May 15, 2024     Completed guide block installation - (1 hour)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - I countersunk and tapped the holes in these nylon guide blocks. I found the single flute countersink cutter worked much better than the three flute cutter.

Photo 2 - Installed the guide blocks in the slots.

Photo 3/4 - You know you're waiting a while for your engine when the milk jugs you used as ballast to keep the nose down fail.

  May 10, 2024     Deburr canopy and painted skirts - (1.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - Once I start working on the canopy fiberglass, I think I may need a wider table. I wasn't totally comfortable with setting this upright on my EAA workbench table. It's too narrow. Will have to think about how I'll do this.

Photo 2/3 - While deburring the holes I drilled, I noticed 6 or so of them have these defects on the exit side of the hole. Like it chipped. Maybe I was using too much pressure or my drill wasn't perpendicular. I used my deburr tool to put a generous chamfer on the exit side of the hole and that pretty much cleaned them up. I may also take some 400 grit sandpaper to them.

Photo 4 - I painted the inboard surface of the canopy skirts.

  May 10, 2024     Drilled side skirts into frame - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - I spent a long tie agonizing on how to line the skirt up with the canopy. I quadruple checked the directions and I think I got it right. It helped to mark on the fuselage 1/8" down from where the KAI says to, then I just lined up the edge of the skirt with the line I drew. It was a little tricky to drill it with it held by the tape but as soon as I got a couple holes drilled, the clecos held it tightly.

Photo 2 - Got both side skirts drilled into the frame. I drilled straight through the duct tape which was holding the canopy tight.

Photo 3 - I was paranoid that I would have drilled into the frame at the top or bottom of it, so I was relieved to see all the holes for the most part in the middle of the frame.

Photo 4 - Didn't take as long as I thought it could have to get this bend just right. I think it's as good as it can be. Used a can of primer to form the bend.

Photo 5 - This is how much I had to take off the back edge of the skirts to get the 1/16" gap the KAI wanted. Just used a file and scotch brite pad.

  May 04, 2024     Drilled front and rear bows - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - I did some practicing of having a hole in the aluminum behind a piece of plexi that had no hole to start with. I wanted to see if I could line up the drill well enough to hit the aluminum hole. Looking through the plexi can distort the view a bit. It worked out just fine and gave me the confidence I needed.

Photo 2 - This is a photo through my 10x of the only boo boo I made drilling all the front and rear holes in the canopy. This hole is on the rear frame and is one of the holes on the side. Gravity wanted to pull the drill down and I didn't compensate fast enough. The marks you see are where the drill bit tip slid down the canopy as I drilled. This is a pretty detailed photo, so it probably looks worse than it is. I deburred the outside of the hole and will end up upsizing the hole a bit anyway to get the screws in. The head of the screw will cover it and I don't think there are any cracks there either.

Photo 3 - Finished up drilling all the holes. It was in the low 70s outside today, so I turned on the heater in the garage and got it up over 80 deg F. I'm pretty happy with it and feel like I can relax a bit more until it's time to drill the side pieces.

  May 02, 2024     Finished trimming and drilled forward bow - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

Did a little more trimming of the canopy edges to get the right gaps. It's good for now, and may need some more once I get it riveted and see how it opens. I think better to leave some material that can be removed later.

Photo 1/2 - I redid the transfer paper marking after trimming the canopy just in case it sat a little differently on the frame. I also used some masking tape this time since the transfer paper made a mark on the tube that was not as temporary as I thought. Acetone took it off, but no reason to not use masking tape for the 2nd mark. I marked every 2" and made a start with the center punch where the hole is tangent with the canopy.

Photo 3 - Got the holes drilled with #40 bit and put the canopy back. Next step is to match drill the canopy with #30 plexi bit through the #40 holes. I'm a bit nervous about doing this since what if I don't get it lined up well. I'll try it this weekend sometime, I think. Maybe some practice on some scrap before I try the real deal.

  Apr 27, 2024     Trim canopy - (2.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

It was unseasonably warm today, so I did some work on the canopy.

Photo 1/2 - Tony shared this idea with me to make a template which will put a light scribe line on the canopy instead of trying to mark it with a sharpie and it getting rubbed off or being faint. Just clamped together a quantity of feeler gages to mark a certain distance from the bottom of the canopy. It worked very well.

Photo 3 - I made this notch a little bigger to clear the canopy frame. I mostly used the sandpaper wrapped around a 1" dowel, but used the belt sander very gently for the flat area.

Photo 4 - I also used the belt sander to remove the bulk of material from the edges of the canopy. Then I used 120 grit stuck to a 2x4 to remove the rough lines left by the 40 grit belt sander and make sure the edge is nice and flat. Next was the edge scraper (photo 5) to remove the last of the deep scratches the 120 grit couldn't get to. This edge scraper works much better than I anticipated. It's like peeling a potato. Also used it to make a chamfer on the edge. Once I got it roughly how I wanted, I took 180, 220, 320, and 600 grit sandpaper to polish it.

Rest of the photos are random things after another day. Checking gaps with 1/8" thick paint stir stick.

  Apr 24, 2024     Practice plexiglass work - (1 hour)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 & 2 - I tried using my dremel cut off wheel to cut the practice piece I have. It worked, of course, but left a bunch of resolidifed plastic boogers on the edge. They were pretty difficult to remove. I put a post out on the Facebook group, and many people came back with good ideas. I went out a bought one of those belt sanders with the narrow sand paper. I tried it out and it works very well. No more molten plastic, but it's a bit heavy and can get away from me if I'm not careful. I want to practice with it some more.

Photo 3 - I tried to drill a bad hole with a regular non-plexi bit and I just couldn't. I have the plexi bits and plan to use them, I was just trying to see how sensitive this was. I found it wasn't that sensitive. It was also 68 deg F in the garage tonight. So, not quite the 75F Vans recommends.

In summary, not as worried about drilling holes and more concerned about trimming the canopy without damaging it. I think I'll put a couple layers of tape next to the edge I plan to trim so that if I slip with the sander it doesn't scuff the clear plastic.

  Apr 22, 2024     Put canopy on and marked forward bow tangent - (1 hour)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - Tony told me about this trick where you use transfer paper to put a tangent line on the forward bow where the canopy makes contact. This pic shows it prior to canopy installation.

Photo 2 - Scott was over to borrow some tools, so he applied pressure to the canopy while I dragged the transfer paper through the opening and it left this mark. It worked pretty well. Well enough for me to drill into I think.

Photo 3 - Scott took this photo of me.

  Apr 19, 2024     Prepared plexi glass - (1 hour)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - Noticed some damage to the protective film in a couple spots. I didn't notice anything significant to the plexiglass itself.

Photo 2 - It took longer than I thought to peel the plastic off and tape it off 3 inches from the edge. This is required so that the majority of the canopy stays protected but the edges are accessible for drilling for the attachment to the frame.

It's getting warm again, so I am feeling more comfortable with drilling and trimming the canopy. It's gonna cool off for a few days, but I think I'm ready to bring it out of the basement and put it on the plane. I may work on the nosewheel fairing on the "cold" days. Drilling it will only take a day or two, then the temperature doesn't matter and I can work on it any day. I'm excited to get back in the swing of things again as it's been slow for the plane lately.

  Apr 10, 2024     Finished right wheel pant - (1.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - Match drilling the nut plates into the flange.

Photo 2 - This screw is pretty ridiculous in terms of access. I got the stubbiest philips screw driver I have and it fits, but it won't get a good grip on the screw head. Maybe I'm missing something, but I truly don't understand why all screws aren't torx drive. Philips head just seem to always strip when the torque is high. I wasn't able to get this screw in and that's probably ok. Maybe I'll think of a better way to get that screw in later, aside from jacking up the plane to get better access which just seems ridiculous.

Photo 3 - Finished the wheel pant.

  Apr 03, 2024     Finished left wheel pants - (2.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - I used the sanding wheel on the dremel to grind off the excess epoxy/flox mixture. It made a nice snowy mess. It didn't come through in the picture well, but the epoxy/flox mixture doesn't necessarily have a nice "channel" for the bracket to fit into, but it does have good thickness to form a nice mounting pad between the fairing and the bracket. Unlike the airframe, these parts can be taken off and worked on if I so desire later and the plane still flies fine.

Photo 2 - Used the #6 screw to hold the nut plate flush while I match drilled the first of 2 rivet holes. This worked fine. Then clecoed it and drilled the other one.

Photo 3 - Got the nut plates riveted. This was good practice for the cowling and it's pretty easy to drill, countersink and rivet into the fiberglass compared to metal. Just have to be a bit more gentle so as to not crack or chip the fiberglass.

Photo 4 - "Finished" fairing. I think it turned out pretty good. The seam isn't perfect but I'm not trying to win a Lindy award!

Also the hole I step drilled to get access to put air in the tires doesn't seem like it'll work. It's pretty tiny, and I bet the fitting is hard to reach, let alone twist off the cap. Will have to experiment with that.

  Mar 18, 2024     Worked on wheel pants - (5.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

I've been working on and off these wheel pants over a couple weeks due to being busy with family stuff and generally not as motivated to work on the plane. So, I'll just have this one big entry for the wheel pants.

Photo 1 - Quality on this fairing wasn't great. There are a couple chips on the part near where they mark dimpled holes for match drilling. I wonder if they have some tooling that damaged the part.

Photo 2 - For this area of damage, I opted to match drill adjacent to the damage since I think trying to drill where the dimple is would just make for a big hole. I can fill in this dimple and damage with epoxy+flox mixture and then sand it smooth. Good practice for more challenging fiberglass work for the cowling

Photo 3 - Got things match drilled and cutting out the landing gear cutout.

Photo 4 - Did some test fits on the wheel. I definitely got to this point faster than the first fairing. It's quite the messy job but they look cool.

Photo 5 - Enlarged the wheel opening to make sure my fingers can fit between tire and wheel pants all the way around. I figured having a bigger gap is a good thing since I doubt it has any measurable aerodynamic impact and it's just more clearance to handle rough landings.

Photo 6 - Left wheel pants fitted and looking slippery.

Photo 7 - The next step is to apply some epoxy/flox mixture to the brackets to form a "channel" and fill any gaps between the curve part of the fairing and the flat bracket. So, the KAI have you put masking tape and wax as a way to release the two parts.

Photo 8 - Roughed up the fiberglass in preparation for the flox mixture.

Photo 9 - Applied generous amounts of wax to the screws since they will be interacting with the epoxy/flox mixture and don't want them to get stuck.

