Building Rans S-14

2007-06-10T16:52:00.000-07:00

Final Post

Well I was originally planning to continue making posts to share the results of my flight tests but I've come to the conclusion that I'm just too lazy. I'm having a hard time motivating myself to update this blog when I could be out flying! It's just too time consuming to update my own testing documents and then update this website. Unfortunately, the Blogger website does not allow any files to be uploaded except images. I tried using a third party file hosting site in my last post but that only worked for a short period of time before the file was deleted. I also tried importing the files into Google Documents but there were too many headaches and bugs.

If you are really interested in my performance and testing data, send me an email and I'll email you my documents.

So far I have flown my S-14 eleven times. The last ten times were done ten days in a row! I still have a lot of testing to perform but so far the plane, engine, and instruments are working great.

I will continue to update this blog with back dated posts and photos. I've made a promise to myself that I won't start any other projects until the blog is complete.

It took me 500 hours to build my S-14 and another 1000 hours doing research. All of this within two years. Building my S-14 is probably my greatest accomplishment to date. I wouldn't say I enjoyed every minute of it but it was definitely a rewarding project.

What will I build next...

2007-05-13T22:22:00.000-07:00

First Flight Test Results

Instead of rewriting the results of my flight test, I have uploaded my flight test plan which is written in MS-Word. I added the results of the flight and post inspection items to the document.

The link below will allow you to download the document. The file is hosted by a third party website which requires you to read their ads for 55 seconds prior to downloading the file. On the bottom right of the web page you will see the countdown timer.

First Flight Test Plan

Below are some photos of the squaks.

2007-05-13T21:55:00.000-07:00

First Flight

Today I made the maiden flight in my airplane! The flight lasted one hour and twenty minutes. Below are some photos of the flight. I'll create a second post to discuss the details and results of the test flight.

2007-05-06T23:57:00.000-07:00

Taxi Tests

I performed several taxi tests to verify performance of engine, prop, brakes, steering, cooling, and control surfaces. All items performed as expected. I did find several items that needed attention after my post "taxi" inspection.

A piece of foam came loose from my battery installation. I replaced it and re-tightened the battery strap.

The right brake cable is sticking slightly. I adjusted the cable and removed slack.

A pin hole leak in my exhaust system. A small amount of carbon is building up around the hole. I will need to watch it. Hopefully it will plug itself.

2007-04-06T14:36:00.000-07:00

Airworthiness Inspection - 2.0 hours (500 Total)

Today I passed my airworthiness inspection!

Dean Singleton from the Portland, OR (Hillsboro) FSDO came down to do the inspection. The inspection took approximately two hours.

The inspection was not as thorough as I had expected. In fact, the inspector failed to notice six nuts that I had not tightened down on the back side of my prop bolts! He also did not ask to see my pilot operating handbook.

Early on, the inspector seemed to be looking at things very closely but then started making comments about how impressed he was with the detail I had put into the construction. After that he seemed to be less thorough. I belive that if he would have found something wrong early on, he would have continued a thorough inspection of the entire plane.

2007-03-11T22:26:00.000-07:00

Rudder Cables and Fuel Tanks - 1.0 hour (498 Total)

After talking with Rans about cable tensions I decided to tighten my rudder cables. My rudder cables had a significant amount of slack in them. To tighten them I loosened the three bolts that hold the rudder horns to the rudder. This allowed the horns to rotate towards the front of the plane. I then removed as much slack as I could from the cables. Tightening the bolts rotated the horn back into place and removed additional slack.

I also filled my fuel tanks for the first time. While doing so, I determined that the tanks have very little unusable fuel, only a few ounces. I also discovered that my fuel tanks hold significantly less than the 9 gallons they are suppose to. My left tank holds 8 gallons and my right tank holds 7 gallons. The right tank holds less fuel because it is slightly deformed. While I was building the right wing, I left the wing overnight while it was resting upside down. This put the weight of the wing on the filler spout of the tank. The next morning the top of the tank had compressed. I tried several methods of reforming the tank without success.

While filling the tanks, I marked the sight tubes after each gallon. Unfortunately, the smallest amount of fuel I can see is 3 gallons.

2007-03-10T23:14:00.000-08:00

Weight and Balance - 1.0 hour (497 Total)

With my airworthiness inspection right around the corner, it is time to do my final weight and balance.

The bathroom scales I purchase are not the most accurate so I took three different measurements. Each time I rotated the scales to a different position effectively giving me three different measurements for each position. This didn't seam to help my tail measurement; I measure 22#, 30#, and 38#. (At a latter date I verified my tail weight at 29.5# with a shipping scale I borrowed from my office.)

My empty weight came out to 556.5#. This is 146.5# more than the 410# Rans specs for the S-14 with a Rotax 582 engine. Some of the items that gave me my extra weight include: HKS engine, BRS parachute, battery, clear coated wings and tail, extra instruments, fabric interior, door shock, trim tab, wheel pants, jury strut fairings, strobe, gascolator, electric fuel pumps, adjustable lift struts, second fuel tank, and beefed up electrical system.

My CG turned out to be at 107". The CG range for the plane is 101" to 110".

After completing the weight and balance, I did a thorough inspection of the entire plane.

2007-01-13T23:05:00.000-08:00

Carb Balancing - 2.0 hours (496 Total)

I spent many hours balancing my carbs (but I'm only counting two). This was a new experience for me since I have never worked on carburetors before. I was able to remove my prop during the balancing which made it a lot easier and safer. I also was able to borrow a set of vacuum gauges which also made the job easier.

Once I had reattached my prop, I set the pitch to a static RPM of 5600.

2007-01-10T17:41:00.000-08:00

Labels - 1.0 hour (494 Total)

While taking the 16-hour course to get my inspection rating for my E-LSA, I learned that I had made a couple of mistakes on my airplane.

The first mistake was that I put Rans down as the builder of my airplane. I had done this on my application for airworthness certificate and on the serial number plate I installed onto my plane. The FAA confirmed this and had me resubmit some of my paperwork.

The hard part was getting a new serial number plate, engraving it, rolling it, and then replacing the old one.

I also learned how a trim tab works and how the airflow over it effects control surfaces. This meant that I needed to replace the sticker I placed on trim tab wheel. Luckily I hadn't thrown out the other sticker Rans provided.

2006-12-17T20:03:00.000-08:00

Door Strut - 4.0 hours (493 Total)

Today I installed a lift strut for my door. This was an addition above and beyond the Rans kit. I purchased a 15lbs lift strut for the job. I tried using a 10lbs lift strut but it wasn't strong enough. Keep in mind the strength required depends on the geometry of the mounting points.

I used some left over gussets from the door frame to make brackets to hold the lift strut ends. I trimmed and drilled the gussets to to the required shapes.

I had pre-drilled holes in the door frame and window frame for the brackets prior to installing the Lexan. Unfortunately, I did not drill the holes very precisely so I had trouble lining them up with the holes in the brackets. (Getting a full size drill behind the Lexan was almost impossible)

The brackets on the door end needed to be slightly bent to allow the bolt to clear the door frame.

The lift strut for the door works great!

2006-12-16T19:38:00.000-08:00

Parachute Rigging - 3.0 hours (489 Total)

Today I installed my oil cooler cowl and routed my parachute rigging.

Prior to installing the oil cooler cowl, I attached the adhesive foam rubber to the bottom of the cowl to protect the wing fabric. I then bolted the cowl down using long bolts. I then replaced the bolts, one at a time, with shorter ones to further compress the foam rubber. I did this a second time with the final bolts. This gave me a snug fitting cowl.

I then routed the parachute rigging between the cowl brackets and the cowl. This included two straps down to the steal tub, a short strap wrapped around the root tube (square beam), the strap that connects to the parachute, and a quick link to connect them all together. I used several wire-ties to secure the straps to the root tube and the cowl brackets. This is necessary to prevent the straps from interfering with the aileron cables and pulleys.

I used some Goop brand adhesive to glue the parachute strap along the aluminum tube that runs along the left side of the windshield.

2006-12-10T18:23:00.000-08:00

Reattach Wings - 4.0 hours (486 Total)

With the help of a couple of friends I reattached the wings to the airplane. This is the third time the wings have been installed onto the plane and I was hoping it would be a little easier. Attaching the lift struts was a little easier since I have learned the technique for installing them. Unfortunately, connecting the leading edge of the right wing became very difficult.

When I installed the window, I forced the window former (aluminum tube) into place. This lifted up the curved tube that the top of the window connects to. Which then caused the leading edge of the right wing to misalign with the wing bracket. I was still able to install the wing but it took a great amount of effort to get the bolt holes to align. I should have trimmed the window former prior to installing it.

I replaced several of the wing bolts that have been worn from the installing and removing process. The last photo shows the eye bolt I installed into the leading edge lift strut. This will hopefully give me a good tie down point.

While installing the wings, I did damage the right carb heat probe. I'll need to replace it.

Just prior to installing the wings, actually in the middle of it, I installed some rubber and foam trim.

2006-12-06T19:13:00.000-08:00

Moving Day - 0.0 hours (482 Total)

Today I moved my plane from my workshop to my hanger. My hanger is located at Daniels Field, Harrisburg Oregon (OR78).

I hired a professional moving company to move the plane for me. The move went very well and no "hanger rash" occurred. I did need to fold up one of the horizontal stabilizers to allow the plane to fit into the truck. The move cost $250.

2006-11-18T21:28:00.000-08:00

Instrument Panel - 0.5 hours (482 Total)

The last thing I needed to do today was install my ferrite ring EMI filters to the Enigma. I was getting a significant amount of noise on my radio when the Enigma was turned on. I would need to set my squelch to the highest setting of 8 to block out the noise. With the Enigma turned off, I only need a squelch level of 3. After experimenting with several types of ferrite beads I was able to get the noise down to where I could set my squelch to 5 or 6.

In the photo below you can see the four of the five ferrite rings I installed. The round one in the center is hiding a fifth ring.

I then bolted the Enigma in place using some Locktite.

2006-11-18T21:11:00.000-08:00

Door Lock - 1.5 hours (481.5 Total)

One of the extra features I was planning to add was a lock for my door. I had a local lock smith key a cabinet lock to match the same key I use for my Master switch.

The locksmith provided me with a thin steel plate that I was able to slip in between the Lexan and aluminum tube of the door. I pre-drilled holes in the plate that I later used to rivet to the door.

To get the lock as close to the edge of the door as possible, I needed to fabricate a bushing. Without the bushing I would have needed to leave clearance between the lock and the metal tube of the door to allow room for the nut to turn. I used some scrap aluminum tubing with an inside diameter of 3/4" as my bushing. Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get the lock close enough; the latch mechanism just barely overlaps the window frame tube. I'll need to get a longer latch from the lock smith.

2006-11-15T20:59:00.000-08:00

Trim Tab - 0.5 hours (480 Total)

Since I had one rivnut left, I decided to use it on my trim tab cable.

