RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Mine's a wreck too.[:@]

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Harvey , is that a Stearman in the first pic ?

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Aircraft Description

Serial Number 75-6794 Type Registration Individual
Manufacturer Name BOEING Certificate Issue Date 02/27/1997
Model A75N1(PT17) Status Valid
Type Aircraft Fixed Wing Single-Engine Type Engine Reciprocating
Pending Number Change None Dealer No
Date Change Authorized None Mode S Code 52076771
MFR Year 1942 Fractional Owner NO

and

Aircraft Description

Serial Number 7837 Type Registration Individual
Manufacturer Name CESSNA Certificate Issue Date 08/09/1994
Model LC-126C Status Valid
Type Aircraft Fixed Wing Single-Engine Type Engine Reciprocating
Pending Number Change None Dealer No
Date Change Authorized None Mode S Code 52223616
MFR Year None Fractional Owner NO

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Moon,

Yup, it's a '42 model. It took only 76,561,495,623 rolls of Monokote!

The red & white plane in the second pic is a '51 LC-126 (the military version of the Cessna 195.) It was one of four LC-126s that were assigned to the Artic Research Institute in the 1960s to do the first photomapping of the then-new state of Alaska. This plane is the only one of those four known to exist.

The yellow tubular structure in the second pic is part of a WWII B-24 Engine & Turret Hoist that I rescued from the Gulfport Municipal Airport (Gulfport, MS) about seven years ago. It was on its way to the scrapyard and I wasn't going to stand for that! It stands 25ft high when erected but dismantles into subassemblies capable of being airlifted inside a C-47. Unfortunately, I can't seem to get it to fit in my Goldberg Super Tote.


Bruce,

I see you know how to use the FAA database. I appreciate resourcefulness.

However, the info on the FAA database is a little bit wrong for the Stearman. It is actually a B75N1 / military model N2S-3 and is an ex Navy trainer. (The PT-17, as you're probably aware, was an Army trainer.)

Harvey

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Thanks Bruce , I take that as a yes . lol

I did restore some peices on this plane . Nice plane , he did a ground up on it , really nice job . .

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

When I lived in Houston a friend of mine there had a Stearman. He towed banners with it part-time. It was a VERY low time plane as it had been in storage @ 30 years. I got to fly it with him a few times and it was a blast. He hangared it at SPX which is now defunct.

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Bruce,

SPX doesn't ring a bell. Where was it?

Harvey

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

The LC-126 , did`nt have a clue on it . Very nice airplanes . Both definatly worth restoring .

Believe it or not I thought the stand was an engine hoist or landing gear jack . Pretty cool . Tx the the info .

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Spaceland or Houston Gulf Just South of League City and North of Dickinson. You hangar in Waller? Skydiver field?

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

http://www.airportlist.com/airport-d...f-Airport-SPX/ as I said, now closed. Bulldozed for housing.

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Bruce,

I didn't recognize the identifier. Yes, I remember Houston-Gulf. In fact, when it was closed, the skydiving club based there moved out to Waller (hence, the new name of my home field.) Unfortunately, while there seemed to be an urgency to plowing up the airport mere minutes after it was sold to developers, the land has remained largely undeveloped since. What a waste!



Moon,

Very few people know that there was a military version of the C195, probably because there were only 83 of them (of which only half a dozen can be accounted for today.) The USAF ordered 15 LC126As in the late '40s and assigned them to the 10th Rescue Squadron at Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage. The planes turned out to be so robust and reliable that the National Guard ordered 5 for itself (LC-126Bs) and the Army, not to be outdone, ordered 63 'C' models. (All of the A, B, and C models were similar except for differences in the radio installations and a few minor changes such as where the fire extinguishers and first aid kits were mounted.) The National Guard and Army used their LCs for instrument trainers and general liaison duties. My LC was (are you ready for this?) originally purchased by the Air Force, for the Army, who assigned it to the Navy, who put it on bailment to the Artic Research Institute where she performed her duties with a huge camera mounted in her belly. She was surplussed to the civilian market in 1967. The attached photo is of one of the 15 USAF rescue LCs which is now hanging in the USAF Museum in Dayton, OH. (The photo was taken in Alaska during the 1950s.) Due to the colorful paint scheme, this particular LC has been modeled by several R/Cers. Amazingly, despite its beautiful lines, the Cessna 195 remains one of the least modeled planes; however, Dick Watts (RC Report magazine) is currently building a proof-of-concept plane from new (but not yet released) 1/5th scale Hostetler plans. I believe Dick will be finishing his as a civilain 195.

