Vertical Stabilizer re-skinning - 3 Hours (139.5 Total)

Today I replaced the skin on the vertical stabilizer. I needed to cut the original skin off because the clear coat seeped through the skin and effectively glued the skin to the frame. I spent some time fighting with the skin before I realized this. I then sanded the dried clear coat off of the frame. I then modified the plastic ribs so they would flex a little more and not bulge from the skin. I then skinned the stabilizer with the new skin I bought from Rans for $85. I used some nylon rope from the hardware store that was a little bit larger in diameter than what Rans provided but it worked just as well. The vertical stabilizer is ready for clear coat... Again.

Wheel pants and Axles - 3.5 Hours (136.5 Total)

Today I received the new wheel pant and longer axles along with some other hardware I ordered from Rans.

I drilled the hole that holds the stopper bolt into the main gear axles and installed them onto the landing gear.

I then spent 2.5 hours determining the proper location for the axle bolt hole in the wheel pants and proper angle of the wheel pants. The trashed wheel pant came in handy as a test piece during the process. I determined that the axle hole needs to 7/8 of an inch below the dimples in the wheel pants. This gives a half inch of clearance between the top of the tire and the inside of the wheel pant.

I was able to determine the proper mounting angle of the wheel pant by letting the plane rest on its main wheels and the tail skid. I rotated the pant until the flat edge on the pant was parallel to the ground, ~1.75 inch above the ground. To achieve this mounting angle, I sat the wheel pant on a piece of 4x4 lumber that let the wheel pant rest on the leading and trailing edge of the hole cut out for the wheel. I considered this level for the wheel pant. Then I drew a line on the wheel pant that had a 1.5" rise over a 12" run and intersected the axle center point. I did this by taping a small block on a 24" straight edge at a point that raised the end of the straight edge 3" off the surface. I then drilled holes for the bolts that attach the wheel pant to the brake mechanism. These holes are 3" from the axle center point on the line drawn on the wheel pant. This assumes that the bolts which hold the axle socket to the brake mechanism are in line with the wheel pant attach bolts. I then figured that the location of the brake housing stop should be at 30 degrees from the line and 2.75 inches from the axle center (this turned out to be the wrong location). At this location I would drill a 3/4 inch hole out for the brake housing stop.

Brakes - 5 hour (133 Total)

Today I did several different things. First, I bolted the hummertangs to the bottom end of the tail boom. The bolt appears to be too long. It bottoms out on the nut plate and there is about 1-2 mm of play.

I then attached the eye bolts to the ends to the elevator yoke.

I then installed the throttle mechanism. I needed to make several modification to allow the system to move more smoothly. First, I bolted the friction rod onto the inside of the throttle lever. The manual shows the friction rod on the outside of the lever but in this configuration, the rod isn't lined up with the friction block opening. This causes the friction to vary depending on where the throttle lever is at. I also rearranged the washers so there was one washer between all three components, the rod, the lever, nut, and bolt head. These two modifications may cause interference with the closest of the three throttle cables but I only plan to use two.

The second modification I needed to make was to rotate the friction block so the slit pointed down. This lowers the friction rod which gives one of the throttle stops the clearance is need. It was hitting part of the frame.

I also needed to drill out the throttle knob to 7/16. I plan to have a nicer throttle knob made out of wood. I can't make the newer knob too much larger because of the limited clearance between it and the flap lever.

I then installed the brackets for the instrument panel. I used tape to hold the brackets in place to test fit the Instrument Panel and Front Panel.

Finally, I cleaned up the two lexan nose pieces. I tried using tin snips to cut the lexan but this was difficult and didn't make a very clean cut. My Dremel Tool again saved the day! It cut through the lexan easily with a cutting disc.

Tail Boom - 6 hours (127 Total)

Today I installed the tail boom and related components. I started off by installing the four nut plates into the tail boom. I screwed up on one of the rivets and need to replace it with another 40APR1/8. I noticed some bubbles and chipping in the finish near the nut plate holes which I took some pictures of.

Prior to installing the tail boom, I verified that it had a reinforced layer on the inside. The reinforcement started at 33 13/16 inches from the front and ended 61 7//8 inches from the end.