The instruction manual only calls out to mount the trim tab cable in one location but they provided an extra rivnut and hose clamp. The hose clamps Rans provided are not used anywhere else so I assume Rans intended for two of them to be used on the trim cable. Putting one mount on the elevator and the other on the stabilizer keeps the cable from rubbing on fabric when the elevator is raised.

2006-11-15T20:52:00.000-08:00

Oil Vent - 0.5 hours (479.5 Total)

I also installed my oil vent hose. This required me to install a rivnut into the top former to hold the oil vent tube in an arch. The HKS installation manual required 100mm (~4") of arch above the oil tank; my installation has about 11 inches.

I still need to find some hose clamps and secure the hose with some wire ties.

2006-11-15T20:45:00.000-08:00

Window Trimming - 0.25 hours (479 Total)

I was also planning to install some of the foam rubber seals to fill the gap between the wings and the top former tube. Unfortunately, Rans didn't provide any foam for this. I will need to order some from them.

I did notice the window edge could use some more trimming. I used my Dremel tool to round the Lexan edge so it won't damage the wing fabric. The other side doesn't have this issue.

2006-11-15T20:44:00.000-08:00

Door Seals - 0.25 hours (478.75 Total)

Today I placed the foam rubber seals around the door. I was planning to wait until I was at Daniels to do this but I'm bored.

2006-11-12T20:16:00.000-08:00

Ready for the Daniels - 0 hours (478.5 Total)

Today me and a few friends took the wings off the plane in preparation for transporting it to the airport.

We were planning to transport it the following weekend in a 16' box van but I didn't feel comfortable with the tie down scheme in the truck. Since the plane wants to sit on it's tail, I didn't see an easy way of tying it down inside the 16' truck while having the tail stick out the back. I decided to hire a professional mover with a larger truck to transport the plane. The soonest they could move it would be Monday the 20th but it would be a tight schedule. Since I'm planning to head out of town on Tuesday for a long Thanksgiving vacation, I decided to put off the move until after I get back.

I was planning to have my painter come in and do a few touch-ups on plane before I move it to the airport. Unfortunately, within the past week he's closed up shop and has checked himself into a hospital based treatment program. He should be out mid December. It's hard finding good help these days!

2006-11-11T00:51:00.000-08:00

Radio - 0.5 hours (478.5 Total)

Today I also epoxied a velcro strip to my instrument panel for the radio.

Several weeks ago I placed self adhesive velcro on the back of the radio and onto the instrument panel. Unfortunately, the adhesive didn't stick well enough to the fabric and peeled off.

In the photo below you can see the velcro strip that has been glued to the panel. I needed to put the tape on the edges to prevent them from curing up before the glue set.

2006-11-11T00:28:00.000-08:00

Door Handle - 2 hours (478 Total)

Today I installed my door handle.

The door handle installation was pretty strait forward until it came to securing the plastic handles to the aluminum tube which goes through the door. The instruction manual has you use a nutsert and a stainless steel screw. The screw goes all the way through the handle and aluminum tube and is threaded into the nutsert on the other side. I assumed that the reason for this setup was to allow the removal of the screw and handle. It turns out that the handle cannot be removed once the nutsert is installed anyway.

If I were to do it again, I would just use rivets instead. I also needed to replace the screws because the allan wrench heads stripped out while I was installing them.

2006-11-10T00:00:00.000-08:00

Center Cover - 4 hours (476 Total)

Today I attached the center cover to the plane.

I started off and spent a quite a bit of time positioning the center cover over the wings. I initially had a friend help me with the positioning because I thought it would be too difficult to do on my own. It turned out to be pretty easy to position myself with the help of some masking tape.

While positioning, I slipped on the rubber trim that protects the wing fabric from the edge of the metal center cover. The trim is not in any of the photos below. I used my Dremel tool to trim the metal cover to give me a snug fit between the rubber trim and the leading edge of the wing. I also trimmed a notch in the right side to allow the door to clear.

Once I was happy with the location and fit of the center cover, I started drilling and cleco'ing it into place. I removed the rubber trim at this time to allow me to get a snug fit against the wind shield Lexan.

The next step was to rivet the center cover into place. Where the center cover was only riveted into the Lexan, I used brass backing washers. I used the technique I described in the wind shield installation post of using the primer line to hold the washers in place while I pulled the rivets.

Below are some photos of the installed center cover.

2006-11-09T23:42:00.000-08:00

Air Vents - 2 hours (472 Total)

Today I installed the air vents.

I started off by creating a circle template for the holes I needed to cut into the Lexan. I used the rotary bit on my Dremel tool to cut the holes. I cut a practice hole in my spare door Lexan to make sure the bit wouldn't damage the Lexan.

I taped my hole templates to Lexan where the instruction manual stated. Once the holes were cut out I was able to pop the vents into place. The vents fit very snuggly into the holes and will only rotate if a significant amount of force is used. I may try to enlarge the holes at a later date but I don't want the vents to rotate too easily.

2006-11-08T21:44:00.000-08:00

Door, Second Try - 7 hours (470 Total)

As I had mentioned in my October 31st post, I decided to rebuild my door due to the hinges not aligning properly. I purchased a new Door Frame Hinge Tube from Rans.

The instruction manual indicated that I should mount the hinges and Lexan to the Door Frame Hinge Tube and then mount the mating hinges to the wind shield tube. I decided to do it differently this time around.

I started by positioning (rotation) the Door Frame Hinge Tube so the slight bend is has on the top mates flush with the window frame tube. You can see this in the first three photos. My first attempt caused the door to dip significantly inward which probably would have caused problems later on.

Once that was aligned, I attached the top hinge to the Door Frame Hinge Tube. The mating hinges are already attached to the Windshield Frame Tube. I then connected the other two hinges to the Door Frame Hinge Tube. This allowed the hinges to properly mate with the hinges on the Windshield Frame Tube.

While I was connecting the two lower hinges, I made sure that the secured hinge was in a midpoint within it's mating hinge. In other words... When the hinges are mated together, there is a small amount of play between them, approximately 1/32". I made sure the hinge was centered while I was securing the other hinges. I used masking tape to secure the hinge in place prior to drilling and riveting. Because of the problems I had the first time, I moved very slowly and double checked all my alignments before I drilled or riveted.

Once all of the hinges were in place and I was happy with the Door Frame Hinge Tube, I taped the Lexan onto the tube and plane. This allowed me to check the alignment of the door Lexan in reference to the window. I decided that instead of making the door and window Lexan flush as the instruction manual suggests, I allowed the door Lexan to overlap the window. This will give me tighter seal.

I then positioned and tapped the bottom door frame to the Lexan. I also positioned the rear door frame that sits adjacent to the window. To get the proper fit, I needed to trim a half an inch off of the rear door frame tube. Without the trimming, the bend in the bottom tube would not have matched up with the curve in the plane's frame.

Once I was happy with the positioning and clearances, I drilled and cleco'd the tubes into place. I aligned my drill holes with the rivets that are in the window and sheet metal.

I then positioned the positioned, drilled, and cleco'd the first gusset. Since I had a limited number of clecos, I went ahead and riveted the inside gusset into place. I left the gusset that sits between the Lexan and the frame unriveted. I'll rivet it into place with the Lexan.

For some reason the second set of gussets didn't fit right. This may have been caused by my decision to allow the door to overlap the window and the need to trim the rear tube. I was able to trim the gusset to fit.

The forward gusset took the most work. Instead of having two matching gussets for either side, the forward gusset was made of a single piece of sheet metal that wraps around the front corner of the door. I needed to trim the gusset to allow it to fit around the bottom tube. The instruction manual states the you want to twist the door prior to installing this gusset. This twist will allow the door to close snuggly against the sheet metal and frame of the plane. Since I had already drilled most of the holes through the Lexan and bottom tube, I was concerned that these holes wouldn't line up after the twist. Luckily, I didn't have an issue.

Before I riveted the Lexan to the door frame, I decided to drill some rivet holes into the frame. These holes will hold a set of gussets for a gas strut that will hold the door open. I used one of the door gussets as a template to get accurate hole spacing. I needed to do this now because once the Lexan is installed, I won't have room for the drill.

Now that all the gussets were in place and I was happy with the fit of the door, I went through the process of peeling back the protective coating from the Lexan and riveting it to the frame.

2006-11-04T21:10:00.000-08:00

Labels - 1 hour (463 Total)

Today I spent some time attaching my control labels.

The serial number plate pictured below was included in the EAA E-LSA conversion kit I purchased. I had it engraved and took it to a sheet metal shop to have it rolled so it would fit snuggly against my boom tube.

I had the engraver create two plastic labels for my dash. One is to label my Master switch and the other is my planes N-number, N14WE. Both labels are required by the FAA.

The following photos show stickers that I placed on various controls. The stickers were provided by Rans. The FAA requires that all controls be labeled.

2006-10-31T22:45:00.000-08:00

Door - 3 hours (462 Total)

Today I started putting the door together.

I just received a new piece of Lexan for the door. I had scratched the original piece many months ago and just recently ordered a new one.

The first thing I did today was cut the one aluminum hinge Rans supplied into three. I spent some time filing down the sharp edges and corners.

I also created new hinge pins. The hinge came with a aluminum pin but Rans supplied a steel pin to be put in it's place. The steel pin is slightly larger in diameter and fits very snuggly in the hinge. To ease the assembly, I will use the existing aluminum pin until the final assembly.

I started mounting the hinges to the Door Frame Hinge Tube. The tube has a slight bend about 5" from the top. This is intended to match up with the slight curve in the door frame. As you can see in the photo below, I clamped the tube flat on the table so the bend points towards the inside of the table. Mounting the hinges on the upward facing surface will allow the bend to point inwards when attached to the plane.

Once the hinges were riveted in to place, I drilled the holes for the door Lexan.

I then mounted the mating hinge plates to the windshield tube of the plane. The instructions indicate the hinges should be placed so they are resting against the edge of the Lexan. Since the Lexan edge of the windshield has a slight spiral up the windshield tube, the hinges are not in an ideal, straight line. This is causing problems when I attempt to connect the hinges together. I should have taken this spiral into account when I attached the hinges to the Door Frame Hinge Tube. I may need to purchase a new Door Frame Hinge Tube and re-attach the hinges with a matching spiral.

2006-10-30T22:13:00.000-08:00

Seat Belts - 0.5 hours (459 Total)

The seat belts in the S-14 seam to have been an after thought. The lap belts, which I installed a while ago interfere with the flap mechanism. To alleviate this, I wrapped the left portion of the lap belt through the steal frame of the plane. This effectively shortens the length of the left lap belt but keeps it from rubbing on the flap mechanism.

The shoulder straps, which I installed today, also has issues. The shoulder straps are securely bolted to the keel tube but are only connected to the lap belt on the bottom. The shoulder straps are made with loops at the bottom for lap belt to go through. When the shoulder straps are toughened, the lap belt rides up, taking the grip off of my hips and places it on my stomach. The removal of the pressure on my hips make me feel un-secure and the pressure on my stomach is uncomfortable.

