Experimenter is a magazine created by EAA for people who build airplanes. We will report on amateur-built aircraft as well as ultralights and other light aircraft.
Issue link: http://experimenter.epubxp.com/i/126719
A L o s t a n d F o un d H o m e b uil t show aircraft. We wanted to fly it and have fun. 5. To research its history and make that research part of this restoration. 6. To have the airplane finished and displayed at EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2012, the 40th anniversary of the PL-4's birth. Prior to starting the restoration, I e-mailed Margarita Pazmany, Ladislao's widow, and I told her that I had this aircraft and asked if she would be interested in reacquiring it for her company. She declined our offer and wished us well with the restoration. Much more importantly, she sent me a complete set of original builder's plans, a builder's manual, and a signed certificate indicating that I was the owner of N44PL, Serial Number 001. She did all of this without being asked and at no charge. What a gracious lady! any of its aluminum surfaces, which was pretty amazing considering how much it had been moved around. It had accumulated the expected dirt, grime, and bird and mouse droppings, so cosmetically it looked incredibly grungy, but the basic bones were in very good shape. We also discovered that this aircraft was built more like a production fighter aircraft rather than the average homebuilt, which I guess we should have expected. After all, Ladislao Pazmany was an aeronautical engineer and designed fighter aircraft for a living. The list of stuff that we'd have to replace included all the electrical wiring, tires, tubes hydraulic brake pads and lines, engine accessories, radio/navigation systems, and many of the instruments. The internal pitot tube lines, AN hardware, prop, belted redrive system, and other sundry items would be replaced only if needed. Dismantling Observations During the dismantling process, Greg and I sorted out the reusable items and stored those items that we would not use but wanted to keep as part of the legacy for this aircraft. We were pleased and surprised to find that overall this aircraft had been well protected and had not flown after 1978, based on the last tachometer time entry in the original logbook. It had very few hangar rash dents in Te Pl-4A as it looked when Ron and Greg hauled it to the Chapter hangar. 14 Vol.2 No.5 / May 2013 After deconstructing the PL-4A, we discovered several areas that needed more attention than originally anticipated, meaning that this aircraft would not make Oshkosh 2012. That didn't make us very happy, but we soldiered on. Restoring and Just a Little Improving There were several areas where we made improvements during the restoration process: