It should have been just a simple oil change....
Engine
The first oil change I did in 2006 after the trip from Wisconsin to Washington State revealed a piece of valve tappet in the oil sump. Thus, as soon as I had the aircraft home and had a little experience flying it, I had to take it out of service for weeks and rebuild the engine.
This ended up being a good thing. The Limbach SL1700E1 that is supposed to be paired with the variable pitch prop is 1800cc. The engine in the airplane was 1588cc. So, we were able to increase the displacement to 1776cc, much closer to the factory's recommended displacement. The moving assembly was balanced. New pistons, rings, bearings, valves, gaskets, etc., for about 15% of the cost of rebuilding a Lycoming. Hardly a surprise, the climb performance increased significantly over what it was at purchase. Jerry and his guys at Northwest Connecting Rod in Seattle, did a great job on the engine.
Oregon Aero cushions
Seats
The original seat cushions were thin, 'stadium style,' temporary cushions. They were wildly uncomfortable. If this is all that previous owners had, no wonder they sold the glider every few years! I paid the money to have Oregon Aero make a set of custom cushions for it. Although the pilot's cushions are comfortable, they are a little thick. So I have an extra set of thinner cushions that I'm working on.
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 (the 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.
The 396 uses a suction mount and a custom mount for the XM antenna (near red quick release lever)
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: I was finding that 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.
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 on the 396 GPS. Overall, 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.
New Tost tailwheel from Wings and Wheels
Tailwheel
The factory tailwheel was a pressed steel assembly. It was clear that for some time, the wheel was not retaining grease for the bearings well. Replaced it with a new, higher strength, well-made tailwheel.
A dry clean hangar really helps wood and rag aircraft
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.
Canopies
The canopies are showing their age. Old cracks have been stop-drilled. But, they're airworthy. I'd like to get a new set. But at $5,000 - $12,000 they won't make the glider fly any better or faster. Clearly a 'nice to have.'
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 simple consequences of age and my incessant, "What if we did this?....what if we did that?" queries. It would be hard to imagine owning the glider without Mike's help.