Project: LMRPanther   -  
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Builder Name:Louis Rosner   -  
Project:   Sport Performance - Panther   -   VIEW REPORTS
Total Hours:800
Total Flight Time:
Total Expense:$10.00
Start/Last Date:Mar 15, 2021 - No Finish Date
 
Friendly URL: https://eaabuilderslog.org?s=LMRPanther

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Apr 20, 2024     Wheel pant fairings - (8 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Finished fairings and attached to wheel pants


 
Apr 19, 2024     Upper strut fairings - (6 hours)       Category: Landing Gear
Finished upper strut, fairings and attached. Not yet satisfied with the fit removed and will reattach after paint.


 
Apr 18, 2024     Air oil separator - (6 hours)       Category: Engine
Fitted and attached anti-splat aero air oil separator per manufacturers instructions


 
Apr 07, 2024     Additional cowl preparation for painting - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Improving and filling seam for straighter line before painting. A straight edge achieved with tape and superfill epoxy.


 
Jan 24, 2024     It flies - (1 hour)       Category: Inspection
First flight and all went beautifully. I had a retired Air Force test. Pilot fly the first flight. He reported that the airplane flew hands off with no additional trim needed. All systems worked nominally. Couldn't have been a better result. Ecstatic no squawks.


 
Jan 18, 2024     Airworthiness inspection - (2 hours)       Category: Inspection
Airworthiness inspection with Arnold Holmes DAR. The excitement is palpable. Ready for phase 1.


 
Jan 18, 2024     Rudder cable guides - (2 hours)       Category: Controls
Replaced rudder cable guides with longer color, appropriate nylon one half inch outside diameter tubing to extend from forward fuselage to aft fuselage through grommets.


 
Jan 17, 2024     Seat - (1 hour)       Category: Interior Finish
Oregon Aero foam core upholstered by Ray Cadillac with fire retardant FAA approved fabrics. Seat fitted to air frame with industrial Velcro and 3M adhesive.


 
Jan 15, 2024     Mixture control, adjust - (2 hours) Category: Engine
Mixture control adjustment .
Enriched mixture, one quarter turn to allow 25 RPM rise during idle cut off
Adjusted trim, control horn to prevent bolt contact with rudder at extreme position.
 
Jan 12, 2024     Tail fairing - (3 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Manufactured retention brackets for tail feather fairing. Getting closer.


 
Jan 12, 2024     Fuel flow test - (2 hours) Category: Fuel System
Boost fuel pump flow tested. Supplies 48 gallons per hour. Replaced O-rings on pitot and AOA to fuselage interconnect. Minor additional adjustments made to left wing spar pass through during folding and unfolding operation.
 
Jan 10, 2024     Hi horizontal tail fairing - (4 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Fitted rear horizontal, stabilizer, fairings. Needed to drill out several rivets along the upper longeron . Use a hole finder to match drill the fairings. Nutplates installed. Fitted vertical tail fairing. Additional work needed.


 
Dec 19, 2023     Weight and Balance - (3 hours)       Category: Inspection
Leveled aircraft. Full weight of aircraft perform. Multiple calculations performed at gross weight, minimal fuel weight. Baggage and various pilots. All numbers seem to be coming out within expected range.


 
Dec 15, 2023     Seatbelts and navigation lights - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Assembled and installed Crow seatbelts. Assembled navigation lights and created fillet with super epoxy filler light. Minor filling around gaps on the air frame with same epoxy filler.


 
Dec 14, 2023     Turtledeck, formers - (2 hours)       Category: Empennage
Fitted turtleneck, formers to empennage.


 
Dec 14, 2023     Wing tips - (3 hours)       Category: Wings
Flush riveted 3/32 aluminum strip to inner surface of wingtips. Fitted external NAV lights to wing tips and trial assembled wingtip to wings with clecoes.


 
Dec 14, 2023     Baggage compartment - (3 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Fabricated baggage compartment closure panels. Assembled closure panels to fuselage with BSP 42 rivets. Relocated e outside air temperature wiring to behind panels.


