Project: DaveBellairs   -  
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Builder Name:Dave Bellairs   -  
Project:   Vans - RV-7   -   VIEW REPORTS
Total Hours:1452.9
Total Flight Time:
Start/Last Date:Jun 24, 2017 - No Finish Date
Engine:Lycoming IO-360
Propeller:Whirlwind 200RV
Panel:Advanced Flight Systems Avionics
 
Friendly URL: https://eaabuilderslog.org?s=DaveBellairs

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Dec 18, 2023     Secured pitot and AOA connections in wing - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Took a break from wiring to address the issues with securing the pitot and AOA connections. Match drilled the bracket I made earlier to the wing rib with the pneumatic drill. Deburred the holes, clecoed the bracket and was barely and I mean barely able to get a rivet puller in through the access panel to be able to get to the rivet and actually pull it enough to get the mandrel to break off. I was then able to tighten down the Adel clamps to hold the connections in place. Connected the pitot and AOA tubes and called it a day. Glad to be done with this. Now to secure the wiring.


 
Dec 13, 2023     Pitot tube bracket - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Fabricated a bracket to secure the pitot lines in the wing. Installed a couple nutplates to hold the Adel clamps and attempted to install in the wing. Difficult if not impossible to tighten the Adel clamps with one hand. Will try and rivet the bracket to the rib then tighten the clamps. Still unsure if this is going to work.


 
Dec 12, 2023     Connected pitot and AOA - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Trimmed AOA and pitot tubing and attached to pitot tube. Spent some time trying to figure out how to secure the tubing and wires. No great solution yet.


 
Dec 11, 2023     Pitot tube and heat controller - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Wires from the pitot heat controller were long enough to reach outside the pitot mast so I connected the spade connectors of the controller and pitot and installed the pitot tube. Now to figure out how to secure the wires and tubing inside the wing.


 
Dec 10, 2023     Pitot mast installation - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed the pitot mast on the left wing. Took some time to cleco the bracket in place inside the wing “in the blind”. Used some RTV to seal the mast to the skin and reached inside the access hole to rivet the mast and bracket to the wing skin and rib. Hard to find and buck the rivets from the access panel as well. All in all it turned out ok and didn't have to drill out any rivets. Used pull rivets to secure the bracket to the near rib. There was just enough room to get the rivet puller inside the wing to “pop” the rivets. Installed the pitot tube for fit and remembered I needed to tighten the fittings to the aluminum tubing. If I had to do it again I would not have placed the pitot so far outboard. It's been a pain trying to do the installation from the nearest access panel. Still need to figure out how to secure the wiring and tubing inside the wing. Tightened up some wiring zip ties in the back of the fuse in preparation to finish that up.


 
Dec 09, 2023     Pitot heat controller installed - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Reinstalled the pitot heat controller in the left wing on a rib next to the access panel. Super tight quarters trying to get both hands in and secure the controller to the rib. Once the wings are installed I may regret this location, but will go with it for now. I can always mount it to the back of the access panel cover later if needed. From here I plan to connect the pitot tube and and secure the tubing. Not sure how I'm going to do that though. Wish the previous builder had not closed up the wings prior to this, but I think I can come up with a plan eventually. Some of the photos have light reflecting which is from the LEDs on my borescope lens.


 
Dec 03, 2023     Pitot mast support - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Clecoed pitot in mast in place to try and figure out placement and how to match drill the mast support. Decided to use the right angle drill through the hole in the wing to try and access the rib to drill into. Cut a small piece of scrap to simulate the thickness of the pitot tube. Match drilled the support to the wing rib with the right angle drill (barely reached the rib) and used my new cogsdil deburring bits to deburr the rib holes.


 
Jun 22, 2023     Tie down - (.5 hour)       Category: Wings
Tapped the hole in the tie down bar to 3/16x 24 one inch deep for the tie down. Hopefully won't interfere with the temp prob.


 
May 12, 2023     Roll servo wiring - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Spent some time cleaning up the shop. Spun the fuselage around with some help from the wife to keep me from running into anything. Opened up the tooling holes in the wing for a/p servo wiring. Opening up the tooling holes in the ribs near the root was a real challenge. Used a 12” bit and a step drill reaching in through the access holes.


