Taking Our FREE Abandoned Airplane Home! Ep2 

Hey Brother, two things. First, a pressure steamer is the way to go with cleaning that bird. Do the entire outside, from top down, then do the engine areas. Second, the very best penetrating solution is something you make at the shop. 1 part acetone to 1 part transmission fluid. Steam clean the turbos and soak it with that solution. They'll break free.

Normally series like this don't really get me hooked but this is genuinely interesting and fun to watch, keep up the awesome work!

So glad you made this into a series and you have access to the hanger etc. I wish we had more folks like you that focus on rebuilding and keeping the knowledge of mechanics alive. If only I had access to a mentor like this.

I would 100% yank the wings off. Pull and disassemble the motors. Even if i didnt have the money on hand, you should expect a project like this to take at least 5 years to get air worthy. Give her everything you got man. Thats a worth while project in my book!

Found part 1, and subscribed on the spot. I’ve been checking daily to see part 2. Great channel, man! Hoping to see even more of this 401 project.

It's been said that nothing's more expensive than a free boat, but I think we might have found something a LOT more expensive!

Great story! Watching the episodes in order; can't wait to hear that first engine start! One comment. A "hanger" is something that you use to hang up clothes in your closet. A "hangar" is a building used to shelter an airplane.

I know when someone starts a project like this, it always inspires others to get involved. You'll have plenty of help.

Just had an idea come to mind: Collab with AmmoNYC to detail the in- and outside of the Cessna. He‘s got plenty experience with horrible barn/field-find scenarios and has even compounded a 707 once, hence knows his way around aircraft too. Plus added bonus, he‘s in the northeast as well!

I would recommend you try dry-ice blasting to clean the engine. This technology is often used on classic cars to remove old grease and dirt without damaging any rubber tubes or cables.

As an aircraft engineer I'm watching this with the peverse thought that at some point realisation is going to kick in about the AD and also the amount of corrosion you're going to have to address. This plane is write off. But the engines might be good for a speedboat! Now there's an dea worth thinking about.

You have GOT to get this girl in the air!! She's a beauty!! What a fine project!! Looking forward to watching!!

This is going to be a massive project. Apart from the spar strapping, the amount of work to get this thing airworthy is immense so good luck and I am looking forward to seeing her get airborne again. What a great project.

After part 1 showed up in my feed I was instantly hooked! You’ve got yourself a subscriber off the back of this project. I can’t wait to see what you do with it and I really hope you can get her flying again and restore her to her former glory!

Cool to see this project going viral. I know tons of us have dreamed of doing the same thing ourselves. Don’t let us down! We want to see this thing fly! Keep up the good work.

Came on my RU-vid account randomly and I’ve always loved airplanes since a young age, I instantly got hooked by the detail, information and passion you have! Subscribed and kept checking your accounts for more!🙏🏻❤️

My first plane was a 47 Ercoupe. I was so excited. This was in 1985, I took it to the only mechanic at the little airport it sat at for many years. I told him to annual it and let me know what all he finds that needs fixing. He got it running and it ran fantastic. It was 100% original. I got a call from the mechanic a few weeks later that broke my heart. He said mice had gotten into it over the years and peed on the aluminum wing spar and corroded it so bad he could pick at it with a screw driver and pull chunks off. So there was no internet at that time so I placed a wanted ad in Trade-a-plane for a wing spar. Nobody responded after a few months so I listed the entire plane for sale on trade a plane for $2,500. Two guys from california drove up with a tailer to washington state and bought it, took it home and put in the wing spar that he had sitting in his shop. It is still flying today.

I'm an automotive and small engine guy, and I spend a lot of my time playing around with free/super-cheap junk. I always love the rush of bringing something back from the dead, but I can't imagine the incredible amount of added work required when your project "thing" is a freakin' airplane! When something goes wrong with some of my old junk, it's very rarely on fire and absolutely never IN THE AIR when it happens, so mad respect to you guys for doing what I do times about ten thousand. Way cool.

