October 2015 Update

Some travel, some fishing, annual inspection on my 172, and some laziness, kept me away from the project some but some progress is being made including the first parts covered.

 Updates are in the Fuselage and Tail Feathers sections.

Also had some fun, met some fellow Taylorcraft owners/restorers and got re-inspired at Oshkosh.

North 40

July 2015 Update

Getting ready to fly to OSH, but I'll be flying my 172 as CF-CLR is still a long way from completion.  The new goal is Oshkosh 2016!

Progress has been made and I've certainly been putting in many hours.  A good deal of finicky work particularly in the parts fabrication department and especially where it involved parts which I don't have and was unable to come up with drawings or photos.  The hat shelf is an example... a seemingly less significant part but CF-CLR has metal door frames and "D' windows which apparently is a less common configuration.  My desire to remain within the relm of the original design further complicates things.

Anyway I'm happy to say that most of the fabrication hurdles have been crossed and the fuselage is almost ready for fabric.

The cabin doors turned out to be more than a strip and repaint so I gave them a separate section.  So new photos and blow-by-blow are located in the Doors and Fuselage sections.

March 2015

March already and I'm behind with my blogging.  Progress on CLR in January and February was slow, in part due to the cold and in part due to the cold.  We were lucky enough to escape the winter for three weeks but of course the project sat idle while I pursued other interests......

February was particularly cold and some days I didn't even bother going to the hanger as it would simply be too cold to work.  Even on the best days anything involving paint/primer is out, so work on the tail feathers was started.  This lead to a need to get dimensions from the fuselage so, after 17 years of hanging from the ceiling in our garage, we humped it onto the roof of the Jeep, and shoveled enough snow to get it into the hangar.

In the next couple of days look for updates to the Wings and Ailerons sections, and new sections for the Tail Feathers and Fuselage.  Check out the "brake" I made to make the wing leading edges and the tube bender to make a new stab leading edge.  Also, on the days it was too cold for the hangar, I worked on the engine baffles, fuel tank and instruments in our basement.

A cluster of clusters.  If I never clean another cluster it will be too soon!

Christmas 2014 Update

Traveling at the end of November and first week in December kept me away from the project but the wing components are now substantially done ready for assembly and the ailerons are part way through assembly.  I've also done some work on instruments and the instrument panel, photos to follow.

That's it for 2014! Have a great holiday season and I'll pick it up where I left off in the New Year.

November 2014 Update

November 2014 - As usual, everything takes more time than expected and the amount of time available is less than expected (too many fishing trips I guess). Anyway considerable work has been done, even if it doesn't show in terms of completions!

I've added updates in the Wing, Engine, and  Parts Sections

Updates added in the Wing and Engine Sections

Introduction

1946 BC12D S/N 8886 A65 Continental

I purchased this aircraft over the phone in 1984 with the intention of rebuilding it. The wings had been removed for storage in the seller's basement. I trailered it home and soon realized it was actually in reasonable shape, so I replaced the windshield, checked conformance on all AD's etc., did a few fabric repairs, put on some new tires and flew it on wheels and skis until 1989, about 150 hours.

In 1989 I started the restoration but career changes, a sailing adventure, kids, and moves back and forth across the country (Canada) means not much progress until now. Now the girls are away at school and it's time to get to work.

I currently live and work in Thunder Bay Canada.  I no longer work on aircraft for a living but I've maintained my aircraft maintenance (AME) certification.  I also have a Cessna 172M which I fly regularly both VFR and IFR.

I hope to keep a log here of the restoration of the Taylorcraft, which is now CF-CLR.  The aircraft was built in 1946 and originally registered NC96586, later N96586.

Imported into Canada in 1973, it became CF-DEP. The last time it flew was April 1989 at St. Lazare Quebec (I was flying) and the aircraft has accumulated 1470 (corrected to 1876TT) flying hours, with 626 hours since major overhaul on the 65 horsepower Continental engine.

Note that the chronology here is not particularily convenient. Newer posts are at the top of each section.  This means to see the restoration as it unfolded, the reader needs to scroll toward the bottom of each section.  Each post is subtitled with the month and year and generally covers 3 or 4 months of progress.