pbk3(at)hotmail.com
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 Posted: Tue May 02, 2006 6:06 am Post subject: engine workshop at Mattituck |
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This past Saturday, Mattituck hosted an engine building workshop at their
Long Island facility. The trip, organized by Jim Simmons and Bob Spaulding
of EAA chapter #27, allowed 40 of us to get the inside skinny on a lot of
great information.
The hardest part of this trip was getting up in time to catch the bus.
Leaving my house at 3:15 a.m., in Cromwell I met up with friends and chapter
memebers from throughout Connecticut. A second stop in New Haven, then a
drive to New London, where we watched the sun come up as we got on a 6 am
ferry. As the light increased and the coffee set in, I got to learn more
about the various builders on the trip. I had thoguht of #27 as being very
much an RV builder's chapter. I was surprised and pleased by the diversity
of types and experience in the group - a Hatz Classic, EAA biplane, RV-6,7,8
a Taylorcraft rebuild and even a student pilot interested in all of it. By
8 am we were pretty tightly bonded, and at the Mattituck shop.
We were treated like vistiing royalty - it became pretty clear that customer
service has been Mattituck's success formula since 1946. As we walked in we
got name badges and folders stuffed with checklists and flyers, and a very
generous breakfast assortment. Chairs were organized in a semicircle,
facing an engine stand, and behind that a long set of parts laid out in
logical groups, with a tool chest at one side. The Mattituck people were
introduced, and they thoughtfully covered both the agenda and the logistics
of food and breaks during the day. It was obvious that they had done this
before, and had put a lot of work into the organization of our day.
All the big dogs turned out - including Mr. Parker Wickham, who founded the
business when he came back from WWII (at the close of the day one gets a
certificate - I got him to sign mine). The building was led by Mahlon
Russell, A&P - IA. I was startled to learn that this one guy has worked for
Superior, ECI and now Mattituck, setting the standards for the experimental
engines each has brought to the market.
I have worked alongside of a great local engine shop (Pine Mountain Aviation
of Danbury, CT), and have done the workshops at OshKosh. This was better -
we went beyond the what to the why, and got to talk about alternatives. The
project was the TMX-360, and by the end of the day it was ready for the test
cell. (Assembled without a second IA signing off, this particular engine is
disassembed and re-used for the next demonstration.) Along the way, we
learned about the process used to control the assembly of an engine, and the
tricks of the trade that make it easy to do it right the first time. We
learned about balancing and the subtle variations in dimensions that force
compromises, and how to manage the risk of buying overhauled parts. It was
a great intro to the innards of the 0-360, and a good display of a famous
engine shop.
And the swag! We walked out with tee shirts, folders of reference
materials, and engine stickers to use the next time I want to pretend that a
60-year-old O-235 actually came off Bohannon's time-to-climb champion. We
got a tour of a hidden gem of a car museum, a tour of the larger Mattituck
overhaul facility, a lot of food, and a standing invitation to fly in to the
gorgeus landing strip they own.
It was a great day. Mattituck won't do this very often, but if you can pull
together a group of 30-50 people they will find a way. If you are
interested, I suggest you contact Michael Yousik at
michael_yousik(at)teledyne.com.
Preston Kavanagh
RV-6a under construction
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