Invested fully in this channel. Watched episode 1 with no breaks and no forwarding atall. Again I'm fully invested, just about to watch episode 2. Love it bro, genuinely, really good to see you work. 🙏

There is a pilot place in Oshkosh, Winsconsin as far as I know that keep all logs for years, IF the logs were even filled out porperly once they should have copies as its the FAA law to HAVE logs for the airplane. GL my friend.

In case no other A&P’s mentioned it already, I seem to remember seeing two leads running to at least one of the mags. That would indicate to me that they are shower of sparks ignition rather than impulse coupled. Bright side, no impulse couplings to stick or fail. Downside: there’s a vibrator box which sends the “shower of sparks” through the retard points for starting; this all relies upon battery power, and upon another set of points within that box. So, rebuilding the mags may not be enough. Also, that is generally the left mag which has that system. The right mag should be off for starting unless it also has a starting circuit, which I haven’t seen, but is possible. My point here being, for the sake of making the engine run, you could rebuild/repair the LH mag, make sure that the shower of sparks box is working, and fire it up on the LH mag only. Once it’s running throw the RH mag switch on and see if it works. To test that start box, disconnect the starter cable and hit the start button with the master on. You should hear a high frequency “buzz” from wherever it’s located on that airplane. My guess being somewhere in the engine nacelle.

So happy to see you do this, absolutely can't wait for the next vid. Kept refreshing and waiting for this one over the last couple of weeks, it's gonna be a tough wait, I'm too excited!!!!!!!!!

Super excited to see this plane get worked over. What a project!

The airport must have been overjoyed to see this plane moved off the apron after so long. Looking forward to hearing those engines turn over. It’ll almost be as interesting to see the interior after it’s all been stripped out.

I've been waiting for part 2 love this video keep going

As much as I'd love to see it fly again. I have to wonder if it is really a lost cause. When I look at the massive amount of work needing to be done for the interior, the engines, and then that FAA recall you mentioned that was going to cost $80,000. I'm thinking it might be cheaper to buy a working version of the plane than to restore this one. Nevertheless, I'm curious to see the outcome!

I'm so so glad you did NOT give up! Wish I could've been there to help!🤘👏

This is a majestic looking plane. I'm no pilot, but I'd REALLY like to see the engines run & the props spin.

Just a thought but it might be advisable considering what you are cleaning up on that engine, to invest in a couple of cheap tarps to spread under the area where you are working so you don't have to do the clean up twice. All that stuff on the floor is going to be just as toxic as it was on the engine. Love the project

Nice to have a warm place inside. Good find on that! Congrats on the explosive channel growth! Great camera work.

I appreciate you talking about it "being a part of the family." This is like and old barn find car that has history in it. Sometimes, just seeing it run again is a sort of closure. I promise the guy feels ashamed for the condition. It may never fly, but it will yield a win.

It's embarrassing to see how you don't have a million plus followers. As I stumbled upon your first vid of this restoration I was hooked as a young man who has an interest in planes and helicopters. The knowledge and time you put into this as well as the first video and the upgrade to having split up the video by focus points is in of itself a huge upgrade for the viewers. I may be late to the video and to the channel but you've earned my respect and my attention. I can't wait to see your channel get even bigger.

I can honestly say watching your first video I thought to myself, “of course you get it started, otherwise you wouldn’t post this video.” Seeing the outcome made me genuinely appreciate the fact that you bring us, the viewers, along for the entire journey. I’ve had a RU-vid account for over a decade now, and have only subscribed to about half a dozen channels. I subscribed to yours on the spot. I look forward to seeing you get this bird in the air!

I would love to watch every second of a full restoration of this plane. Good luck on getting flying!

The FAA people love Airplanes & Flying. So, no surprise to me that they would be so helpful. I am so glad they are reaching out!

I am in Australia and watching this rebuild, started 1st Episode yesterday, i know what i will be watching for a few days now. I work at an Airport in Orange NSW, as a ground handler and also a pilot, so very interesting watch. Nice work.

Patient, thorough, and surprisingly gentle; would make a great shop instructor. He will get her airborne again !! 👍

Twin Cessnas are notorious for having rotted out engine mount beams caused by exhaust leaks. There were some airworthiness directives that addressed the problems. It's quite an extensive project to replace those beams as they extend back to the spar inside the wing.