Photo 10 - Smeared some epoxy/flox mixture in the area of the holes.

Photo 11 - Lesson learned here: If you can't see through the holes in the fiberglass due to the epoxy/flox mixture blocking the hole, you can't get the screw in to secure the wheel pants! I spent way too much time moving the fairing around, trying to get the holes to line up and I bet it smeared the epoxy all over the place. If I do it again, I'd try to not block the holes as much so I could see when things were lined up.

Photo 12 - A couple days later, I went to remove the clecos and screws (after match drilling 3 #27 holes for nut plates). Some of the screws came out fine, but maybe 1/3 of them were stuck pretty good. I tried a few different strategies to get them to unscrew, but the one that worked the best was some channel locks to grip the screw. I had to get it unscrewed a bit with a regular screw driver so I could get a good grip on the head of the screw first. Ruined a couple screws but I can always get some new ones.

Photo 13 - 16: Here is the final result of the epoxy/flox mixture. Some turned out better than others. You can see in the first photo it got pretty smeared around before I was able to get the holes lined up. The other ones looked better as I learned how to get things aligned better. I may take a dremel and sanding wheel to the excess to remove it. I am considering redoing at least one of them but not sure if I need to yet or not.

  Mar 09, 2024     Fit Right Wheel Pants - (2.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Been a while since my last update. I heard back from Vans on my powerplant kit - they are saying July/August to ship it. Much longer than I'd hoped.

Photo 1 - Cutting the slot in the wheel pants for the gear leg to pass through.

Photo 2 - Used this roll of tape to shape a radius.

Photo 3 - Need to do some more trimming for the wheel opening. I tried to make it so that I could run my finger around the whole perimeter between the wheel and the fairing.

Photo 4 - It's a messy job using the dremel and sanding drum.

Photo 5 - Just picked up 5 knots.

I think a bit more trimming is needed then I'll move on to the nut plates and be done with this fairing. I'd rather over trim the wheel opening then have to trim more after some landings and I see the wheel rubbing on the fiberglass.

  Feb 18, 2024     Trimmed wheel pant #1 - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - I riveted on these 16 nut plates and enjoyed it. Been a while since I've set some solid rivets and this went well. My time setting rivets is going to be a lot less for the rest of the build.

Photo 2 - Took me a while to figure out (remember?) the best way to trim fiberglass. Turns out using a dremel cut off wheel to get it close and then a sanding drum on the dremel works best. I then follow it up with some 120 grit sandpaper stuck to a round PVC pipe for radii and 120 grit taped to a flat board for straight edges. This is great practice for the cowling.

Photo 3 - This is how close the bracket lined up without any sanding of the mating edges of the 2 pieces of the wheel pants. It visually reveals how much sanding of the mating edge is required to get them to line up.

Photo 4 - I thought I did an OK job getting the edges to be as flush as possible. I bet my 2nd wheel pant will be better.

Photo 5 - I trimmed the wheel opening to the scribe lines but clearly they don't match. I'll blame the scribe lines as I received them for that. I imagine I'll need to do more trimming once I try to put the pants on the wheels, so I'll save the additional trimming for later.

Photo 6 - Trimming fiberglass is a messy job! I had my ear muffs, respirator and safety glasses on when I was using the dremel.

  Feb 14, 2024     Started wheel pants - (1.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - I deburred and countersunk the nut plate rivet holes. Had to take the countersink cage off for some of the holes.

Photo 2 - I started sanding a bit of the wheel pants where the plys accumulated in order to help them fit together better. Sanding by hand took a while and I didn't see much impact. I think I'll try to use my dremel sanding wheel next time and just go super low speed.

Photo 3 - I painted the brackets.

  Feb 13, 2024     Completed counterbalance service bulletin - (1.5 hours)       Category: SB

Photo 1 - close-up view of the lead counter weights. Looks like they are cast, judging from the flow lines that are apparent on it. Final drilling those holes was weird. The lead is very soft.

Photo 2/3 - I clamped the counterbalance rod in this 3D printed fixture that I had a friend print for me. One of the guys online designed it and shared a digital file that I passed to my friend. It worked pretty well.

Photo 4 - Got the steel straps match drilled and installed the cherry rivets to complete the SB.

  Feb 09, 2024     More painting - (1.5 hours)       Category: Interior Finish

Photo 1 - These are the skins that form the rear window. It was windy today, so I used a cleco on the underside of the wire mesh to hold the skin to the paint tray.

Photo 2 - Tucked the tray closer to the garage and it was more shielded from the wind.

Photo 3 - Bunch of panels ready to go. I likely won't put most of these on until the very end.

I looked at the KAI some more today and may get started on the wheel pants next while I wait for the motor. It'll be good practice with fiberglass before I do the cowl.

  Feb 04, 2024     Deburred and painted access panels - (2 hours)       Category: Interior Finish

It's been a while since my last entry, but I haven't had much to do on the plane and it had been really cold. Sounds like a bunch of excuses, I know. Truthfully, it's been difficult to get motivated what with the bankruptcy drama and having to go out of order with the KAI. I don't like jumping around the plans. It was my birthday weekend, so I was afforded some free time to work on the plane - and I did.

Photo 1 - Deburred some more small pieces to prepare for paint.

Photo 2 - It was unseasonably warm and sunny, and I took advantage of it to paint in the sun. It was a bit windy, and some of the small pieces blew around some but I made it work.

Photo 3 - Panels painted and drying.

I need to get some motivation to start messing with the scrap window that Mark gave me while I wait for the engine. I did receive a new contract from Vans recently, and agreed to a 6% price increase. I'm hopeful that they'll have some in stock and will be ready to ship it to me soon.

  Jan 07, 2024     Deburr some parts while I wait for the engine kit - (1 hour)       Category: Interior Finish

Been in a lull for a while due to a busy 2023 Christmas and, to be honest, a lack of motivation. I need the engine kit to work on the cowling, but it's tied up in Van's chapter 11 bankruptcy SNAFU. I'm anxious to see what comes out of all of it and am anxious to get my kit without paying a lot more than I had planned. Trying to figure out what to work on in the meantime. I could start the canopy work, but it's pretty cold lately, and it needs to be warm while you do that to avoid cracking the plexi glass. With all that's going on at Vans, the last thing I want is to need a new canopy from them.

Photo 1 - Removed blue film and deburred some access panels that won't go on for a while.

Photo 2 - Deburring the skins that go on the top of the fuselage and connect with the tail cone (note the hole for fuel fill area).

Photo 3 - Brainstorming a list of things I can do while I wait for the engine.

Photo 4 - Meme I made that pretty much sums up how I'm feeling lately.

  Dec 25, 2023     Clecoed tailcone - (1 hour)       Category: Assembly

Photo 1 - More tab ending much like the wing skin close outs. I don't think I had this more precise angle measure device at that point. I was able to get these pretty close.

Photo 2 - I was able to get the tail clecoed by myself by using saw horses at various heights and axial positions. If you move the aft saw horse forward, it changes the angle of the tail cone relative to the fuselage.

Photo 3 - Here is the underside view. Took a little while to make sure I had the right skins overlapping in the right areas.

Photo 4 - Finished product. I think I'll have room for the engine and prop but will definitely have to go diagonal a bit in the garage. I'm not sure how well that will work when I get the horizontal stabilator on.

  Dec 24, 2023     Primed and riveted nut plates - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

I'm not totally sure I need to have these parts done to temporarily attach the tail cone but they need to get prepared at some point, so I did it now.

Photo 1 - Deburred and painted these pieces

Photo 2 - Enlarged to 3/8" with a step drill this one hole. I think it may be for an ELT antenna or something.

Photo 3 - Andrea helped me get the tailcone down from the ceiling and I riveted these 4 nut plates on. This was a little challenging since gravity wanted to keep taking the rivets out of the holes.

Photo 4 - Used my vice to hold them loosely to rivet more nut plates.

  Dec 20, 2023     Reinstalled WD-1215 and started on new parts - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - My setup while re-installing the WD-1215 flaperon control pieces. I have to say, it went smooth this time than the first time installing these. Just a tight spot to get your hand/fingers in there. I dropped nuts/washers a bunch of times but used a magnet on the underside to slide them aft to where I could use my fingers or needle nose to get them.

Photo 2 - I completed installing them. I left the pilot side connection to the flaperon push rods not fully torqued because this is where the auto pilot roll servo will attach to. You have to replace it with a longer bolt, so this current bolt will be coming out anyway. All other bolts are final and I put torque seal on them.

Photo 3 - Started working on the shoulder belt brackets. It says to put a 1/16" chamfer on them, I assume for clearance. So, I measured 1/16" and drew a sharpie line there so that I can file the material away until I don't see the sharpie line anymore.

Photo 4 - Nearly done with the filing operation. I remembered that Mark suggested using sandpaper to finish a job like this to make it more smooth, so I make come back and do that just to make it look nicer. The file leaves a bunch of scratch marks.

Photo 5 - Started deburring these parts which go on the bottom corner of the fuselage but ran out of time. Will pick it up later.

  Dec 19, 2023     Removed WD-1215 and match drilled to #12 - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

I was fearful of this step, since if I messed it up, I'd need the wings again if I had to get new torque tubes. Drilling into this tubular powder coated steel is not easy.

Photo 1 - I used my vice to clamp things together. It held it rock solid together and was at a good height for drilling.

Photo 2 - Since drilling into these powder coated steel tubes gives me trouble, I decided to buy a bunch of new drill bits increasing in size from #30 to #12. This would minimize the bite each drill would have when enlarging the holes. One issue I have sometimes is the drill bit will slip while in the chuck. I think it's because it tries to take a bite out of the steel, and the torque that is reacted is too high for the chuck. My dewalt drills have 3 flats on them which makes this much easier, but these jobber drill bits I get from Aircraft Spruce don't have that. I'm not sure why.

Photo 3 - I was able to drill them successfully with no major issues and got the bolts to go through. The 2 holes were pretty well aligned, but I did run the drill through both holes at the same time a bit and that made the bolts go in easier.

  Dec 15, 2023     Mounted wings and drilled torque tubes - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage

After 10 or so days off from building, today was a big day. We put the wings on for the first time in order to match drill the torque tubes for the flaperons.

Photo 1 - I put the pins in the freezer to try to make them shrink a bit to make it easier to install them in the fuselage bushings.

Photo 2 - With the help of Mark, was able to slide both wings on in 10 minutes or less. Getting the spar pins in was another story.

