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jill(at)m-14p.com
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 Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 5:49 am Post subject: NC RPA in RFD |
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Group,
Carl and I traveled to Rockford this past weekend to take part in the
RPA Fly-In. I will say that the first year out of the box, they had a
great success. In attendance were 5 or 6 Yak 52 TWs, several Yak 52s,
a CJ-6, (2) L-39s, an L-29, a T-34, a Skymaster and an L-19. The
weather cooperated and the guys got in a bunch of flights. Perhaps,
the pilots would like to weigh in on the specifics of the formation
flying.
We would like to thank our hosts and organizers: David Mills, Paul
Kirik and Steve Kirik. They did a fine job.
It was also great to see Cliff Coy again and "talk shop".
Several people had asked for a videotape of the seminar.
Unfortunately, this did not happen. I will hit on some of the high
spots:
Friday night I spoke about our background in the Russian aircraft
business. Then a description of M-14P, Inc.'s capabilities and new
products:
M-14P, Inc. V-530C carbon fiber prop blades
Spark plug adapters for those customers that want to utilize their
aircraft ignition harness. Cliff, Carl & I voiced our opinions against
the automotive harness. The development of these adaptors grew out of
the breathtaking increases in prices of the Champion plugs. We are
still in flight testing on the adapters with no reported problems. I
will post photos, description and price on our website when the flight
testing is finished.
Magneto coil rewinding - After several years, we are rewinding coils
and putting the capacitor on the outside. This will minimize your
repair costs in the future.
Engine overhauls - We currently perform prop strike teardowns/repairs
and hydraulic lock repairs. We foresee the full overhaul beginning in
late 2007 or Spring 2008. Customers will have the option of seeing
their engine run on the test stand, if they want.
Forecast from across the pond:
My associates in Russia were recently contacted by the factory, looking
for used engines in order to complete overhauls in process. This does
not paint a bright picture. We await word for production to be in full
swing, again.
Prices out of Aerostar are on a dramatic increase. These are prices
over there: Shimmy dampener o-ring: $19, Nose wheel axle: $199,
Strut tool $495, One way check valve $350.00. This does not include
shipping or any mark up on my end. There are parts that I may sit on
for 5 years and then a customer calls. What should the mark up be???
It is a challenge. I have communicated my concerns to Cristian at
Aerostar. I hope we can work together for better pricing and
availabilitiy.
In the meantime, there are a lot of customers that have solved the
problems themselves. The problem arises in circulating the word. I am
developing a Customer Consortium for parts and it will be listed as a
separate section on our website. If a customer has made a widget for
himself/herself and ended up making in quantity, they are able to throw
this out to the community. However, down the road it is difficult to
locate the person and part. I have several people that have parts and
will sell them. M-14P, Inc. will be a clearinghouse for these
manufactured parts. First, we would like to get a sample of the
product. If it meets our QC and approval, we will offer to sell it.
There are 2 options: The manufacturer can sell the part themselves.
We will post the contact information for the part. Or, M-14P, Inc.
will stock the part and take a commission on the sale of the part and
shipping/handling costs. We really want to see these aircraft
successfully operate into the future. So, if you have a part and want
to sell your widgets, contact me offlist. We already manufacture 25+
engine gaskets, 7 of the crush washers, 10+ locktabs, 20+ seal kits
and various other parts. Notably, we now have the needle valve for the
snot valve. A customer called, I removed one out of a new unit and we
made it.
The supply of parts, aircraft and engines in Russia is becoming
markedly less. Russian Customs is also taking a hard look at all parts
coming over. This means much more paperwork ....$$ because everything
is a line item with a description, part number and parts catalog
reference. I recently received a request for spark plugs to be sent to
Russia.
On a positive light, there are folks like us, Gesoco and Doug Sapp that
keep the U.S. Yakworld going and are dedicated to the mission. I
wanted to make the point that all of you are part of this equation,
also.
Carl went more in depth about our capabilities on the M-14P and what we
have not done:
Prop governor - Historically, the governor has not been much of a
problem. We have one on the bench that we will disassemble and see
what is involved in the overhaul of these units.
Generators - Not feasible to repair or overhaul the units.
Carburetor - We will be repairing carburetors when we have the means to
test them and set them up on the test stand.
Cylinders - Chroming the cylinders is no problem. Guides are no
problem to replace. the seats are an issue because they are cast into
the cylinder.
Carl had also reviewed the NTSB reports. This warrants an in depth
article. The bottom line is that on the Yak 52 everyone is concerned
about having enough fuel. How many NTSB reports involving fuel
starvation????
