AD7ZJ Wiki - User contributions [en]

ASW 20

2026-05-04T23:49:40Z

Elijah:

__TOC__

This ASW-20 was owned by a fellow named David Woods. He had flown it quite a bit out of southern california and from the logbooks, looks like he had some great flights in it. After some medical issues he gave up flying and it sat in his back yard in phoenix for 20 years. After he passed, I picked it up from the family and here is the story of getting it flying again.

Overall it wasn't in terrible shape. Of course things were dusty and dry after sitting that long, and the wing gel coat was worse for the wear.

[[File:Asw20_wing_gelcoat_damage.jpg|600px]]

The gel coat on the wings has been refinished once according to the logs, but it was cracking badly in a few spots.

[[File:Asw20_original_panel.jpg|600px]]

The instrument panel was a bit dated and worse for the wear as well.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_after_washing.jpg|600px]]

After washing off the dust, the fuselage wasn't looking too bad!

==Trailer==
[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_repair.jpg|600px]]

The tires were very old but fortunately they made the trip home from phoenix. One of the fenders had been used as a bumper a few too many times and was dragging on the tire a bit. So, I took things apart and fixed that, straightened up the fender and welded on some new supports. I also noticed one of the leaf springs was broken so I replaced the springs as well. You can see they look rather new in the picture above :)

[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_fixed.jpg|600px]]

There, that's better!

[[File:Minden_trailer_floor_replacement.jpg|600px]]

The trailer floor is plywood and the back part had gotten wet and rotted over the years. I drilled out all of the rivets holding it in place and removed the old piece of plywood.

[[File:Minden_trailer_new_floor.jpg|600px]]

New plywood in place and riveting the rails back on. It's much stronger than before and should ease rigging. The wing dollys were popping out of their tracks with the old warped floor.

[[File:Minden_trailer_ramp_jacks.jpg|600px]]

I got two harbor freight scissors jacks to raise and lower the end of the ramp. There are some quarter inch ratchet extensions welded in between the jacks to keep them in sync with each other! This has proved to work pretty nicely.

==Fuselage==

Next I disassembled stuff in the fuselage and gave it a thorough cleaning and lubricating.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_disassembled.jpg|600px]]

I decided to upgrade the instrumentation a bit while I was at it. A friend laid out a new panel for me and mailed it.

[[File:Asw20_new_panel_test.jpg|600px]]

The old panel is routed out and the new one is glued on the front. That's a handy little trick isn't it! Here I'm trying it on for size to make sure everything is gonna line up...

[[File:Asw20_panel_attempt_1.jpg|600px]]

It looks great! But unfortunately the canopy couldn't close :( The small instruments at the top... those are a becker radio and transponder. They are quite long and no matter which of the spots I put them, they wouldn't fit. I cried a little but there was just no way this panel would work... so I went to work and laid out another one on LibreCAD, this time placing the radios down low where there is more room. I am used to AutoCAD but no longer have access to a license, and I must say I was quite pleased with LibreCAD for this simiple project. It's a little bit quirky but I use git to save progress at key spots in case I mess something up and need to revert! [https://github.com/AD7ZJ/aviation-panels panel git repo] I sent it off to send-cut-send and a week later had a new front plate in hand!

[[File:Asw20_panel_instruments_trial_fit.jpg|600px]]

It looks pretty good, I don't like this layout as well but this has the advantage that the canopy can close :) I had them cut the outside outline slightly oversize so I could do the final trim by hand to match the panel edge.

[[File:Asw20_panel_wiring_testing.jpg|600px]]

After gluing on the panel edge, I trimmed the front plate to fit and painted it with truck bed liner. That works pretty nicely because it's tough and a matte color that won't create reflections on the canopy! Above I think I'm testing the radio and SN10 wiring. I know it looks like chaos but I am always short of bench space! haha!

[[File:Asw20_xpdr_harness.jpg|600px]]

There is the transponder wiring harness completed. Unfortunately after connecting it up, the transponder would not power on. And yes, I triple-checked wiring before I connected anything, and it was powered on with a current limited supply, which never hit the limit. Actually it never drew current at all, something in the internal power supply was permanently in the O F F position. I sent it back to the factory for repair and they got it fixed in a couple weeks. Nothing's ever easy...

[[File:Asw20_panel_rear.jpg|600px]]

Ok now we're getting somewhere! Everything is wired up and working! The altitude encoder and FLARM attach to the D-sub connectors. The red cable with an RJ45 is for the FlarmView.

[[File:Asw20_panel_installed.jpg|600px]]

Here's how it looks installed.

[[File:Asw20_panel_flarm_encoder_mounting.jpg|600px]]

Here you can see how the FLARM and altitude encoder are mounted underneath the seat pan.

==Wings==

[[File:Asw20_wing_fairing_sanded.jpg|600px]]

I chipped off the loose gel coat and feathered the edges. Above is a pic of that process. Once smoothed out, I sprayed it with a modern sandable primer to build it up a bit, and then topped with urethane paint. Painting is 5% painting and 95% sanding - pretty boring!

[[File:Asw20_wing_sanding.jpg|600px]]

I sanded the entire wing to get rid of the oxidation/yellowing. This takes a long time but it really made it look a lot nicer in the long run. You can see above the yellowing that was on the surface. Once the yellow was removed, I polished the whole wing using WX block and seal.

[[File:Asw20_wing_mylars.jpg|600px]]

Here I am applying the new mylar gap seals. Prior to sealing I cleaned/lubricated all of the hinges. I also removed the spoilers and cleaned/lubricated all of the linkages. Forgot to take pics of that!

==Flying==

[[File:Asw20_sunset1.jpg|600px]]

Here she is, rigged and ready to fly! I got two flights in it, both of which went well. The lift was mild that day but I stayed up for a couple of hours and experimented with the flight characteristics.

[[File:Asw20_flying_wingtip.jpg|600px]]

It flies great with nice handling. My landings were fine but the rollout was a little long. Need to improve that by flying the approach a little slower and maybe fix the wheel brake! The brake is not very effective.

ASW 20

2026-05-04T22:37:33Z

Elijah:

This ASW-20 was owned by a fellow named David Woods. He had flown it quite a bit out of southern california and from the logbooks, looks like he had some great flights in it. After some medical issues he gave up flying and it sat in his back yard in phoenix for 20 years. After he passed, I picked it up from the family and here is the story of getting it flying again.

Overall it wasn't in terrible shape. Of course things were dusty and dry after sitting that long, and the wing gel coat was worse for the wear.

[[File:Asw20_wing_gelcoat_damage.jpg|600px]]

The gel coat on the wings has been refinished once according to the logs, but it was cracking badly in a few spots.

[[File:Asw20_original_panel.jpg|600px]]

The instrument panel was a bit dated and worse for the wear as well.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_after_washing.jpg|600px]]

After washing off the dust, the fuselage wasn't looking too bad!

