It begins.....wings off

How to keep the Cessna 170 flying and airworthy.

Moderators: GAHorn, Karl Towle, Bruce Fenstermacher

hilltop170
Posts: 3481
Joined: Sat May 06, 2006 6:05 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by hilltop170 »

bagarre wrote:Seek out a local powder coating shop and put together a box of parts you're thinking about painting.
You wont be disappointed.
IMG_3625.jpg
David-
Those parts look awesome! It will be interesting to see how the rudder pedals and flap handle wear over time.

I hope it doesn't happen but that 170 is going to be so nice you might be reluctant to go out and use it to the potential you are building into it.

I really admire nice work, especially if it is put to good use afterwards. My lack of patience prohibits me from such nice projects, among other things, like know-how and ability.
Richard Pulley
2014-2016 TIC170A Past President
1951 170A, N1715D, s/n 20158, O-300D
Owned from 1973 to 1984.
Bought again in 2006 after 22 years.
It's not for sale!
bagarre
Posts: 2615
Joined: Thu Sep 30, 2010 11:35 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by bagarre »

Thanks.
The rudder pedals are bead blasted but not powder coated. I hate the way they look when the paint wears off and the bead blasting makes them less slippery in the winter.
The flap handle will have a 6" wrap of leather stitched on where you grab it to keep it looking nicer longer.

I'm not planning to become a weekend bush pilot or haul freight into the Yukon any time soon.
This is as much an educational project to build as it will be a short fielder when she's done. Most of my flying is two people out of two thousand foot strips. But it will be a hoot to fly.
hilltop170
Posts: 3481
Joined: Sat May 06, 2006 6:05 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by hilltop170 »

Yes, bead blasting the rudders is the way to go, Del did mine that way. They wear-in very nice.

The leather wrap should work well also. Good job.

No matter what you do with the plane you'll have to flight plan at least an extra 30 minutes into every leg just for admirers.
Richard Pulley
2014-2016 TIC170A Past President
1951 170A, N1715D, s/n 20158, O-300D
Owned from 1973 to 1984.
Bought again in 2006 after 22 years.
It's not for sale!
User avatar
ghostflyer
Posts: 1390
Joined: Mon Apr 21, 2008 3:06 am

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by ghostflyer »

I had my rudder pedals bead blasted and painted in 2 pac black gloss. Ok it looked good but for some reason the r/h pilots pedal paint wears off only. I thought maybe in flight I was correcting a yawing incorrect rig aircraft . No, in flight I often take my feet off the pedals . Aircraft flying straight and level . It has been suggested that the pedal material has been contaminated with silicone, it’s been cleaned but the paint still wears off quickly . So every 100hrly it gets a coat of rattle can black gloss.
User avatar
Poncho73
Posts: 312
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:25 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by Poncho73 »

hilltop170 wrote:The original control wheel coating from the factory was some kind of plastic that was not painted. It is very tough but will eventually wear off in spots but seldom fails. I see no reason why the original plastic coating can't be painted as long as the surface is prepped properly. You should see normal wear spots in the paint after that as they are used. Were you thinking of duplicating the original off-pink color for the paint?

Before the control wheels can be powder coated, if that is what you decide to do, the original coating must be completely removed. It is not a fun job.

As Frank states, it is a good idea to run them thru the powder coat bake cycle a few times before actually coating them to let them gas-off, as any entrained contaminants will cause holidays/imperfections in the finished surface.

I had a set of late model C-185 control wheels powder coated that had corrosion pitting over a good bit of the surface. We smoothed out the pit sharp edges and used hammer-finish powder coat media and they came out great. The hammer finish hid 99-44/100ths of the pits.
OK that picture I posted are the original wheels striped down to the original plastic coating, kind of crème color, you see that in the picture. The previous owner simply painted over them with some silver paint, I used lacquer thinner to clean them off. Surprising the last spray job lasted 20 years. I was hoping to simply spray gull gray right on the plastic coating as you see it in the picture. Seeing the previous coating didn't wear off in 20 years I figured I would be OK. The base plastic coating is in remarkable shape....no wear through anywhere, I would not want to remove the original plastic coating unless it was damaged. Not sure now.
hilltop170
Posts: 3481
Joined: Sat May 06, 2006 6:05 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by hilltop170 »

