TALESPINNERS - May, 2003

Fabric Seminar at Waco Field
by Mike Griffith

Set-up the north end of the Waco Field hanger to allow room for the Fabric Seminar co-sponsored by SWPC and EAA Chapter 174.  That’s the first step in having a seminar that will benefit 16 participants.  It’s Friday evening, April 25, 2003 and the long awaited Fabric Seminar starts tomorrow morning.  Preparations are being made and everything seems to be going together on schedule.

The weather was rainy and cool, but with excellent conditions in the hanger, we all agreed this was the best site to hold our two-day seminar and learn more about the Stits Poly-Fiber process.

Early Saturday morning 16 pre-signed attendees showed up to waiting coffee and donuts.  Our teachers were Jim and Dondi Miller of Aircraft Technical Support, Inc. who are located just south of Columbus, OH at their own grass strip, Millertime Airport.  These two have years for experience in fabric covering and stock everything for your needs to complete a professional recovering of your project.

To get the most of the two day course, we started at 8:00am using a DC-3 aileron that I would guess has been covered 30 plus times to train people in the Stits process.  Its size allowed everyone room to work with and experience the process.  This wasn’t a “Show and Tell” seminar, it was hands on and you where involved for the start to the finish.  No slackers, everyone was doing their own area and we all learned from each other’s mistakes or successes.

Day one finished with the basic fabric in place, some rib stitching and one to two coats of Poly-Brush to seal the fabric.  That evening everyone joined in for dinner at La Pizza on the Troy town square and was very surprised at the excellent Italian dinner and service we received for a party of 19.

Next was the tour of the Waco Museum just off the town square within walking distance of the restaurant.  Our hosts Steve and Marla Boone were very helpful in explaining the history of the Waco (Walker Aircraft Company) and it’s beginnings.

Sunday morning came too early, but everyone was on time and eager to get back to rib stitching.  Square knots, under the pond, over the log, toward you, away from you.  Man, I’m still dreaming of this and really had it mastered (In my own mind), that morning, but was no where close to Jim Miller, who could stitch a complete rib before I could get the second or third one stitch into the fabric.  Well, I guess if I had been doing this for as long as he has, I could have challenged him, but that’s a long way off just now!

As for the finished product, we installed tapes, broke for lunch to allow everything to dry.  After lunch, Jim had some stories about how not to do this or that and the facts that you may or may not think about before you try to cover your project, with some very interesting cases in point.  You will have to attend one of these seminars to really get the details, as they are both funny and devastating.

You will never use a pressure sprayer again if you use the HVLP system Jim and Dondi had to teach spraying.  Sounded like a vacuum cleaner, but was very easy to use and did an excellent job with little over spray.

Was it worth the money and the time?  You Bet!  Did everyone learn anything?  You think you have a handle on the process until you see what changes can be made to improve your covering experience.  Everyone I talked to and heard from about the seminar said they learned so much more than they thought they would.  It’s the little details that Jim and Dondi teach that made this seminar so important, as well as the hands-on approach.

Now, for the test.  Is the Poly-Fiber process strong?  You be the judge!  That’s 13 of us standing on the finished project!

By the way, just after this picture was taken, we all joined in to remove the fabric, with each one of us saving an area of the fabric as a trophy.

MAY 18 FLY-IN
by Scott Hersha

This is just a reminder that our May 18th Chapter meeting will involve an aircraft static display as our program.  We will be hosting the Clermont County Library as a part of their 2003 celebration and recognition of Ohio's 200th anniversary and the birthplace of flight's 100th anniversary.

All those members with any kind of airplane are encouraged to attend with your bird.  We will set up in the tie-down area and accompany our airplanes for questions from the masses of interested attendees.  Please try to be early so we can set up in an organized fashion.  The static display will take place right after our 2:00 pm business meeting, at 3:00 pm, and will last about an hour.  Warbirds are strongly encouraged to attend with your war machine (Todd).  Let's all take part and give something back to the County in which our Chapter lives.  If you have any questions or suggestions, please call me at home.  (771-3838)

Technical Report
by Gary Collins

Mark Neubauer. Glastar.  Inspection on Feb 22, 2003.  Mark is making good progress.  The wing structure is complete.  The top skin is not installed pending installation of fuel tanks and auto pilot servos.  Control cable fabrication, routing and retention over pulleys was inspected.  Routing of brake lines and parking brake modification reviewed.  Mark has made a few minor modifications to the standard design and he asked us to review them to make sure he was not creating a problem.  He added quick drains to the fuel system at the lowest point in the system and valves that permit selecting the right tank, left tank or both tanks.  These changes looked good.  We discussed engine options, final painting, instrument panel options, autopilot and aux fuel tank installation.  Mark is doing excellent and thoughtful work with good planning for future access.

Web Editor's Note: All of Gary's Technical Reports, complete with photos, can be found on our Tech Reports page!

April Fly Out to Columbus, IN

The April Fly Out was held on Saturday the 26th.  It was a holiday weekend and several of us met to look for somewhere we could fly, enjoy lunch and safely return.  Columbus, IN was mentioned and away we went.  As you would expect with all of us arriving as a group the tower was overwhelmed and I’m sure we all did what we could to help by arriving in groups of two or three to ease the tower workload.

We had seven airplanes, all shapes and sizes, but we all arrived about the same time and enjoyed lunch.

This place is about as fancy as you get at any airport and makes a good spot to take your spouse or significant other.  But as everyone knows, lunch is the reason we all fly. 

Clermont County Static Display

Don’t forget that the program on May 18 is a static display of airplanes to support the Clermont County Library.  Call Scott Hersha at 513-771-3838 for details.