==Trailer==
[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_repair.jpg|600px]]

The tires were very old but fortunately they made the trip home from phoenix. One of the fenders had been used as a bumper a few too many times and was dragging on the tire a bit. So, I took things apart and fixed that, straightened up the fender and welded on some new supports. I also noticed one of the leaf springs was broken so I replaced the springs as well. You can see they look rather new in the picture above :)

[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_fixed.jpg|600px]]

There, that's better!

[[File:Minden_trailer_floor_replacement.jpg|600px]]

The trailer floor is plywood and the back part had gotten wet and rotted over the years. I drilled out all of the rivets holding it in place and removed the old piece of plywood.

[[File:Minden_trailer_new_floor.jpg|600px]]

New plywood in place and riveting the rails back on. It's much stronger than before and should ease rigging. The wing dollys were popping out of their tracks with the old warped floor.

[[File:Minden_trailer_ramp_jacks.jpg|600px]]

I got two harbor freight scissors jacks to raise and lower the end of the ramp. There are some quarter inch ratchet extensions welded in between the jacks to keep them in sync with each other! This has proved to work pretty nicely.

==Fuselage==

Next I disassembled stuff in the fuselage and gave it a thorough cleaning and lubricating.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_disassembled.jpg|600px]]

I decided to upgrade the instrumentation a bit while I was at it. A friend laid out a new panel for me and mailed it.

[[File:Asw20_new_panel_test.jpg|600px]]

The old panel is routed out and the new one is glued on the front. That's a handy little trick isn't it! Here I'm trying it on for size to make sure everything is gonna line up...

[[File:Asw20_panel_attempt_1.jpg|600px]]

It looks great! But unfortunately the canopy couldn't close :( The small instruments at the top... those are a becker radio and transponder. They are quite long and no matter which of the spots I put them, they wouldn't fit. I cried a little but there was just no way this panel would work... so I went to work and laid out another one on LibreCAD, this time placing the radios down low where there is more room. I am used to AutoCAD but no longer have access to a license, and I must say I was quite pleased with LibreCAD for this simiple project. It's a little bit quirky but I use git to save progress at key spots in case I mess something up and need to revert! [https://github.com/AD7ZJ/aviation-panels panel git repo] I sent it off to send-cut-send and a week later had a new front plate in hand!

[[File:Asw20_panel_instruments_trial_fit.jpg|600px]]

It looks pretty good, I don't like this layout as well but this has the advantage that the canopy can close :) I had them cut the outside outline slightly oversize so I could do the final trim by hand to match the panel edge.

[[File:Asw20_panel_wiring_testing.jpg|600px]]

After gluing on the panel edge, I trimmed the front plate to fit and painted it with truck bed liner. That works pretty nicely because it's tough and a matte color that won't create reflections on the canopy! Above I think I'm testing the radio and SN10 wiring. I know it looks like chaos but I am always short of bench space! haha!

[[File:Asw20_xpdr_harness.jpg|600px]]

There is the transponder wiring harness completed. Unfortunately after connecting it up, the transponder would not power on. And yes, I triple-checked wiring before I connected anything, and it was powered on with a current limited supply, which never hit the limit. Actually it never drew current at all, something in the internal power supply was permanently in the O F F position. I sent it back to the factory for repair and they got it fixed in a couple weeks. Nothing's ever easy...

[[File:Asw20_panel_rear.jpg|600px]]

Ok now we're getting somewhere! Everything is wired up and working! The altitude encoder and FLARM attach to the D-sub connectors. The red cable with an RJ45 is for the FlarmView.

[[File:Asw20_panel_installed.jpg|600px]]

Here's how it looks installed.

[[File:Asw20_panel_flarm_encoder_mounting.jpg|600px]]

Here you can see how the FLARM and altitude encoder are mounted underneath the seat pan.

==Wings==

[[File:Asw20_wing_fairing_sanded.jpg|600px]]

I chipped off the loose gel coat and feathered the edges. Above is a pic of that process. Once smoothed out, I sprayed it with a modern sandable primer to build it up a bit, and then topped with urethane paint. Painting is 5% painting and 95% sanding - pretty boring!

[[File:Asw20_wing_sanding.jpg|600px]]

I sanded the entire wing to get rid of the oxidation/yellowing. This takes a long time but it really made it look a lot nicer in the long run. You can see above the yellowing that was on the surface. Once the yellow was removed, I polished the whole wing using WX block and seal.

[[File:Asw20_wing_mylars.jpg|600px]]

Here I am applying the new mylar gap seals. Prior to sealing I cleaned/lubricated all of the hinges. I also removed the spoilers and cleaned/lubricated all of the linkages. Forgot to take pics of that!

==Flying==

[[File:Asw20_sunset1.jpg|600px]]

Here she is, rigged and ready to fly! I got two flights in it, both of which went well. The lift was mild that day but I stayed up for a couple of hours and experimented with the flight characteristics.

[[File:Asw20_flying_wingtip.jpg|600px]]

It flies great with nice handling. My landings were fine but the rollout was a little long. Need to improve that by flying the approach a little slower and maybe fix the wheel brake! The brake is not very effective.

ASW 20

2026-05-04T22:36:24Z

Elijah:

This ASW-20 was owned by a fellow named David Woods. He had flown it quite a bit out of southern california and from the logbooks, looks like he had some great flights in it. After some medical issues he gave up flying and it sat in his back yard in phoenix for 20 years. After he passed, I picked it up from the family and here is the story of getting it flying again.

Overall it wasn't in terrible shape. Of course things were dusty and dry after sitting that long, and the wing gel coat was worse for the wear.

[[File:Asw20_wing_gelcoat_damage.jpg|600px]]

The gel coat on the wings has been refinished once according to the logs, but it was cracking badly in a few spots.

[[File:Asw20_original_panel.jpg|600px]]

The instrument panel was a bit dated and worse for the wear as well.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_after_washing.jpg|600px]]

After washing off the dust, the fuselage wasn't looking too bad!

==Trailer==
[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_repair.jpg|600px]]

The tires were very old but fortunately they made the trip home from phoenix. One of the fenders had been used as a bumper a few too many times and was dragging on the tire a bit. So, I took things apart and fixed that, straightened up the fender and welded on some new supports. I also noticed one of the leaf springs was broken so I replaced the springs as well. You can see they look rather new in the picture above :)

[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_fixed.jpg|600px]]

There, that's better!

[[File:Minden_trailer_floor_replacement.jpg|600px]]

The trailer floor is plywood and the back part had gotten wet and rotted over the years. I drilled out all of the rivets holding it in place and removed the old piece of plywood.

[[File:Minden_trailer_new_floor.jpg|600px]]

New plywood in place and riveting the rails back on. It's much stronger than before and should ease rigging. The wing dollys were popping out of their tracks with the old warped floor.

