PITTS S-1E "MAJOR PROBLEM" (EP2)
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 11 ต.ค. 2024
- Welcome to my Pitts S-1E Return to Flight series. This series documents my progress on bringing this 30+ year old Pitts Special back to airworthy condition. In this episode I'll show you how I'm getting this airplane closer to it's new 'first' flight.
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I did run into a major problem though - watch to find out what it is!
#pittsspecial #s1s #aerobatics #aviation
Mark, after meeting you, it is obvious you are a "builder at heart" as you say. I'm already looking forward to the video series of the restoration.
assemble the prop for a wall display.
I have spent 6 years rebuilding and restoring my Pitts S1-T. Built 3 new wings and mounted a Grove aluminum gear. My engine is a Superior IO-360 parallel valve with cold air sump and induction. The prop is a Sensenich carbon fiber ground adjustable which I ordered at Sun N Fun 2022 and took 2 months to ship and receive. Pitts is now 90% complete and hopefully flying by September. Keep up the interesting videos Mark!
Sounds like you’re building an awesome plane! I can’t wait to see it finished and flying. Did you pick a paint scheme yet?
Go with the fixed pitch prop and fly it while you finish the SuperDuty…
Mark
I’m an A&P and yes I’ve done that constant speed to fixed pitch before. What Lycoming said to do by taking a long punch to poke a hole in that plug is correct. What I used was an old screwdriver that I sharpened to a point and used that to poke that hole. One note of caution is, if that hole isn’t large enough oil pressure will build up enough to blow out the front plug. So make sure that the hole you poke is close to a 3/16 inch dia. or more. I found that out the hard way. When u put the plug in the front of the crank make sure u get a good dimple in the center of the plug to (1) hold it in place and (2) seal the end.
So give it a try and good luck
Thanks for the info! The Lycoming SB says to make the hole 1/8 to 3/16” so I’ll def go on the larger end. Great idea about the screw driver-I’ll go to Harbor Freight and get a “high quality” a few driver and I’ll grind the end to a point!
Maybe you'll just find those log books somewhere 🙊🙈🙉
prop conversion seems like a super easy decision! remove the weight, save the monies. clean up the valve covers? ceramic coat the exhaust? fly it! looks too good from my house! but really it looks like a great airplane that just needed the love your giving it. Full resto might be saved for the "buy another one that needs it" category.
could you send the engine in for conversion? poke a hole sounds like a joke! I would have a hard time with that unless you found someone with experience with it.
Mark, you are the ultimate perfectionist!
Sharpening a Phillips screwdriver is the way we used to do it, also I caution you on a pits that you have no logbooks on the engine because back in the day we used to shave the case because the only cylinder heads we could get was 8 1/2 to 1 by shaving the case and re-cutting the cam and crank we get 9+ compression with 8.5 to one jugs and I don’t remember the dimension to check off the top of my head to see if this was done. But Lyccming would know.
Please don't take this the wrong way, but you are like the male version of the neighbor woman who has plastic on all her furniture. To keep it all looking fresh and new. Not that it's a bad thing, unless you have to sit on that furniture at 100f in short pants. I've learned a lot from watching your videos, and admire your commitment to perfection. Some of which I am applying to my experimental airplane. Cheers from Winnipeg.
I can concur with you, even as you are talking I can see the orange peel paint work on the top deck.
Love your attention to detail.
Keep this project going as much as you can. It’s very interesting and maybe you can just video the occasional repair - like you did on this episode
Mark, I don't have a dog in the hunt, but I wouldn't let that Pitts get in the way of finishing the Super Duty. Aircraft restorations are ALWAYS a bigger project than they appear at the start. My vote: park the Pitts, fly the Cruzer, finish the Super Duty.
I love your videos I’ve been binge watching them
Great stuff! Always enjoy this content
Some daunting things to deal with. You are the kind of person who could do it right. Thanks for the details you have shared.
How about a quasi-constant speed prop? It’s an adroitly laminated prop that uses air loads and propeller RPM to twist the prop and get a bit (not all) of the benefits of a constant speed prop.
I know your pain. My old Pitts S1S was nearly perfect but it always needed something. Put a fixed pitched metal Sensenich prop on it. You can find them cheap and they're easy to overhaul. Mine was a 76x56 and it climbed like a rocket. Pull all the electrical system off including the ring gear. You'll save a ton of weight. Then hand prop the airplane to start. Cold starting is easy hot starting is a pain in the neck. I see you have the lightning holes in the crankshaft. Be careful with tumbling maneuvers with a metal prop. Mine became a little tail heavy. I easily cruised at 160 mph and climbed 2500 to 3500 fpm depending on temperature. My empty weight was 762 lbs. With an IO360-B4A.
What do you think about something like the Sensenich ground adjustable composite prop? I believe they are lighter than the metal fixed pitch props.
@@KitplaneEnthusiast They're nice although you want to keep it very simple on an aerobatic airplane. No potential failure point. I've never seen one on an S1 Pitts. How much lighter are they? I wouldn't want to hand prop one of those. They spin up too quickly to be safe. There's nothing like a stock Pitts S1S for fun, durability and lack of maintenance.
I hope there's an Ep. 3!
Stick around. There will be many more episodes!
I agree less weight is better if the engine quits pitts aren't known to glide all that well less overall weight is good thing when you need to glide to a landing spot.
While I certainly agree that removing that connector was the right thing to do, I believe it was a GPU connector (external start cart) rather than a charge port. Even if you wanted a GPU connector, it was a lousy place to put it.
