Restoring a Aviatika 890U

Restoring an Aviatika 890U - ZU-BDL to flying condition.

About 7 months ago I spotted a plane standing, with wings removed in the back of an old hangar at Rhino Park, my local flying field. I recognized the plane as an Aviatika 890U but did not know much about it. I did some research and the more I found out the more I became interested, this was an amazingly strong plane with a good reputation. It is build by the same factory that builds the famous MIG 29 fighter !

I asked around a bit and eventually found out that the sample at Rhino park has been standing in the hangar about 6 years but no-one knew who it belonged to. I got hold of the registration but had no luck in contacting the owner. At about this time I was approached by the the owner of Rhino Park to help him trace plane owners who have not been paying hangar fees for years. I managed to trace a few and some money was recovered. The Aviatika was on the list of "unpaid" and the flying field owner started proceedings against the defaulters, I told him I would be interested if the plane ever became available. Months later I received a call asking me if I was still interested, what a question !

I managed to get a quick look at the plane and concluded the deal right there and then !

So, what to do now, my original plan was to simply strip the engine, a 0 hour Rotax 912, from the Aviatika and install it in my Rans S12, at that stage I thought that the airframe of the Aviatika must be in a bad condition after standing so long.

Once I moved the plane out of its old hangar and into mine and gave it a good clean I changed my mind right there and there, the plane was in an excellent condition ! A few of my flying buddies also told me what a great little plane it is and I had offers from no less than three instructors at Rhino to do the conversion for me. My mind was made up, this baby will fly again !

Below is the story, in words and pictures, of the project to restore ZU-BDL back to flying condition, it is a "work in progress" so more will be added as the project progresses.

The fuselage after it was removed from storage.

Before I could move the plane I had to inflate the tires, they were almost completely flat and I expected them to not hold air at all, big was my surprise when they inflated without problem and seemed to hold pressure well ! Above is the fuselage as I moved it to my hangar (in the background), look at the dust on the tail !

The Rotax 912 before cleaning.

The engine (Rotax 912) was covered with dust, and even a few bones (no, don't ask, I have no idea !!) but at least all the intake and outlets were covered, the engine was also filled with new oil and it turned easily by hand and appeared to have good compression. Nothing was jammed and the other than the fuel lines everything appeared to be in good condition.