52 | AUGUST 2019 FLYINGMAG.COM
while clients’ avionics are being tended to. This was a good
thing for my Bo as it needed more help than we originally
thought. The day I dropped the airplane off at Advanced
Aero back in January, I removed the interior myself, uncov-
ering the remains of a mouse colony. Mouse droppings are
acidic and can cause corrosion under the f loorboards. We
used this opportunity to clean and then seal the exposed
aluminum. Sound X solid insulation replaced all the soft
fiberglass the mice treated like Canada goose down.
Before the Eagle fuel cells went in, Steve got a good look
inside the wings. Luckily, there was no corrosion to speak
of. I was not as fortunate with the ruddervators. One had
to be reskinned by one of the few people skilled enough
to work with the material: Glen from Biggs Aircraft.
The other ruddervator had its paint stripped by Beegles
Aircraft Services. I received a welcome call from the owner,
Scott, telling me the corrosion was only in the paint itself
and had gone no farther.
There is yet more work to be done. A Hartzell starter
and alternator went on the overhauled engine as well as a
D’Shannon baff le kit to help cool it. A Hartzell Scimitar
prop will go on as soon as the engine is reinstalled. I had
one of these props on my old airplane, and the climb per-
formance and noise profile were both outstanding. It also
looks the business. Whelen lights replaced all of the incan-
descent units with brighter LEDs—bulbs that will likely
never need replacement in my lifetime and draw less power
than the old ones. We installed the B&C standby alternator
system as well as the CiES fuel senders and the Tannis pre-
heat system. The Electro Air ignition system will go in as
soon as the motor is reinstalled.
With all of these new electrical items being installed inthe airplane, the old fuse panel no longer even remotely
represents the current electrical state of the airplane. Air
Capital Dial took my existing electroluminescent panel
and both relabeled and refurbished it. The panel now
looks like it came off the Beech assembly line last week
and labels items that had not even been invented when the
airplane was built in 1973.
Just when I thought I’d spoken to everyone who ever
made a part for a Beechcraft, I found myself on the phone
with a fellow named Guy from Gee Bee Aeroproducts. Guy
makes seals and ducts for Beechcraft. His products, though
inexpensive, are both crucial and fall squarely into the
while-we’re-in-there category. Once the engine is installed,
some of these old, cracked seals, such as the firewall seal,
become unreachable.
In the last four months, I learned more about my
airplane than I ever could have if I’d left all the work
and research to others. By playing the part of the GC, I
taught myself more than I thought possible about my
airplane. Now I am seriously thinking about getting
my A&P certificate.
A few weeks ago a friend called to ask me about his
own Bonanza. He had a question about cross-hatching
on cylinder walls. Had he asked a year ago, I would
have scratched my head and suggested he call some-
one more qualified than me. I think of the many times I
have called my mechanic, Bob Ripley, and had something
explained, albeit briskly.
This time, I answered the question. Slowly. There is no
better feeling than being “The Guy” yourself.LEADING EDGE General Contractor
The inside of my barn coming together in upstate New York.