Tuesday, February 28, 2006
Static System
Installed the static air tubing today. Tubing is pushed over the end of the pop rivits in the fuselage side, and glued in place using Shoe Goo (an excellent adhesive). Have I mentioned that working in the tailcone is not much fun....Ran the sander over the panel to give it a bit of a flat look and added some filler in the seam that was created when they clamped onto it to bend the bottom flange.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Altitude Hold Wiring, Static System
Wired the controller to the servo today. Three wires run to the front of the plane, so they are terminated in a connector.Starterd the static system install. Did not like the tubing and hardware Van's supplied, so I found some 1/8 OD polyeurathane tubing which will work as well and takes up a fraction of the space the 1/4 OD poly would have.
Working in the tailcone is a major PITA !
Sunday, February 26, 2006
Electrical, Engine mount
Saturday, February 25, 2006
Starter solenoid
Installed the starter solenoid today. Used Echlin model ST81. Terminated the main power cable from the battery on it. Ran a jumper to the coil and a diode to the other side of the coil. The diode prevents the starter switch from getting a zap of high current when the field in the coil collapses and should prevent damage to it.Don't like the bracket that holds the cable just before it gets to the solenoid. I'll revise it tomorrow.
Friday, February 24, 2006
Insulation
| Finally finished the unpacking of the finish kit yesterday. Made a gazzillion labels for the new bins. |  |
| Installed the insulation in the front cockpit. Did not fasten some of it as there is work to do that will require more holes through the firewall. Also some riviting to do to fasten the front top on. This insulation has a sticky back and once its on you don't take it off without destroying it. Far superior to using contact cement which I found let go after a year or so. |  |
Wednesday, February 22, 2006
Unpacking
Spent the day unpacking nuts and bolts and stuff. Ran out of bin space so had to do a Canadian Tire run for another storage bin. Then all the drawers had to be labeled with labels from my Brother printer. A lot of the existing hardware does not have any identification, so spent a bunch of time trying to figure out what I had. Did a dump run to get rid of the shipping crate for the finish kit. Managed to do that during the one hour blizzard that we had. So, I'm a little burned out for today. Nother 2-3 hours should see it done.
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Unpacked Finish Kit
Unpacked the finish kit crate today. Still have inventory to do but at least the crate is out of the garage and some floor space is freed up. Picked up the two gear legs at the same time and thats when I realized in spades that this is a BIG airplane. Man, were those things heavy.
Also ran the coax for the ELT....
Also ran the coax for the ELT....
Monday, February 20, 2006
ELT Install
Sunday, February 19, 2006
AOA Limit Switch, Strobe Power Supply
| Installed the angle of Attack limit switch on the flap arm. |  |
| Mounted the strobe power supply in the tailcone beside the battery. Had to use pop rivits to mount the angles to the stiffeners and to mount the nut plates. Just wasn't enough room to rivit. |  |
Saturday, February 18, 2006
Flap Controls
Spent a couple of days installing the flap controls. The bolt install for the arms at the outside of the fuselage were quite challanging, in that I could not get my hands near the location. The picture shows the flap positioning system from Van's (black box and switches on motor) and a relay board I made to operate the elevator trim during flap operation. The idea is for the trim to counteract the trim changes which occur during flap operations. I still need to install one more limit switch for the Angle of Attack system. This switch tells the AOA system that the flaps are extended, and puts in a different mode of operation. Yet to be installed in this location is the speed control for the elevator trim which also allows multiple switch inputs for trim operation. ( flap relays, pilot trim switch, copilot trim switch, and possibly a trim switch on the panel.)Notice also the use of spiral wrap on the rudder cables to isolate them from chafing on wires or....
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Controls
Installed the elevator and aileron controls today. Note the spiral wrap around the rudder cables. Just a bit of insurance againts any chafing on the fuel lines. Also drilled holes in the pilots stick and installed grommets for the push to talk and elevator trim wires. Copilots side will be a bit different I think, if the stick is made to be removeable. Haven't decided yet if thats feasable.Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Push/Pull tubes
Replaced the steel screws on the magnetometer with brass. Fabbed the push/pull tubes for the elevators and ailerons. Made the idler for the elevator tubes and mounted. Major PIA to install but I finally got it.
