KIT CONTENTS
I would assume that if the reader is serious about the Safari
they would order the information kit which contains some of the
background, details of the contents, the latest price list, etc.
Much of this information is also now available on CHR's website. Although there
were some minor differences in my kit (assumed to be due to
upgrades), I would agree with most of the information therein
about the kit's contents.
Update: What with CHR's website upgrade, it appears that some of
this information has not been transferred over.
Where I have a lot of disagreement with the factory's information is with the promotional video. The machine in that video has a lot of old style components that were changed many years ago (perhaps 10+). I'm still trying to figure out how the passenger collective can easily be removed and I disagree with various statements such as the 100 hour oil change interval. My biggest disagreement is with showing flights under bridges and chasing snowmobiles. That kind of showboating on a manufacturer's video does absolutely nothing to promote safety and I believe that Transport Canada and/or the FAA would have some interesting words about this if they were to see it. For those that haven't seen this video, it's available online on youtube (Part 1 and Part 2).
All of the hardware such as bolts and standard fittings are AN standard. The various instruments, sensors and other such items are of the variety that you would find advertised in the various homebuilder's catalogs such as Aircraft Spruce, Wicks etc. Fabricated items such as the fuel tanks and drivetrain components come with all of the welding and machining already performed. Unlike some other kits, the Safari kit also contains the night lighting package, both exterior and interior. Although a builder may choose to upgrade or substitute some specific items, most of what is required is supplied and in fact there were even a few unexpected items.
I received a 4' x 8' sheet of both .032" and .063" 6061-T6 aluminum to be used in various fabrication steps, although the pack list indicated the .063" should be 2024-T3. The .063" quantity should be more than adequate, but one will need to be careful with the layout and cutting of the .032" material in order to minimize waste material. I used a cheap air shear to perform most of the initial cuts on these sheets and found that on most of my sheared cuts I left ~3/4" between pieces due to material removal and scratching. Because I chose to replace a couple of the prefabricated parts, I actually had to purchase additional .032" material, but I think the supplied material would have just been adequate if I hadn't done this and had been very careful with the layout. The use of templates is highly recommended for larger pieces as one wants to avoid having to re-make these pieces using the supplied sheet. There is not enough material supplied to make the optional seat pans as these can take four or five feet (by 4') of material.
Since I received both the pre-fabricated cab and the pre-fabricated shroud, I did not receive any of the factory template tracings and can offer no direct insight about them. I assume there probably are a few of these that would have come in handy for some of the trim pieces and definately a few that I could have used as starting points when replacing certain pieces but they chose not to include them.
The various sub-kits are individually boxed and each contains a contents/shipped list which makes for easy inventory upon receipt. I would highly recommend that a builder retain these sheets as one can infer some parts usage and assembly from here that is not necessarily obvious from the construction manual and prints.
The main transmission and tail rotor gearbox through blades are pre-assembled and ready for bolt-on fitting. Many of the various other bolt holes are already drilled and I'm told that the tail boom has already been laser aligned before its mounting holes are pre-drilled. These will be one of the last items I will deal with due to space constraints so any further comments will be deferred till that time. There were separate sturdy crates for the main transmission, rotor head and tail rotor. I'm led to believe that the fan is normally in the main transmission crate, but since my 360 size was back-ordered, it arrived later in a separate wooden box.
Since my kit was originally destined for export, I don't know if it was crated in the same way as for domestic delivery. In any event, it was well crated and mostly in two large sturdy crates that were capable of being moved with a forklift. The one squarish crate contained the main frame and cab while the long narrower crate contained the tail boom, blade box, sheet metal, various sub-kits, etc. Note that one definitely needs to figure out in advance how to handle the two large crates on the receiving end since they certainly cannot be moved by just a couple of people! In my case, I chose to unpack the long crate while still on the trailer and move the individual components one at a time ... the cab crate was stripped while on the trailer and then the cab/frame and lower crate frame were moved inside with four people.