 
May 09, 2023     Fuel caps - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Removed, disassembled, lubricated and reinstalled both fuel caps. This seemed to help the leaking around the caps. Thanks in large part to all the suggestions on VAF.


 
Feb 21, 2023     Tip light wires - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Finished the connector for the left wingtip lights and also completed the connector for the right wingtip.


 
Feb 20, 2023     Wingtip sanding and wiring - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Sanded the left wingtip/wing transition and removed the wingtip. Stripped wires and installed the FlyLeds connector for the nav/strobe lights.


 
Feb 16, 2023     Wingtip transition - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Sanded down the epoxy/micro I applied yesterday and added another layer to try and finish it off.


 
Feb 15, 2023     Wingtip leading edge - (.5 hour)       Category: Wings
Sanded the epoxy filler and applied another layer.


 
Feb 09, 2023     Fuel tank leak and wingtip blending - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Removed the sealant around the fuel pickup, loosened the nut and washer and resealed with proseal. Also added some epoxy filler to the wingtip to blend with the wing leading edge. Gonna need to prob touch up that area a couple more times.


 
Feb 05, 2023     Left wingtip leading edge - (.5 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed the left wingtip to check leading edge fit. Need to shore up with some epoxy/flox to even up wingtip to leading edge transition.


 
Feb 04, 2023     Fuel tank touchup - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Mixed up some proseal and touched up the fittings on both fuel tanks.


 
Jan 31, 2023     Fuel tank leak test - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Resealed the left wing fuel cap to try another leak test. Pressurized the tank and found a small leak at the fuel pickup fitting. Not sure if I'll just apply more proseal or remove the fitting nut and reseal.


 
Jan 30, 2023     Left wing fuel tank leak test - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Set up the manometer to test the left fuel tank for leaks.


 
Jan 22, 2023     Left wingtip lens - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Taped in place and drilled holes to attach the wingtip lens. Marked, drilled, countersunk and installed nut plates for lens attachment. Used new coarse bit to make countersinks for lens and wingtip.


 
Jan 21, 2023     Left wing fuel tank - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed left wing fuel tank cover plate and sealed both screws and plate with proseal fuel tank sealant. Again used the plastic bag technique to apply the sealant.


 
Jan 20, 2023     Right tank fuel sender - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed the fuel float sender cap on the right tank fuel cover plate. Used proseal to complete the installation with a small plastic bag to apply the sealant. Made for a much cleaner application. Also applied some sealant to the left wing tank fuel pickup that I neglected earlier. Since I had some leftover sealant I decided to use it to seal the hole in the firewall where the horizontal cowl pins lead in tube penetrate. Used some folded up paper to try and center the tube in the hole.


 
Jan 06, 2023     Left fuel tank pick up - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Temporary installed the fuel tank cover and fuel float. Amazing how much easier the task is the second time you do it. Plan to complete the installation once I have enough things that need proseal. That stuff is so messy and sticky I have to be in the right frame of mind to tackle those items.


 
Jan 05, 2023     Left wing fuel float - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Began assembly of left wing fuel float by,replacing stock fuel pick up with a screened version. Since my kit did not include the anti locking bracket, I drilled a hole in the tube nut and safety wired it to the bracket. Temporarily installed the fuel cover and adjusted the fuel pick up to avoid conflict with the fuel drain that I installed. Bent the float arm to recommended length and used a flashlight and mirror to view inside the fuel tank as you can see in the fuzzy picture. Assembled the fuel float using the plexiglass template I used on the right tank. It works great to adjust the range of the float via the access hole to the side.


 
Jan 04, 2023     Right wing fuel sender - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Removed the fuel tank cover to prepare to install the fuel float sending unit.


 
Dec 21, 2022     Pitot wiring - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Sam ran wires for the pitot heat regulator.


