Apr 27, 2024     Air Intake Seal and doors - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Final trim and installation of the Aerosport Products airbox input sleeve. Used #6 SS screws with brass washers on carbon side and hold-down strip on outside against rubber sleeve. Makes a nice tight seal and super easy to install lower cowling. Hung doors temporarily to align door latches and rear striker plate. Riveted rear striker plate in place with VHB tape on door sill. Tomorrow I'll install forward striker plate and door handle assembly.

  Apr 26, 2024     Punch list - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Unmasked lower cowling after paint. Programmed G3X engine gauge parameters. Tied up a few more hoses and wires in engine compartment. Secured Alt Air cable at airbox. Started engine and taxied for about :05. Brakes and steering normal. Engine ran normally with new ignition coil. Ignition check showed no change in RPM from IGN 1 to IGN 2.

  Apr 25, 2024     Ignition Coil and paint - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Installed replacement ignition coil in 1A position. Original coil was defective and Lightspeed replaced it under warranty. Tested spark per the manual and it fired normally. Will test run engine tomorrow. Masked, prepped and painted silver trim on lower cowling and 4 wing inspection covers. This completes the painting!

  Apr 24, 2024     Doors - (2 hours) Category: Reassembly

Removed all paint masking from doors. Test fit door handle hardware. Tied off a couple more wire bundles in cockpit.

  Apr 23, 2024     Paint, Windshield sealant - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Masked and painted entry door upper trim to match interior color. Painted underside of wing root cuff flat black. Tape masked and applied clear silicone sealant to landing light lenses, windshield base fairing, rear hold down strip and skylight joint strip between windshield and skylight. Trimmed hose clamps at firewall wire bundle pass-through.

  Apr 22, 2024     Paint - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Temp installed lower cowling and doors to align and mask for black trim paint. Prepped and painted same. Masked landing light lenses for silicone sealant. Tomorrow's project.

  Apr 21, 2024     Gap seals - (1 hour)       Category: Reassembly

Drilled andd mounted nut plate on eing gap seal for flap gap seals. Applied foam tape and mounted both flap gap seals. Taped 6 wing inspection plates for black trim paint tomorrow.

  Apr 20, 2024     Paint - (2 hours) Category: Reassembly

Masked, prepped and painted cowling and doors blue trim.

  Apr 19, 2024     Cowling - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Temp installed cowling and doors for fit and paint trim color masking. Installed seat belts/shoulder harnesses.

  Apr 18, 2024     Wiring - (3 hours) Category: Reassembly

Finished securing cockpit wire bundles and rear door post bundles at Station 3. Secured some wires in engine compartment. Trimmed center console to clear wire bundle. Trimmed intake air box boot. Will rivet after bottom cowl is painted and fitted.

  Apr 17, 2024     Paint - (4 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Finished minor bodywork on lower cowling. Scuffed both cowling halves, door trim, spinner, and fairings. Cleaned with Prepsol and setup paint booth.
Sprayed epoxy primer and white on these parts.

  Apr 15, 2024     Paint Prep - (1 hour) Category: Reassembly

Finished masking other door for paint. Scuffed ABS trim. Scuffed spinner for paint.

  Apr 14, 2024     Doors - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Mounted doors and trimmed upper leading edge for final fitting. Removed doors and began masking off for painting outer trim.

  Apr 13, 2024     Cowling and Ignition - (3 hours) Category: Reassembly

Finished bodywork on cowling. Finally ready to paint. Continued troubleshooting ignition problem. Found one of the coils is not firing. Swapped it to other ignition box and it still did not fire. OHM reading is 1/3 of other 3 coils. Will return it to Lightspeed for replacement.

  Apr 10, 2024     Ignition Troubleshooting and cowling - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Still have the issue of #1 ignition not working. Ran through LSE troubleshooting guide but no resolution. Will contact LSE for suggestions on how to proceed. Finished bodywork on bottom cowling front section. Will scuff sand entire cowling next then prime and paint.

  Apr 08, 2024     Engine run #2 - (1 hour)       Category: Reassembly

Short run today. Only 3 min. #1 ignition box is inop. Engine dies when #2 ignition is turned off. Swapped RG400 leads on ignition #1 control box. A to B. Would not start. Misfires. Swapped leads back to original positions. Engine started and ran normally but IGN #1 is still inop. Tracked prop. Blades match exactly. Checked engine RPM with a TruTach II. RPM verified correct on G3X within 1 RPM.

  Apr 07, 2024     First Engine Run - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Preflight engine and airframe. Filled header tank to 3 gal. Started engine for first time ( other than factory test cell time). All Temps normal. No leaks noted. Ran for approx 7 minutes. 1500 RPM max. Idle at 670. Idle mixture is lean. No rise in rpm at Idle cutoff. Will adjust. Checked ignition operations. Turned off IGN #2 and engine quit. Turned off IGN #1 and engine continued to run normally. Will troubleshoot.

