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Jan - Dec 2015 Progress

Hard to believe another year has passed.  I hope everyone viewing this page had a wonderful 2014.  I am hopeful to see significant progress on the plane this year.

 

1/2/15:  Yesterday, I fitted the center console side panels and made the appropriate cuts to fit over the rudder tubes.  Then, drilled the holes to attach them.  More trimming will be required when I get the firewall in place.

 

 

1/11/15:  This weekend I worked on the right wingtip.  As with the left side, I started by trimming the main spar just enough to permit the wingtip to fit around the leading edge.  Then, using the same spacing used with the left side (bottom - 3 &1/16, top 2 & 15/16), I drilled #40 holes (27 total, 14 in top, 13 on bottom).  Then, I added a strip of fiberglass and resin to the inside of the wingtip.  This makes the wingtip more flush with the wing and also adds some edge reinforcement.  Next, I enlarged the holes in just the wingtip to 9/16, then countersunk each hole.  Then, I cut the trailing edge off the wingtip with the cuttoff tool.  The material from the trailing edge was then used as filler material (to match the thickness) as the trailing edge was glued together using Hysol.

 

 

1/26/15:  Over the past few days I worked on the butt ribs and door hinges.  I cut slots in the butt rub closeout where the butt rib attach strips protrude.  I then painted the closeout with aluminum primer, then paint.  I then drilled and installed the door hinges. I also installed the new latch mechanism on the pilot side door. 

 

 

2/1/15:  This weekend I completed the design and install of the door latching mechanism.  Now, each door has positive latching toward the front and the rear.  See video of the the latch in motion.  I also attached via rivets and hysol, the butt rib closeout on the pilot side.  Copilot side will be this week.  

 

 

2/17/15:  Over the past week or so I have been working on building the fuel sight guages.  Not too hard, but took some fitting to get it to fit.  I finished the left side & will do the right side when I get the right wing back out.  I also test fit the gas caps & found the vent tube needs to be bent to face forward.

 

 

2/22/15:  This weekend I finished the right wing fuel sight guage, so now both sides are done.  I will install them after all the painting is complete on the wings.  I also installed the header tank and the flange on the belly for access to the header tank quick drain.  Then, Jared, Becky and I attached the lexan to the door frames.  It took some steady hands to line up the holes just right before pressing the material into the double sided sticky tape since once its on, it on to stay.....

 

 

3/5/15:  Over the past 2 weeks. I received the stainless door channel material from Kitfox, my new stick grips with ptt on the top and the ACK E-04 ELT with the new 406 Mhz freq.  See installation photo's below.

 

3/16/15:  This past weekend, I added color to the left wing.  The blue extends 6" beyond the leading edge tapes on top and 5" on the bottom.  The white stripe and fushia stripe then just fit before hitting the fuel filler.  The white stripe is 0.75" and the fushia stripe is 1.5".  I created the curve by marking a point on the trailing edge 21 & 3/16 inches from the edge, then using a string and permanent marker to draw the curve.  I then put on high quality plastic tape along the line, then used rubbing alcohol to wipe off the permanent marker.  The white stripe was created by using 0.75" wide tape, then I used 1.5" tape to define the area for the fushia color.  Then, tape was run along the 1.5" tape, then the 1.5" tape was removed for painting.  The wing tips will be painted to match the curve on the wing.  Tip: use the best painting tapes you can find!

 

3/23/15: This past weekend, I temporarily attached the rudder so I could put the final stencil material on & get it painted.  Again, the stencil worked really well & after using up miles of tape and lots of paper, the rudder is now finished...

 

3/29/15: This weekend, Jared and I swapped wings on the rotiserie so I could start color paint on the right wing.  I finished the blue.  I used a laser level to make sure the lines were straight.  It worked very well.  On 4/6 I finished the purple accent stripe. 

 

4/11/15:  Today I got the blue color on the left wingtip. On 4/14 I painted the right wingtip white, then on 4/15 I added tapes to the left wingtip getting it ready to add the purple stripe.  On 4/18, I got the blue put on the right wingtip.

 

4/23/15:  Finished the purple stripe on the wingtips. 

 

4/28/15:  This evening I got the horizontal stab and elevator in the paint booth to get the blue on.  I used a similar method used on the wingtips to get the curve that goes from the leading edge to the tips.  Next, I will add the purple stripe.

 

5/4/15:  This weekend, I finished marking the horizontal stab and elevator in prep for adding the purple stripe.  Jeremy Beckman assisted with adding the purple.  Now that this is done, painting is done for a bit until I get the cowels and wheel pants

 

5/13/15:  Last weekend I took down the paint booth to make room for other activities such as panel work and install of the firewall and engine mount.  I ordered the FWF kit and am now committed to the Rotax 912iS engine.  Jeremy is traveling up to Kitfox next month to pick his kit up and will be picking up my FWF kit as well and driving it all back to Colorado.

 

5/26/15:  Not too much activity of late due to graduations, company, etc.  This evening I decided to cut out the triangle windows.  I used some poster board material to make a template first, then cut out the window using the dremel tool.  I plan on using silicon adheasive to glue them in place.

