The voltage regulator arrives via UPS before noon. Gary, the mechanic, give up his Saturday to come in and install the part. Some people will do anything to play with a Waco biplane!
Three hours later, I fire up the Waco, and after extensive testing, find that the new regulator is giving the same overvoltage condition as the previous part. I called Carl Dye, the Waco factory chief test pilot, on his handheld phone in Lansing Michigan for advice. He was stumped as to why the new regulator didn't solve the problem.
He mentioned that he had run into this condition before, and what he suggested was to run the plane as it is, but to turn on all available electrical equipment, including pitot tube heat, landing lights, etc so that the overvoltage supplied to the battery would be burned off by the electrical gear and would not go toward boiling out the batteries as it had previously. He suggested that I check the batteries and be sure that they were not going dry, and that if I followed these guidelines that it should be able to get me home. There it would be possible to do the thorough testing of the electrical system to solve the problem.
So tomorrow, at first light, I'll roll the Waco out of the hangar, and head west to Winslow Arizona, then Kingman, then I'll jump over to the Colorado River and follow it to Blythe California and then straight west to Palomar airport, and home!
The plan will be to follow major roads all the way, and stay away from controlled airspace (major airports such as Phoenix, where I had planned to stop to visit friends). The idea here is to keep in areas where communication is not essential, and where the roads will provide possible landing in case of emergency.
Hopefully, these last few stops, about 700 nautical miles, can be done in two days, barring any more mechanical or electrical or weather (or whatever!) challenges.
Tomorrow it will be eight weeks on this tour. I'm looking forward to getting home.