Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Mods, approval, 337's, STC's, fun with the Feds.
Post Reply
asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

Some vinyl came in. Went with 2" numbers. $9. Can't beat that. Also a re-make of the original maule tail logo. I like these.

Image

Image

Interior parts back from powdercoat. Went with a lightly textured medium gray. The cargo will be dark, yes.

Image

Put the rear seat in to see how the upholstery would look. I knew it wouldn't match, but actually it's not as bad as I expected. It's the original tan color. With the good condition the upholstery is in, I don't see replacing it being a priority for a while. Originally I had planned to redo it all.

Image

Hoping to move onto the skylight and boot cowls next now that the interior is complete. New windshield was expected to ship December 9th but haven't heard anything and the company is closed until the 3rd.

asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

Committed to decal placement, I'm satisfied.

Image

Started on fabricating and fitting the super skylight. This was all done with stock materials per Maule drawings. Using grey tinted acrylic, same as the patroller windows. Lots of measuring, drawing lines, removing, fitting again, taping, measuring, ad nauseum. But 3 sides are cleco'd in place. Need to turn all these clecos into nut plates tomorrow. My garage door opener is crowding the work area but still thankful for the great place to work.

Image

Image

Image

asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

More work on fitting the skylight and associated fairings. Not done yet but sure does look like it could be. Didn't have enough of the same length machine screws so those should arrive in a few days and I'll wrap it up.

Image

Installed VG's on the stabilizer. Had forgotten about these. Why didn't someone remind me to do this before I put the tail on? Would've been a lot easier on a bench instead of laying on my back. Micro sends a VERY complete kit, including tools like a sharpened pencil, masking tape, thread, gloves, xacto knife, and a tape measure. Only thing missing was alcohol for cleaning.

Image

Image

Image

User avatar
bobguhr
100+ Posts
Posts: 297
Joined: Tue Jun 08, 2010 4:57 pm
Location: West Milford, New Jersey
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by bobguhr »

ASA I think you’ve found your calling, Beautiful work and excellent documenting. Thanks for sharing!

User avatar
montana maule
100+ Posts
Posts: 308
Joined: Sun Sep 24, 2006 7:27 am
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by montana maule »

You may want to review FAR 45.29 which deals with N number size.

asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

montana maule wrote:
Sat Dec 31, 2022 6:45 am
You may want to review FAR 45.29 which deals with N number size.
Thanks for bringing this up. My post a couple ones back spurred my IA (who reads all this) to say the numbers weren’t legal, had to be 12” since they were replaced/repainted.

I understand that FAR (as far as I know), however there is an exception for “antique airplanes”. The FAR (and associated AC) go on to define antique airplanes as an airplane older than 30 years. Antique planes can use numbers down to 2” height (mine are actually a little over 3”) and should be placed above or below the horizontal on the vertical tail surface. I believe I have satisfied FAR 45.29 by using the antique exception that then places me under 45.22. My IA now seems to agree (which is pivotal) so I’m sticking with the small ones.

One of the reasons I wanted small numbers is because I’m considering changing the registration back to the original (N56442) that it left the factory with. I don’t want to muddle up all the paperwork by doing it at the same time that I’m filing a bunch of 337’s though, so small numbers are easier to replace if I do change it in a year or so. Already reserved that N number.

Thanks
Asa

asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

Ending the year with electrical success. Called my Dad in to stand menacingly in the corner with a fire extinguisher so I could power the old girl up finally. Added power incrementally as I tested and probed with a multimeter so make sure it was getting distributed correctly. Sure enough, it all worked.

Image

Only hiccup I found was that on all 4 mic jacks I swapped the wires for the PTT and MicLo meaning my intercom did not work at all when I tested with headsets. I looked at the diagram and it made sense - I had been reading the jack diagram backwards in terms of which was ring and which was tip. Found this issue in about 7 minutes, could have been hours. Praise be, moving on.

Time to celebrate New Years, no more airplane work until 2023.

Old Piper
100+ Posts
Posts: 109
Joined: Fri Sep 10, 2010 7:19 pm
Location: New York '75 M5-210C, Rebuilding (2) M7-235C for retirement sanity.
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by Old Piper »

Nice work and layout!
What thoughts do you have for the right side of panel?

