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Messages - Paul Rule

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46
Documentation / Re: Culver Models
« on: January 21, 2012, 12:00:42 PM »
Took off my post about how many are airworthy -- keeping on subject....

Looking at my Juptner:  Al Mooney designed the Alaxander "Bullet" before going to work for Lambert Aircraft where he worked on the Monocoupe.  The Dart seems to have started as a sideline project drawn some from the "Bullet" that progressed to the point of anouncing production in 1935.  The first one was open cockpit called the Monoprep G (but may have been only one)  then they enclosed it and called it the Monosport G but only made a few before Culver and Mooney bought the design in 1939.  It seems they built about 50 machines total (all in CMH - none in ICT) , all with various radials and some were concurrent with the early Cadet production.  Applegate & Weyant bought the rights in 1946 and built about 10 of the GC (flat Continental).    So about half of then still exist (see previous post).

It is described as; "extriemly short coupled with wide eliptical wings(that) spelled rigidity, exceptional strength and neck-jerking maneuverability."  I have read a description of an airshow aerobatic progran done in Cuba in a Dart!

47
Documentation / Re: Gear mods
« on: January 21, 2012, 11:22:15 AM »
Bill,  I assume you are talking about the 90 deg. weld-up that the axle and strut piston fit into.   I think that I have seen two styles, one a little heaver then the other, but will have to look more carefullt to remember the exact differences.  There were a lot more less then perfect landing strips in the 40's then now so they might have had more reason to reinforce then.

48
Culver General Discussion / Re: What about rotten wood?
« on: January 21, 2012, 12:49:31 AM »
Keep in mind that there is no such thing as "dry rot".  If you find "rot" then it is the result of 2 things...

1) The wood was not protected ( not varnished or not "re-varnished" as needed).  A good jarnish coat can get wet with no harm.
2) It subsquently got wet AND STAYED WET for a long time....  then it rotted and you are seeing to dried-out results.
2a)  Rot sproes exist in EVERY PIECE OF WOOD you pick up.  They don't do any harm at all unless they get wet.

If the varnish protection is kept in good condition the (now very old and presumably un reliable) 70 year+ casin glue is as good as it ever was.  Check it out all you want with a good coin tap test which will find rot as well as serarated glue joints.  The important things are to inspect very carefully and throughly (probe with an ice pick if you need to...that's FAA approved!) and don't let your Culver get or stay wet for very long.  If in a humid environment,  you might open up and ventilate with a fan regularly or leave a lightbulb lit and hanging in the cockpit.

Almost always the Cadet fuselage suffers from miosture, not the wings.  Why? Because the wings upper surfaces are an unbroken sheet of fabric and funnel rain into the rear spar attach point and into the flat tail cone belly skin.  It is hard to get all the corners and edges varnished inside there and the seat structure, belly plywood and lower longerons seem to suffer about 90% of the damage.

The Helton Larks and several modified Cadets have a large belly inspection doors just aft of the rear spar... large enough to get your head and arms in.  Gives you a real chance to inspect and protect in there.

49
Documentation / Re: Gear mods
« on: January 20, 2012, 06:24:37 PM »
Yes, it was a factory mishap.  I think it was never sold.

50
Culver General Discussion / Re: GEAR FAILURES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
« on: January 20, 2012, 06:22:42 PM »
Woody, I hope you have "The One" !!   Sometimes it's hard to find... do the pushrod ends look original and identical?? Are they made from tube stock?  Any log entry where the prop and/or exhaust stacks (or pitot tube or carb air box)  were replaced with no reason given?  Some Cadets settled onto their bellys very gently....   If you have the expander brakes are the light weight metal covers over the brakes bent, damaged or repaired on the bottom?  If a gear folds out toward the wing tip it gets the plywood nose rib next to it and it's often repaired not replaced.

Hope you find none of this!!!  P.R.

