May 02, 2024     Rotax Engine Training       Category: Engine

Not much to report from these past weeks. Instead of work on the plane I took a week to go to Hurricane Utah to attend two courses with Motive Aero. I did the Rotax Service and Engine Maintenance courses. I feel a lot more confident that Ill be able to handle mostly any engine related issues that may arise.

My Rotax 915 and firewall forward kit and both en route so thats exciting.

For the next three weeks I will be pretty busy work so I dont see much getting done in the near future unfortunately. But I did get the right wing done with regards to the fuel pumps, wiring, tubing and fuel level sender. Pictures below. It took awhile to come up with an arrangement were I was happy that the wires were not going to chafe on anything.

  Apr 16, 2024     Aerospace Systems Fuel boost system       Category: Fuel System

I received my Fuel Pump Control Module (FPCM) from Aerospace Systems and have been working to install it. I have had to make some minor modifications but nothing too drastic. My previously complete fuel lines no longer work so I had to make some new ones but this time around it was a lot easier as the tubes are now longer so they are easier to manipulate. Also one of the feed lines from my long range tank was too long and interfered with the boost pump. To fix it I had to drill out a rib so that I could get the necessary tooling in there to shorter, bend and flare the line.

Another change was that I needed a different power wire (more amps) from the VPX. The previous setup was one pump and now there are two and the FPCM module. All together I needed a 7.5 Amp breaker. The two boost pumps in the wing each require a power wire run but luckily I had an extra wire already run and was able to utilize that wire so that was fortunate. Now I am working to secure wiring from the wing root to the pumps themselves. I had to make a bracket but I think I found an acceptable solution.

I also finally received the correct diameter metal tube for the brake reservoir and made that line. Its almost comical that I had to wait a couple months for the tube to make a 3 inch line.

Lastly, a lot of big things are about to happen: My MT prop and RS flight systems controller should be arriving any day now, I am going to Rotax engine training next week for the servicing and maintenance courses, and my Firewall Forward Kit was just crated and should be shipping soon.

  Apr 09, 2024     Wheel Spats and Fairings       Category: Fuselage

These past couple weeks I worked on getting the wheel spats installed. Nothing to exciting to report on that besides the main spats are kind of hard to determine if they are streamlined as they are not symmetrical. If I put them where I think they are straight the bolt holes will be off from intended mount locations and it looks bad. I opted to put use the stock locations even if I think it is off a little bit.

I also marked and straightened the from upper avionics fairing with the firewall.

I installed the vertical and horizontal stabilizer so I can install the empenage fairing. With that fairing installed I marked/ drilled where the rivnuts need to go. I installed the rivnuts but I ran out of time and haven't reinstalled the fairing to ensure its all good. The only snag I ran into was that the bracket that I had made for me ELT antenna was a bit to big to fit under the fairing to I removed the bracket and trimmed it down a good bit. It not fits with room to spare.

  Mar 23, 2024     Pitot/ VPX/ Wires       Category: Avionics

Not a lot of pictures this time as they all look very similar. So this past week I have programmed the VPX, installed the GMC 507 and G5 and their corresponding connectors. I also ran the wires for the panel lights to the respective dimmers. Oh I also ordered my prop and controller from RS flight systems and I also ordered the boost pump system from midwest panel builders. I also hooked up the pitot and static lines to the G5. Thats all for this update.

  Mar 15, 2024     Doors, Hot air tube, wires       Category: Avionics

I did a little more work on the doors getting the interior handles that help pull the door down when it is fully open. It was straight forward.

Next, I worked on getting some 1" CEET tubing installed in the wing spar that will bring hot air from the center channel to the back seat floor vents. I also cut the holes and mounted the repurposed vents that were on the dash to the rear seat floors. My only concern was making sure the tubing didnt interfere with flight controls. I used some foam blocking and a friction fit to hold the tubing up above the flight control tubes. Also along with the tubing I installed the bowden cable that controls the heat valve. I found the provided cable to be way (about a foot and a half) too long. I cut the tubing and redid the Z bend and hooked it all back up. With the shorted cable and some lithium grease the valve is moved much easier now.

I also decided to remove the heat shield for the firewall. The reason is the factory stuff burns rather easily and i question if it will do anything in a fire. I have decided to used Contego Intumescent paint (https://contegointernational.com/contego-original/). I think this will greatly improve my chances in case of a fire.

I worked a little on the upper avionics fiberglass cover. It didnt have a straight reveal so I marked my line and did an initial cut to make the panel have a more even reveal.

The SteinAir vents that I purchased are just a tad too small for the vent holes that were already cut into the dash. The holes were also just a bit too big for the factory installed vents. I contemplated requesting a new dash but I instead opted to make some aluminum rings what go around the vents and cover the fact that the dash holes are just a bit too big. For making the rings completely by hand I am pretty happy with how they came out.

This week I also tested the dimmers that I received from Midwest Panel Builders. The 10K analog dimmers are nothing special but what I didnt like was that about 90% of the knob movement only dims the lights about 10%. But then the remaining 10% movement dims the lights the last 90%. Not the end of the world but its an easy fix. I bough some mini PWM dimmers that are made for the job. The dimming is now linear and another plus is that the dimmers click in the off position and 100% turn off the lights. The analog dimmers still had the lights on, albeit the were very dim.

I also reworked the fuel X-fer pump switches. The parts that midwest sent didnt work for how I intended to wire things up. While I am sure Midwest's way works fine I felt it was needlessly complicated (circuit boards, WiFi enabled timers, no instructions) and I therefore made it much more simple but I did have to get some different latching push button switches. My process involves an 'Arm' switch that provides ground the the push button switches. Those push button switches provide ground to the VPX. One the VPX provides power to the pumps, it also provides power the the LED indicator light within the push button switch. That light in the switch will be on when the pump is getting power regardless of anything else.