[[https://wiki.ad7zj.net/wiki/index.php/File:Minden_trailer_ramp_jacks.jpg|600px]]

I got two harbor freight scissors jacks to raise and lower the end of the ramp. There are some quarter inch ratchet extensions welded in between the jacks to keep them in sync with each other! This has proved to work pretty nicely.

==Fuselage==

Next I disassembled stuff in the fuselage and gave it a thorough cleaning and lubricating.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_disassembled.jpg|600px]]

I decided to upgrade the instrumentation a bit while I was at it. A friend laid out a new panel for me and mailed it.

[[File:Asw20_new_panel_test.jpg|600px]]

The old panel is routed out and the new one is glued on the front. That's a handy little trick isn't it! Here I'm trying it on for size to make sure everything is gonna line up...

[[File:Asw20_panel_attempt_1.jpg|600px]]

It looks great! But unfortunately the canopy couldn't close :( The small instruments at the top... those are a becker radio and transponder. They are quite long and no matter which of the spots I put them, they wouldn't fit. I cried a little but there was just no way this panel would work... so I went to work and laid out another one on LibreCAD, this time placing the radios down low where there is more room. I am used to AutoCAD but no longer have access to a license, and I must say I was quite pleased with LibreCAD for this simiple project. It's a little bit quirky but I use git to save progress at key spots in case I mess something up and need to revert! [https://github.com/AD7ZJ/aviation-panels panel git repo] I sent it off to send-cut-send and a week later had a new front plate in hand!

[[File:Asw20_panel_instruments_trial_fit.jpg|600px]]

It looks pretty good, I don't like this layout as well but this has the advantage that the canopy can close :) I had them cut the outside outline slightly oversize so I could do the final trim by hand to match the panel edge.

[[File:Asw20_panel_wiring_testing.jpg|600px]]

After gluing on the panel edge, I trimmed the front plate to fit and painted it with truck bed liner. That works pretty nicely because it's tough and a matte color that won't create reflections on the canopy! Above I think I'm testing the radio and SN10 wiring. I know it looks like chaos but I am always short of bench space! haha!

[[File:Asw20_xpdr_harness.jpg|600px]]

There is the transponder wiring harness completed. Unfortunately after connecting it up, the transponder would not power on. And yes, I triple-checked wiring before I connected anything, and it was powered on with a current limited supply, which never hit the limit. Actually it never drew current at all, something in the internal power supply was permanently in the O F F position. I sent it back to the factory for repair and they got it fixed in a couple weeks. Nothing's ever easy...

[[File:Asw20_panel_rear.jpg|600px]]

Ok now we're getting somewhere! Everything is wired up and working! The altitude encoder and FLARM attach to the D-sub connectors. The red cable with an RJ45 is for the FlarmView.

[[File:Asw20_panel_installed.jpg|600px]]

Here's how it looks installed.

[[File:Asw20_panel_flarm_encoder_mounting.jpg|600px]]

Here you can see how the FLARM and altitude encoder are mounted underneath the seat pan.

==Wings==

[[File:Asw20_wing_fairing_sanded.jpg|600px]]

I chipped off the loose gel coat and feathered the edges. Above is a pic of that process. Once smoothed out, I sprayed it with a modern sandable primer to build it up a bit, and then topped with urethane paint. Painting is 5% painting and 95% sanding - pretty boring!

[[File:Asw20_wing_sanding.jpg|600px]]

I sanded the entire wing to get rid of the oxidation/yellowing. This takes a long time but it really made it look a lot nicer in the long run. You can see above the yellowing that was on the surface. Once the yellow was removed, I polished the whole wing using WX block and seal.

[[File:Asw20_wing_mylars.jpg|600px]]

Here I am applying the new mylar gap seals. Prior to sealing I cleaned/lubricated all of the hinges. I also removed the spoilers and cleaned/lubricated all of the linkages. Forgot to take pics of that!

==Flying==

[[File:Asw20_sunset1.jpg|600px]]

Here she is, rigged and ready to fly! I got two flights in it, both of which went well. The lift was mild that day but I stayed up for a couple of hours and experimented with the flight characteristics.

[[File:Asw20_flying_wingtip.jpg|600px]]

It flies great with nice handling. My landings were fine but the rollout was a little long. Need to improve that by flying the approach a little slower and maybe fix the wheel brake! The brake is not very effective.

ASW 20

2026-05-04T22:35:27Z

Elijah:

This ASW-20 was owned by a fellow named David Woods. He had flown it quite a bit out of southern california and from the logbooks, looks like he had some great flights in it. After some medical issues he gave up flying and it sat in his back yard in phoenix for 20 years. After he passed, I picked it up from the family and here is the story of getting it flying again.

Overall it wasn't in terrible shape. Of course things were dusty and dry after sitting that long, and the wing gel coat was worse for the wear.

[[File:Asw20_wing_gelcoat_damage.jpg|600px]]

The gel coat on the wings has been refinished once according to the logs, but it was cracking badly in a few spots.

[[File:Asw20_original_panel.jpg|600px]]

The instrument panel was a bit dated and worse for the wear as well.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_after_washing.jpg|600px]]

After washing off the dust, the fuselage wasn't looking too bad!

==Trailer==

[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_repair.jpg|600px]]

The tires were very old but fortunately they made the trip home from phoenix. One of the fenders had been used as a bumper a few too many times and was dragging on the tire a bit. So, I took things apart and fixed that, straightened up the fender and welded on some new supports. I also noticed one of the leaf springs was broken so I replaced the springs as well. You can see they look rather new in the picture above :)

[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_fixed.jpg|600px]]

There, that's better!

[[File:Minden_trailer_floor_replacement.jpg|600px]]

The trailer floor is plywood and the back part had gotten wet and rotted over the years. I drilled out all of the rivets holding it in place and removed the old piece of plywood.

[[File:Minden_trailer_new_floor.jpg|600px]]

New plywood in place and riveting the rails back on. It's much stronger than before and should ease rigging. The wing dollys were popping out of their tracks with the old warped floor.

[[https://wiki.ad7zj.net/wiki/index.php/File:Minden_trailer_ramp_jacks.jpg|600px]]

I got two harbor freight scissors jacks to raise and lower the end of the ramp. There are some quarter inch ratchet extensions welded in between the jacks to keep them in sync with each other! This has proved to work pretty nicely.

==Fuselage==

Next I disassembled stuff in the fuselage and gave it a thorough cleaning and lubricating.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_disassembled.jpg|600px]]

I decided to upgrade the instrumentation a bit while I was at it. A friend laid out a new panel for me and mailed it.

[[File:Asw20_new_panel_test.jpg|600px]]

The old panel is routed out and the new one is glued on the front. That's a handy little trick isn't it! Here I'm trying it on for size to make sure everything is gonna line up...

