Jul 22 2012

Vac Pump Replaced

The day started off with a quick trip to the airport.  It only took an hour or so to changed the pump out, but the job took much longer with people stopping by to chat about the bird.  Even after all these years, these plane still are a curiosity for many pilots and non-flyers alike.

You can see on the right the drive spool has sheared.   That usually happens through old age of the spool or a failure of the pump.  I seem to recall the spool shearing a few years back.  If I had a replacement spool, I think it would have been safe to just replace it and go.  The internals of the pump look to be in really good shape.  I’ll still send it off to be overhauled, but I ordered an extra spool which will go in my travel box for the next time this happens.

When Paulette picked me up at Gross Isle, airport, she suggested a river tour.   Heck why not.

The boats are not as big as Charleston, but still the same idea….

Lots of interesting houses like this one built from the front of a steam ship,

abandoned steel factories

What surprised me about this tour is how industrial it was.  Factories, docks, fuel terminals, etc.   In Charleston, it is naturally much more based on historical events wish is much less visible but somehow more interesting too me.

The bridge to Canada.

Tomorrow, it is off to the next stop… the Oshkosh airshow.