With all that fun out of the way, on to the main even, while it may not look like much wire work has been done I got a lot more wiring done and have worked on the IBBS battery backup, some RS-232 connections and the main connector on the Garmin display unit. This has been more time consuming as I have to go thru more details but its also good because I have been learning about features that I didnt know Garmin had and als how to wire them up. I am about ready to start powering things on and testing but I had to buy a Windows laptop to program the VPX. The computer is currently in the mail so hopefully I can start powering things on next week.

  Feb 27, 2024     Ground Bus, Door latches, Control stick connectors       Category: Fuselage

I finished running all of the grounds that I currently have installed to the ground bus. I have a few more but id say about 90-95% of the grounds are run. Out of an abundance of caution I ran everything back to a single ground.

I decided to use 15 pin Dsub connectors at the control stick base. I have two 5 wire each bundles running to each stick. I havent decided what I want one the stick yet so I really hope I dont run out of wires on the stick. What I figured I need at the stick so far is: ground, trim up/down, flaps maybe as there is already a switch on the dash, PTT, CWS disconnect, comm flip flop.

I have also started working on the canopy doors again. I filled in the elongated holes for the canopy doors with JB weld steel epoxy. I also finished up the canopy latches. The front ones were already done but now I finished up the aft latches. The delay was I had to wait a few months for longer latches from the factory. I needed 2mm longer on the left aft latch and 6mm longer on the right rear hatch. Everything now works as it should but the right lock is a little harder than I wish it was. One change I did make two the latches was there is a connecting rod between the front and aft latch. The factory has a plastic P clip to help hold the connecting rod. The P clip isnt long enough and you have to force the rod down to make it so you can use the flimsy P clip. Also there is a tendency for the rod to flex or bow down during unlocking. If not supported I could see this leading to the aft latch not unlocking due to the flex. So instead of the P clip that didnt really fit in the first place I used an aluminum standoff and an adel clamp around the standoff. I also greased up the rod where it contacts the connecting rod. The adel clamp and stand off are much more sturdy and it gives me a lot more confidence that the doors will unlock when I need them to.

Also, I figured out the door locks take key Y11. Thats important because I went to Lowes and bought a cabinet lock that also takes key Y11. The lock also came with longer locking latches and is just a hair longer than stock. So now that all the locks take key Y11 I had a locksmith rekey the lock so one key works on all the doors. Also with the lock itself being just a tad longer the locking latch fits perfectly behind the longeron, and as an added bonus the longer locking latch fully engages the longeron so it is a lot more secure that the factory solution where just the tip of the latch was engaged.

Lastly, I have been talking with sling to price there new throttle quadrant with a manual constant speed prop lever. I havent got the price yet but this will go into my decision of what prop I want.

  Feb 19, 2024     VPX wiring       Category: Avionics

I have been continuing wiring up the VPX and the avionics but mostly the VPX. In an effort to help with wire lengths and routing of wire I mocked up where the panel was going to sit and I made some mounts for it out of 4x4 so I could hang the panel without the dash to give me extra working room. With that done I have been pulling more and more wiring and I have now finished pulling all of the wire for the VPX. A lot of the wires are hooked up on both ends but I have a few more to be fully done connecting the power wires from the VPX. I also need to go back and lace all the wires where I am confident I am done pulling wire.

Another milestone is I finally decided where and how I am going to have all of my ground wires terminate. I haven't seen much on this topic on the forums and I even posted some questions with no answers. I went with a forest of tabs from Stein Air and mounted it in a mostly central location on the inside of the firewall. My son also help with mounting it by helping me remove the primer on the firewall where the tabs were going to be. After we cleaned the exposed steel I applied some No-Ox electrically conductive grease and bolted and riveted the tab plate in place. Now I can start terminating all those grounds.

I figured out where the 1.5K and 600k resistors go that I received from Midwest Panel Builders. They go to the Rotax lane lights. I soldiered them together as indicated by the Sling electrical manual. I dont know why I put two resistors per light the way that I did but I am just trusting in the instructions. I did test the lights with a 9 volt battery and they do still work.

I also went to mount my autopilot panel and was a little surprised when it went right thru the panel. It turns out I need the optional mounting bracket. I would have assumed the panel would have been cut to just mount the A/P right to the panel as it was designed. I can only guess Midwest was trying to keep the cut out in the panel uniform for aesthetics. Its not a big deal just another "oh I need to buy something else" moment.

lastly, I am trying to decide on a propeller, I was going to go with MT and the RS flight system but #1 they are expensive and #2 I have been hearing that they MT prop used with RS and the Sling has been having some problems. I have reached out to DUC propellers and am going to explore possibly using on of their props.

  Feb 11, 2024     Cleaning up some wires and the dash       Category: Avionics

This week I spent most of my time tidying up and bundling wires and installing more adel clamps. The main wire bundle going aft along with coax and pitot and brake tubes are secured all the way up the the instrument panel. It still looks like a hot mess but it is better. I also started wiring up some more avionics. The only avionics im doing so far are the ones that i know there final location. To help with that I am going to temp install the instrument panel but with out the dashboard so its easier to work. With just the instrument panel hanging in position ill be able to work the G3x display and the G5 as well.

I also heard back from sling technical about the closeout skins not being 100% correct. There answer unfortunately didnt make anysense. In short they said the panel is short to account for the thickness of the finish carpeting. But if the carpeting pushes the panel over as they suggest then the side holes might fit but the bottom holes will then be off. Its a problem ill deal with down the road.