Saw last night until 03:00 Ep1 complete and didn´t knew that there were more episodes on this saga. Excellent ! . The most interesting video I've watched. Really interesting for all the situations it involve. Thanks a lot !.

Hello. I like the video and appreciate how you have pivoted to this project so much with the success of the first video. Don't burn yourself out, but it is nice to watch this being cleaned from somewhere where I cannot smell it :)

dude, this project is legendary, you gained a lifelong subscriber. I cant wait to see what you do with it. 10/10

As a rotary-wing mechanic of 7 years, I could say that working on an aircraft that dirty and corroded is an aviation mechanic’s worst nightmare haha. Great videos! I look forward to seeing this bird start

I volunteer at the Wings of the North aviation museum formerly located at Flying Cloud Field/Minneapolis (FCM). The museum is restoring a Beech AT-10 (1930-ish twin engine military trainer). I am as mechanically inclined as a rock and I am in awe of the time/effort invested in cleaning and in some cases fabricating parts required to restore it to experimental/flyable status. Best of luck on your journey.

This is so tight! I can't wait to see the finished product. Glad I found this as its still going on. Good luck man!

Yup. Wing spars were one of the things I was concerned about from the first video. If things progress to that point I would love to see the full tear down and how much of a reskin job would be needed for her.

Normally, when someone on RU-vid takes on a project of this magnitude, they are already knowledgeable about what they are doing. It may be a good idea to play the host of "This Old Airplane" and bring in the experts who can explain what they are doing while you watch. The owner should have parted out or sold the airplane when he realized he could not afford to comply with the AD. You really don't need the log books at this point. Running or not, those engines are going to have to be completely overhauled. Someone with an airboat would love to have those engines. It would be cheaper to find a pair of used engines with log books. The airframe and associated systems are going to need to be completely disassembled and rebuilt to get anyone to certify this airplane to fly again. Unless you have a crew of A&P technicians (as well as one with an Inspection Authorization) willing to work on this white elephant for free, you are wasting your time. Maybe through the miracle of RU-vid, you will find people with the technical expertise to make this happen. Good luck!

I just discovered this! Ah man I am in luck!! This is going to be my binge watch!! I so wish I could get a deal like that!! I would LOVE to work on a plane and restore them. As an Airline pilot myself this would be a dream come true!! Keep it up Jason and crew, and if I am ever in the US I would LOVE to come and pay you guys a visit!👏

I am so glad this is becoming a series 😁

Hey I am 73 and have had my A&P license for about 48 years worked on everything from single engine c-3 all the way up to DC-3's and rebuilding of 1820's and 1830's. Really glad to see you working at this project. Wish I could help! The only A/C I worked on that had a wing spar prob'm, was the D-18. Big job to do but when its done will be great. will be interested in your progress.

When stripping down a machine, I get a box of cheap ziplock bags and a sharpie to label all the screws and nuts. Helps when putting things back together or identifying the parts being replaced.

Awesome mate, what a job and a great-looking plane too. It's gonna be a beast when its works again. well done buddy.

Expensive or not, new of trashed, the joy is in the journey getting there. Funny how we all feel the same about the journey. Love

YES!!! PART 2! thanks man this is awesome, can't wait to watch! It's almost 2am here in Australia but I'll be damned if I'm not watching this right now! You sir, are an absolute legend

Been waiting for this videos since the last came out, Love to see it!

You are putting so much effort into such a mammoth task and if you get that plane going it would be such a result and you deserve to reap the rewards - what an achievement that would be ?! The best of luck to you my friend!

YES! Episode 2! I was checking in daily for this.

I LOVE that you're saving this OLD beast!! Maybe one day i'll find an airplane to rescue as well! Trust me, I'm LOOKING here in the midwest!! Good luck with the project! It will be a big one, but should be fun!!

Might be worth using a pressure steamer to clean the engine bays so you’ll be relying mostly on heat to remove the dirt. You won’t have to worry about oceans of water going everywhere and you can do it indoors.

I'm excited to see it run.

I have zero experience with anything that flies but I am a tinkerer and I love seeing old things brought back to live regardless of cost. Really interesting can’t wait to watch more content from you.