So instead of wrapping the loops of the shoulder straps around the lap belt, I looped them around the framework of the seat. This allows me to securely tighten the lap belt and securely tighten the shoulder straps. The shoulder straps are easy to get in and out of in this position. They may be a little too easy to get out of but they due seems to hold me in place.

2006-10-30T22:10:00.000-08:00

Radio Antenna - 1 hour (458.5 Total)

Today I received the extension cable I will use for my radio antenna.

Because of where I have mounted my radio, the rubber duck antenna is touching the windshield. This SMA cable will allow me to mount the antenna down near my feet on the flange of the nose cone.

2006-10-28T01:06:00.000-07:00

Prop and Nose Pant - 0.5 hours (457.5 Total)

In preparation to doing another weight and balance (and having little to do until I get some more parts in on Monday), I temporarily installed my prop and nose wheel pant. Both were only finger tightened into place.

I also installed some trim onto the nose wheel.

2006-10-28T00:48:00.000-07:00

Chute Bridle - 0.5 hours (457 Total)

The next thing I did today was wrap the main bridle of the parachute with a 3/8" plastic cable loom. This made the cable loom pretty small, profile wise, to limit the amount it obstructs my view out of the windshield.

The bridle will need to be secured to the aluminum tube it is resting on once I remove the windsheild's plastic coating. I will try some double sided tape but I may need to rivet some type of brackets or tabs to the aluminum tube to hold the bridle in place.

2006-10-28T00:29:00.000-07:00

Push To Talk Button - 0.5 hours (456.5 Total)

The next thing I did today was install my push to talk (PTT) button.

This involved removing the control stick and drilling a hole in the base of it. I inserted a coiled cable similar to a telephone hand set cable but with a 2.5mm stereo connector into the hole with a rubber grommet. I soldered a momentary switch to the wires and installed it in to the cap that goes on the control stick.

Unfortunately, the coiled wire had very fine conductors which break very easily. In fact one of the wires broke during the process of installing the cap. During normal use, the wire shouldn't see much vibration relative to the stick and button so it shouldn't be a problem.

While testing, I went ahead and mounted my radio to the instrument panel with velcro. The adhesive on the velcro is not recommended for fabric but a test I had done showed it adheres well unless you pull it from an edge. I deliberately sized the velcro piece on the fabric to be larger than the portion on the radio. This should keep the velcro from being pulled from an edge.

2006-10-28T00:21:00.000-07:00

Control Grips - 0 hours (456 Total)

The next thing I did today was install the grips onto the flap handle and control stick. This was very simple to do with a technique I learned from a bicycle mechanic. Use an air compressor to blow air inside the base of the grip as you slide it on. This will inflate the grip and allow it to easily slide onto the stick.

2006-10-28T00:01:00.000-07:00

Jury Struts - 1 hour (456 Total)

The first thing I did today was install my jury struts.

The jury struts are designed to be held in place by a pin and cotter pin. This setup has been known to fail due to the vibration shearing off the cotter pin.

In attempting to make a vibration resistant mount I replaced the normal aluminum inserts with nylon inserts. I riveted the inserts into place and then used a stainless steel sheet metal screw with coarse threads to screw into the holes I drilled in the center of the nylon.

2006-10-27T23:26:00.000-07:00

Weight and Balance, Preliminary - 1 hour (455 Total)

After installing the wings I did a preliminary weight and balance calculation of the plane. There are still several major things that need to be added to the plane such as: prop, wheel pants, jury struts, and door.

Left Wheel: 248 lbs
Right Wheel: 234 lbs
Tail: 27 lbs

Total: 509 lbs

Assuming 200 lbs of pilot and 54 lbs of fuel (9 gal), these values put the center of gravity at 107". Rans specs the plane to have a C.G. between 101"-110". The missing components should not effect the C.G. too much since the nose wheel pant and prop should balance each other out and the main wheel pants and jury struts are right over the C.G.

2006-10-27T23:16:00.000-07:00

Connect Wings - 1 hour (455 Total)

With the help of a few friends, I installed my wings... again. During the installing process, I need to trim the upper portion of the windshield to allow the leading edge of the wing to fit. This took several iterations of placing the wing close to it's mounting position, marking the Lexan, and trimming with my Dremel tool. I used some plastic sheets to mask off the inside of the plane to try and keep the debris from falling inside.

2006-10-25T22:47:00.000-07:00

Window - 2 hours (454 Total)

The last thing I did today was install the window.

I fitted the window the same time I fitted the windshield so some of the photos below show the windshield prior to riveting.

The window former (aluminum tube) needed to be fitted at the same time as the window.

The window installation was pretty straight forward but I did have an issue with some of my rivet holes not lining up with one of the aluminum tubes. Because the protective plastic on this sheet of Lexan was opaque, I wasn't able to see that the predrilled holes in the sheet metal side panels were too high on the tubing. The second photo from the bottom shows how two of the holes elongated. I had drilled these two holes without knowing there was a problem. While drilling the third hole, I could feel the drill bit slip. This caused some severe marring of the aluminum tube. There isn't anything I can do about the marring but I was able to use some extra long rivets on the first two holes. The normal rivets would not have secured properly in the elongated holes.

The last photo shows the gusset placed on the window former. This was installed after the window was riveted in to place. The gusset on the other side (between the window and window former) was installed at the same time the window was fitted and installed.

2006-10-25T22:43:00.000-07:00

Gascolator - 0 hours (452 Total)

Now that the windshield is in place, I can place the last two rivets that hold the gascolator mount in place.

2006-10-25T21:55:00.000-07:00

Windshield Install - 3 hours (452 Total)

Prior to installing the windshield I needed to do a few more items of prep work.

The first thing was to trim the windshield. The Lexan material trims very easily by scoring with a utility knife and breaking. I needed to trim the windshield where it meets the lower half of the door and where it meets the top former on the left side of the plane. The trimmed edges required some sanding to soften the sharp edges.

I then cleaned and deburred the rivet holes in the Lexan and the plane. There were a few holes that still needed to drill out on the plane. These holes were where the windshield would be riveted into the steel frame. I needed to be extra careful when drilling these holes to keep from breaking drill bits.

The last step was loosening or removing the windshield's protective plastic cover where it would be connected to the plane. The most difficult area was where the windshield connected to the aluminum tube that runs down the left of the instrument pod. I needed to tear the protective coating away by hand. I tried gently scoring the plastic coating with a utility knife but no matter how soft I pressed, it would always scratch the Lexan.

After placing the windshield, I started the long process of riveting. The only challenging part of the riveting was where the windshield met the nose cone. I needed an extra set of hands to hold the backing washers in place while I riveted from the other side. I ended up using some fuel line that was intended to be used as primer line to hold the washers in place. I would stick the washer to the end of the primer line with double sided tape and then push the primer line onto the rivet. The primer line was just small enough to grip the end of the rivet, holding itself in place, while I pulled the rivet.

2006-10-25T21:09:00.000-07:00

Fuse Labels and Chute Bridle - 0.5 hours (449 Total)

Before I install the windshield there are a couple of things I need to do while I still have easy access to the inside of the plane. The first is to update my fuse block labels. I will only have problems accessing the fuse block on the electrical panel but I went ahead and correct the instrument pod fuse block label at his time.

The next thing I need to do is route the parachute bridle. This needs to be routed between the windshield and any metal structure of the plane, most importantly, the leading edge mounting points of the wing. I also routed the smaller bridles that connect to the lower portion of the plane. I will need to carefully secure the bridles so they don't interfere with any of the control mechanisms.

2006-10-24T21:00:00.000-07:00

N Numbers - 0.5 hours (448.5 Total)

I received my N-number decals today. These are self adhesive stickers I order through SportFlyingShop. I can hear it now... "November-one-four-whisky-echo you are cleared for take off!"

2006-10-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Windshield Fitting - 10 hours (448 Total)

Over the course of two days I fitted, refitted, and fitted again, the windshield. Trying to get the windshield to line up on all sides was a challenge. The problem points were on the upper edge where the windshield will meet the door and where the windshield slips underneath the upper left sheet metal enclosure. I think it would have been easier if the windshield was slightly larger in one of these places. I could have then trimmed off the excess.

Once I positioned the windshield in the best position I could, I drilled the rivet holes and marked the areas I needed to trim. The edge near the door frame doesn't extend out as much as I would have liked but we'll see what it looks like when I get the door installed.

2006-10-20T20:20:00.000-07:00

Oil Tank Vent - 1 hour (438 Total)

The last thing I did today was install a fitting that will be used for my oil tank vent.

I spent a lot of time looking for the right fitting that would allow me to port my oil tank vent to the exterior of the plane. I ended up using one of the extra fuel tank fittings that I had and a brass barbed hose bib. The fuel tank fitting was both light weight and small.

In the photos below, you can see where I drilled and mounted the fittings to the bottom of the plane near the left landing gear leg. Once I get the plane to the air field and install the wings, I will connect the oil vent hose. I need to secure the hose to the wing root to give the hose the proper height above the oil tank before dropping down and exiting the plane as per the HKS installation manual.

2006-10-20T19:36:00.000-07:00

Instrument Panel - 2 hours (437 Total)

The next thing I did today was button up my instrument panel.

I started by marking and drilling holes in the top cover for my GPS antenna cable and the cable for my radio. The GPS antenna was attached to the top cover with double sided tape.

I then riveted the top cover into place. I had already drilled most of the rivet holes so the initial process went quickly. The edges were difficult to drill and rivet due to the top cover being slightly too large for the space between the aluminum tubes that the instrument pod mounts to. I was unable to get the forward right rivet (bottom rivet in first photo) to bite into front panel tab so the rivet you see is just for show.

The last photo shows the completed panel with the trim attached. Unfortunately, I started the trim on the wrong side. The seam should have been on the bottom of the right aluminum tube; it is currently on the left side. That would allow me to unscrew and partially remove the bottom cover (from the door side) for any maintenance on the instruments and switches. Since the instrument panel has a large cut out for the Enigma and the Enigma is easy to remove, I will probably use the Enigma as an access point instead of the bottom cover.

2006-10-20T19:05:00.000-07:00

Ambient Temp Sensor - 1 hour (435 Total)

Below are some photos of the ambient temperature sensor I installed. I used black RTV to secure the sensor into the hole I drilled through the belly pan. The hole is aligned with a mounting point on the plane's frame to give the sensor a secure mounting point.

2006-10-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

Compass - 3 hours (434 Total)

The first thing I did today was I wire and install my compass.

MGL came out with a new version of their SP-2 compass. Sport Flying Shop was willing to swap out my old compass for a newer version. The new compass doesn't have any new features but it is much smaller. The old version was approximately 3"x5"x2" in size. The new version is approximately 3"x1.5"x1" in size.