As I get further along in the avionics I have to make some final decisions and also figure out how im going to do some things. For example the pieces I received from Midwest Panel Builders for the long range fuel tank pumps uses times and extra circuit boards. While I'm sure it works fine I am planning to go with a simpler option where the pilot just turns on and off those pumps as appropriate. What this means is not everything i bought from them im going to use and not everything I need.

Lastly I started trimming the dashboard to fit the instrument panel and its probably about 90% done. One of the other decisions I was trying to figure out was how to secure nuts on the backside of the dash so I can just screw in the instrument panel. After awhile I realized I dont need to secure nuts, nut clips or install rivnuts. With the displays out of the instrument panel there is plenty of room to just install regular nuts and tighten them with a wrench. There is no need to make this more complicated. Once again I am telling myself, 'keep it simple stupid'.

  Feb 02, 2024     Center console, rear seat fix       Category: Fuselage

Last week I noted the rear seats didnt fit correctly. It turns out there are two different ways they could have been installed (also not specified in the plans) and I choose poorly. I drilled the hinge out and reinstalled. The rear seats now fit as they should. I also finished up the rear cargo floor by installing the inspection covers and also fabricating a cover plate for what would have been a rocket exhaust port if I had installed the ballistic chute.

I also temp installed the center console so that I could figure out how i wanted to secure wires inside of the center console but to also make and install the audio and mic jacks for both front seats and I also installed a USB charge port for the back seat. Its a tight fit between the flap motor and the USB charge port but I am comfortable with how I secured it.

After that I started to finish up the covers for the front of the wing spar. I found that some of the factory locations for riv nuts dont line up so I had to rework a few things.

Lastly I ordered CEET tubing so I can run hot air lines for the back seats.

  Jan 27, 2024     Floor rib fixed, floors installed, rear seat doesnt fit       Category: Fuselage

Last post I showed the cracked floor rib. I sent my proposed fix the Sling technical and they approved the fix. The patch is now on and to prevent further stress or damage on the floor I final installed the rear floors and then also put plywood on top of the floors. Before I final installed the floors I had to finish securing some loose wires and I installed some edge protectors.

I also finished my rear seat by riveting the backrests to the seats and tried to install the seat. But, the spacing of the backrests are off and they contact the air frame structure before hitting the backrest stop. The spacing was factory drilled so I am not sure how the spacing is off but I am a little annoyed. I'll contact technical just to make sure I didnt do anything stupid.

With the rear floors on and the wire underneath it done I am starting to finalize wiring and am working back to front. Next on the list is to install the front seat audio jacks, the rear seat power plug and an audio in jack on the center console.

  Jan 19, 2024     wing root CPC repinned       Category: Fuselage

So its been pretty cold outside and my shop is neither insulated nor heated so I have not been out there to much. But with the minimal time I have spent I managed to repin the fuselage side wing root CPC. I also finished the wing side CPC connectors.

After that I started to finish up the wire routing and the clamping of wire bundles with the goal of finishing up everything aft of the main wing spar so that I can put the rear floors in. While doing that I noticed a crack in the rear floor rib. I stop drilled the crack and am going to put a patch over the rib. I have taken some pictures and will send them to technical to see if they concur with my fix. If I need to replace the rib it wont be that bad. But the worst part will be reruning the wires, cables, and tubes that go thru it.

  Jan 11, 2024     Finishing up loose odds and ends       Category: Fuselage

With my boys back in school I started working on the plane again. It feels like a very long time since I have touched the project. In preparation for a deep dive into avionics I have been finishing up loose odds and ends such as: 1)sanding more filler in the rivet heads flat, just the bottom of the plane left, and 2) riveting the inboard fuel pump rib in place.

I also ordered my engine and firewall forward kit yesterday. I ended up staying with the 915 rather than upgrading to the 916. I just couldn't cost justify the bang for the buck.

Lastly I realized the I miss pinned my wing root CPC connectors so I am in the process of putting pins where sockets were and sockets where I had pins. Not the end of the world but it is time consuming.

  Dec 27, 2023     A little bit of a lot       Category: Fuselage

I have been working a lot of little tasks or at least tasks that dont have much to show for themselves. With my stepdads help I installed the Comm2 antenna. We also temp installed the left wing so that I could finalize the fuel tubing and the wire lengths and connections for the wing root to fuselage connection. I took a few tries to get the fuel tubing right just because the bends were short and tight for the tooling that I had. I ended up having to buy some AN6 swivel ends. After I finished the left wing and with the help of some neighbors we took the left wing off and temp installed the right wing. Now that side is also done. Also while the wings were installed I fitted the wing root fairings and installed most of the rivnuts for those. I do really hate installing rivnuts.
I also worked my upper avionics fiberglass panel. It wanst fitting right from the factory so I had to put some relief cuts and reinforced it with more fibrblass from the back and then used some fill on the front and sanded it smooth.
Also exciting was that I received my avionics panel from Midwest Panel Builders. There were a few problems: The color I ordered is not what they received from their supplier so I chose to just accept what they had, also my dimmer panel had the wrong word on it but they ordered a new piece and made it right. Lastly, I didnt know I needed to order all the switches and stuff separately but I didnt get any of that stuff. I subsequently ordered them and then I received some of the wrong color light bulbs but once again Midwest made things right. Overall I am very happy with the panel.
Finally this month I went to install my rear seats using the supplied Dzus fasteners. First I didnt know how to install them so I had to do some research, second I dont have the flaring tool for the grommets and third I dont know what size the grommets are. Once I figure that out I'll have to order some more tools.
Oh and I almost forgot, the biggest thing I have spent time on lately is sanding the epoxy filler that I put in the rivet heads smooth. What a time killer and not very much fun.