I was so happy to see this pop up today, this old bird is gonna be beautiful when she's been all repaired and cleaned up. I know nothing about planes but watching you work is just a joy.

FIRST THING : inspect the airframe to see if it's worth putting any time into it.

good job sir greeting from west papua indonesia God bless .

eagerly waiting....very much thrilled

So for lost log books, I can give you some hints on that. Go look up flightaware of the past history of the plane if it went anywhere. That helped me connect with FBOs that maintained my aircraft. Second the best thing to do is ask the previous owner which maintenance shops he took it to. They may have records but 10+ years plus then not really. That means you will have to pay the annual to not only do the regular annual but also confirm all the AD's (Airworthiness directives). It can get pricey since some require disassembly of some parts. With that being said, you will have a good starting point through the resale of the airplane will be about 30-40% less since log books are not current. After about 10-20 years of annuals and logs, this reduction is a lot less as well. Just make sure you have your weights an balance, airworthiness certificate, and get the transfer done with the FAA mail (takes months). Good luck!

Beautiful site seeing her rolling behind the tug. Consider trying to start the engine(s) with the turbo disconnected from the intake. You never know; on a nice cool day, it might start right up. I still think you're looking at 6 figures to get an AW cert. But still, may be worth it.

Good communicator...cheers.

Do not tamper with the turbo. Rather send it out to a shop. The turbo is balanced to a fraction of a gram. This allows it to spin at an incredible speed. If the balance is not spot on it could explode or send bits of turbo into the engine causing huge damage.

Great videos and I really hope you get this aircraft running. I’m an ex RAF Airframes Engineer and I am astonished you got to make the mess you made with compressed air inside that hanger. You really should be doing stuff like that in a controlled area. All the best with the project, very interesting. 🤘🏻

Love this project! I flew a 421 in the 1980's - the pressurized big brother of your soon to be airplane. I'm sure you will get the engine to 'run' although that's a long way from getting this bird airworthy, I would bet you can do that too. Well worth it, these are really nice airplanes. Best of luck. Oh, and please get some decent overalls, gloves, masks and eye protection.

Been told for about 6 months that I needed to check this channel out, finally did and I'm already liking it.

Just want to say this has been a great series and I feel personally invested into even though I know nothing about planes and mechanics in general. Good Job keeping it entertaining and informative to us.

By the time you are done with this series you will have gotten one heck of an education. I don't mean to be a downer but I sincerely doubt this aircraft will legally and morally fly again. Corrosion is the death of an aircraft. It reduces the thickness of the material which weakens it. It gets in between surfaces and forces them apart the same way ice cracks an engine block. So just imagine every panel, bolt and rivet having tons of pressure much more than they were ever designed to endure placed upon them. It would be a death trap not only for the pilot and anyone on the ground. Without copious amounts of money, much more than the aircraft is worth will it ever be certified to fly again. I would get it running and functioning then turn it over to and aviation mechanics school to be an excellent training aid. Maybe there after they put the aircraft on jacks, remove and rebuild the landing gear, remove and rebuild the engines, remove all the wiring and replace it, take every panel off and at least neutralize the corrosive nature of the poop, pee and just plain water damage will it even be considered for inspection. That is, after the defect that originally grounded the aircraft in the first place has been accomplished. I applaud your efforts to get the aircraft running again but I think you need to emphasize the fact that it may never fly again. I wish I was closer so that I might help you with the removal of the hardware. I was a machinist in the air force so along with the structural repair folks could help you immensely. Check with the VFW and other veterans organizations in the area for retired aircraft specialists. Most would love to be back near am aircraft again. I know I would. Never quit, never lose hope, never leave anyone behind. Cheers Terry

A couple of cleaning tips: Do the initial cleaning outside. After a good hose down use three parts mogas, one part naphtha mixed in a jerry can. Soak both engine compartments and the interior thoroughly...

Thanks to all you aviation guys, I love airplanes, but never flew or had one, this video taught me much about mechanic patience, and determination, my favorite airplane is the AN2 made in Russia.

The old girl wants to fly again. She's doing her best to help out where she can. Tires held air and didn't pop. I'm sure after 17 years she wanted to be in where it is clean and warm too.

Now THAT’S what I call a green airplane! It comes complete with its own compost starter kit! It will be a task to get her purring again, but once you do it won’t seem so bad! Good luck and I hope all of your problems are mostly cosmetic!

Put a tarp underneath so you can just pull out and keep the floor clean. Keep all owners of other planes in the hanger happy !

I wouldn't have known where to start brilliant.

Came across your channel while just browsing...and totally love your work and the patience required to get these done.. this is awesome 😊😊😊😊

Love it man! I see lots of cool toys in the hangar. I love seeing new life breathed into these neglected birds. ✈️

This is the first project I have seen of yours, dropped onto my recommended due to my aviation interests. Really enjoying what you have done so far and can't wait to see it progress this year. Good luck on this project from here in the UK!!

It`s a beutiful airplane.. stronger than time

Well, as a mechanic I like to say: First of all, pressure wash the hole thing... Inside and outside, especially the engine... It will dry and you have the less work with cleaning the hole S...! Sorry for my bad english, it is just from school, long time ago;) Greetings from good old germany:) And work on!

It's one thing to get these engines running again. It's something else to make this long neglected plane airworthy again. I hope the overhaul you're referencing includes the entire airframe.

Buddy, that's one dirty bird ya got there. Looking forward to the power wash! Have you given her a name yet?

Congrads to get it almost running, I think you are doing this so good. Please keep up the effort and great effort you are putting into it so both engine do running again. Please make the aircraft air worthy again so it can fly.

It's such a good thing she didn't start with all that bird nest material that you found in the hanger. It could have caused a fire,so being the engine didn't engage is one phenomenon all blessing.

Can you add a 'price list' at the end of the next video with components you're replacing - it would be cool to see $$ together with the amount of time you've spent on this rebuild. Nice video. Thanks!

As disconcerting as it is to watch you breathe bird droppings, I’m into this ‘project’. This is some crazy $hit! Good luck man

The video is a masterpiece

I came across part one earlier this week. I didn’t have a chance to comment till I watched this one. I’m not sure if you were aware of this or not, but you mentioned that there is no click of an impulse coupling on the mags. These mags do not utilize an impulse coupling, but rather an external exciter which is known as a shower of sparks. You should be able to hear an intermittent clicking or buzzing in the cockpit while cranking the engine. If you hear this, the points in the magneto are actually working and not oxidized. However if there is no spark present, the contacts in the exciter are tungsten and may have oxide and need cleaning. Kudos to you for taking this on. You must be my brother from another mother.lol. Our projects seem to parallel each other. I am getting geared up to bring one of the GE J-47 jet engines on the All American Engineering jet sled I acquired back to life after 50 years. Located in Smyrna Delaware, I’m only an hour from you. If you need anything, let me know. My motto for projects is “if it burns fuel and makes noise, I’m in”

Woah! I’ve taken on my share of crusty cars, trucks, houses, and electronic gear, but this is a whole other level! I commend you on your ambition and don’t have a doubt you’ll get both engines started. Getting her rebuilt, re-certified and airworthy again will be a monumental endeavor! Best wishes on the journey.👍

Man this is already my new favorite series on RU-vid, can’t wait for the next one. Keep up the good work man!

So cool just by watching the journey.

enjoying every bit of it and the best part was when the aircraft was been taxied to the hanger and parking, also watching so much bird nests and straw being removed/blown out from the engine area. next Ep3

Glad to see you getting a hanger to put this bird in although if it were me I would have at least washed it before giving it a nice home. Keep up the great work and keep the videos coming. We've started a betting pool on whether you get her running or not.

Having gone through the full A&P certification process and from what has been presented so far, what you have here is a permanently grounded bird that will only see life as such with the possibility of serving as a mule for a local aviation maintenance tech program. By all means, do not despair over that sobering reality since you will ultimately provide aspiring aircraft mechanics with an ideal hands on learning platform to draw airframe, power plant, avionics and related systems experience from.

This is amazing. Mindfullness for us gearheads! Thanks man!

Always been a fan of Louis C.K. so nice to see he has found a new career