Project: S-21   -  
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Builder Name:Kent Ingram   -  
Project:   Rans - S-21 Outbound   -   VIEW REPORTS
Total Hours:538.2
Total Flight Time:
Start/Last Date:May 09, 2020 - No Finish Date
 
Friendly URL: https://eaabuilderslog.org?s=S-21

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May 10, 2020     Start-Rudder - (3.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Begin rudder assembly, had most of frame and skin clecoed before realizing that leading edges of skin needed to be rolled.


 
May 11, 2020     Rudder completed - (2.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Rolled leading edge of rudder skin, clecoed assembly together, leveled as best I could. Drill blank side of rudder front spar, cleco and rivet. Bring leading edge skins together and rivet.


 
May 11, 2020     Rudder completed - (2.5 hours) Category: Empennage
Rolled leading edge of rudder skin, clecoed assembly together, leveled as best I could. Drill blank side of rudder front spar, cleco and rivet. Bring leading edge skins together and rivet.
 
May 12, 2020     Vertical Stab - (2.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Pull parts and arrange, begin optional tail pull handle installation on side skins.


 
May 14, 2020     Vertical Stab frame riveting - (1.5 hours) Category: Empennage
Pulled most rivets on vertical stabilizer frame. Not much time to work after sunset and before tired.
 
May 16, 2020     Vertical stabilizer pull handle and skin work - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Cleco skins to frame of vertical stab to fit doublers and components of optional pull (ground handling) handle on bottom aft corner. Some work on handle had begun on previous entry. Pulled some rivets, (mainly the doubler) on left side of stab.


 
May 17, 2020     Vertical stabilizer skin and leading edge fitting - (2.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Shaped trailing edges of leading edge skin, fitted to body of vertical stab, install pull handle receiver tube in lower aft corner. Begin riveting on left side of vertical stabilizer skins. Lot of different lengths of rivets used, slow and deliberate pace being kept.


 
May 18, 2020     Riveting vertical stabilizer - (.5 hour) Category: Empennage
Drilled left side skin to fit through forward spar of vertical stab and pulled a few rivets. Short night
 
May 19, 2020     Finish riveting left side vertical stabilizer - (1.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Finish pulling rivets on left side of vertical stabilizer.


 
May 21, 2020     Rivet right side of vertical stabilizer - (2.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Match drilled holes from leading edge skin through front spar of vertical stab. Riveted right side skin on vertical stabilizer. Used dremel to knock down and smooth any protruding rivet stems.


 
May 24, 2020     Tail pull handle and Horizontal Stabilizer frame - (5.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Measured, cut and joined the two tubes that form the tail lift/pull handle before starting horizontal stabilizer. A light coating of J.B. Quick was used.

Gathered all parts for the horizontal stabilizer frame, pressed bushings into elevator hinges, fluted the ribs to remove bowing, cleco the entire frame and begin riveting.


 
May 25, 2020     Horizontal stabilizer skin prep - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Finish riveting horizontal stabilizer frame, then level it on 2 x 4's in preparation for skins.

Attach access cover rings to top side of horizontal stabilizer skins and begin fitting. Added enough clecos to hold things but will have to wait for dimpler supplies before the skin can be riveted. Set the assembly aside to begin work on elevator.



 
May 30, 2020     Rolling elevator skins - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
My perfect 1.25��metal tube that was used to roll the rudder leading edges was too short for the elevator skins. PVC pipe with an O D of a freckle under 1.25��was used. Pulled a piece of 2x2 from long shipping crate as an attempt at a handle. Problem was that any hardware attaching the two would then dimple the skins. Two people with screwdrivers through holes in the ends worked pretty well.

Carefully layed out all 4 skins and wrote their orientation on them before rolling. Match drilling first skin then fit the remaining skins. Wife helped with rolling and the actual process was quick for each skin.


 
May 31, 2020     Elevator frame layout and elevator horn fitting - (2.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Gathered all parts for the frame of the elevator, assembled with clecos, didn't get photos of the assembly.

Match drilled two ribs to the elevator horn, one at a time and then assembled them together with clecos before riveting. Fit is very nice. Riveted the elevator horn assembly and when done test fit to forward spar joint of elevator. There is some mismatch with the horn assembly being a bit wider than the spar joint plate holes. Made a good stopping point, will consult with RANS for advice.


 
Jun 02, 2020     Elevator horn install and start riveting elevator frame       Category: Empennage
Consult with Randy Schlitter confirmed that we can chase drill or ream the holes to attach the elevator horn since the load is in the other direction. Actually riveted the joining plate to both sides of the forward elevator spar first and then fit clecos in the two middle holes of the horn assembly, then prying these two clecos apart pulled the ribs in enough that using a straight reamer only removed minimal material and fit the rivets easily.

Riveted the first rib or two out from the middle of the elevator.


 
Jun 02, 2020     Elevator horn install and start riveting elevator frame Category: Empennage
Consult with Randy Schlitter confirmed that we can chase drill or ream the holes to attach the elevator horn since the load is in the other direction. Actually riveted the joining plate to both sides of the forward elevator spar first and then fit clecos in the two middle holes of the horn assembly, then prying these two clecos apart pulled the ribs in enough that using a straight reamer only removed minimal material and fit the rivets easily.

Riveted the first rib or two out from the middle of the elevator.
 
Jun 03, 2020     Riveting elevator framework - (1.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Finish riveting the basic elevator frame together. Working on elevator before finishing horizontal stabilizer because I am waiting on dimple dies to fit flush rivets in middle of that piece.


 
Jun 04, 2020     Rivet servo ribs into elevator frame - (1.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Debured and riveted nut plates into two ribs that will hold trim servo. Riveted these ribs into elevator frame. Was short an elevator trailing edge skin so set assembly aside and will move back to work on horizontal stabilizer.


 
Jun 06, 2020     Drill spars on horizontal stabilizer - (4.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Used every cleco in the bucket! Attach elevator skins to frame and level, check for twist both before and after turning over to cleco 2nd side. When 2nd side was done and levels checked (this leaves the undrilled flanges of both spars facing up) I match drilled through the skins into those flanges. Initial drilling #40 and then using a straight #30 reamer chucked in drill seemed to make the cleanest holes. Those holes clecoed and then assembly turned over, rechecked level / twist and drilled that side. These flanges were drilled to #40 from factory and just needed to be upsized to #30. All clecos removed so skins and flanges can be deburred.


 
Jun 08, 2020     Deburring horizontal stabilizer skins - (1.2 hours)       Category: Empennage
Deburr both inner and outer side of left side horizontal stabilizer skin.


 
Jun 09, 2020     Deburring horizontal stabilizer skins - (1.0 hour)       Category: Empennage
Deburred 2nd side of horizontal stabilizer skin.


 
Jun 10, 2020     Countersink Horiz Stab frame - (1.0 hour)       Category: Empennage
After 120 degree countersink bit arrived I was able to countersink the holes in the middle of the horizontal stabilizer frame. This area will be mated with the tail one and have fairings applied so the rivets will be flush. Short night, so will dimple ribs next night


 
Jun 13, 2020     Riveting Horizontal Stabilizer skins - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Reassemble frame & skins of horizontal stabilizer and cleco together, after checking for flat and level begin riveting skins to frame.


 
Jun 14, 2020     Riveting horizontal stabilizer skins 2 - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Further riveting of first side of horizontal stabilizer skins to frame. Finished top side and then smoothed all rivet heads so to help leveling when flipped. Started riveting on bottom.


 
Jun 15, 2020     Riveting horizontal stabilizer 3 - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Riveting bottom of horizontal stabilizer and smoothing rivets. Finish basic part of horizontal stabilizer but still have tips etc. to finish.


 
Jun 22, 2020     Elevator frame prep and assembly - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Gathered, debuted as needed, laid out and cleco together parts of elevator framework assembly.


 
Jun 27, 2020     Elevator assembly - (6.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
About 4.0 hours spent today were actually on physical assembly. A large amount of time was spent clarifying what I believe to be the proper order to rivet and assemble elevator and trim tab assembly together, the text manual doesn't mention riveting before attaching the trim tab to elevator but assembly pics online seem to confirm that the top skin of the elevator is indeed riveted first. Only one side of both the forward and aft spars are pre drilled to ensure you can assemble a straight, flat elevator. Everything clecoed together and trueness confirmed before drilling those. Actual assembly of elevator frame and skins was productive.


 
Jun 28, 2020     Rivet top elevator skin - (3.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Top skin of elevator was riveted with lower skin still clecoed as assembly weighted to hold flat to leveled 2x4 aluminum beams. Trim tab parts laid out and some clecoed together.


 
Jun 29, 2020     Drill trim tab spar, one edge - (2.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Match drilled the trim tab spar with the assembled skin. Disassembled and deburred. Tried using a common ink pen tip as a drill guide to center a #40 hole first and then followed with a #30 straight reamer.


 
Jun 30, 2020     Rivet trim tab - (1.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Demurred as needed after drilling, before assembling trim tab. Weighted trim tab to flat aluminum beams for assembly.


 
Jul 01, 2020     Prep elevator for trim tab install - (1.0 hour)       Category: Empennage
Bring elevator assembly back to work table and set up supports to hold assembly level while attaching trim tab. Spent quit a bit of time leveling the tables and 2x4's to assure flat, level assembly.


 
Jul 02, 2020     Attach trim tab hinges - (1.5 hours)       Category: Empennage
Drilled and attached hinge halves to trim tab. Three hinges total. Work ended more quickly than anticipated as I drilled under a fingernail with a thankfully small drill bit while drilling through the rear elevator spar to attach opposite hinge halves.


 
Jul 04, 2020     Attach trim tab to elevator and rivet lower skin on elevator. - (5.0 hours)       Category: Empennage
Finished drilling holes to attach hinge halves to rear elevator spar. Fit worked out very well. Once that was all good, the lower skin of the elevator assembly was riveted to the frame. Leading edges clecoed and then riveted, finishing the main body of the elevator.


 
Jul 06, 2020     Deburring front spar / leading edge - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Picture doesn't look like much, but all edges of all openings as well as all holes in the d spar were smoothed down / deburred, a rather time consuming project.