If the original plastic coating is in good shape, why not just clean up and polish them?
Richard Pulley
2014-2016 TIC170A Past President
1951 170A, N1715D, s/n 20158, O-300D
Owned from 1973 to 1984.
Bought again in 2006 after 22 years.
It's not for sale!
User avatar
Poncho73
Posts: 312
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:25 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by Poncho73 »

hilltop170 wrote:If the original plastic coating is in good shape, why not just clean up and polish them?
It is so I will try that first, thanks
User avatar
edbooth
Posts: 498
Joined: Wed Nov 24, 2004 3:03 am

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by edbooth »

ghostflyer wrote:I had my rudder pedals bead blasted and painted in 2 pac black gloss. Ok it looked good but for some reason the r/h pilots pedal paint wears off only. I thought maybe in flight I was correcting a yawing incorrect rig aircraft . No, in flight I often take my feet off the pedals . Aircraft flying straight and level . It has been suggested that the pedal material has been contaminated with silicone, it’s been cleaned but the paint still wears off quickly . So every 100hrly it gets a coat of rattle can black gloss.
Notice when you taxi, you always seem to use the right pedal more than left. Maybe combating "P" factor. :?
Ed Booth, 170-B and RV-7 Driver
User avatar
GAHorn
Posts: 20967
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2002 8:45 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by GAHorn »

ghostflyer wrote:I had my rudder pedals bead blasted and painted in 2 pac black gloss. Ok it looked good but for some reason the r/h pilots pedal paint wears off only. I thought maybe in flight I was correcting a yawing incorrect rig aircraft . No, in flight I often take my feet off the pedals . Aircraft flying straight and level . It has been suggested that the pedal material has been contaminated with silicone, it’s been cleaned but the paint still wears off quickly . So every 100hrly it gets a coat of rattle can black gloss.
The BEST things in life.... are done BAREFOOT! (painted pedals last longer too.) :twisted:
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
User avatar
Poncho73
Posts: 312
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:25 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by Poncho73 »

Skin removed and the structure is good as I fully expected. I now need to rebuild the landing light motor.....Oh yes that goes back in! Nothing is more impressive on a vintage 170 than a retractable landing light :D
User avatar
Poncho73
Posts: 312
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:25 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by Poncho73 »

Finished the Ponk install today. Legs repainted.
Attachments
Tubes finished, nice job, yokes restored back to original.....
Tubes finished, nice job, yokes restored back to original.....
Airplane sits wings level....disregard....no wings LOL
Airplane sits wings level....disregard....no wings LOL
Ponk bracket in and torqued, after leg and shims in place
Ponk bracket in and torqued, after leg and shims in place
User avatar
Poncho73
Posts: 312
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:25 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by Poncho73 »

What is the final gear bolt torque value
User avatar
GAHorn
Posts: 20967
Joined: Fri Apr 12, 2002 8:45 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by GAHorn »

Poncho73 wrote:What is the final gear bolt torque value
Here's the list of torque from the Service Manual:
http://cessna170.org/forums/viewtopic.p ... lue#p29741
'53 B-model N146YS SN:25713
50th Anniversary of Flight Model. Winner-Best Original 170B, 100th Anniversary of Flight Convention.
An originality nut (mostly) for the right reasons. ;)
User avatar
Poncho73
Posts: 312
Joined: Tue Apr 19, 2011 1:25 pm

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by Poncho73 »

:D
User avatar
n2582d
Posts: 2808
Joined: Mon Apr 29, 2002 4:58 am

Re: It begins.....wings off

Post by n2582d »

The Pponk mod is designed to do away with the tension loads on that AN7 bolt. Seems to me you could tighten it finger tight and you’d be fine. A bit of hyperbole perhaps.

In this thread the relative merits of adding the “beef up” kit were discussed. I find it interesting, when comparing the 170/170A/170B IPC’s, that Cessna decided weaker is better. The 1948 model has the stronger NAS147 bolt while the subsequent models have the weaker AN7 bolts at the inboard end of the gear leg. Whatzzup with that? An effort to save money on parts? More sheet metal work for the Cessna dealers? Or maybe the heads were shearing off the NAS bolts when mechanics were neglecting to use the special chamfered NAS143 washers under the heads of the NAS147 bolts?
Gary
Post Reply