Photo 3 - At least 2 hours of work was required to get the pins in. It required some filing of the wing skin on the underside. It was interfering with the fuselage skin and preventing the wing from being pushed all the way on. The stub spars also need some mild dressing. They could probably use a bit more, but I'm nervous to do too much as you do want these tight so the wings don't wiggle much forward to aft. In fact, I think that is a check in the maintenance manual and they have replacement pieces you can buy to reduce the wiggle. We had plenty of grease on the pins, and it took some wiggline of the wing tip to get the bushings to all align properly.

Photo 4 - Setting up the 1/8" flaperon droop. Pieces of paint stirrer stick worked well for this.

Photo 5 - All that work for drilling these 2 holes (per side). It's an important step as it determines how level the plane will fly when the stick is neutral.

Photo 6 - Now that the holes are drilled, I'm moving the wings to Mark's hangar in order to get more space in the garage to eventually attach the tailcone to the fuselage. I plan to cleco it to do the canopy work (the weight of the tail cone is thought to make the canopy fit differently) and then remove it to do additional work on the fuselage at a later date. Mark and Scott are loading the wings into a uhaul as I'm waiting in the truck with ratchet straps.

Photo 7 - Got them secure in the truck the same way I did it last year when we moved from West Chester to Mason. Hopefully this is the last time I move the wings! Scott might have rode in the back of the truck and kept an eye on things for the 7 mile trip to the airport ;-)

Photo 8 - Wings tucked in the back of Mark's hangar. I put a blanket over them after this photo.

Photo 9 - A lot of work to match drill these two holes. There's some more work to do with them to open them up to #12 holes. Hopefully I don't mess it up.

  Dec 06, 2023     Finished preparing torque tubes - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - After a lot of different techniques, I was finally able to get the nylon blocks filed/sanded enough to fit on the flaperon plate. It's still a very snug fit and I want it that way so that there is no slop in the controls. This picture shows the torque tube fully inserted on the black conical bushing (left side) and the male/female pieces connected.

Photo 2 - All the tools I used to get the gap in the nylon blocks to the right dimension.

Photo 3 - I moved the flaps to the fully up position using the power wheels battery. The instructions have the wire colors backwards, since the supplier for the flap motor was changed since they last wrote the instructions. I just made sure the flaps were fully up. This is to prepare for drilling the torque tubes.

  Dec 01, 2023     Finished wing tip lights and put garage back together - (4 hours)       Category: Lighting

Photo 1 - Mark helped me understand what the 1/32" of an inch thick piece of tape was for. It was to protect the fiberglass from proseal that will ooze out. You have to make it thin so that you can fit the rivet heads without trapping the tape underneath. A straight edge with razor worked well to cut it thin.

Photo 2 - Got it clecoed to the wing and you can see some proseal sticking out.

Photo 3 - Tried to get it smooth with a popsicle stick. All builders know how sticking and messy this stuff is.

Photo 4 - This rivet is so close to the bracket, I had to modify my spacer tool to flat the top edge off a bit, otherwise, it's too big to fit.

Photo 5 - Moved inside to do the wire crimping for the lights. Not because it was super cold, just more space and comfort to do this delicate job.

Photo 6 - I think I can say the wings are officially done. I tested the lights both at the lights themselves, but also through all the wiring from the wing root connector. They worked fine.

Photo 7 - In putting the garage back together, I realized that now that the wings are a bit longer due to the wing tip lights, I had to cut a notch in the crate for them to fit by.

  Nov 29, 2023     Powder coated some parts       Category: Fuselage

I got a couple steel parts (and 1 non-structural aluminum piece) powder coated at a local powder coating place. It was a little more expensive than I thought it'd be, but I see this as something I'll never have to worry about rusting or painting again. Hopefully that's true!

  Nov 29, 2023     Removed wing tip lights and prepared to remount - (2.5 hours)       Category: Lighting

It's always nice when things go smoother than you feared.

Photo 1 - I was able to get both fiberglass wing tip lights off the wings. One of them was easier than the other, not sure if that's because I did a better wax job on one wing or it just didn't glue on as tight. The play-doh did its job as well.

Photo 2 - Clamping the bracket in place to match drill the mounting holes. Not thrilled how close the bracket is to that lower rivet hole but it's a common thing I've seen on other build logs. Will be a little tricky to set that rivet.

Photo 3 - Got the 1" hole drilled. My step drill only went to 3/4", so I had to run to Lowes to get a 1" hole saw. It worked very well.

Photo 4 - Just seeing how mounting the lights looks. I decided to hold off on installing them tonight as the epoxy was still a little smooshy. Not sure if it should be rock hard or have a little squish to it. So, I brought them inside for the night and will let them sit at room temperature for another day. Maybe the garage slowed the cure process.

  Nov 28, 2023     Smeared on some epoxy and flox - (2 hours)       Category: Lighting

Photo 1 - It was time to give the epoxy/flox mixture a try for the first time. I am fearful that my part will be hard to remove from the wing, but we'll see. I used my kids' playdoh to "mask" an area where a screw will go through to hold the bracket for the light.

Photo 2 - Mixed up the epoxy/flox mixture. It took more cotton flox than I thought it would to get to this thickness.

Photo 3 - Ready to smoosh it on the wing.

Photo 4 - It's attached now and will cure overnight. We'll see what happens tomorrow when I try to remove it.

  Nov 27, 2023     Prepared flaperon torque tubes - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - As I'm getting ready to mount the wings, I realized I needed to make some more progress in section 38 of the KAI. This is a photo of me testing out of the West System epoxy stuff. I had no idea how it was going to go. It could have melted the cup for all I knew. It got a little warm but it was fine and didn't smell that bad.

Photo 2 - I cut the nylon blocks to length and inserted them in the torque tube I did the match drilling and epoxied them and riveted them. It says to keep the spacing 0.125" between the blocks, and I happened to have some AL angle that is 0.125" thick, so I used that. Thing is, I had to really shove it in there including the use of a clamp to push it in the final amount. I should have listened to my gut when I did this because the torque tube flanges just flared open to allow this. Those blocks really are too big if they want a 0.125" gap.

Photo 3 - It is confirmed. This gap is too small. No way it's getting on the flaperon bracket. I tried a couple test fits and there was no way.

Photo 4 - I started the process of trying open this gap up by sanding the inside surfaces of the nylon. The KAI says to sand the aluminum bracket on the flaperon, but that doesn't feel right to me. This nylon is just filling a gap, not providing any structure but the aluminum on the flaperon bracket is all there is. It's a slow go sanding this nylon and I didn't make much progress. Just hard to get much of any pressure on the sand paper since I can't grab both sides of the file. Need to think about it some more.

Photo 5 - While at Lowes buying other things, I found a smaller file that is not a needle file but not a regular size file. It's about 0.120" thick. Clamping the torque tube in the vice and going at the nylon blocks seemed to work, just need about an hour more of back and forth and both will be done. It's a good shoulder workout.

  Nov 27, 2023     Tested lights and worked on wiring - (0.5 hour)       Category: Lighting

Photo 1 - I strung together a few AAA batteries to get close to 12 V to test the lights. I could have used the kids' powerwheels battery, or my riding lawn mower battery, but those have a decent amount of power and I didn't want to short anything out. I figured AAA batteries didn't have as much oomph and was safer. The lights worked great. I remember testing them a while ago, but was fun to do again.

Photo 2 - I pushed the molex connectors into the plastic housing in the right spot. I should have done this a while ago, as those molex connectors hanging off for the last couple years left it pretty vulnerable.

  Nov 26, 2023     Attached flaperons - (1.5 hours)       Category: Wings

I had forgotten that I only temporarily attached the flaperons, just to get them out of the way. I took some time to properly attach them with all the right hardware.

Photo 1 - The plans call for 2 363 washers between each flange in the root bracket. It's always a challenge when you have to put 2 washers between flanges because the first washer likes to fall out as you position the bolt shank to allow the 2nd washer to come in. I wish they just made a washer that's twice the thickness and just use 1 of them.

Photo 2 - I ended up using a long flat head screw driver wedged between flanges in order to open it up enough to fit the 2nd washer in. Would have been easier with a 2nd person but I made it work.

Photo 3 - Getting some torque seal in here was a challenge, but I used a blind rivet mandrel to smear some on the nut and bolt threads. I guess I'll only be able to see this one when the wings are moved, but I do have it on the other 2 for each wing...which are exposed all the time.

  Nov 25, 2023     Drilled wing tip lights - (1.5 hours)       Category: Lighting

Photo 1 - This hole is supposed to be match drilled into the fiberglass part. They purposely left a bit of the fiberglass translucent so you can see through it to drill into this hole, but they didn't do a great job on this part, and I couldn't actually see the hole. So I thought of a way to leave a mark where the hole should be on the fiberglass. I put some torque seal around the hole, thinking that where the hole is wouldn't transfer the torque seal to the fiberglass part and would therefore reveal where the hole should be on the fiberglass.

Photo 2 - It worked pretty well, good enough at least. This is a picture after I drilled the hole, but where the hole is didn't have any torque seal...which is how I knew to drill it there.

Photo 3 - I got one of the light fixtures drilled into the wing. I used a new drill bit and very light pressure. The skin of the wing in this area is very flimsy, so if you push hard it just pushes the skin away. Light pressure and a lot of patience and it worked out OK.

  Nov 24, 2023     Started wing tip lights - (1.5 hours)       Category: Lighting

Photos 1 -3 - I did some rearranging of the garage in order to get the wings out of hibernation. Andrea is out of town, so I "parked" the fuselage in her normal spot. Ethan did some helping to maneuver one end of the wing cradle out while I held the other end. They are chocked into place.

Photo 4 - Felt weird to use these large shears to cut the excess off the lights but it worked pretty well. I also used my oscillating tool to cut where couldn't fit the snips.

Photo 5 - Luckily when I moved the wings out of storage, this sandpaper board thing I used for the other fiberglass parts made itself available. I used it to sand down to the scribe line after having removed the bulk of the excess earlier.

Photo 6 - It's close to being ready for the epoxy. I started finishing the other light but called it quits before finishing. It'll be waiting for me tomorrow.

  Nov 22, 2023     Finished Spar Pins - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - In addition to removing some material from the aluminum pieces with my scotch brite wheel, I put some 120 grit sand paper into this tube using a drill bit to keep it pressed against the inner diameter. I think it worked OK.