 
Jul 09, 2020     Piece gathering - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Gathered parts that will be needed for wing assembly. Also deburred rear spar and took off some sharp edges. Stapeled most parts bags to side of crate for organization.


 
Jul 11, 2020     Wing spar doublers-left wing - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
First checked spar length with tip rib, checking for flush fit before proceeding. Cleco forward and aft spar attach doublers and foreword and aft truss doublers. The foreword spar foreword doubler did require some contouring to fit inside of d-spar flush.


 
Jul 12, 2020     Bellcrank assemblies left wing - (2.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Press bearings into aileron and flap bellcranks, assemble as per instructions. Also assembled aft spar attach fittings, a very snug fit!


 
Jul 13, 2020     Wing truss joined to front spar - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Cut out lean wing truss shim and after assuring that no extra powder coat inside of mounting holes of truss, it was joined to the leading edge / d-spar. Also attached strut truss fittings to the truss, this requires match drilling those fittings to a particular location on the truss. Some question as to whether or not there is to be a washer added between the truss and the fittings, text calls for them but they are not shown in the diagrams. Email to aircraft tech sent.


 
Jul 14, 2020     Ribfest - (3.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Pulled all required wing ribs from inventory for left wing. Fluting pliers used to flatten ribs as much as possible. Drilled aileron and flap hinges to accept flange bushings, used drill press. Cut out attach angle for root rib from parts assembly and clecoed, checking for fit. Drilled and riveted all hinges to proper ribs, also attaching rib aft attach angles to those ribs with a hinge on them.


 
Jul 21, 2020     Rivet ribs to front spar, bolt truss rear - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Stainless steel rivets in front edge of ribs into the leading edge/forward spar. Also bolted the rear of the wing truss to the rear spar and did some riveting of ribs to rear spar.


 
Jul 22, 2020     Aileron and flap bell cranks install - (5.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Assembly and installation of aileron and flap bell cranks. Very nice quality on machined parts.


 
Jul 23, 2020     Aileron cable (left) and wire grommets, flap cable - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Determined proper orientation of aileron cable and install, safety wire to bell crank. Drilled electrical wire grommet holes to size and install grommets. Installed telex cable for flaps and safety wired to anchor.


 
Jul 25, 2020     Landing light lens hole cut out - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Layed out template to mark and cut out hole in leading edge for landing light. (Left wing) Used a Milwaukee cordless hack saw for the most part after drilling corners. Did use Dremel type tool some also. Still ugly in pictures but cleaned up pretty well with files and sandpaper.


 
Jul 25, 2020     Landing light lens hole cut out - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Layed out template to mark and cut out hole in leading edge for landing light. (Left wing) Used a Milwaukee cordless hack saw for the most part after drilling corners. Did use Dremel type tool some also. Still ugly in pictures but cleaned up pretty well with files and sandpaper.


 
Jul 26, 2020     Splice join aluminum 2x4's - (0.1 hour)       Category: Tools
Drilled a series of holes in four of my aluminum 2x4's so that they can be bolted together with ready rod and be ridged when spanning the wings front to rear.


 
Jul 30, 2020     Top wing skin left wing layed up, march drill to front spar - (2.5 hours)       Category: Tools
I needed assistance to get skin up on wing without damage. Thanks to my wife! Clecoed skin to ribs and also installed stringers after determining proper length after skin was in place. Intentionally waited to form leading edge of top skin until after match drilling to spar.


 
Jul 31, 2020     Dimple leading edge upper wing skin - (1.0 hour)       Category: Wings
Sometimes an early morning start backfires, I forgot to form the curve / matching bend onto the upper skin before I dimpled those holes. Actually did not catch the mistake until the next work session. I was able to use the edge forming tool with rollers in between the holes and then use seaming pliers to blend the skin, not perfect but not a game stopper either.


 
Aug 01, 2020     Countersink front spar for top skin (left wing) - (1.0 hour)       Category: Wings
Set up 120 degree countersink in cage and countersink holes where top skin meets leading edge/forward spar.


 
Aug 02, 2020     Cleco top skin (left wing) - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Clecos added in top skin, aligning ribs as I went. Able to reach under to help alignment of rivet holes.


 
Aug 03, 2020     Pull countersink rivets leading edge top skin (left wing) - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed the stainless countersunk rivets to attach leading edge to top skin of wing.


 
Aug 04, 2020     Riveting top skin (left wing), remembering Dad - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Start working back on the wing with aluminum rivets through top skin. Received Garmin Pitot tube today, will install pitot plumbing after turning wing over, before bottom skin is attached. Alignment is easily assisted by reaching under the structure to apply pressure to ribs in desired direction, still need to chase ream a few holes but very minor material removed. Memories of Dad who passed 16 years ago tomorrow.....he never flew but loved airplanes, he'd enjoy watching this project.


 
Aug 08, 2020     Continue riveting top skin (left wing) - (2.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Continue working back on top skin riveting, also riveting stringers. Pictures show some of the worst puckers that I have but they don't look as bad in real life as in pictures. Also match drilled rear spar when last 4 rows rivets left.


 
Aug 10, 2020     Begin fitting flap / aileron gap seals, drilling - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Remove clecos from rear spar and insert gap seals under the skin. Check that they matched wing profile with a 4' level layed on top of wing profile. Secured with masking tape until a few holes drilled and clecoed. ( The gap seals are undrilled and are match drilled when in correct position.)


 
Aug 16, 2020     Rivet flap /aileron gap seals (left wing) - (1.0 hour)       Category: Wings
After a lengthy “life happens “ delay, riveted gap seals to trailing edge and rear of spar. Left wing is ready to be turned over to work on lower skin, plumbing, wires etc.


 
Aug 19, 2020     Turn left wing over for bottom work - (.5 hour)       Category: Wings
With assistance from my wife, we turned the left wing over and rested in wing jigs. Leveled across both spars with 4' level


 
Aug 22, 2020     Wiring left wing - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
String two strands of shielded #20 x 3 conductor wire in wing, one painted brown for wing tip strobe and one left white for landing light. Secured with cable ties evenly placed around bundle with bundle going through grommets near rear of ribs.


 
Aug 24, 2020     Plumb pitot lines 1st method - (1.2 hours)       Category: Wings
Will be using a Garmin pitot with both ram and aoa lines so plumbed two lines to area where it will be mounted. I used a tape and safety wire method and after a few hiccups had a pretty decent install. Later in project I elected to add snap bushings to protect the lines so this is not the final result.


 
Aug 30, 2020     Gretz pitot mount install- start - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
I will be using a Gretz mount for the Garmin pitot tube. The Gretz kit was designed for the RV series but I just didn't use the backing plate provided, instead, fabricating one from .040” aluminum sheet, cloning what is on the RANS forum tech questions. This doubler will butt up against the outside edge of the fifth rib and the pitot lines will go outward from the tube then curve back to the root of the wing.


 
Sep 03, 2020     Gretz pitot mount pt 2 - (.5 hour)       Category: Wings
Riveted the backing plate that I fashioned to the inside of the lower wing skin, tight against the rib, to the outside. In this picture inboard is to the left, forward is closest to viewer. Black line along outside edge of rib. (Measured distance from middle of rivet holes.)


 
Sep 05, 2020     Gretz pitot mount pt 3 - (1.0 hour)       Category: Wings
Finish filing hole to allow Gretz mount to fit easily. Shortened aluminum tubes from Garmin pitot to the point I could work them through the mount. Nut plates not riveted to mount yet so this is just a test fit. Primed the steel airfoil shaped mount in preparation for riveting on the nut plates.


 
Sep 06, 2020     Plumb pitot lines 2nd time, inspection cover tabs clecoed - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Determined location for Garmin GTP 59 OAT probe and drilled hole for it. Rerouted pitot lines using 1/4” snap bushings through the ribs. Also had to cut the cable ties on the wire bundles inboard from the OAT probe location to add that wire to the bundle. Re secured and remembered to add the serrated edging around the opening in the bay rib. Also clecoed the inspection cover tab rings inside of the lower wing skin (left wing)


 
Sep 07, 2020     Fitting lower skin , drill leading edge (left wing) - (5.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Clecoed bottom skin from rear to front, checked for clearance around aileron and flap hinge arms. When we made it to the front spar with clecos I double checked for square, used the vise-grip adapted forming tool to place a very slight turned down edge on the leading edge of the lower wing skin. Then, match drilled the #40 holes in the skin out to #30 while simultaneously going through the leading edge/spar. Started in middle and clecoed every other hole as I worked out. When done with drilling I deburred the skin holes and then used a 120 degree dimple dies in squeezer to dimple the front edge of the lower skin. Next I used a 120 degree countersink bit in a cage to countersink the leading edge/forward spar to accept the dimpled skin and countersink rivets. Pictures not in order


 
Sep 19, 2020     Rivet bottom skin left wing - (3.0 hours)       Category: Wings
First had to debur the countersunk holes in leading edge/spar, been waiting for an inside deburring tool for nearly two weeks and still no joy so fabricated one from 12.5 gauge wire flattened and bent into a 90 degree chucked into drill.
Re cleco and then rivet leading edge with stainless countersunk rivets and started working back with aluminum 41's. Installed the four tank supports in tank bay of lower wing skin. Had to ream a few holes in first row behind leading edge but after that most rivets are easily inserted.


 
Sep 20, 2020     Riveting bottom skin left wing (cont.) - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Continuing riveting front to back on bottom skin. Stopped with about 4 rows of rivets left in order to match drill through the skin into the rear spar. Skins start at #40 and rear spar is undrilled so you match drill with a #30 bit. Debarred all holes in skin and spar, cleaned up shavings and finished riveting the bottom skin.


 
Sep 21, 2020     Rivet inspection cover rings, wing cradle - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Riveted inspection cover rings and then built a simple wing cradle to support wings while fuselage work happpens.


 
Sep 22, 2020     Store wing, begin flap - left - (.5 hour)       Category: Wings
Moved left wing into support cradle / rack for vertical storage. Began assembling parts for flap construction.


 
Oct 04, 2020     Left aileron assembly - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Assemble left aileron, rivet lower surface first, rivet to spar, then flipped over, checked for no twist and riveted other side, match drilling spar to finish the riveting. (Delayed post here, check build manuals, I may not be remembering everything correctly.)