51
Documentation / Re: Gear mods
« on: January 20, 2012, 01:08:48 PM »
#101 is long gone I think.  Never put back in the air after the "Culvert".

52
Culver General Discussion / Re: GEAR FAILURES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
« on: January 20, 2012, 09:00:57 AM »
I'll add a drawing I did years ago for the "Culvers Going Places" mag:

53
Documentation / Re: Gear mods
« on: January 20, 2012, 06:30:48 AM »
Sounds about right Brett.  I wonder if the guy that did the STC spun it enough to tell the difference...he took the slots off.  To me the slots seem too far outboard, not in front of much aileron.  With the forward tank, it seems to be a little nose-heavy and I bet that helped more then anything.

I just noticed yeaterday that the Columbus airplane has changed hands in the FAA registry.  I hope they don't take it down.  I go out of my way to look at it every time I am in CMH.

I have an old B&W picture of #101 the "first" Culver you mention when it crashed.  I think it lost power and on landing, slid to a stop in a ditch, jamed under a small bridge.  It got dubbed "The Culvert Cadet"... :-\

I'll get a copy of it to Bill to post sometime.

54
Documentation / Culver Factory Service Memorandums
« on: January 19, 2012, 11:13:00 PM »
Here is my (corrected) list of Factory Service Memorandums ...for your information and also to add to if you know some that I don't have:

No.     Date        Description                                                                                               Serial no. App.
1       10-24-41   Care and operation of retracting L/G                                                             All
2       10-23-41   (Amended)  Inspection & Maint. of Throttle Interconnection                          All
3       9-13-40     Propeller setting limits                                                                             LCA  102 - 133
4       10-10-40   This was a rudder cable inspection - replaced by #5
5       12-2-40     Rudder cable and front pullies (references #4...?)                                   LCA 102-178
6       4-10-41     Carcuretor Air Heater                                                                                     LCA
7       5-19-41     Exhaust Stack Alteration                                                                                LCA
8       6-19-41     Lock Pin Revision                                                                                         102-225
9       10-14-41   Flight Load Information & Inspection Requirements                                    101-363
10     10-14-41   Rudder & Trin Tab Cable Channel Clearance                                                102-325
11     11-24-41   Franklin Cooling Baffles - Alteration & Maintenance                                  LFA  204-397
12     5-28-42     Alteration of FWD Stabilizer Attachment to Fuselage                                    101-459
13-18                 Missing - or may not apply
19     7-24-43     Inspection of Bottom Surface of Main Spar                                                    101-459
20
21      9-6-44      Removal of sharp Leading Edges                                                                     (all?)
22     10-26-45   Adjustment & Operation of L/G Throttle Interconnection                                 All
23-50                 Missing - or may not apply  (most are for 'V')
51     11-15-60   Maintenance of Oleo Shock L/G Struts  ( by Superior)                                     All

Ammended to include Brett's additions --  More???

My copy of propeller setting limits is from Culver factory (w/ no number)and Brett's copy is from Cal.  Aero (#3) so some may have been republished and renumbered.

My copy of #9 is missing all the drawings and CAA report #10 and #56.
(#56 now available below... thanks, Joe!)

55
Culver General Discussion / GEAR FAILURES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
« on: January 19, 2012, 10:50:25 PM »
The Cadet was one of the very first production airplanes with retractable landing gear and that has clearly been a problem area.  I do not know of any Cadet that has not been on it's belly at least once. Maybe someone will post the exception here but I doubt it.  This thread is to share some of the reasons for gear problems and maybe prevent a few gear-up landings in the future. 

I think gear problems can be catigorized, at minimum, as follows (maybe you will want to add to the list):

1.  Forgetting to put it down.  (The warning system should prevent this ... if its working and we are paying attention.)
2.  Having some mechanical failure with no warning.
3.  Putting it down and thinking it is locked when it's not.  (Not understanding how it works...?)
4.  Having the gear unlock after putting it down and locking it.  (Lever slips out and gets pushed to right by your leg.)
5.  Inadvertently bending something by letting the gear fall when extending (and then the pins don't go in).
6.  Something (push rod system) gets bent inflight due to high "Gs" and the pins won't go in when you extend.