Photo 2 - To paint these pieces, I thought to mount them in a 2 x 4 so I can paint all around without having to move it. I only have like 2 hole saws and I just happened to have one almost exactly the same diameter of the pins, so that worked well!

Photo 3 - Painted the spar pins (not the surface that will go through the bushings) and the aluminum spacers. I chose not to paint the aluminum pins that will lock it in place because they slide a lot in the tube and would probably just wear the paint off. I think it'll look cleaner unpainted.

Photo 4 - Finished product. Careful to not tighten the screw too much, otherwise they won't slide very well.

  Nov 20, 2023     Started spar pins - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - I went into Airframe Assembly section of the KAI to start preparing to mount the wings. These spar pins are a pretty tight fit and took some wiggling to get them through the holes. I imagine it will be even more difficult when there are 2 more holes from the wing spars to get through. May take a rubber mallet to get them in - we'll see.

Photo 2 - I'm preparing to paint the parts of the pins which won't be in contact with the spar holes.

Photo 3 - These aluminum pieces didn't fit in the holes in the tubes of the spar pins, so I chucked it up in my drill and ran it on the scotch brite wheel to remove some material to enable them to fit.

  Nov 18, 2023     Painted canopy frame - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - Aftermath of scuffing up the whole frame. I also used my scotchbrite cone and dremel to deburr all the edges.

Photo 2 - This is how I ended up painting it. It worked really well.

Photo 3 - The next day, I riveted on the brackets for the canopy. The canopy frame is now ready to secure to the roll over bar and load the plexi glass on. I want to mount the tailcone temporarily before I do that, so I have some work to do on the wings to get them out of the shop. Probably will be a few weeks before I get that done.

  Nov 15, 2023     Deburred and did some painting - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - This canopy frame is pretty big and awkward. I've been trying to think of a way to hold it while I paint it, and this is the best I've come up with so far. I strung a rope across the width of the garage and used safety wire to lift up the forward flange. If I had two tall ladders, I would go outside the garage and hang it up between them but I only have 1 tall ladder.

Photo 2 - I deburred, scuffed and painted the brackets which will attach to the frame and the plexiglass canopy.

  Nov 13, 2023     Wrestled the frame into position and match drilled brackets - (2 hours)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - I heard back from Vans and they basically said that their RV-12iS SLSA assembly line guys say that each frame requires it's own "massaging" into place. He had the recommendation to put it on the fuselage and push it around until it finds the right spot. At first, I had Andrea hold one side and I pushed on the other side. That didn't do much. What I found worked is what I have pictured where I just push on the side that needs to shift and way beyond where it needs to go (due to spring back) and it deformed things so that it came to rest, it was in the right spot. BUILDING ON!

Photo 2 - Much better fit on the passenger side now. This is where it wants to sit now, without any side force. The important part is that it now aligns with the slots aft of the canopy deck, so it'll seat itself without much side load...I think.

Photo 3 - I fluted and then match drilled these brackets that the canopy will get screwed into. I needed a clamp to hold the bracket in place before I did the first couple holes. My cleco clamps could just barely fit.

Photo 4 - Got all the brackets match drilled. I think the next step will be to deburr the holes and probably time to paint the canopy.

  Nov 12, 2023     Fussing with frame - (3 hours)       Category: Canopy

  Nov 10, 2023     Aligning canopy with longerons - (1 hour)       Category: Canopy

  Nov 08, 2023     Worked on canopy frame - (1.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - I attached the canopy gas struts to the canopy frame. The other end gets attached to the fuselage.

Photo 2 - Now I can see why they wanted me to bevel this edge of the canopy frame. It still rubbed some, so I ended up putting a washer to space it out per the KAI.

Photo 3 - I was able to open it all the way without hitting the garage door. If the garage door is up, that might be tough.

Photo 4 - They say to measure the bow and verify it's 7/16" from the skin. It's pretty close on the sides of the bow, but at the middle of the bow it's at least 1/16" off. They say to bend it. I'm not sure how I'm going to do that yet. I tried to pull it while attached to the plane and it just sprung back to its original spot after I pulled it. Maybe when I pull it off the plane, I can get more leverage. I can't see why this is important so long as it's not too close to the edge of the plexi glass to avoid cracking a hole when drilling, so I may leave it as is to forgo the risk of screwing something up.

UPDATE - I was able to get the bow to move into place with some mild pressure with the canopy in the UP position. You can get more deflection on the bow in that position.

  Nov 06, 2023     Started Canopy - (1.5 hours)       Category: Canopy

Photo 1 - I got the special #12 countersink tool a few weeks ago. $20 for 2 holes. Countersinking holes is not my favorite, so I was happy to have the right tool for the job in this case.

Photo 2 - The bar was in my way for match drilling these holes, so I got to use one of my favorite tools which happens to be pretty simple - the 12" long drill. I just like how easy it flexes around.

Photo 3 - I filed down then polished the weld on the bar where the canopy will contact. I think I did it wide enough enough that I captured where it'll contact without having done the test fit.

Photo 4 - KAI says to file this edge down. I spent 30 minutes with the file and it's still not where I think I want to take it. I may try a palm sander or oscillating tool to go faster. Maybe my dremel with a sanding drum?

  Nov 05, 2023     First Landing! - (1 hour)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - I had to make more room in the garage, so I moved one of my 3 work benches to the basement and I've now freed up some floor space in my basement office since I can store some parts on it. Had to get rid of one table because the airplane is standing on its own feet now and doesn't need a work bench under it!

Photo 2 (video) - This ended up feeling a lot more momentous than I thought it would be (you can tell based on how big my smile was once it got on the ground). Thanks to Andrea and her dad for giving me a hand and Ethan for recording it.

Photo 3 - After twirling it around on the driveway a bit, I backed her back in to the garage. It's nearly impossible to back up with the nosewheel free castoring, so I just slightly lifted the nose and 2 wheeled it back in.

  Nov 03, 2023     Nosewheel installed - (1 hour)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - The thread file arrived from amazon today. I used this to clean up some minor galling on the first thread of the shaft. This thing worked great. Just very light pressure and pushed it forward on the threads and it cleaned up any residual paint and galling present. The nut now goes on super smoothly.

Photo 2 - I tightened the nut until I got about 18 lbs of force required to turn the fork. It seems very heavy, but after some research, it's like this to prevent the nosewheel from shimmying (think of shopping cart wheels that are free castoring). Pictured is just showing how I rigged it up, not the final load required for movement.

Photo 3 - Finished product showing the cotter pin installed after having drilled the hole per the KAI. Getting a hole started on threads was a little tricky, drill bit kept bouncing around on the threads but I eventually got it done.

Photo 4 - All the wheels on and ready to put it on its feet! Just need 2 helpers. I'm thinking one person per wheel and just lift it up and walk it off. Once it's on the ground, maybe I'll put the seats in and let the kids go for a ride on the driveway.

  Nov 02, 2023     Finished brake lines - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - On the first brake line I did, I made the mistake of getting the line all bent to shape without the collar close to the flared end. I was able to wiggle it past the tighter bend but just barely. I may make this one again because when I torqued the fitting, I think I went a bit too far and I'm worried I could have damaged the flare. Debating whether to just do it again now or wait till I bleed the brakes and see if leaks. Hmm..

Photo 2 - This was my 2nd brake line (left leg). This one went much easier.

Photo 3 - Another thing I learned when doing the first brake line was to go ahead and flare both ends while the pipe is straight. If you make a tight bend close to where the flare needs to be, it doesn't fit well in the flaring tool when it clamps down on the tube. You can't fit the spring bending protection device on the tube when you have both ends flared, but I don't think that's a big deal as long as you're careful to not kink the tube when you make the bends.

Photo 4 - I picked up a pack of dental picks from Harbor Freight. Unbelievable how low the prices are there. I don't know how they make a profit. I paid $2.99 for 4 picks. They are quite small and fit in the thread groove perfect to remove the powder coating. I didn't want to get too aggressive as I don't think scratches in the root of the threads is a great thing. As I said before, this thread will just be hanging off the end of the shaft after the nut, so it won't have much of any load on it so probably not a big deal anyway. I was able to get the nut on now, but I can tell the very start of the thread on the shaft got a little galled up after my repeated attempts to get the nut to thread on. So, I'm going to wait to fully assembly it until I get my thread file from Amazon (arriving tomorrow). The file will clean up that part of the thread and make it nice and smooth. So excited to get it on its wheels. Next will be brake bleeding which I'm hoping to borrow Mark's tool and maybe get someone to help me who's bled brakes before. I anticipate some of a mess that will be unavoidable, but would be nice to have someone helping who has done it before.

  Nov 01, 2023     Tried to put nosewheel on - (1.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - Mark did me a HUGE favor and painted the nose wheel fork with 2-part epoxy, high gloss white paint. It's a real good and hard finish. I was super impressed. I riveted on the wheel pants brackets and nut plates. It looks great! I was excited to get it on the gear leg and put the wheel on.

Photo 2-5: Here is my problem. There is some powder coat on the inside diameter of the end of the threaded shaft. In that process, Vans' vendor must not have masked it well and some powder coat got on the threads. The nut will NOT catch a thread. I tried for 45 minutes to get the nut on including the use of a wire brush, file, and scotch brite to clean the powder coat off. I'm going to try to use a dental pick to chip it off and if that doesn't work, use a special thread file to gently file the threads and clear the powder coat.

  Oct 30, 2023     Main wheels - (1.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

It was pretty exciting tonight putting the main wheels on. Makes it look more like an airplane.

Photo 1 - I used my newly acquired fish scale to measure the breakaway torque for the wheel. The instructions say it should be 8-10 in-lb when the axle nut is tightened appropriately. I tightened the nut until the bearing seal stopped moving with the wheel and tightened one more notch to get the cotter pin in. Then, I used some duct tape to stick to the tire and starting pulling until it moved. I then multiplied the lb number by about 7 inches (radius of the tire) and it was about right.

Photo 2 - Got the brakes installed. It was easy.

Photo 3 - Cotter pin installation.

Photo 4 - I got started on the brake line. Flared one end and did the bend to get it close. I'll need to flare it and make sure it all lines up, but it was a free form bend. I wonder if people spend a lot of time to make this look nice and circular or just get it bent to connect the fittings. If I don't like how this looks, I think I have extra to make another one.

  Oct 29, 2023     Shims and wood block head scratching - (3 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

So, I got my shims in 2 weeks after ordering them. I was so excited to install them and re-check the gap to the string. I was quickly disappointed, after the initial check and probably annoyed my wife with my mood.