 
Oct 07, 2020     Test fit left aileron for clearance - (.2 hour)       Category: Wings
Test for left wing aileron to wing, checking for clearance from gap seal. All is well.


 
Oct 10, 2020     Right wing started - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Gathered parts and begin work on right wing, sanded - deburred edges of openings and riveted some doublers.


 
Oct 11, 2020     RH landing light cut, bell cranks assembled - (2.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Used supplied template to lay out and cut landing light hole in right hand wing leading edge. Also gathered and assembled both the aileron and flap bell cranks for the right wing.


 
Oct 12, 2020     Strut truss fittings drilled/fitted RH - (1.2 hours)       Category: Wings
Fitted and drilled the strut truss fittings to the right hand wing truss.


 
Oct 13, 2020     Bolt truss to front spar RH - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Short night, bolted front of truss to leading edge/spar on RH wing.


 
Oct 22, 2020     Aileron cable and guide RH - (1.0 hour)       Category: Wings
Installed aileron cable and guide for RH wing.


 
Oct 24, 2020     Flap cable, electric wire, top skin start RH - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed flap cable and safety wired to clamp. Ran electric wires for strobes and landing lights on Right Wing and got top skin at least layed out.


 
Oct 25, 2020     Match drill RH leading edge/spar - (5 hours)       Category: Wings
Clecoed top skin on right wing and match drilled the leading edge/spar assembly. Followed with countersink of those holes and dimpling the leading edge of the wing skin for the 120* countersink rivets. Did also get rivets installed.


 
Oct 27, 2020     Riveting top skin - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
After returning from RANS factory in Hays, KS with FWF kit I did manage to get a few rows of riveting done on the top of RH wing.


 
Oct 27, 2020     Pick up FWF kit       Category: Firewall
Drove to Hays, KS to pick up FWF kit from RANS. Not ready for it yet as have not gotten to spend hours working on kit due to work being very busy.


 
Oct 29, 2020     Riveting top skin RH cont. - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Working a little further back on riveting top skin on right wing.


 
Nov 01, 2020     Flap & aileron gap seals RH wing - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Further riveting of top skin RH wing, back to point to install the control gap seals. Beautiful fall day, November 1st working with door open!😮


 
Nov 04, 2020     Scotchbright rivets smooth RH wing top skin. - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Used air angle/die grinder with red scotchbright pad to smooth rough edged rivets on top side RH wing.


 
Nov 07, 2020     Flip RH wing for bottom skin, fix tie down placement - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
After top rivets all smoothed, RH wing turned upside down to apply lower skin. Discovered that the tie down ring had been riveted to the wrong rib/spar position so had to drill rivets and relocate to proper position. Clecoed skin to ribs to align with front spar and then match drilled the spar to the wing skin.


 
Nov 08, 2020     Countersink leading edge/front spar RH wing - (2.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Used wood to help hold skin up for room to operate countersink cage along spar. Also dimpled skin along this edge and began riveting, finishing front row of SS countersink rivets and a few rows back. Did some unpacking of FWF kit for Titan engine.


 
Nov 10, 2020     Nearly finish riveting lower skin RH wing - (3.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Continued working back on riveting lower skin, match drilled rear spar and debured before riveting. Finished except for riveting inspection cover housings.


 
Nov 11, 2020     Finish riveting lower skin, inspection cover mounts RH wing - (1.0 hour)       Category: Wings
Riveted all inspection cover mounting rings, frames on RH lower wing skin. Also unpacked more of FWF kit and took a peek at the propeller.


 
Nov 12, 2020     RH flap construction - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Did most of assembly of RH flap. Also placed RH wing into / onto wing storage cradle.


 
Nov 14, 2020     Finish RH flap - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Finish assembly of RH flap and fit to wing for storage.


 
Nov 15, 2020     Assemble RH aileron. - (3.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Gather parts and assemble RH aileron, install on wing to test gap seal fit and for storage.


 
Nov 17, 2020     Fuse bulkhead assembly. - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Collect parts of bulkheads for fuselage tailbone and begin assembling S4 and S5 bulkheads.


 
Nov 18, 2020     Bulkhead assembly - (.7 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Continue assembly of bulkheads


 
Nov 19, 2020     lol bulkheads done - (1.0 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Finish assembly of all of the tail one bulkheads.


 
Nov 20, 2020     Tail one belly skin prep - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Unrolled and start to attach stringers on tail one belly skin.


 
Nov 21, 2020     Rivet longerons, stringers and access cover frames to belly skin of tailcone - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Riveted longerons, stringers and access cover frames to bottom skin of tailcone.


 
Nov 22, 2020     Tailcone belly stringers, etc. continued - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Finish riveting stringers and longerons and access plate frames to belly skin of tailcone. Also began to gather parts for installing rudder control items at bulkhead S8


 
Nov 23, 2020     Attach bulkheads to tailcone bottom - (2.0 hours)       Category: Fuselage
After assembling rudder control hardware on S8 bulkhead, began to attach (cleco then rivet) all of the bulkheads to the bottom skin assembly of the tailcone.


 
Nov 24, 2020     Tailcone side skins prep - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Cutting / fitting of stringer material and middle longerons onto tailcone side skins.


 
Nov 29, 2020     Prep for cage to tail cone attach - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Began setting up the tail one to fuselage cage alignment, will be able to do it on my tables, just figuring out what to use for spacers etc. to get angle correct.


 
Dec 03, 2020     Drilling attach fittings - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Several days involved here, alignment and drilling of tabs to mount the tail one assembly to the cage.


 
Dec 06, 2020     Drilling attach fittings - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Drilling and fitting the attachment between fuselage cage and tailcone. I recall having quite a time deciding where to sandwich the angle of aluminum as the factory leaves the decision to you for the best fit.


 
Dec 09, 2020     Magnetometer mount and work on the big attach - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Had picked up the factory magnetometer mount at Hays so installed before the tail cone got closed. Still working on the attachment of fuse to tail. Primed the doubler strips that will be touching both aluminum and metal.


 
Dec 15, 2020     Riveted the big attach - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Although I don't have pics of the rivets, this is the day that I finally pulled the trigger on the rivet gun and attached the tailcone to the fuse cage.


 
Dec 20, 2020     Rudder cable system - (3 hours)       Category: Controls
Installing the rudder cable system per manual before the top skins go onto the tailcone. Including fitting the exit fairings for the rudder cables.


 
Dec 22, 2020     Rudder cable system - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls
More work on rudder cable system install.


 
Dec 23, 2020     Pics of fuse to tail attach - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Not sure by pics if these were pulled on this date or previously, but for sure by this date the SS rivets on the lower attach tabs were pulled.


 
Dec 26, 2020     Rear baggage floor - (2 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Worked on the rear baggage floor in preparation for fitting the station 4 large PVC closeout.


 
Jan 02, 2021     Tailcone top skins and S4 closeout - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Worked on clecoing tailcone top skins to the trusses so I could start to fit up the station 4 closeout.


 
Feb 17, 2021     Fitting seat slide rails - (2.0 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Fitted seat adjusting rails to cage before belly skin is to be attached. Had to cut seat stops from supplied stock, attach riv-nuts to hold rails.


 
Feb 21, 2021     Fitting / drilling belly skin and side skins - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Fitted belly skin and then side skins to tab locations. Marked cage location on inside of belly skin to locate area to be drilled to attach to belly skins. Assembled and fit with clecos before disassembly for deburring.


 
Feb 22, 2021     Belly and side skins deburring - (1.5 hours) Category: Fuselage
Demurred skins and began to attach stiffeners to belly skin. No pictures, see yesterday's.
 
Feb 23, 2021     Add stiffeners to belly skin - (.7 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Finish installing stiffener pieces to belly skin in diamond pattern.,


 
Feb 25, 2021     Reassemble belly skins and forward side skins - (1.0 hour) Category: Fuselage
Reassemble the belly skin and side skins on the forward fuselage with clecos in preparation for riveting. No pictures.
 
Feb 26, 2021     Riveting belly & forward side skins - (.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
After deburring and reassembled with clecos, began to rivet belly skin and side skins on fuselage.


 
Feb 28, 2021     Turn over fuselage, more riveting - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Finish riveting forward lower belly skins, turn over fuselage back to right side up. Drilled out lower strut attach brackets on fuselage. Did not realize until many days later that I should have primed the belly skins before riveting, since they are in contact area with tube cage. Later primed with rattle can, making sure to get coverage into tube mating area as much as possible.


 
Mar 01, 2021     Deburred firewall, begin riveting - (1 hour) Category: Firewall
Located fIrewall parts and fasteners, deburred any area needed on firewall, begin riveting of firewall, using called for rivets and washers.
 
Mar 03, 2021     Cleco riveted firewall to fuselage - (1 hour)       Category: Firewall
Finish riveting the three firewall pieces together, clecoed firewall to fuselage at tabs, marked where engine mount holes would need to be enlarged.


 
Mar 04, 2021     Drilling belly skins to firewall - (1 hour)       Category: Firewall
Fitting belly skin and drilling holes to firewall front edge.


 
Mar 06, 2021     Fitting boot cowl - (1.0 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Dropped floor pan in just to see how fits. Began process of fitting forward fuselage/boot cowl skins.


 
Mar 18, 2021     Fitting upper boot cowl skins - (.7 hour)       Category: Fuselage
More fitting upper boot cowl skins, middle work today?


 
Mar 21, 2021     Fitting boot cowl (finish pic) - (.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Finish drilling and clecoing boot cowl components.


 
Mar 25, 2021     Instrument panel brow - (1.0 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Fitting instrument panel brow or visor.


 
Mar 27, 2021     Finish instrument panel brow / visor - (.7 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Finish drilling instrument panel brow cover or visor.


 
Apr 04, 2021     Firewall deburred, priming forward floor, wingtips - (3.0 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Removed firewall which had been clecoed in place to fit boot cowl. Enlarged holes for engine mount bolts to pass through and deburred all holes that were drilled to fit boot cowling. Masked seat rails and primed forward floor area (inside) of fuselage. Also started to fit left wingtip, beginning work on the support rib only.


