A Stitts Skycoupe Restoration Project

The Stitts Skycoupe is also known as Stitts SA7 D

Saturday, May 19, 2012

Work Session 5/12/2012

Terry, Kent and J-P took advantage of the perfect weather - dry and cool - to apply a coat of PolyBrush to the horizontal stabilizers, the final step before three coats of silver.   The stab served as a teaching lesson on spraying, which went well thanks to the controlled environment of Terry's spray booth.  The images below show how it's done.



Terry prepares the spray equipment which he keeps in a solvent following each use to assure absolute cleanliness.  Even the smallest speck can clog the spray head.


Spray painting results in a fine atomization of pigment and its solvent quickly evaporates.   Even outside the spray booth we donned air masks with new activated-charcoal filters.  Here J-P prepares his lungs and his camera.    Note in the background that all important tools, airplane parts, etc. have been covered.   Some fine paint particles will find their way outside the paint booth despite all precautions to the contrary.


Terry carefully applies one coat of Polybrush, traversing the surfaces in two different, overlapping patterns to assure complete coverage.   Important is the rig he created to hold the components, leaving his hands free for painting.

Monday, May 7, 2012

Work Session - 5/4/2012

Terry, J-P and Kent added some small tape reinforcements to the horizontal stabilizer.  Next comes the silver coat, which will hopefully start this week with cooler weather forecasted.   

The seat bottom and back have been mocked up with plywood and butt-tested by many BCAC members.   The angles and dimensions used are very close to those on Terry's RV-9 and corresponded with "best-practices" from leading textbooks on aircraft design.   Next comes fabrication of the seat bottom and back as well as the seat cushions.


















Terry adds a small reinforcement tape to the horizontal stabilizer.


Seat bottom and seat back mocked up and in place.  We gained two additional inches of headroom by dropping the base of the seat back into the original curved seat pan.   Visibility out the front remains good.   Entry and exit remains a challenge, c'est la vie!