Before I mounted or built a cable for the compass, I needed to find a location that didn't have any magnetic distortion. I used a magnetic compass to measure any magnetic distortion at potential mounting points on the plane. Unfortunately, the locations I had in mind near the floorboard and instrument panel were too close to the steel frame of the plane. The closest location I could find to the instrument pod (to minimize cable length) was above and behind my head, on the Keel Tube.

Once my location was picked out, I used a four conductor wire to make a cable to connect the SP-2 to the Enigma. The cable is hardwired to the Enigma and instrument panel but uses a DB-9 to connect to the SP-2.

Below are some photos of the installed SP-2 and the original cable MGL provided.

2006-10-19T18:10:00.000-07:00

Instrument Panel - 2 hours (431 Total)

Today I finished wiring my instrument panel. The last bit of wiring I needed to do was add a stereo jack for the push to talk (PTT) cable and button I will install later. I bought a coiled cable similar to a telephone hand set cable but with 2.5mm stereo connectors. I installed a stereo jack in the back side of the panel. You can see the jack and wiring in the three following photos.

Below are two photos of the completed wiring... What a mess! I considered using wire ties to secure some of the wires and neaten thing up but I figured that would only cause me problems if I needed to do any future work or repairs on the wiring. One thing that I did do was coat the hot end of the cigarette lighter plug with some liquid electrical tape. This will hopefully prevent it from shorting out to the non-shielded ground wires.

2006-10-18T18:07:00.000-07:00

Enigma is here! - 3 hours (429 Total)

My Enigma finally arrived. The Enigma is the color upgrade to my Stratomaster instrument display. Other than having a color display, the other neat feature is the built in GPS.

Below is a photo of my installed Enigma. The second photo shows the rivnuts I used to mount the Enigma.

Below is a photo of my slip indicator. I mounted it with the rivnuts also.

My Stratomaster suffered from resets occasionally when I attempt to start my engine. The starter would suck so much current that the voltage would drop to levels below what the Stratomaster required to operate. I installed the 3000uF, 30V capacitor into my instrument pod to try to alleviate this problem. I chose this cap because of the large solder lugs it has.

The cap seemed to help some but I still got some resets when I continued to crank the engine to the point where the battery drained down and was having difficulty turning the engine over. The resets would be expected at this point since the starter is drawing a huge amount of current when stuck.

2006-10-11T17:18:00.000-07:00

Electrical Panel Changes - 1 hour (426 Total)

The instructions for the strobe that I installed recommend a diode to be installed to protect the electrical system from negative voltage spikes. Below are some pictures of the diode I installed.

I also purchased a battery charger/tender. The unit came with a cable designed to be wired into your electrical system for easy connecting to the charger. The cable came with a built in fuse holder which I cut off. I wired the cable in to one of my empty fuses; see the pictures below.

2006-10-11T15:59:00.000-07:00

Nose Wheel - 1 hours (425 Total)

Today I drilled and installed the cotter pins that hold the nose wheel axle in place. This would have been a pretty easy and quick task if I hadn't has broken off my drill bit in one of the holes.

2006-10-10T00:56:00.000-07:00

Pretty Picture... - 0 hours (424 Total)

All too often I forget to take a pictures that show the entire plane. Here is one that shows my progres.

2006-10-08T22:30:00.000-07:00

Arm Rest - 1 hour (424 Total)

The last thing I did today was build and install my arm rest. Rans provided a pre-shaped piece of plywood, a rough cut piece of foam, and an oversized piece of fabric. I cut the foam to match the shape of the plywood and stapled the fabric over the top.

The hard part was screwing the completed arm rest to the plane. In the picture below you can see the flexible shaft screwdriver I used to screw the arm rest into place.

2006-10-08T21:41:00.000-07:00

Elevator Trim - 5 hours (423 Total)

Today I installed the elevator trim tab.

The hinges for the trim tab went together pretty easily. They use an aluminum tube cut to 1/16" long as a bushing to reduce the friction in the hinge. There is still a significant amount of friction but the tab does move. If this doesn't loosen up over time I may need to replace the 1/16" bushings with slightly larger ones.

The actuator cable for the trim is routed out the tailboom, through a cable clamp, to a stopper that is riveted to the trailing edge of the elevator.

The cable clamp is attached to the leading edge of the elevator with a bolt and a rivnut. I purchased a tool specifically designed to install rivnuts. Unfortunately, it worked too easily. I over tightened the rivnut and stripped out the threads. I needed to drill out the rivnut and install a second one. The manual only calls for one rivnut and cable clamp but the kit came with two. Rans may have intended for the second one to be used on the trailing edge of the horizontal stabilizer to prevent the cable from rubbing on the fabric.

To cut the cable and housing to the proper length, I needed to unbolted the trim wheel from the flap lever mechanism. This allowed me to disassemble the trim wheel and pull the cable out of the housing. Otherwise, there wouldn't have been a way for me to cut the housing shorter than the cable.

I cut the cable so that I have an inch or so of extra length in case I need to make any adjustments. I set the trim tab to be in line with the elevator while the trim wheel was centered. I crimped a cap onto the end of the cable to keep the sharp cable end away from my skin.

Since I had to remove the trim wheel from the flap lever mechanism, I went ahead and installed the fabric covering over the flap lever mechanism. I needed to cut the fabric with my soldering iron so it would fit over the trim wheel bracket.

I used Locktite to secure all the bolts and screws.

2006-10-07T21:27:00.000-07:00

Elevators - 2 hours (418 Total)

After I finished with the rudder, I installed the elevators.

These went on without much difficulty. Each elevator has two hinges and a elevator horn for actuation. I needed to rotate one of the elevator horns because I had installed it backwards.

Once I installed the hinge and horn bolts, I installed the necessary lock rings and cotter pins. I also lubricated the hinges with a spray on teflon lubricant.

I also installed the black plastic caps on the outside ends of the elevator's aluminum tubes. The assembly manual calls for the caps on the inside ends of the tubes but I didn't see the need.

2006-10-07T21:03:00.000-07:00

Rudder - 3 hours (416 Total)

Once the stabilizers were in place, I installed my rudder.

The rudder has two hinges that connect it to the tail. One hinge bracket is bolted to the top of the aluminum tube of the vertical stabilizer and the other is welded to the tailboom extension. The distance between the hinges will vary depending on how far down the vertical stabilizer is placed on the tailboom extension. I should have checked the hinge spacing prior to drilling the hole in the tailboom extension to ensure the rudder would match up but I didn't think of it at the time. Luckily, the rudder hinges mated up without any problem.

Once the hinge bolts were installed, I connected the rudder control cables. I needed to change the connection point of the cables where they connect to the rudder pedals to allow for the proper length. I did not put too much effort into tensioning the cables; I only made sure the majority of the slack was eliminated.

After testing the movement of the rudder system, I installed cotter pins in to the pulleys and hinge bolts. I also sprayed all of the moving parts, except the pulleys, with a teflon lubricant.

2006-10-07T20:36:00.000-07:00

Stabilizers - 4 hours (413 Total)

During the strobe installation, I also installed the vertical stabilizer.

The vertical stabilizer mounts to the plane with two bolts. One bolt goes through the tail boom extension. The other goes through a set of brackets that are riveted to the tailboom.

I then attached the horizontal stabilizers. The base (root) of the horizontal stabilizers bolt onto the vertical stabilizer with U-brackets. Then eight cables are used to hold the stabilizers in position.

The cables need to be secured very tightly to prevent them from vibrating in flight. The tangs on the cable ends have four holes in them to fine tune their tension/length. I was able to make the cables very tight by installing all of the cables with only finger tightened bolts. Once all the cables were installed, I removed their slack by tightening all of the bolts.

The assembly manual calls for only one thick washer to be used on the bolts and U-brackets. I used two thin washers on each side instead.

2006-10-07T19:53:00.000-07:00

Strobe - 1 hour (409 Total)

Today I was able to accomplish quite a bit. The first thing I did was install my strobe light.

I purchased a SC103 ultralight strobe light with the intent of mounting it onto my tail. I am not required to have a strobe light on the plane but it did seemed like a good idea for the sake of visibility and safety.

The strobe light came with a metal tab attached for mounting. This turned out to be quite convenient for mounting on the top of my vertical stabilizer. I used a bench vise to bend the tab into a slight curve to better fit between the aluminum tube and curved hinge I mounted it between.

I ran the wiring down through the aluminum tubing of the vertical stabilizer. I needed to drill two holes in the tailboom extension to allow for the wiring. I used rubber grommets to protect the wiring from the sharp metal edges. I then used zipties to secure the wiring to the tailboom extension to ensure that it would not interfere with the rudder cables or elevator push-pull tube.
I soldered the pigtail leads from the strobe directly to the jacketed wiring that I routed through the tail boom. There is about a foot worth of slack in the wire that was stuffed down the top of the aluminum tube of the vertical stabilizer in case the strobe needs to be replaced or serviced.

2006-10-05T19:23:00.000-07:00

Brakes - 2 hours (408 Total)

Today I routed the cables for my brakes.

Several months ago I temporarily routed the brake cable for just the left brake to test it's functionality. If they didn't work well enough, I was going to replace them with hydraulic brakes. The cable brakes seam to function adequately. I do wish they had a parking brake feature but I will see if I can live without it.

One of the things I don't like about the brake setup is that the pedals stick out by several inches. This means that I would have to press (actuate) the brakes to rest my feet on the rudder pedals. This was not comfortable for me so I created a standoff (see the first picture) out of a short piece of cable housing. This standoff allows my feet to sit flush against the rudder and brake pedals. This does reduce the range of motion of the brake pedals but I should still have enough to fully actuate the brakes.

Some of the holes provided for the cable housing and caps had too much paint in them. In the picture below you can see how I "encouraged" the cap to fit into place.

I trimmed the brake cables to length and used a soldering iron to keep the cables from fraying. The brake cables were adjusted so that there is a slight amount of drag on the brake drums. This dragging only occurs in some spots as the wheels are rotated. I expect this to go away after the cables stretch and the brake pads become warn.

2006-10-04T23:20:00.000-07:00

Tailboom Trim - 1 hour (406 Total)

I spent some time cutting and fitting the trim that fits around the tailboom. Fitting the Trim was difficult because of the lack of clearance between the sheet metal and the boom tube.

I need to purchase some super glue to adhere the trim into place.

2006-10-04T22:23:00.000-07:00

Painting Plane - 0 hours (405 Total)

Today I rolled the plane back into my workshop. The painter still has some work to do on the smaller pieces but they should be done within a few days.

It took the painter about 50 hours over a two week period to paint the plane. As expected, masking a prepping took the most time. The total bill came out to $2000; the cost and the total time was more than the painter or I expected. I had the painter charge me on an hourly basis instead of quoting me a flat fee. My reasoning for this was too keep the painter from cutting corners towards the end of the project if it took more time, effort, and materials than he based his quote on. This kept both the painter and myself happy.