 
Dec 19, 2022     Left wing flap hinge - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Sam cut and bent the left flap hinge pin and hinge for center install and removal of hinge pin. Cut some scrap hinge to secure the pins to the wing with a couple eyelets and nutplate


 
Dec 12, 2022     Left flap hinge pin - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Sam removed some hinge pin eyelets from the left wing and left flap to provide access for hinge pin installation. Will secure the pins in the same way as the right wing


 
Dec 06, 2022     Flap pins - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Removed three eyelets from the right hinge pin to accommodate installation of the flap hinge pins. Cut and bent the hinge pin to secure it to the aft wing brace. Reinstalled the pins and placed the wing back in the cradle with Sam's help.


 
Oct 19, 2022     Fuel tank leak test again - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Was finally able to seal the fuel tank cap with some RTV and a trimmed plastic lid plus lots of packing tape. Pressurized the tank and let it sit overnight. Checked the manometer this morning and the water level had actually risen. This was due to a drop in the barometric pressure, so I'm considering this a positive leak test (finally); especially since the tank stayed pressurized overnight.


 
Sep 24, 2022     Wingtip lens - (.5 hour)       Category: Wings
After a busy few weeks at work and a positive Covid test finally got back into the shop. Match drilled and installed a nutplate on the bottom of the right wing to secure the wingtip lens.


 
Aug 06, 2022     Sanded down wingtip - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Sanded down wingtip again and found wingtip lens installation instructions.


 
Aug 05, 2022     Oil door hinge paint and wingtips lens - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Painted the oil door hinge and drilled #40 holes in the wingtip lens for #6 screws and nutplates.


 
Aug 05, 2022     Leak test again and wingtip sandin - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed new 3” wide tape over fuel cap and reinforced it with more tape. Tested for leaks again using the manometer with a 27” difference in water height in the tube per Vans instructions. Water actually rose in the open end of tube indicating a drop in air pressure, which according to my weather app, it dropped all day. Feeling pretty good that I don't have any leaks in the right tank.
Sanded down the wingtip to remove the “bad” West systems 410 fairing filler that could blister the paint on a hot day per the expert at the OSH RV fiberglass forum. Reapplied 407 fairing filler that supposedly will not cause blisters.


 
Aug 01, 2022     Fuel tank test cont'd - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Removed the balloon from the fuel tank vent and installed some plastic tubing to try the manometer test. Secured the tubing to a piece of 1/4” aluminum tubing with a couple safety wires. Pressurized the tank to get the 27” difference between the water line inlet and outlet. Still getting leaks around the fuel cap so ordered some 3” wide packing tape to try and get the entire cap covered with one piece of tape. To be cont'd.


 
Jul 24, 2022     Rt wing fuel leak test cont'd - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Flipped the right wing over and discovered a leak at the fuel cap. Also tightened the valve stem at the fuel drain. Secured new packing tape to fuel cap and tested for leaks again. No leaks on any rivets and so far none at the fittings. We'll see what the balloon looks like in the morning.


 
Jul 23, 2022     Wingtip leading edge - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Sanded down the wingtip leading edge and removed it from the wing. Wingtip seems way more solid now.


 
Jul 23, 2022     Fuel tank test - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed the Vans fuel tank test kit. Taped off the fuel cap and capped the fuel line from the tank. Installed the needle valve into the fuel drain and attached a balloon to the vent line. Initial attempt did not work as I had leaks around the vent line exit where I had trouble sealing off the balloon. Installed the small length of vent line and taped another balloon to the end. I pressurized the tank ever so slightly and began to spray a light coating of soapy water on the entire tank, or at least where I could reach. The balloon again indicated a leak so back to the soapy water test. Discovered the vent line and the capped fuel line were both leaking. Tightened up both fittings and balloon seems to be holding. We'll see what the morning brings.


 
Jul 21, 2022     Flap rods - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Measured and replaced the flap rods I made about 2years ago with hex ones from Cleaveland tool. These are way more substantial. We'll see how close I got to the correct length when I put the wings on the fuse again some day. Added a third coat of epoxy/filler to wingtip leading edge. Think this one should do it.


