Scudrunners

Andy: 
The AME could have “slathered” the bondo on an inch deep and it is still the owner’s responsibility to have the control balanced.  The AME did not kill the owner.  Further, the aircraft was then painted; still no control balance.  Had that action been taken, the holes in the piece of cheese would not have been in alignment.  In addition, no new weight and balance further exacerbates the situation.
 
As you said, the 300 knot flutter speed is a theoretical figure and can be drastically reduced by the above down into the range at which the aircraft came apart…

Now, as to your closing comments. 

“If you think it's a great idea to put bondo on your RV, go right ahead.  We'll have a nice ceremony for you, too. 
You homebuilt guys are really weird. 
I really don't know why the fuck I bother, frankly. 
Go kill yourselves”

I was going to reply in kind, thought about it all afternoon, and decided against it.  It is obvious you are a hater – a hater of amateur builders and have some sort of animosity towards the group.  Don’t know why, but it is a pity.  Someone with your capabilities, expertise, and attention to detail could probably turn out an exceptional example of one of, say, Van’s RVs. 

Who constructs amateur-built/homebuilt aircraft?  People from all walks of life, including astronauts, airline pilots, military jet pilots, machinists, welders, professional people and others.  You know:  weird folks.

Some fairly well qualified folks there, don’t you think?

A thought:  aren’t some Pitts homebuilts…?

[quote]The AME did not kill the owner[/quote]

The guy that bondo'd over the rivets on Andy's
rudder was NOT an AME.  I really, really hope
an AME would never do that.  He was an automotive
painter, whom all too frequently end up painting
airplanes.  He had no idea what he was doing.


[quote]you are a hater[/quote]

Me, a hater?  I get so much fucking animosity and
hatred spewed at me, all the time, I'd have to be
a fucking saint to still be a nice guy.

Why don't you phone up Arlo Speer or Wayne Foy
or Laird Gillespie and ask them why they told airshow
operators to not issue SFOC's with my name on them?

Or when TC yanked my father's medical, in retribution
for Hanover, according to Dr Appleford, a fucking TC
employee?

So, TC "does family".  Can I expect some slimy TC
fucks to hang around my girl's school and threaten
them, too?

How about just giving me back my fucking laptop and
iphone that TC seized a fucking year ago?

Since when does TC get to seize and keep private
fucking property?  Canada is such a fucking banana
republic.

Would you be a hater if TC stole your personal property?
Or had you flagged with customs?  For years there,
I couldn't cross the border without having my wallet
search.  Fucking TC dirty tricks.

As far as homebuilts go .... I have risked my ass in
more homebuilts than you can count, giving dual.

Fucking 13B rotary engines.  Sonerai.  More RV's
than I can count.  Falco.  Warbirds.  Antiques. 
You name it, I've given dual to new owner/builders
in it.  I've risked my life for fucking pennies, and
I'm a "hater".  Uh huh.

It's never enough.  Doesn't matter what you do,
you're a [b]BAD PERSON[/b].  Ok, fine.

Like Donald Trump.  He could discover the cure
for cancer, and everyone would still fucking hate
him.  The Canadian Limousine Liberals would screech
and accuse him of over-populating the earth by
wiping out disease.

Whatever.  I spent 25 years of my life giving dual,
and all I got was attacked by a bunch of fat fucks
at TC, none of whom can fly or fix an airplane.

Fuck that shit.

[quote author=DeflectionShot link=topic=5439.msg14065#msg14065 date=1484850354]
First time I've heard that people use Bondo on airplanes. Is that a common practice for homebuilts?
[/quote]

Back when I was bush flying in the Islander on landing I flung a rock at the tail (or so I figured) anyway that or years of flying around and many landings later dislodged a chunk of bondo at least 6 inches long and 3 deep out of the leading edge of the horizontal stab. I called the boss and since he owned the plane (8 years) it was never damaged nor was there anything in the maintenance log going back as far as he had records for which was about 20 years.

So this chunk of bondo lasted for (maybe) 20 years getting the crap knocked out of it before it failed. Now if this was a kosher repair or if its used as a legal repair I cannot speak to that. 
.

In the dark recesses of my memory, I seem to recall in
some Piper maintenance instructions specifically allowing
for bondo for use as a dent filler.

There's nothing wrong, from an engineering standpoint,
with using bondo on (non-moving, non-balanced) aluminum
before paint.

Lots of award winners at OSH are full of bondo.  They want
that smooth look.  I fly an experimental/exhibition T-6
that has pounds of bondo on the leading edges of the
wings.  Flies fine.  EAA's F-104 was full of bondo, IIRC.

The problem with bondo is that if you get water in behind
it, and it freezes, it will push the bondo out.  If that
doesn't happen, the bondo can last a very long time.

It's really very simple.  From an engineering perspective,
if the aluminum doesn't move, it doesn't matter.  If
the aluminum does move, you must think extremely
carefully before you modify it.

I was in the stands a the Reno Air Races in 2007.  Me fave Rare Bear won that year.  Yay!