 
Dec 13, 2023     Tailfeather fairing - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Built up some additional fiberglass resin and filler on fairing. Additional contour with sanding. Will need some more work.


 
Dec 11, 2023     Rear fairing - (2 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Split rear fairing to follow contour of horizontal vertical stabilizers. Single sheet of fiberglass applied with west system 105 epoxy resin system.


 
Dec 08, 2023     Fuel pump overflow - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
Manufactured and installed a fuel pump, overflow line to vent any such fuel overboard and out of the engine compartment. Cleaned up some additional wiring and installed an Adel clamp to the fuel sump to hold the starter power line.


 
Dec 04, 2023     Rewired starter - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
Rewire starter solenoid


 
Dec 03, 2023     Engine start - (2 hours)       Category: Engine
First engine start. Fuel flow in operative. MAP in operative.


 
Nov 24, 2023     Control stick wiring - (2 hours) Category: Avionics
Wire control stick with three conductor with shield Teflon wire. PTT and CWS connected to Ry stick button. Auto pilot disconnect wired to pilots left trim. Will need to find out a better solution for auto pilot disconnect.
 
Nov 22, 2023     Bottom tail skin - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Applied sealant and riveted lower tail skin in position. Installed appropriate hardware to secure empennage to forward fuselage.


 
Nov 21, 2023     Antennas - (4 hours)       Category: Avionics
Attached com ads-b and transponder antennas to lower fuselage. Manufactured antenna wires with appropriate BNC and TNC connectors.


 
Nov 20, 2023     Propeller attached - (5 hours)       Category: Propeller
Attached propeller to spacer and engine. Fitted spinner. Pitched prop to #4.
Trimmed wing folding assembly to prevent binding.


 
Nov 19, 2023     GPS Attachment - (3 hours)       Category: Avionics
Manufactured GPS attachment shelf and secured to seat roll bar with appropriate hardware. Shortened control stick and installed control switches.


 
Nov 18, 2023     Landing lens changed - (2 hours)       Category: Lighting
Removed poorly fit lens on left wing and replaced with new lens from Duckworths aviation. ( RV 3)


 
Nov 16, 2023     Wing adjustments - (2 hours)       Category: Wings
Additional trimming of upper wing skin and wing fitting adjustments


 
Nov 07, 2023     Securing fuel lines       Category: Engine

Additional tidying up and tightening of fuel lines. Several brackets and hose clamps, manufactured and installed to prevent excessive fuel line movement.


 
Nov 06, 2023     Fuel servo drain secured       Category: Engine
Manufactured bracket with grommet and secured fuel servo drain to exhaust crossmember.


 
Oct 01, 2023     Still away Category: Research
 
May 21, 2023     Begin landing light installation - (6 hours)       Category: Lighting
Started cut outs in both wings for installation of Duckworth LED landing lights. Cut away a portion of the forward, outboard rib, lightening hole, where it interfered with the light mounting assembly. The kit was for the RV series of aircraft so the light mounting assembly had to be cut, shortened and riveted so it would fit 12 inches on center between the forward wing ribs.


 
May 20, 2023     More wiring - (6 hours)       Category: Avionics
Finished wiring of P mags. Additional cleanup of wires and ignition. Not yet the final product but decent. Finally flipped the switch. No smoke. A great day. Have to troubleshoot the alternator field which shows +12 V even with the alternator off. Possibly a wrong pin in the connector on the forward Fuselage cable.


 
May 12, 2023     Fuel vents - (2 hours)       Category: Fuel System


 
May 01, 2023     Fuel controller reinstalled - (5 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Fuel control unit re-installed with sniffle valve placed by Performance airflow. All fuel hoses connected fuel flow transducer mounted to firewall with an offset bracket, allowing a more gentle band for the firewall fuel pass-through connection. Some additional securing of wires and hoses to reduce chafing.
Final bend for crank case, ventilation line, so that oil will drip on the exhaust stack and burn away.