 
Apr 07, 2021     Wingtip support rib finish trimming - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Additional trimming and cleaning up wingtip ABS rib.


 
Apr 10, 2021     Wing tip cutting - (2.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Cut off extra molding from left wingtip, then followed factory instructions to attempt a straight edge.


 
Apr 12, 2021     Cutting form/jig to glue wingtips - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Cut gluing jig for glueing wingtips to support ribs. Traced from outside of support rib onto OSB for cutting. In hindsight, would try to use an actual wing rib to mark the cut, the way I did it ended with too large of a hole in the jig.


 
Apr 16, 2021     Glue first (left) wingtip - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Used OSB jig to hold/squeeze wingtip to support rib. Support rib was shimmed off of table with extra ABS material from trimmings. Also used weight bags to hold tip in place and attempt to maintain contact between tip and rib once glued. Perfect recipe for an absolute crap sandwich. Very disappointing results with several areas remaining unbonded.


 
Apr 17, 2021     Rivet doublers inside lift struts - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Too disgusted to work on wingtip so worked on riveting the doublers inside of lift strut ends.


 
Apr 25, 2021     Reglue open area left wingtip. - (2.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Used a variety of clamps, wood pieces and ABS powder (sanded down scraps) mixed with glue to bond and fill void areas between wingtip and support rib. Still a mess at best. Also fit tip to wing and located nut plates to attach to outside wing rib. Assistant playing with world's most expensive cat toy.


 
Apr 27, 2021     Fitting left wingtip - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Bolted up wingtip to left wing to check fit. Aggravating is an understatement, tip is now proud of wing profile in several areas, especially in front. Began sanding to attempt to match up. It will be a challenge to retain enough material for strength before getting down to wing profile.


 
May 08, 2021     Left fuel tank & root rib - (3.0 hours)       Category: Wings
Fit left fuel tank into wing and secure with root rib to mark fuel gauge openings and fill cap. I had considerable difficulties getting the root rib clecoed in place, accordingly the hours figure here.


 
May 12, 2021     Left tank fittings - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Pics of sight gauge and withdrawal fittings after installing.


 
May 31, 2021     Rivet left root rib - (2.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Reinstall left fuel tank and clecoed then rivet root rib. Again most time spent getting root rib located between tank supports and wing skin.


 
Jun 22, 2021     Finish riveting left wing root rib - (1.2 hours)       Category: Wings
Flipped wing and finished riveting root rib. Left side


 
Jun 26, 2021     Trim right wing tip - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Began trimming right wing tip


 
Jul 05, 2021     Fitting RH wing tip - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Taping, marking, cutting and fitting right side wing tip.


 
Jul 17, 2021     Fitting RH wing tank - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Fitting right side wing tank to prep for filler installation. Root rib a real b-turd to fit between wing skin and tank supports.


 
Aug 07, 2021     RH Tank fitting - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Continued work on fitting R H fuel tank. Marking fuel gauge fitting ports and fuel tank cap opening.


 
Aug 15, 2021     RH filler opening leak check - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Test RH fuel tank for leaks with pressure air and soap mixture. Only leak found was on cap o-ring which was remedied by tightening cam lock on cap.


 
Aug 17, 2021     R H root rib riveted in place - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Riveted root rib on R H wing. This is right side wing, the note written in sharpie in picture is incorrect. (says left)


 
Aug 29, 2021     Sealing RH filler cap to top wing skin - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Pro Seal used to seal the opening in wing skin to filler camp assembly on R H wing.


 
Sep 08, 2021     Paint arrived - (.5 hour)       Category: Paint / Decals
Stewart's Systems EkoCrylic paint and EkoPoxy primer arrived. Insignia White, Pontiac Red and Royal Blue. Paint scheme will be inspired by Miss America P-51 Reno racer.


 
Sep 12, 2021     Wing tip - (.2 hour)       Category: Wings
Using body filler “bondo” to bring wing tip up to radius of forward spar. Right side.


 
Sep 26, 2021     Paint Booth assembly       Category: Paint / Decals
Brought aluminum car port into hangar which will be modified to act as paint booth.


 
Oct 10, 2021     Prepping S10-S11 closeout - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Test fitting, deburring of the closeout plate for S10-S11.


 
Oct 12, 2021     S10-S11 closeout riveted - (.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Finished riveting the S10-S11 closeout in place, still need to rivet stringers on sides just below the close out.


 
Oct 27, 2021     Picked up engine from RANS       Category: Engine
Titan 340 engine finally arrived, originally ordered in October 2020 with expected delivery of February 2021. Took one year instead of the projected 5 months. This entry is actually being written in November of 2022 and later on some people endured two year waits on their Titan engines.


 
Dec 31, 2021     Seat assembly - (2 hours) Category: Interior Finish
Gathered parts for both seats, begin assembly on first seat. Countersink plates, assemble roller bearings onto seat bottom frame, assemble frame.
 
Feb 05, 2022     Wing tips body work - (2.5 hours)       Category: Wings
Work on right side wing tip, bondo body filler used to fill some areas on bottom side of wingtip to match wing profile more closely. Also filled a couple of “puckers” where the mounting bolts deform the surface of the tip when pulled tight against the wing. I had noticed these puckers on several examples at Oshkosh 2021. See attached pictures. Top side of the tip on right side is not really something that can be fixed with filler. The tip fits close to flush with edge of wing (for height) but is too tall or thick by 3/16”just about 3/4” farther out (spanwise) and this will be hard to fill without looking worse.


 
May 24, 2022     Sanding primer - (3.0 hours) Category: Wings
Finished sanding primer on left wing and begin sanding on right wing.
 
Nov 24, 2022     Mounted control stick assembly - (2 hours)       Category: Controls
Finished fitting control stick assembly together, had to remove cross torque tube from assembly and bend stop tabs upwards(in vise) so that they will contact stop bolts. Mounted the assembly to floor pan. Also started work on forward push pull tubes, sourced all needed parts and then cut and reamed two stop collars to fit over 35” push/pull tube.


 
Nov 27, 2022     Seat assembly - (2 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Gathered parts for both seat assemblies and started on first one. Countersink plates, roller bearings to seat bottom frame, assembly of rest of frame.


 
Nov 28, 2022     Seat frames assembled - (2.5 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Finish assembling first seat frame and then do second one also. Video attached to show adjusting action.


 
Nov 29, 2022     Seat back pieces and bottom of first seat installed - (1.5 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Lowest part of the three seat back panels had an update to add two holes and then use SS rivets in the 4 lowest holes. The safety wire wrap is to hold the inside tube in place until the cover/seat pad assembly will hold the seat assembly together. After lower pan (bottom) installed, the head rest frame was fit into place and holes drilled for rivnuts. One rivnut installed shows in last picture.


 
Dec 01, 2022     Seat assembly - (1 hour)       Category: Interior Finish
Finish installing rivnuts for first seat's headrest, test fit headrest as shown. Began installing seat back panels on second seat.


 
Dec 02, 2022     Seat assembly - (1.2 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Attach seat back panels and seat bottom pan on second seat. Began to fit headrest frame on second seat.


 
Dec 03, 2022     Seat assembly - (1.5 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Finish assembly and headrest install on second seat.


 
Dec 04, 2022     Seat padding/cushions - (2.5 hours)       Category: Interior Finish
Begin installing seat back cushion on first seat. Using a Phillips screwdriver heated with a torch to burn holes for zip ties. Had to open seat bottom up and rearrange foam as this cushion was very lopsided.


 
Dec 10, 2022     Flap handle install - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls
Gather parts and assemble flap handle assembly. Went ahead and mounted in fuselage to keep track of things. It will need to be partially unassembled to install the teleflex cables to the flaps once the wings are on.


 
Dec 10, 2022     Aileron control cable attached to control stick - (.5 hour)       Category: Controls
Had not attached the control stick cable for ailerons to the stick assembly yet, I used one thick washer under the head of the bolt as a thin washer nearly let the castle nut go past the drilled hole in the bolt.


 
Dec 10, 2022     Trimming belly fairings - (1 hour)       Category: Landing Gear
Since I had primed the two belly fairings which will cover the landing gear attach points, I decided to begin trimming the extra off of these pieces. Cut to line (or close) with tin snips and then sanded with drum sander on Milwaukee dremel type tool.


 
Dec 14, 2022     Panel prep - (1 hour)       Category: Instrument Panel
More pondering than pounding today. Sanded some clearance off of the lower outside panel edges, as it was dragging slightly on the cage when tipped straight up and down. (It wants to lean forward pretty hard now because of no other support. Most of this support will come from the radio mount plates that will run forward from behind the panel. These plates re provided with extra length and so will need to be trimmed for length. So, to find maximum length the firewall needed to be mounted, which required removing the angle that was fitted to hold the forward rudder return cable pulley. Re-mounted it forward of the firewall and left the pulley off as it will have a different mount bolt when the rear rudder return cable and pulley show up and are installed. Used die grinder to add bolt clearance to a few holes in the firewall. The next step was to cleco the outer top portions of the boot cowl to bothe the firewall and the panel frame so that the correct length for the radio mount brackets could be determined.


 
Dec 15, 2022     Rear return cable for rudder - (2 hours)       Category: Controls
An update to the S-21 recently became available, rear rudder return cable. (Rear return cable, not rear rudder) This will prevent excess tension on the rudder cables if pressure is applied to both rudder pedals. I was waiting on the kit to arrive when I started on the panel work. Removed forward return cable pulley as it will now have an adjustable (for tension) support going through the firewall. Rear pulley mount was pretty tight quarters with the control sticks installed, but I did make it all work. Stainless steel rivets through floor and lower belly skin. There will be a cover over this whole assembly when interior is finished.


 
Dec 16, 2022     Rear rudder return cable finish - (1 hour)       Category: Controls
Finished attaching the rear return cable and front return cable to rudder pedal control horns. Tensioned the assembly and attached rudder cables. (After these pictures were taken)


 
Dec 17, 2022     Exploring placement alternatives - (1.5 hours)       Category: Avionics
Decided it was time to cut open the beautiful loop of wires that Steinair had bundled with the panel. Gotta squeeze lemons to get lemonade I guess, this will allow me to figure out where I can mount various items behind the panel and still be able to attach to the CAN bus as the bundle was sent to me.