Ah you are correct! It’s more for external power than for charging.
It is good practice to use a washer under the battery cable nut or bolt given that the cable end is typically made of copper or a material softer than the fastener. A properly sized washer for an AN4 would have easily addressed the large hole in the original cable and would have been a sound solution. Even with the properly sized hole, using a washer is good practice to keep the bolt from eventually digging into the cable end.
Nope. I would never say that using the wrong terminal and then trying to fix it with a washer would be a sound solution. The correct solution is to use the correct terminal!
Definitely fly it first before you rebuild it! What if you drag a wing or scrape it up.. better to do that before you restore it!
ˇhanks, you provide and interesting video.
Thanks for watching!
I will say I am curious about the process of getting a new airworthiness certificate for an existing aircraft - if you could keep us posted as that progresses....
And, a pound is a pound - with a lighter prop you may be able to move the battery forward?
I’ve already talked to the FSDO about this and they said that since it was already certified, all I need to do is re-weigh the airplane and come up with a current W&B. Then get a fresh annual condition inspection on it, and then they come out and inspect it like they would any new Homebuilt. They issue a new airworthiness cert and new limitations and basically it goes back into phase 1 testing in its new test area. I can not get a Repairmans Cert for it because I am not the original builder, but otherwise it’s basically the exact same as certifying a new homebuilt aircraft.
@@KitplaneEnthusiast Thank you.
G,day Mark from Sydney Australia.
That's disappointing about the propeller on the Pitts. Do you know the testing method used to detect the fault.
You can't just run two cables from the battery to the starter motor? The (solenoid) in the positive charge?
🌏🇦🇺
Power cables look great. I was wondering if you thought about adding some cheap corrugated sleeves over them. I'm always worried in my cars and boats about high amperage cables like those chafing against nearby metal.
I was thinking a Cato prop or maybe stay with a Constant Speed prop and get a lightweight whirlwind composite CS prop!
I've been looking at the Catto three blade prop and that's probably what I would get. The whirlwind and MT constant speed props are not very pricey and still heavy.
Please excuse me for taking a shot ( I'm actually gentleman in training) but as long as you can't locate a mechanic who has knocked a hole in a plug I have to ask ......
Did you look around the cockpit for the log books?
✌️♥️👍
I remember a full scale Pitts in a magazine years ago that was fitted with a radial engine. It looked beautiful, but required 25 pounds of lead in the tail to balance.
Do you mean Samson Pitts or the Model 12 Pitts?
@@pittss2c601 Don't remember that was back in the mid 1970's
Do not buy another Pitts, resist all temptation, and do not do a full restoration, reduce the weight on the airframe and replace the bad CS prop, and install a six-pitch fixed blade prop. Fly it and have fun rinse and repeat. Finish your Zenith and have fun with building that.
I'm very sorry your Constant Speed Propeller was rejected.
But it's good that you had it checked! 👍
Maybe another option for your engine.
Sell it as it is then you save yourself the conversion and buy one with 180 hp then you have no problem with weight and balance.
That was my original thought. But there’s no way I’d remove the engine and then NOT want to just tear the whole airplane down for a rebuild. I’m definitely not putting another C/S on it, so I think the best option is to use this 200hp engine and put a light weight Catto fixed pitch prop on it.
@@KitplaneEnthusiast OK, it was just an idea, because you said in your video that there was a problem with the motor converting it to a fixed pitch propeller and you haven't found a technician who could do that either.
Sudden massive oil loss is a big danger, if I understand correctly, if the plugs in the oil passages for the C/S propeller don't hold.
I can totally understand that you get a Catto fixed pitch prop, it's almost only 1/5 of the price of a new C/S propeller. 👍
The blades can have cracks that are only discoverable if the prop is disassembled and inspected?
I’ll try not to think about that when I’m over the mountains in my Mooney lol
Yes I believe there can be internal cracks that can be found with electronic inspection methods. Best not to have your prop tested LOL!
Don't buy a second Pitts... Leave some out there for the rest of us😄
Focus on the super duty then restore the Pitts. Multi Tasking never equals multi finishing. Get one project done then do the next one.
So let’s get this straight. To save buying a $17000 constant speed prop your solution is to buy a second Pitts??? 😀
With the lighter prop you could always move the battery back up the front. It’s probably behind the seat specially to help balance the heavier engine and prop.
Actually yep-that's pretty much it. With the prop, shipping, and governor overhaul, the cost was over $21,000. I don't think this airframe as it is now is worth putting the money into. So if I had another Pitts to fly, I could take my time getting this one airborne and put a cheaper fixed pitch prop on it.
sunken cost theory, the more Pitts, the more problems.
losing the constant speed prop will affect it aerobatics performance
Yes it will-in a positive way.
Option 3, you could just sell it to me 😊
I have another Pitts here for sale. It's ready for you to come and fly it away!
Maybe the propeller maintenance company will buy those extra good parts from you. Ask for $600.00
I actually sold them the good parts out of the governor and that saved me some money. I didn't ask them about the prop parts. Maybe I should have!
Pull that engine off and put it on the Super Duty... I suspect you will be waiting a long time for the SD engine from Continental
I could, but I've heard that the Pitts is a terrible flyer without the engine :)
no flitz on the intake!?!?
LOL it's beyond Flitz!
If you ever want to sell the pits Please get in contact with me.
This Pitts sold a while ago. But I am currently selling my other Pitts S-1D. It’s listed on Barnstormers.