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.

Skinning Right Wing - 3 Hours (85.5 Total)

Today Randy came over and helped me slide the skin on to the right wing. I attached the skin to the root rib and tightened the skin. I started installing the ribs but noticed that the velcro seam on trailing edge was not centered very well. It was within the 1/2 inch that the manual states but I noticed that the fabric at the tip had severe wrinkles. I assumed that I could minimize the wrinkles if the skin was centered. I disconnected the skin from the root rib and slid the skin off a couple of inches. I then slowly worked the fabric until the seam was centered on the trailing edge spar. I brought the fabric back up, flush with the root rib. The wrinkle did not go away, in fact it was worse. We'll see what it looks like when I tighten the root rib and install the other ribs.

Prepping Right Wing - 3.5 Hours (82.5 Total)

Today I prepped the right wing for skinning. This included: installing select fuel lines, drilling holes in the root rib, installing the flap teleflex cable, and taping over the bolt heads. I also taped the tension cable. I also assembled the ribs. I started skinning the wing and got as far as I could without help.

Heat Shrink Left Wing - 7.5 Hours (79 Total)

Today I started ironing out the wrinkles on the left wing. Unfortunately, the green fabric changes color when ironed. This wasn't a big problem but required me to iron the entire fabric instead of just spot ironing like I had done earlier.

I installed the top and bottom ribs without too much problem. I quickly learned that extra finesse is needed to make sure the ribs are inserted in the pockets. I did break one of the plastic heals. The piece is still inside the wing. I'll need to order a new one since I don't have any extras. The top rib was very difficult to fully insert. I don't know what caused this or what allowed it to fully insert. I ended up playing with it for ~25 minutes.

I used my soldering iron to cut exit holes for the two strut plates, jury strut bracket, and fuel tank filler.

I used the hot air gun and iron to remove any remaining wrinkles. For the most part, the fabric is nice and taunt. The exception is the wing tip. I was able to get most of the slack out but the last few wrinkles wont come out. I ended up melting some of the fabric with the hot air gun. Luckily the fabric is reinforced with multiple layers in that location.

Skinning Left Wing - 8 Hours (71.5 Total)

Today I put the fabric on the left wing. This included prepping the wing. I installed the long aileron push/pull tube, flap teleflex, and select fuel lines. I used a 3' 5" fuel line for the rear fitting and a 14" fuel line on the front fitting. Since the middle fitting is accessible, I didn't bother connecting a fuel line to it. I used tarp repair tape (thick) as an anti-chafe tape on the bolt heads, tip wraps, wing tip gussets, and root rib edges. I tried several techniques for applying the tape to the bolt heads. The one I ended up with required me to cut a slit in the tape from the middle out. This allowed me to apply the tape in a cone shape. I also removed the overlap with my utility knife.

I attempted to skin the wing without any help. After several hours and only having 1/3 of the skin on, I had a friend come over and help. Within 30 minutes we had the skin within 12" of the root rib. I installed the first top rib which was easier than expected. Getting the skin the last twelve inches, to the edge of the root rib, was tedious. I was able to do it without the all-thread which is recommended but it required prying the root rib after the pan head screws were installed.

Heat Shrink Flap and Ailerons - 3 Hours (63.5 Total)

Today I finished de-wrinkling the ailerons and flaps. I used my clothing iron. I also started prepping the left wing for fabric. I noticed that the left tank has a straight fitting where is should have an angled fitting. I replaced the forward fitting with the correct type. I did not perform a leak test.

Heat Shrink Tail - 4 Hours (60.5 Total)

Today I used a heat gun to de-wrinkle all of the tail components. I also used a soldering iron to clean up any fraying fabric. I then wrapped the tail pieces in garbage bags to protect them from dust and dirt.