The Work Begins In Earnest!

8/8/2010 - (Decided to add dates whenever I type) Up until now, I have done a little bit in removing the fabric of some of the various surfaces and removing paint from the fuselage, trying to work out processes etc.
I have decided to begin with the horizontal stabilizer as it has no internal working parts that will need any work. This also leaves me to concentrate on learning to properly apply the fabric covering without worrying about anything else.

Washing out the tail

The tail is large - 25 feet tip to tip and 42 inches front to back (without the elevators attached). It is so big I had thoughts of building a small fuselage and bolting it to the stabilizer and making a single seat aircraft, using the AN-2 tail as the wing. Just a passing thought.
After tearing off all the old fabric, I had a big mess on the ground. The Russians use cotton fabric, which only has about a 5 year life span. They have plenty of labor available, so recovering the plane every 5 years is not that big of a deal. I plan on using heavy weight poly-fiber material that could last 30 years or more. This job should only be done once in a persons lifetime. If the plane is still flying after I am gone, and my son has it and wants to recover the plane, good luck to him.
Unlike many other fabric covered aircraft, there is no rib stitching required to hold on the fabric. Along the top of each rib is a channel (refer picture) which houses a thin strip of soft aluminum. This holds the fabric in place. Easier and less time consuming to install, with the only problem is ordering the strips from Poland.

The cap strip and cross bracing

No stiching, but till lots of ribs to deal with

After peeling off the old fabric, I find that on the most part, the structure is in very good condition. All of the aluminum is alodized, with no corrosion evident. There are some steel cross bracing that has a little surface rust, but after a light rub with some 400 grit sandpaper, that comes away pretty quickly, leaving a smooth a shiny surface. My neighbor is an A&P with IA and thinks they will be fine. Just spray them with a corrosion shield and they should be ready to go for years of service.
The only other thing that needs doing is to clean off the glue on the leading edge and hinge areas. The only thing I have found so far is M.E.K. Nasty stuff! I have to wear a respirator and big gloves. Still, it melts the glue right away and then it is pretty easily wiped off with shop towels.

9/22/10 - Now that I am enrolled in an A & P course, I am learning much more about corrosion, (the killer of airplanes) what makes it occur, and how to avoid, or at least slow it down to acceptable levels. The benefit is that I am being taught how to be a licensed aircraft mechanic. The cost is very high in time, and will slow down the work. Oh, and by the way, the picture of me washing the stab shows lots of dirt in the yard behind me. Since then, with the help of all the kids, we finally got in grass, the sprinklers work and everything looks much better (but took a lot of time and energy). It has only been about three weeks, and the grass is growing so fast that I have had to mow it twice already. Hopefully it will start to get cold here soon, and slow the grass down a bit. I would rather work on the plane than mow grass!
I now realize that a more thorough inspection is required and as I am doing that I am still happy with what I am finding. Nothing so far to overly concern me. I now understand much more how different chemicals will react with the various metals, some in very nasty ways. I checked out the products I have used so far, and thankfully, all have been safe. At least I now know what to look for in chemicals. Even the wrong sandpaper can lead to corrosion problems later on. Who knew? And, 'Scrubbing Bubbles' is definitely NOT the right product for any type of metal surface, let alone an aluminum airplane.
Well, most of the glue and dirt is gone - at least on the side I can see - and I mixed up my first batch of epoxy filler to smooth out a few small dents and joints. It is great stuff and sets up really hard, but is easily sandable to smooth it out. Lets see what sort of a job I can manage to get a smooth surface. Onward and upward.