It would appear that all required welding has already been performed at the factory with TIG and it appears to this non-qualified non-welder to be of very good quality on the steel parts; others that are qualified have seen various parts and confirm this opinion. I have had a few extra braces and tabs welded to the frame but these are due to my own preferences and accessories. The aluminum welding on my parts was certainly not of the same caliber and parts like the fuel tanks do not appear to have been pressure tested as they contained a lot of leaks (sixteen total that I found). The main frame and the boom each had one small leak at a weld so I assume they were also not pressure tested. The welding on the stainless steel exhaust system is also not as good as on other steel parts ... I have been told by someone who is quite qualified that it is about on par with the aluminum welding and not up to the quality normally seen on aviation exhaust systems.
I only had five items that were back-ordered and these were for items well down the construction path. I was made aware of all but one before I went to pick up the kit and these were later delivered within a reasonable timeframe, long before I actually needed them. After doing the inventory I started to gain an appreciation for the logistical nightmare it must be for the company to keep track of it's inventory and the lead-times, manufacture the various parts (some of which have quite a few components), assemble some of the key components and then finally assemble and package a kit for shipment.
I keep the following tag on my shop wall for the times when I
get confused or frustrated. I still don't know what was "Inspected"
but I infer that this kit passed some kind of quality control
step ... possibly just that all parts were included. Sometimes it
helps to have a sense of humour about the irony. With the ever-growing
list of ill-fitting and/or unuseable parts, I sometimes have to
wonder whether I received a lemon, whether other builders don't
check their parts as carefully or whether this is just the level
of quality that CHR deemed acceptable to ship to a customer. At
times it feels like I just received all the leftover pieces that
were known to not fit on other kits. Other builders with newer
kits have not reported all of the same problems, but I'm only in
regular contact with a few of them. Perhaps this is why CHR does
not support a forum, a user's group or other opportunity / method
for builders and owners to get together and exchange ideas and
experiences.
Update: I can no longer see the irony and humour in this tag ...
the growing list of problems is just one big frustration level.
"Good enough to ship" and my understanding of what
makes a quality aircraft kit seem to be a long distance apart.
I've seen fixed wing kits from several different vendors and
there is a world of difference.
UNPACKING
I would highly recommend that when a builder receives a kit, that they plan to immediately perform the inventory and quickly stow the various parts in an appropriate location. As part of this process, all the bare steel parts should receive a heavy coat of WD-40 or whatever appropriate corrosion prevention method that the builder has chosen. When I unpacked my kit, I detected several areas that had indications of initial rust formation and a couple that needed immediate attention:
After doing the uncrating, there was quite a pile of lumber to dispose of; unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of it. After knocking the crates down and selecting a few of the pieces that I could envision needing, I paid off a few favours; the majority of the lumber and sheeting was used in the process of adding an inner wall and insulation to a friend's quonset while some of the sheeting was re-used in another crate that was used to ship a cupola to the Bahamas. Only a few of the smaller pieces were relegated to firewood by a friend who is an active camper.
MANUALS
Put simply, what you see is what you get. I would highly recommend that a potential purchaser first order the Construction Manual and Construction Prints and decide for themselves whether they are comfortable with the level of detail provided, especially considering the size and complexity of the project. I assume that the update dated February 23, 2002 (made available in May '02) which replaced the non-existent cabin details in the Construction Manual is now incorporated. There are a few specific detail pages that accompany items such as the transmission and the "Owners Area" of the company's website has a few details about final rigging etc. The one required document currently only available there is the Flight Manual ... unfortunately it is has a lot of copied information that I consider to be suspect and is a generic manual that needs updating for each and every craft. Unless the owner has a copy of Adobe Acrobat, this will take a lot of work ... I wish they'd used a more common word processing program. Maintenance Manual ... what's that? Another document that each and every owner needs to dig out the facts for and create their own unique manual.