ZERO. Moral of the story?
Carl then went into a discussion of the F.A.R.s, maintenance and
responsibilities of the owner, pilot and mechanic. Again, he made some
very valuable points which I think should be written in the form of an
article. Two main points;
1. Look at your modification. Is it equal to or better than what was
originally installed? If not, don't do it. Some ideas sound great,
but many times you are creating a bigger problem than the one you
intended to avoid. Carl listed several examples.
2. Logbook entries - Are you logging the maintenance and is your A&P
in the loop? You put his/her butt on the line every time you don't
alert them to your modifcations.
Saturday's seminar was extensive on the engine. I opted out of my
discussion as we ran late for dinner. It was decided that Cliff would
talk to the group in our private room at dinner. When we arrived at
the restaurant, it was a sports bar and karaoke night to boot. Cliff
could have sung his presentation and the locals may not have cared. He
opted out for an 8:00 a.m. talk the next morning. Cliff's high points
were the development of an electronic ignition and fuel injection
system. It is good to have several people working on solutions from
different angles. The competition is good for the end user. We have
solved the mag coil problem and will have points manufactured sometime
this year. We will also be repairing carburetors. Our argument is
that the costs do not justify the electronic ignition and fuel
injection modifications. The second question is : How much more
performance do you get? (I hope this generates discussion.)
Cliff also discussed his perspective on Aerostar and Motorstar (or
Aeromotors). Then, he hit on some maintenance issues. He discussed
using grease in the actuators. I was told by one of my seal kit
manufacturers (with many years in the business), to only use enough oil
to assemble the unit. This is what I do when I rebuild an actuator.
The spring gets a light coating of grease. I have received actuators
where the grease has actually softened the rubber seals to the point
that it is a gooey material. I don't know if Cliff made his flight out
of O'Hare but he gave the group a good talk.
I had a short period of time to cover the air system. The system needs
to be maintained. You want to do this on a scheduled basis. If not,
you may have parts that are corroded or rusted beyond use. I had
intended to cover the entire air system and then discuss each component
and its failures in depth. However, this is a 2-hour seminar (minimum)
not 30 minutes. Next time!
I do have one suggestion for any one hosting an event with concurrent
maintenance sessions. Have people who want to attend the seminar sign
up at registration. This way, there is no conflict with any flying or
briefing events.
All in all, we had a great time putting voices with faces and seeing
old friends and meeting new ones!
Jill
M-14P, Incorporated
4905 Flightline Drive
Kingman, AZ 86401 -7417
(928)-681-4400
Fax(928)681-4404
www.m-14p.com
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mark.bitterlich(at)navy.m
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| Posted: Wed May 23, 2007 4:30 pm Post subject: NC RPA in RFD |
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Jill,
Just read this and have a few points // questions:
1. Why are you all against the automotive harness? I'd like to hear
opinions and conjecture if you would please.
2. For years people have been suggesting that you "squirt a little oil
up there" when it comes to landing gear actuators. I have heard
everything from pneumatic tool oil, to everything else in the world. I
followed those recommendations and ended up learning quickly about
removing YAK-50 gear actuators, and rebuilding them with new seals.
I no longer think it is such a good idea to be spraying ANYTHING into
the air system AT ALL. PERIOD!
There are two very different issues going on here.
A. Corrosion.
B. Contamination of the seals and subsequent disintegration.
A lot of the time people go working to prevent "A", they end up CAUSING
"B".
Many people want to argue about this issue, so I have kept my mouth shut
and just warn my friends about it. So how do I personally handle the
problem? I use dry pumped nitrogen. My emergency bottle is filled with
it. On a regular basis, I complete PURGE my air system by running dry
nitrogen completely through the system. If you can't find that, then
you can do pretty much the same thing by pushing dry air through the
system. I.E., Air that is pumped through desiccant.
Long ago, on the EA-6A aircraft, we used to use bleed air from the jet
engines dropped down in pressure and cooled off, to pressurize radar
waveguides. The issue of water vapor intrusion was just as important to
that system as it is today with out air systems. I believe the best fix
to ALL of this is to install a desiccant filter PAST the snot valve.
All compressed air would pass through this device. All moisture would
be removed... Or at least MOST of it. The desiccant filter would simply
be put in your oven for an hour or two and then would be ready for use
again. This would represent a long term SOLUTION to our "air problems".
Best Regards,
Mark Bitterlich
--
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