Photo 1 - After walking away for a bit, I came back and tried the same measurement with different blocks. I was surprised to see that the answer changed. It went from the left gear being perfect to being out again. And the left gear went from slightly toe in to slightly toe out. I had the idea to keep swapping the blocks and seeing how the answer changed. It changed each time, barely teetering on perfect to slightly off. This made me think there was some difference in the blocks. So, I measured the thickness of them on each side (inboard to outboard) and found 1 of the blocks varied by more than the others. It stood out. I didn't do the math to convince myself this is the explanation numerically, but it made me happy to see there was a special cause.

Photo 2/3 - I picked the 2 blocks with the least variation and the closest average dimension between the 2 blocks and used those for measurement. Left leg (photo 2) was near perfect. Right leg looked a bit toe out, but very small amount. Vans KAI says any amount of toe-in is better than any amount of toe-out, so I used 1 shim to correct it from being toe out.

I wonder how many builders just used the first blocks they saw and "fixed" their toe-out condition with bad blocks.

Photo 4 - I attached the brake fluid fitting and did a test fit to make sure I got everything lined up right. I did.

Photo 5 - I tightened up the fittings to the gear legs with my newly created wrench and then applied the zip tie. I haven't fully tightened it, or cut off the slack yet until I test the brakes and verify everything is working properly. It was pretty difficult to get my fingers in there.

  Oct 25, 2023     Spent an hour trying to connect the brake line - (1 hour)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - My standard wrench won't fit in the area where the gear and brake lines attach. Tony had the suggestion to turn it into a tool that fits.

Photo 2 - I used my hacksaw to cut the wrench in half.

Photo 3 - Here is how my custom tool looked after I cut it in half, and ground down some of the wrench head.

  Oct 21, 2023     Drilled canopy gas struts - (1 hour)       Category: Interior Finish

Photo 1 - I used my vice to hold the canopy gas strut while I up-sized the hole. It worked ok but the steel in the strut is harder to drill than the aluminum. I also noticed that my hand drill left a burr on the backside and I wasn't able to clear it with the drill because it just acted like a screw and tried to pull the drill into the hole. I decided to switch to my drill press for the next one as it can't be pulled through the hole and it will break the burr.

Photo 2 - Drill press worked much better to clear the burr but of course is harder to let it find the center of the hole since everything is fixed.

Photo 3 - Finished the struts and the mating bushings fit in the drilled holes.

  Oct 19, 2023     Worked on latch and handle - (1 hour)       Category: Interior Finish

As I'm waiting on the shims for the main gear and brake fluid, AND the engine kit...I started reading through the canopy KAI. There is some stuff I can do on that now. I need to think about how I feel about drilling the canopy when it's not hot in the garage. Some people do it and are fine.

Photo 1 - I clamped the handle to the latch. KAI gives you a dimension to target here, and if you let the handle bottom out in the tube, you won't meet the dimension.

Photo 2 - I solved this by stacking washers and putting them in between the handle and the tube.

Photo 3 - Clamped in the vice and match drilled the hole in the handle into the tube.

Photo 4 - I up-sized the first hole in the handle so the #8 screw will fit and then tapped the 2nd hole that was not oversized.

Photo 5 - I countersunk the hole for the #8 screw and then screwed it in. Countersinking on a convex surface is not easy as the countersink will inevitably be unsymmetric. It could have turned out prettier, but it will work just fine.

  Oct 15, 2023     Mounted nose gear leg - (1.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - Got all the AN3 bolts torqued. I used a wrench sometimes so I could some axial force on the bolt to make sure it caught the first thread of the nut plate. All this wrenching lately has shown me this is a pretty physical part of the build. Or maybe I'm just soft.

Photo 2 - I used some temporary AN4 bolts to hold the top flange against the firewall. It would probably be fine when on the ground since the weight of the plane will push that flange tight, but it doesn't cost me much and makes me feel better about any bending that could get concentrated at the bottom flange.

Photo 3 - I polished the nose wheel fork with my scotch brite wheel because it looked pretty rough. I think I'll end up priming this piece too, so it'll get scuffed up prior to priming.

  Oct 12, 2023     Finished leg mounting and checked toe-in - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - That piece on the right was the wear plate I forgot on the inboard side of the leg.

Photo 2 - Got both legs mounted with all the right pieces. It took some back and forth with the bolts to get them to all torque down fully seated. I did the inboard bolts first after having lightly attached the outboard bracket. Then I alternated between the AN6 and AN5 bolts inboard until I got the bracket fully seated.

Photo 3 - I almost bought a nylon drift but realized I had this dowel rod that I cut a piece off of and it worked great. Although, one must be careful when getting a hammer near the airplane, especially when you've got grease on your hands!

Photo 4 - Aftermath for my forearm which was holding the nut on the underside. Constantly scraping on the side skin edge.

Photo 5 - Grew another leg.

Photo 6 - I mounted the axles to see how they were aligned to each other. So-called toe-in and toe-out potential. I mounted each end of the string to work benches on either side of the plane. I think I realized after that taping the string to one of the legs, and then only 1 end of the string mounted to a work bench would work better. I'm going to try that tomorrow.

Photo 7/8 - This was the result with the method I was using. About 3/64" off on each axle. This would require me to purchase the U-00013B shim. I was not pleased to find out that these shims cost $30 a piece! We'll see what the other measurement method yields then I'll decide. I have to order some brake fluid from them anyway.

  Oct 10, 2023     Mounted one leg - (1.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - Applied some grease to the unpowder coated leg regions. It's for rust prevention but it actually made it easier to manipulate the leg in the brackets.

Photo 2 - I used this lightening hole to spot when I got the AN6 bolt through the hole in the gear.

Photo 3 - Got all the nuts torqued up. It wasn't until I went to bed after doing this that I realized I forgot another wear plate for the inboard section. Sharp eyes will see that it's not in this picture. I'll have to take it apart the next time I work on it.

Photo 4 - Took some muscle to get these bolt heads torqued all the way down to their requirement.

Photo 5 - The plane grew a leg.

  Oct 09, 2023     Started gear leg hardware - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - I got the wear plates deburred and primed.

Photo 2 - Picture of the large AN5 bolts that go through the thicker part of the center section. These will hold a bracket that will hold the gear legs.

Photo 3 - The screws and nuts are tightened and you can see the large AN5 bolts protruding through the underside.

Photo 4 - I almost started putting the leg into the fuselage until I realized that I needed to put the brake line fittings into the legs prior to installing since there is not enough room to install the fittings once the legs are installed.

Photo 5 - I wasn't too please with myself on how the installation of this fitting went. It goes on the bottom of the gear leg, where the wheel attaches. It's aluminum, unlike the brass fittings up top of the leg, so they are a bit softer. You have to orient the fitting a certain clocked position, and of course it started getting super tight before I got to the clocked position. I had to use some pliers to clock it a bit further. I'm worried I went too far and the fitting could be damaged. Good thing is that this fitting is very accessible and I can replace it if I need to later, when I go to check the brakes don't leak. I guess we'll see.

  Oct 09, 2023     Finished wheels - (1.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

Photo 1 - Once I got the Aeroshell grease in the mail, I tried "packing" a bearing for the first time.

Photo 2 - Here is how the bearing looked once it was packed. I pushed as much grease as I could in the opening opposite of the rubber seal thing. And then smeared a bunch on the roller bearings.

Photo 3 - I put the torque seal on the bolts after final torqueing. I also bought a T27 torx bit that fits in my torque wrench and final torque the cap screws on the brake disk (not pictured). I temporarily included the axle and nut to hold the bearings in the wheel assembly.

  Oct 06, 2023     Cleaned workshop and built 1st main wheel - (2.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

My cousin is getting married this weekend and some guests from out of town will be visiting. I straightened up the workshop as I expect at least 1 visitor for a tour.

Photo 1 - The wheel hub which houses the bearings was pretty tight in the wheel half. I think it's a press fit. I just hit it on the work bench a few times to knock it loose. I tried putting the wheel together with it installed, but you can't get the valve stem in with the wheel hub still installed.

Photo 2 - It took me a while to figure how this valve was supposed to get installed in the rim. The picture here has it backwards.

Photo 3 - This is the correct way to install it. The valve points to the other wheel rim half.

Photo 4 - Seems like most people throw away this nut and washer that comes with the tube. I tried to have it installed because it helped to hole the valve stem square with the wheel rim, but the wheel hub piece you have to put on will NOT fit around it. Seems like a pretty poor design to me.

Photo 5 - You can see how the valve stem isn't exactly perpindicular to the wheel rim. It bothered me so I tried 2 or 3 more times and ended with the same result. It's because the hole in the rim isn't positioned properly and it won't let the valve stem straighten up (see photo 6). Seems like a simple over-sizing or re-positioning of the hole would fix this.

  Oct 04, 2023     Started on wheels - (1.5 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

I was pretty excited to start the wheels since that means the fuselage will be standing on its own soon.

Photo 1 - I used some body powder to spread all over the tube and the inside of the tire to help it move around more easily to get it properly positioned.

Photo 2 - It's much easier to put a tire on a wheel when the wheel is two pieces! Not as much prying and cursing as when I had to replace my kids bicycles tires.

Photo 3 - Got the nose wheel together and ready to go. It's pretty cool to watch it inflate and seat on the rim so nicely.

Photo 4 - I started disassembly the main wheel just to see how all the pieces fit together.

  Oct 02, 2023     Attached upper engine mount to firewall - (1.5 hours)       Category: Engine

This step is actually in the landing gear chapter but I am putting it in the engine mount category since this part doesn't have anything to do with the gear.

Photo 1 - They have you enlarge these holes in the firewall, which are actually also in the powder coated mount behind the firewall to 3/8". I was terrified of this step due to my previous screw up using the step drill on the wing skin some time ago. If I messed these holes up, it would be very challenging to repair! I used plenty of oil since I'm cutting steel in this case and the step drill worked great. I went super slow and took my time. I finished the holes with a regular 3/8" drill since the step drill would just keep cutting bigger hole if you kept going. It worked out fine. Phew! Btw, when I drilled, I used the reflection of the drill in the firewall to keep it perpendicular to the hole.

Photo 2 - I deburred the holes with a combination of scotch brite and dremel as well as some files. The bolts went through fine. I had to use a combination of wrenches to get the bolt and nut attached. I also made sure to measure the running torque (torque required just to turn the nut). It was 30 in-lbs just for the running torque. Vans recommends 160-190 in-lbs for AN6 bolts, so I called that 175 and added 30 in-lbs to get 205 in-lbs. My smaller torque wrench only goes to 200 in-lbs, so I just set it there and final torqued the nuts.

