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.

  Nov 16, 2023     Wing adjustments - (2 hours)       Category: Wings

Additional trimming of upper wing skin and wing fitting adjustments

  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 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 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 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.

  Apr 13, 2022     Completed attachment of right fuel tank - (6 hours)       Category: Wings

Needed to trim approximately 1/16 of an inch of the inboard section of the outboard forward skin in order for the fuel tank to fit properly. Additional holes match drilled and dimpled. Countersunk upper row of fuel tank rivet attachment holes. Dimpled lower row of attachment holes on both sides. Measured left portion of tank skin to F spa. 22 and three-quarter inches at all four corners. Appears to be a good fit. A bit tight and needed to use ratchet straps to bring tank into position. Hopefully this will not be a problem causing tank skin separation and leaks.

  Mar 30, 2022     Final fit of right wing skins - (8 hours)       Category: Wings

Final fit of inboard and outboard aft skins. Final fit of outboard nose skins. Rechecked wing for any twist using plum bobs. Wing continues to remain straight without any warp. Assembled lower inspection hole ring with nut plates and dimpled inspection cover for 632 countersunk screws. Trial fit with Cleco. Dimpleed skins with dyeNQ. Holes in the skin which would attach to spar forward and aft we're dimpled with number 30 dies and both bars countersunk. Rolled edges of fuel tank and upper skins only. Seem to fit better than the lower skins. Dan advised against edge rolling but it does seem to make a slightly nicer fit.

  Mar 27, 2022     Rt wing - (10 hours)       Category: Wings

Ribs one through thirteen assembled to spar with appropriate hardware. Outboard upper skin trial fitted to wing. Aileron bell cranks and bearings assembled rt and left.

  Mar 18, 2022     Rt wing - (5 hours)       Category: Wings

Prepared rear spar rib one and nine tail piece and rib one nose piece. Prepared right rear spar stiffner and clecoed in position. Transfer drilled rib one stiffener and clecoed. Trial assembled rib one bell crank bracket trim. Found the step extremely confusing as parts were labeled rib one stiffener and joiner mount. Pictures in manual were for left which was also confusing. Getting a headache. Will look at this again in the morning.

  Jan 24, 2022     Completed ailerons and flaps - (20 hours)       Category: Wings

Completed ailerons and flaps. Attached hinges utilizing scrap aluminum and 60 thousandths shim (1/16 inch). Some difficulty obtaining a completely straight edge on the hinges. Hopefully the hinges will meet with the wings with the measurements shown on the plans.

  Jan 15, 2022     Finished left aileron - (6 hours)       Category: Wings

Needed to file openings for counterbalance weight control arms additional 16th inch on either side. Needed to file opening for Elron control arm additional 16th inch on either side. Dimpled all skins ribs and structures. Oops puncture on upper skin will be repaired later.

  Jan 14, 2022     Left aileron assembly - (6 hours)       Category: Wings

Fabricate both aileron control rib assemblies. Fabricate counterbalance arm assemblies. Attempted to install into aileron skin but found an unacceptable fit. Lead weight is two and three-quarter inches wide. Cut out in aileron skin insufficient. Will need to discuss with Dan.