Since this was first written, there has been a
much expanded version of the rigging instructions developed and
made available to owners; unfortunately it could still use some
editing and further clarifications. I'm sure this document took a
lot of effort to write and I consider it mandatory reading for
all owners. There has also been a set of .PDF drawings released
which show most of the internal parts of the pre-assembled
drivetrain. While these don't assist in construction, they do
give a good idea of the internal parts and allow everyone to use
common names when describing individual parts. Note that there
are some orientation errors in these .PDF drawings and they
should not be used as the sole
reference for assembly.
Update: I have found another significant error in the .PDF
drawings. It would appear that these drawings are not being
corrected or updated and I can only emphasize that these should
only be used for very basic reference and not details.
In the first 24 months since I ordered my plans and kit, I am not aware of any other updates and I have received only five unsolicited communications from the company; an announcement of an Oshkosh award, a notification of their new training facility in Florida, one to re-iterate a warning against running the engine with the tail drive but no main blades attached, and two to inform about accidents. While I am all too familiar with the problems of documentation, I leave it to the reader to determine if this is an acceptable level of documentation and communication for their needs. On a positive note, the company keeps extended phone hours and has been very prompt to reply to e-mail questions about specific issues. The downside is that this appears to be their preferred method of distributing information (i.e. a builder must call and seek it out ... if they know what question to ask).
Update: It's now been about five years since I first received my plans. During this time I am aware of quite a few changes that have been made to newer kits, but none of these changes are documented on the Construction Prints, the Upgrade and Changes documentation, CHR's website, via email / newsletter or other direct communication. It would appear that CHR quit updating this information in 2001 and it is only available from them in verbal form if the builder frequently talks to or visits with the company personnel. Personally, I am extremely disappointed with this approach and there will come a time where the documentation is so out of date that it will be more of a hinderance than a help.
Update 2: Another year has passed without any changes to the Owners Area of CHR's website. There has been significant changes such as the pancake oil tank, straight control rods and battery under the floor for which I've never seen any documentation. Safety items such as the collective trim spring still haven't been resolved despite several years elapsed time. Needless to say, I'm even more disappointed in CHR's policy of not updating documentation, not informing owners of changes, not resolving safety issues and the general lack of true R&D ... regardless of the marketing hype, if I'd known these true facts beforehand, it surely would have influenced my purchase decision.
Update 3: I recently called the factory to ask a straight forward question so I could pick up a replacement part before a trip to the hangar. I got a "We'll get right back to you" live response. I never did hear back and the question is no longer relevant as I've been back out to the hangar, inspected the part and purchased a replacement for a subsequent next trip out there. The insult to injury here is that I needed to replace this part as a direct result of careless assembly and/or crating by the factory. I'm not sure if my name is now "Mud" with CHR or this is their new way of responding to customer questions.
Construction Manual
I was going to list the errors and omissions, but realized it would probably be easier to actually just re-write the entire manual!!! It would appear that this manual is based on the early documentation where no complete kit was available and it was expected that the builder would actually weld their frames etc. etc. While I am aware of some on-going efforts to update this manual, the results are extremely slow in coming. Regardless, it is definitely not a "refer to sheet XYZ and use an ABC bolt/nut to assemble the gee-whiz widget". Considering it's sparseness, it is also annoying that the same part is sometimes referred to by different names and a grammar/spell checker would have made it much easier to read. I have seen construction manuals for ultralight aircraft selling for 1/5 the price that were so superior to the Safari documentation that they can't even be compared.
Construction Prints
These are not detailed blueprints, but do have enough detail that one could try to build a frame etc. from scratch. Some pieces (such as the floorboard) are never shown, but eventually one realizes their omission and how they are supposed to be installed. The heat collector behind the oil cooler is also not shown in the prints but there is a section in the updated construction manual that describes it. The latest updates that I am aware of are dated Nov 01. I have included below some of the differences that I have noted between the prints and the details on my physical kit (spelling mistakes consciously excluded). I'm also including some comments based on pictures I've seen of more recently delivered kits.
