ScottHess

ScottHess

Member
N5534 flew today thirty years after the project was first started. S/N 377 was started around 1980 or so by a friend of mine who worked at STOL aircraft (building Twin Bees) getting most of the airframe done in the early nineties. It was sold and languished for the last seventeen years. I picked up the project last summer... rebuilt the engine, added all the systems, etc. and flew it today for the first time. Thirty years must be close to the record.

It has an IO-320, smooth cowl (rear baffle intake), Sens F/P, basic panel with a D6. Flew great, pretty much hands off.

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Now back to polishing... adding stripes, etc.

Scott
 
Thanks - looks better in the photos! I need some Airstream trailer enthusiasts to show me how to polish old aluminum :)
 
Wow, she's a BEAUTY! Congrats.

I guess that makes my 13-year project a Quickbuild after all. :D
 
Scott, congradulations...I am working on RV4 # 538 so I guess there is hope..I constantly recieve encouragement from reading VAF almost daily
 
Your photo should be in Webster's dictionary next to the word persistence.

Congratulations, beautiful plane.:)
 
ScottHess said:
Thanks - looks better in the photos! I need some Airstream trailer enthusiasts to show me how to polish old aluminum :)
Click to expand...

Hi Scott:

Two words:

1. Cyclo (as in Cyclo polisher)
2. Nuvite (as in Nuvite polish)

Excellent stuff used by Airstream folks and those with polished Swift aircraft. Still a real bugger on the initial polish, but I understand that the maintenance is less painful.

Very cool looking airplane!

RWW
 
Yep I've gone through 1 1/2 cans of the F9 and a can of F7... probably need at least two more passes with the F7 plus whatever extra time on the scratches. Or... how I spent my summer vacation. :)
 
I kind of wondered if your request for advice was a little tongue-in-cheek. By the looks of your plane, I couldn't believe you hadn't already been hard at work with the Nuvite and a polisher.

I'm really jealous. I was initially planning to polish my Midget Mustang and then wussed out. As it turns out, even 100+ hours of polishing would have been less work and hassle than the paint job... Certainly less money!

Very nice looking bird. You'll want to keep that away from the plastic airplanes when parking at fly-ins or you'll melt their wings off!

Best regards,

RWW
 
Nuvite Rules...

Beautiful bird, congratulations! I've just started working on a 29-year old -3 and plan to polish it... I might just pin your plane's photo up on the wall for inspiration.
 
The polishing has been a challenge that's for sure! I have a looong way to go, and many more clothes to ruin. At the rate I'm going through Nuvite ($50/can) it may yet end up costing as much as a paint job! Thanks again :)
 
plymouth airport

Hi Scott i saw your plane at plymouth airport this past weekend and looked up your N Number. Congrats on your first flight that is great. its a good looking RV. I have been building an RV-6 at Plymouth for 10 years and the first flight was on 7/21/10 no problems flew as advertised. looking forward to meeting you some day surpised we haven't bump into each other.

Bill Higgins
 
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