 
Dec 29, 2022     Mounted IBBS units (2) - (1 hour)       Category: Avionics
The correct screws for mounting the backup power supply units arrived today so they were attached to the bottom of the GTX 45R mounting brackets. I also added a padded adel clamp to support the wires that go to the GSU 25, will still need to add a cushion and cable tie where those wires pass the bracket, just can't get the wires away fro the bracket with an additional clamp so will tie it tight and padded instead.


 
Jan 01, 2023     Preparing to fit landing gear fairings - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
I had previously trimmed the extra ABS from the landing gear or belly fairings and wanted to assure that they were not left too thin around the outside edges. Since I was waiting on some hardware for avionics mounting, I decided that now was a good time to get these fit up. This will require removing the landing gear so to be able to put the bottom of the boot cowling on. The fairings rest on the bottom of the boot cowling and belly of the plane. I plan to deviate slightly from plans and will be installing nut plates instead of nutserts or rivnuts on the belly. In addition I ended up using six bolts per side instead of 5 to insure a tight fit to the belly. (Post script, wouldn't have been needed, my belly is nice and flat.


 
Jan 02, 2023     Nut plates for gear leg fairings - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
A day of many interruptions, preparing for possible ice storm. After getting the bottom boot cowling clecoed on, fit up the fairings with tape, chose where to drill bolt holes, (checking clearance in fuselage as much as possible). Then had to remove boot cowl to mount the nut plates. Running a tap through each nut plate also as they self lock too tightly for my taste.


 
Jan 03, 2023     Belly fairings fitting - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Intent today was to cut the openings in the belly fairings ( RANS term) or gear leg fairings for the gear legs to exit. Ended up temp riveting some of the boot cowl stiffeners and temp fitting the bottom of the boot cowl up to be able to mount the fairings to the belly without the gear legs in place. Roughed out the holes based on the position of the outer gear leg clamp. Then I remounted the gear legs and did some filing of the openings to get a better fit. Almost done, but another day of interruptions (church board meeting) slowed progress.


 
Jan 04, 2023     Fairings final tweak - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Upon inspection, the right side belly or landing gear fairing was canted out in the front. I ended up pulling the fairing, tracing the current holes onto paper and then twisting the paper on the same fairing to "move" the holes slightly. The first, incorrect holes were then filled with JB Quick. Picture shows the amount of tweak that I gave the fairing. Fit is now satisfactory. A lot of hours for what would seem to be a simple job.


 
Jan 04, 2023     Lower Boot Cowl Riveted - (1.1 hours)       Category: Fuselage
When fitting the belly fairings, I realized that the rivets I had put into the lower stiffener strips would need to come out as they should also hold the middle and outer portions of the lower boot cowl together. Figured now was also a good time to add the side stiffeners to the lower boot cowl. Riveted all together with Avex rivets.


 
Jan 05, 2023     Remote mounting avionics - (1.5 hours)       Category: Avionics
Worked on final remote mounting of GEA 24 and GPS 20 units behind the right side of panel. Since these will be in an area that is easily accessible now, but will be very difficult to access after the plane is complete, I am trying to make it easy to get to them from the underside. (Top side will then be covered) The GEA 24 engine inputs box will be able to swivel down on the front cross tube of the cage. I had planned to use nut plates on the piece of angle that supports the front of the unit, however, bolt head clearance issues made it apparent that this was a poor choice, so I used more push nuts to hold the bolts to the angle and put the nuts on from underside. It still isn't going to be fun to undo if ever required. I still believe it will be easier than using a shelf however. There was no suitable area to mount the GPS 20 that would have allowed it to swing down. It is mounted with adel clamps on three corners and if removal is needed, it will just be unbolted and brought down to the rear of the plane where the opening is much larger.


 
Jan 07, 2023     Panel frame mods / remounting panel - (2 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel
The instrument panel frame had previously been modified to clear the IGN BATT switch on upper left of panel. In the process the frame was cracked and stop drilled previously. It also became apparent that the frame was going to interfere with the mounting of the womack style air vent nozzles and would need to be bent for clearance. Most of the bending was done with the panel still temporarily mounted, however to avoid damage to the frame I undid the panel, pulled the frame and used heat to finish the bending of the inner lip of the frame. I also riveted a doubler to the frame where the tear had occurred previously. The air vent nozzles were then mounted after some enlargement to the holes and a locator notch being added for each side. Finally, the panel frame was riveted into position with SS Rivets and the panel re-mounted, this time with all of the rubber grommets.


 
Jan 12, 2023     Heater Box install start - (1 hour)       Category: Firewall
After doing some inventory on Firewall Forward kit (separate entry), obtained the cabin heater box and associated control connections and used to fit to firewall as per instructions. Used 2" hole saw (called for 2 1/16" which is difficult to find locally) and deburred edges with die grinder. This made the outlet pipe to fit through the hole in the firewall easily. Drilled mounting holes for horizontal orientation and then drilled mount holes for control bracket. Of note, had to drill out the arm on the heat box to accept the cable swivel stop & screw.


 
Jan 12, 2023     Drilled subpanel for control cables - (1 hour)       Category: Instrument Panel
I have a subpanel of machined aluminum manufactured by Steinair when they did my panel. It had pilot holes for the throttle, mixture, park brake and cabin heat. First step was to fit the subpanel to mount to the panel frame under the middle of the main panel. This will use 3 #8 screws with nuts on top of the panel frame. Next step was to drill out the control cable mount holes to the proper sizes, (.75" for throttle and mixture, and 3/8" for park brake and cabin heat.


 
Jan 12, 2023     Inventory Firewall Foreward kit (start) - (0.8 hour)       Category: Workshop
Began inventory of firewall forward kit, mostly one large hardware bag. Stapled to pick board when unpacked.


 
Jan 18, 2023     Heat box and brake components - (4 hours)       Category: Firewall
Reworked the mounting of the cabin heat box. Due to the insulation blanket I am using I needed to add a few washers on each mounting bolt, between the firewall and air box to prevent deformation and binding operation. I also mounted the cabin heat control cable using the factory suggested outlet location through the firewall. I was concerned about that since my control is mounted at the bottom middle of the panel, but it seems to work fine. I anchored the end of the control cable a bit differently than factory. The plastic/nylon end that is provided does not hold the cable firmly upon extending. This prevents it from applying much closing pressure on the heat valve. I was also concerned with the longevity of that part, just not really robust. A small adel clamp was used to anchor the heat control cable near the heat box, I merely had to drill an extra hole in the standard angle bracket provided, and the clamp is supported by the bracket, nice! Incidentally, that angle bracket calls for SS rivets but since I have the blanket I had to bolt it up.

I also mounted the park brake valve, had to make some bushings to bring it away from the firewall to clear a fuselage tube. Mounted the brake reservoir also.


 
Jan 19, 2023     Brake system components - (1.2 hours)       Category: Firewall
Short session after moving snow most of the day. Mounted brake supply T as a bulkhead fitting in the lower firewall. Mounted the brake master cylinders to the floorboard tabs. The right side pilots pedal tabs needed to be bent In slightly to center the rod in the pedal tabs. Just took a little time and removing the cylinder to bend the tabs. (I tried using the cylinder as a lever, but it felt very firm and I didn't want to screw up a cylinder.


 
Jan 21, 2023     Park brake cable installation - (2 hours)       Category: Firewall
Park brake valve had already been mounted and lines loose fit, so, as part of getting things done on firewall so engine can be mounted to start wiring, the actuation cable for the valve needed to be mounted. Since the panel design deviates from factory placement of the park brake knob, I wanted to be sure this was done before continuing. The only real difficulty that I ran into was that the threaded stem on the control cable had some sort of thread issue and wouldn't accept the backing nut. Easily remedied with a die and, more time. (Imagine that) I did use the supplied cable end stop here, although it is pretty unimpressive to my eyes, it just doesn't look like it will age well. I did have to safety wire the cable also, so that it can provide some “push” on opening the brake valve without the outer cable rising up out of the stop. I riveted from the inside out to make working around my firewall blanket easier.


 
Jan 23, 2023     Throttle & Mixture cables mounted - (1 hour)       Category: Firewall
Had not drilled the cable ball swivels to proper size, so did that first. A 19/64” bit mice's just a bit smaller than the cables, so it was used. Mounted mixture and throttle cables into the sub-panel at lower center of instrument panel, exiting through the open eyeball swivels. I then assembled the eyeball sockets over each cable. Just one of 5hose jobs that is much easier before the engine is hung.
Also spent a considerable amount of time trying to figure out where some of the coiled wires from the panel will be going. Spent a lot of time comparing what I have physically to the drawing provided from Steinair. I'm gaining ground.


 
Jan 30, 2023     Battery box - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Had gathered parts last night, only had limited time tonight so tackled a small project. Plans call to “fit” the box snug to your battery, however, I don't have a battery yet so assembled the box at 7 inches proud. Attached to cage at station 3 and then mounted ground tang at the intended location just ahead of station 3.


 
Feb 12, 2023     Fire Extinguisher bracket - (1.5 hours)       Category: Instrument Panel
Have been contemplating a way to add the factory throttle cable bracket support (to be able to mount a fire extinguisher under it) for quite some time. I have a heavier machined bracket that Steinair did with my panel so things were different and even among factory planes it appears things aren't always done the same. I also want a way to support some of the weight of the wiring harness behind the panel and I think this will give me something to do that plus add some rigidity to the overall panel assembly. I will use the factory support bracket and the two side brackets. The side brackets will be cut to 12” and be screwed through the panel on the end with the bent angle and I will support the forward portion with an adel clamp and angle aluminum off of the cross tube behind the panel. Using some short #8 countersunk screws and nut plates on the bracket to attach to both the throttle / mixture cable housing and the two side brackets. Didn't get done but do have a good idea of where I'm going finally.