Update: There are now some updates available in the protected area of CHR's website. These drawings are dated May 05 and were first made available on the web in mid April '09. Hmmmm ... four years from drawing to general availability ...
ERRATA - Construction Prints
Sheet 1 - I believe that the throttle rod "E"
now extends forward to STA. 40
- The battery box tabs (item G) should not be required with the
new change of the battery position to under the passenger side
floor board.
Sheet 3 - The fuel selector mount and the tab
beside it are actually one piece now.
- The external power plug mount and the cargo hook hardpoint are
not shown on STA. 52
Sheet 6 - This clearly shows the skid to skid
foot bolt as horizontal whereas on my kit it was pre-drilled at
90° to the leg. I had the pre-drilled holes fill-welded and I re-drilled
them per the plans in order to move the nut higher off the ground
(or rocks as the case may be).
- The Construction Manual (page 22) refers to bushings installed
inside the aluminum skids that are not shown here.
- The Construction Manual also refers to optional fish-mouthed
fillers at the bottom of the legs and collar rings at the top of
the legs used to reduce bolt shear; these are neither on the
prints nor my kit.
Sheet 7 - Skid tubes are shown as 2" x .095
whereas 2" x .083 was used on the supplied skids and also on
a replacement skid tube that I received.
- Rear skid foot shown more accurately on
May 05 update.
Sheet 8 - The conical engine mount pads are shown as 11-1/2" (2 * 5-3/4") x 9-9/16". The XP-Series FAQ lists the O-320 conical mount dimensions as 11.5" and 9.560". Note that Superior's Vantage Installation & Operation Manual (P/N SVIOM01 Rev. A, page 24) for the [I]O-360 shows the conical mount dimensions as 11.106" and 9.540". Unfortunately my O-360 is already mounted and it would be very difficult to double check this.
Sheet 11 - This shows two separate welds for the
sleeve and tube attachment just below and to the right of the
rightmost pedal. On my frame this was a single combined weld that
resulted in a permanent frame leak since it would appear that the
collar was not fuse-welded to the cross-tube first.
- On this sheet, and on Sheet # 43, it shows the sides of the
pedals being parallel. However the bushing for the bellcrank
bolts on my pedals were 1" long within the 3/4" tubes
which leaves 1/8" of weldable area on each side of the tubes.
The supplied bolts for the bellcrank attach rod ends were based
on a 3/4" (i.e. flush) bushing.
Sheet 12 - Lightening holes were added to arms.
- I'm led to believe that the factory now hangs the throttle rod
from rod-ends rather than the sleeve bearings that are shown.
There is a further discussion of this change in the Frame section. When I was performing this
upgrade, I discovered that the factory had used 1/2" x .049
tube for this torque rod and not 1/2" x .083 as shown on the
print.
Sheet 13 - The walking beams and associated
control rods are replaced if the builder opts for the straight
control rod option.
- I have second-hand reports that the factory is no longer
installing walking beams and have seen pictures of new kits that
back this up. I assume they are shipping straight control rods
and no walking beam parts.
- The lengths for the various control tubes should only be taken
as a rough guideline and need to be double checked before
fabricating them. The side control rods going to the swashplate
show walking beams and two pieces. With straight control rods
they would be just one piece and I assume they're steel like the
pitch tube on Sheet 14.
- My rear throttle tube is 11-1/2" vs. the 10-1/4"
shown and 7-1/2" would have been ideal for my front throttle
tube vs. the 7" shown.
- Only the straight control rods are shown
on the May 05 update.
Sheet 14 - Obviously the walking beam linkage
shown is incorrect for kits with the straight control rods.
- Only the straight control rods are shown
on the May 05 update.
- The insert is shown as 2" whereas it would appear from the
rosette welds that the supplied control rod has a 3" insert.