[[File:Asw20_panel_attempt_1.jpg|600px]]

It looks great! But unfortunately the canopy couldn't close :( The small instruments at the top... those are a becker radio and transponder. They are quite long and no matter which of the spots I put them, they wouldn't fit. I cried a little but there was just no way this panel would work... so I went to work and laid out another one on LibreCAD, this time placing the radios down low where there is more room. I am used to AutoCAD but no longer have access to a license, and I must say I was quite pleased with LibreCAD for this simiple project. It's a little bit quirky but I use git to save progress at key spots in case I mess something up and need to revert! [https://github.com/AD7ZJ/aviation-panels panel git repo] I sent it off to send-cut-send and a week later had a new front plate in hand!

[[File:Asw20_panel_instruments_trial_fit.jpg|600px]]

It looks pretty good, I don't like this layout as well but this has the advantage that the canopy can close :) I had them cut the outside outline slightly oversize so I could do the final trim by hand to match the panel edge.

[[File:Asw20_panel_wiring_testing.jpg|600px]]

After gluing on the panel edge, I trimmed the front plate to fit and painted it with truck bed liner. That works pretty nicely because it's tough and a matte color that won't create reflections on the canopy! Above I think I'm testing the radio and SN10 wiring. I know it looks like chaos but I am always short of bench space! haha!

[[File:Asw20_xpdr_harness.jpg|600px]]

There is the transponder wiring harness completed. Unfortunately after connecting it up, the transponder would not power on. And yes, I triple-checked wiring before I connected anything, and it was powered on with a current limited supply, which never hit the limit. Actually it never drew current at all, something in the internal power supply was permanently in the O F F position. I sent it back to the factory for repair and they got it fixed in a couple weeks. Nothing's ever easy...

[[File:Asw20_panel_rear.jpg|600px]]

Ok now we're getting somewhere! Everything is wired up and working! The altitude encoder and FLARM attach to the D-sub connectors. The red cable with an RJ45 is for the FlarmView.

[[File:Asw20_panel_installed.jpg|600px]]

Here's how it looks installed.

[[File:Asw20_panel_flarm_encoder_mounting.jpg|600px]]

Here you can see how the FLARM and altitude encoder are mounted underneath the seat pan.

==Wings==

[[File:Asw20_wing_fairing_sanded.jpg|600px]]

I chipped off the loose gel coat and feathered the edges. Above is a pic of that process. Once smoothed out, I sprayed it with a modern sandable primer to build it up a bit, and then topped with urethane paint. Painting is 5% painting and 95% sanding - pretty boring!

[[File:Asw20_wing_sanding.jpg|600px]]

I sanded the entire wing to get rid of the oxidation/yellowing. This takes a long time but it really made it look a lot nicer in the long run. You can see above the yellowing that was on the surface. Once the yellow was removed, I polished the whole wing using WX block and seal.

[[File:Asw20_wing_mylars.jpg|600px]]

Here I am applying the new mylar gap seals. Prior to sealing I cleaned/lubricated all of the hinges. I also removed the spoilers and cleaned/lubricated all of the linkages. Forgot to take pics of that!

==Flying==

[[File:Asw20_sunset1.jpg|600px]]

Here she is, rigged and ready to fly! I got two flights in it, both of which went well. The lift was mild that day but I stayed up for a couple of hours and experimented with the flight characteristics.

[[File:Asw20_flying_wingtip.jpg|600px]]

It flies great with nice handling. My landings were fine but the rollout was a little long. Need to improve that by flying the approach a little slower and maybe fix the wheel brake! The brake is not very effective.

File:Asw20 wing sanding.jpg

2026-05-04T22:24:48Z

Elijah:

File:Minden trailer ramp jacks.jpg

2026-05-04T22:19:27Z

Elijah:

File:Minden trailer new floor.jpg

2026-05-04T22:18:24Z

Elijah:

File:Minden trailer floor replacement.jpg

2026-05-04T22:12:54Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 wing mylars.jpg

2026-05-04T22:03:26Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 flying wingtip.jpg

2026-05-02T06:54:56Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 sunset1.jpg

2026-05-02T06:53:44Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 sunset.jpg

2026-05-02T06:52:23Z

Elijah:

XR 250R Engine Rebuild

2026-04-28T22:28:28Z

Elijah:

This bike was listed on Facebook Marketplace for a while, and eventually, it followed me home. The previous owner had fixed it all up with new plastics, a powder-coated frame, all new bearings in the rear suspension, etc. Then, a shaft in the transmission broke; he split the cases, lost interest, and put the engine in pieces into a couple of totes.

[[File:Xr250r_engine_parts.jpg|600px]]

I had a lot of fun putting the puzzle back together. It wasn't too bad, actually. He had done a great job of keeping track of all the parts.

[[File:Xr250_broken_output_shaft.jpg|600px]]

Here is the culprit: a broken output shaft. The tip snapped off, and the gears crashed together, sending metal fragments throughout the oil system.

[[File:Xr250_oil_screen_frame.jpg|600px]]

The oil screen at the bottom of the frame had a significant amount of shavings in it. I rinsed the frame out thoroughly, filling it with gasoline and flushing it several times to ensure all "glitter" was gone. The oil pump was also scored up from the debris, so I sourced a used pump in better condition from eBay to ensure the new build has plenty of oil pressure.

[[File:Xr250_cylinder_scoring.jpg|600px]]

The cylinder was scored up a bit. The previous owner had replaced the sleeve with a larger one and bored it to 80mm, bringing the displacement to approximately 300cc. After talking to some folks online and at XRs Only, I decided that 300cc on an engine designed for 250 wasn't ideal for long-term reliability. Parts are also more expensive, so I opted to return to a stock bore size.

[[File:Xr250_broken_case_boss.jpg|600px]]

This is the internal boss for the kickstarter. After seeing this damage, I found a complete bottom-end half for an XR250 of a similar year on eBay. I ordered that along with a stock cylinder (73mm bore). That cylinder turned out to have some corrosion pits that wouldn't hone out, so I picked up a 73.5mm Wiseco piston and ring set (4466M07350). The machine shop bored the cylinder to match the piston.

[[File:Xr250_case_split_transmission.jpg|600px]]

Here I have the bottom end going back together. I love seeing how the transmission gears work with the shift drum. It's such a clever and beautiful design - 6 speeds with just an input and output shaft!

[[File:Xr250_intake_valves_worn.jpg|600px]]

Onto the head: the intake valves were heavily cupped/worn - a common issue with these XRs. I picked up a new Kibblewhite stainless valve set and had the machine shop cut the seats and fit them. So much for this being a cheap rebuild!

Notice the head has extra fins welded onto the casting. This is a specialized mod by XRs Only to increase surface area and help the air-cooled engine run cooler. I'm definitely happy to have that.

[[File:Xr400_oil_cooler.jpg|600px]]

Someone along the way also fitted an XR400R oil cooler to the bike. Hopefully with this plus the oversized head, I'll have an unstoppably reliable, trail riding machine!

