Well ..after a fairly long stint of good solid work .. interspersed by some pretty awful family issues … I completed the work for the annual
It’s fair to say, I have never had an annual like this … and that DEF isn’t a negative statement … far from it … the thoroughness and due diligence and attention to detail that James (Milne) applies to absolutely ANY job is second to none.
There were a number of things that I should definitely been aware of or spotted with a 20+ point list to work through I was certainly kept busy.
A number of points being pretty basic … like nylocs being out of safety ie with suitable amount of thread showing through the tightened nut. It seems I had a propensity to add the occasional washer under the heads which weren’t always required and, although they looked ‘right’ this meant that insufficient bolt shank was coming through.
Yes, they were easy to fix, and quick …. But def SHOULD have been spotted earlier
The new, factory ailerons, had been covered and fitted nicely and the whole aileron circuit was undone and the jiggling off centre stick addressed. This had been slightly off centre since I made it and set it one very late night many years ago and, with 4 turnbuckles in the aileron circuit it could be taken out. Easier said than done …
My son Sam and I chased our tails and spent an inordinate amount of time adjusting the turnbuckles in the Up circuit .. then the down circuit .. then the aileron pushrod … only to find ourselves back at square one !
Eventually .. we sat back … looked and decided that the lower cable run .. which is directly attached to the bottom of the control stick .. directly controls the vertical setting of the stick .. so get that correct … THEN take the rest up in the turnbuckles … voila !
The wheel bearings that I’d had issues with last year had been re designed and the block remachined by TLAC so these were replaced at the same time
James still isn’t a fan of my wire locking so I plan to pop back so that he can show me how it’s done properly 😊
Another task was offsetting the elevator cables by putting the washers at the top cable all on one side and on the lower cable all on the other side .. a simple way of giving greater separation in the body where they cross over .. mine already had silicone sleeves at the cross over point but every little helps
The engine compression was then tested … this gave me quite a heart stopping moments .. when we found that the front right cylinder head gave almost zero pressure and rear left was only about half …. We decided to run the engine which had been idle for about 2 months .. so gave it a run up to temp .. 50’ oil temp …. Then retried ..all 74psi or above … so signs of stuck or slight build up on an open valve …. Ran a treat and started first time
Jersey Sherwood Ranger 