Photo 3 - Finished engine mount with torque seal.

  Oct 01, 2023     Installed flap motor - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls

This entry completes the controls chapter of the instructions. This was a pretty rewarding chapter. Not much effort and lots of cool stuff happened.

Photo 1 - This bolt measurement gauge really comes in handy. Note the flap motor in the picture.

Photo 2 - I got the bracket mounted to the fusealge. It is removable. Was a little tricky get in.

Photo 3 - I decided to test the motor using my kid's powerwheels battery. I was a little nervous since the wires are pretty close to each other and I was afraid of a short circuit. It happened to me once trying this technique to test the lights. I first had tried this tiny 12 V battery I had, but it didn't have enough juice to move the motor (it did have enough juice to show me the light worked).

Video 1 - Flap motor in action. Prepare for landing!

  Sep 29, 2023     Finished and connected flaperon push rods - (2 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - Priming some parts. It was pretty easy to prime the tubes with them standing up vertically.

Photo 2 - Putting the final torque on the jam nuts for the pushrods. I won't put the torque seal on them until I verify they're the right length and everything.

Photo 3 - Finished flaperon push rods. These went surprisingly very easy.

Photo 4 - Assembling these torque tubes was very difficult. I put the yellow rag there to protect the fuel lines. With all the wrenching and pushing I was doing in this area to get them assembled, I was worried I would scratch or dent the fuel lines. What a disaster that would be to have to pull one of them out and replace them.

Photo 5 - It was pretty difficult to get the bearing into the clevis of this piece. It's almost like Vans forgot about the thickness of the powder coat. I had to slightly file the clevis to get the bearing to slide into place eventually. I won't final torque these fasteners because the roll auto pilot will be installed here and it takes another bearing and longer bolt to attach. I think it will be on the left push rod.

  Sep 27, 2023     Started flaperon pushrods - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - I clamped the tube (taller than me) in my vice and used a hack saw to get it close to length. Could job for a bandsaw but obviously this piece is too big.

Photo 2 - Once I got it roughly the length I needed, I used the bench grinder to deburr and also remove more material to get it to the right length. I was spinning the tube while it was getting hit with the wheel.

Photo 3 - I temporarily inserted the threaded insert into the tube and then put the nut on. I only used the nut in this case to mark 4 equally spaced lines (used features on the nut to get them roughly equally spaced).

Photo 4 - This $7 v-block from harbor freight made this job of drilling the holes a piece of cake. I drilled the brass inserts at the same time. They fit pretty snug but I used some duct tape to make sure they didn't move at all.

Photo 5 - I drilled some holes the size of the threads of the insert into my spar fixture to hold the poles up vertical. This will make easier when I will prime them.

  Sep 24, 2023     Worked on control sticks - (4.5 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - I filed this bushing down and did repeated test fits until it just barely in the torque tube flange.

Photo 2 - I also filed down the tube that holds the bushing in the control stick. The KAI say to file it down so that the bushing sits proud of the control stick's tube, so that when you bolted it all together, it holds the bushing still. If I had to do it again, I wouldn't file down the control stick as much. The way I did it, it has some play axially. It only moves when I force it to move, it doesn't actually move when I'm moving the control stick around like I would while flying. So, I'd do it differently if I had to do it again but I'm still satisfied with what I got.

Photo 3 - There were some very small washers to attach between the rod end bearing and clevis. So small that my smallest washer holder couldn't hold it. I tried to place some duct tape over the grippers to make the grip tighter and that worked out OK.

Photo 4 - This is the castellated nut and cotter pin that holds the control stick to the torque tube.

Photo 5 - This is a picture of the rod end bearing at one of the extremes of the full control movement. I made the push rods as close as I could to requirements in the KAI as I could, but there are a number of factors that might influence how it all works together. I found that I couldn't reach full deflection of the controls, and I figured out that one of the push needed to get a little longer. Rather than remove the push rods and tweak them and put them back in. I decided to change the length "it situ" while still assembled. This proved to work well because I was able to adjust it to exactly what I needed. Once I tweaked the length, the controls reached full deflection in all corners of the envelope (including flap extreme positions).

Photo 6 - I got everything where I wanted it and final torqued all the nuts and put torque seal on them.

Movie 1 - Movie of all controls moving together. I'll probably add another one later once when I get the flaperon pushrods made and connected.

  Sep 22, 2023     Installed throttle bracket and other seat pieces - (2 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - Deburred and primed the throttle bracket parts.

Photo 2 - I had deburred and painted these parts earlier, so I riveted the nut plates onto them.

Photo 3 - I installed all the pieces into the fuselage. Next is the links from the control sticks to the flaperon mixer.

  Sep 22, 2023     Painted fuel tank - (3 hours)       Category: Paint / Decals

I waited for a nice day where I would be working on the plane in the daylight hours to paint the fuel tank.

Photo 1 - I masked the gage, filler area and other items I didn't want to get painted.

Photo 2 - I set it up on its end to be able to paint almost the whole thing without touching it.

Photo 3 - Finished it up. I had some poor spray come out on one of the sides that will be visible in the baggage area. It has a rough surface finish that I'd like to improve if I can. It will all be covered up with carpet anyway. We'll see what I can do.

  Sep 21, 2023     Installed flap crank assembly and deburred some parts - (2.5 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - I used my band saw to cut the chamfers on the blocks used to hold the flap crank.

Photo 2 - Not much space to get a socket or even a wrench in here. Took a while to get these torqued down.

Photo 3 - I was having a hard time getting this washer in the right spot. I tried using some tape to hold it there but kept knocking it off trying to get everything aligned. I also had the fuselage on its side, so gravity was working against me.

Photo 4 - I ended up supergluing the washer to the bearing surface and clamped it with a bolt going through it to keep it concentric.

Photo 5 - The next morning, I unclamped it and made sure the bearing rotated no problem - it did. I also had the fuselage not on its side anymore and I got everything assembled within 5 minutes.

  Sep 19, 2023     Worked on flap crank assembly - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - Deburred the parts to prepare for priming and assembly

Photo 2 - The pushrod powder coat was in the threads of the insert, so I took an AN4 bolt and threaded in and out a couple times. I still had to use a screwdriver to get some torque to thread the bearing in.

Photo 3 - I threaded everything together to get the right length of the push rod then cinched the jam nuts down. I need to look up the right torque for them and then I'll put some torque seal on them.

  Sep 15, 2023     Installed stabilator cables - (2 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - The stubby screwdriver showed up and it did the trick. Required some grip strength to hold it with my finger tips as I torqued the nut.

Photo 2 - Safety wired the plastic sheath to the end of the rudder cables.

Photo 3 - I noticed this cable was rubbing here during my initial fitment of the cable and pulleys. Turns out I had them on the wrong side of the bushing I installed previous. Photo 4 shows it in the INCORRECT installation.

Photo 5 - I attached the stabilator cables to the torque tube using a castle nut and cotter pin.

  Sep 14, 2023     Finished torque tube and rudder cable install - (2.5 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - The super glue trick worked out just fine and I final torqued the nuts on the AN3 bolts. The torque tube moves real nice, but when I final torqued the nuts I found the movement is not as fluid as it was before final torque. It still moves freely, just feels different. I know that control feel is a big thing for RVs, so I am curious if what I'm seeing makes any difference at all. I may consult with Mark and have him take a look sometime before I get too much further. EDIT: I exchanged 1 thick washer for a thin washer and it felt fine after final torquing. Also, Mark stopped by and gave me a confidence boost.

Photo 2 - I routed the rudder cables through the various bushings in the fuselage. I have to say this seems like a high quality cable...as it should be! I bet it cost a lot.

Photo 3 - I installed some clamps to hold the plastic sleeves which protect the rudder cable. A couple of them are really difficult to get access to the screw to tighten the bolt. I ordered on Amazon a very short stubby Philips head screw driver to get to some of the real tight clearance spots.

  Sep 12, 2023     Riveted brackets and installed torque tube - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - This is the setup I used to set the rivets for the bearing. I used the LP4-4 to get the holes aligned and then clamped the plates together near the bearing so they didn't want to open up.

Photo 2 - I was pleasantly surprised how well this riveting went. I was worried the bearing would get locked up if the parts got sandwiched the wrong way. Everything went perfectly.

Photo 3 - I riveted the brackets to the bulkhead. I had to put some masking tape on the step to prevent it from getting marred. These bottoms rivets were tricky and I have the special tool loaned out to Scott.

Photo 4 - Plans said to drill the holes in the torque tube to remove extra powder coating in the holes. I couldn't easily fit my drill so I just clamped the drill bit in my vice grips and turned it manually.

Photo 5 - This is an in-process shot me getting the torque tube installed. It took some finagling to get it through all the rib lightening holes. I found having the fuselage on it's side helped with putting the bolts and washers in. I think I need to add 1 more skinny washer but was having trouble getting a skinny and thick together, so I superglued them together when I quit last night and will finish it up tomorrow.

  Sep 10, 2023     Started flight controls - (1.5 hours)       Category: Controls

Photo 1 - Mounted the brake fluid reservoir.

Photo 2 - I connected the lines to the reservoir and secured 4 of the lines using this clamp and bolt. It was difficult to get the bolt the screw in since the clamp is spring loaded and doesn't want to stay closed.

Photo 3 - I countersunk a bunch of holes in preparation for a bearing that will get sandwiched between the part.

Photo 4 - Primed the brackets and will rivet them later.

  Sep 09, 2023     Sat in the plane!       Category: Fuselage

  Sep 08, 2023     “Finished” fuselage - (4.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

I finished the last section of the fuselage kit today. It feels good to be done with it, but I know there will be lots to do with the fuselage still.

Photo 1 - Assembled the grab handle with ribs and nut plates.

Photo 2 - I am trying out Partall Paste #2 as a release agent for putting the top skin over the avionics bay. I practiced on a scrap piece first. It's not like your typical car wax (it has petroleum distillates in it?). Hopefully it works to get the skin off and keep the silicone from sticking.

Photo 3 - Working on the real part now.

Photo 4 - I applied the black silicone per the KAI. It does look like a thin bead, but the KAI says 1/16" and I know it'll spread out when I smoosh the skin on. I made sure to get on the aft side of the screw holes.

Photo 5 - I attached the top skin with the screws.