 
Apr 11, 2023     More panel - (3 hours)       Category: Avionics
Cut additional openings in panel for remote Avionics boxes


 
Apr 09, 2023     HDX1100 mounted - (4 hours)       Category: Avionics
Cut out in panel to template of HDX 1100. Secured with MK 1000–06 nut plates.


 
Apr 03, 2023     Avionics started - (4 hours)       Category: Avionics
Mounted several boxes with 8-32 rivnuts.
Removed starter in preparation for 12v exchange. Measured hose lengths in preparation for order of completed conductive Teflon hose package.


 
Mar 25, 2023     Boost pump installation - (4 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Finished installation of boost pump. Needed a 1/8 inch shim under the rear of the assembly so that a fitting could be screwed onto the filter.
Installed fuel pressure and oil, pressure and oil temperature sensors. Hydraulic sealant applied. Torqued temperature sensor 160 inch pounds. Drilled a small hole into the side of the sensor facets and drilled an additional 16th inch hole into the oil adapter tab to allow placement of safety wire for temperature sensor.


 
Mar 09, 2023     Cockpit fuel lines - (6 hours)       Category: Fuel System
Fabricated and assembled cockpit, fuel lines, utilizing vibrant performance, 6AN fuel hose and fittings,. Completed assembly and installation of oil, cooler lines, utilizing vibrant performance, 8 AN fuel hose and fittings.


 
Mar 08, 2023     Oil, cooler installation, and baffles finished - (5 hours)       Category: Engine
Completed oil cooler installation. Stainless steel bracket manufactured and installed which resulted in complete security and no movement of oil cooler. Oil cooler fittings installed with Loctite hydraulic sealant.
Lower baffles secured with stainless steel threaded rods, double nuts and lock washers.


 
Mar 01, 2023     Additional firewall, throughput and ignition wires - (3 hours)       Category: Firewall
Fitted and secured temporarily with Crico's rear baffle heater intake 2 inch aluminum collar. Completed clamping ignition wires with additional Aydell clamps to upper engine pushrod tubes. Heater hoses installed.


 
Feb 28, 2023     Heater box, cable, assembly - (4 hours)       Category: Controls
Routed heater box, cable, through bulkhead, eyeball, and connected to heater box. Function verified. Started attaching ignition wires to pushrod tubes with a dell clamps.


 
Feb 27, 2023     Ignition wire, firewall throughput - (3 hours)       Category: Firewall
Drilled rear baffles for nylon blocks to secure top engine ignition wires


 
Feb 15, 2023     Install rear inspection covers - (3 hours)       Category: Empennage
Installed reinspection covers with 6–32 nut plates. Some difficulty encountered installing the upper nut plates because of proximity to longeron and rear doubler.


 
Feb 11, 2023     Oil cooler installation - (7 hours)       Category: Engine
Reinstalled oil cooler in lower location to clear the Cowell. Utilized a .050 inch doubler on the rear baffle and a 1/8 inch Doubler at the number four cylinder to rear baffle connection. Will connect with number six screws to allow for later disassembly. Original 42 length bolts too long. Will substitute for AN 3–40A


 
Feb 06, 2023     Fuel controller - (6 hours)       Category: Engine
Cables, trimmed and fixed with Bowden clamps. Solid wire attached to rod ends with appropriate hardware. Mixture control is stop to stop with adequate pushback. Throttle control is solid to idle with good. Push back. Hits the stop of throttle quadrant at wide-open throttle. Checked with performance airflow, and they recommend, that wide-open throttle should be 1/16 inch behind the stop. Excess movement noted at cable bracket in the cockpit where it is riveted to the skin. This will have to be strengthened with a Doubler or strap from the bracket to the throttle quadrant.
Quick oil, drain safety, wired to an added, screw placed at the aft end of cable management system.