 

6/11/15:  Well, I ordered my FWF kit & wheel pants and my buddy Jeremy Beckman picked it all up while he picked up his kit in Homedale.  I have now committed my self to the Rotax 912iS engine since the FWF kit is designed around this engine.  So, in the past couple days I attached the firewall so that I can now complete the install of the ridder cables and the rudder.  I swagged my first set of cables and it went really well using the swage tool.  I had to splice only one cable on the co-pilot side since the existing cable was too short.  It was originally installed without the adjustable rudder pedals in mind.

 

6/21/15: Over the past couple days, I have been finishing up the rudder cable assembly and finally tonight, the ridder pedals actually move the rudder.  I think I am now done with swaging cables, which I actually enjoyed.  I took some time to make sure all the cables were tight and that both the pilot and co-pilot throw was the same.  I think I accomplished that.

6/30/15:  Tonight I finished the side panels for the center console.  Ready for carpet!

7/11/15:  Over the past couple weeks, Jared and I have been installing brake lines.  The brake line material is pretty tough and is somewhat difficult to bend in the right direction.  The solution is to use the heat gun to soften the material just enough to get it to bend in the direction you need.  A tip from the factory was to put a wire inside the tube so that it couldnt kink while applying heat.  I added a "patch" of fabric to help add strength to the penetration area.  I glued the patch using poly-tak.  I also got two rubber grommets that I glued into the hole in the fabic (hole made with a soldering iron).  This makes a nice transition through the fabric.  Note that I left about an inch of brake line material above the hole.  This is done to allow movement of the brake line as the gear flexes up and down while landing.  The seat clears the line with room to spare...I checked.:)

7/26/15: Finished up some more brake lines this week, then Jared and I test fit the tail feathers to make sure we have proper fit.  All went very well.  Then I attached the two brackets that are needed for the horiz stab trim sensor system.  One attaches to the frame and one to the horiz stab.  I also installed the nuts on the rudder bolts.  Quite a challenging task, but using two sets of wrenches, sometimes one click at a time, it got done.

8/8/15 - This week I wired up the horiz trim switch & then of course had to hook it up to a 12v battery to check it out!  Then I designed and mounted my ELT antenna bracket out of L shaped aluminum stock.  I ran a wire from the mount to a tab used for mounting the floorboard to electronicially bond the antenna to the airframe as required in the instructions.  I also used some tubing to prevent the antenna from moving around too much.  I also marked and cut out the material on the main wheel pants. The bottom wheel pant template did not come in the wheel pant kit so it was emailed to me however it came in an 8.5 x 11 format which is not the correct size.  I figured out that blowing it up 220% resulted in the right size template, then printed it out using poster format (printed 8 pages that I taped together).

8/29/15:  Back at it after attending the Kitfox factory fly-in at both Homedale and at McCall, ID.  We had a great time although we had to deal with lots of smoke from forest fires.  Today, I worked on the left wheel pant doing the final fitting and trimming and getting the holes and mounting screws in place.

9/7/15:  Finished up the cutting and sanding on the main wheel pants.  Also attached the spacers with Husol.  Paint is next.  Also, started assembling the nose wheel parts by installing bearings.  Also, installed the molex connector for the trim motor.

9/16/15:  I decided it was time to trim the boot cowl. So using a light to find the mounting tab hole through the fiberglass I was able to drill the bottom holes from the outside.  The top holes I could drill from the inside.  Then using the dremel, I trimmed the cowl to fit at the door opening.  Then, I had to sand quite a bit to fit the cowl just right on top of the frame. 

10/4/15:  Over the past couple weeks, I decided to add some protective covering to the brake lines.  I think it looks better.  Also, I have drilled and countersunk the side holes of the boot cowl.  I also added the side panels to the firewall.   Next I decided to go ahead & assemble the nose gear in prep for working the nose pant. 

10/20/15: Once the nose wheel was assembled, it was time to assemble and trim the nose wheel pant and then prime the main pants and the nose wheel pant. 


11/15/15:  Over the past month, I setup half of my paint booth so I could paint the skylight angle and put the first coat of white desothane on the wheel pants.  The skylight angle is needed to fit the windshield.  Next I decided to cut the NACA vent hole in the cowl.  I also ordered the SCAT tubing that carries the air from the NACA vent to the panel vent.  Next, it was time to get the windshield out of its box and get it fitted.  With the help of Jeremy, we fit the windshield.  This was another inexact science but we concentrated on getting a stright line in the acrylic where it meets the vertical frame by the doors.  I decided to leave a 1/4" overhang over the butt ribs to provide additional strength around the screws that attach the windshield to the butt ribs.  Lastly, I used a step drill to enlarge the holes for the rear spar attach bolts.  I also started assembly of the cabin heater.  I installed the pass through ports into the firewall and attached the fans to the radiator


12/20/15:  Before committing to drilling the holes through the windshield to the butt ribs, I decided that a wing fit check was in order to make sure the butt ribs were in fact in the proper place. Thankfully, the wing test went well and the left wing fit perfectly. With that confidence, I completed drilling the holes through the windshield into the butt ribs. Note that I left a approx. 1/4 inch overlap of the windshield over the butt ribs to allow more material between the holes and the edge of the material. I also left an overhang of the windshield beyond the skylight angle where the turtle-deck attaches. Now the windshield can be removed and will be installed later. Next, I installed the cabin heater core, the pass through's in the firewall and the two equipment shelves. I elected to bolt the core to the shelves vice using Adel clamps.

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