(Updated on May 05 revision to 3").
Sheet 15 - This shows two zerc fittings on the top of each collective and one on top of the support bracket (also shown on Sheet 20). My kit does not have these and this was confirmed with the factory as a design change. (Updated on May 05 revision)
Sheet 16 - Although it can be seen on the side
view, the 1-1/4" x .120" x ?? tubes joining each of the
bellcrank pairs is not detailed.
- The walking beams on Sheet # 22 have unequal length arms. I
don't know if the bellcrank arm lengths have been changed to
compensate for this on kits with the straight control rods.
- Lightening holes were added to bellcrank arms.
Sheet 17 - The cyclic fore-aft stop bolt mounting tubes are shown as being welded quite far forward and the use of AN4-5A bolts. On my cyclic torque tubes, these pre-tapped mounts are quite short and were welded in the rear-most area which then requires much longer stop bolts. The lower bolts just barely catch the cyclics due to the changed angle and the milled recess for the rod end at the bottom of the cyclic sticks.
Sheet 18 - This shows reinforcement tabs on the
bottom outside of the cyclic stick whereas my sticks actually
have an inner doubler of what appears to be 7/8" x .120 tube
that extends from the bottom end to just above the pivot point
hole and is held in place with a couple of rosette welds. There
is no welded / reamed pivot point bushing on my sticks (Updated on May 05 revision to remove bushing).
- This sheet shows the side to side movement of the cyclic stick
as 15° each way and 30° total movement. The newer Rigging
Instructions indicate in step 10 that this should be 10° each
way ... then again, it's not clear whether this is for the stick
or for the swashplate.
- When one adds up the dimensions, the pivot for the cyclic stick
should be 3-1/4" ahead of STA. 28. On mine, it is only 3-1/8"
and it appears that the plates were welded too far back which
prevented full stick movement without grinding the torque tube.
Sheet 19 - This shows two zerc fittings on top of
the pitch swivel that aren't on mine; confirmed with the factory
as a design change. In hindsight, I wish I'd added these zerc
fittings to ease maintenance by allowing greasing without having
to remove the many cotter-pinned bolts from a difficult to access
area.
- Lightening holes were added to horns.
- Not shown on the plans is an outer sleeve of 1-1/8" x .058
x ~7/8" long on the right side. This sleeve was welded to
the spreader bracket, fuse welded to the inner tube and also two
rosette welds to the inner tube.
Sheet 20 - The side view shows a 3/8" x .083"
bushing on the collective pivot support. My frame didn't have the
bushing or the grease nipple. If one was adding the bushing, it
would probably be easier to use 3/8" x .065 rather than
drilling out the .083 wall tube to 1/4" as indicated.
- Collars for the control stops were on both
ends of my collective pivot tube and the control stops themselves
are approximately 3/8" from the ends.
- The collective pivot tube supports show a 7/8" x .120"
x 2" stub. Mine were actually 2-1/2" long inboard of
the bracket; note that this may cause interference on the pilot's
side with the hole for the starter wire.
Sheet 21 - The walking beam linkage shown is
incorrect for kits with the straight control rods (Updated on May 05 revision).
- The tubes going from the transmission side mounts forward at an
angle have been removed for control rod clearance.
- The tubes going sideways and outward from the transmission side
mounts have been moved forward from the rear to the front of the
mounts.
Sheet 22 - Obviously, the walking beams are not
required with the change to straight control rods.
- The supports for the rod ends are not required with straight
control rods, although the ones inside the cab do add some
rigidity to the seat frames.
- Lightening holes were added to the walking beam arms.
Sheet 23 - It's my understanding that newer kits have a keyway and keyed coupler on the rear of the driveshaft rather than the single bolt as shown.
Sheet 24 - The tubes on the side mounts forward
at an angle have been removed.
- The tubes going sideways from the transmission side mounts have
been moved forward from the rear to the front of the mounts.