 
Feb 01, 2023     Throttle cable connection - (4 hours)       Category: Engine
Determine the best possible position for throttle cable pass-through on firewall. Drilled to 1.078 with step drill and utilized a spherical metal grommet hole size .240. Passed throttle cable through mock up at fuel controller. We'll hold off on final trimming of cable until the other cables are passed through firewall. Re-purposed a Bowden cable clamp 7/32 of an inch by milling center on a lathe .240 inches. The clamp fits perfectly in the mock up and will hold down the cables very nicely.


 
Jan 31, 2023     Fuel system - (4 hours)       Category: Engine
Install fuel selector valve with 832 screws washers and nuts. Resource work for AN fittings and fuel system.


 
Jan 27, 2023     Baffles - (4 hours)       Category: Engine
Further trimming and fitting of baffles. Using paper clips.


 
Jan 23, 2023     Engine compartment - (5 hours)       Category: Engine
Modified fuel control inlet with PVC coupler. Manufactured oil cooler, Plenum, and trial fit oil cooler. OK, mounted and trial fit alternator assembly.


 
Jan 21, 2023     Fuel controller - (3 hours)       Category: Engine
Additional mock up on cable attachment. Fuel, controller, positioning. Manufactured retention washers out of finishing stainless steel Timmerman washers and drilled to 3/16 inch inside diameter. This will prevent fitting from rubbing against lower Cowl as the 970 size washers did.


 
Jan 19, 2023     Cowl attchment - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Cam lock fasteners completed for upper Cowl


 
Jan 13, 2023     Exhaust and fuel controller, mounting - (10 hours)       Category: Engine
Mounted the performance airflow FM 150 fuel controller. 90�lbow. Purchased the performance airflow updraft cable, mounting kit, which required considerable deconstruction and reconstruction for possible cable installation. Used double sided sticky. Tape to reassemble the parts in appropriate positions. Mounted the Federman exhaust system. Exhaust bolts torqued to 200 inch pounds. Giving further consideration to cables with rod and bearings as specified by vans. Already purchased the open wire cables, but appears to have too many possible points of failure at the throttle and mixture control linkage end.


 
Jan 12, 2023     Additional front Cowl fitting - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Trial fit of the upper Cowl and positioning for the 2000 series camlocs (smaller units). Needed some additional fill to raise the cowl to approximate the upper Avionics bay skin. A total of four ply, fiberglass, and epoxy, 1 inch strips applied.


 
Jan 10, 2023     Cowl adjustment - (2 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Trial fit upper Cowl. Need an extra .040” elevation for the camlocs. Two layers of fiberglass applied to Cowl. Will try to refit for tomorrow.


 
Jan 02, 2023     Cowl installation - (12 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Measured distance from forward, engine hoist loop to back of spinner after installing fly wheel, spacer and rear spinner bulkhead. Total distance equaled nine and three-quarter inches. Manufactured wood jig such that Cowl face would extend 9 1/2 inches leaving 1/4 inch between Cowl and rear spinner bulkhead. Moderate amount of trimming to get the Cowl to fit just right.


 
Dec 27, 2022     Installed engine - (8 hours)       Category: Engine
Originally installed engine with an 8–44 bolts. These turned out to be one size too long so I need to remove them and replace them with an 8-43. Ordered wrong type of bolts so with the help of a machinist drilled the bolts to except cotter pins. Nuts tightened so that rubber engine mounts were compressed to exactly 1.80 inches.


 
Dec 19, 2022     Right forward fuselage - (4 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Attached right forward fuselage skin. Attached right cheek and right exhaust tunnel. Right wing attach pin locking plates installed.


 
Dec 17, 2022     Horizontal tips - (5 hours)       Category: Tail Feathers
Finished installation of horizontal tips and closure. Ribs. Also safety wired and secured hinge pins for vertical and horizontal tail.


 
Dec 16, 2022     Finished roll servo installation - (5 hours)       Category: Controls
Installed roll serve upper plans. MM four on control stick bearing and MM3 at servo end. Ops check with no chance for controls to over center.