 
Feb 22, 2023     Switch antenna connectors - (1.5 hours)       Category: Avionics
All of my pre-made antenna connections were sent as straight, both the comm antenna and GPS antenna would be better suited to 90 degree fittings. Changed out the comm BNC and GPS ANC to 90 degree versions. A note that time could have been saved if I had thought about unhooking the radio ends before changing the antenna ends out, finally dawned on me that you will have some continuity from the shield to pin if the end opposite that you are working on is still hooked to equipment.Doooh!


 
Feb 26, 2023     Wiring stick grips - (2 hours)       Category: Avionics
Soldered the wires for both stick grips tonight. Started with the precut pieces from the Ray Allen pkg for the grounds to each switch and then used actual wires from the extra on the wiring harness from Steinair to run down the stick. This should make it easier to keep things correct in the future. I used style #2 wiring scheme from instructions in a slightly modified format as per the VPX install manual. Tested for proper operation and then covered with expandable sheathing for protection.


 
Feb 28, 2023     Firewall transducer manifold and red cube - (5 hours)       Category: Firewall
Routed brake line from reservoir to bulkhead fitting to be behind the oil cooler mount angle. Mounted a manifold( plumbed as much as possible) to hold the oil pressure, fuel pressure and manifold pressure transducers to the firewall. Also mounted the fuel flow transducer (red cube) to the firewall. Crimped the #4 wire coming through firewall to attach to my jump start lug at the lower edge of firewall.


 
Mar 01, 2023     Electrical on firewall - (2 hours)       Category: Firewall
Redid crimped end on positive battery cable that comes through firewall. I have added a jump start lug at the lower edge of the firewall and then goes to the master solenoid. I also crimped the ends of two #6 wires which will feed the alternator output through the 60 amp fuse and a shunt for G3X sensing and then to the switched side of the master solenoid. Attached two fuse holders for the wires from the shunt that will be attached to the engine monitor plug GSA24?
I also installed the fireproof sleeve to the firewall pass through when I had to unhook the #8 wire feeding the VPX to add its silicone boot.


 
Mar 02, 2023     Uncrate engine - (1.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Installed gascolator, the stem mount had been done for some time but I had left the gascolator safe in its box until ready.
Used a strap to physically pull the engine crate/box out into the middle of the hangar to allow removal of packaging. Removed plastic bag that had been sealing the engine and began to prepare for work on cooling baffles, fittings and related before hanging the engine. Also noted that the Lightspeed ignition pick up sensor mounts and magnet ring had already been mounted on the engine at the factory. Always glad to have some time saved for me!


 
Mar 03, 2023     Electrical study - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
Spent some time putting questions together involving various electrical things. Sent an email to Tim Day at Steinair to get some clarification. Parent sitting in-laws killed quite a bit of productivity on the plane today. Try, try again.


 
Mar 07, 2023     Cooling baffles inlet ramp support angles. - (4 hours)       Category: Engine
Continued to work on making reinforcement angles for the inlet ramp areas of the cooling baffles. First one at opening can go under the ramp to promote smooth airflow but as you go back and around the corner you need to go inside of the inlet openings.


 
Mar 08, 2023     Cooling baffles - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
Continued work on installing engine cooling baffles (the aluminum frames portions). Worked on right rear of engine, including upsizing the original 3” oil cooler duct to 4”. Progress is good when there aren't interruptions, today wasn't one of those. 137 days till Oshkosh.


 
Mar 09, 2023     Finish baffle frames - (5 hours)       Category: Engine
Finished the cooling baffles aluminum framework. I did use some #8 machine bolts and nuts on the left aft baffle outer portion rather than riveting to ease removal in the future. Reinstalled the dipstick tube and safety wired. Installed the engine mount onto the fuselage and torqued the 5/16” bolts. Also worked the leads for both of the GEA24 harnesses through the firewall penetration before installing the engine mount. Sealed some of the baffle structure to engine gaps with orange high temp RTV sealant. Changed out the Titan factory crankcase breather fitting with a 90 degree fitting provided by RANS with FWF kit. (Modified it also)
I also secured a 25# bag of lead shot to the tailwheel spring to counterbalance the engine until I install tail flying surfaces on the plane. Attached the hoist to the engine with a trailer safety chain in preparation for lifting.


 
Mar 10, 2023     Final prep & Hang engine - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
Installed oil temperature sensor and loosened plugs for manifold pressure and oil pressure fittings, waiting on the fittings as I had forgotten to put them on order. Actually pulled the engine mount back off of the plane and did a little wire sorting and added the inner fire sleeve on the firewall pass through, then re-installed the engine mount on the plane & torqued.
Used cherry picker engine hoist to lift the engine from shipping pallet and moved to engine mount area. Assembled the Lord mount s and secured in mount by just pressing them together until the engine was moved closer and the bolts ran through.
It had gotten late on me so for the night the mounting bolts are installed but still need a washer behind three of the four nuts. Moved hoist away for pics and then replaced it to hold at least a little weight overnight.


 
Mar 11, 2023     Prep work for wiring engine - (2.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Lots of thinking, reading and a little action today. First had to get the last washer behind the nuts on three of the four engine mount bolts. I had pulled things together without them in place, and it was almost midnight last night by the time I could leave things hang.
Next, I sorted out the Lightspeed pickup sensor wires out of the pack coming through the firewall. Did a lot of looking at builders logs and pictures of factory aircraft to see where they were routing the wires that lead from the pick up sensors behind the flywheel to the ignition boxes behind the firewall. The difficulty comes from the Lightspeed harness already being assembled with big sensors on one end and d-sub connectors on the other, and needing somehow to get the leads through the baffle frames. It appears that the factory green plane has a slot cut to a grommet hole in a couple of different places to allow the wire to be inserted through the grommet.
I located some scrap 40/1000” aluminum and cut a couple of pieces to tape onto the face of each of the sensors to set the gap to the flywheel. Thanks to Pat Hatch for this idea, I will start the screws through the sensors and temporarily install the flywheel against the sensors with the spacer installed to set the air gap, pull the flywheel and finish tightening.
One picture today shows how tall a drink of water this airplane is going to be!


 
Mar 12, 2023     LSE sensors mounted, other wiring - (5 hours)       Category: Engine
I had taped the 40/1000” spacers onto the sensors Saturday night and so this morning I mounted them tight enough to hold but loose enough to adjust and then temp mounted the flywheel to set the clearance. Once this was set I undid the mounting screws one at a time and used blue loctite on them.
Routing the LSE sensor wires was a head scratcher for me, I did a lot more looking online and finally decided to go above the engine for both the upper and lower sensor wires. Since everything is already soldered on the LSE wire harness I had to cut a couple of slots in the baffling panels with holes and grommets to secure the sensor wiring.
I also shortened my previously finished master solenoid switch wire and also shortened and finished the starter solenoid switch wire.


 
Mar 13, 2023     CHT probes, wrapping baffles - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
First order of day was to finish wiring the voltage shunt to the GEA 24 harness, used crimp butt connectors with a shrink wrap over them both.
Next was to install the CHT probes. I am hoping to get the engine wiring details done in the next few weeks and routing the CHT and EGT wires seems like a substantial project to my untrained mind.
Upon installing the CHTs it became obvious that I needed to tie the baffle strips tight around the cylinders below the engine before doing much else. I used .032 safety wire and some aluminum rivet stems to secure the inner two sets of baffles to each other, front to rear. I plan to insert a piece of baffle seal material between those two twisted wires and the bottom of the inter cylinder baffling to prevent wear and to give the last little bit of tension to those strips. The outside baffle strips were much easier as I just used an angle drill to add a couple of holes to the lips of the center baffle and then wired the front and rear cylinders separately.


 
Mar 14, 2023     Baffle ties and EGT probes - (5 hours)       Category: Engine
Finished securing the baffles for the cylinders and heads, I redid a couple of the wires to go through two holes on the tabs of the baffle plates as that seemed to allow me to get them tighter.
I pulled out the exhaust assembly and loose bolted it up to the engine to locate where I wanted to put the EGT probes. I did some picture hunting and believe I positioned my probes similar to the green factory S-21 when it had a Titan in it. (Pictures of it from Oshkosh 2021 were on Instagram). I did make a mistake and drilled one probe hole in-line with a lug on the exhaust pipe and so obviously the clamp won't work there.Went closer to the flange on a new hole and the rest of the pipes.
Decided on a routing for the left side EGT a and CHT wires and crimped the #4 rings onto the harness wires.


 
Mar 15, 2023     Start oil cooler mount - (1 hour)       Category: Engine
Began to hang the oil cooler, the vertical bolts are in a pretty difficult location to install with the washer that goes against the plastic ducting.


 
Mar 16, 2023     Oil cooler mounted - (1.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Upon fitting the lower supports to the oil cooler, it became apparent that the cooler was tipped down in the front. Probably wouldn't have hurt anything, but looked goofy. Concluded that the bushings on the rear mount were resting on top of the insulation blanket that I added to the firewall, while the supports mounted to the tab on the engine mount and were not set up for the extra distance. I pulled everything apart and cut the holes out where the rear mounting angle bolted to the firewall. Upon reassembly, things appear correct and level.


 
Mar 24, 2023     Exhaust gaskets installed - (1 hour)       Category: Engine
For reasons unknown, I did not have exhaust gaskets in my FWF kit, probably just got missed. I have had exhaust hanging loose previously and received the gaskets today and installed. Also tightened the clamps holding EGT and CHT and starter ground cables under the left side of the engine.
After a week of not getting much done due to family health troubles, today I can feel a cold hitting me. Argh.


 
Mar 26, 2023     Top side engine items - (2.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Received more spiral wire sheath for left side LSE trigger wire, so finished protecting and routing it through the rear baffle. Added 2 holes for the LSE coax leads to enter the rear baffle. Mounted the ignition coils back onto rear of engine. Spent an hour getting the one adel clamp to hold the LSE wire on left rear of engine (there's a reason I'm pointing at it with my middle finger…) I also did quite a bit more sealing of the baffles with RTV sealant after seeing some pictures of the factory baffling on the green demo plane at OSH 2021 with the Titan in it. Need some extension tubing to get to some deeper spots also.