 
Jul 21, 2022     More fuel float - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Messed around again today adjusting the fuel float arm to hit just short of full and empty. Flipped the float around in the wire so it sits more aft and that seemed to help getting it just right. It's not perfect, but comes in very close once installed at 30 ohms resistance, which the instructions say is what it's supposed to be at full fuel. Since my quick build wings are vintage, ie 2005, the tanks did not have the anti rotation bracket for the pick up line. I drilled a very small hole in the hex of the fitting and safety wired the it in place. Mixed up some proseal and installed the cover plate and the fuel float. Proseal is the messiest, stickiest stuff ever and gets all over. Guess that's why it works so well. Plan to leak test the tank soon so I can get started on the next one. Sanded and applied more filler to the wingtip leading edge. It's close, but needs a few divots filled.


 
Jul 20, 2022     Fuel float template - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Made a template of the fuel float cover plate to be able to see into the fuel tank to adjust the float itself and be able to see the range of motion. Also made a large access hole to be able to move the float up and down. Several iterations of insert, test, bend wire and repeat. Think I have it where I want it to be able to proseal the tank shut tomorrow.


 
Jul 19, 2022     Wingtip leading edge - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Filled in the leading edge of the wingtip with epoxy fairing filler to match the wing.


 
Jul 18, 2022     Fuel float - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Made a wire template of the fuel float wire with bends. Got the correct fuel float assembly for the right wing and bent wire of float to fit and ensure full range of motion. Decided the wire template was not needed especially since I found a Vans drawing for the floats in one of the float boxes. Oh, well.


 
Jul 17, 2022     Fuel floats - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed the Ray Allen flap sensor in aft fuselage near flap arm. Moved the left wing to the table (Sam helped) to begin installation of the fuel floats and seal up the fuel tanks. Removed quick build fuel pick up and installed the screened version.


 
Jul 17, 2022     Wingtip wing side hing - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Sam was home for a couple days from doing his two week summer drill in SUX. He riveted the hinges to the end of the wings for attaching the wingtips. Had to dimple one side before riveting that Dad forgot. Oops. Only had to drill out a couple rivets.


 
Jul 03, 2022     Wingtip sanding - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Sanded right wingtip with 220 in preparation for paint, per Al Mullenbach who will hopefully be painting parts starting this winter. Can't really tell I did much.


 
May 26, 2022     Wingtip trailing edges - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Sanded trailing edge of both wingtips after applying epoxy filler yesterday. Came out pretty well with a few voids I'll need to fill. Match the ailerons well


 
May 25, 2022     Wingtip ribs and trailing edge - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed the rivets to attach the wingtip ribs to the flanges. Also sanded the trailing edge of the wingtips. Mixed up some epoxy filet filler and filled the voids from when I cut the trailing edge to match the ailerons. Will sand again to match.


 
May 24, 2022     Wingtip rib installation - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Scuffed, primed and installed both left and right wingtip ribs plus flanges. Should have riveted the flanges to the wingtips first. Not sure how I'm gonna reach them now. May try and run out after supper and remove the ribs and reinstall. Was able to separate the pieces and reinstall. Riveted the wingtip ribs in place. Whew!


 
May 22, 2022     Left wingtip hinge - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed, prosealed and riveted left wingtip -3 hinge in the wingtip. Also trimmed both upper and lower hinges at the trailing edge


 
May 21, 2022     Wingtip trailing edge glass - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed fiberglass and epoxy inside wingtip at the trailing edge to reinforce the area I trimmed to match the aileron. Will fill the outside trailing edge with flox to sand and match the ailerons.


 
May 19, 2022     Wingtip rib flange - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Fabbed a small flange for the bottom of the left wingtip rib for support where I removed material that interfered with the lower hinge. Drilled, deburred and match drilled flange to the left wingtip. Trimmed the wingtip at the leading edge to aid in installation. Countersunk the new holes drilled in the wingtip for AN426 rivets. Marked and drilled hole in plastic anchor block for bottom pin in left wingtip.


