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We bought an early Siai Marchetti SF260

beautiful airplane, most of the SF260 in USA were imported by my friend Frank Strickler so they carry FS in the registration. Great plane only the sitting position is odd you are sitting almost in the floor and being 2 meter tall i had difficulty fitting and staying for long trips. All in all a wonderful airplane.

KHQZ, United States

PetitCessnaVoyageur wrote:

What does “all weather aircraft” mean for a fighter ?

The opposite of a day fighter: A fighter that is not limited to day VFR. A typical (dog) fighter doesn’t need to be able to operate at night because he can’t see the enemy. But if the enemy sends his bombers at night to avoid being shot down you want something to counter these.

EDQH, Germany

It’s interesting (to me at least) how much more than skin deep is the resemblance of the Sai Marchetti parts to the Falco’s. (actually the other way around….)

Forever learning
EGTB

Stickandrudderman wrote:

It’s interesting (to me at least) how much more than skin deep is the resemblance of the Sai Marchetti parts to the Falco’s. (actually the other way around….)

It came from the same Italian designer, Stelio Frati, who died about ten years ago. I was one of those people who bought the F8.L blueprints from Alfred Scott who flew the “Corporate Disgrace”. This led to the creation of endless plywood jigs, the development of wood bending and laminating skills, and an appreciation of the strength of wood and Aerolite glue. They are both “they-just-look-right” designs to my eyes.

Kirknewton EGKT and Dornoch, United Kingdom

Quick update from the freezing (-13 this morning) Nordic Marchetti shop. Landing gear is almost ready to be reassembled, and we are churning out parts from the powder coat oven every day. Also, a fun package arrived before the weekend



Norway, where a gallon of avgas is ch...
ENEG

Won’t powder coating welded joints possibly conceal cracks? The gear on my plane is nasty and needs to be redone, but I’ve been advised against powder coating it.

tmo
EPKP - Kraków, Poland

tmo wrote:

Won’t powder coating welded joints possibly conceal cracks? The gear on my plane is nasty and needs to be redone, but I’ve been advised against powder coating it.

Valid question, and also one I raised to our engineers. They concluded it was ok for most parts. A lot of newer planes come with powder coated gear and engine mounts from factory. It will of course add a bit more weight than regular paint. All parts are cleaned to bare metal, inspected, some items magnafluxed, and coated to spec.

Norway, where a gallon of avgas is ch...
ENEG

Powder coating is a robust paint process, which is popular because it is single-coat, sticks very well, and doesn’t require much operator skill to get a good result.

The important thing, for an engine mounting frame especially, is that you use white, not black, to make any cracks easier to see.

Also consider the possibility of the frame being wax filled / wax coated, and the powder coating oven might damage that, or cause it to run out through some hole, and at best make a mess.

Administrator
Shoreham EGKA, United Kingdom

I’ve had my Falco undercarriage components powder coated and I find that the finish is really brittle and fragile. One wrong slip with a spanner and you’ll chip the paint.
Next time I think I’d prefer stove enamelling.

Last Edited by Stickandrudderman at 16 Jan 10:31
Forever learning
EGTB

Peter wrote:

The important thing, for an engine mounting frame especially, is that you use white, not black, to make any cracks easier to see.

Good point. Everything that is not purely cosmetic will be painted white, or primer only.

Stickandrudderman wrote:

I’ve had my Falco undercarriage components powder coated and I find that the finish is really brittle and fragile.

Has it been done correctly? I haven’t had that experience. Brittle powder coat is IMO due to wrong cure temp/time. Usually too hot and/or too long.
PMT, Part/Peak Metal Temperature is essential. Not what the gauge on the oven says.

My process is to rough clean, then media blast, outgas if necessary (usually cast or oil/exhaust parts), media blast, clean with isopropanol/acetone (sprayed with pressure), mask if req (remember gloves), shoot zinc primer (if req – usually parts exposed to the elements), bake till flowout, cool till about 70*C, shoot final powder, check with uv light, bake full cycle at PMT.

Last Edited by NorFlyer at 17 Jan 17:46
Norway, where a gallon of avgas is ch...
ENEG
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