New Owner 14-13-2 W&B Question

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Proud owner of n86826. New pilot, first plane, based in central TX however plane is still in ID. Going to try to ferry her down this coming week.

Came with boxes of documents including an entire file of W&B stuff but the only envelope diagrams I could find were for the 14-19. The only factory info I have for the 14-13 are the forward and aft c of g limits. I found an archive online of Bellanca factory stuff but again only fore and aft and max weight, no envelope diagram. I am a bit concerned as pilot/copilot at 430lbs and full fuel 40 gals puts the plane very close to max gross 2153 and the c of g is pretty far forward in this configuration, using the documented starting point. Right around 19".

Getting the plane weighed as I don't trust the documented w&b starting point. Plane empty weight at 1419 is about 100lbs over factory without an aux tank. That doesn't seem correct. It does have main gear fairings and a spin on oil filter. We put in an ESG transponder/receiver and a usb power outlet but other than that, the avionics are pretty much original. No nav radios, we use gps.

This plane does not have a hand brake, toe brakes left seat only. Electric gear, manual crank takes over 100 turns!

Flies nicely with the 150HP Franklin. Wondering what the fuel consumption figures should be?

Any help appreciated!
 
Dear Russell:
A couple of items:
The Cruisair was manufactured 1945-1949. There were no extensive POH for any of these light planes; in fact most manufacturers only provided the info in the TCDS. The standard bicycle chain manual gear requires 32 cranks; no idea why yours is 100.

Do you have the 14-13 Operators Manual? Good info there. Also recommend:
B-201 Cruisair Parts Manual - Fully Illustrated $19.95 $24.95
B-211 Cruisair Operators & Service Manual $9.95 $12.95
B-221 Cruisair ADs w/Money-saving preface by founder Larry D'Attilio $6.95 $8.95
B-231 Cruisair Service Letter Collection $8.95 $12.95
B-251 Plane Report Photos, History, Ads, Reviews, Specifications on the several Cruisair models. A good introduction to these airplanes, offered to non-members at member pricing. $22.95 $22.95
B-245 Underseat Auxilliary Tank Installation $6.95 $8.95
B-271 Cruisair Electric Gear Conversion (Some parts are not available)

Let me know if there is anything else you need.
Also, our West Coast Fly-In is next week (June 9-11) There will be many 14-13/14-19 owners and knowledgable experts to get you acquainted. Plus there will be Cruisairs on the flight line to study. http://www.bellanca-championclub.com/WC2023upcoming.html. Closest airlines are Sacramento (SMH) and Oakland (OAK)

Plus it's a great party! Hope to see you there.
 
Congrats on the new airplane.

FYI, I have a 14-19-2 and I just weighed my airplane about a year ago. I was dismayed to learn that it gained about 100 lbs since it was manufactured. It had not been weighted since the factory did it in 1958. All other W&B had been calculated so I thought it was about time. the good news is that the balance was pretty much the same, but I lost 100 lbs in useful load.

So the numbers you have might be right. The W&B envelope is in the TCDS (A-773). You can find it on the FAA site at https://drs.faa.gov/browse/TCDSMODEL/doctypeDetails?Status=Current&TC%20Holder=Bellanca%20Aircraft%20Corporation

It shows
C.G. range (landing gear extended)
14-13: (+16.2) to (+23.6)
14-13-2, 14-13-3, 14-13-3W: (+16.2) to (+24.5)

What part of central TX are you? I am in the Austin area.
 
Plane will be hangared at kbwd 5 miles from my home. At the moment it is stuck in Idaho with several possibly related problems:
1.Radio died in flight, have ordered a replacement.
2. Generator 50a puts out 14v but seems unable to support loads eg landing lights plus beacon plus nav lights even at 1800 rpm puts the ammeter in the negative range.
3. Generator on off switch works intermittently, ie generator does not seem to kick in every time it's switched on. In these cases you have to cycle the switch. Generator was bench tested good. So we are thinking maybe the regulator is acting up.
4. Starter has a hard time turning the engine over, when engine is hot. This does not appear to be a weak battery problem. Battery load tests good.
5. Landing gear down transit light flashes when going over a bump taxiing. The ammeter shows a draw and the relay clunks at the same time. Using the manual crank for one final turn solves the problem.

So for the moment, we are stuck here in Idaho.
 
Brownwood. That was my first stop on my PPL solo X-country many years ago. My airplane is in Lago Vista KRYW. I also work on WW2 airplanes a lot in Burnet KBMQ. Once you get her to TX and flying you should come down for $100 tacos.

THe joys of electrical issues. Good luck!
 
