Hi Ben !
Don't panic ! This is a custom mod that Pierre designed, and
John Goris, of Purple Hill Air, fabricated. It is all welded tubes,
with sections bolted together, and is designed to be easily added
or removed at any time. It just combines a number of different
ideas that have been used before - Carm Titus did the first set
of V tube braces, tieing the wing carry-through to the engine mounts,
on his Rebel several years ago, and Angus McKenzie has a modified
variation of these on his amphib Rebel, as do several others....
I'm sure that John would weld up another set for anyone who
wanted one, but .... the measurements would probably be slightly
different for every Rebel. The extra weight - I'm guessing -
would likely be about 10 lb. ... John's phone number is:
Purple Hill Air 519-461-1964
The cross tube part, tieing the door posts together, was needed,
because Pierre replaced the standard panel with a sloped 'glass panel',
for easier viewing, with just a small center tab for the throttle,
mixture, and trim. You can see a bit of the cross & vertical tubes
in the pic in the Files. The vertical tubes are not in a V, so
forward visibility is not spoiled, and the load path is more direct.
Normally, now, all Rebel builders add a 1 1/2" or 2" angle of 1/8"
aluminum (or a bent-up .032/.040 channel) right across the bottom of
the panel, with V notches, bridged with gussets, for the corner angles,
to connect the door posts, strengthening the panel, AND adding space
for the throttle, mixture, trim, etc. - this is almost a 'must do'
addition, and pretty standard.
The vertical V braces tieing the front spar carry-through to
the engine mounts were added, early on, by Carm, to prevent the
top engine mounts from 'sagging' forward, and compressing inward,
buckling the firewall, on 'very hard' landings on water. Wayne's firewall
plates are another solution for this problem. The factory now supplies
a channel to tie the top engine mounts together at the firewall,
as part of the "Float Fix" Service Bulletin (see MAM web site), which
covers a lot of issues that were discovered after years of float (ab)-use. ;-)
Both of these extras (plates & V tubes) are not really necessary for
normal operations, but the plates, I would say, are "highly desireable" !
Carm is absolutely "THE highest time Rebel AMPHIB pilot in the world" -
- and he USES his Rebel !! You might never need the V braces .....
I think Pierre just wanted to be prepared, considering that the
IO-360 IS definitely stronger than an O-320 !
Keep on rivetting, and GET IT FLYING - it IS worth it ! :-)
.....bobp
-------------------------------orig.-------------------------
On Tuesday 06 September 2005 01:13 am,
bransom@dcsol.com wrote:
I haven't heard (or possibly haven't paid enf attention!) to what the steel
tubing is as noted by Bob on Pierre's Rebel. Bob, you mention a little
about
this mod -- could you or someone else amplify on this a bit further?
Was this a MAM addition, Wayne, or ?? If MAM, what year.
And why? i.e. is it "strongly recommended" for over 150hp, or that and
floats?
What's the estimated weight addition?
Are there drawings or notes on how to?
Is this a during original construction or possible retrofit?
Thanks a lot,
-Ben/496R
instrumentation, and the steel tubes under & behind the panel.
(They tie the door posts together, and the wing carrythrough,
and triangulate off to the engine mounts - she's ready for
floats !
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