- Strut ends are shown as .065" whereas the supplied
struts had .125" ends.
- The lengths shown for the struts are wrong but I don't know if
they might have been accurate for the older cast pylon. Using the
anticipated hole positions and the hole-to-hole dimensions per
this sheet, the aft struts I received were 21-1/4" and 21-1/2"
long while the forward struts were approximately 16-1/2".
- The forward strut top view is wrong since there is no longer an
angled tube to mount it on. I assume the location (and possibly
the size) of the mounting tab has changed.
Sheet 25 - On production frames, the two front lower mount tubes are 3/4" tubing instead of the 5/8" shown. It's my understanding that this strengthening of the boom was determined not to be necessary.
Sheet 26 - Note that right lower mount is larger than the left one in order to act as a mount for the landing light.
Sheet 27 - I believe the 'TABS 3/4" x 3/4"
x .125" 4130 SHEET' at the bottom of the sheet refers to the
old style mount system and is no longer relevant.
- Although it is not shown, there is a requirement for a "dent"
in the upper right boom tube roughly at the front of the tail
rotor gear box plate in order to clear a rod end on the tail
rotor assembly.
Sheet 28 - The angle of the rear mount is shown
as approximately 20°. The mount on my frame was at ~24° which
is too much and required bending to get proper alignment ...
difficult to do with the welded brace.
- Both of the supplied mount positions required the cable
mounting nuts to be as close to the middle of the cable as
possible. My front mount was 7-1/2" from the back
of the pedal tube and forced me to use a cable extension ... if
it had been the specified 7-1/4" from the middle of the tube
then it would probably have just worked.
The rear mount was at the specified 7" from the rear of the
frame, but that should be an absolute maximum. If both mounts
were about 1/4"+ closer to their connection points then it
would allow more flexibility in the cable versus rodend
adjustments.
Sheet 29 - The cable rodend hardware shows AN960-10
washers whereas the Rigging Manual calls for stainless steel
allen head cap screw lock washers (i.e. split washers). The split
washers have a smaller outer diameter and allow for more movement
of the rodend.
- The hardware shows an AN365-1032A elastic stop nut placed on
the cable against the rodend essentially backwards of normal
which may cause installation problems. As an alternative, an AN315
nut with an MS27151 Pal check nut might be appropriate.
- #10 loop clamp shown should be a DG12 on the forward cable
stand-off to allow for the newer and larger lower braces on the
tail boom.
Sheet 30 - Seat bottom / back support shown as 2024-T3, but only 6061-T6 supplied (Updated on May 05 revision).
Sheet 31 - Vertical stabilizer shown as 2024-T3,
but only 6061-T6 supplied (updated on May
05 revision). Horizontal stabilizer shown as 6061-T6 but
the manual refers to 2024-T3.
- The manual refers to the horizontal stab as a folded sheet of
20" x 22" which would not yield a 10" width after
compensating for bend allowance.
Sheet 32 - I believe the "AN840-6D HOSE
NIPPLE FOR CRANK CASE VENT" is no longer used with the new
"pancake" oil tanks. Obviously the details of the oil
tank on this sheet have also changed.
- Crankcase cover referred to as 2024-T3 whereas 6061-T6 supplied.
Since the doubling boss is welded in place, this would not be
appropriate with 2024. The boss on the supplied crank case cover
plate was from .125 material, not .250 as might be inferred.
Sheet 33 - Tank cover and flange are referred to
as 2024-T3 whereas they appear to be 6061-T6.
- No dimension is given for the location of the crankcase oil
return boss. Mine was located about 3-1/4" from the edge but
I believe about 3-3/4" would have centered it better under
the boss on the engine. As to the offset from the other edge, I
forgot to write down the dimension, but it appears to be okay as
delivered.
- The plans show the "traditional" style of Baby Belle
oil tank. It appears that more recent kits are being shipped with
a totally different style of tank that essentially looks like the
pancake air tank that's on some small portable compressors. I
understand that this new tank is also plumbed differently and
does not use a separate crankcase vent line.