XR 250R Engine Rebuild

2026-04-28T22:24:05Z

Elijah:

This bike was listed on Facebook Marketplace for a while, and eventually, it followed me home. The previous owner had fixed it all up with new plastics, a powder-coated frame, all new bearings in the rear suspension, etc. Then, a shaft in the transmission broke; he split the cases, lost interest, and put the engine in pieces into a couple of totes.

[[File:Xr250r_engine_parts.jpg|600px]]

I had a lot of fun putting the puzzle back together. It wasn't too bad, actually. He had done a great job of keeping track of all the parts.

[[File:Xr250_broken_output_shaft.jpg|600px]]

Here is the culprit: a broken output shaft. The tip snapped off, and the gears crashed together, sending metal fragments throughout the oil system.

[[File:Xr250_oil_screen_frame.jpg|600px]]

The oil screen at the bottom of the frame had a significant amount of shavings in it. I rinsed the frame out thoroughly, filling it with gasoline and flushing it several times to ensure all "glitter" was gone. The oil pump was also scored up from the debris, so I sourced a used pump in better condition from eBay to ensure the new build has plenty of oil pressure.

[[File:Xr250_cylinder_scoring.jpg|600px]]

The cylinder was scored up a bit. The previous owner had replaced the sleeve with a larger one and bored it to 80mm, bringing the displacement to approximately 300cc. After talking to some folks online and at XRs Only, I decided that 300cc on an engine designed for 250 wasn't ideal for long-term reliability. Parts are also more expensive, so I opted to return to a stock bore size.

[[File:Xr250_broken_case_boss.jpg|600px]]

This is the internal boss for the kickstarter. After seeing this damage, I found a complete bottom-end half for an XR250 of a similar year on eBay. I ordered that along with a stock cylinder (73mm bore). That cylinder turned out to have some corrosion pits that wouldn't hone out, so I picked up a 73.5mm Wiseco piston and ring set (4466M07350). The machine shop bored the cylinder to match the piston.

[[File:Xr250_intake_valves_worn.jpg|600px]]

Onto the head: the intake valves were heavily cupped/worn - a common issue with these XRs. I picked up a new Kibblewhite stainless valve set and had the machine shop cut the seats and fit them. So much for this being a cheap rebuild!

Notice the head has extra fins welded onto the casting. This is a specialized mod by XRs Only to increase surface area and help the air-cooled engine run cooler. I'm definitely happy to have that.

[[File:Xr400_oil_cooler.jpg|600px]]

Someone along the way also fitted an XR400R oil cooler to the bike. Hopefully with this plus the oversized head, I'll have an unstoppably reliable, trail riding machine!

XR 250R Engine Rebuild

2026-04-28T22:23:30Z

Elijah: Created page with "This bike was listed on Facebook Marketplace for a while, and eventually, it followed me home. The previous owner had fixed it all up with new plastics, a powder-coated frame, all new bearings in the rear suspension, etc. Then, a shaft in the transmission broke; he split the cases, lost interest, and put the engine in pieces into a couple of totes. 600px I had a lot of fun putting the puzzle back together. It wasn't too bad, actually. H..."

This bike was listed on Facebook Marketplace for a while, and eventually, it followed me home. The previous owner had fixed it all up with new plastics, a powder-coated frame, all new bearings in the rear suspension, etc. Then, a shaft in the transmission broke; he split the cases, lost interest, and put the engine in pieces into a couple of totes.

[[File:Xr250r_engine_parts.jpg|600px]]

I had a lot of fun putting the puzzle back together. It wasn't too bad, actually. He had done a great job of keeping track of all the parts.

[[File:Xr250_broken_output_shaft.jpg|600px]]

Here is the culprit: a broken output shaft. The tip snapped off, and the gears crashed together, sending metal fragments throughout the oil system.

[[File:Xr250_oil_screen_frame.jpg|600px]]

The oil screen at the bottom of the frame had a significant amount of shavings in it. I rinsed the frame out thoroughly, filling it with gasoline and flushing it several times to ensure all "glitter" was gone. The oil pump was also scored up from the debris, so I sourced a used pump in better condition from eBay to ensure the new build has plenty of oil pressure.

[[File:Xr250_cylinder_scoring.jpg|600px]]

The cylinder was scored up a bit. The previous owner had replaced the sleeve with a larger one and bored it to 80mm, bringing the displacement to approximately 300cc. After talking to some folks online and at XRs Only, I decided that 300cc on an engine designed for 250 wasn't ideal for long-term reliability. Parts are also more expensive, so I opted to return to a stock bore size.

[[File:Xr250_broken_case_boss.jpg|600px]]

This is the internal boss for the kickstarter. After seeing this damage, I found a complete bottom-end half for an XR250 of a similar year on eBay. I ordered that along with a stock cylinder (73mm bore). That cylinder turned out to have some corrosion pits that wouldn't hone out, so I picked up a 73.5mm Wiseco piston and ring set (4466M07350). The machine shop bored the cylinder to match the piston.

[[File:Xr250_intake_valves_worn.jpg|600px]]

Onto the head: the intake valves were heavily cupped/worn - a common issue with these XRs. I picked up a new Kibblewhite stainless valve set and had the machine shop cut the seats and fit them. So much for this being a cheap rebuild!

Notice the head has extra fins welded onto the casting. This is a specialized mod by XRs Only to increase surface area and help the air-cooled engine run cooler. I'm definitely happy to have that.

[[File:Xr400_oil_cooler.jpg|600px]]

Someone along the way also fitted an XR400R oil cooler to the bike. Hopefully with this plus the oversized head, I'll have an unstoppably reliable, trail riding machine!

File:Xr250 broken case boss.jpg

2026-04-28T21:43:28Z

Elijah:

File:Xr250 cylinder scoring.jpg

2026-04-28T21:42:43Z

Elijah:

File:Xr250 broken output shaft.jpg

2026-04-28T21:41:47Z

Elijah:

Main Page

2026-04-28T21:36:13Z

Elijah: /* Mechanical Projects */

Hi, I'm Elijah Brown and welcome to my site, AD7ZJ.net! The name AD7ZJ is my ham radio callsign, and I occasionally post stuff I'm working on here for my own reference and for the benefit of anyone else who is interested.
[[File:C140_sunset.jpeg|200px|thumb|right|Flying my Cessna 140 over Roosevelt lake]]

== Electronics/Software Projects ==
[[File:BalloonHorizon.JPG|200px|thumb|right|Image taken off an ANSR flight from approximately 40,000 ft]]
I enjoy tinkering with electronics and software and I've done quite a few little side projects in this area. Here are the ones I remembered to write down and take pictures of :)
* [[Long range WiFi]] — How I got internet service to an offgrid location 5 miles away
* [[OpenAWOS]] — Used at our glider field to automatically report wind over VHF radio.
* [[Vaisala 425A Anemometers]] — Used by my diy AWOS system above.
* [[Remote Cellular Switch]] — Used to turn on an engine pre-heater remotely.
* [[FLARM Teardown]]
* [[Fixing a Stratus 1|Stratus 1 Teardown]]
* [[Single Digit VFD Clock]]
* [[Single Digit IN-18 Nixie Clock]]
* [[Vocore Temperature Logger]]
* [[Voltage Regulator Tube Lights]]
* [[Iteris RZ-3 Cameras]]

Arizona Near Space Research (ANSR) flies unmanned high altitude balloons around Arizona both for fun/education of its members and in support of several college programs. I have been involved in the maintenance and design of the flight tracking beacons identified below. For general info on the club or on student payloads, please visit our main site [http://ansr.org ansr.org].
* [[KA7NSR-12|Flight Computer 1.0]] — The original ANSR flight computer and crossband repeater.
* [[New Flight Computer|Flight Computer 2.0]] — Gen 2 of the flight computer. My first attempt at a non-trivial embedded project...
* [[PIC APRS Beacon]] — A simple APRS tracking beacon. My goal was to generate the AFSK output without a modem chip.