 
Nov 16, 2022     Wing root fairings completed - (8 hours)       Category: Wings
Finished fairings.


 
Nov 15, 2022     Left wing root fairing - (7 hours)       Category: Wings
Fashioned left wing root fairing. This took a long time and quite a bit of thought to get the parallel reference line and make measurements to the fuselage. Once that was done, the faring was carefully clamped to the wing, and all holes drilled and upsized to number 30. Dimpled and riveted with countersunk rivets, I was able to use the original row of wing skin to rib number one holes that were dimpled prior and using the small right angle pneumatic drill. I was able to back drill to the outer skin through the faring and that saved me from making an extra line of rivet holes. Applied rubber seal. Replaced wing and it appears to be a nice fit cosmetically.


 
Nov 14, 2022     Brakes - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Attached AN compression fittings to master cylinders and brake calipers. .138 inside diameter, nylon tubing placed in aft gear grooves. Brake line routed through nylon tube. Preliminary routing of brake lines performed. Final routing will be determined once I have the reservoir attached to the firewall. Wing walk, Doubler trimmed and fitted to left wing. Dimpled all holes and riveted with appropriate countersunk rivets.


 
Nov 13, 2022     Fuel tanks attached - (4 hours) Category: Wings
Final fit and riveting of fuel tanks. Need to secure tanks with bolts at the wing route
 
Nov 11, 2022     Pitot disconnect - (8 hours)       Category: Wings
Attached pitot disconnect and angle of attack disconnect. Assembled jig so that the drill could be passed from inside the fuselage perpendicular out to the wing. Male disconnects attached to wing. Trial fit wing and disconnect seems to be well positioned. Need final pressure check.


 
Nov 07, 2022     Flap controls - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Finally back to building. Attached wings. Slight adjustments made. All four pins engaged. Set ailerons to 0�Matched ailerons to flaps with clamps. Drilled flap control arms to 3/16 inch and bolted with hardware. Flap control check.


 
Jul 11, 2022     Installed wings - (12 hours)       Category: Wings
Attached wings to wing fold support and tubes. Swung wings and reinserted spars. Tight fit will need further adjustment. Not happy with placement of pitot tube which slightly limits folding of left wing against fuselage.
Further build on hold until I return in August.


 
Jun 11, 2022     Optional wing folding mechanism - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Fashioned wing fold tube cut outs. Use Dremel to make multiple successive cuts and polished with sanding wheels.


 
Jun 10, 2022     Finished flap construction and return Springs - (6 hours)       Category: Wings
Finished assembly of right and left flaps. Flap drive angles too tight on flap drive levers. Removed powder coat on levers which corrected fit. Flap stops installed. Flap return springs installed per instructions. Cut outs in back of each flaps modified slightly to prevent interference with inboard rib. Flap doublers fashioned out of .060 inch aluminum. Rivets spacing modified to prevent interference.


 
Jun 07, 2022     Completed left wing aileron controls. - (6 hours)       Category: Controls
Completed left-wing aileron controls. Similar description to yesterday's build. Again noted slight rubbing of pushrod exit.


 
Jun 06, 2022     Aileron rigging - (6 hours)       Category: Controls
Assembled pushrods joiners and belllcranks. Trimmed distal wing spar to allow for wingtip installation later. Trimmed joiner mount per manual. Assembled bellcrank and push rods. Identified slight rubbing of pushrod as it exited the wing cut out which will need some later trimming. Trimmed approximately 1/4 inch of threads from the push rod so that inner attachment stack would not hit rib number nine. Using a digital angle measure confirmed 15�wn and 25� motion of Aileron.


 
Jun 03, 2022     Adjusted forward wing pins - (5 hours) Category: Wings
Adjustment to forward wing pins went to fairly straightforward. Took a little bit of time but got them to slide in and out fairly easy. Rear shims adjusted to maintain equal incidence within 0.1 degree on both sides. Rear pins drilled.
 