Sheet 35 - This clearly shows two nutplates on both cylinder 1 and 2 baffles to attach the oil cooler shroud. My pre-fabricated shroud only had one nutplate on each side.
Sheet 36 - May 05 revision shows the notches on shroud top for straight control rods.
Sheet 39 - May 05 revision shows the covers on shroud front for straight control rods.
Sheet 40 - The manifold I received was for the
360 engine and there seems to be some confusion about the
relevance of some of the following for a 320 engine. The actual
intake tubes are 1-3/4" vs. the 1-1/2" shown and I
assume the referenced radiator hose number is also changed. The
actual bend line is closer to the sump cover plate with about 3-3/4"
from the edge of the carburetor flange to the sump cover plate.
Note that in one view this is shown as 3" square and in the
other view it is shown as 3" wide x 4-1/8" to the bend
line. The manifold sits higher than shown with ~ 1-7/8" from
the top of the sump cover plate mounting flange to the carburetor-mounting
flange.
- The "3" HOSE FLANGE" as shown will require an
adapter plate to fit a MA4-5 carburetor. I'm not sure if it can
be directly bolted to a MA4 carb.
Sheet 43 - Bellcrank arms are made of .125 sheet
not the tubing shown.
- The distance from the C/L to the outside of the bellcrank arms
is shown as 1-1/2" whereas on my frame the arms were 3-3/4"
between centers. This puts the arms directly in line with the
center of the rod ends on the pedals and causes the connecting
rods to be canted regardless of which side they're put on.
Unfortunately I didn't find this out until after everything was
painted.
Green tape is in preparation for exterior painting
Sheet 44 - There is an ambiguity where it describes "use nutplates to attach sides" and "rivet one side to channel".
Sheet 45 - Brass fittings are specified for use
with Nylo-seal hose, but nylon fittings are supplied in the
instrument kit.
- Placing the static opening at the top of a line goes against
normal practice where one wants any collected moisture to drip
out of the line and not into an instrument.
- Although not necessarily an error, it should be noted that the
static line will need to be run to an altitude encoder if one is
using a transponder with a separate encoder for Mode C.
Sheet 46 - The width of the cyclic lock brace is
shown as 6". The tabs on my seat frames were welded such
that the bolts would be centered at 6" and thus the width of
the lock brace would be approximately 5" or 7" ... I
chose 5".
- There is a rigging Catch-22 with this lock as it makes
the rigging process much easier but my lock prevented the full
aft cyclic postion called for in the Rigging Manual.
- The depth of the cyclic lock brace is shown as 3" whereas
the rigging instructions call for the cyclic to be vertical. The
distance for my brace was just under 2-3/4" which is
consistent with the dimensions on Sheet 18 and this should be
checked on each craft before fabricating the brace.
Sheet 47 - Material for the carb heat selector
box specified as .032" 2024-T3 but only 6061-T6 supplied and
was also used for the one side of the filter box supplied as part
of the pre-fabricated shroud option.
- The side with the flapper valve is shown as a very sharp angle
whereas most builders tend to make it taller which promotes a
straighter airflow. I believe the templates and the Feb. 23/02
construction updates show this wider angle and also indicate
different bends and widths.
- The hot air inlet is generally on the top closer to the
exhaust and the cold air on the bottom.
- The flapper is shown as .065" 4130 whereas the Jan. 15/01
construction notes call out for .035" steel stock. The Feb.
23/02 update just refers to a "small steel plate".
Sheet 48 - Wiring for magneto switch and the
supplied cigarette lighter socket not shown.
- The 5 amp switch/breaker for the navigation lights is too small
as these three lamps are shown as 2 amps each in the Whelen
catalog. Another Whelen document shows the forward position lamps
as 1.9 amps each and the tail position lamp as 1.8 amps for a
total of 5.6 amps. I'll be using at least a 7.5 amp switch/breaker.