I installed the tail boom into the chassis with the recommended Vaseline. This worked very well but cleaning the Vaseline off took a significant amount of work. I used gasoline and paper towels to wipe off the majority then washed the tail boom with dish soap and water. Rans told me afterward that 409 works well for cleaning off the Vaseline.

I did not glue the lexan strip that is used in the tail boom bracket. I used a piece of wood to pry the bracket apart so I had room to install the lexan strip after the tail boom was installed.

My kit did not come with the (2) AN4-27A bolts that are suppose to be used in the tail boom bracket. I assume I didn't receive enough (2) AN365-428A nuts or (4) A960-416L washers either. As a temporary bolt, I used the ALP (painted head) bolts that were too long for the wing.

I then level the chassis which was difficult to do since my seat bottom cushion was installed. The manual recommends putting a level across the seat truss to level the chassis. After leveling, I found the bottom of the tail boon and drilled three holes for the tail boom extension and horizontal stabilizer cable tangs.

I then installed the tail boom extension. The elevator push pull tube guide needed significant modification to allow the inner nuts to be accessed with a wrench. I also installed the rudder pulleys and skid block.

I ended up removing and reinstalling the tail boom extension at least three times for different reasons. The last reason was to install the larger elevator push pull tube. The manual isn't clear about when to install this and how. It also doesn't mention where on the push pull tube the foam rubber insulator is suppose to go. I placed it in the middle of the tube.

Lastly, I installed the elevator horn and connected the large elevator push pull tube to the 5/8 inch elevator push pull tube that's connected to the control stick. I noticed that the large elevator push pull tube is double re-enforced on the front end but not re-enforced on the back end.

Flaps Mechanism - 2 hours (121 Total)

Today I installed the flap system. Unfortunately I ran into problems. The AN3-10A bolt that came with the flap actuator arm is too long; the not threaded portion of the bolt sticks through the hole in the frame. I replaced the bolt with a AN3-5A. I'll need a replacement for the AN3-5A.

After bolting the flap actuator into place, I noticed that the aileron cable rubs on the actuator housing.

I assembled the teleflex end of the flap actuator system on top of the keel tube. It went together without too much effort but the springs took some wrestling with before they'd go onto the shackles. I need to bottom out the standard nut onto the teleflex rod to give me leverage to tighten the nylon lock nut which bolts onto the end of the teleflex rod.

Seat - 3.5 hours (119 Total)

I installed the seat today. It went together relatively easily but I did have some trouble with the rivet nuts which go into the seatback and hold the headrest in place. The important thing with the rivet nut is to make sure you have a long enough bolt, not screw, and a washer. It also helped to install the bolt into the rivet prior to slipping the rivet into the hole. I was lucky to have a bolt that had a smaller head than the nut. This allowed me to use a box wrench on both the nut and bolt head.

I needed to grind down the edge of the seat support flute tube so it would rotate in the hinge riveted to the seat back. I used my Dremel for this and to grind down the bottoms of the seat back frame so the frame could lean back fully.

I was able to sit in the seat for the first time! It was quite comfy.

The main reason I'm working on the seat now is because I noticed that the flap handle mechanism doesn't have mounting holes pre-drilled for the trim wheel mechanism. More importantly the flap mechanism doesn't resemble the drawings for the trim instructions. When I asked Rans about this they suggested that I install the seat and find a comfortable position to mount the trim wheel on to the flap assembly.

Seat - 0.5 hours (115.5 Total)

I started working on the seat today. I bolted the gussets to the seat back frame.

Floorboard - 1.5 hours (115 Total)

Today I installed the floorboard. I also installed the front four pulleys and cable for the rudder control mechanism.

Control Stick - 4 Hours (113.5 Total)

Today was a productive day. I installed the control stick and related components. I started by installing the control stick which went together easily. I oiled the control stick pivot points which are welded to the frame with cutting fluid by accident but it seems to work well. I then installed the elevator push/pull tube. I spend a lot of time grinding the slide points that are welded to the frame with my dremel. The little drum sander worked very well for this. I also installed the control tee, pulleys, and aileron cable. The U-brackets used in the pulleys don't rotate because the bolt heads and nuts are binding up within the brackets. This probably isn't an issue.