  Apr 06, 2024     Cowling - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Sanded and formed fiberglass build up on front of lower cowling. Filler next then paint.

  Apr 05, 2024     Cowling - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Mixed West Systems epoxy (205 hardner) and applied fiberglass strips to build up right side of inlet area and behind the prop spinner. Will sand and fill when cured.

  Apr 03, 2024     Cowling - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Sanded gel coat in prep for bodywork to correct mis-match at front of cowling on right inlet area. The mold was not even side to side and I have to add some fiberglass and filler to make it match the top cowling. Also, I didn't get the spacing behind the spinner correct for the bottom cowling so I'll add a few layers of fiberglass and filler to that area also.

  Apr 02, 2024     Brakes, Prop, Alternator - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Bled brake system. Used small hand pump to fill 5606 hydraulic fluid from the bleed fittings on each brake assembly. Replaced brake reservoir cap with fitting that had plastic tube attached to allow overflow into a clean container. Pumped both lines full and got rid of air bubbles. Pumped left and right brake pedals to release more air. Brakes were firm and parking brake held also. Brake reservoir level about 3/4" from full. Attached prop hub extension with the six 3/8" bolts provided. Torqued to 30 ft lbs using steps at 10, 20 and 30 in a star pattern. Safety wired bolt heads. Tightened tension on alternator belt and tightened adjusting bolts and mount bolts. Safety wired all bolt heads.

  Apr 01, 2024     Cowling, trim tab - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Safety wired trim tab hinge pins (forgot to do this when I reattached the trim tab after painting). Attached trim motor actuator arm and cover. Fit cowling to check fit of air intake boot and how the baffle seals fit the underside of the top cowling. Also, checked clearance of inlet ramps to front baffling- all ok.

  Mar 31, 2024     Engine - (1 hour) Category: Reassembly

Final fitting and sanding prep for upper cowling inlet ramps. Sanded with 80 grit. Glued inlet ramps in place with ScotchWeld 2216. Used sandbags to hold in place overnite. Removed prop hub, spinner backplate and prop extension in prep for mounting prop tomorrow. Checked header tank filler cap and outlet fitting- no leaks noted.

  Mar 30, 2024     Details - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Continued fitting upper cowling air inlet ramps to insure clearance with front baffles. Trimmed front edge of airbox to fit sleeve. Installed and sealed 90 degree wing tank feed fittings in header tank. Filled header tank with 3 gal of 100LL fuel and tightened filler cap. No leaks noted. Attached wing tank fuel lines to 90 Deg. fittings. Next step is to mount prop and test run engine.

  Mar 29, 2024     Details - (2 hours) Category: Reassembly

Tie-wrapped wiring bundles in cockpit. Secured LED strip lighting under glareshield with VHB tape. Drilled header tank cap for safety wire. Installed fuel shutoff valve placard with guard to lower left trim panel. Riveted aft and forward sections of this panel.

  Mar 28, 2024     Rigging - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Completed rigging of rudder cables. Took many different combos of cable end bolt locations but finally got the tension to 20# on rudder cables beneath seats. All flight controls are now rigged. Trimmed upper cowl inlet ramps (Aerosport product) to fit. Ready to glue. Adjusted tension on tailwheel steering cables- removed 2 links on each side.

  Mar 27, 2024     Details - (2.5 hours) Category: Reassembly

Secured nav/strobe wires to wing tips. Fit wing root fairings with tinnermans. Adjusted rudder pedal mounts. Tightened adel clamp on rear door frame that secures flap cable and aileron pulley-- keepers are snug on aileron pulley.

  Mar 26, 2024     Various details - (2 hours) Category: Reassembly

Secured header tank and safety wired clamps. Final fitting and install of Aerosport vertical stab base fairing. Had to open up some mounting holes. Installed tinnermans for wing root fairings. Test fit flap fap seals. Cleaned up hangar.

  Mar 25, 2024     Rudder Cables - (3 hours) Category: Reassembly

Adjusted tension on rudder cables and rudder return cables. Took a lot of trial and error, and moving cable end tangs. Return cables tensioned but not rudder cables. Finally moved rudder cable tang to rear most hole ( course adjustment). Now still have to readjust rudder return cable tangs. Tomorrow's project. Checked rudder travel and it was 4 degrees too low. Removed rudder stop block ( which was a pain!) and trimmed 1/8" off both sides. Reinstalled rudder stop bock and now rudder travel is 28 degrees.

  Mar 24, 2024     Rigging and final hardware tightening - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Safety wired 3 turnbuckles on aileron cables. Final tighten of all flap and aileron hardware and jam nuts. Applied torque seal. Set travel limits on elevator per manual. Marked, drilled and riveted stops in torque tube.