There were two major problems along the way. The first was on the bottom of the plane. We hung the plane from the ceiling to allow the painter to paint the under side. It appears we didn't raise the plane high enough because we had some rough textured, dry overspray on the bottom.
The other problem was caused some rough spots on the primer coat. The painter did not sand down the primer coat. The resulting bumps were easily seen after the color and clear coat were applied. The bumps turned into white dots when the painter tried to sand them out.

Both issued above required the painter to sand, paint, and clear the body over again! Luckily, the tail boom did not have and of the primer bumps and didn't need the repainting. The extra paint will add some weight to the plane but since most of it is in front of the center of gravity, it should give me a CG benefit.

One issue that I will have the painter touch up is the metal strip around the nose cone. In many placed the paint is too thin which allows the primer to show through.

I am quite happy with the paint job. Below are some pictures the painter took for me of the painting process.

2006-10-03T00:01:00.000-07:00

Landing Gear Fairing - 4 hours (405 Total)

The painter is pretty much finished with the plane. Since I need to remove the landing gear legs from the plane to install the landing gear fairings, I'll do this before the painter lowers the plane from the ceiling. You can see photos of the plane being hung from the ceiling in the next post.

Removing the legs required removing a bolt from inside the plane. This wasn't easy because of the limited visibility and awkward reach from being outside the plane (I couldn't crawl inside).

What turned out to be very difficult and time consuming was trimming the fairings to match the length of the legs and the contour of the body of the plane. The fairings covered the useful reference points that I would have used for measurements. Here are the steps I took to trim the fairings...

I removed the leg from the plane.
I slipped the fairing onto the leg and made a mark on the lower portion of the leg where the bottom edge of the fairing meets the leg. The inner support of the fairing prevents it from sliding all the way down the leg.
I then reinstalled the landing gear without fairing and made a mark on the body of the plane 16" (the length of the fairing) from the first mark.
I then removed the wheel/axle/brake assembly from the lover portion of the leg and slipped the fairing onto the leg which was still installed in the plane. Since the fairing would only slide up before touching the bottom of the plane, I measured the distance from the top of the fairing to the second mark. I used this distance, lets say one inch, to mark a trim line around the top of the fairing. I placed my ruler on the fairing, lengthwise, and slid it up until it touched the body of the plane. I'd mark a dot one inch from the body onto the fairing. I did this all away around the fairing.
I then drew a line to connect the dots and trimmed the fairing to fit with my Dremel.
I did this a second time on the fairing to ensure I had a good fit and had enough room for the rubber trim that goes onto the top edge of the fairing.

Once the fairings and trim were in place I reinstalled the legs. Getting the bolt hole to line up with the top of the leg and the plane was difficult. I ended up marring one of the bolts so much that it needed to be replaced.

I didn't install the nut for the bolts until after the plane was back on the ground and I could climb inside. I did learn a new trick in the process of placing the nuts back on. By placing some double-sided tape onto the tip of my finger, I was able to position the nut in those hard to reach places. I wish I would have figured out that trick a few hundred hours ago!

Prior to installing the legs and fairing for the last time, I placed some silicon sealant in the joints of the legs, installed the brake housing cable, and placed the rubber trim.

I still need to glue the to the trim into place.

Here are some pictures of the installed fairings.

2006-09-20T01:30:00.000-07:00

Trim Tab - 1 hour (401 Total)

I only have a few small things I can do while waiting on the painter. One of them was to build my trim tab. This was pretty straight forward other than the fact that I couldn't find the rivets it called for. I ended up using some longer rivets of the same diameter.

2006-09-19T01:11:00.000-07:00

Cleaning Up Enclosure - 5 hours (400 Total)

The enclosure is pretty much done but it needs a little bit of clean up prior to bring it to the painter.

The first thing I did was add a few more rivets. There were a few locations such as the landing gear cuffs and the location pictured below that need a few more rivets. Some of these rivets were needed to go into the steel frame. I need to purchase some sharp new drill bits to allow me to drill into this. I've gone through about a half dozen #30 bits while building the plane.

Some of the rivets I had placed didn't come out to well. In some cases the mandrel would break off outside the body of the rivet causing a sharp stem to protrude. This only occurred when the rivet only had sheet metal to rivet through. I think the sheet metal holes are stretching which allowed the mandrel to be pulled farther than the rivet was designed for. In some cases the mandrel was pull all the way though the rivet. Those rivets I replaced. As for the stems, I used my Dremel to grind the rivets smooth.

Just prior to rolling the plane to the painter, I removed the wheel pants and some bolts in the tail boom. If all goes well, I should have a sharp painting fuselage in a week or so.

Here is a picture of the plane at the painter's shop.

2006-09-19T00:59:00.000-07:00

Cowling - 1 hour (395 Total)

Last week I revisited the welder and had him add a few spot welds to secure the cooler to the cowl. This should hold the cooler in place without requiring me to use rivets or bolts.

I then needed to modify the aluminum angle that I fabricated to cover the rear holes so they would fit around the new weld beads. I then riveted the aluminum angles into place.

2006-09-18T23:50:00.000-07:00

Rear Enclosure Installation - 4 hours (394 Total)

Today I installed the upper panels of the rear enclosure. I started out by taping the edges of the two rear belly pans in place.

I then positioned the upper panel into place. Getting the right fit was tricky. Once I was satisfied with the positioning, I started drilling and clecoing the bottom edge. I had only drilled my first hole when I realized there was a problem. I had lined up the bottom edge of the upper panel with the crease in the belly pans. This was actually too low and caused the predrilled holes in the upper panel to miss the aluminum tube that I need to rivet into. I repositioned the upper panel and started drilling and clecoing. Unfortunately there is no way to hide that first hole which I drilled in the wrong place.

Once I finished drilling and riveting the holes, I attempted to install the upper panel support tubes. I did not like how these tubes are to be attached to the plane. Their straight shape also didn't do much to support the upper panels which naturally curve. I attempted to bent the tubes to fit the contour of the panels without much luck. I decided to omit the support tubes. If necessary, I'll come up with another method to support the panels.

The right panel did not fit as well as the left panel did. With the left panel, the predrilled holes easily lined up with the bottom former tube and the vertical former tube that will also support the lexan. I ended up positioning the panel so the holes in the bottom former need to be angled down in the front, up in the back, and centered in the middle.

The upper edge of both upper panels overlap the top former by a significant amount. This shouldn't interfere with the wing but may cause problems with the fuel lines. I may need to trim or add rubber trim to the panel if the fuel lines come in contact with it.

Once the two upper panels were riveted into place, I installed the rear enclosure. This pre-bent piece easily fit into place. The top edge of the rear enclosure revealed that the top edges of the two upper panels are off by 1/8". I positioned the rear enclosure to be flush with the right side. I also needed to ensure that the inside edges of the rear enclosure was tucked between the upper panels and the sound proofing inside the plane.

2006-09-18T23:49:00.000-07:00

Belly Pan Cover - 4 hours (390 Total)

Well I didn't get the plane over to the painter yet. I still have quite a bit to do. Luckily the painter is behind schedule also.

My first task is to install the belly pan cover. I had the painter paint the inside of this plastic cover with a green that matches the interior fabric. While I was placing the belly pan cover to check for proper fit, I noticed that the push pull tube that it is suppose to cover is having some slight rubbing issues. It turns out that the bolt is just barely rubbing on one of the belly pans. To fix this I removed the bolt and installed it from the other side. You can see from the before and after photos below that there is about a sixteenth of and inch more clearance on one side of the tube than the other.

To installed the belly pan cover I first marked my proposed holes into the cover and made sure there was clearance in the plane for the rivets. I ended up having some problems with the rivets interfering with the end of the tail boom. I ended up drilling my holes into to the tail boom to allow the rivets to recess into it.

I predrilled all the holes with a #40 drill bit and then drilled through the pan cover and the belly pans with the proper #30 bit while positioning the pan cover in place using masking tape and clecos. I worked from the middle out to allow for the plastic pan cover to distort around the slight curvature (forward to back) of the bottom of the plane.

2006-09-17T22:45:00.000-07:00

Nose cone Installation - 12 hours (386 Total)

Today was another long day. My goal is to get the enclosure finished so I get take the plane to the painter's place on Monday (tomorrow).

Today I focused on the nose cone. The first step was to correctly position the nose cone. The nose cone needs to be inline with the longerons and be 55 1/8 inches from the keel tube. This was simple enough to set but required grinding away some of the nose cone to allow it to fit around some of the weld joints in the frame.

Once the position was set, I drilled and cleco'd the metal strips that hold the bottom of the nose cone and the forward most belly pan to the steel frame.

The way the longeron rails, forward most belly pan, and the metal strip around the nose cone meet was difficult to determine. Once this was determined I drilled and cleco'd through the three to hold the nose cone in place. Below is a photo of what I ended up with.

Now that the nose cone placement is set, I need to cut out my blow out panel for my parachute. I used my Dremel tool to cut out the panel once I was satisfied with my cut out outline placed with masking tape.

Once the panel was cut out, I then trimmed off 3/16 of an inch off on all four sides. This will allow room from the center portion of the H-channel rubber trim I bought.

It was a little bit of a wrestling match to get the blow out panel back in place with the trim but it does have a good tight fit. The channels of the rubber trim are a little larger than I had hoped for. The Lexan material of the nose cone doesn't fill the channel completely but it should work. I may try to glue the channel to the top surface of the nose cone and the blow out panel.

Now for the nose wheel... Again I used my Dremel to grind a hole in the bottom of the nose cone for the nose wheel. I oversized the hole to allow a 1/8 inch gap between the nose wheel fork and the Lexan.

My next task was to install my pitot tube. I started out by predrilling a hole through the pitot tube mounting block. I drilled this hole one size smaller that the 1/4" pitot tube. I them contoured the block to fit well with the inside of the nose cone. I then screwed the block in place and drilled the 1/4" hole through block and nose cone. I then removed the block and attempted to install the pitot tube into the block. The hole was too tight and I ended up damaging the pitot tube. Luckily, I had another tube I could use. I partially drilled out the block with a slightly larger drill bit. This allowed me to install the pitot tube and still have a enough retention force.

I then drilled out a 5/8" hole in the two inch flange on the top half of the nose cone. I placed a rubber grommet into the hole and threaded my pitot tube through it. This will hold my pitot tube nicely. My first attempt in drilling the grommet hole ended up being too large so I ended up having to drill a second hole.

Just prior to permanently installing my nose cone, I cleaned out the grease for the nose wheel fork and replaced it with some clean grease. I then installed and riveted the nose cone into place. I then installed the nose wheel fork and bolted it into place. This was easier than I had expected. I was able to work around the battery, rocket, and parachute easily from the left side. It will be a different story once I get the windshield installed.

2006-09-16T21:55:00.000-07:00

(More) Belly Pan Installation - 12 hours (374 Total)

Today was a long day but I was able to get the rest of the belly pans installed.

