It should have been just a simple oil change....

This ended up being a good thing as we found that a few things done during the last rebuild weren't optimal. This time, new bearings, pistons, cylinders, valves; balancing the reciprocating mass, etc., made the engine stronger and perform better.

Seats
The original seat cushions were thin, 'stadium style,' temporary cushions. They were wildly uncomfortable. I paid to have Oregon Aero make a set of custom cushions for it. The first set of front seat cushions were comfortable, but a little thick. Good for a shorter pilot. So, I had Oregon Aero make a second, thinner set which turned out to be at least as comfortable as the thicker set.

Oregon Aero cushions

Rudder Adjustment
It was odd. Especially in taxiing, the glider was able to make a sharper turn in one direction than the other. During an annual inspection, Mike Boatz (an A&P/IA) checked the movement of the rudder and found it to be out of adjustment. After adjustment, it had much more positive ground handling.

Avionics
Garmin 396: One of the best additions was a Garmin 396 with XM weather. This has given me much greater piece of mind on cross-country trips.

Garmin GTX-327: The original transponder started to need adjustment more often than its 2-year certification. While there was no indication that this would get worse, I still replaced it, in part, wanting a transponder that drew less current for soaring within the 30-mile veil of KSEA. After takeoff, the transponder will automatically switch from standby to altitude-reporting.

Garmin SL40: Ok….so, while I was replacing the transponder, I may as well get a matching, lower draw Com that would also get frequencies from the database in the 396 GPS. The three work nicely together.

Intercom: All the way back from Wisconsin, Dave and I had to talk to each other over the sound of the engine. It had never occurred to me that the airplane didn't have an intercom. I used a removable intercom for a while, but it was clumsy, the battery would run down, etc. So, as part of the avionics upgrade, I added a built-in intercom. With so little panel space, it took some searching to find an intercom that has a small control panel (just to the right of the transponder) whose electronics are remotely located. The stereo music input is a nice addition.

The 396 uses a suction mount and a custom mount for the XM antenna (near red quick release lever)

Tailwheel
The factory tailwheel was a pressed steel assembly that was not retaining grease for the bearings well. I replaced it with a new, higher strength, well-made tailwheel. Extensive searching helped me choose a tailwheel that was an exact replacement for the original. It uses the same size tire, the existing axel and slipped right on. Given the way some things go, it was suspciously easy. I kept looking for the problem I was missing. But this time, it was simply a better wheel that was a perfect fit.

New Tost tailwheel from Wings and Wheels

Hangar
Ok, in some ways this doesn't count. But when I first brought the glider to Washington, it was in an open hangar. Dirt on the canopies, bird droppings, evidence of increased corrosion on some of the metal fittings convinced me to get an enclosed hangar ASAP. I wince at the bill each month, but I like having the glider relatively clean and protected.

A dry clean hangar really helps wood and rag aircraft

Canopies
The canopies are showing their age. Old cracks have been stop-drilled and now glued. But, they're airworthy. I have a complete new set of canopies waiting to be installed. The new canopies are clear, but have a UV filter added to the plastic to make them safer for occupants over time. Just need the time and warm weather. I have also gotten most of the materials to create an open cockpit modification. I can imagine on a warm summer evening, taking 15 minutes to switch from canopies to an open cockpit. It would be like having a vintage biplane, but with the view, safety and economy of a modern aircraft.

Mike Boatz
OK....listing the A&P/IA who works on your airplane seems like an unusual "improvement," but Mike has been exactly that. Mike has been thorough, good natured, fair, reasonable, and meticulous. No U.S. A&P can really be prepared for one of these gliders. Any used airplane is like an archeological dig. You work your way through layers of previous work and decisions. Mike has been great at carefully bringing the glider back into spec, dealing with some of the consequences of age and choices of previous owners.

Casters
When the glider is on the ground, casters on the end of solid nylon rods (outriggers) balance the glider on its main wheel. The casters that came on the glider were small, hard and worn. Not only did they make a lot of noise when rolling over pavement, but their small diameter meant they tended to strike, rather than roll over surface irregularities. I bought a new set of nylon rods and after a long search, found a set of larger, slightly softer, very strong casters. They've been excellent.