Monday, February 13, 2006
Magnetometer Installation
| Installed the magnetometer in the wingtip today. It started with me discovering that the connector at the magnetometer end of the wiring harness was not connected, but the other end at the AHARS was. That meant that I had to remove the pins from the AHARS end and connect the connector at the magnetometer end. Then I found that the plug would not go into the female plug on the magnetometer board, so I had to dissamble the unit and enlarge the hole in the box. After I got it all together again and went to connect it, it plugged in just fine, but the screws in the female plug would not reach the standoffs in the male. Dissassembled the unit again and added small washers under the standoffs so they sat a little higher. This time after everything was put back together, it all worked. Mounted the magnetometer in the wing tip and ran the wires. Then I took another look at the online instructions, and saw that all the screws have to be non-magnetic. I'll replace them tomorrow. Ask me how impressed I was... |  |
| That rats nest of wire in the background is the wiring harness as supplied. |  |
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Rudder Pedal Whoopsie
| This is what happens when you don't pay attention to detail. Had to reverse the position of the rudder pedal mounts in order to get the brake pedals at the same angle. These are before and after pictures. Note the angle difference in the pedals. Only took an hour or so to change them over, but it's a little aggravating to have to do it in the first place.... |  |
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Sunday, February 12, 2006
Painted Interior
| Painted the fuselage inside today. Used a mist green, according to the label, but I see a light grey almost metallic. Should look good when contrasted with the upholstery and fabric sides. |  |
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Saturday, February 11, 2006
Fuel Lines and Brake Lines
Finished the fuel lines and brake lines in the fuselage. Ran the rudder cables. Had to crawl into the tailcone to replace a snap bushing. I hurt. That goes to show that I may not be as young and spry as I once was. :>(
Friday, February 10, 2006
Finish Kit Arrived
Took Simon, my grandson with me today and we did all the necessary things one has to do to collect a rather large box from the bonded warehouse. Paid a whack of taxes and a big shipping charge. In fact, had I realized how expensive it would be to ship, I would have driven to Van's and collected it myself.
Also received from Fedex the fuel flow sensor and magnetometer from Grand Rapids today. This allows me to finish the fuel lines in the fuselage. The mag gets mounted in the right wing-tip.
Also received from Fedex the fuel flow sensor and magnetometer from Grand Rapids today. This allows me to finish the fuel lines in the fuselage. The mag gets mounted in the right wing-tip.
Thursday, February 09, 2006
Rudder Pedals
Tuesday, February 07, 2006
Covers
Made a bunch of covers for the cabin area of the fuselage.
The finish kit is due tomorrow, and I have no idea where to store it. There is very little room in the garage. The wings were supposed to be gone by now, but the final inspection on them has been delayed so there they sit.
I also need to take the canopy off the truck to fit the crate into it, but with my hand I can't get it off. Need two strong men....
More tomorrow
The finish kit is due tomorrow, and I have no idea where to store it. There is very little room in the garage. The wings were supposed to be gone by now, but the final inspection on them has been delayed so there they sit.
I also need to take the canopy off the truck to fit the crate into it, but with my hand I can't get it off. Need two strong men....
More tomorrow
Monday, February 06, 2006
Electrical Wire rack
| Made a wire rack for storing and dispensing the wire for the plane. It swings up to the ceiling when not in use. |  |
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Sunday, February 05, 2006
Baggage light complete
| Lights came from Canadian Tire, cost $10.00 each and have three high brightness LED's in each one. They are wired in series to keep the voltage correct for each one (they use 3 AAA batts for 4.5 v ) Pressing on the lens of any one will turn off all three. OK as long as ONLY one gets pressed and you know which ones they are. If you are guessing, it could take a while to get all three turned on. I may glue two of them so they can't be turned off. |  |
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Saturday, February 04, 2006
Trim relay. Bagg comp light switch.
Fabbed a small relay board to operate the trim motor when the flaps operate. Corrects for out of trim conditions when the flaps are deployed.
Also fabbed the microswitch bracket for the baggage compartment lights and door open indicator.
My hand is healing OK but I still have to be a bit careful what I do with it. Pliers and squeezers are tough to use right now.
