Jul 22, 2021     Brake Line Installation in the Tunnel       Category: Brake System

Ran the brake lines up the tunnel toward the firewall today. The left line is slightly shorter for the bend up and over toward the Parking Brake Valve. Used three Adel Clamps on each side of the tunnel then up the firewall and through a hole on the rudder pedal brace. There is a nut plate in the center of the firewall for two Adel Clamps to route the hoses together. I removed three rivets on each side of the tunnel that were securing the forward floor and enlarged the holes to accept the screws for the clamps. I added a rubber grommet to hold the lines securely in the rudder pedal brace. The hardest part was the Adel Clamps. I used a technique I saw on EAA Hints for Homebuilders, where Dick Koehler used safety wire to hold the clamp together while installing it. I was concerned at first that the lines may be too long but after installation they seem to fit very well. So far a very clean installation. Kudos to Tom Swearengen at TS Flightlines.

  Jul 17, 2021     Brake Line Installation Under the Seat       Category: Brake System

Began installation of the Brake Lines. I ordered custom Stainless Braid Teflon fluid lines from TS Flightlines. They seem to be very good quality and so far Tom Swearengen has been very helpful and great to work with. Van's instructions start out having you enlarge a hole on the hole on the bottom skin to 5/8" to accommodate a AN837-4D 45 degree nipple through the Gear Support. Then I started with the under seat lines. The lines rest in the bottom half of the System Bracket. I split a plastic bushing to protect the brake lines. After the fuel lines are installed another top half of the bracket is installed. The fuel lines will also be placed on this bracket with another part of the bracket installed on top to secure it all. The brake lines go inward to the tunnel and are routed through the tunnel skin with a AN833-4D 90 degree nipple. The tunnel brake lines are routed forward toward the firewall, under the heat duct tee and between the Heater Bypass Valves and bend up and over to the Parking Brake Valve.

  Jul 15, 2021     Parking Brake       Category: Brake System

Installed the Parking Brake System today. I'm using the AirWard Parking Brake Kit. The kit uses the Matco PVPV-D Valve, which is two valves ganged together and mounted to the firewall with an adapter. It's a very well manufactured kit but the illustrations on installation instructions are pretty much useless. You start by installing two nutplates in the adapter plate. Then attach an arm to the bottom of the Adapter Plate. The nyloc nuts were 13/64. Very small. I then attached the two AN816-4D straight nipples and the two AN822-4D 90 degree nipples to the valves. The kit supplied the Loctite 567 thread sealant which is applied to the NPT side of the nipple. The instructions have you remove the Van's Brake Bracket and install the Adapter in its place. The holes from the Brake Bracket line up perfectly to the Adapter Plate. The counter sunk holes on the back of the Adapter are aligned to allow the part to nest in the dimples on the cabin side of the firewall. There are two screws that are in the center of the Adapter you set from the engine side of the firewall and seal with Loctite. Then six 426AD3-4 flush rivets. They give you the option of using CCC-32 cherry rivets if access is an issue, but the standard rivets worked fine. I decided to put some labels on the valve for future reference. An arrow for flow direction, Right and Left valve, and even the size of the 3/32 Allen Set Screw used for the Cable Nut. It's a nice kit and easy to install. I may send AirWard some of my pictures so they can update their instructions.