Amazing Winter Maintenance find in Fairchild PT-26

[SPANNERmkV]

I noticed something red and fuzzy coming out of one of the drains when I sumped the fuel tank prior to flying. In the course of having other "get around to its" done during Winter Maintenance for Moosejaw Belle I asked Randy Wahlberg to have a peek at the fuel tank.
BOTH tanks had gaskets on their sump panels. But the previous owner wanted to make sure they were good and sealed so he used this.


Red RTV might be good for some things, but two things it isn't good for: Being subjected to AV/Gas or anything else on an aviation engine.
I just thank the Lord the engine didn't suck up enough of that to quit in flight.

SPANNER the humble

[Dan Jones]

Wow... Good save!

[The Inspector]

ANY RTV has no business anywhere near gasoline as you can see the results for yer self. COPPERCOAT or FORMAGASKET and fairly stout nylon string run around the mating surfaces inside the bolt pattern holes ( parallel over lap the ends) so the string is trapped and compressed by the mating surfaces will give a forever, leakproof gasketing application that's easily removable. Old motorcycle riders tip from an old motorcycle rider!

[cooper9411]

Some people have no business messing with engines

[Mark D]

Some people have no business messing with engines

Not only that - some people have no business trying to restore a plane that is beyond their capibility but don't know it. Don knows who I am talking about. Glad you found that crap Don.

Mark D

[WarbirdRadio]

Yikes Don! Good find.

Matt

[Kyleb]

Things like that make you wonder. When I bought my Aeronca project, one of the first things I did was cut the (new) cover off of one of the control surfaces. What I found was appalling. So I cut the cover off another surface - same result. In the end, I had to replace two of five welded flight surfaces and completely rebuild the wings, including new spars. The old spars were in frightening shape.

It is amazing the kind of crap the unknowing, uncaring, or unscrupulous will bury in an airframe.

[Dan Jones]

I pulled the scavenge screen on a Continental 670 awhile ago that had been zero-timed and then run in the test stand for five hours, and was rewarded with a handful of clear silicone schrapnel. I was less than impressed.

[SPANNERmkV]

What both spooks me and ANNOYS the living crepes put of me is the thought of all the people I've stuck in the backseat and given rides to over the last year.

This shoddy work could have taken out not just the aeroplane and myself, but radio personalities, friends and loved ones, Volunteers at the CAF that I was giving atta-boy rides to.

[Forgotten Field]

This looks like a job for....

....AMISH CRAFTSMEN!!!!!!!!

[The Inspector]

Sounds more like a cruise through the maintenance logs and a short E mail with names and numbers being sent to Oak City so the individual involveds flexible pencil can be taken away-

[Mark D]

This looks like a job for....

....AMISH CRAFTSMEN!!!!!!!!

Amen brother

[cooper9411]

Sounds more like a cruise through the maintenance logs and a short E mail with names and numbers being sent to Oak City so the individual involveds flexible pencil can be taken away-

Without hesitation! If it was done to this one, how many others has it been done to?

[oldman]

wow you guys are very critical of others. Glad you are better then them!

[CH2Tdriver]

wow you guys are very critical of others. Glad you are better then them!

And they have every right to be! We're not talking bad paint jobs here, but airworthiness items whose failure could result in injury or death.