  Nov 19, 2023     Windows in, 1 wing on       Category: Fuselage

All of my side windows are in! I still need to do some clean up work but the windows are all in. Overall I'm happy with the results but in a few spots the windows aren't fully flush with the skin on the canopy. Also my step dad is visiting for the holidays so I put him to work and we (Kody, mike and me) temp installed the left wing. The reason I wanted to temp install the wing was to get the exact spacing for the metal fuel lines and the wires that I need to finish. I am hoping to get that kind of work done so when I finally move to the airport things will progress quickly. I also received my Steinair air vents but I wanted to be able to screw them into the sidewall. The included nut didn't allow me to do that so I stole the idea of a 3D printed plastic adapter (thanks Aaron) and made a piece of sheet aluminum with tabs that engaged the nut that came with the vent and I also used JB Weld to secure it in the sheet aluminum. I will rivet that plate to the sidewall at a later date when the upholstery is done. Lastly, Kody and I worked on filling the rivets with epoxy filler on the top of the left wing which was previously not accessible as it was sitting on the storage rack.

  Nov 12, 2023     Windows       Category: Fuselage

Ive been a little busier with work than normal so things have slowed a bit. But I have still made some progress, these past couple of weeks I have managed to cut, trim, and fit all of the side windows. I used a oscillating cutter to cut off the big pieces and then a handheld belt sander to get right up to the size i needed. I also have one of the rear windows glued in with Sikaflex. I am giving it a full 24hrs before I remove the traps holding it in. I plan to do only one window a day. IM hoping in that way I am not rushed and will get better results.

  Oct 19, 2023     Fwd Door latches, Priming, and some odds and ends       Category: Fuselage

Most of the work this week was on the door latches. Good news is that I finally made some progress and both forward latches are fully installed and work fine. The two aft latches are on hold because I need longer aft latches. I ordered longer latches about two weeks ago trying to get ahead of this but the factory sent me the exact same size latches that I already have. But I did learn and they have both 2mm and 6mm longer latches and I have them ordered.

I also finished priming what I believe are the the last of parts, period. Some of the parts were some longerons that I made for the top of the baggage area and the rest was some cover plates, trim tabs but it feels good to have that behind me.

Lastly I started talks with a local upholstry company for my interior. They are going to give me more options than factory and they are cheaper as well.

  Oct 11, 2023     Vent Ducts, Door Locks, Interior Lights, Inside side skins       Category: Fuselage

I did a lot of smaller tasks with the exception of the door locks which I have made some progress but they are still in works.

With the front top skin drilled and clecoed into place I was able to put the dashboard in. With that in I was able to know where my fresh air tubes had to go and was able to use a silicone Y that went from a 3" opening to two 2" openings. Whats left here is I need to get the actual metal vents that close 100% as what is supplied in the kit are plastic and do no fully stop the flow of air. This is a departure from the plans in an effort to make things more simple. I am splitting the hot air which will go at the pilots feet and thru the center channel and the fresh air which will run along the sides.

Also a small departure from the plans is that instead of having the nuts fro the canopy door struts stick out into the C channel that runs around the perimeter of the door, I am countersinking the screws into the C channel. My hope is that there is less to interfere with the door being pulled closed which is already a little hard due to the door not fitting quite right. I have adjusted as much as I can by slotting the mount bolt holes and when I am done I will fill the slot with JB Weld epoxy.

I also decided on the aft cabin lights. There are lights I like more (Aveo eyebeam dome) but I cant cost justify it. The Aveos are 260 each. The lights I installed were 24 for a four pack. I also wired in some capacitive touch dimmers right next to the lights. The light on the left is full bright and the right one is full dim.

I also installed my aft side skins, a few of the holes didn't line up but it was pretty straightforward. I had intended to wait for these but I found out that I needed. them on to drill thru and install some rivnuts for the door latches.

Door locks, I am on take four with the door locks. I thought I had everything worked out but then I realized that the locks didnt actually lock and I had to change my setup. I have now hollowed out and then filled back in the door for the lock mount twice. What I had to do was sink the lock handle into the door from the outside in rather than trying to sink the mount bracket in from the inside out if that makes sense. Now that I have made some headway hopefully the going will get easier. I have also ordered some longer door lock latches. The latch needs to hang down far enough that the screw with the bushing that the latch grabs needs to be installed so the screw will penetrate the canopy in the middle of the C channel. The problem there is no adjustment for this. My current latches dont currently hang down far enough. Hopefully the longer latches are the answer. Otherwise I will just drill the hole where it needs to be based on the door latch and just hope for the best.

Oh and because Sling is really good and making things almost good but not quite is the holes the drilled in the dashboard for the vents are just a hair too big. You can just see the edge of the hole with the provided plastic vents and they are also too big for the after market vents I am using. I guess I will fill the hole edges with epoxy, I am not sure. Hopefully I can hide the slightly enlarged hole from the front so I dont have to look at it. I also started talking with an upholstry shop to see if they are interested in helping provide a full interior. Maybe I will fiberglass the holes in the dash in, cut them the the correct size and have the upholstery guys redo the dash.

  Sep 30, 2023     Brake Lines, lower fiberglass skin, door latch work       Category: Fuselage

I received the rest of the brake line parts that I was waiting on and was able to complete the connection from the flexible braided brake line to the plastic brake line. Besides figuring out what connectors I needed it was pretty straight forward and all the lines are connected and torqued. All that is left regarding the brakes is the AN4 bulkhead fitting to connect the brake reservoir to the master cylinder.

Next in order to continue with my door installation I bought some square stock because I need to make a longer bar from the door handle to the latch itself. I also had to buy a tap and die kit. I started by flattening and squaring the ends of the bar stock and marking center. I drilled the hole down the center by hand. I started tapping the hole and got about 3/4ths of it done but I ended up breaking the tap. I am now waiting on a new tap to be shipped. I also filled in the hole on the inside of the door for the latch mechanism anchor. By having the anchor further in I figure it will be stronger and should flex less but I may not need the new bushings I purchased. time will tell.