Larger casters roll over irregularities more easily

Aircraft Lift
At least yearly, we have to raise the RF5B for a main gear retraction test; sometimes more often for other servicing. Per the factory manual, I made a "trestle." We lift the tail of the glider, slide the trestle under the skids on the bottom of the glider, then lower the tail.

A trestle as recommended by the manufacturer

Yet, as my A&P and myself have aged, lifting the tail of the glider over our shoulders has become much less entertaining. I would also like to be able to clean, lubricate or do other minor maintenance by myself. The factory solution means I need to find help to get the glider on and off the trestle. So, for the past few years, I've been looking for a solution that involves a lift--mechanical or hydraulic.

Recently, Harbor Freight Tools put a motorcycle/ATV lift on sale. Model 2792 has a 1500-pound capacity (plenty for an 1100 pound glider). Although it uses hydraulics for lifting, once the vehicle is lifted, you push metal cogs in place and release the pressure on the hydraulic cylinder so the cogs hold the weight. At about $80 USD, I felt this lift was worth a chance. Note that the long handle is just used for moving the lift. Pumping the hydraulic bottle is done with a foot pedal.

A hydraulic motorcycle/ATV lift

Using scrap wood, I made an adapter to go between the two pads on the lift and the skids on the glider. The pieces are glued & screwed for strength.

Antenna
The radio in the motorglider never seemed to transmit very well. Airport towers complained they couldn't hear me well at longer distances. I replaced the antenna with a new one of the same style. It didn't help. I replaced the radio. It didn't help. In looking at the antenna, it seemed that the ground plane (a metal plate under the antenna) was too small and mostly curved instead of flat. I found an aircraft, dipole antenna that is in the form of a thin, flexible ribbon (model 5T from Advanced Aircraft Electronics) that I mounted behind the passenger seat inside the fuselage.

LED Navigation Lights
One of the situations where the radio is particularly challenged, is during landing when the engine is idling and full navigation lights and strobes are running. At that point, the engine is running so slowly that the entire load is carried by the battery--which tends to be modest in airplanes, especially gliders. To lighten the electrical load, I replaced the filament navigation bulbs with LED's. (Aircraft Spruce, 11-07744)

Carburetor Adjustment
The Stromberg CD150 carburetor for the Limbach engine is a completely adequate carburetor. It was mostly used on British sports cars in the 60's and 70's. My CD150 is new enough that the manual mixture adjustments were removed due to automotive pollution control legislation. I sent the carb to SUcarbs in Colorado to be rebuilt. They are also modifying the carburetor bowl to accept an older style, manual adjuster. This is a factory part that is simply being refitted to this carburetor and will allow mixture adjustments without removing the carbuetor or magneto. I'm looking forward to having better, more precise control over the air/fuel mixture.

Main Gear Struts
The main landing gear on the glider is a trailing link design that uses two, gas filled struts to support the weight of the glider. This photo, taken at the 2010 Arlington Fly-In shows an approximate 90 degree angle between the main support and the trailing arm. This is about as low as the struts should go.

The new struts create a much creater extension of the landing gear. This becomes important on rough surfaces, like landing on turf. The gear has extended downward so much, the tips of the wings were lower when the glider rocked to each side. I made new, slightly longer outriggers to give the wing tips a little more room to miss taxiway signs, etc.

New Canopies
I knew when I bought the glider that the canopies should eventually be replaced. There were a number of small distortions, some stress cracks and some patterns of crazing where someone had wiped some solvent on the canopies (probably to clean them). The canopies were airworthy, but the cracks and crazing didn't inspire confidence. I bought new canopies in 2009, but couldn't afford to have them installed. Creating the open cockpit gave me enough confidence to install them myself.

The old canopies had obvious distorions and cracks.

The new canopies are from Thermotec, are more free of distortions and have better windows than the old canopies. One of the challenges is to install the canopies in a way they can expand and contract with temperature. I drilled 3/32" holes in the plastic with special plastic drill bits and used 3/8" long #4 stainless aircraft sheet metal screws for fasteners. To further avoid cracks caused by the threads of the fasteners, I used a heat gun to attach 1/8" long collars of electrical shrink wrap over the base of the threads.

A skilled installer probably could have done this in several days. It took me several weeks of solid work.

With the protective coating on, the new canopies were draped over the frames to get an initial sense of fit.
It was obvious that a lot of trimming was needed.