 
May 18, 2022     Left wingtip bottom hinge - (5 hours)       Category: Wings
Drilled, deburred and match drilled the -3 half of the left wingtip bottom hinge using the -4 half as a guide for the -3 hinge location. Countersunk the holes in the wingtip for AN426-3 rivets and clecoed hinge in place for a test fit. Trimmed the wingtip to remove the “spacer” section and installed on the wing. Unfortunately it has the same play/movement as the right wingtip at the trailing edge. Not sure how I'm going to correct this, but will work on it some more once I get the wings out of the cradles. Trimmed the bottom of the left wingtip rib where it interferes with the hinge and match drilled it to the wingtip with the blind hole tool aligning it with the rivet line.


 
May 17, 2022     Left wingtip bottom hinge - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Decided to install a hinge on the bottom of the left wingtip that will hopefully be somewhat more secure than the right. Used my rivet fan to lay out holes in between the ones already in the bottom of the wing. Match drilled the wider -4 half of the hinge to the wing, then drilled out the additional holes once the hinge half was secure with clecoes. Removed the hinge half and installed it into the left bottom wingtip and match drilled the additional holes to the wingtip. Marked the centerline of the narrower -3 hinge half and used the -4 hinge half once again to mark the -3 half for rivet holes.


 
May 16, 2022     Left wingtip rib flange - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Drilled and deburred the top half of the left wingtip flange. Match drilled to left top wingtip.


 
May 16, 2022     More Wingtip rib flange work - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Match drilled wingtip flanges to the tops of both wingtips. Used my right angle, which worked quite well. Fabbed another wingtip rib flange for the bottom of the right wingtip rib. Drilled, deburred, and match drilled to the wingtip.


 
May 14, 2022     Wingtip rib flanges - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Fabbed two small angles to replace the ones I removed from the wingtip rib to prevent interference with the hinges. Got the fit wrong on the first, but was able to use it for the other wingtip and made the second correctly. Marked, drilled, deburred and match drilled to each wingtip rib. Gonna have to use the right angle drill to match drill the flanges to the wingtips in tight quarters. We'll see how that goes.


 
May 13, 2022     Wingtip ribs - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Laid out, marked and match drilled the right wingtip rib to the wingtip using a blind hole guide. It worked really well for this task. Di same for the top of the left wingtip and rib. Still undecided if I'm going to install a hinge on the left wingtip bottom due to movement of the right wingtip.


 
May 12, 2022     Wingtip and cabin heat duct proseal - (6 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed, riveted and prosealed cabin air duct to inlet diffuser, oil door frame, top of left wingtip and top and bottom of right wingtip. Had some trouble riveting one corner of the cabin inlet duct so decided to use a #6 screw. Pneumatic squeezer was a life saver on the wingtip hinges. And BTW I hate working with proseal.


 
May 10, 2022     More wingtip backer rod - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Glassed in more backer rod in the top of both wingtips. Glad this is done. Not my favorite mini project. Created lots of fiberglass scraps and used lots of latex gloves.


 
May 09, 2022     Wingtip backer rod - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Marked wingtip and installed door sealant backer rod with fiberglass and epoxy in bottom of wingtips to prevent “oil canning” of wingtip when pressed.


 
May 03, 2022     More wingtip work - (3.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Marked, drilled and deburred wingtip hinges to 7/32” holes. This is to aid in the adhesion of the proseal to the hinge and security to the wingtip. Made a new fiberglass countersink tool from a worn dremel bit. Seemed to work well after trimming down on the grinder. Countersunk all the wingtip holes for -3 rivets.


 
May 02, 2022     Wingtip reinforcement - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Determined location of wingtip “oil canning”, laid out and epoxied in backer rod from Lowes to prevent this flexing of the wingtip. Other builders have noted that their paint has cracked from someone leaning or pressing on their wingtip. Some have also seen vibration of the wingtip in flight. Decided the 1/2” rod is too large so will get the 3/8” for the rest of the installation.


 
Apr 29, 2022     Pitot and AOA line connectors - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed the AN fittings on the pitot and AOA lines. Staggered the fittings to fit thru the pitot mast. Tested fit in wing. It's tight but should work as is a lot of things on this project.