The first thing I did was start installing the landing gear cuffs. These are used to cover the large hole between the two rear most belly pans. There isn't much to go by in terms of how to position these so I made the top edge of the cuffs parallel with the seam of the rear most panel. Below are a couple pictures of the cuffs.

The picture below shows an enlarged rivet hole. Not liking the look of how the belly pans were riveting together, I drilled out a couple of rivets to replace. Unfortunately, the hole in the sheet metal enlarged to the point that I was having trouble with the rivets. To alleviate this I purchased and used some slightly larger rivets.

Here are some other pictures of cuffs in various stages of the install.

Next came the front two belly pans. The pan that fits below the seat is actually two pans, a left and a right. These three pans are attached to the frame by rails that fit over the longerons of the steel frame. The pans are then riveted to the rails.

All but one of the rails needed to be modified to allow it to fit around welded points on the frame.

Below are some pictures of the front two belly pans and their accompanying rails. I permanently riveted the rails on the right side of the plane but only used some #40 temporary rivets to hold the rails on the left side. These will be permanently riveted when the windshield is installed.

The belly pans are held in place to the bottom of the plane with the metal pieces pictured below. They fit over the horizontal members of the steel frame and are riveted to the belly pans at the belly pan seems. Prior to riveting these in place I deformed them slightly so they grip the frame and sheet metal tightly.

The piece below needed to be trimmed to fit around the weld that holds the flap lever bracket in place.

Prior to fully installing the belly pans, I tightened the straps on the seat bottom. This is my last, easy opportunity to tighten these straps.

2006-09-15T21:23:00.000-07:00

Belly Pan Installation - 5 hours (362 Total)

Today I installed the two rear most belly pans. This took an incredibly long amount of time to get the placement just right. Once I started riveting the two pieces together, I used a set of reversible clamps to hold the sheet metal in place.

2006-09-12T21:02:00.000-07:00

Belly Pan Fabric Gluing (Again) and Trimming- 5 hours (357 Total)

Today I planned to trim the fabric to size. Unfortunately, the S-18 glue that I used didn't adhere the fabric to the metal skin. The fabric, on all of the pieces, easily pulled right off the metal leaving a residue of glue on both the fabric and the metal. The glue had setup and wasn't tacky. It appears as if I had let it set for too long prior to pressing the fabric to the metal.

It looks like the two large bottles of glue I had used was faulty. On one of the pieces I needed to add glue to a fabric edge because I didn't spread it out enough. I used the small bottle of glue that I had originally bought and used because it was handy. The glue in this spot had held strong showing that the small bottle of glue worked fine.

Needing to start over again, I went and purchased a can of Contact Cement from the hardware store. This glue worked very well and set up faster than the original bottle of S-18 glue. Once I had finished re gluing all of the parts, the glue had set up enough that I could start trimming the fabric.

Below are some pictures of the trimmed fabric. I used scissors, a utility knife, and a soldering iron to trim the fabric. In the areas that I had placed masking tape over the metal to allow me to trim the fabric back, I ended up peeling the fabric off the tape instead of peeling the fabric and tape away from the metal. The tape didn't work as well as I had hoped and I ended up with some rough cuts on the fabric. In some places I ended up cutting too much fabric away from the metal's edge. It may have been easier if I had forgone the tape, glued and trimmed the fabric right to the edge of the metal, and then sliced the fabric with the utility knife where I wanted it trimmed and then peeled that fabric away. This would have left a glue residue on the edge but the glue is not thick enough to worry about.

2006-09-11T00:13:00.000-07:00

Belly Pan Fabric Gluing - 2 hour (352 Total)

Today I glued my fabric to the belly pans. I used a heavy duty role on glue called S-18. This product worked very well on my canvas type fabric. This glue would not work very well on a felt type fabric because the fabric would absorb too much of it off the roller. I found this to be the case when I tried to apply the glue to the sound proofing material that goes on the side panels.

A spray on adhesive worked well for the sound proofing fabric. I masked off the outside edges of the sheet metal and sound proofing fabric to counter any over-spray. I removed the masking immediately after spraying on the adhesive.

Below you can see some photos of my setup and results.

2006-09-10T23:59:00.000-07:00

Belly Pan Fabric - 1 hour (350 Total)

I was planning to glue my green fabric to the inside of my belly pan sheet metal today but I had forgotten to buy glue. All I was able to do was rough cut my fabric to the proper sizes and mask off the portions of the sheet metal I didn't want glue to adhere to. I'll pick up some glue tomorrow.

By the way, I'm at 350 hours; shouldn't I be done already!?

2006-09-10T23:58:00.000-07:00

Belly Pan Cover - 0.5 hours (349 Total)

One of the other things I did today was prep the Belly Pan Cover. This plastic piece covers the elevator push pull rod that protrudes from the bottom of the plane.

The Pan come rough cut from Rans and needs to be trimmed to the proper size. This is similar to the plastic ribs that are used in the horizontal and vertical stabilizers. I used my dremel tool to cut and smooth the pan into the proper shape. I also roughed up the inside so I can paint it. I use a can of spray paint to paint the inside of the pan prior to installing it into the plane.

2006-09-10T23:41:00.000-07:00

Cowl Clean Up - 0.5 hours (348.5 Total)

My oil cooler cowl needs a little more work prior to painting. The front corners need to be rounded off to prevent them from damaging the wing fabric and the gaps in the rear need to be filled. I also need to secure the cooler inside the cowl.

I think I will have the welder tack weld the cooler inside the cowl. This will be an easy alternative to bolting or riveting it in to place. Since the oil cooler is trapped inside the cowl, the cowl will need to be cut open to remove to cooler anyway.

I was able to round over the front corners of the cowl with a pair of snips and my dremel tool.

For the holes in the back side, I cut some aluminum angle to length that will rivet nicely inside the cowl. I considered having a few pieces welded into place but I think this would be difficult with the gaps that are present. I will rivet these into place once the welder has secured the cooler.

2006-09-09T23:14:00.000-07:00

Sheet Metal Bending - 6 hours (348 Total)

Today I started bending the sheet metal for the enclosure. I started off by bending the toughest pan first. This pan requires a complex bend since the rear is bent around a 3" diameter object while the front two curves are bent around a 2" diameter objects. In any case this wasn't easy and took many attempts.

The second piece wasn't much easier but I found that using Rans' suggest 5" bend wasn't accurate. I had pretty good luck measuring the distance between the edge of the pans and where the curves needed to start and marking them on the unbent sheet metal. I then measured the distance around the curve needed and marked that on the sheet metal as well. I did this for both the front and back edges of the rest of the pans and then bent accordingly.

Below are a few pictures of the process.

2006-09-09T23:10:00.000-07:00

More Prep for Enclosure - 2 hours (342 Total)

Before I start placing the sheet metal panels on the plane, I took some time to secure any wiring and plumbing that could be damaged due to vibration. In many cases this just meant tightening and trimming the zip ties that were already in place.

In the photo above you can see the piece of rubber hose wrapped around the oil line. I added zip ties to hold this piece in place.

In the upper right corner of the photo above, you can see the reinforcement I added to the CDI connectors. These connect the CDIs to the engine. I zip-tied the wires and connectors around a piece of plastic tubing. The plastic tubing is flexible enough to allow for the wire and connecters to be be snuggly secured but rigid enough to prevent vibration damage.

The photo above shows another angle of the CDI connector fix.

The photo above is a close up shot of the secured wiring for the fuel pumps.

In the photo above you can see some silicone that I put around the trim cable and strobe wire.

The fuel line down stream from the fuel flow meter was rubbing on one of the cabaines. The photo above shows the results of shortening some of the fuel lines to alleviate the chance of rubbing.

2006-09-08T21:58:00.000-07:00

Prep for Enclosure - 1 hour (340 Total)

With the engine systems proven, I can now move forward with installing the enclosure. To make putting on the sheetmetal on the plane easier, I need to remove the wings. Prior to doing that I need to remove the cowl and oil cooler. I purchased some caps and plugs to place on the oil cooler and oil lines to keep them from spilling oil or becoming dirty. You can see the caps and plugs installed on the two pictures below.

When I disconnected the oil fittings from the oil cooler I expected a small amount of oil to spill. To help minimize this, I tipped the plane on to its tail to allow more oil to drain from the cooler to the tank. I then righted the plane and removed the fittings. Not a drop of oil spilled. The oil level was about 4 rows down from the top of the cooler. My setting the plane on it's tail shouldn't have drained this much oil. I guess the oil may have siphoned itself out of the cooler when it was flowing into the tank.

One of the oil fitting that connects to the thermostat does not have much clearance to the wing root To try and increase this clearance, I loosened and rotated the fitting. In the center of the photo below you can see the fitting that I rotated.

While the engine was cold, I torqued the spark plugs to 18 ft-lbs and the exhaust nuts to 20 ft-lbs. The spark plugs moved slightly because when I installed them, I only torqued them to 17 ft-lbs. The exhaust nuts were snug and didn't budge.

In the process of testing my headset wiring for my radio, I blew the 1 amp fuse in the insturment pod. I will need to up the amperage of this and the other fuses.

2006-09-07T00:15:00.000-07:00

Balancing Carbs - 3 hours (339 Total)

Today I tinkered with my first set of carburetors... I wish this engine was fuel injected!

I borrowed a set of vacuum gauges from a friend and connected them in place of my balance hose. In the picture below you can see what the initial vacuum levels were before I touched anything.

I went through four cycles of playing with the idle stop screws and having to shut the engine down to cool off. I wasn't bold enough to attempt adjusting the idle mixture screws. After the fact, I think my idle mixture screws do need to be adjusted. When I adjusted the idle stop screws so the vacuum pressures matched, one of my EGT would be significantly higher than the other. I ended up adjusting the idle stops so that the EGTs were very close to each other but the vacuum readings were off by about 2".

HPower recommends setting the idle, without prop, to 1450. I unintentional, set my idle to about 1600. It is running pretty smooth at this speed and isn't causing a sever vibration on my electrical panel.

I will spend some more time balancing my carbs once I get it out to the hanger. I need to focus on finishing the plane.

2006-09-04T23:44:00.000-07:00

Modified Engine Wiring- 3 hours (336 Total)

Today I did some rewiring of the electrical system to fix some of the problems seen yesterday.

The first thing I did was trouble shoot my rev counter. I used an oscilloscope to look at the rev counter signal. I am using the trigger wire that connects the coil to the CDI. The signal I saw was a negative pulse in the range of 200v. The inactive portion of the waveform seemed to be clean and appeared to be at zero volts. I assumed that the RDAC wasn't able to see this negative pulse so I mocked up a setup that connected it to one of the AC lines of the alternator. This gave me a signal the RDAC could read. Looking at the wave form again surprised me. I was expecting a sinusoidal wave; instead, I saw a very square pulse up to 12V. I then, permanently, rewired the rev counter input to the AC wire of the regulator.