I have done a handful of projects related to ham radio and antennas. Here are a few of those - I think the magnetic loop is the most interesting. They are an excellent choice for HF if you are limited on space.
* [[Kachina 505DSP]] — An early HF radio utilizing DSP for filtering and mod/demod
* [[APRS Air Mobile]] — Running APRS while flying a small plane
* [[Helical Magnetic Loop Antenna]]
* [[Maxon Radio|Maxon Data Radio info & repair]]
* [[DIY Current Meter]] — Just some pics and ideas
* [[VHF and UHF antennas]] — Some practical antenna construction tips

<br clear=all>

== Mechanical Projects ==
I have been mechanically inclined for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately I often don't think to take pictures or keep track of stuff I've fixed or worked on, but here are a few highlights.
* [[XR 250R Engine Rebuild]]
* [[ASW 20]]
* [[PIK 20B]]
* [[ASW 15]]
* [[Cessna 140]]
* [[solar tracker|DIY Large Solar Tracker]]
* [[Small solar systems|Small off-grid solar setups]]
* [[Chevy K1500 4L60E Transmission Rebuild]]

== Vehicle notes ==
* [[Honda CRF230F]]
* [[Polaris Sportsman 500]]

== Misc Stuff ==
* [[Dump Windows Cert Authorities]]
* [[ATSAMV71 Microcontroller Notes]]
* [[OpenWRT expressVPN setup]]
* [[Convert MCS to BIN]]
* [[Raspberry pi notes]]
* [[KD7LMO Archive]]
* [[Useful links]]

File:Ducati scrambler sunset.jpg

2026-04-28T21:34:25Z

Elijah:

File:Xr250 bottom end.jpg

2026-04-28T21:33:14Z

Elijah:

File:Xr400 oil cooler.jpg

2026-04-28T21:32:16Z

Elijah:

File:Xr250 case split transmission.jpg

2026-04-27T04:25:45Z

Elijah:

File:Xr250 stator.jpg

2026-04-27T04:24:51Z

Elijah:

File:Xr250 intake valves worn.jpg

2026-04-27T04:23:35Z

Elijah:

File:Xr250 oil screen frame.jpg

2026-04-27T04:22:23Z

Elijah:

File:Xr250r engine parts.jpg

2026-04-26T05:30:51Z

Elijah:

APRS Air Mobile

2025-11-29T04:54:21Z

Elijah:

[[Category: Ham Radio]]

[[File:Yaesu_vx8_aprs_airplane.jpg|thumb|APRS Air mobile the easy way!]]

Running APRS while flying is a fun and semi-useful project. APRS often has much better aerial coverage than cellular networks, allowing friends and family to see your location as you fly across the country. And yes ADSB does this too but practically, only if you have a 1090 (mode S) ADSB solution. The UAT solutions I have do not have much coverage on sites like flightaware due to fewer 978 ground receivers and the fact that the airborn transmitter is very low power (fractions of a watt vs hundreds of watts for a mode S transponder).

The easy way to do this is using an APRS capable handheld radio. I have been using my Yaesu VX8 for this lately and it really works well. This has the extended battery pack on it and can easily run all day. I have it set to beacon every 2 minutes.

== Standalone Trackers ==

Another option is a standalone tracker such as this: https://www.tindie.com/products/ballooner/2m-aprs-arduino-818-12v-uno/

[[File:Arduino_aprs.jpg|600px]]

Above is my instance of that.

Pros:
* It's standalone, plugs into the cigarette lighter and never needs charging. Set and forget.
* Relatively inexpensive.

Cons:
* It's only 1 watt output which in sparsely populated areas doesn't always get out real well.

== Digipeaters ==
The conventional wisdom is don't use digipeaters from airborn transmitters. This makes sense, as a transmitter up high might get into multiple digis at once, causing unnecessary congestion. Remember all APRS shares a single channel and when packets are being digipeated, no one else can send. So, minimizing congestion is important.

I have tried that though, and didn't have very good luck. Here in the sparsely populated area of northern AZ, Utah, and Wyoming, packets just do not get out to iGates without using digipeaters. At least not from the altitudes I fly (usually under 10,000 ft) and the antenna setups I'm using. The best compromise I have been able to come up with is use WIDE2-1 for the digi path. Not WIDE1-1, WIDE2-1 which is what my VX8 defaults to. The idea is to only trigger WIDE2 digis, which theoretically should be a smaller number and farther apart than WIDE1 digis. I also only beacon once every two minutes.

APRS Air Mobile

2025-11-28T07:00:04Z

Elijah:

APRS Air Mobile

2025-11-25T23:18:09Z

Elijah:

APRS Air Mobile

2025-11-25T22:39:07Z

Elijah:

File:Arduino aprs.jpg

2025-11-25T22:36:52Z

Elijah:

APRS Air Mobile

2025-11-25T22:22:20Z

Elijah: Created page with "Category: Ham Radio APRS Air mobile the easy way! Running APRS while flying is a fun and semi-useful project. APRS often has much better aerial coverage than cellular networks, allowing friends and family to see your location as you fly across the country. And yes ADSB does this too but practically, only if you have a 1090 (mode S) ADSB solution. The UAT solutions I have do not have much coverage on sites like flightaware..."