 
Apr 19, 2022     Pitot tube inlet tubes bent wrong - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Discovered that I had bent the pitot tube supply lines in the wrong direction. Carefully bent the lines in the correct orientation and test fit connectors.


 
Apr 16, 2022     Pitot line Adel clamps - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed a couple -4 Adel clamps to prevent chafing with the bolts on the aileron bell crank.


 
Apr 14, 2022     Pitot controller - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Drilled and countersunk holes in the pitot controller for nut plates, since I was not able to install the controller with screws and nuts. Temporarily installed the controller in the wing via the access panel. Very tight quarters, but the nut plates worked as hoped.


 
Mar 17, 2022     AOA and pitot lines - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Opened up the tooling holes to 3/8” at the root of the wing for the AOA tubing. Used the 12” bit I got yesterday and a step bit to reach the inside rib. Installed plastic grommets and inserted both tubes with some extra on each end.


 
Mar 15, 2022     Pitot controller - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed template for pitot controller in left wing and match drilled for #8 screws to rib adjacent to pitot. Made for tough drilling and deburring with very limited access to backside. Tried to install controller but it's going to be darn near impossible to get to hardware on back of rib. Even tried my washer tools to access the backside without success. Can't install controller on facing side of rib due to raised portion of rib around lightening holes. Bent AOA and pitot aluminum tubes to fit in wing and through pitot mast. May have to cut one short to get mating hardware to fit through the pitot mast. Applied another thin coat of epoxy and fairing filler to canopy fairing.


 
Mar 14, 2022     Pitot tubing - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Changed gears a bit today and started working on the pitot tube tubing and AOA tubing. Previous builder had already sealed up the bottom skins of the wing so working inside the wing through the access panels was a bit challenging say the least. Opened up the upper tooling hole to 3/8” to accommodate the AOA tubing. Ran into a little roadblock a the root of the wing where the ribs are to close together to get a drill inside. Had to order a 12” drill bit to finish the tube routing. Made a template to mount the heat controller to a rib for the pitot. Clamped in place for now. Controller will have to go on the outboard side of the rib to avoid the bump out of the lightening holes. Sanded down the canopy fairing again..


 
Mar 04, 2022     Pitot mast - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Countersunk the holes I drilled earlier in the pitot mast for the 6-40 mounting holes.


 
Mar 03, 2022     Wingtip hinge pin anchors and pitot tube screws - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Fabbed the hinge pin anchors that secure the hinge pins from vibrating aft/out of the wingtip. Drilled the cutting board block (1/2”) for the pins and the #10 screw that will hold it secure it to the wingtip rib. Riveted the nutplate in place on the wingtip rib.
Received some #6-40 stainless screws from Mike Bullock that he used on his pitot tube as he had a lot extra per his build site. Tapped the pitot tube for 6-40 screws without damaging the pitot lines or the electrical wires, at least I think. Thanks a bunch for the screws Mike.


 
Feb 28, 2022     TE Wingtip trimming - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Trimmed the trailing edge of each wingtip to match the trailing edge of the ailerons. Installed, marked and cut the left wingtip hinge pin for installation in the anchor block. Did some planning on the alternate air door control cable. Think I found a good spot for the firewall pass through. You can just barely make out my mark on the firewall in the photo. Gonna use the tab on the engine sump for an Adel clamp to route it to the alt air door.


 
Feb 27, 2022     Wingtip rib nutplates - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Fabbed a wooden hinge pin stop. The final product will be a delrin or plastic block that will secure the aft end of the pins to keep the pin from vibrating out. Fit check the right wingtip rib into the wingtip to check and trim the hinge pins. Finalized location of hinge pin anchor block and marked for screw and nutplate. Drilled both ribs for #10 nutplates. Will wait to drill hole to final size and match drill to anchor block.


 
Feb 26, 2022     Right wingtip rib - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Trimmed right wingtip rib where it interferes with the hinge. Fitted rib to wingtip and trimmed the hinge ends that interfered with the stop screws installed earlier. Fabbed a flange to replace the one that was trimmed. I'll use it to attach to outboard side of the rib to the wingtip. At least that's my plan.


