After 5 years and about 3500 hours the L-P is ready to fly!
One of the biggest hurdles was getting the Airworthiness Certificate. Fortunately, I worked with a couple of great guys from the Milwaukee FSDO that really went to bat for me on getting this aircraft certified. Part of the delay was just that fewer and fewer Fed's have experience with antique airplanes. Everybody learned a lot through the process.
While I was waiting on the A/W Cert., I put about 5 hours on the engine. The last troublesome thing to repair was a cracked oil pump. The pipe thread fitting that screws in the side of the pump goes into a thin part of the casting, and that is where it cracked. Leaked like crazy when the engine was cold, but quit leaking when hot. I built up a new one and we are back in business.
I also finished the wheel covers. As you can see in the pictures, they are painted and have the grommets installed. They are held on the wheels with leather lacing cord.
And finally, the cowling could finally go on.
I've also been doing some taxi tests. I changed the tail skid to help with steering. As you recall, this aircraft has no brakes and just a tail skid. The original one had keels on the bottom which made steering difficult - basically stick full forward and a blast of power. That part was OK, I just didn't like the side load it put on the leaf spring and lower longerons when the tail came back down. I replaced it with more of a spoon-shaped skid that made a huge difference.
Everyone always asks "when are you going to fly it?" Well, I don't like a large audience when I first test fly an airplane, so it will just be a spur of the moment decision. All I can say is that it will be in the next couple of weeks. I'll be sure to make a post with a video when that happens.
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