Announcing the Winners

For their beautiful photo contributions to this year's 2014 Taylorcraft Lover's Calendar, the following are the winners of a FREE calendar.  That is except for Jerry Borshard, who gets TWO free ones for having one of his wonderful shots selected as this year's COVER.

Thanks to all who contributed.  For those who want to have this treasured selection of pictures hanging in our Kitchen or Shop or Office, hurry and order yours today. Here's another look at the outstanding cover shot provided by Jerry Borshard.

Just how nice are the calendar photos?  You'll have to purchase yours to see!  But to give you an idea, here are the ones that didn't make it.  These deserve recognition as honorable mention pictures that were not featured this year.  We so regret that we couldn't include all of these very nice shots.  So we decided to share them here and let you imagine for yourself how good the rest of the calendar shots must be.

9-GALLON WING TANKS FOR TAYLORCRAFT L-2 / DC

NOW AVAILABLE - FAA Approved paperwork for extended range (9-gallon) wing tanks for Taylorcraft L-2 / DC Tandem series aircraft.

C E R T I F I E D   A E R O N A U T I C A L    P R O D U C T S

FAA-DER APPROVED DRAWING PACKAGE

$ CALL FOR PRICE 

CALL TODAY (254) 715-4773 

C.A.P. has collaborated with FAA Certified Repair Station operator, Craig Gunder of Gunder Restorations and Design, and L-2A owner Mark Watson, to develop details and installation drawings for this worthwhile upgrade.  Gunder and Watson teamed up to fabricate and install the upgrade in Watson's L-2A using FAA-DER approved paperwork from C.A.P.  They have each shared the following photos of their quality workmanship. 

9-GALLON LH FUEL TANK 

FABRICATED BY 

GUNDER RESTORATION & DESIGN

FAA CERTIFIED REPAIR STATION

RED LION, PA - (717) 246-1200

The 9-gallon tank design drawings specify 0.050t Aluminum 5052-H32.  All plumbing connections, including sight tube, are identical to the original 6-gallon factory tanks.  The weight of each aluminum 9-gallon tank assembly is within 1/2 lb. of the original steel/terneplate 6-gallon tanks.     

L-2A UPGRADE WITH 9-GALLON WING TANKS

INSTALLED BY MARK WATSON

The installation requires that the #2 rib be cut between spars and re-located approx 3 inches outboard.  A false rib is attached to spars and bonded to tank top surface.  A false rib is also used at bottom. 

LH installaiton - note false rib bonded to tank

LH installation - note #2 rib re-located.

LH installation underside - note false rib at tank bottom

Optional aluminum leading edge skin section can be added for ease of access.  Although this modification could be accomplished with the wings still mounted on the airframe, it is recommended to remove wings for this job.

RH tank with 9-gallon tank and optional wing leading edge section installed

False ribs are used to maintain airfoil curvature and fabric attachment by rib-stitching. 

View inside RH wing of fabric attachment to false spar via rib-stitches

Mark finished modifying his airplane in March 2012.  We have not yet had a pilot report.  Perhaps he may be too busy flying.  We do hope to hear more feedback from Mark soon.

Both wings finished, ready for installation.

The modification is highly recommended for L-2 and DC-65 airplanes which have had engine upgrade to C-85, C-90, or O-200 per CAP's STC # SA02164LA.  When finished, the total fuel capacity is increased from 14 gallons to 20 gallons.    This means you can extend your aircraft's fuel endurance range by approximately 1 hour, considering the fuel consumption rate of an O-200, a logical trade-off for a fuel weight gain of only 36 pounds. 

Aircraft / People profile: N57504, L-2A is no stranger to this weblog.  Back in 2008, when owned by Mr. Ed O'Brien of Denver, CO, this airplane became one of the first to have a C.A.P. STC engine upgrade to C85-12 installed by Mr. Dave Wiebe in El Dorado, KS.  The airplane had been restored in 2004 by Mr. Jon Frasier in Idaho. Mark Watson acquired the aircraft from Ed sometime after 2008.  Then in 2011, tragedy struck.  While displaying the airplane at the annual Sun-N-Fun fly-in, the airplane was severely damaged in the infamous tornado.  Not letting this adversity get the best of him, Mark went to work repairing his airplane. He decided to install the 9-gallon tanks upgrade in the process.  Our hats are off to Mark, having the airplane airworthy again in less that a year after the tornado incident.