 
Feb 25, 2022     Wingtip ribs - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Spent more time on the wingtip ribs. Measured and drilled rivet holes for the left rib. New rivet spacer tool worth every bit of the cost; worked great. Fabbed a new flange for the portion removed that conflicted with the hinge. Planning to attach it to the outboard side of the rib to support the forward part of the rib. Struggled a bit with the location on the rib and hinge for the new flange. Began work on the placement of the right wingtip rib. Seems the sweet spot is right where the rib meets the fiberglass edge near the trailing edgeinside the wingtip.


 
Feb 24, 2022     More wingtip rib work and coil pack Adel clamps - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Fabbed up a wooden aileron profile to help with placement of the wingtip rib. Clamped the rib in place and moved forward and aft until it matched the wooden aileron. Just to be more accurate I made two inch tic marks on both the wooden rib and wingtip on both top and bottom. Measured the distance at each tic mark and compared the two. Came in very close so I match drilled a hole from the wingtip to the rib. This is as close as I can get until I mount it on the wing and trim the trailing edge.
Also drilled out the remaining 3 Adel clamps for AN4 bolts (1/4”) to mount the ElectroAir coil pack to the engine mount.


 
Feb 23, 2022     Wing tips and pitot tube - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Fiddled around some more with the wingtip rib location. Thinking of removing the rib flange where it interferes with the hinge and riveting a new flange to the rib to compensate for the hinge. That would give the tip the full support of the rib without removing a large portion. Also match drilled, with a drill stop to prevent damage to the pitot tube plumbing, the pitot tube mast to the pitot tube after much measuring and marking. Always stressful drilling into new high dollar parts. All went as well as could be expected. Not sure if I'm going to use 6-32 screws or 6-40. Don't really think it makes much difference.


 
Feb 10, 2022     Hinge wingtip Screw stops - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed wingtip hinge screw stops to both wing hinges using #4 stainless sheet metal screws. Added another coat of paint to inlet diffusers.


 
Jan 19, 2022     Left wingtip - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Countersunk the wingtip spacer that was trimmed off earlier and dimpled the end of the wing for the spacer. Clecoed the hinge and spacer back in place.


 
Jan 18, 2022     Wingtip hinge trimmed - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Removed right wingtip lower -4 hinge to trim the leading edge flange I left in place to be sure it was long enough. Measure twice, cut once, throw out the part and order another. Haha. No pics today. Spent some time making a to-do list.
 
Jan 11, 2022     Wingtip nav PCB nutplates - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Riveted a one legged #6 nutplate at the tip of the wingtip to secure the nav light PCB. Regular two legged nutplate just wouldn't fit with the curve of the tip. Marked the left wingtip for trimming of the trailing edge and removed from the left wing. Installed the same one legged nutplate on the left wingtip.


 
Jan 05, 2022     Left wingtip - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Trimmed the top of the left wingtip for hinge. Installed the wider half of hinge on the wing with the trimmed piece as a spacer. Installed the left wingtip to the wing leaving the bottom untrimmed to utilize #6 screws. Clecoed wingtip in place using the top hinge and bottom edge of wingtip. Trailing edge of wingtip is rock solid with this type of configuration versus using hinges on top and bottom.


 
Jan 03, 2022     More left wingtip hinge - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Finished match drilling -4 wide hinge half to wing and assembled with -3 narrow hinge half for match drilling-3 hinge to wingtip.


 
Jan 02, 2022     Left tip hinge - (2 hours) Category: Wings
Marked and began match drilling wider -4 hinge to left wing.
 
Dec 19, 2021     Landing lights and oil door - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Reassembled landing light that I damaged after getting repair from Aeroleds. Attempted to paint the oil door support bracket with some white epoxy paint, but the paint ran and spotted. Gonna try again with primer.


 
Dec 18, 2021     Wingtip hinge - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Started to trim the top of the left wingtip and realized I needed to match drill the other side of the hinge on the wingtip before going further. Oops. Only affects about 4 rivets, so hopefully won't have much of an impact.
Match drilled the left top, narrow -3 hinge half using the -3 top hinge from the right side.


