I would like to get involved in the maintenance and small non-structural repairs (and perhaps patching the fabric etc.) of a Jodel D11.
Which tools and instructional / reference materials do you recommend? Anything good for engine maintenance (like a book or video)?
(No worries, I can legally do these in principle and have experienced people to help me.)
If you have some French, the one place to visit is the French homebuilders association.
And don’t miss their annual meet-up, in July, in Vichy.
PS ’t would be nice if we had some indication of your whereabouts.
A good trawl of the Internet should find you the publications you need, AC43 is a good place to start but I have no doubt that there must be some old RAF AP’s avalable in cyberspace.
Tooling is very much dependent on how far you are going with fixing the aircraft but just buy what you need for he job in hand and you will soon build a tool collection.
The biggest problem is getting a place to do the work, both wood glue and paint are temperature and humidity sensitive so the correct temperature controlled environment for doing such work is vital.
Jan_Olieslagers wrote:
PS ’t would be nice if we had some indication of your whereabouts.
Profile shows home bases including Belleville/Vouvray and Courcheval, so I think the OP is closer to expertise on wooden aircraft than most of us on here
Thanks Neil, that info was not there or I wouldn’t have asked. I agree with your conclusion, though.
@A&C: yes, controlled environment is important, for woodwork; to a lesser degree, for composites, too. One more point in favour of metal construction.
@T/S: thanks for adding the requested info. I have a nice video, on CD, about Rotax maintenance, from the RSA. PM me if you want it.
Jan
Let’s not get into a wood vs composite vs metal construction contest, my maintenance licence covers all three technologies and they all have their advantages and disadvantages.
As I get older I like wood & composite more than metal simply because the technology requires I get to work in a walm hangar.
Amen to that, A&C!
Thanks for the suggestions. I guess I’ll see on the first 50/100 hour check what I’ll need except for basics such as wrenches etc. I hope to do maintenance mostly myself with some supervision by the previous owner and other experienced people closeby.
I deliberately wanted a simple sturdy wooden aircraft to be able to repair stuff at relatively low cost and effort. I am also aware of clubs in France that fly their planes essentially until forever, with some new fabric and replacements of a few wooden parts every 10 years or so.
Stewart Systems do a series of YouTube videos (or buy on DVD) that go through the complete re-covering of a ragwing Piper. Advice about not over-tautening the fabric and damaging the structure applies even more to wooden than metal underlying structure.
PolyFiber also have some videos and they both sell practice kits where you can cover a frame, do a repair, insert an inspection hatch etc.
Of course your repairs have to be the same system as the original, but the basic principles are the same for all.
You can download AC43.13 which is well recognised as a reference for acceptable repair methods and deals with nearly all types of construction.
Maybe a crazy idea, but would a book on basic carpentry or boat building be of use for practical woodworking skills?