I lost track, did you mount a Nav antenna in the rear fuselage or go without? GPS has overwhelmingly won out for equipment.

You’ll enjoy having the center top engine monitor, it’s a great location.

Happy New Year!
Tom

asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

Thanks, Tom! Right side is blank other than the small things you see in that picture up against the radio stack. There’s enough empty space to put an iPad but I’ve found myself not using one when I have an aera660 in the plane.

I did not do a nav antenna in the tail.

Happy new year

asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

Cargo door is done. Back door is fitted and parts are all fabbed but needs final assembly and paint. Front doors are just beginning and are cause for hating life. There are two types of maule patroller door constructions. On one the plexi is held in by being riveted-through with the skin. The other, the plexi is sandwiched with small angles. I went with the former for the back door. It's not as great for plexi longevity but it's simpler and has more open glass area. Basically the door is all plexi with a surround of aluminum.

Image

Image

Front door frame/hinge fitting. This is the worst part.

Image

User avatar
Andy Young
100+ Posts
Posts: 1545
Joined: Wed Oct 05, 2011 7:10 am
Location: Alaska, Antarctica, Colorado, and Others
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by Andy Young »

Per the POH, you really only need to install one front door (if you’re hating the process that much). ;-)

User avatar
Isaac
Posts: 61
Joined: Sat Mar 20, 2010 12:07 pm
Location: Bethel, Ak
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by Isaac »

Asa, your work looks great! I enjoyed reading through this thread and seeing what you have done. Thanks for sharing your build with us. If you bring it up to Alaska you will have to stop by our home strip In Trapper Creek sometime.
Isaac
God’s Country Aviation

asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

Isaac wrote:
Tue Jan 03, 2023 8:22 am
Asa, your work looks great! I enjoyed reading through this thread and seeing what you have done. Thanks for sharing your build with us. If you bring it up to Alaska you will have to stop by our home strip In Trapper Creek sometime.
Isaac
God’s Country Aviation
I really appreciate that! Planning to bring it up to AK April-September, and will be based in Talkeetna now instead of Port Alsworth.
-asa

------------------------------------------
Well I spent more time than I'd like to admit chasing down some intercom interference/noise. Did a continuity pinout check of the harness again, tested the headset jack harnesses for ground loops, unpinned each connector input to see which input was bringing in the interference. Turns out that my battery voltage had just dropped below the minimum for the internal noise filtering to work. Hooked up to a beefier battery charger and it all worked great. Jokes on me. But at least I know now and it's fixed. Wanted to make sure I got all that sorted out before I rivet on the boot cowl and glareshield.

Took the boot cowls I rough cut/fit back in the spring and did another test fit, made final revisions, deburr, etc.

Image

Image

I decided to use oratex on the boot cowls rather than match paint. So I prepped and primered them and started the oratex process. Left side came out great! Glue is drying on right side and I'll iron it on tomorrow hopefully. Inside faces will be painted flat black.

Image

Image

Built the inside frame for the boot cowl window. Did it a single piece instead of 4 angles, I think it turned out great. Will get black paint.

Image

Leading edge tape on the horizontal/elevator

Image

asa
100+ Posts
Posts: 296
Joined: Sat Dec 22, 2018 1:09 pm
Location: KY+AK
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by asa »

More arts and crafts:

Finished the right side boot cowl in paint and oratex, inside is flat black, not sure why I keep not getting a picture of that. Now both sides are ready for installation.

Image

Image

Like typically happens, I went to strip the paint off this small forgettable part to get ready to rehab/reinstall it and then decided it would be less work and better results to just make a new one. This aspect of the construction is really enjoyable to me and it sure beats stripping paint. From picking up the old part to a new primed piece was probably 45 minutes with a scrap of 0.025" alclad. When practical, I've been switching rivnuts to nut plates to help out the next human who rebuilds this thing...

Image

Image

Image

Kirk
100+ Posts
Posts: 725
Joined: Tue Oct 17, 2006 3:07 pm
Location: KGCY
Contact:

Re: Amorphous M7/M6 Rebuild Project

Post by Kirk »

Wow, that piece is just plain purty. Well spent 45 minutes.

Post Reply

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 8 guests