Skagit Aero Education Museum » Fairchild F24 http://skagitaero.com Fri, 13 Apr 2012 02:43:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.4 Fairchild F24G Photos Added To Gallery http://skagitaero.com/2009/09/21/fairchild-f24g-photos-added-to-gallery/ http://skagitaero.com/2009/09/21/fairchild-f24g-photos-added-to-gallery/#comments Mon, 21 Sep 2009 17:15:23 +0000 admin http://skagitaero.com/?p=550 We had another good evening photo shoot, this time with the Fairchild F24G. This time we were up a bit later in the evening so we managed to get some sunset shots. And we decided to climb a bit higher out of the valley which gave us a great view of Mt. Baker which provided a stunning backdrop to some of the pictures.

It’s nice to have the Fairchild up and flying again after the engine vibration prevented us from flying to Blakesburg earlier in the month. Turns out it was the engine mounts that were causing the vibration issue. We had used a different kind of rubber on the engine mounts than was on the airplane before (likely tire sidewall). Turns out it was a simple matter of tightening down the bolts a bit with the new rubber and the vibration was gone. She flies like a smooth, luxury plane from the 1930s now.

In addition to the new photos in the gallery, you can see some older pictures we have found of our F24G from previous owners. It’s fun to see the airplane during its previous lives.

Again, just a sample of the photos. For a complete look at the Fairchild’s pictures, look at the F24G page in the aircraft section.

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]]> http://skagitaero.com/2009/09/21/fairchild-f24g-photos-added-to-gallery/feed/ 0 No Flight To Blakesburg – Engine Vibration Prevents Flying http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/28/no-flight-to-blakesburg-engine-vibration-prevents-flying/ http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/28/no-flight-to-blakesburg-engine-vibration-prevents-flying/#comments Fri, 28 Aug 2009 20:07:11 +0000 admin http://skagitaero.com/?p=518 Well this isn’t what we were hoping for, but after working non-stop for the past few weeks, we have a vibration that looks like it’s going to prevent us from flying the Fairchild to Blakesburg. After getting the cowling on Thursday and tending to a final few details, we started up the engine and began the break in process. There wasn’t anything too noticeable at first, but during the higher rpm run-up there was a pronounced vibration.

Don’t quite yet know the exact cause, but probably is the engine mounts. Will start looking for the problem and hopefully get the F24 flying soon. Below you can see the decal we put on the airplane just as it had when it was new and part of the CAA fleet. Even though it won’t make it to the Corporate Wings event this year, it’s nice to have it dressed up.

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The Fairchild and the Ford.

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]]> http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/28/no-flight-to-blakesburg-engine-vibration-prevents-flying/feed/ 1 Fairchild Almost Ready To Fly http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/25/fairchild-almost-ready-to-fly/ http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/25/fairchild-almost-ready-to-fly/#comments Tue, 25 Aug 2009 16:51:00 +0000 admin http://skagitaero.com/?p=511 Departure day is just around the corner for Blakesburg, and the Fairchild is getting very close to flying. The leather baffles that fit between the engine and cowling are on. Tomorrow we expect to put everything back together and do an engine run up, then the test flight. If everything goes well we should fly the next few days to break in the engine and depart for Iowa on Sunday.

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Jim getting his hands on some of the more difficult bolts in an attempt to install the collector ring.

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Leather baffles in place, putting the finishing touches on the collector ring which can be a difficult exercise in things fitting at one end of the circle and not at the other. You can feel like a cat chasing its tail.

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Collector ring in place, ready for the cowling and engine start!

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]]> http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/25/fairchild-almost-ready-to-fly/feed/ 0 Harold pays us a visit http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/24/harold-pays-us-a-visit/ http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/24/harold-pays-us-a-visit/#comments Mon, 24 Aug 2009 20:21:25 +0000 jjenkins http://skagitaero.com/?p=495 Harold Hanson the founder of the museum paid us a visit this weekend. Here is Harold standing by the Fairchild 24G that is almost complete for our trip to Blakesburg. The engine top over haul is just about done.004

New inter-cylinder baffles being fit to the new cylinders.017

]]> http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/24/harold-pays-us-a-visit/feed/ 0 Fairchild Almost in the Air Again http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/12/fairchild-almost-in-the-air-again/ http://skagitaero.com/2009/08/12/fairchild-almost-in-the-air-again/#comments Thu, 13 Aug 2009 01:07:02 +0000 admin http://skagitaero.com/?p=406 Last week we finally received the cylinders for our Fairchild F-24. The airplane has been sitting in the restoration hangar for quite a few months now without much more than a crankcase in front of the firewall.

The cylinders look great, and they’re all laid out in the shop waiting to be reassembled. Of course just as we were getting ready to put everything back together we thought it a good time to give the Flitfire Cub an annual. That turned into a bit more than anticipated and a few cylinders had to be pulled off the Continental as well. So now it’s getting crowded in the hangar with several airplanes awaiting cylinders.

The Fairchild should be back together soon and after some local exercise we hope to fly it out to Blakesburg for the annual Antique Airfield Fly-In. This year’s theme is Corporate Wings and there will be a number of antique corporate aircraft flying in from around the country. The Fairchild was bought new from the factory by the Civil Aeronautics Administration and served the agency as their corporate aircraft.

In the meantime, we’re trying to finalize the date for our annual corn roast fly-in next month and should have the date up on the website soon.

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