File:Yaesu vx8 aprs airplane.jpg

2025-11-25T22:19:34Z

Elijah:

Main Page

2025-11-25T22:13:52Z

Elijah: /* Electronics/Software Projects */

Hi, I'm Elijah Brown and welcome to my site, AD7ZJ.net! The name AD7ZJ is my ham radio callsign, and I occasionally post stuff I'm working on here for my own reference and for the benefit of anyone else who is interested.
[[File:C140_sunset.jpeg|200px|thumb|right|Flying my Cessna 140 over Roosevelt lake]]

== Electronics/Software Projects ==
[[File:BalloonHorizon.JPG|200px|thumb|right|Image taken off an ANSR flight from approximately 40,000 ft]]
I enjoy tinkering with electronics and software and I've done quite a few little side projects in this area. Here are the ones I remembered to write down and take pictures of :)
* [[Long range WiFi]] — How I got internet service to an offgrid location 5 miles away
* [[OpenAWOS]] — Used at our glider field to automatically report wind over VHF radio.
* [[Vaisala 425A Anemometers]] — Used by my diy AWOS system above.
* [[Remote Cellular Switch]] — Used to turn on an engine pre-heater remotely.
* [[FLARM Teardown]]
* [[Fixing a Stratus 1|Stratus 1 Teardown]]
* [[Single Digit VFD Clock]]
* [[Single Digit IN-18 Nixie Clock]]
* [[Vocore Temperature Logger]]
* [[Voltage Regulator Tube Lights]]
* [[Iteris RZ-3 Cameras]]

Arizona Near Space Research (ANSR) flies unmanned high altitude balloons around Arizona both for fun/education of its members and in support of several college programs. I have been involved in the maintenance and design of the flight tracking beacons identified below. For general info on the club or on student payloads, please visit our main site [http://ansr.org ansr.org].
* [[KA7NSR-12|Flight Computer 1.0]] — The original ANSR flight computer and crossband repeater.
* [[New Flight Computer|Flight Computer 2.0]] — Gen 2 of the flight computer. My first attempt at a non-trivial embedded project...
* [[PIC APRS Beacon]] — A simple APRS tracking beacon. My goal was to generate the AFSK output without a modem chip.

I have done a handful of projects related to ham radio and antennas. Here are a few of those - I think the magnetic loop is the most interesting. They are an excellent choice for HF if you are limited on space.
* [[Kachina 505DSP]] — An early HF radio utilizing DSP for filtering and mod/demod
* [[APRS Air Mobile]] — Running APRS while flying a small plane
* [[Helical Magnetic Loop Antenna]]
* [[Maxon Radio|Maxon Data Radio info & repair]]
* [[DIY Current Meter]] — Just some pics and ideas
* [[VHF and UHF antennas]] — Some practical antenna construction tips

<br clear=all>

== Mechanical Projects ==
I have been mechanically inclined for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately I often don't think to take pictures or keep track of stuff I've fixed or worked on, but here are a few highlights.
* [[ASW 15]]
* [[ASW 20]]
* [[PIK 20B]]
* [[Cessna 140]]
* [[solar tracker|DIY Large Solar Tracker]]
* [[Small solar systems|Small off-grid solar setups]]
* [[Chevy K1500 4L60E Transmission Rebuild]]

== Vehicle notes ==
* [[Honda CRF230F]]
* [[Polaris Sportsman 500]]

== Misc Stuff ==
* [[Dump Windows Cert Authorities]]
* [[ATSAMV71 Microcontroller Notes]]
* [[OpenWRT expressVPN setup]]
* [[Convert MCS to BIN]]
* [[Raspberry pi notes]]
* [[KD7LMO Archive]]
* [[Useful links]]

Polaris Sportsman 500

2025-11-22T04:16:49Z

Elijah:

[[File:Sportsman-500-parking-lot.jpg|thumb|300px|Safeway run! lol]]

The Polaris sportsman 500 is a super smooth riding utility quad. This 2005 has 4 wheel drive, great suspension, and an engine known for its reliability. This is the last of the carbureted years which IMO is a good thing. The carb is a Mikuni constant velocity, CV40. The early EFI systems seemed to have some problems.

== Maintenance stuff ==
Oil: Mobil 1 0w40 "european formula"

Filter: ST6607

{| class="wikitable" style="margin:auto"
|+ Maintainence log
|-
! Date !! Odometer !! Description
|-
| 11/18/2025 || 2560 || Changed engine oil & filter, transmission oil, and front gearcase oil. Valve clearances checked and adjusted to 6 thou. Carb cleaned, float level set, 152.5 main jet and new Mikuni seals installed. New air filter. Brake fluid flushed and replaced with DOT 3. All brake pads OK. Greased prop shaft and steering ball joints. Drive clutch cleaned and new polaris belt installed.

|}

Polaris Sportsman 500

2025-11-22T03:05:25Z

Elijah: Created page with "Safeway run! lol The Polaris sportsman 500 is a super smooth riding utility quad. This 2005 has 4 wheel drive, great suspension, and an engine known for its reliability. This is the last of the carbureted years which IMO is a good thing. The carb is a Mikuni constant velocity, CV40. The early EFI systems seemed to have some problems. == Maintenance stuff == Oil: Mobil 1 0w40 "european formula" Filter: ST6607"

File:Sportsman-500-parking-lot.jpg

2025-11-22T03:01:43Z

Elijah:

Main Page

2025-11-22T02:47:23Z

Elijah:

Hi, I'm Elijah Brown and welcome to my site, AD7ZJ.net! The name AD7ZJ is my ham radio callsign, and I occasionally post stuff I'm working on here for my own reference and for the benefit of anyone else who is interested.
[[File:C140_sunset.jpeg|200px|thumb|right|Flying my Cessna 140 over Roosevelt lake]]

== Electronics/Software Projects ==
[[File:BalloonHorizon.JPG|200px|thumb|right|Image taken off an ANSR flight from approximately 40,000 ft]]
I enjoy tinkering with electronics and software and I've done quite a few little side projects in this area. Here are the ones I remembered to write down and take pictures of :)
* [[Long range WiFi]] — How I got internet service to an offgrid location 5 miles away
* [[OpenAWOS]] — Used at our glider field to automatically report wind over VHF radio.
* [[Vaisala 425A Anemometers]] — Used by my diy AWOS system above.
* [[Remote Cellular Switch]] — Used to turn on an engine pre-heater remotely.
* [[FLARM Teardown]]
* [[Fixing a Stratus 1|Stratus 1 Teardown]]
* [[Single Digit VFD Clock]]
* [[Single Digit IN-18 Nixie Clock]]
* [[Vocore Temperature Logger]]
* [[Voltage Regulator Tube Lights]]
* [[Iteris RZ-3 Cameras]]

Arizona Near Space Research (ANSR) flies unmanned high altitude balloons around Arizona both for fun/education of its members and in support of several college programs. I have been involved in the maintenance and design of the flight tracking beacons identified below. For general info on the club or on student payloads, please visit our main site [http://ansr.org ansr.org].
* [[KA7NSR-12|Flight Computer 1.0]] — The original ANSR flight computer and crossband repeater.
* [[New Flight Computer|Flight Computer 2.0]] — Gen 2 of the flight computer. My first attempt at a non-trivial embedded project...
* [[PIC APRS Beacon]] — A simple APRS tracking beacon. My goal was to generate the AFSK output without a modem chip.