Next I started working on the lower inside fiberglass skin. This was a little bit of a pain for several reasons. First it looks like a I have a small crack in the panel on the right side by the groove the window will sit it. The crack is not all of the way thru though and I stop drilled it. I also sent pictures of it to technical to see if they recommend a new panel. Second the panel is straight but when I cargo strap it in position before match drilling the panel is pulled out of shape a little to conform to the fuselage. This resulted in the right side of the fiberglass to bulge outward significantly. To relieve the stress I cut/notched the panel and stop drilled the cut. My plan is the fiberglass the back side while its in place on the airframe and then sand the outer skin a little bit. Also the hole duplicator and 1' drill bit made match drilling the holes a pretty easy job.

Lastly, I started working the little odds and ends that are easier to finish now while the lower skin is off. I finished the static port tubing and also connected the AOA and pitot to the GSU25. I also cut the connector off the heater fan as I didnt have the other half of the mating connector but I did have a Delphi connector that works just fine and I have both sides, the pins and it has provision to mount the connector so I went that route.

  Sep 24, 2023     More door problems Category: Fuselage

I have not been able to figure out how to fix my right door. In the factory installed location the bottom aft edge juts out from the aircraft. If I unbolt the front hinge the door rocks back and forth in place. I have able to mostly fix it initially by elongating the forward hinge holes outward. But when I installed the weather seal to continue with the installation, the bottom aft part of the door is again jutting out. If I unbolt the forward hinge I can get the door to sit flush along the bottom but I would need to further elongate the holes in the canopy and I am running out of room and I also don't think the door seals are sealing as the door itself is slid over so far. Needles to say, I am frustrated with the door and I dont know what I am going to do to fix the door. I have taken the door on and off so many times trying to maje adjustments that I literally wore out the nyloc nuts. Additionally, the door handle is on the top forward part of the door and the bottom aft part of the door is what needs to get pulled in. It is very difficult to pull in the bottom aft of the door by pulling on the top forward part of the door. At this point I would have to have someone outside the aircraft to push the door in to be able to latch it.

  Sep 15, 2023     Audio all wired up       Category: Avionics

Not much to show this week, it was mostly all wire related. I have the GMA245R and the both GTR20s wired up. After some research I also decided to hook PFD 1 up to Audio 2 and the Fail safe Audio and MFD1 to alert 1 in the GMA 245. I haven't seen others do this so I hope I am not shooting myself in the foot. Also after hooking up the COAX from comm 1 the pin was grounding out to the shielding. Having thought I messed up the connection I cut it off and was going to redo it. But after taking the connector off the coax was still grounded to shield. I know I tested it before I connected up Comm 1 antenna. But oh well time to disconnect comm 1 antenna and ohms check it. The problem being when I installed it the rear skin was partially off and I no longer have access to that antenna. So, I made an access hole, picture below, in the top of the baggage extension. It came out looking pretty good. I stole the design from the bottom of the plane by the GMU 11. I still need to make the access cover and will rivet in some nut plates. With comm 1 coax disconnected from the antenna I discovered that the coax pin connects to ground or shield thru the antenna. I didn't realize that before and everything is fine. So turns out I didn't mess up the connector, didn't need to cut off the connector, and I didn't need to make the access hole.

Lastly, I have been looking for an affordable dome light for the rear cabin. I think I found what I am going to stick with (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B012ZOI3ZW?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1) but I am still not 100% sure what I will use for a switch.

  Sep 08, 2023     Total Temp probe, panel wiring started, GA-57 installed       Category: Avionics

A majority of other builders have put their total temp probe in the NACA duct and then later reported inaccurate reading. In an effort for accurate readings I installed my temp probe in the right wing root. The wire supplied with the probe is long enough to reach the dash but I did cut the wire for the wing root connection.

I also started pinning out the wires for the audio panel, its slow going but I do enjoy the process. I also installed the GA-57 GPS/XM antenna and installed coax for both. I wasnt planning on it originally but I figured its now or never and it gives me options in the future.

The other quick task I finally got around to was installing some drilled head bolts and safety wiring them for the nose gear. I didnt like how the stock factory option has you just torque the bolts. If those bolts come out and the nose gear drops that would be a bad day.

  Sep 01, 2023     Wing root CPC connectors, brake lines, panel rendering       Category: Avionics

Exciting news this week. Midwest Panel Builders has got back to me with the rendering for my future panel. We made a few tweaks but i went with very close to their stock design. The panel will also will be backlit which should be a huge plus for any night flying.

The other big work push this week was to get both wing root CPC connectors installed on the fuselage side. The problem I was having was to find a connector that would accommodate varying wire size from 22AWG to 14AWG. Looking at Aircraft Spruce and Steinair websites I couldnt find 100% what I was looking for. I found out the TE electronics is where they got their connectors so I went to TEs website and found what I needed. After that I just needed to make sure the wire routing wouldnt interfere with other moving parts inside the fuselage and I started pinning it out. This is what I used:

RECEPT,SZ 17-16 CPC 206036-1
CPC PLUG ASSEMBLY SIZE 17-16 206037-1
CABLE CLAMP KIT #17 206070-8
III+ PIN,24-20,15AU/FL,STRIP 66102-8
III+ SKT,24-20,15AU/FL,STRIP 66104-8
III+ PIN,18-14,30AU/FL,STRIP 1-66359-6
III+ SKT,18-14,30AU/FL,STRIP 1-66358-9

After the CPC I started and am still working on routing the brake lines from the master cylinders on the brake pedals down the center channel to the parking brake and then to the wing root. The stock TSI comes with a hand brake so routing the lines for toe brakes has been a little harder than expected because I need the lines to move with the pedals but to not contact surrounding structure or the other pedals to prevent chaffing. Im making progress but its not as straight forward as I thought. Once those brake lines are run then I can finalize the wire clamps and then I will start pinning out some of the avionics such as the radios, comm panel etc.

