Ted's Aircraft Shop
Step 2. Organizing and Planning, page 5
Step 2. Organizing and Planning
Looking through the Cub Clues newsletters, I discovered such a rich collection of articles on restoring the Piper Cub I could not
keep it all in mind. I also discovered Clyde Smith Jr. and his the “Cub Doctor” articles. Clyde Smith (senior) was the
principal test pilot for Piper in the period across World War II and later. His son (junior) grew up with Piper Aircraft and
learned Cubs inside and out from his father and the company. Clyde is the world’s expert in all things Piper Cub. His
counterpart for Aeronca aircraft is Bill Pancake. These people are national resources, and we will lose much of our history
when they pass.
All aircraft people are familiar with Aircraft Spruce that supplier of parts and supplies for building and maintaining airplanes. Their catalog is an encyclopedia of parts, techniques, and possibilities, a kind of “Joy of Cooking” of experimental and homebuilt
aircraft. As I started my project, I found other rich sources of supply—Wicks Aircraft, Univair, Wagaero, Freeman’s Just Plane
Hardware, Chief Aircraft, Aircraft Tool Supply, Avery Tools, Cleaveland Tools, The Yard Store, and many others. And for lovers
of tools with tight budgets, the essential suppliers are Harbor Freight and Northern Tool. If you remodel your home, you know
Home Depot and Lowes. If you restore aircraft you know Aircraft Spruce, Wicks, and Harbor Freight. The Internet had made
shopping these sources easy.
And you can buy 4-inch Grove hydraulic brakes and wheels that work like Clevelands, but look like Goodyears. And the 4 inch
hub caps look original. It took me awhile to get used to the idea that “restoration” could take so many forms. I detail
some of the less obvious changes in the later steps described in the restoration.
The result of my search for other Cubs was
a book of photographs of planes, interiors, engines, fuel caps, tailwheels, control surfaces, and antenna innovations. I organized
the photos into a 3-ring binder that helped guide me in my work. It has become an important as the Cub blueprints and the Cub
Clues newsletter.
10. Covering the Fuselage
11. Assembling and Rigging
12. Flight Testing