I have done a handful of projects related to ham radio and antennas. Here are a few of those - I think the magnetic loop is the most interesting. They are an excellent choice for HF if you are limited on space.
* [[Kachina 505DSP]] — An early HF radio utilizing DSP for filtering and mod/demod
* [[Helical Magnetic Loop Antenna]]
* [[Maxon Radio|Maxon Data Radio info & repair]]
* [[DIY Current Meter]] — Just some pics and ideas
* [[VHF and UHF antennas]] — Some practical antenna construction tips

<br clear=all>

== Mechanical Projects ==
I have been mechanically inclined for as long as I can remember. Unfortunately I often don't think to take pictures or keep track of stuff I've fixed or worked on, but here are a few highlights.
* [[ASW 15]]
* [[ASW 20]]
* [[PIK 20B]]
* [[Cessna 140]]
* [[solar tracker|DIY Large Solar Tracker]]
* [[Small solar systems|Small off-grid solar setups]]
* [[Chevy K1500 4L60E Transmission Rebuild]]

== Vehicle notes ==
* [[Honda CRF230F]]
* [[Polaris Sportsman 500]]

== Misc Stuff ==
* [[Dump Windows Cert Authorities]]
* [[ATSAMV71 Microcontroller Notes]]
* [[OpenWRT expressVPN setup]]
* [[Convert MCS to BIN]]
* [[Raspberry pi notes]]
* [[KD7LMO Archive]]
* [[Useful links]]

ASW 20

2025-11-02T03:58:58Z

Elijah:

This ASW-20 was owned by a fellow named David Woods. He had flown it quite a bit out of southern california and from the logbooks, looks like he had some great flights in it. After some medical issues he gave up flying and it sat in his back yard in phoenix for 20 years. After he passed, I picked it up from the family and here is the story of getting it flying again.

Overall it wasn't in terrible shape. Of course things were dusty and dry after sitting that long, and the wing gel coat was worse for the wear.

[[File:Asw20_wing_gelcoat_damage.jpg|600px]]

The gel coat on the wings has been refinished once according to the logs, but it was cracking badly in a few spots.

[[File:Asw20_original_panel.jpg|600px]]

The instrument panel was a bit dated and worse for the wear as well.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_after_washing.jpg|600px]]

After washing off the dust, the fuselage wasn't looking too bad!

==Trailer==

[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_repair.jpg|600px]]

The tires were very old but fortunately they made the trip home from phoenix. One of the fenders had been used as a bumper a few too many times and was dragging on the tire a bit. So, I took things apart and fixed that, straightened up the fender and welded on some new supports. I also noticed one of the leaf springs was broken so I replaced the springs as well. You can see they look rather new in the picture above :)

[[File:Asw20_trailer_fender_fixed.jpg|600px]]

There, that's better!

==Fuselage==

Next I disassembled stuff in the fuselage and gave it a thorough cleaning and lubricating.

[[File:Asw20_fuselage_disassembled.jpg|600px]]

I decided to upgrade the instrumentation a bit while I was at it. A friend laid out a new panel for me and mailed it.

[[File:Asw20_new_panel_test.jpg|600px]]

The old panel is routed out and the new one is glued on the front. That's a handy little trick isn't it! Here I'm trying it on for size to make sure everything is gonna line up...

[[File:Asw20_panel_attempt_1.jpg|600px]]

It looks great! But unfortunately the canopy couldn't close :( The small instruments at the top... those are a becker radio and transponder. They are quite long and no matter which of the spots I put them, they wouldn't fit. I cried a little but there was just no way this panel would work... so I went to work and laid out another one on LibreCAD, this time placing the radios down low where there is more room. I am used to AutoCAD but no longer have access to a license, and I must say I was quite pleased with LibreCAD for this simiple project. It's a little bit quirky but I use git to save progress at key spots in case I mess something up and need to revert! [https://github.com/AD7ZJ/aviation-panels panel git repo] I sent it off to send-cut-send and a week later had a new front plate in hand!

[[File:Asw20_panel_instruments_trial_fit.jpg|600px]]

It looks pretty good, I don't like this layout as well but this has the advantage that the canopy can close :) I had them cut the outside outline slightly oversize so I could do the final trim by hand to match the panel edge.

[[File:Asw20_panel_wiring_testing.jpg|600px]]

After gluing on the panel edge, I trimmed the front plate to fit and painted it with truck bed liner. That works pretty nicely because it's tough and a matte color that won't create reflections on the canopy! Above I think I'm testing the radio and SN10 wiring. I know it looks like chaos but I am always short of bench space! haha!

[[File:Asw20_xpdr_harness.jpg|600px]]

There is the transponder wiring harness completed. Unfortunately after connecting it up, the transponder would not power on. And yes, I triple-checked wiring before I connected anything, and it was powered on with a current limited supply, which never hit the limit. Actually it never drew current at all, something in the internal power supply was permanently in the O F F position. I sent it back to the factory for repair and they got it fixed in a couple weeks. Nothing's ever easy...

[[File:Asw20_panel_rear.jpg|600px]]

Ok now we're getting somewhere! Everything is wired up and working! The altitude encoder and FLARM attach to the D-sub connectors. The red cable with an RJ45 is for the FlarmView.

[[File:Asw20_panel_installed.jpg|600px]]

Here's how it looks installed.

[[File:Asw20_panel_flarm_encoder_mounting.jpg|600px]]

Here you can see how the FLARM and altitude encoder are mounted underneath the seat pan.

==Wings==

[[File:Asw20_wing_fairing_sanded.jpg|600px]]

I chipped off the loose gel coat and feathered the edges. Above is a pic of that process. Once smoothed out, I sprayed it with a modern sandable primer to build it up a bit, and then topped with urethane paint. Painting is 5% painting and 95% sanding - pretty boring! And actually I sanded the entire wing to get rid of the oxidation/yellowing. This takes a long time but it really makes it look a lot nicer. As of today I have one wing finished and have the second one sanded. It just needs touched up in a few spots and then the final polish.

ASW 20

2025-11-01T09:00:12Z

Elijah: Created page with "This ASW-20 was owned by a fellow named David Woods. He had flown it quite a bit out of southern california and from the logbooks, looks like he had some great flights in it. After some medical issues he gave up flying and it sat in his back yard in phoenix for 20 years. After he passed, I picked it up from the family and here is the story of getting it flying again. Overall it wasn't in terrible shape. Of course things were dusty and dry after sitting that long, and t..."

File:Asw20 panel flarm encoder mounting.jpg

2025-11-01T08:53:43Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 panel installed.jpg

2025-11-01T08:52:49Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 panel rear.jpg

2025-11-01T08:50:34Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 xpdr harness.jpg

2025-11-01T08:47:05Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 panel wiring testing.jpg

2025-11-01T08:43:38Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 panel instruments trial fit.jpg

2025-11-01T08:41:17Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 wing fairing sanded.jpg

2025-11-01T08:40:09Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 panel attempt 1.jpg

2025-11-01T08:30:20Z

Elijah:

File:Asw20 new panel test.jpg

2025-11-01T08:26:14Z

Elijah: