Hello Everyone,
I've been taking full advantage of the forums on this website over the last 7 days so figured it was time to introduce myself and get involved. Living in northern Ohio I typically try and find a project to work on throughout the winter. That usually entails finding an old engine that fits the race car my buddies and I try to kill ourselves in (no, it's not much of a car, it's a lemons/chump car) and rebuilding/reworking or stripping for parts. Long story short, there aren't any new car parts in my garage but there is a very weathered and very used Legal Eagle. I found it during my engine search and the guy selling it happened to be less than an hour drive for me. A few visits later and it's now mine. Given that the asking price was less than what appears to be the cost of a new 1/2 VW, I jumped on it.
My intent is to do a complete restoration on the LE. I've pulled the engine and stand mounted it for a rebuild and begun documentation. The only docs I have are the original plans ordered from Mr. M and a serial number. The engine is a Global design which I haven't identified yet. The fuselage appears to be straight and true, all the major structural components appear good on first inspection and a good friend of mine who is a welder by trade will be inspecting all the welds for me over the coming weeks. I'm a decent welder myself but I'm going with a pro for thorough inspection. I think I have something to work with here.
I spent a good few years as a military aircraft mechanic and so I'm going to try and leverage all of my old knowledge in the rebuild and documentation. My other half is a technical writer for a big industrial automation company and she'll help with the manual generation. I also have flight training and spent a bit of time tooling around in 152's and 172's so I think this little gem is perfect for me.
I look forward to participating in this community and taking full advantage of ideas that someone else came up with!
Should I say I feel like a 12 year old who's just had the best Christmas ever? Goal is airworthy by the time spring get's here, which is usually around May for me.
Thanks for all the info I've plagiarized already, and all the info I have yet too. I'll try and leave a few nuggets for the taking as well as I go through the restoration.
Bill G.
Akron Ohio.