- - - - - - - // - - - - - - -

Credit where credit is due:  C.A.P. can certainly take no credit for the concept employed in the L-2 fuel tank mods.  In fact, other one-off fuel tank installations have been accomplished in the past under various configurations to increase the fuel capacity of L-2's.  C.A.P. was involved in some of these to support individuals with their own designs.  We have seen everything from fiberglass to multiple inter-connected fuel cells.  We have studied all configurations and decided to take the best features from all and incorporate them into one design concept that could be standardized and cleanly packaged for ease of production and simple to install.  Design concept credit really comes from the combined lessons learned from projects by Lane Tufts, Mike Letrello, John Collier, and Jim Calcotte.  Credit for the detail design of the tank itself is rightfully due to the expertise of Craig Gunder.  And much of the details associated with installation design credit must go to Mark Watson.  The Taylorcraft community is indebted to these folks.  C.A.P. exists to help funnel this kind of expertise into the vintage airplane fleet at large, to help preserve these airplanes for years to come

Drawings available for L-2 Wing Tanks

C.A.P. is pleased to announce that we now have FAA-Approved Drawings available for replacement 6-gallon D-Series (L-2) wing tanks. Your cost is [TBD] for the drawings and FAA-DER approval.



















Someday CAP may pursue obtaining PMA for these parts. But for now, we are pleased to make this "approved data" available for Taylorcraft restorers to make their own parts under the FAA accepted "Owner Produced Parts" policy. 100% Satisfaction Guranteed. If these drawings are not helpful for your needs, CAP will refund your money. Now THAT's a reasonable offer. All we ask is that you are reasonable and honest with us!

Order yours today:
Please send us your check
TO BE DETERMINED
Call to discuss

to:

Certified Aeronautical Products
2457 Texas Highway 236
Moody, TX 76557

FABRICATION SERVICES AVAILABLE.
******************************************************************** Two 6-gallon tanks with design approval (8110-3) for
$ 1,750 + shipping
******************************************************************** Inquire at (254) 715-4773
If you buy these, they will be considered Owner Produced Parts and you are responsible for verifying they meet the approved data.

Thank you.

STC # SA02164LA

Certified Aeronautical Products offers the following STC Paperwork for sale:

STC # SA02164LA: 85 - 90 - or - 100 HORSEPOWER!

Taylorcraft L2/DC(O)-65 Engine Upgrade

Continental Engine - C85, C90, or O200A

CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION

---------------------------------------------------
Contact:

Certified Aeronautical Products

2457 Texas Highway 236

Moody, TX 76557

phone: (254) 715-4773

email: barnstmr@aol.com

Taylorcraft Exhaust Conversion

Taylorcraft BC-Series or DC-Series
Conversion to Dual Exhaust (Luscombe 8E-style)
Comes with installation drawings and DER 8110-3 Approval Paperwork to be referenced on 337.


All parts are available as FAA-PMA parts from Wag-Aero, Univair, or other sources.
Improves maintainability of exhaust and improves carburetor heater / cabin heater performance.

No cross-over tube behind engine.


Lower oil temperature due to less radiant heat impingement on oil reservoir.

Makes for more room at rear of engine for alternator or generator installation (with C85, C90, O200).

My Airplane is a...

Taylorcraft BC-series $250.00 Taylorcraft DC-series $250.00 Taylorcraft 19 / F19 $250.00 Other - call for quote $0.00

Airplane/Engine model & s/n

Tom Peters' L-2B with Cont. C85-12

STC SA02164LA Testimonial:
I received a note from Tom Peters, who owns this sweet little L-2B.

"Terry,

Here are some other pictures that I have at my office. I may have some others on my home computer. I will check and send them. I have no problem with you using them so long as you don't try to pass them off as your own (just kidding). The B-17 in in the background is the EAA Aluminum Overcast. The gentleman in the period costume is not known by me. The picture with the other aircraft was taken at an EAA fly in at Sulphur Springs.

As to the STC, it is the best thing to happen to my L-2. I went from A- 65, 65 horsepower to the C-85-12, 85 horsepower. I used the same prop as the A-65 (Flottorp 7248 wooden). I get about 7-10 mph more cruise but the real change is in climb performance. The plane jumps off the ground now and climbs better with two people on board than it did solo before. I have not flown enough to evaluate the fuel burn but based on the short flights I have taken, it is about the same. I can't tell you how comforting it is to not have to stand in front of the plane and flip the prop to start. I go through the same preflight routine as the A-65. Throttle closed, mags off. Turn the prop through 8 blades. Climb in, mags on, push the button and it starts on one or two blades. I did not install a generator (yet) but may in the future. The change over was easy. Used the same engine mount, exhaust and cowling. added 15 pounds to the empty weight but that is more than compensated for with the extra horsepower. The only modification I had to do was cut a hole in the lower cowl because the carburetor intake was a little different. At some point in the future, I plan to upgrade the C-85 with the O200 conversion STC to get to 100 horsepower.
Tom"

Installation Photos: L-2 / DCO-65

L-2B - C85-12 - Delco Starter - NO alternator
Aircraft is modified with enclosed cowl from L-2M













L-2M - O200A - 60-amp alternator - "Split" Exhaust mod









Click here: Success Story











L2M - c85-8 - NO starter & NO electrical system









L-2A - C85-12 - B&C Starter - NO charging system
Aircraft has elec. system but uses external portable battery charger