 
Mar 27, 2023     Starter power cable - (1.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Had not installed the positive cable from the starter solenoid to the starter yet, don't really know why, other than I was thinking it was missing (actually I didn't get the cable from the master solenoid to the starter solenoid, or even the master solenoid) due to an older FWF kit. However I did have it and should have installed it earlier as it is going to follow the starter ground cable under the left side of the engine. So a few minutes to hook it up and route it and then over an hour rearranging the standoffs for it and the other cables, not quite done yet.


 
Mar 28, 2023     Securing wires - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
Finished securing the stater cable with a double adel clamp on the lower left engine mount. Worked at securing the EGT and CHT leads from #2 and #4 cylinders with adel clamps attached to standoffs along the underside of the engine on the starboard side. Very tedious working with multiple cables/wires inside of adel clamps.


 
Mar 29, 2023     Alternator B lead and securing wires - (4 hours)       Category: Engine
More securing wires on the right side of engine, then the realization that I still needed to get the alternator B lead in that area too. I ended up remanufacturing the forward standoff to accommodate an extra adel clamp to hold the lead. I fabricated the B lead from #6 tefzel wire and crimped the ends with a shrink over them. I also laced some of the wires in the solenoids area together for a nicer appearance.


 
Apr 01, 2023     Ignition leads and oil cooler connections - (5 hours)       Category: Engine
I had some of the ignition leads on but was making sure the boots could be removed without harming the cable before threading the lower plug wires through the cooling baffles. I was also waiting on an extra rubber grommet for those holes. Needed to drill one of the holes in the baffling as there were only three, and of course there are four plugs on the bottom of the engine.
I also was waiting on a couple of 45 degree fittings for the oil cooler hoses to mate to the cooler, so that was final hooked up.
I also did some electrical work figuring out a few of the wires in the bundle that I was unsure of. Used an Ohm Meter to figure out where a few of these went.


 
Apr 02, 2023     Engine fittings and some electrical - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
Short day due to other home projects and flew the PA-11 for the first time since February 8th! I installed the restricted fitting for the oil pressure sensor and the straight fitting for the manifold pressure sensor to the engine.
I also needed to lengthen each of the two wires that go to the ignition system circuit breakers so that they can reach to the battery.


 
Apr 03, 2023     Coil mount brace / Lightspeed wiring - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
When I was ready to add the support bracket to the ignition coil bracket that attaches to the rear of the baffling, I discovered that the mount was offset to the port side just enough that it needed to be re-centered to align things. This ended up taking some considerable work as I ended up removing the outer two coils to access the adel clamps. I put two rivets in the support instead of just one and used an AN3 bolt with stainless nut through the rear of the baffling.
I gathered the wires that will be going to the Lightspeed connections and ran through sheathing to go from the harness under the panel to the area between the two ignition boxes. This will be 5 wires total, 2 for the ignition indicator lights, 2 for the ignition toggle switches, all on the LSE input plug, and 1 for the tachometer pickup from the LSE output plug. The 2 LSE sensor wires will have different routing as they come through the firewall.


 
Apr 05, 2023     Lightspeed ignition wiring - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
Finished bundling wires that go to the input and output plugs on the Lightspeed ignition boxes. Much of the time was spent securing the screws that secure the d-sub plugs into the ignition units. With the spacing of the two boxes and the fact that the d-sub connectors face each other on the end of the units, you are left with very little room to get a screwdriver in to reach the screws. I then tied up the extra wire that I had at the end of the run to the boxes. It isn't the cleanest part of my electrical system, but the necessity of soldering the solder cup type d-sub connectors in an accessible area made it pretty difficult to end up with a nice even wire bundle.


 
Apr 05, 2023     Control grip moles connections - (1 hour)       Category: Avionics
Started adding the Molex connector to each of the control sticks to plug the switch leads from the stick to the main wire bundle.


 
Apr 08, 2023     Header tank trim and fuel pump power wires - (1.0 hour)       Category: Fuel System
Finished the header tank install by putting the rubber edging on the four exposed edges of the header tank retaining brackets. Also did a little wire sorting and decided to hook up the fuel pump power wire while it was on my mind. I also added a ground wire to the fuel pump and will take it to the rear where I will have a ground bus close to the battery. Tomorrow is Easter Sunday.


 
Apr 09, 2023     Solder phone and mic plugs - (1.5 hours)       Category: Avionics
Soldered the wires to the headphone and microphone jacks, these will mount in the center console behind the flap lever. Found the easiest illustration of what wires went where in the book, Aircraft Wiring Guide by Marc Ausman. Short shop day, Easter Sunday and reseeding yard project ran interference.


 
Apr 14, 2023     O A T probe wire added to GSU 25 D-Sub - (2 hours)       Category: Avionics
I have installed the Garmin OAT (outside air temperature) probe in my left wing already. Since I already had it, Steinair did not add the wire into the harness, so I needed to add the wire to one of the GSU 25 ADAHRS D-Sub connectors. Pinned and added shield ground for this purpose.


 
Apr 15, 2023     ELT Install - (6 hours)       Category: Avionics
Started yesterday but entering all time this entry. Fabricated a mounting plate for .050” aluminum to support the ELT mounting bracket securely without flexing or vibration. It is riveted to the Station #4 bulkhead and two of the stringers on the floor of the tailcone. I couldn't bend a double offset in that thick of material so the front support is a piece of 1/2x1/2 angle with countersunk screws coming through from the underside of the fuselage. When finally mounted, it is very solid.
Next was the D-Sub connector which actually required a fair amount of soldering. There is a g-switch loop to connect, power and ground for the piezoelectric buzzer, a ground wire to the airframe, and three wires from the Steinair harness (2 for switch and 1 for gps data) for a total of 8 connections on a solder cup type of D-Sub. I made it work nice, but would consider buying a crimped pin D-Sub if doing it again.
Fabricated a doubler for the ELT antenna to rivet to one stringer on the roof of the tailcone and lay against the skin where the antenna will mount. Secured the antenna wire around the back side of the station #4 bulkhead with clamps and tinerman plates/screws. Burned more time than I anticipated, but it all looks good and panel switch did work correctly.


 
May 11, 2023     LSE a ignition power wires configured - (1.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Used solder sleeves and some extra 18 gauge black wire to make the ground connections for each of the two Lightspeed ignition power wires. I also connected the middle conductor with eyelet connectors and clear heat shrink. These wires are to be connected directly to the battery per LSE an installation manual.


 
May 11, 2023     Wasted time Bedliner floor cover. - (1 hour)       Category: Interior Finish
I had used Dupli-Color rattle can bed liner spray on my baggage floor panels and it seems to be sticking well. I thought that might be a good way to extend the life of the floor right under pilot/passenger feet in the footwell area. Acid etched the pans and masked off, shot the material on just before quitting for the night. Looks promising.

Next morning the material began to peel off with the masking tape. Perhaps it wasn't cured enough, but it came off pretty easily once started. Decided that wasn't the answer and peeled it all off the following day.

The baggage floor pieces were painted outside on an 80 degree plus day, in the sun. I think that is contributing to the success of themselves pieces.


 
May 12, 2023     Securing various wires / bundles - (3 hours)       Category: Avionics
I secured the largest bundle of wires that will exit the panel area on the starboard side and started them on their journey down to the right. Used a couple of adel clamp combinations to support the bundle and route it away from tubes, etc.
I also coiled and laced some of the extra wiring associated with the autopilot servos and rerouted the line to the electric fuel boost pump. I still need to anchor these runs with RTV sealant right under the middle of the fuselage to ensure that they never tangle with the rudder control cables that are passing right over that area.


 
May 12, 2023     Install fuel injection servo (start) - (4.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Secured parts to install the fuel injection servo on the engine. First step was to replace three of the four studs at the intake of the engine with longer versions. Fabricated two retaining angles to mount the teleflex retaining brackets to the throttle/mixture anchor plate that will mount with the servo.
Once the servo was mounted, I positioned the throttle cable (teleflex) into the retaining bracket and quickly determined that the throttle arm on the servo would have to be clocked differently. I ended up rotating it clockwise facing the shaft by three notches. I attached the throttle cable and determined that the travel was very close to correct. Will work with the mixture cable tomorrow.


 
May 13, 2023     Throttle & mixture cables anchored - (4 hours)       Category: Controls
Not all four hours on the anchoring of cables, also had to remove all input and output plugs from both LSE ignition boxes to reach and tighten the eyeball clamps on the two control cables. So while I had them off, I elected to secure the wires going out of the d-sub plugs a bit more securely than they had been.
After locating the direction that the retaining clamps needed to be oriented, I needed to remove the whole anchor assembly from the fuel injection servo to drill the second holes and debur them before re-assembly.
Finally reinstalled the input and output plugs on both ignitions. The anchor screw on these d-sub plugs are very difficult to reach and tighten which added to the time required.


 
May 14, 2023     Phasing Ignition Coils, add ground wire - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
‘‘Twas the day to phase the Lightspeed ignition boxes to fire the correct coils. I needed to mount the prop spacer and propeller first, at least temporarily. This required more time than the actual testing and determination of which coils needed to be hooked to which coax wires. I still need to add ends onto the ignition control coax wires to hook to the coils.

I also added a ground wire from the right side upper engine mount bolt (to firewall) to the Forrest of tabs ground block that I have mounted on the middle of the cabin side of the firewall.


 
May 15, 2023     Registration forms sent to FAA - (1 hour)       Category: Research
Calling it an hour because that's all it should have taken, but I was reading ahead too far. Utilizing the EAA homebuilt registration pack, I sent off my forms to get N221KW assigned to this aircraft.


 
May 18, 2023     Manifold pressure line to ignition - (1 hour)       Category: Engine
Decided on a route from engine side of firewall to the LSE ignition modules inside of cabin. Particularly driven by where I had access with a drill. Routed line after drilling the access hole. Still need to get a 1/8” npt to 1/8” hose barb fitting.

Also pulled out Titan factory oil drain plug and replaced with a quick drain plug supplied with the RANS kit.

Tried several different routings for the sleeved fuel line that goes from the fuel injection servo to the flow divider on top of the engine. I was able to adjust the clocking on the outlet fitting on the servo and then route the hose well away from exhaust components.


 
May 19, 2023     Air box assembly - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
Gathered parts and accomplished most of assembly of the airbox / air filter housing assembly.

