The International Cessna^® 170 Association

I was puzzled the first time my ex-RAF friend thought I admitted to flying drunk … when I was only angry about a failure-prone airplane. (Pissed)

Of course, HE was puzzled when I called it “beer”. (Budweiser)

(Sorry, Magos!….but he was correct!)

I use a torch to check my fuel level and it hasn’t gone bang yet. But you guys use a flash light. , but a flash light is only a momentary light source. Flash and then it’s gone .

Only three countries – the U.S., Liberia and Myanmar – still (mostly or officially) stick to the imperial system.

I rest my case.

daedaluscan wrote:Only three countries – the U.S., Liberia and Myanmar – still (mostly or officially) stick to the imperial system.

I rest my case.

The BRITISH-Founded Imperial System….

Zing! this thread needs some levity, thanks gents

Talking about threads , in Australia we have all different threads in our aircraft so you really have to be on top of your nuts and bolts . Joseph whitworth in about 1841 standardised all the English bolt/nut makers and most aircraft built in England for the war effort was in whitworth and some surviving De Haviland aircraft [tiger month] are in whitworth and including their engines. Now known as BSW. But then we had a American who wanted a easier thread to manufacture and designed a 60deg flank on the tread which is known as NC,NF .
BUT the metric is not what it seems , there is the German metric with a flank of 53deg 8mins on its flanks of the thread and then the Swiss metric which has a flank on the thread of 47.5 deg . Most Swiss watches still use this thread I believe. The Japanese have a metric called iso-metric also which was taken from the European iso metric ,both not compatible with each other.
So our aircraft have a mixture of metric and imperial threads [ early Airbus ] then we have the American military having their own standards with bolts and nuts also.
Now wonder some aircraft are held together with lock wire and zip ties. Please no one mention rivets ,that’s another book.

I am concerned about Taylor, the starter of this string, he has not responded to any of the advice and comments here. I hope he hasn't done something rash.
Johneb

He’s probably feeling pretty bad, learning his airplane has big problems. If he has a qualified mechanic with suitable facilities who is willing to help him,I would think the best plan would be to open that landing gear box up and make an informed assessment. Then, if possible, fix the problems including the vertical. I would not recommend flying that airplane to Mena unless a qualified mechanic signs for a special flight permit. If this airplane can be saved, I bet everyone on this forum would agree it’s worth a try. As a former 170A owner and fellow pilot, I wish him the best.

Absolutely 2 good posts

Hi Everyone,

Apologies for the delayed response! I really appreciate everyone's fast replies here, albeit not many positive ones. It's certainly a tough position to be in. I did have the plane flown to an entirely different shop for a pre-buy so there is no overlap whatsoever with the previous owner or their mechanic. I also had this same shop do the annual a year later, so I believe it's really their word against their own. Given the clean pre-buy, in my (now clearly ignorant) mind, I thought we were in a good place with the understanding that a 70 year old plane may still have some issues.

I did reach out to Del, but unfortunately he is booked 7-8 months out right now. I want to get the work done right, but I don't want my plane sitting around for that long either. I have moved forward with a local mechanic (Ed Van Reeth/VanReeth Aviation) referred to me by Dave Stokes, Director and Northern Illinois C170 Area Rep. The plane was ferried over to his place this week and the work is starting now. While that's in process, I have spoken to a lawyer and have a call out to the shop that did the annual to see how they want to proceed.

I'll keep you guys updated and thanks again for the help.

Taylor

Well, this is Sep 30 and It’ll be interesting to see how many weeks pass before it’s flying in airworthy condition again. Starting the timer….

Glad to hear you have a plan underway that will get your airplane back together. It’s worth the time and hopefully won’t break the bank. Good luck!

Taylor, glad to see you’re going to get the airplane repaired. Good for you and best of luck. Post progress pics!

Wishing you the best of luck with the repairs as well. Here's hoping for a success story and some lessons learned about ownership of these birds. I'm probably looking at some gear updates in my future (at least a strip, inspect and repaint as a minimum) so I too am interested in your progress. Cheers!