  Aug 26, 2023     Wiring, Brake lines       Category: Avionics

I have been running the rest of the wires that run aft from the dashboard and trying to secure that wire to prevent future problems. The aft seat headset jacks are soldered and secured. The front seat jack wires are run but I have to wait for the front console to be installed before I can install the jacks. It has been oddly satisfying clamping and lacing the wires together. I am almost ready so start crimping some pins and making the Dsub plugs in the dash area.

I also received my SS flexible brakes lines from TS flightlines and got those installed right away. I personally think it was a good decision so that I dont have to worry about heat or sun melting or making the plastic tubing brittle over time. I am only putting the SS line in the gear legs up to the fuselage. Once inside the fuselage I will transfer over to the plastic tubing. Also my plan for the firewall forward is to make hard line that connects to a bulkhead connector and then I will once again transition to plastic tubing inside the aircraft. I was just worried about the heat and the plastic tubing degrading over time.

Lastly I have been looking for a solution to bring fresh air from the NACA duct, and split it to go to the rear cabin and also the front dash. I was able to find a silicone 3" WYE adapter that transitions to 2" which is perfect for what I need. The biggest drawback is that its a little heavy so I may just trim it down.

  Aug 26, 2023     Right door       Category: Fuselage

The right door fitment is pretty bad but ironically it does allow the latch to swing down. If I unbolt the entire door it literally rocks against the canopy frame. Just like the left door the right door sits below flush at the front and proud at the aft. When I install the weather stripping the front of the door is flush but the aft of the door sticks very far out from the frame, so much so I can almost get a finger thru the crack. Also just like the the left door I am unable to get an even edge around the door to the door frame.
I tried shifting where the door bolts to the canopy frame and I can get it better that what it currently is but I would need the match drill the front bolt holes which the factory asked me not to do. Also with the door shifted to my new location I can not get the latch to swing down anymore as it contacts the canopy frame. I am just standing by for help from the factory, I sent pictures to Jean who sent my pictures to the main part engineers and to Mike Blyth (owner of Sling aircraft) to see if I can get some new doors. I am not sure how this is going to turn out or what the fix is just yet but I am confident that Sling will help me out.

  Aug 26, 2023     Left door       Category: Fuselage

Both of my doors have some problems for the installation. The left door fits better than the right with just some minor tweaking of the bolt holes in the canopy. I believe the door is twisted just a little bit as I cant get it to sit perfectly flush against the canopy frame with everything unbolted. Its close but not 100%. Its close enough to live with though. The front of the door sits below flush of the canopy frame while the aft end sits just a little proud. I think the latches, when engaged will be able to easily compensate and pull the door nice and tight

The door latch on the left door did not open up enough to allow the door to close. I notched out where the latch was contacting the door and the latch does open up enough to allow the door to close but the latch will not swing down to lock because its hitting the canopy frame.

I had one Jean (main manager in Torrence) reach to me regarding the latch. In my pictures he noted that I had recessed the inside door latch mount. I am not sure if this is normal or not as its not mentioned in the plans. But when I told him that I had to recess it just to get the door handle to engage the latch itself he didnt have much of an answer. The left door however is a little thicker in that area than the right door. Also I am not able to get a uniform edge distance around the perimeter of the door.

  Aug 16, 2023     Door Latches       Category: Fuselage

I have been working on the door latches. The instructions from Sling have been lacking so I have been taking the "what makes sense" approach. In short I had to enlarge the whole for the door lock bracket to be able to slide in. Then I had to carve out the door for the base of the door lock bracket to sit down inside the door structure in order to make it so the door handle could screw to the latching mechanism itself. The right side door is fine but the left door the latch itself contacts the door frame not allowing it to open enough so I cant close the door. I have an email into technical but I think ill just have to carve out more of the door structure where it is contacting.

I also worked on forming the latching plates around the canopy frame. It wanst hard but it took some time to get the flat sheets curved so they hugged the door sill like they should. I fount the most useful thing was to take a round punch and literally hammer the sheet around the punch to get the shape i needed. Then i put the piece in position and took two pieces of wood and squeezed them on each side of the metal plate while it was on the door to get the final tight shape. The only other thing I need to think about is that the instructions have you installing a plastic clip on the bar that connects the front and aft locking mechanism. The problem being that I would have to pull the bar down into a position to where I could install the clip. The bar wants to sit a little farther away from the door frame than what the clip wants to allow. But even without the clip everything does fit under the covers that are made to hide all that stuff.

Lastly I have the front passenger seatbelts in again. I was waiting on a bushing from the factory that I have since received and now it all goes together like it should.

  Aug 16, 2023     Avionics tray, Pitot static, GPS       Category: Avionics

I received the avionics tray from Midwest Panel Builders, it took me a little bit just trying to figure out what goes where. After that I disassembled the rack and even drilled a few rivets to get it fully apart to deburr. I was a little surprised that there were some large sharp burs all over the rack. I also had to manufactur a forward leg that went from the forward part of the rack down to the floor to add a little rigidity. Its a nice solution that Midwest came out with and I am glad I purchased it.