Jun 02, 2022     Fit wings to fuselage - (6 hours)       Category: Wings
Attached upper wing spar guides. Installed right and left wings. Adjusted upper and lower guides and rollers. Rough fit of forward spar wing pins. Incidence checked on both wings. Within 0.2�n the left. Within 0.1�n the right. Slight difference between right and left at wing route. Sanded temporary rear wing spar shim down approximately 1/32 of an inch. Incidence at roots within 0.1�


 
May 27, 2022     Flap repair - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Repaired right flap hinge. Removed and replaced MS 20257–3 with a MS 20257–4 hinge. Raised center of hinge line one 16th inch so that flap would better meet with aileron profile. Improved slightly less than when the left flap was repaired. Will leave it like this and see how the final finish looks. Also finished re-drilling and dimpling new holes in the flap skin for the shortened sport version and attachment of the control rib.


 
May 26, 2022     Finished canopy installation - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Reassembled all canopy frame parts with appropriate hardware. Canopy bubble attached to skirt with 632 screws. Used 1/2 inch length screws instead of those supplied with kit. Fitted canopy to fuselage frame. Latching mechanism appears to work well. There is clearly some torque when the canopy opens and closes in a clockwise direction. Left portion of the canopy needs to be spread slightly when closing but closure mechanism works well. Emergency release mechanism also appears to work well. Gas strut installed. Operation worked well. Satisfied at this time.


 
May 09, 2022     More canopy work - (5 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Further fitting of canopy rails to fuselage. I accidentally oversized several of the screws to 1032. Fit fine and should be OK. Attaching the forward nylon block through the instrument panel resulted in the nut coming out immediately behind one of the forward skin attachment lugs. Will have to trim this later. Satisfied with latching mechanism which appears to operate smoothly.


 
May 08, 2022     Canopy attachment structure - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Needed to grind away some of the additional welds for hinges to fit properly. Cut the grooves for the quick release pins forward and aft. Drilled additional attachment holes. Several of the holes should have been 832 and a upsize to 1030 to an error but should be OK.


 
May 03, 2022     Canopy attachment - (6 hours)       Category: Fuselage
Manufactured latch pins as per plans. Groove attachment to handle widened to accommodate nylon washers.


 
May 02, 2022     Completed left-wing - (8 hours)       Category: Wings
Left wing riveted per builders manual. Wing walk and rib one rivets left out. Waine removed from fixture. Fixture disassembled. Another great moment. Plan to tackle canopy next.


 
Apr 29, 2022     Finished pitot tube - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Finished installation of pitot tube. Rerouted lines to prevent chafing against wing slider tube. Checked all connections. Skins replaced and flap and Elron hinges placed in position. Area of wing walk primed as well as the back of the wing walk itself.


 
Apr 28, 2022     Left wing - (4 hours)       Category: Wings
Installed pitot tube and hoses. Intended to attach to skin but would have needed a 1/4 inch shim. Attached to ninth rib with angle stock and end to spar with BSC 44 rivets.


 
Apr 18, 2022     Further work on left wing - (7 hours)       Category: Wings
Ribs attached to forward Spar. Ribs stiffeners attached to ribs one through eight. Appropriate rivets applied. Close tolerance bolts used to affix spar to rib Stefiner. Fuel tank mounts installed with close tolerance bolts. Fixture further squared with plumbob and level.


 
Apr 14, 2022     Trial fit of control surfaces - (6 hours)       Category: Wings
Hung aileron and flap on right wing. Noted poor fit and alignment between the two surfaces. It's possible that I mounted the hinge on the flap too low. Manuel called for a 1/16 inch offset and it is possible that it is offset more than 1/8 of an inch. Sent Dan a query for possible correction. I'm hoping that I can drill out the rivet on the hinge and place a new hinge in the appropriate position.
Started assembly of the fly LED light boards. Easy but time consuming like everything else.
Shortened right flap per PDF file. Drilled new matched holes in skin to accept control rib per instructions. Had to offset some of the rivet holes to clear and maintain edge distance.


 


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