After crossing the finish line, pilot John Penny discovered the throttle wouldn't close.  Steve Hinton (Sr.) formed up in the T-33 pace plane to have a look.  After discovering nothing amiss, JP and Bear's crew chief made the plan.  JP pulled mixture at high key and executed the emergency landing perfectly.


In the first image have a look at the cowl in front of the wing root.  Look at the same place in the second picture.  That's a patch of bondo having come of an blown through the carb intake at the wing root.  Somehow a painter convinced the crew he was experienced painting airplanes.  Evidently the crew had to clean the bondo out of the static port as well.  They were in such a time crunch that year, they finally painted the crew names on the gear doors in the hours before the final on Sunday.  Afterwards the crew guys said they should never have left the painter alone with the plane, they should have stayed with him 24 hours a day, till it was done.


Here's a couple of pros at work:

3 feet removed from each wing, no flaps.  Dude can fly!


Cheers
Gerry

Well done, the Sea Fury is one of my all time favorites, I recently got a glimpse of one down in KAPA (Denver Centennial) it was on the back of a flat deck being driven away. done up in Canadian Navy colours couldn't get the camera out in time.

Admin:  sorry about the thread drift; you can shut it down if you like...


Andy:

Auto mechanic not AME:  my bad; I read it too fast.  However, the auto mechanic did not kill the pilot.  It is the OWNER’S responsibility to get the control balanced, regardless of the “qualifications” of the painter guy or whatever he was. 

Re your other comments:  I don’t know how one person can get in so much sh*t with TC!  I spent six years with the organization and had an excellent rapport with those whom we served.  However, from reading this and other posts, I get the impression you’re like Albert in “Albert and the Lion”.  I’d be interested in knowing what started the whole merry-go-round.    (I presume that by TC you mean those guys with Enforcement?)

I have no knowledge of your father or his problems.  What happened?

You obviously have had a lot to do with the amateur build scene.  Why then the comments:
“If you think it's a great idea to put bondo on your RV, go right ahead.  We'll have a nice ceremony for you, too. 
You homebuilt guys are really weird. 
I really don't know why the fuck I bother, frankly. 
Go kill yourselves!”
What am I to infer from this invective?  Love?  Grudging admiration?  That’s not what I took from it.
Now:
“…I spent 25 years of my life giving dual, and all I got was attacked by a bunch of fat fucks at TC, none of whom can fly or fix an airplane...”  It begs the question:  WHY were you attacked by Transport? (Again, do you mean Enforcement?)
When I was with Transport, my co-workers included a Herc pilot, an Argus pilot, a Sabre and ‘104 pilot, a Golden Hawk,  a Reserve Tracker pilot, a couple of Citation pilots, and a smattering of others.  I know nothing about their sex lives but I was about the only one a tad overweight…

Closing thought:  No names, no pack drill; but in what universe would one expect that a crotch-grabbing, misogynistic, racist, narcissistic, egotistical bully would win the presidency of the United States? 

John

[quote]WHY were you attacked by Transport?[/quote]

The president of Vintage Wings told me, "You have
too many shiny airplanes in your hangar".

But I really have no idea.  Why don't you call up your
buddies Arlo Speer, Wayne Foy or Laird Gillespie or
Rotten Ronnie at CYSH and ask them?

Hell, anyone in Tower C or 4900 Yonge St can explain
"The Campaign".

Similarly, I have no idea why the FAA decided to make
the lives of Bob Hoover and Melissa Andrzejewski so
difficult that they had to move to Australia to fly. 

I have met both Bob and Melissa, and have seen them
both fly, and with all due respect, there isn't anyone at
TC with even 1% of their skill.

Which might explain the bureaucratic imperative at
work here.

Anyways.  I'm tired of all your dirty tricks, and eating
your shit, and your intimidation tactics.  I really fucking
hate fat fucking bullies and cowards.  Not one of you
fat fucks ever had the balls to walk up to me in person
and take a swing.

I'm completely fucking blown away by your bureaucratic
arrogance that after decades of completely illegal abuse,
I should [i]like [/i]you TC guys.

Are you fucking insane?

When can I get my fucking laptop and phone back, that
you fuckers stole from me a year ago?  When are you
fat fucks going to "get over" whatever your psychological
problems are?

You going to rough up my girls when they get out of school?

Canada is a fucking banana republic.

[quote]Closing thought:  No names, no pack drill; but in what universe would one expect that a crotch-grabbing, misogynistic, racist, narcissistic, egotistical bully would win the presidency of the United States? 
[/quote]

I wouldn't characterize Bill Clinton as racist but the rest is pretty accurate.

[quote author=ScudRunner link=topic=5439.msg14133#msg14133 date=1485031171]
Well done, the Sea Fury is one of my all time favorites...
[/quote]


I don't know what airplane you're referring to, Rare Bear started life as a Grumman F8F-2 Bearcat.


http://www.lewisairlegends.com/aircraft/rare-bear


Yeah, I like the Sea Fury as well.  ;)


Gerry