Next I worked on the GPS antenna some more. I installed some nut plates and drilled the holes for the screws. With the antenna mounted it was time to install the coax. I was a little concerned as as I needed to soldier the 90 connector and I have never done it before and the connector is not that large. But it went rather quick and I had no problems. I did a continuity check and check for shorts and everything was as it should be. I also feel like I got lucky becasue with the location that I choose and the 90 connector I will be able to cover where the antenna is on the interior of the aircraft without and kind of bulge, the cover will sit flush, just barely but ill take it.

Lastly, I installed some pitot and static line connectors mid fuselage. I was thinking about using a bulkhead connector but ended up running the lines from the wing into the fuselage and then connecting them in the center channel. This was I avoid one more connection and potential leak. When that was done I installed the static ports. The location was changed by the factory a little while back and there is ongoing discussion if it is accurate or not. I elected to mount them in the new location 40mm forward of the NACA ducts. I am trusting in the system here and hope I dont regret it later. It is also an easier location to install.

  Jul 27, 2023     Finishing up ailerons, flaps and controls       Category: Controls

This week I worked on finishing up the flight control bushings, rods, brackets inside the fuselage. I was waiting until the canopy was on just in case it tweaked the airframe just a little. The controls are very sensitive to misalignment so I wanted to play it safe. Also the control sticks in the left right direction were a little tighter than I wanted so I spent some time trying to determine where the friction was coming from as technical didnt want me to disassemble the factory assembled sticks so that I could sand the bushings. Both sticks were getting friction due to the rear bracket which was a little over bent. When I pushed on it the controls noticeably became easier to move but I also measure it with a spring scale. The pain was I had to completely remove the sticks which are fanagled in their pretty good.
After that I did the final assembly for the flaps and ailerons where you rivet the leading edge while constantly checking to make sure they have the correct twist to match the twist in the wings.
I did have one rod end bearing that is mismanufactured and needs replacement. A nut just will not screw onto the end of the bearing.

  Jul 13, 2023     Canopy Install       Category: Fuselage

Canopy installed! I feel kinda lucky because I had very little to trim for the canopy install, just a little at the aft section where it was contacting the fuselage. Along the bottom of the canopy i used wedges to prop the canopy into its proper position. I used Sika activator, primer and then the glue. It was not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. I still have a little bit of clean up around the rivet heads to do. After the install I was able to remove the fuselage bracing which has made it a lot easier to work inside the plane. I also installed the door struts, trimmed the bolts that secure the doors, cut a hole so I can install the GPS antenna on top of the canopy. Also, I did get a new parachute cable tray to install in the upper baggage area, even though I don't have a parachute or cables, but the tray just does not fit correctly and I would have to drill all the holes to make it work. I asked technical if I had to install it and they said it was structural. I am not sure if I am going to stay with this but I used some extra longerons I had and installed those where the cable tray attaches to the skin. I need to send a picture to technical just to see what they think.
Last is that all the locks provided by sling are keyed differently. I asked technical if this was normal and was told yes. I personally think its garbage and took the locks to a locksmith to rekey. The first locksmith was not able to rekey them so I have them back to finsh the install but I'll have to take them to someone else.

  Jul 08, 2023     Cleaning up loose ends       Category: Fuselage

In preparation for canopy install I had to finishing up a few things in the aft fuselage area first. Now that I have my empennage fairing and could tell exactly where it was going to go I finished my ELT antenna install which I elected to have underneath the tail fairing. With the mount made I also finished up securing the coax wire for the antenna.
With the ELT antenna complete I closed up the rear fuselage skins and then it was on to installing the baggage door. I had my son Kody get inside the plane in the baggage compartment which he thought was kind of cool and hold a block of wood so I could drill from the outside in thru the hinge for the door.
Lastly, I swapped out the bolts for the engine mount with drilled bolts and castellated nuts. It just makes me feel better knowing there is something mechanical preventing those nuts from coming off.

  Jul 07, 2023     Ailerons       Category: Wings

With the finishing kit came the last few parts needed to finish the ailerons which went together pretty quick. This also freed up the parts stand that I made a year or so ago which held the fuels tanks, tail pieces, flaps etc. Things are starting to get tight as this plane gets bigger. The ailerons are now mounted on the wing and the only thing left to do is to rivet the leading edge of the flaps and ailerons while ensuring they have the correct twist to match the wing.

  Jul 03, 2023     Undercarraige/ Canopy/ Finishing kit arrive       Category: Landing Gear

My Undercarriage/ Canopy/ and Finishing kit arrived today. I was able to do the full inventory in less than a day. For the first time all of the parts that were missing were accounted for and documented and it was only a few parts.

I was surprised that I was able to assemble the rims, get the nose and the main gear mounted without too much trouble. The problems I did run into were:
1) The nose tire inner tube did not come with a washer or nut for the valve stem. Sling manuals do not show or mention the washer or nut but the MATCO manuals do. I reached out to Sling Technical and to another local builder who both confirmed that Sling does not use the washer and nut.
2) The nose strut was initially very hard to turn so I had to assemble/ test/ disassemble/ sand the bushings/ repeat and large number of times. I actually lost count. Its pretty smooth now, I wish it was just a bit smoother but I dont want to over do it and number two I did have it smoother but during final assembly this last time it is just a hair tougher. The only change I am going to do here is the two AN4-5 bolts on top of the strut that prevent it from falling down thru the mount are not safetied in any way so I plan to get some drilled head bolts and safety wire them, call it cheap insurance.
3) When I went to install the M16 bolt/axle thru the nose tire bushing it would not fit. Using a micrometer I was able to determine that at the transition from the threads to the body of the bolt that it was just slightly larger at that point than the rest of the bolt. I used the Scotch Bright wheel and turned the bolts a few times and I was able to get the bushing on.
4) The main gear went on in about 20 minutes with the only problem being that on the right side there is a metal plate that protrudes up from the leg and it was contacting two rivets inside the channel which prevented me from getting the gear high enough to put in the bottom bolt. My solution was to use a cut off wheel and just take off a very small portion and each corner of that plate and the the gear went right in.
5) Installing the brake calipers I had to removes a little bit of material from the fiberglass leg to get the room needed for the caliper to fit.
Now the plane is sitting in its own feet and I feel like its a big milestone

  Jun 30, 2023     Firewall Pass Thru/ Filling rivets       Category: Fuselage

Things have slowed down with summer break. My kids are home and we have been doing a lot of activities together. During the past month I finished the nose wheel push rod pass thrus. I also started filling rivets, its not bad but it does take some time.