Since I had my oscilloscope handy, I used my current probe to see what was going on with my starter solenoid. I could see 40amp and sometimes 80 amp spikes on the starter solenoid. My installation has two fuses between the starter solenoid and the battery. The Master fuse which is 20 amps and a 3 amp fuse to power the RDAC, Fuel Pressure sender, and the starter solenoid. The schematic from Hpower does not have this second fuse. My solution was to rewire the system to be more like the Hpower setup; I connected the solenoid directly to the Master circuit.

Downstream from the solenoid is the starter switch; but between the two is approximately 12 feet of 22AWG wire. The wire will easily deal with the DC load of the solenoid but I don't know if it would have any issues with the 80 amp spikes. I decided to err on caution and use the one spare 22AWG wire to share the load.

2006-09-03T22:45:00.000-07:00

Started Engine for the First Time - 5.5 hours (333 Total)

Well today was the day I had been waiting for for quite a while now. I spent a large amount of time securing and verifying components. This included adjusting throttle cables, choke cables, fuel lines, air filters, adding oil, and other engine related items.

I spent a fair amount of time securing the cable 'Y' for my choke. I tried securing it with the same bolts that hold the fuel pumps in place. There wasn't enough space to allow for this so I ended up using a new pipe clamp to create a mounting point for the 'Y'. In the picture below you can see the two pipe clamps in the lower left corner.

In the process of securing the choke cable, I rerouted its cable and placed a rubber cushion around the choke lever attachment bracket. I rerouted the cable to keep it from rubbing and interfering with one of the aileron pulleys. The rubber cushion was required to keep the lever from rotation around the flap handle.

I also trimmed the cable and applied some solder to keep it from fraying.

Prior to starting the engine, I needed to prime the oil lines. This required cranking the engine, with the CDIs off and spark plugs removed, until a pressure is indicated by the oil pressure sender. The engine manual does not specify what this pressure should be. I turned the engine over for several seconds before I got nervous and let go of the starter switch. Unfortunately, nothing happened when I hit the starter button a second time. I had blown the three amp fuse that powers the starter solenoid, RDAC, and fuel pressure sender. I replaced the fuse with a larger 5 amp fuse. This worked for a while but also blew. I replaced this with a 10 amp fuse but will need to find a better solution.

Back to the oil priming... Even though I could crank the motor, I still wasn't getting any oil pressure. I ended up fixing this by plugging the air vent on the oil tank. This allowed air pressure to build in the tank and help force oil into the engine. I saw about 6 psi of oil pressure once the system was primed.

Once I started my engine I noticed a few other problems. The first was engine vibration. The engine wasn't running rough but at idle the top of my electrical panel was vibrating more than I wanted it to. At slightly higher RPMs, the vibration reduced significantly. Hopefully, balancing the carbs will alleviate this.

The second problem was the lack of a RPM signal. My tachometer wasn't getting any kind of signal. I played with the jumper settings on the RDAC with no result.

The third problem was also fuse related. The 3 amp fuse to my regulator was too small and as expected, was blowing. This was causing me to run off my battery and more importantly, not recharging it between starts. The fuse should have been rated at 20 amps. This was caused by a typo in the schematics and label I created.

Other than the problems listed above, the engine ran great.

2006-09-02T20:35:00.000-07:00

Cowling - 3 hours (327.5 Total)

Today I receive my finished cowling and am happy with the results. I was initially disappointed in the looks of the cowl when I had seen the first welded seam. In my last post I discussed several theories on what I thought had occurred since I wasn't there to witness the welding. I was able to watch and help out with the welding of the three other seams. It turns out the problem with the welding was easily resolved by using clamps more often. By clamping the material together an inch to two inches away from the weld, we were able to keep the material from moving or warping. This required a lot of clamp moving but wasn't difficult. My extra set of hands moving the clamp allowed the welder to concentrate on the welding.

Once all four seams of the cowl were welded, we ground off the high points and ran a second and sometimes third bead. This cleaned up the welds nicely.

I still need to secure the oil cooler inside the cowl and cover the large holes on either side.

To mount the cowl I installed eight nut plates to the bottom surface of the cowl. I then cut four pieces of angle aluminum. In the pictures below you can see how the four pieces of angle aluminum clamp the cowl to the top edge of the root ribs of the wings. I have a piece of 1/4" dense foam under the cowl to absorb vibration and protect the wing fabric.

The corners of the cowl near the opening are sharp. I will need to round these over to prevent them from coming in contact with the wing fabric and damaging it. I placed blue paper towels under the corners in the mean time. You can also see the nut plate in the picture below.

2006-08-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

Thermostat - 3 hours (324.5 Total)

Today I plumbed my oil cooler, thermostat, and oil lines. Unfortunately, I don't have any pictures of the finished setup and at the time of writing this, I have already taking the cowl and wings off the plane. I have a couple of pictures in my September 9th post that show the plumbing with the cowl and wings removed.

I did not have a lot of room to place the oil thermostat between the cooler and the engine. I needed to orientate the thermostat at an odd angle to allow the oil fittings to clear all of the engine components. For the hose that connects the thermostat to the engine, I needed to use two 180 degree fittings.

The tight space required the use of short hoses which actually helped in mounting the thermostat. These short hoses give enough structure to the thermostat that it doesn't need to be physically mounted.

Before cutting my expensive oil lines to length, I used a cheap hose to mock up the plumbing. This worked great but I ran into one issue when I started replacing the cheap hose with the Aeroquip hose. When the Aeroquip hose is pushed onto the fittings, the hose looses 1/2" of length. This usually isn't an issue with a longer hose but caused me some problems on my 6" hose. Luckily, I was able to use that hose in a different location since I didn't have any to spare. I had only ordered 8' of the hose and ended up using all but two inches of it!

I was forced to route one of the oil lines in a way that could cause it to chafe against the structure. I ended up placing a rubber hose around the oil line to protect it. This isn't the most elegant fix but it is a common way of dealing with these issues. You can see a picture of this in my September 9th post.

2006-08-20T21:35:00.000-07:00

Cowling - 0 hours (321.5 Total)

Below are some pictures of my cowling. The cowling is not completed yet, it still needs some more welding done to it. Only one seam is complete; the others are only tack welded.

There have been a few design changes since my last posting for the cowling. Instead of riveting the cowling together, I am having it welded together. Another design change was the lack of hems on the leading and trailing edges. The 6061-T6 material is too brittle to allow for the 180 degree bends. Instead I had 90 degree bends placed on the trailing edges and a 60 degree bend placed on the top leading edge. The bottom leading edge was left straight.

The opportunity to have the cowl welded kind of fell into my lap. The welder is a friend of a friend who has a TIG welder in his garage. He was willing to weld the pieces together for relatively cheap. It was thought that welding would be easier and quicker than cutting, bending, and riveting all of the tabs. Unfortunately, the welding is not going as smoothly as we (me and the welder) had hoped.

We tried tack welding the pieces together without creating a complete jig. The pieces held their shape while they were cold and held together with tape but when heated during the welding processes, they would distort. Clamping the pieces didn't help either since it only provided a local force. The metal would become soft during the welding and would warp around the clamp.

The top and bottom pieces started to pull away from the side pieces when heated during the tack welding process. This caused a gap to form and a small distortion to form at the start and stop points of the tack welds on the top and bottom pieces. This distortion will probably not be an issue once the seam is completely welded since the edge of the material is consumed into the bead of the weld.

The various width gap between the pieces made the welding very difficult which made it impossible to created a "pretty" bead. You can see in the photos that the weld is very rough.

It appears that the pieces didn't expand the same amount under the heat of welding. You can see in the picture that the side piece became wavy. The curvature of the top piece probably allowed it to absorb the heat expansion all in the outward direction. Since the side pieces were tacked together, they were forced to bow both inwards and outwards. In hind sight, it would probably have been better not to tack the pieces together. One continuous bead would allow the metal to expand freely. This would allow the material to stay straight for the first weld on either of the sides but the second weld may see the same type of expansion problems.

Another theory is that the aluminum pieces don't expand uniformly. The aluminum could expand differently along the grain versus against the grain. The top piece has its grain running front to back, the sides run top to bottom.

Another problem is the bottom leading edge isn't holding the shape of the curved sides. You can see in the photos that the edge is curved upwards in the middle. The other seams are doing fine since they have bends which give them extra strength. I considered having top and bottom pieces rolled to give them their curve but decided against it since the bottom curve doesn't have a constant radius because of the airfoil shape. I will try to give the metal a slight bend or crease by hand to help it hold it's shape.

2006-08-18T10:04:00.000-07:00

Rubbing Aileron Push/Pull Tubes - 1.5 hours (321.5 Total)

A while back I noticed that the Short Push/Pull Tubes for the ailerons were binding up on the Bell Cranks inside the wings when the ailerons were fully deflected. This binding was reducing the aileron range of motion from 45 degrees to 35 degrees, 5 degrees on each side.

To alleviate this I needed to add a 1/4" Plastic Washer (PW-4) and a 1/4" Thick Washer (AN960-416) between the Bell Crank and the Male Rod End in each wing. Rans recommended that I use 1/4" Zinc Plated Washers (KSHW0075) instead of the 1/4" Plastic Washers. They also suggested I replace the existing 1/4" Plastic Washers that are between the Male Rod End and the lock nut. I also needed to replace the 1/4" Bolt (AN4-7A) with a longer 1/4" Bolt (AN4-10A) to handle two new washers.

With the above fixes, the binding was completely eliminated. Now when the ailerons are fully deflected, there is a distinctive stop instead of a binding/grinding feeling. This stop is caused by the Long Push/Pull Tubes hitting the same Bell Cranks within the wing.

Below are some pictures of the damage that was being done to the Short Push/Pull tubes from the binding. The last picture was taken from inside the wing to try and get a clear view of the binding prior to the fix. Implementing the fix through the zippered portal wasn't as hard as I had thought it would have been. Removing the Short Push/Pull tube was necessary along with taping the 7/16" wrench to a yard stick to hold the bolt head.

2006-08-16T21:16:00.000-07:00

More Cowl Mockup - 3 hours (320 Total)

Below are some pictures of a more complete mockup of the oil cooler cowl. In the pictures, the two side pieces are reversed to allow for the pieces to be held together with binding clips.

I intend to make the cowl out of 0.032" 6061-T6 aluminum sheeting. The side pieces will have metal tabs that will be folded over to allow for riveting. A 19 row oil cooler will be mounted in the back of the cowl. The leading and trailing edges will have hems folded into them to give them extra strength.

2006-08-16T20:41:00.000-07:00

Labels - 1 hour (317 Total)

Today I created labels for the major components of the electrical system. I also created labels for the two fuse blocks.

2006-08-12T20:38:00.000-07:00

Instrument Pod - 4.5 hours (316 Total)

Today I did some more work on the instrument pod. First I reinstalled all of the switches and wiring. I then added a bolt to act as a ground point; this should be more reliable than using the terminal of the master switch which I was using before.

I also added cables for my radio; one for external power and one mic/phone extension.