- Note that there is a discrepency in the POH where it states the
instrument lights are wired to the navigation light circuit
rather than a separate switch/breaker as shown in this diagram.
Wiring the instrument lights to the supplied navigation light
switch/breaker would further the overload on it.
- May 05 update adds pinouts for landing
light relay.
Sheet 49 - Same comments as Sheet 6 above re:
hole location, bushings and collars.
- Ground wheel axle had a welded washer on the inside rather than
the multiple washers shown.
Sheet 50 - This sheet shows the oil cooler fittings as 90° hose nipples, but AN844 45° hose elbows were supplied.
Sheet 51 - The belly pan is shown as 27"
wide whereas the pan on mine is closer to 20.5".
- Seven Door frame clips (part #17) are shown on each side
whereas my pre-fabricated frames had 8 clips on one side and 9 on
the other.
- The holes for the forward skid leg tubes in the sides (part #6)
are shown as slotted holes whereas they were round holes with a
single access cut on mine.
- The floor panel is not shown on this sheet nor on any other
sheet.
Sheet 52 - May 05 update added rivet spacing dimension for doors.
Sheet 53 - The ballast weight is shown as "FILL WITH LEAD". This weight is variable on a ship-by-ship basis as described in the POH under "Center-of-Gravity (CG) Limits" where it is stated that the general average is 14 pounds.
Sheet 55 - The fuel selector mount has now been
merged with the mounting tab beside it as shown on Sheet 3.
- The hole for an 8-32 screw is shown as 11/64" whereas most
aviation references show this as the slightly smaller #19 drill.
- The rivet holes are shown as 3/32" whereas it is normal
aviation practice to use the slightly larger #40 drill.
- The tail light mount shows 1/8" holes for the required 4-40
screws, but the holes on my mount were 3/16" which are
overly large.
Sheet 56 - The illustrated mixture arm and the
plate that is shown are for a MA4 carburetor as used on an O-320
or an O-360-J2A. A different mixture arm which possibly requires
a different adapter is supplied on the MA4-5 carburetors used on
most other O-360's.
- The reference to drilling out the center hole on the throttle
arm refers to the throttle lever on a MA4 carburetor. A MA4-5
carburetor has a different throttle lever with just one hole.
- Since the manifold I received was significantly different than
the one on Sheet #40, I would recommend that the throttle rod be
carefully measured rather than using the provided dimension.
- The mixture plate was supplied pre-cut/bent and appears to be
from stainless steel rather than 4130.
Sheet 57 - Not relevant as plastic rather than cast grips supplied.
Sheet 58 - I strongly recommend that a builder look at an alternate collective trim system since I believe the system shown and supplied is UNSAFE.
Sheet I - It is unclear what the purpose, size and exact location of the two holes in the swashplate bearing retainer wrench are meant for.
Sheet II - While the trammel would be quite effective if one ever has to duplicate a control rod, I don't believe it is required for basic fabrication and rigging.
Sheet III - Mounting dimensions 11-1/4" x 9-1/2" vs. 11-1/2" x 9-9/16" shown on Sheet # 8. Note that Superior's Vantage Installation & Operation Manual (P/N SVIOM01 Rev. A, page 24) for the [I]O-360 shows the conical mount dimensions as 11.106" and 9.540".
Sheet IV - These trailer blade supports are not normally used by the factory when using their own trailer which has both a fore and aft blade support.
Sheet V - The 6" channel iron that I used required a relief to be ground on the one leg as it rubbed on the crankcase join line on my XP-360 at what would be the normal bottom of the engine.
Unused Materials
My kit contained several items that I've chosen not to use. This was by personal choice and I leave it up to other builders to determine if they want to make similar choices. Perhaps it can be pre-arranged with the factory that these items are not shipped with the kit or that some form of a refund (less a re-stocking fee) is available upon their return.