Tips-n-tricks

[cap]

Fenestron ------- ever price-out what it costs for many of the gas caps, like those on a Medium for example? They've been on a/c of all types since I started in F/W in '62, so it's not exactly what one would call "a 21st Century idea". Pay the bucks, get the STC and rid yourself of the problem forever. If not, you'll pay for that STC many times over during the course of a decade or more...........AND that doesn't mean you got a whoe bunch of lame-brain pilots around you either. I've lost two from a 204B over the last 35 years and the present-day cost for those fuel caps?...........$500 each.....if you're lucky. My Momma didn't raise any stupid kids either, so save any smart quips you might have about me loosing two fuel caps for another time.

[Fenestron]

excuse me mister?

I never made any quips about you losing fuel caps nor did i make any comments about the cost of caps lost, and never planned to. all I asked was if you had an STC for that mod....one I have yet to see myself for any of the aircraft. Don't inflate my question into something it is not.

Thanks to those who posted pictures. one looks like a nice mod, the other looks like someone just hacked it out on a slow day, got bored and went home early.

 

 

no need to get your panties in a knot Cap, you can simply say sometimes, that you just don't know, but will make an effort to look into it.

go have another scotch.

[kjw57]

Mac-ex-Wafu, we have that mod on an L3 works great. Haven't seen one for an Astar, but then I haven't been on an Astar in quite a few years.

[hungstart]

Upon receiving a rental Allison 250 gearbox from Stillborne, might as well change ALL the output seals before installation! :rant:

 

Been there, had to do that, After installation.

[new guy]

it was fun experiance(spl?) for me as the aprentice :up: but it still sucks to have to change the seal on a fresh overhauled gearbox :down:

[ValKiran.mtc]

Inevitably, the glory of summer and the beauty of fall is followed by the icy grip of winter.....Yes, it gets colder.

 

Agreed, its easier to loose the sling gear.

Agreed, the sling-straps will freeze solid: also agreed, that they won't work in block form

Agreed, its nice to have then be moved into a heated service shed.

Agreed, that sometimes us engineers will be more sluggish somedays then others.

 

But when said gear is hung over the engineers open toolbox and cloth tool rolls; and is dripping its accumulated build-up of drill rod grease and slush onto said objects...the engineer will NOT have an understanding of the righteousness and justification for doing so..especially if the barrel slings are hung from the roof just inside the door... (OUCH)

 

I understand that a pilot's helmet is expensive, but our tools could easily be worth three of them so take some sort of consideration of OUR gear too. And I haven't seen any helmets that have rusted in THEIR covers.....yet...

[cap]

Fenestron ----------- sorry that you "read-me" or "took-me" totally the wrong way in what I said. I wasn't "getting-on your case" nor directing any type of personal attack against you over lost fuel caps. If and when the occasion ever arises that I feel incensed enough to direct a personal attack at you, there'll be no doubt about it in anyone's mind unless they are an ESL student. Kindly also take-note of the smilie at the end of my paragraph that you misunderstood and/or "took" the wrong way. There'll be no smilies if I'm directing some kind of "attack" against someone or their ideas.

 

Also take note that I reserve my imbibing of Single Malt Scotch for occasions slightly more auspicious than any conversations I might have here. Let's call it a "Scottish thing" .

 

Lastly, I don't wear panties. With the crowds I grew-up and hung-out-with in tents, camps and hockey dressing-rooms that wasn't really a great idea to wear such a thing. In fact, if things got "hot" on a date in those days, it wasn't really a great idea to be wearing such a thing on that occasion. God Forbid if your panties were nicer than your date's .

[snark]

Always take care of all your door issues - hinges, latches, strikers BEFORE it goes for a paint job. For some reason it usually gets overlooked, and a year or two later your door may look very scabby.

[DarnShip]

When greasing 206 grips....use and old flexible rubber grease gun tube and thread it into the relief hole. zipp tie a large plastic bag to the other end...pump away mess free..

[ValKiran.mtc]

If your screwdriver strips out a screw, or you just want to make sure you don't slip in the first place, dab it in some valve grinding compound.

 

When installing rubber flooring (the type I mean I've seen in Astars; heavy rubber non-slip matting with little circles all over it) use a dry erase marker to draw your lines-this applies to the top side only- (soap and water or ISO alcohol will take it off no problem...just don't let it sit for too long, or it will remain in the texturing), use a double-honed (OLFA; black in colour) utility blade and don't bend or stretch it or your cut will follow the stretch instead of the line faster than you can reach for a band-aid!!!!

 

when I'm cleaning splines, inside or outside, I cut the bristles of a toothbrush to about 1/8" long and pull off a little piece of scotchbrite (usually I tear it in half so its thin) and mash it into the bristles. The bristles are super stiff and hold on to the scotchbrite and the toothbrush is alot easier and faster to use than trying to stuff it in the grooves by hand.

 

I went to a hobby shop that sold wax-sculpting tools for jewelry casting, and I use those to work with proseal. the rounded ones make a nice fillet and the pointed ones wrapped in a rag with Iso Alcohol will clean up most wonky lines and PRC messes. Wont' get all over your hands either. You can load up the curved ones and sneak in PRC under gearbox mountings, flanges, Astar rotorheads or pretty much anywhere else, with minimal mess.

 

From my cleaning days at Conair:

Removing old duct tape: scrape thin using a plastic scraper: use a mixture of WD40 and Hyd. fluid 5606...wet the residue liberally with hydraulic fluid (but don't drip it everywhere or you'll be following the advice found below), let sit while getting a can of WD40, then spray it liberally on top of the 5606 and residue. go have a coffee, then rub off with a rag that has more WD40 and 5606 on it. Should come off okay; might take a little elbow grease, or some more applications and soaking if its really old, lots of layers or sun-kissed....but its a little safer than MEK; and hasn't yet affected a paint job like MEK would. What's great about this that it seemed to work in the colder weather too.

 

Removing dried out, old and disgusting masking tape. I've seen Jet fuel work wonders.

 

Dried up/sticky 5606: for the really heavy leaks that happened a long time ago...or for those that happened underneath a retardant bombtank and are now a nasty combination of both: spray on new 5606, let sit, and then wipe (or rub if its really thick) with more 5606, wipe clean with ISO alcohol.

 

Can't think of anything else; but I thougth I would dig this string back up and see if I can get more out of it.