Photo 6 - I riveted a bunch of nut plates to this flange that the panel will use to attach to. This is one of the instances where I found that using my squeezer against the table was a good way to squeeze them. It allowed me to use my other hand to hole the work piece, which was nice. These went very fast using this method. If I had more free time, I'd like to build some wooden fixture that holds the squeezer in this position - I guess you could call it a jig.

Photo 7 - Riveting these to the skin was a little tricky due to the height of the flange. I used my extended die and also put a washer on the stem to make it a bit taller. Took some practice to set these rivets, but I figured it out.

Photo 8 - I screwed on the temporary face plate and section 29iS/U is now done. The temporary plate really stiffened up the skin. I think that's the point, so you can work on the fuselage (Canopy? Cowling?) with this skin as stiff as it'll be when you have the avionics panel...before you actually have it.

  Sep 05, 2023     Painted top skin and prepared grab handle parts - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - Countersunk nut plate attach holes for the grab handle. Had to do free hand without the cage.

Photo 2 - Painted the underside of the avionics bay roof skin. Got some rough spray during the first priming spray. Pissed me off because it's pretty hard to correct unless you wipe it off immediately. I think I didn't fully depress the nozzle. I did spray the can off to the side before I did anything, so it wasn't clogged. Oh well, no one will see this since it's on the interior.

Photo 3 - Handle and associated ribs. I want to rivet them together tonight but the paint isn't dry. These parts are one of the improvements done for the iS version of the -12. My passengers will use this handle to help them get in and out of the airplane safely without damaging the other more fragile parts.

  Sep 04, 2023     Prepared top skin and pro sealed firewall - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - I am putting a slight bend into this top skin so it follows the firewall better. I'm using a rolled up thing of paper masking I bought for the interior painting.

Photo 2 - Here is the top skin clecoed to the firewall. I ended up using this view as a template to get the part equally bent. If you just leave it clecoed at the top position, you can better gauge how much bending to put in for the outboard portion.

Photo 3 - Dimpling the top skin. Wing spar holder fixture coming in handy again.

Photo 4 - Prosealed the rivet heads on the firewall. I tried to squirt a bit out of my syringe and then just go in circles until the whole rivet head is covered. Hard to break the runny bit that goes between rivets but I'm not making a piece of artwork. Some of the rivet heads for the battery holder parts were not possible to cover since the manufactured heads are on the opposite (aft) side. See photo 5 for how I seal those. Just sealed them on the aft side in the avionics bay (and lower firewall under the avionics bay).

  Aug 31, 2023     Assembled battery and oil tank holder - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - In assembling these parts to the firewall, there are some where you cannot complete the rivet installation with the manufactured heads on the forward side. This is preferable since it's easier to seal the rivet with proseal on the manufactured head side. Guess I'll have to do my best with these few that couldn't be installed that way.

Photo 2 - A pretty hard to reach rivet here. The stem didn't fully break off, so I cut off the excess with dremel and filed it smooth. It set all the way, just the stem broke off.

Photo 3/4 - If I had to do this again, I probably would just use my flat dies on the manufactured head instead of the cupped die on the top because they're so close together, the cupped die made an imprint in the adjacent rivet head. The flat die would smoosh both at the same time equally.

Photo 5 - I used a 1/8" drill bit to form the 1/16" radius in this bent piece.

Photo 6 - Match drilled the large piece into the small piece I just bent. I drew a line through the middle of the bent piece underneath so I knew it was in the right spot if you can see the line through the hole.

Photo 7 - Completed this piece which will hold the hinge wires for the cowling.

  Aug 31, 2023     Seats and Interior Arrived!       Category: Interior Finish

  Aug 28, 2023     Installed avionics shelf and canopy ribs - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - Double checked I had the right nut plate, and riveted on all 20 correct nut plates.

Photo 2 - I then moved on to riveting the shelf and canopy ribs to the fuselage. It was easier to rest the fuselage on its side to get these rivets on the inboard side of the rib.

Photo 3 - Now I see why the KAI say to do the first 4 rivets on the forward side of the shelf prior to riveting on the canopy rib. It's because you couldn't get easy access to the rivets after you attach the canopy rib.

Photo 4 - Finished riveting the forward flange of the shelf to the firewall.

  Aug 26, 2023     Finished canopy ribs and drilled some rivets - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - Maybe it's just this rib's configuration, but I found clecoing it directly to my workbench was really easy and helpful when I was squeezing rivets for the nutplates to attach.

Photo 2 - Lots of work went into these ribs. This shows all the nutplates complete.

Photo 3 - Setting up to match drill from the avionics shelf through the strut attach angles I fabricated.

Photo 4 - I made these a bit longer than the KAI says to, but I like the edge distances I ended up with better than what I would have gotten if I had used the KAI length.

Photo 5 - In riveting the K1000-06 nut plates, I realized I made a mistake on the aft flange of the avionics shelf. I accidentally riveted K1000-08D nut plates to it instead of the required K1000-06. I misread the KAI. I thought about making it work by just using #8 screws to match up with the K1000-08D nut plates, but the hole where the screw goes is too small. I endeavored to drill out all 20 nut plates. I developed a technique to use the smallest drill I had to remove the majority of the material (#52) and that is what is shown in the picture. I liked this because if I was off center, it wouldn't be that much of an impact since the diameter is small anyway. I then used a #43 drill to remove more material and after that, I could just snap off the majority of the rivet head.

Photo 6 - Sometimes the nut plate would get stuck, so I screwed a #8 screw in the backside of the nut plate and then pryed it off using more leverage from the screw.

Photo 7 - Aftermath of drilling out all 20 nut plates. It wasn't that bad actually. Took me maybe 25 minutes. Now, I'll just need to order 20 replacement K1000-08D nut plates. No big deal.

  Aug 25, 2023     Worked on avionics shelf - (3.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

It's my Friday off today and I spent the first half of it working in the 90 deg garage.

Photo 1 - I used this piece of steel with a hole in it to hold the female die while I hit the male die on top of the avionics shelf to make a dimple in the middle of the shelf since my squeezer can't reach it.

Photo 2 - Got busy riveting a bunch of nut plates on to the aft flange. I think this is what the panel will screw into.

Photo 3 - Riveted these doubler parts to the bottom of the shelf. It looks like the original ULS RV-12 didn't have these parts. I wonder if they had some complaints of it not being stiff enough.

Photo 4 - Once I got the avionics shelf mostly complete, it's time to match drill it to the longerons. As you can see, my shelf hung out over the longer a bit. Probably not a huge issue, but I wanted to make it look nicer.

Photo 5 - I borrowed a large clamp from Scott and used it like a spreader. It took hardly any force at all to spread the fuselage out the 1/8" or so I needed. I could have done it by hand, but then I'd only have one hand to hold the drill. The clamp made the operation much less dramatic.

Photo 6 - You can see I got it lined up perfectly now.

Photo 7 - I got the shelf all match drilled into the longerons. I did some deburring after this and next step is to match drill the canopy ribs. I think I'll get to that when it's less than 90 deg F in the garage.

  Aug 23, 2023     Worked on canopy ribs - (2.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

  Aug 20, 2023     Deburred and painted avionics shelf - (2.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - I deburred the avionics shelf with dremel and scotch brite wheel.

Photo 2 - In-process picture of painting the shelf. The fan really sucks the paint mist out. Really getting my money's worth out of this fan. The box fans are cheap, but I'd need like 4 or 5 of them to get the same airflow.

Photo 3 - Finished product. I had a couple bugs fly in the paint when it was wet. That was annoying. This shelf won't be that visible but I was trying to get it real nice since I had the chance to paint something flat and easy. I may touch it up later.

Photo 4 - I deburred and primed some more parts while Hannah was napping today. Ethan stopped by to hang out for a bit. I made him wear my muffs since the deburring can be loud. Not pictured are the parts I deburred and primed.

  Aug 17, 2023     Countersunk and primed some parts - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

While I wait for the replacement parts, I started prepping other parts.

Photo 1 - I countersunk these doubler pieces. Combination of #30 and #40 holes.

Photo 2 - Primed and riveted some nut plates to these pieces. I think they are part of the assembly that holds that battery.

Photo 3 - Finished deburring, scuffing and priming these various parts.

Next, I'm going to deburr and paint the avionics shelf. I think I'll do the same paint as I did for the interior on this one instead of just prime.

  Aug 14, 2023     Deburred and drilled some parts - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - I wore a nitrile glove over the hand with the bad finger to reduce any aluminum dust from deburring getting under the bandage. It worked well. I go through a lot of gloves during this build.

Photo 2 - I cut these two aluminum angles a bit bigger than the plans say since Tony's experience left the one rivet a little close to an edge using the size the KAI recommended.

Photo 3 - I had to "match drill" this piece into the bracket I made with a 1/4" drill bit so it'll fit an AN4 bolt. I'm not a big fan of this instruction because the hole has to be pretty well centered between the 2 #40 holes in order for the bolt to line up with the nutplate behind it. I think I'd rather put the hole exactly where it needs to be in the bracket by measuring instead of match drilling. For these big holes, I like to use the drill pressure to keep it nice and round - I find that the hand drill tends to walk more and create a tri-lobe shaped hole. Anyway, using the drill pressure makes it hard to match drill since it just goes straight up and down and if the workpiece is tightly clamped, it won't find the center as easily.

Photo 4 - I finished the left hand assembly and the holes all line up nice but the right side got off center a bit. I could probably shove a bolt through and force it to thread in the nut plate with enough persuasion, but I decided to try to do better and ordered a replacement set of parts. Cost me $20 but it's worth it to me.

  Aug 14, 2023     Pro seal and rivet upper firewall and stiffeners - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Back to airplane building after a week vacation in South Carolina with the family. I injured my finger cutting up veggies for salsa, so I held back a bit on the building but managed to get some stuff done.

Photo 1 - Mixing up some proseal to seal the upper firewall. I made two batches and the first batch is pictured. Ahhh, the sweet smell of proseal.

Photo 2 - Smeared some pro seal on the bottom flange and readied it to get riveted.

Photo 3 - Got it riveted including the nut plates.

Photo 4 - Clamped these hinge pieces in to prepare for match drilling and riveting.

Photo 5 - Riveted the stiffeners in place. These were open holes on the fuselage that felt good to finally fill.

Photo 6 - I prepare to seal the upper edge of the upper firewall with some masking tape.

Photo 7 - In process photo of proseal application. I applied it using a syringe and then smeared it around to fill all the gaps with a popsicle stick.

