"Hi Lee, Welcome to the group and Skinny Bird ownership! I’ve attached the drawing that came with my bird, and I can only hope that it helps. I haven’t used it for manufacture, so I’m not able to vouch for it."
Keep the Skinny Birds Flying Safely
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Steve Ahrens
- Male
- LYNDOCH South Australia
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Steve Ahrens's Discussions
Service Letter No.15 Landing Gear
1 Reply
Hi Porterfield friends.Digging through some old docs I received with my Skinny Bird; I discovered a service letter (attached) relating to landing gear bolts recommending the bolts be removed every 25…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Andy Gelston Dec 6.
Continental A65 Crankshaft Bearings
Hi Brains trust!This is probably a long shot, I'm looking for .010 thou undersize crank bearings for my A65.The bearing set number is 627246A2 M010Individual numbers are; Mains 40237 -10 x 2, 633399…Continue
Started Apr 14
Continental A65 Baffles
2 Replies
Back at the end of December I had the misfortune of tipping my Skinny Bird on its nose. Nearing the end of the landing roll I felt like I didn’t have much rudder authority and drifting to the right…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Steve Ahrens Apr 14.
Tachometer failure
3 Replies
Weather conditions were perfect today for committing aviation in the Skinny Bird. Until the tacho went out to lunch!Checking the cable down at the drive on the back of the engine, I found I couldn’t…Continue
Started this discussion. Last reply by Andy Gelston Sep 11, 2024.
Steve Ahrens's Page
Latest Activity
"That’s a fantastic find Mark! I have one but the angle drive wore out. I found a Stewart Warner at Oshkosh and hoping my local instrument people can make 1 out of the 2. (P.S. I’m from down under Australia)"
"You have answered your own question, Steve. Those bolts were subjected to the terrors of ham-fisted students operating out of lumpy, grass strips. The CAA (later, FAA) never felt it needed to be an AD, just a good idea. The amount of flight time our…"
Service Letter No.15 Landing Gear
Hi Porterfield friends.Digging through some old docs I received with my Skinny Bird; I discovered a service letter (attached) relating to landing gear bolts recommending the bolts be removed every 25 hours and inspected carefully, with special attention to the bolt in the shock pad cap. It goes on to say that in no event should the landing gear bolts remain in service for more than 200 hours.Has anyone experienced landing gear bolt wear and how often do you remove and inspect or replace the…See More
"Hi Joe & Andy,
I have sent the scanned drawings via WeTransfer and emailed both of you.
Trust you receive them ok."
"Give me some time Joe and I’ll get them scanned and emailed to you. A couple of them are very large, much bigger than my A3 scanner."
"Hi Joe,
I’ve owned my LP65 since 2021. A Continental A65 had been installed in 2009. I’m not able to speak from experience as to what had to be done, but I do have a number of drawings for the engine mount, exhaust etc that I believe…"
"Fantastic photos Mark! She’s a beautiful looking bird! Thank you for sharing!"
"Hi David, on my way from Australia, will be there Monday. Did you fly in?"
"I’ll be at Oshkosh as well! Would be fantastic to see some other Porterfield’s. Unfortunately it’s a bit far to fly mine from Australia! "
Continental A65 Crankshaft Bearings
Hi Brains trust!This is probably a long shot, I'm looking for .010 thou undersize crank bearings for my A65.The bearing set number is 627246A2 M010Individual numbers are; Mains 40237 -10 x 2, 633399 -10 x 2, 633398 -10 x 2Big ends 35897 -10 x 8Any help or suggestions of where I might finds these would be greatly appreciated.Superior are saying they would not be available until September.Thank you in advance.See More
"Thank you for the insight on the nosebowl Andy. And I appreciate your comments about applying power in such situations, advice that I have also received from others."
"The lower nosebowl opening is usually blocked off with a piece of sheet metal in the winter."
Continental A65 Baffles
Back at the end of December I had the misfortune of tipping my Skinny Bird on its nose. Nearing the end of the landing roll I felt like I didn’t have much rudder authority and drifting to the right so I used some right brake, next thing i knew the tail was coming up. Making sure I had full back stick and the brake released the tail continued to rise until i watched 1 blade of the prop turn to splinters. Wind conditions were variable and I believe I had a bit of help from a tailwind to lift the…See More
"I also need information on mounting my Franklin. It looks like it uses the same rubber cones as the Continental but the Franklin engine is cradle mounted. I have been looking for specs, drawing or other information. If I was the engineer I would…"
"Thank you for the update on this Mark.
I also have an A65 running a wood 72/42 prop and noted in some old literature that it called for a 72/44. I’m in the process of selecting a new prop and concerned about climb performance with a 44,…"
Profile Information
- About Me:
- I live in the wine growing area of the Barossa Valley in South Australia, and operated a Piper Archer from a private strip close to home for the past 30 years. Purchasing the Porterfield is a new adventure for me, having to learn to fly a tail dragger after so many years of tricycle.q
- Do you own a Porterfield Airplane? N#?
- I have recently purchased a Collegiate LP65 here in Australia.
- Are You a Pilot? Ratings?
- Yes
Steve Ahrens's Photos
Comment Wall (5 comments)
- At 7:49am on November 10, 2022,
Andy Gelston said…
That's a pretty creepy PM, Steve. Tom Porterfield approved him before I could check him out with our other ORA members. I'll just delete him and be done with him. Thank you for bringing this to my attention!
Andy
- At 8:04am on May 10, 2021,
- The Collegiate is a great tailwheel trainer. She was the favorite among most CPTP cadets.
- At 3:21pm on May 4, 2021,
Tom Porterfield said…
Steve,
I don't know much about your Porterfield. Donald Bishop owned it from Bowie, Texas, about 75 miles NW of Dallas. I'd talked to him some and he told me it was heading to Australia.
I hope you don't have to wait too long for the Slick magnetos. Good Luck.
Here's a picture of N37733 and Donald in Texas 2009
- At 1:27pm on May 3, 2021,
Welcome to the Porterfield Airplane Club Steve.
It's cool to see that Porterfield again. I believe it is the same one that went to Australia a few years back from here in Texas. Good luck on your transition to tail wheel flying.
- At 8:27am on May 3, 2021,
Welcome to our wee club for the skinny birds, Steve! You’ll find a lot of information on the Collegiate, scattered about the website. Once you get acclimated to the claustrophobic feeling of having the instrument panel a foot away from your face, she’s a real sweet plane.
Soft landings, Andy
Steve Ahrens's Videos
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