 
Dec 17, 2021     Nav light nut plates - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed a couple nutplates for each nav light PCB. Need the one legged nutplates for the screws that are near the very tip as the fiberglass curves and won't support a regular nutplate


 
Dec 16, 2021     Wingtips and lights - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Finished match drilling the top of left wingtip to wing. Decided to secure the nav lights to the tips with screws instead of double sided tape as suggested in the instructions. Didn't want to have to try and peal the PCB off if needed. Drilled to #40 for now. Will install nut plates for #6 screws


 
Dec 14, 2021     Left wingtip - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Aligned left wingtip with the left aileron using the tooling holes and alignment tool per dwg 12. Secured the wingtip and match drilled to the wing.


 
Dec 13, 2021     wingtips - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Marked right wingtip for trimming the trailing edge to match the trailing edge of the aileron. Used the top hinge from the right wing to match drill the extra holes in the top left wing for the left wing hinge.


 
Dec 08, 2021     Wingtip fit and trimming - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Tried to firm up the trailing edge of the right wingtip. Put some tape around the leading edge with no change. Also tried a couple different straps to secure the trailing edge of the hinge. Installed both with no better result. Decide to begin work on the left wingtip with the idea of using screws on the bottom of the wing and see if this keeps the trailing edge from moving. Began trimming the edge of the left wingtip to fit the left wing. Installed left wingtip to check fit and align with aileron. All geared up for flying fiberglass dust.


 
Dec 07, 2021     Installed wingtip - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed wingtip to wing to check fit. It all looks good, but have about an 1/8” wiggle at the trailing edge. Gonna check on line to see if others have had a similar issue.


 
Dec 05, 2021     Wingtip trimming - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Trimmed and sanded edge of right wingtip. This trimmed edge will be used as a spacer for the wider wing side hinge. Countersunk the trimmed portion using a deburring tool. Worked better than countersink tool. Just had to use consistent pressure and a short pull on the trigger. Installed on wing to check fit.


 
Dec 04, 2021     Wing tip match drilled top hinge - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
March drilled the holes on the -3 side of the top hinge to the wing tip. Think I'll use this technique on the left wingtip as well


 
Dec 03, 2021     Top right wingtip - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Laid out hole pattern for -3 hinge for top right wingtip. Decided to drill hinge first then match drill to wingtip. I'll see how this works using my right angle drill taking care not to push too hard preventing break out on outside of fiberglass wingtip. Set up a jig on the drill press to ease drilling and ensure hole edge distance.


 
Nov 28, 2021     Wingtips - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Marked hinge and match drilled wide side of hinge (-4) to end of right top wing.


 
Nov 22, 2021     Wingtip hinge - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Finished match drilling narrow side of hinge to bottom of right wingtip.


 
Nov 21, 2021     Wingtip work continued - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Matched drilled wider half (-4) of hinge to bottom of right wing. Wider half of hinge used to cover any gap between wing and wingtip joint. Lots of measuring and marking. Began match drilling narrower half (-3) of hinge to wingtip.


 
Nov 20, 2021     Wingtip match drilling - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Match drilled wing extra holes to wingtip for hinge attach.


 
Nov 19, 2021     More wingtip work - (2.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Continued work on wingtips. Aligned right wingtip with aileron and attached it to the wing. Matched drilled the wingtip to wing and removed. Made a jig to drill additional holes in between predrilled holes on the wing to support the hinge. Drilled said holes.


 
Nov 12, 2021     Wing tip alignment - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Made tool for wingtip to aileron alignment per dwg 12A. Installed wingtip and matched drilled a few holes to secure right wingtip to end of wing in preparation for hinge installation. What you see in the photo that looks misaligned is the wing flap.


 
Nov 11, 2021     Wing tip - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Began trimming right wing tip to fit wing flange in preparation for hinge installation.


 
Aug 04, 2021     Wing tip lens - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Sam cut and fit remaining wing tip lens.


 
Feb 12, 2020     Pitot tube mast - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Marked and cut lower wing skin for pitot tube mast.. very scary cutting lower wing skin. 😳


 


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