schemes for the B2-b model for flight simulator so I guess till I get this thing flying I'll have to content myself with flying that. All the rest of you that are flying yours, just know that I am green with envy!