Photo 8 - Finished product. I was very happy with how it turned out. The daylight come from the garage door opening helped me find 1 hole in the seal that I promptly fixed.

  Aug 01, 2023     Finished firewall assembly - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - I riveted a bunch of nut plates, dimpled some holes that mate with other dimpled holes and riveted this bracket on. I think it holds a GPS antenna or something.

Photo 2 - I did one of the last brake lines and used a trick I saw on Mark's build log. I put a thin nail in a board and used that to help keep the brass sleeve centered and not slide around as I press it in. That cup contains boiling water that I used to loosen the fit so I can slide it on. That cup's typical usage is for ice cream :-)

  Jul 29, 2023     Installed Rudder Pedals - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

There was admittedly a lot of cursing tonight. Took me an hour to figure out the best way to get everything secured before I could actually start wrenching on the bolts to tighten them. I'll do my best to summarize what worked for me in case anyone else reads this.

I tried to get the entire rudder assembly with the blocks together on the bench before moving to the plane. This didn't work because the bolt threads sticking out would not allow the rudder assembly to be installed. You have to put the bolt through only when it's right below the nut plate.

Photo 1 - What helped me was just resting the rudders (without the blocks) on the shelf and then sneaking the top blocks between the shelf and the rudder torque tubes. Then, I got the bottom blocks and stuck the required bolts and washers through and then taped the bolt heads to the block. This way, gravity would not pull them out as I'm trying to get them lined up with the top block holes. It would have been easier with the fuselage on its side to do this, but nothing would have been holding the rudder pedal assembly and it would have fallen down.

Photo 2 - I then very carefully threading the bolts in to just catch a thread in the nut plate. Yes, I was doing this while they were taped onto the bottom blocks. It tore the tape as I twisted them but the tape really helped them from falling. Once I got a thread, I could remove the tape. The back bolt (closest to the firewall) was the most difficult. Moving a rudder pedal aft helped get access, but don't move it so much it would unthread the bolt or misalign the blocks.

Photo 3 - Once I got all of the bolts more than a couple threads in, I felt comfortable flipping the fuselage on its side. This really helped to get a wrench on the bolts and a good angle that I could torque them down. I was nervous the rudder assembly would fall when I flipped it but it was fine.

Photo 4 - Got them installed and torqued down. I also attached a bracket which holds a zip tie for the brake lines. I'm too tired to finish those lines tonight. I think the big hole in the center of that bracket is for a bunch of avionics wires.

God help me if I have to get the fuel line fittings behind the pedals if they leak. The rudder pedal assembly will have to come off.

  Jul 26, 2023     Prepped stiffeners and attached brackets to fuel/brake line nylon parts - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - Deburred and painted some stiffeners for the forward fuselage and a part to hold the brake lines to the center column.

Photo 2 - I ended up painting these in the same way as the fuselage since the stiffeners will be showing inside the fuselage.

Photo 3 - I installed these clips that go over the nylon pieces that secure the brake and fuel lines. I'm confused since I'm not sure how to install the fitting from the brake line into the landing gear if I can't twist the fitting into the gear (since the brake line will already be installed and secured in the fuselage). I need to read into it some more.

Photo 4 - It's hot as hell in the garage.

  Jul 24, 2023     Leak test - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuel System

I charged the fuel system with ~45 psi worth of air a few different ways/times. The gage that is integral to my air chuck broke, so I couldn't really tell if it was holding pressure without checking it with an old school gage. I went around spraying the fittings with soapy water and managed to find a few loose fittings. I ordered a new chuck that I can use to do a good test.

In the meantime, I put the brake lines in and fed them forward. Photo 2 is an in process photo of the process.

  Jul 23, 2023     Last fuel line (again) - (2 hours)       Category: Fuel System

I slept on it and decided I wasn't happy with the clearance of the tube in one of the bushings. This is the one directly after the bend from the tank. I tried to follow the KAI and modified how much tube is past the bend based on how the distance of the fitting to the tank, but it resulted in the tube being too short and not having clearance to the bushing. I have plenty of extra tubing, so I spent an hour making and fitting a new tube.

Photo 1 - New tube with bend in it to snake it into the fueslage.

Photo 2 - Got the tube routed and through the bushings. Took some work to get it to follow the channels and line up for the next bushing. You can see it's extra long and the KAI tells you to mark it where the flare should be.

Photo 3 - I cut the tube at the mark after adding 0.100" and did the flare making sure I had the nut and sleeve on first! I then bent the tube back straight so the flare lined up with the fitting. Took some patience to get the threads to start pulling but once they did it tightened up just fine.

Photo 4 - Finished product. I'm not sure why Vans designed the bend like this. Maybe due to the size of the aluminum bypass fitting or routing around other items in the fuselage. Next step will be to test it for leaks with 45 psi of air. I think I need to get 1 more plug from aircraft spruce before I can test it. I must have mis-counted when I originally ordered them.

  Jul 20, 2023     Last fuel line - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuel System

Photo 1 - Made the bend and flare for the last fuel line. This line is the return line from the engine to the tank for the fuel that didn't get injected.

Photo 2 - Really difficult to get these bolts in. As with all the bolts and holes on the plane, they are very tight - not a lot of clearance even when perfectly aligned.

Photo 3 - The tank will go in and out, so I just test fit to see how it went in then took it out to route the fuel line forward to the other fitting. Took some bending and finagling to get it through.

Photo 4 - After I took the tank out, I realized why it was tricky to get lined up. Some of the "flush" rivets from Vans weren't fully flush and had some high metal on them. On my fresh paint!!! I'll have to touch them up.

Photo 5 - Post-blend repair of the high metal with my dremel scotch brite wheel.

Photo 6 - Pretty tricky to get these threaded and connected. I am going to leave it connected so that I trim the forward end of this last fuel line to the correct length to attach to the fitting.

  Jul 15, 2023     Prepare remaining brake lines - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage

I only took 1 picture, but I cut to length and attached the fittings to all the remaining brake lines. This is so that once I finish the last fuel line, I can test the fuel system for leaks and once that is good, install the rudder pedals and brake lines. Once that is done, I'll be able to attach the forward fuselage assembly.

  Jul 15, 2023     Ballon test and started last fuel line - (1.5 hours)       Category: Fuel System

I worked on this off and on a couple nights.

Photo 1 - The glove didn't really have a good seal. The opening was too big, and trying to double it back and tape it didn't work that well. I panicked when I first saw it wasn't holding air then realized it wasn't sealing.

Photo 2 - I found some balloons and was able to convince myself it's air tight. I then went on a work trip for a week and came back with some doubts.

Photo 3 - I was worried that when I put the additional hardware on the fittings on the tank that the fittings on the tank weren't tight enough, so I repeated the test. It's a big stretch to get the balloon over the fill hole, as you can see.

Photo 4 - I put some duct tape around it and filled up the tank.

Photo 5 - While I let that sit to evaluate the next morning, I started getting the piece of tubing ready for the last fuel line that I need to do. You need the fuel tank for this, which is why I waited. I'll finish it tomorrow once I can get some measurements on the fitting.

  Jul 05, 2023     Riveted hinges to upper fuselage - (1 hour)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - I used this backer piece to make sure the pilot on the countersink drill doesn't wobble off center and create chatter marks. It looks like a nut plate for some reason I don't remember. I used it for something related to nut plates some time ago.

Photo 2/3 - I had a lot of fun squeezing the rivets to attach the hinge. It's always nice when they get smooshed nice and tight and they are flush with the surface.

  Jul 04, 2023     Hinge for forward upper fuselage - (2.5 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - The combination of this straight edge and cleco clamps is really helpful for making a nice straight line. I used this to mark the 1/16" offset line per the KAI. This line will be used to put the hinge in the right position to have enough extension to mate up with the cowling hinge in the future.

Photo 2 - Got the 12.5" long hinge match drilled and am working on the 25.5" long one now. Cleco clamps are a necessity.

Photo 3 - This is an in-process photo, but I got it all match drilled and both hinges deburred. Next step is to countersink the surface and rivet them in place. It was getting too hot in the garage to work much more plus I have some house chores to catch up on.

  Jul 03, 2023     Torqued fittings - (2 hours)       Category: Fuel System

Photo 1 - Now that I have good proseal, I am finishing up installing these fittings in the fuel tank. This first photo shows the angled fitting backwards just to show that it can be installed AFTER the straight fitting is installed. I switched these steps in the KAI because you had to put the long tube attached to the straight fitting in a bushing within the tank. I used the hole from the angled fitting to verify visually that the tube went in the bushing. The KAI are written such that you do this step before the tank is complete, so you have another "window" to see that you put the tube in the bushing.

Photo 2 - Finished photo of fitting installed.

Photo 3 - The next few photos are of me applying the final torque to the fuel fittings which were loosely attached. I need to final torque them now because I want to do the leak check before I install the rudders since having the rudders installed makes it difficult to access some fittings. This photo is me adjusting the torque value for the crows foot. It changes the effect length of the torque wrench, so you have to change the torque it clicks at.

Photo 4 - I used both the torque angle and the 100 in-lbs of torque specified for these fittings. The torque angle method consists of making a mark on the fittings when you have them finger tight, then turning it 1-1.5 hex flats past the mark. To achieve the 100 in-lbs, it was every bit of 1.5 hex flats.

Photo 5 - I rigged up the pressure test for the area of the fuel system where I could. I just closed the fuel shut off valve, so it tested the 2 fittings upstream of that. I need to buy more caps/plugs to seal off the rest of the fuel system so I can test all that I have.

Photo 6 - These are the fittings which are blocked by the rudders once installed. They are pretty hard to get a wrench on even without the rudders installed. You can see the sharpie mark that I marked on them to visually see the torque angle, hex flat, method of tightening (pictured is prior to final torque). It was not possible to get a torque wrench in there.

  Jun 30, 2023     Countersunk, dimpled and riveted! - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Photo 1 - Countersunk many holes in this piece.

Photo 2 - Dimpled the #8 screw holes. It feels good to be doing this type of work again.

Photo 3 - Got the piece formed to the shape of the firewall so it won't load up too much when I rivet it to that shape.

Photo 4 - I was using the smaller die for riveting the shop head, and it slid off the rivet and smashed it. I drilled it out and was able to actually get the rivet shop head out of the nut plate. A lot of time, I don't bother, but I'd rather not order a new nut plate if I can avoid it.

Photo 5 - Finished up this riveting and temporarily attached it to the fuselage assembly to see how it looks. Where my legs will go is starting to take shape.