Wheel Pant - 2 Hours (109.5 Total)

Today was another bad day. I cut and drilled holes for the left main wheel pant. Unfortunately, the 4" distance Rans Recommended wasn't enough to allow the wheel to clear the pant. I will need a new pant.

I added the spacers between the brake drum and wheel. The axle is too short to work with the wheel pant adapter. I have several questions that I need to ask Rans.

Nose Pant and Rudder Peddles - 3.5 Hours (107.5 Total)

Today I attached the nose wheel pant. The pant came with the bottom hole for the tire pre-cut but I needed to take off quite a bit from the front for the tire to fit.

I also installed the rudder peddles. This took significantly longer than I expected. I spent a lot of time trying to remove one of the bushings that became stuck. I ended up having to fabricate a new bushing out of scrap. I also had to sand the powder coating off the rudder peddle ends and the inside of the fittings welded onto the cage. The powder coating was too think and prevented the parts from mating.

I also attached the steering linkage arms.

Gear Legs - 3 Hours (104 Total)

Today I installed the main gear axles. I also had Bill Wood tap the nose wheel axle. Unfortunately, he taped it with a 10-24 instead of the recommended 10-32. I also started working on the nose wheel pant by drilling bolt holes and cutting out a hole for the fork.

I also sanded the axle down so it would fin into the nose wheel bearings. I also cut the axle bushings since the ones they sent me were for the tundra tires.

Nose Fork - 1 Hours (101 Total)

Today I fixed things. The nose gear was sticking too much so I enlarged the hole that holds the horn in place thinking that the friction was between the horn and that chassis tube. This didn't help but I discovered that if I loosen the bolt, the fork rotates smoothly. Tightening the bolt causes the nose gear for to warp.

I also drilled new holes in the right brake to correct it's orientation. I then attached the left brake.

Gear Legs - 3 Hours (100 Total)

It looks like the problem I was having drilling the 1/4 inch holes was caused by me pre-drilling the holes with smaller drill bits. By pre-drilling with a bit only slightly smaller bit, the 1/4 inch bit didn't have enough material to bite into. I had no problem using a fresh bit when I used a 1/8" pilot hole.

I assembled the main gear legs and axle sockets. I also installed the nose gear fork and horn. I also installed the right brake assembly.

Clear Coat - 0 Hours (Total 97)

Here are some pictures of the clear coat being applied to the wings and tail surfaces.

Gear Legs - 1 Hours (97 Total)

Today I bought new drill bits. Unfortunately, I still can't drill through the main gear legs. I forced the bit to drill though the chassis end of the gear legs but I still need to drill though the axle socket end.

Brakes (more) - 2.5 Hours (96 Total)

Today I spent a little more time on the brakes. I drilled a hole in one of the brake shoes for the lower spring to use. This made both brakes actuate with approximately the same force. I also assembled all three wheels and started working on the main gear legs. Unfortunately, my 1/4 inch drill bit is too dull to drill through the gear legs. Lastly, I installed the stopper bolts for the rudder peddles.

Wing Transport - 0 Hours (Total 93.5)

With the help of a few friends I loaded the wings onto the transport brackets I made and loaded them into my truck.

I arranged to have them clear coated at an RV paint shop.

Brakes - 1.5 Hours (93.5 Total)

Today I put together the brake assemblies. I spent most of the time rounding the edges of the brake pads and other parts. I drilled extra holes to allow the springs to stretch farther but I couldn't get the spring tabs into the new holes because the spring didn't have long enough ends. I ended up leaving one set of pads as is. The other has the upper spring (near the pivot) in two new holes. The lower spring used one new hole.

More Skinning Right Wing - 6.5 Hours (92 Total)

Today I attached the fabric to the right wing's root rib. I proceeded to tighten the fabric and install the ribs. Since I am still waiting on a plastic rib heel, I left out a center rib set. I had problems with getting the top rib, closest to the tip, installed. I tried trimming the plastic tip but it didn't seem to help. I ended up trimming 1/8 inch off the rib. This allowed the rib to install but required considerable force.

I then cut exit holes for the two strut plates, jury strut bracket, and fuel tank filler. I then used a hot air gun and iron to work out all of the wrinkles. I was able to get all the wrinkles out of the tip. I used a soldering iron to clean up any frayed fabric edges and thread ends.