  Mar 23, 2024     Rigging - (3 hours) Category: Reassembly

Completed rigging of aileron and flaps. Set cable tension at 20#. Note. When adjusting cable tension, be sure to increase right and left evenly in stages to keep controls centered.

  Mar 22, 2024     Wingtips and ailerons - (3 hours) Category: Reassembly

Removed right wingtip and plugged in nav/strobe lights.(forgot to plug in yesterday). Reattached tip along with left wingtip. Plugged in light this time. Fabricated alum spacers for aileron actuator rods. Installed right actuator. Did initial rigging. Adjusted up/down travel with control column stop bolts.

  Mar 21, 2024     Flight controls and wingtip - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Mounted right aileron and flap. No helpers today so I used my patented shelf mounting method. Worked great. Did initial rigging of flaps. Installed right wing tip temporarily to check for fit with aileron. Trailing edge lines up great. Removed masking tape from silicone sealant on skylight. Still need to silicone seal the center hold-down strip between windscreen and skylight.

  Mar 20, 2024     Skylight and flight controls - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Sealed outer and rear skylight hold down strips with silicone. Trimmed foam from ends of aileron spars. Mounted left side aileron and flap. Not secured yet.

  Mar 18, 2024     Flight Controls - (3 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Filled aileron spar ends with expanding foam plug to seal off lead shot used for balance. Will trim off after drying, then the ailerons are ready to install. Measured aileron turnbuckle attachment gap for bushing that needs to be fabricated on both ailerons. Tightened all attachment bolts on elevator torque tube in cockpit including attachment to control assembly. Set up and down limits on elevator travel to insure sticks clear base of instrument panel at full forward travel. (Still need to drill torque tube stop sleeves and rivet). Tightened all fittings on control assembly. Applied torque seal to all fittings, bolts and jam nuts on torque tube and control assembly. Tightened male end of rod ends for aileron and flap actuator rods in wing. Applied torque seal. Ensured rod ends had at least 10 thread engagement to begin rigging.

  Mar 16, 2024     Elevator Trim and Aileron Balance - (2.5 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Wired elevator trim motor to lead in fuselage. Crimped d-sub pins on each wire and secured each wire with shrink wrap. Encased the 5 wires with a large piece of shrink wrap and then encased wire in wire loom. Trim motor operates normally using trim switches on stick grips. Checked elevator travel for up and down limits. Installed tail cone stinger. Test fit wing root cuffs from Aerosport Products. These are prototypes that I was given to test the fit. Balanced ailerons-- previously had shot foam into aileron spars about 20" from inboard end. Let it cure for 2 full days at 70 F. (the foam took much longer to setup inside the spar). Clamped small alum angles on edge of work table and inserted bolts into hinge that rode on the angles. Poured in dry lead shot to balance-- took 65oz. (ailerons have been painted). Poured that shot out into cup and mixed West Systems epoxy (2 pumps each from small pumps). After thoroughly mixing, weighed slurry and it came to 66oz. Poured slurry into spar and will let set for day or 2 before sealing end of spar with foam.

  Mar 15, 2024     Elevator and Vertical Stab fairing - (1 hour)       Category: Reassembly

Trimmed rear edges of vertical stab fairing and checked fit. Installed elevator and tightened hinge hardware. Ready to wire trim tab motor and attach elevator push pull tube.

  Mar 14, 2024     Aileron and rudder cables - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Installed cotter pin keepers adjacent to pulleys on the aileron and rudder cables. Temp installed vertical stab to fuselage fairing. Organized hardware for mounting ailerons, flaps and elevator. Tightened elevator Push Pull tube forward attach bolt near forward bearing block. Checked spray foam plug in aileron spars- still not quite setup. Will let dry another day before adding lead shot slurry to balance.

  Mar 13, 2024     Seats and Aileron Balancing - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Riveted seat track guides onto seat frames. Installed seats and sat in my plane for the 1st time since starting the build almost 3 years ago! Very big day for sure.
Started aileron balancing process. Used 1" ID PVC pipe to measure how tall a column of 3# 4oz of lead shot works out. It was just over 15 inches. Converted to 1 1/8" ID aileron spar, that works out to just over 13". I used this measurement to know where to spray the internal plug of expanding foam. I put it at about 20" from the inboard end of the aileron spar to give a lot of leeway when inserting the lead shot and epoxy slurry tomorrow. Will let the foam dry overnight in 70 degree temp as others have recommended. Thanks to SIMDPK and others for the initial 3# 4oz weight for the lead shot. I'll confirm this tomorrow by first balancing the aileron with dry shot, empty it and then will mix up the epoxy slurry for final balancing.

  Mar 12, 2024     Skylight and fairings - (2 hours)       Category: Reassembly

Final riveting of skylight outer hold down strips. Dipped rivets in clear silicone. Removed protective plastic from skylight and windshield. Installed gear leg fairings.