Oh happy owner, I just saw your post and have a suggestion for your electrical Gremlin. On my crate I have a Zeftronics electronic generator controller. It works flawlessly. The controller has troubleshooting lights on it and if all are green the Gremlin moved on to the next plane. It has been on the crate for 10 years. Zeftronics also has a free troubleshooting and they know their stuff. From what you wrote it sure points to the voltage regulator. Installing a new GCU with fault lights would set a good base line for your electrical issues. Lynn the crate
 
We left Caldwell ID on Sunday with a handheld as the panel radio died. Currently in Gila Bend headed for Demming NM. We do still have an oil leak despite $2k mitigation prior to departure. Climb rate anemic with 2 up front, full fuel, 50 lbs bags, and metal prop. Otherwise all good. Cruise 110kts, 8 gals per hour. On descent into gila bend it was 110 and oil temp spiked to 110C on rich mixture. Cyl head temp stayed well in the green and oil pressure was steady at 30 plus on the gauge. We called a halt due to hot weather. I am wondering whether we need a better oil cooler? Also starter motor is marginal despite overhaul so perhaps a light weight starter?
 
Re zeftronics the electromechanical box bench-tested good as did the battery and the generator. But yes, that may be a good move. Right now we are getting 15 a positive on climb without lights that tapers off as the battery comes up to charge. So we can fly.
 
In general, the lightweight starters don’t spin the engine as well as the big old school starters. They’re awesome for their weight savings, but I’d start with figuring out why a freshly overhauled starter doesn’t spin the engine well, which is probably due to corrosion in the electrical system or a worn out master or starter relay.

Also, 15V across the battery is pretty high. Go with a modern regulator. In my experience, you’ll save money in the long run not boiling batteries out.
 
15a not 15v. We are getting 14v when the revs are up.

Anyway we did not make it home. Descending into Gila Bend on Tues around lunch time we had an oil temp redline. Full rich made no difference. Oil pressure and cyl head temp were normal. It was 110 on the ground so we called it a day. Next am we noted quite a bit of oil on the ramp, oil level was down over a quart, maybe 1.5 on a 3 hour leg from St George.

As we were doing our preflight a tall gent walked up and addressed me by name. I thought he must be FAA. Then I noted he was wearing a shirt with an embroidered depiction of a Cruisair, the word "Bellanca", and my tail no! He explained he had been tracking the plane his father owned in CA when he was a child. He lived about 50 miles from the field and knew a lot of history about the plane. It apparently held a speed record back in the day, and originally belonged to a Bob Patten who had fitted it with main gear fairings of his own design.

We filled up and continued. A few mins into the flight we hit 120c oil temp again so we returned to the field. Our new friend was there to greet us and offered his help. He had every tool one can imagine, lots of water, and a willing hand. After consulting with a local a&p by phone, we concluded the oil cooler was blocked so we proceeded to remove it along with the plenum, oil filter, oil bypass valve internals, prop and all cowlings. There are T hangers that provided some relief from the sun. The oil cooler was not blocked and the oil bypass valve internals looked ok and were not stuck. We located a leak from the fuel pump pedestal so those two bolts were snugged. Our friend and my cfi Pat took the oily mess to Buckeye where the shop was located. They returned around 5 pm with oil, filter, simple green and a camp stove. We tested the oil temp probe in water as we brought it to the boil. The gauge was stuck on 90 and fell back to 60c upon being tapped so we concluded the gauge had gone off. We then proceeded to put everything back and got it buttoned up by floodlight and generator at 10pm.

Next day we added oil 2 qts, ran her up with the lower cowling off, and to our dismay the oil leak was worse than ever. It appeared to be coming from the top of the oil cooler. We made a short hop to Buckeye, left the plane with Richard, and ubered to skyharbor airport to suffer the rude airline staff and obnoxious tsa army.

So at this point we do not know for sure what the root causes of our problems are, but we expect to find out soon. More on this saga as it proceeds.
 
Well actually the son of the 1970s owner .. and a super nice guy

(Having trouble attaching photo keep getting http error and the file is well below 3 MB)
 
OK well the plot is resolving. RIchard at Buckeye found the oil cooler cracked in more than one place, accounting for our oil gusher. We are now attempting to source a new oil cooler that will hopefully bolt on and fit into the space available, between the two plena. Anyone know of a source?

Not sure yet why the oil temp went through the roof on descent. We think it's a probe issue. The gauge will move if you tap on it.

Hoping to get back to AZ in the near future to continue our mission. Depends mostly on whether we can get an oil cooler.
 
Got quote of $1600 for a new oil cooler, That's 3x the going rate for an aircraft oil cooler. Anyone have a better source?
 
I found some old Bellanca factory documents that show the aeromatic prop weighing 30lb (15lb for the hub and 15lb for the blades). The Mc Cauley metal prop that is on the plane weighs a lot more than that, ask me how I know that. I didn't weigh it but I am guessing at least 50lb. That would partially account for the w&b being about 100 lbs over original OEM weight, and the c of g being quite far forward in the range, with 2 persons up front.

With no apparent alternative for the expensive Pacific Oil Cooler, we will go down that path. It's Aluminum so that will help with the weight a bit. The one we took out of there was heavy.

Next step might be an alternator conversion, if we cannot figure out why the 50A generator is only putting out about 20A at 1800 rpm. Gen, regulator and battery all bench test good so it's a bit of a mystery.
 
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