Jul 18, 2023     Prop, Sills, Controls and Engine Start - (9 hours)       Category: Engine

Installed my prop and set the pitch to 19.6 degrees for an initial look. Worked on getting the flaperons set up properly for the correct deflections. Not sure I was happy with the end result so may go back and check them again. Something there just doesn't seem right. Installed the sills on the door frames so now they are permanently attached. Last but certainly not least, I started the engine for it's first run up. All the pressures were good, no leaks and it appears my static RPM at full throttle was around 5100 so I'll have to do a little pitch adjustment and give it another go.

  May 13, 2023     Springs, Intake and Flaperons - (12 hours)       Category: Engine

Finished up painting the flaperons this morning. Pretty happy with the way they came out given that I am painting outside. Trying to get painting done before the pollen starts falling from the pine trees. Think I might have only a couple more days and then I'll have to hold short for a bit on paint. While waiting for flash coats and final coats to dry, I did the safety wire on the exhaust springs so that when (not if from what I understand) they break, they don't just fall out the back of the cowling and on to the runway/taxiway or even drop them while flying. Ran a couple beads of high temp RTV on all the springs as well as I understand this dampens the vibration of the springs and hopefully promotes a little longer life. Also finished off the outside of the intake Naca so that debacle is complete now.

  May 08, 2023     Intake Mod, Fuel Gauge and Wing Struts - (9 hours)       Category: Engine

Installed the fuel gauge into the left wing and finished up connecting the fuel lines so the left wing is now plumbed. Was real happy to get my intake installed on the lower cowling and thought it was a thing of beauty. Or not. The instructions say to check the fit before mounting the intake to the cowling and while I did make sure the cowling fit with the intake taped at the spot outlined in the manual, I guess I didn't really take a good look other than to see that it fit. While doing something else, I looked down and was shocked to see that the intake was literally a little less than a quarter inch from the valve cover of the engine. I am certain that engine will flex the motor mounts a bit (Kitfox calls for a half inch of clearance between the exhaust pipe and the cowling due to that). I had to modify my intake with a bit of a cutout to give me my half inch of clearance. The takeaway here is when you check for clearances, do a complete check. The weather started warming up so I thought I would get a little painting done before pollen and bugs make painting outside totally impossible. Repurposed the wing rotisserie to support the wing strut while painting.

  Apr 30, 2023     Intake - (5 hours)       Category: Engine

Never liked the air filter directly connected to the engine taking in hot air inside the cowling. Against all my motorhead experience. When Kitfox introduced the 915is into its stable of engines, they came up with an external intake system to route outside air into the engine. Saw that and ordered one from Kitfox since the 912is uses the same intake system. Heather got it sent out and I now have it installed. Much better in my mind than the inside cowling air and it gives the air sensor for the Rotax injection a great place to be mounted (backside of the air box).

  Feb 14, 2023     ECU and Grounds - (12 hours)       Category: Engine

Started populating the engine sub-systems like the ECU and fuse box. My first "Dang it" moment came when I looked at where Kitfox suggested mounting the ECU. Right where I had already mounted my battery backup on the left equipment rack. An alternate was to mount it on the right equipment rack but my VPX was mounted there. The solution was to bend up a mounting rack where I could place my ECU over the top of the battery back up. Got one bent up on the brake, fitted it on the left side and then got it painted. Once it has had time to dry, I'll get it installed. Installed the fuse box on the fire wall which went well. Wiring in the X3 power connector has some pretty healthy Molex pins and my first look at a tool to work the Molex pins with 10 AWG wire was going to be a $500 bite. Luckily I found a set of jaws that work in my crimping tool and worked perfectly with the pins. I installed the clipping diodes on my master and starter relays which will go a long way to extending the operational life of those relays. Have been wrestling with where to mount my ground forests. I wanted separate ones for the avionics and for the lights/shields/switches. Finally came to a decision, mounted them and then began populating the lights and shields grounds.

  Feb 01, 2023     Engine Mount and Stuff - (10 hours)       Category: Engine

Mounted the fuel filter assembly, the filter capacitor and the motor mount getting ready to mount the engine. Reading some of the other members of the forum who had a real go of it getting the bolts between the mount and the fuselage to line up (including ratchet straps to pull thing in), I was ready for a real 'fun' time of getting the mount on. Decided to do the mount to the fuselage first before the engine to the mount. Imagine my amazement when literally I got all five bolts on the mount attached. Even the 5/16th one at the bottom. They all lined up with only two needed a light love tap from a small hammer to get them through. Today the wife and I went out and used an engine hoist to raise the engine up and bolted it to the mount. The only surprise for me was that I had to remove the muffler to get the upper bolts through. Once I did that, it was pretty smooth sailing. Used clamps to compress the rubber motor mounts so that I could start the nuts on the bolts but that was really the extent of it. I am including the FAA mandated selfie showing that I was really doing the work. Wearing my jacket cause I had to have the doors open to use the hoist and it's 31 degrees outside. At least I picked the warmest part of the day.