Winter camo in winter.

We had a little snow last night and I figured it was a good time to test the winter camo in actual conditions. I also found some pictures of the house just before the roofers finished roofing. No more ugly chimney. While waiting for the white to cure so I can spray the clear I started on the Gypsy. I had ordered a wing jig from Brodak and while waiting for that to arrive I started to build the fuselage. I quickly found out that the two formers that form the engine/tank compartment were missing. Then I took inventory and found that more plywood parts for the wing are missing also. I called Brodak this morning and they said I would have to talk to manufacturing and they are off until Monday. The wing jig came in today. I did build the elevators, fin and rudder, stabilizer and flaps in the mean time.

Winter camo.

I took a few pictures of the P-40 while waiting for the white to cure. Today would have been a good day to test fly the plane but it will be another week before I'll be able to spray the clear. I'll have to wait for some snow to get the full effect.
  At the end of the last school year I was using one of my radios to fly the students planes. I had the receiver installed in one and forgot to bring it home. The student brought the plane home and I didn't have it at the start of the new year. I saw one of the two students that were flying at the end of the year and she left her plane at the school but the other one was gone. The teacher had the email address of the student and sent a message. We found out that this one returned to Pakistan for college but left the plane here with a relative. That person said they would return the plane. They did and today I got the receiver back.
 

Building season.

After deciding on a plaint scheme for the P-40B I ordered some covering from Tower and finished covering it yesterday. I had to install the elevator before I could install the fin/rudder. This morning I masked off the primer grey that will double as the underside color and put fillets around the fin. I warmed the plane in an empty room and the paint was warmed by the furnace exhaust pipes. I applied three coats of white to the fuselage within the one hour window the paint allows. I was going to hit it with clear before the hour but I have to apply some stars and decals and wanted to clear over them. I have to wait until the white is dry before putting the decals on and at least a week before spraying the clear. I'll wait at least two weeks as the paint must cure thoroughly or it will wrinkle.

The fix is in.

The heater on the Dodge has been stuck in the vent position for a few years now. The defrosters barely have any flow and barely work. I was thinking of getting a fan, that used to be popular in the older cars 60 years ago or so. I'm talking 40's vintage. School busses had them and they probably came as standard equipment. Then I remembered the Gremlin and had the fix. I bought a preheater hose at NAPA. It's the one that connects the stove on the exhaust manifold to the air cleaner and keeps the carb. from icing up. Then I duct taped it to the far left vent outlet and bent it to point at the windshield. End of problem.

Half done.

 After school this morning I went to Lowes and bought two lengths of 1 inch EMT and 4 caps for the PVC pipe and two 50 lb. bags of cement mix. I got to thinking about the EMT and as I was digging the holes I changed my mind and went to the lumber store and bought a 10 foot pressure treated 4 x 4 and a 10 foot 2 x 4. I cut the 4 x 4 and the 2 x 4 in half and put a coat of paint on the ends of the 4 x 4's that would be in the ground as an added measure. After putting the first 4 x 4 in the hole and pouring both bags of cement in the hole and not filling it I went back to Lowes and returned the pipes and caps and bought 3 more bags of cement. It took 2 and a half bags to fill each hole and the concrete is curing now. I covered it with leaves and plastic to keep it from freezing. I was planning on getting some long lag bolts at Lowes but forgot. After the 2 x 4's dry out I'll sand them and paint them before installation.

Waiting for Monokote.

We had an appraiser go over the house and will figure how much the place is worth for future reference. He did mention that the porch stairs will need to have railings installed. I have a plan for that.
 The P-40B is ready for covering and paint. I made a fuel tank for it and had to lengthen the tank cutout. Then I had to bend the tubes as they were at the back of the engine. I got it so it will work.  I managed to make a venturi at school on their lathe. i ran it on an engine yesterday and it went well until the clamp loosened and the engine hit the ground. I made a brand new paint stirrer from a brand new propeller.

Dog house.

The roofers came Monday and shingled half the roof and were off by 1:00pm. They returned early this morning and were finished by 1:00pm. No more ugly chimney either. The wood roofing boards were in perfect shape, I was surprised at that. They will be back in the morning to take all the leftover stuff and their ladders and stuff.
 I was asked to build a dog house big enough for two German shepherds. I built it during the day today and got a coat of paint on it and a piece of old rug inside. I asked the roofer helper to set aside a few shingles so I could do the dog house roof. He put three  fresh bundles and a partial roll of underlayment, sticky kind, under the overhang. That should help with fixing the garage roof.
 Real good flying weather this week. The planes that were flying to my liking now need drastic trim changes. At least I got them flying well again. 10 gallons of fuel burned this year so far. I have to mix another batch of homebrew soon.

Close but no cigar.

We headed for Louisiana a few weeks ago. The trip and weather were perfect. The contest brought in several heavy hitters but I almost got a third place in warbird stunt. I missed it by one point. I got two gallons of fuel and and a bunch of other stuff in the raffle. Plus three containers of food that was left over.
  I have been taking the planes that were left at the school from last years class. I got some of the left overs from two years ago today. I wasn't there for that build.
 The school did get me two kits for helping out. A profile of the P-40B and a stunter that is from the "classic" era called the Gypsy. Both will be powered by the .46LA. The P-40 is framed up and almost ready to start finishing.
 I did some trimming to the Privateer and that is flying pretty well.
I talked to a roofer about fixing the garage roof. I want to take 4 feet of shingles off the eves and replace the boards with plywood and re shingle. He should be getting back with a price soon. The last people that shingled the roof broke some boards and that is causing problems.
 I had another bite on the hot rod after we got home. That guy asked about getting spare parts for the body now that Minotti is out of business. I never thought of that. It soured the sale.The El Camino is running well.