Harvey

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

I was one of the SPX skydivers and also flew jump planes for them. C-182, C-206 and the Twin Otter. Got to crawl around a C-195 in Zephyrhills,Fl that was used for a jump plane there. Never got to fly it though. I do have some time in C-47 but not a lot. Flew a Pitts S-2A out of LaPorte for a while too. There is a new (relatively) group of skydivers in Rosharon and they call their field Spaceland now I believe.

SPX was originally built so the astronauts would have a place to fly their private planes from. Problem was that very few of them had planes. They all flew the T-38's whenever they went somewhere or went commercial.

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Okay, the plot thickens...

When did you fly jumpers at SPX? Before SPX, the club used to operate a 182 out of a cow pasture in Dickenson during the early 1970s. (There was also an Otter based at the Dickenson airport whenever there was a load large enough to justify taking it up.) I used to jump with them whenever I came in on leave from the USAF. What's the possability that you were one of the pilots at the time???

Harvey

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Bruce,

You mentioned in post #26 of this thread that your garage is "a wreck too." Noting your TN location, please tell me it's not because of the severe storms that went through there three days ago![sm=confused.gif]

Harvey

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

No, I only started flying jumpers at SPX. Probably @ 1982 or so. The Otter (in Dickinson) was rented from Metro Airlines where I started working at in 1976. The Director of Ops rented it and he or other airline pilots probably flew it down there. He was a good friend of mine and when I came down for the winter in 1976 we met. He then offered me a job at the airline (Avionics). I left the area in 1986. Metro was based at a private field in Clear Lake. (CLC)

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

That would be at the Harvey & Rihn FBO. I got my commercial and M/E tickets there. It's a small world indeed!

Harvey

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

No, it's because I'm lazy:D. Storm knocked out power from 7 PM til 7 AM the next day but OK. A shopping mall got wiped out @ 5 minutes after I drove past it though.[sm=eek.gif]

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Yeah, doc did my physicals and I rented Debbies plane. I also packed her chutes for her planes. Had the Otter up one day for a test flight and took it over there. Did full STOL T.O. and landing demo for her and the guys. About a 20 ft T.O. roll, less than a plane length they said.

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Debbie gave me my M/E and Commercial checkrides back in the early nineties. She's still flying for Southwest.

Doc Harvey passed away about 15 years ago. All of Houston's pilots cried that day. He was well liked!

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Yep, a Captain now and I'm sure a darn fine one. I've spoken to several other Southwest Captains the knew her and she is well respected by her peers. I've been away from living in Houston area for @20 years now but I had heard of Doc's passing. I still get down that way several times per year though and visit old friends.

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

I'm sure Debbie is a fine captain but I've always wondered, being that she's a 2-time Women's Aerobatic Champion, if it freaks her passengers out when she flips her 737 inverted to spice up a ho-hum ILS approach? At the very least, that's got to play hell with the drink carts! :D

It was nice talking to you. Let me know when you're in town next and we'll see if we can rendevous for a beer.

Have a nice weekend,

Harvey

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Will do. Leaving work now-off till later.

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

Bruce and Harvey,
Small world, I used to do a lot of skydiving in Arizona (Skydive Arizona, prior to that at Coolidge). I'm not active anymore, but think about getting back in the air now and then.

Warm water works pretty well for bending balsa and it is amazing how wetting one side will bend the wood around the curve. I think ammonia added to the water will make it bend more/easier, but am not completely convinced of this.

Oly

RE: Bending balsa with ammonia water?
 

What years were you jumping? I was active 1970 thru 1987. Did you know Sandy Reid? Last I knew he was in AZ but that was some time ago. He's probably at Casa Grande or Eloy most of the time if still active. Used to be a pretty fair gang up Missoula way.