Not as pretty as I had hoped, mostly owing to the middle hole used for clocking the outside “side” to the top and bottom was apparently clocked off just a bit. Therefore the step and offset bend were off just a bit. I ended up using screws with locknut and blue loctite in two locations to pull things together where they had not mated quite correctly.


 
May 30, 2023     Cabin Door Right - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Continued work on right side cabin door, fitting trim pieces fwd, rear and lower. Fit up the lower door paine and started on upper paine.


 
Jun 18, 2023     Mask stripe lines right - (.8 hour)       Category: Paint / Decals
Mounted right side door and secured closed. Installed a seat to get an idea of where I wanted to paint to on the lower part of the door. Used masking tape to bring the fuselage lines of red/white/blue forward across door, boot cowling and the engine cowling. Scribing a mark into the boot cowling and engine cowling so I can hopefully find my line again after priming.


 
Jun 19, 2023     Masking stripes layout left - (.5 hour)       Category: Paint / Decals
Attached left door and used masking tape to flow the red/white/blue forward to the nose on left side. Masked a line from left to right at front of cowling for each color break.


 
Oct 15, 2023     Torque Wing Attach bolts - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Tightened and then torqued the rear spar attach bolt (AFT spar attach fitting to fuselage), Front D Spar through T-Bone on fuselage, Lower Strut attach fitting through tangs on fuselage, Lower strut attach fitting through lower hole in strut, strut truss fitting bolts (4x 1/4" bolts, and strut truss fitting through upper strut bolt.
 
Oct 16, 2023     Correct Aileron Cable Twist - (1 hour) Category: Wings
Determined that the right side Aileron cable had a twist (the bell-crank had flipped during paint/storage) was able to correct without undoing anything inside of wing. Also determined that I had left off the male end of the pushrod that was to be attached to the bell-crank before the wing skins were attached. I will correct at next work session.
 
Oct 17, 2023     Aileron cable tensioned - (.5 hour) Category: Wings
Tightened turnbuckles on aileron cables and attached the male end of the right side aileron push pull tube to the bell-crank. (Somehow had missed before skinning the wing.)
 
Feb 17, 2024     Boot cowl closing fail - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Several pics over several days of fitting the boot cowl but with foam tape on the front mating areas. After review and a tip from Tony at factory, concluded that foam tape is only for the rear edges of boot cowl, against the tube fuselage. This shows you how NOT to do it.


 
Feb 18, 2024     Boot cowl mistakes (continued) - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
These pics show more of fitting the boot cowl with foam tape on the front edges, which is incorrect. You can see some pillowing between rivets.


 
Feb 20, 2024     Top of boot cowl with foam tape (wrong) - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
This was fitting the top of the boot cowl with a layer of foam tape, both across the front and along the edges where it meets the lower portion. This is where it became obvious that everything was going to be too bubbly to look good. I inquired to Tony D at factory and he clarified that they just use the foam tape on the rear edges against the fuselage tubes for sound deadening and to seal to the door better. Had to drill some rivets out of the lower sides and start over.


 
Feb 21, 2024     Boot Cowl part deux (but correct) - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Refitted the boot cowl with foam tape only at the rear. Looks better, getting close to windshield time. Construction of horse arena in the background as it was warm enough this February 21st to have the hanger door open for heat!


 
Feb 23, 2024     Fitting windshield - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Added foam tape to windshield/skylight ribs above cabin. Began clecoing in the skylight and windshield.


 
Feb 24, 2024     Cleco windshield & skylight - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Continued fitting up and clecoeing in the skylight and windshield.


 
Feb 25, 2024     Front middle hold down strip added - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Installed the strip that goes under the 5 screws in the middle windshield bow. I had previously installed just the screws but had missed this strip. Used blue loctite on the screws, doing my best to avoid contact with the plexiglass windshield.


 
Feb 26, 2024     Riveting skylight hold down strips - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Riveted more inner hold down strips and removed extra silicone.


 
Feb 27, 2024     Windshield/skylight hold down strips riveted - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Riveted outside hold down strips on windshield / skylight. I had left the outside ones unriveted hoping for some crush in the foam tape there. Dipping rivets in clear silicone as installed. This then requires removal of the excess, kind of a messy operation.


 
Feb 29, 2024     Z strips windshield riveted - (.5 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Replaced clecos with rivets on z strips and clamp strips on each side of the windshield. Still dipping rivets in clear silicone before installing.


 
Mar 01, 2024     Windshield bonding - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage
Finally bonded the windshield hold down strip today. The 2216 epoxy is deceiving, it will act like it is going to stay up on the windshield but by the time you get it all spread, I had some drips coming down onto the boot cowl. Easily enough remedied, but something to watch for. I also wanted to get a bit of push in on the upper part of the closure strip on each side and couldn't make any clamp hold. I used an open hole on the edge of the boot cowl to anchor a 2x piece of lumber which added enough grip to allow clamps to hold. Used some wood shims to push in a few more spots.


 
Mar 02, 2024     Finish cut wing cuffs and paint edge - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
I had missed some instructions on fitting the wing cuffs properly. Basically, I just missed cutting them to the outside edge of the windshield for length. Cut with dremel type tool and then masked and hand painted the edges. Also painted all of the rivet heads around the boot cowl / windshield intersection area (red areas only)


 
Mar 06, 2024     Balance ailerons and paint flap gap seals - (1 hour)       Category: Controls
Had used expanding foam previous day to make the plugs in the aileron spars. Measured approximately 58 ounces of small lead shot for each side and got the ailerons balanced. Unlike the elevator, they don't easily stay level on balance, however you can tell when you have enough weight when they go either forwards or back from level with equal propensity.

I had missed spraying the top of the flap gap seals that go against the fuse. So primed yesterday and final coated today. Picture is of primed surfaces.


 
Mar 07, 2024     Fitting/adjusting ailerons - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
So, this entry is being made after the activity by a week. Fitting the ailerons ended up being a very tedious project that burned a lot of hours over several days. A few things to be aware of, you can't pivot the aileron past the push rod and fitting if the caging bolts for the bell crank pullies are installed, also be sure that you have all three aileron cable turnbuckles loosened before attempting to adjust the ailerons. Also be ready to accept that you might still need to adjust some, which means that if you were to go back and try to pin them again , you wouldn't be able to without loosening the turnbuckles. In my eyes that is ok, so long as I had the correct movements up and down (in degrees) on both sides. Picture from day one.


 
Mar 11, 2024     Rigging ailerons - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Pinned the aileron bellcrank pulleys and adjusted the length of the pushrods to get the ends of the ailerons centered with the wing tips. Picture shows the safety wire I used to hold the bushing and lift the pushrod to attach to aileron.


 
Mar 13, 2024     Right side flap gap seal - (1.2 hours)       Category: Wings
Fitting the right side flap gap seal, deciding how to fit the upper forward edge took the most time. I have taken pictures of several other planes, both factory and customer builds, and no two are the same. To my eye, leaving the forward length on the seal where it didn't run into the outer windshield hold down strip, looked best. I found a couple of small machine screws for the outside upper edge hold down. I believe the factory screws are bigger and I was close for edge distance, so I wanted to use a screw that would thread through the #30 hole.


 
Mar 13, 2024     Adjusting flap bellcranks (missed previously) - (1.2 hours)       Category: Wings
I finally figured out that part of reason my flap handle didn't always feel right when pushed all the way lowered was that the bell ranks on each side were contacting the teleflex cables right at the end of the travel. I first shortened the female ball ends inside of the fuselage at the flap handle but still ended up needing to undo the outer ends of the cables and thread them on farther also. This adjustment effectively lowered the flaps some, so I had to shorten the pushrod and ends between the bell rank and flap on each side.


 
Mar 14, 2024     Left flap gap seal - (.7 hour)       Category: Wings
Left flap gap seal fitted similar to the right side. Went a bit faster since I knew where I wanted to be when done.


 
Mar 15, 2024     Wing lower gap seal right side - (1.2 hours)       Category: Wings
Decided to fit the right side first, so any learning mistakes would be on the far side of the airplane. Biggest indecision was how far forward to set the gap seal. If the rear edge was set even to the rear edge of the wing skin, quite a lot of material was forward of the bend at the front spar. If the front edge was set right at the rear edge of the z strip it makes the rear edge of the seal extend past the rear of the door opening. However this was the better option of the two in my opinion. I trimmed the outside edge at the rear, where the root flap hinge extended below the plane of the gap seal and trimmed the vertical edge to be even with the door opening. The farthest forward hole ended up very close to the front inside edge of the D-spar so I had to file that one tinnerman down to fit. Looked pretty good once I figured it all out.


 
Mar 16, 2024     Wing lower gap seal left side - (.7 hour)       Category: Wings
Second side is much quicker than the first. Fit is nice, also forgot to mention that I am using plastic washers under the screws to preserve the paint.


 
Mar 18, 2024     Wing root cuffs bonded - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Masked off adjacent areas and used 3M 2216 to bond wing root cuffs to windshield. Used extensive taping and some lead shot bags to help secure. Only real problem was some drips of adhesive that I missed until later……going to be a bear to remove.


 
Mar 18, 2024     Pushrod ends all secured and locktite applied - (1 hour)       Category: Wings
Had not applied locktight to the locknuts on aileron and flap pushrod tubes, had to fabricate a cheap wrench to fit the inside of the flap pushrods. All 8 locknuts secured.


 
Mar 18, 2024     Cowling work - (2.5 hours)       Category: Engine
Fitted cowl back onto fuse with clecos and checked how airbox intake was sealed. I have a gap on left side that might require an additional piece of material, otherwise good. Test fit cowl inlet ramps from AeroSport with tape. Installed the top cowl to bottom with clecos to explore the fitment of the baffle seals. Lot of contemplating.


 
Mar 19, 2024     Secure horizontal incidence adjustments - (1 hour)       Category: Tail Feathers
I had not secured the upper adjustment screws on the horizontal stabilizer incidence adjustment fittings. Double checked that the lower screws were secured with blue locktite thread lock. Then applied blue locktite to the upper screws. I also attached the inspection covers on the horizontal stabilizer.


 


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