Lastly, I created labels for the push button switches on the dash.

Above you can see the ground bolt and wiring for the mic and headset connectors.

Above you can (just barely) see the labels for the push button switches.

Above is the wire and connector to power the radio.

2006-08-10T19:43:00.000-07:00

Wing End Caps - 0.5 hours (311.5 Total)

Today I installed the end caps for the wings. (Since I'm sitting around waiting for oil cooler parts to arrive, I am working on little things)

These caps were easy to install, they simply pushed into the trailing edge spare aluminum tubing. I did need to notch the caps to accommodate the aluminum tube from the rounded wing tips. This was easily done with my Dremel tool.

2006-08-09T23:02:00.000-07:00

Cowl Mockup- 1 hours (311 Total)

Here are some pictures of a cardboard mockup of the cowl I plan to build for my oil cooler. The 19 row Mocal oil cooler will fit flush inside the back end of the cowl. The oil fittings will protrude out the top of the cowl to allow for removal. The cowl will have both top and bottom surfaces. The cowl will be fastened to the both wing roots with Camloc fasteners.

The front opening of the cowl is right above the leading edge of the wing to allow it to collect high pressure air. The opening will be 2" tall by 13" wide.

This setup for the cowl and oil cooler does not leave much room for the thermostat which I was planning to install. The oil line routing without the thermostat would be straight forward. I will do some more research to see if running without it would be recommended.

2006-08-08T22:54:00.000-07:00

Fuel Lines - 1 hours (310 Total)

Today I rerouted the fuel line that runs to the fuel pressure gauge with some 90 degree fittings. This prevents the fuel line from rubbing against the wing root.

I also placed fuel line clamps on all of the fuel lines that still needed them. I had ran out and needed to purchase more.

2006-07-25T00:11:00.000-07:00

Instrument Pod - 3 hours (309 Total)

Today I did the final assembly of the instrument pod and mounted it to the inside of the plane.

In the three pictures below you can see the mounting of the fuse block, cigarette lighter, and head phone and speaker jacks.

In the two pictures below you can see how I glued my interior fabric to the instrument panel. I used a heavy duty role on glue which is water proof and heat resistant. I chose a synthetic canvas type fabric for the plane's interior. This fabric is intended for exterior canopies and is sun and mildew proof.

After a few hours and the glue had set, I started cutting away the excess material with a soldering iron.

I then reattach the instrument panel to the bottom panel and proceeded to secure the instrument pod into the airplane.

I needed to use my Dremel Tool to notch out one of the corners to allow the bottom panel to fit around one of the brackets that holds the pod in place.

I also needed to reposition one of the rear holes to allow for a secure fit.

And lastly, I needed to add washers between the brackets and back panel to allow for proper alignment.

2006-07-24T23:03:00.000-07:00

Wing Fuel Lines - 4 hours (306 Total)

Today I routed the fuel lines from the wing tanks to the fuel bracket. This included creating the site gauges to allow me to see the fuel level in the tanks.

In the picture above you can see a white plastic bracket that is yet to be connected. I was unable to drill the hole or screw in the bracket because of the small amount of room between the wing and the root tube. I will need to connect this when I take the wings off.

When I reconnect the wings prior to flight, I will add a cushioned hose clamp to secure the fuel lines to the engine mount bolts.

2006-07-23T22:14:00.000-07:00

Instrument Pod - 5 hours (302 Total)

I am now at the point where I can start finishing up my instrument pod. I recently received the handheld radio that I plan to use with my plane. I will mount this with velcro to the right side of the instrument pod.

I removed the switches, wiring, and Stratomaster from the instrument panel. I then drilled a hole on the far right of the panel to allow for a power cable for the radio. You can see the hole drilled for this purpose in the picture below.

I also drilled a large hole in the backside of the instrument pod for a cigarette lighter and two smaller holes for the headset and speaker jacks. You can see these holes in the last picture.

I wrapped the top and bottom panels of the instrument pod in plastic wrap to protect them from being scratched while I assembled the panel. The top and bottom panels were pre-drilled with fastener holes. I needed to transfer these hole to the front and back instrument panels. This was easier than I expected but was still quite tedious.

I started out by riveting the bottom panel to the front instrument panel (panel that faces the pilot) with single rivet in the center. This held the two pieces together securely while I transferred the other holes. Before I started on the holes which are on the curved corners of the panel, I fastened the panel together with the provided sheetmetal screws. This held the panel pieces in place while I bent the bottom panel around the curved corners of the front instrument panel and transferred the remaining holes.

Once I was finished transferring the holes to the front panel, I repeated the process on the back panel. Once that was finished I started the same processes on the top panel. Since the top panel is attached with rivets instead of screws. I was not able to transfer the holes at the very edge of the top panel. I will need to do this when I fasten the top panel in place for good.

2006-07-21T23:23:00.000-07:00

Fuel Bracket - 3 hours (297 Total)

I wanted a way to disconnect my fuel lines to allow easy removal of my wings. To do this I used some quick disconnects with integrated shutoff valves. I selected quick disconnects that mounted into a bulkhead to allow for a solid mounting point.

I fabricated a sheetmetal plate or bracket to hold the four quick disconnects. The front of the bracket has a fold to help protect the quick disconnects and keep the bracket rigid.

Once this bracket was in place, I was able to complete the fuel line routing from the bracket to the fuel selector valve.

The two wing tanks have forward and rear pickups. The pickups are connected together down-stream from the quick disconnects.

The fuel lines that run from the quick disconnect for the right tank (bottom of above picture) run underneath the bracket and are held in place by a zip tie that is attached to the bracket.

I still need to secure to hoses with hose clamps. I ran out of enough hose clamps to finish the routing.

2006-06-21T20:47:00.000-07:00

Wing Clearance - 0.5 hours (294 Total)

I put the wings back on the plane for the first time since I wired up the engine. There are several wires and hoses that are rubbing the roots of the wings: the fuel lines to the carbs, two of the four spark plug wires, and the fuel line to the pressure sensor.

The carbs have banjo fittings on their fuel inlets. I'll be able to rotate the fittings to increase the clearance on the fuel lines.

The fuel pressure hose will need to be re-routed with a couple of 90 degree fittings.

The sparkplug wires will need to be re-routed. I will remove the clamps that are holding the wires to the intank manifolds and secure the wires to the balance tube with wire ties and standoffs.

Here are some pictures of the items that are rubbing on the wing roots.

2006-06-19T20:00:00.000-07:00

Oil Valve - 1 hours (293.5 Total)

To make changing the engine oil easier. I purchased a Fumoto engine oil drain valve. This valve will allow me to change my oil without the hassle of removing the oil plug. I have heard stories of people dropping the hot oil plug into the funnel they were using to collect the oil. The funnel then overflows and makes a huge mess.

I purchased the F-106 model which fits the 14mm by 1.5mm thread used on the oil tank.

Unfortunately, the valve ran into the oil temp sensor when I tried to install it. I had to remove the temp sensor with the intent of installing it after the valve was fully installed. As luck would have it, the valve seated with its larger end interfering with the temp sensor hole.

To alleviate this, I combined the gasket type washer that came with the valve with the copper washer that was used with the orignal oil plug. This allowed the valve to seat with it's large end pointed in a slightly different direction. I will need to watch the valve for a while to make sure the combination of the washers remain leak proof.

2006-06-18T19:23:00.000-07:00

Instrument Panel - 8 hours (292.5 Total)

Today I started out by cutting out holes in the back side of the instrument panel. In the picture below you can see two holes on the left for the wiring. Below that is a large square hole for the fuse block. On the right side you can see a rubber grommet for pitot tube.

Below you can see the installation of the switches and Stratomaster display. Above the Stratomaster is a coordinated turn indicator. It will be bolted into place when everything is done.

Below are some pictures of the wiring inside the instrument pod.

Below is a picture of the powered on system. You can see that some of the switches are illuminated and the Stratomaster display is turned on.

I tested all of the switches and their functionality except the starter. I don't want to engage the starter until I have the oil system complete.

With the Stratomaster functioning, I tested all of the temperature sensors. I used my hot air gun to verify that I didn't have any of the wiring crossed.

2006-06-15T18:50:00.000-07:00

Instrument Panel - 4 hours (284.5 Total)

Today I started cutting into my instrument panel. Over the past few months I have been playing with the layout of the panel.

The holes you see on the left will accommodate seven switches, an indicator light, and a key-switch. I drilled these with a drill press and step-bit which I bought specifically for this portion of the project.

The holes in the rectangular pattern were drilled to allow me to use a nibbler tool to cut away a large portion for the Stratomaster instrument display I will place in the dash.

2006-06-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

EGT Sensors - 1 hour (280.5 Total)

Today I attached the EGT sensors to the exhaust.

I had previously located and drilled the 5/16" EGT sensor holes into the exhaust prior to bolting it to the engine. I positioned the sensors' holes so the wiring would point directly towards (at an angle) the egress into the cockpit. I ignored the recommendation to have the holes downwind of the exhaust pipes. A fellow HKS owner has his sensors in the same configuration and doesn't have any problems.

The EGT sensors are almost too long for my exhaust pipes. There is about a millimeter of space between the tip of the sensor and the opposite wall of the exhaust pipe.

Above you can see that I needed a wire clamp to hold the left EGT sensor wire in place.

I made sure that the right cylinder has both EGT1 and CHT1 probes connected to it.

2006-06-08T21:38:00.000-07:00

Exhaust - 4.5 hours (279.5 Total)

Earlier this week I received my exhaust from Earthstar. Below are some pictures and details of its installation.

I purchased an exhaust from Earthstar that was already ceramic coated. Unfortunately, no finishing was done after the coating was applied.

I would have been happy with the light gray coloring and powdery texture but the exhaust had several polished spots on it. During shipping, portions of the exhaust that were in contact with the cardboard box or styrofoam polished themselves due to the vibrations.

Another problem with the unpolished ceramic coating is that it picks up dirt very easily. There were hand prints on the exhaust left by the Earthstar people.

After consulting with Earthstar and Finish Line Coatings, a company in Portland, OR that does ceramic coatings, I started polishing the exhaust with some steel wool. This was surprisingly easy to do.

Here is a picture of the fully polished exhaust. It took me about three and a half hours to polish the entire exhaust.

Here are some pictures of the installed exhaust.

To mount the exhaust, I bolted the exhaust to the exhaust ports first. I used some AN washers and supplied gasket. The nuts seem to be self locking (triangular threads) so I didn't use any locktite. Prior to bolting it to the engine, I did drill the holes for the EGT sensors while the exhaust was on the bench.

I then loosely bolted the bracket (pictured above) to the engine.

I then bolted the Lord mounts to the exhaust and bracket.

I torqued the nuts on the Lord mounts very tight. You can see the metal plate on the Lord mount popped up and against the bracket. After the Lord mounts were nice and tight, I tightened down the bolts that hold the bracket to the engine using Locktite.

I then repeated the process on the rear bracket.