As I look at the list, I believe that it is in REVERSE ORDER of most likely to happen !!  My experience and conversations with several others is that the threaded ends of the push rods (can and will) bend a little and (if you are lucky) you notice that the pins have become harder to lock in.  Being a prudent (and suspicious) sort you then inspect and find the culprit before it bends more on the next flight and the pins refuse to lock.  Culver service memorandum no. 1  dated 10-24-41 still applies and is GOOD info.  On page 2 it says; "To neglect the warning implied by stiff operation is to invite trouble."

There have been a number of ideas on how to make the push rods more rigid and less likely to cause problems including making new ends with 7/16" threads in place of the standard 3/8".   The factory part is made from 4130 thick wall tubeing.  It is interesting to note that a tube is more rigid then the same sized round solid part.  Since many have been replaced with fabricated parts this may not have been noticed.

This ought to start some good discussion.

56
Documentation / Re: Dart Models
« on: January 19, 2012, 12:27:43 PM »
OK, the Darts are:   (many have been re-engined)

Dart G       8 records    (powered by Lambert 90)
Dart  GC    10 records  (powered by Cont. A-100  at  100HP)
Dart  GK     8 records   (powered by Ken-Royce 90)
Dart GW    4 records    (powered by Warner - 90 / 125 /145)

They started out associated with (or made by?) Lambert-Monocoupe and designed by Mooney when he was working there.  It might have been called a 'Monoprep G' and/or 'Monosport G' then but (no?) production.

When K.K. Culver and Mooney teamed up at Dart Aircraft Co. they first built Darts then Cadets.  Early Cadets have 'dual purpose' data plates that say:  The Culver Aircraft Corporation  "Dart Model" (stamped) LCA or LFA

57
Documentation / Re: Culver Models
« on: January 19, 2012, 11:21:55 AM »
How many Culvers are there?
Some interesting numbers...   In doing a database search today I found:

                Culver LCA    49 records
                Culver LFA    69  records
Superior / Culver LCA    4 records
Superior / Culver LFA    11 records
      for a total of           133

also:    Culver V & V2    64
Helton Lark 95                  10
PQ-14A & B & TD2C-1   11
Jamieson  J-1                 4  (I think these are all civilianized PQ-8s and all have Lyc. O-290)

I found no records for: PQ-8 /LAR-90 / YPQ-14 A or B
--- still looking for the Darts.
 

58
Documentation / Re: O-200 Continental?
« on: January 19, 2012, 10:54:51 AM »
In addition to my N34875, N29288 and N281W I searched the registry and found the following (reported) engine mods:

N41701     Lyc O-290   !!
N34791      C-90
N29396      IO-200       !!
N34890       O-200
N20949       O-200-D  (experimental / in a museum)

59
Culver General Discussion / Re: Antenna Installations
« on: January 18, 2012, 01:20:39 PM »
Looking on the Spruce website at the MicronAir M760 com radio,  the manuals available to download have a useful section on antennas for wood aircraft.

60
Documentation / Re: O-200 Continental?
« on: January 18, 2012, 01:16:47 PM »
My N34875 (sn 284) was modified from an LFA, using an STC to mount a C-90 Continental with 1A90-CF prop.  The STC was done by Aircraft Engineering & Development Co. of Hayward, CA and signed off on a 337 dated 3/26/63.  Their work included modifying and proof loading the engine mount, foel flow testing and temp. experimential status for flight testing of cooling.  There are about 20 pages of (very hard to read) data in the file. 

It flew for a little more then 600 hrs before (?) disassembly for repair.. which is it's current state. 

Unfortunantly the STC approval page clearly states that..."no other modifications are to be approved solely by reference to this STC or the submitted data."

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