  Jun 25, 2023     Wint tip lights and wing tip instalation       Category: Wings

I have been working on mounting the wingtip nav/position/ strobe lights. It was kind of a pain for several reasons: I had to source some rivnuts, then when trying to set them with a bolt and nut, it wasnt working and the bolt was stripping. I have a rivnut tool but it didnt have the size I needed. I had to purchase the rivnut tool stem size I needed. But the one I got didnt fit my tool so I went down to Harbor Freight and they had a tool with the size I needed. It was good enough to get the six rivnuts set. Setting the rivnuts in the fiberglass was a little tricky because in some areas it was solid fiber, others were hollow behind and other were on the line half filled/hollow.
After the light mounts were mounted I extended the wires off the lights, ran them thru the wing tip and also mounted and secured the wires inside the wingtip. Lastly I made the connectors that plug into the wing side and tested the lights. They all worked. Next up was to mount and rivet the wingtips on.
Now that the wing tips are on I am going to work on mounting the flaps. But, most importantly my landing gear and fuselage kit are set to arrive on July 2nd and I am very excited to see this thing go up on landing gear.

  Jun 01, 2023     Rear Upper skins       Category: Fuselage

I installed the seat belts both forward and aft, ill probably take them back out so I dont get sika on them during the canopy install but i wanted to work out the issues now while im waiting on my landing gear and finishing kit to arrive. I also worked on getting the aft upper fuselage skins on. The left skin went on smoothly, I only clecoed it so I still have access back there if needed for things like redoing the ELT buzzer and the static port install. The right side skin was a different story and I had to take it off and reinstall it about four times. In the end I could get the top and bottom row of rivets to align and most of the ribs to align. One rib just didnt want to match up so well. I had to have a helper while i reached in and pushed/pulled the rib while my helper clecoed. I elected to rivet the right skin in because I was having problems with it and didnt want to take it back off and fight with it again to get it as good as i had. Also I had to be careful where the front of the two skins matched up because it was trying to bulge up in the center where the two skins meet. I had to be cognizant of that and work the skins down on each side to get rid of that bulge. In the end I am happy with how it came out.

  Jun 01, 2023     Clamping the fuel lines in       Category: Fuel System

This past week I finished clamping in and torquing some of the fuel lines in the fuselage. Making the lines was one task and getting them clamped was another in itself, not hard just a pain. I also finished the aux tank to transfer pump fuel line connections, of couse i made a big mistake and cut he fuel line to short. I forgot how much room i would need with the flare tool and the fuel line connections. As a result I had to make a new fuel line and get into some tight spaces in the wing root area.

  Jun 01, 2023     ELT, Pitch servo, more wires       Category: Avionics

With the help of some videos from Stein Air, I mad my first BNC connector for the Comm1 antenna. Also because I went with a different Comm 1 antenna the factory reinforcement plate wouldn't work so I created my own. Because I have a lot of extra parts from Sling it gives me a lot of stock material.

I also cleaned up some of the pitch servo wiring and ran some more wires in the fusalage for the aft passengers comm connections. Lastly, I installed the ELT buzzer and had put that task to bed. However a couple of hours later i looked and the buzzer had broken in two. Artex customer service has been great and they sent me a new buzzer under warrenty.

  May 12, 2023     Long range tank pumps       Category: Fuel System

After some deliberation I settled on the exact pump I wanted and also how I wanted to transfer fuel from the long range tanks to the main tanks. I am deviating from the plans but it does not make sense to me to bring the fuel from the LR tanks into the fusalage center console to redirect it back out to the mains. Its more complexity, material and valves. I also opted to not use the provided rubber fuel lines which need to be changed every five years and I am fabricating metal fuel lines which will be good for life.

  May 12, 2023     Various fusalage tasks       Category: Fuselage

I got some more back ordered parts. The shipping company actually dropped off a pallet of return items, needles to say I was surprised. I quick call and they realized their mistake and brought me what they were suppose to. I have 99.9% of the fuselage kit at this point. I also received a new rudder cable so I got that installed pretty quickly. To get the rudder pedals working smoothly in the front I had to cut/grind away some interfering material on the rudder limiting brackets. This wasnt a surprise and is covered in the manual. I also installed the insulating foam and forward inboard skins. I fabricated an ELT mount for the aft fuselage out of the wing jigs. Lastly, the non-parachute cable tray that I received does not fit. I compared it to the parachute cable tray and they are very different sizes. I reached out to technical support and they let me know the tray was mis-manufactured and they are sending a replacement. Lastly I started cutting some foam blocks (the pink blocks) to seal off an air channel to distribute fresh air to the back seats.

  May 12, 2023     Started wiring up aft fuselage       Category: Avionics

Before I close up the aft fuselage I need to finish the wiring back there. So far I have the GMU 11, the ELT with buzzer, trim, and the GSA 28 AP servos wired up. So far so good. The only thing of note is that I used the wiring provided with my kit for the aft fuselage trim. Its not aircraft wire and its been bugging me so I am going to swap it with aircraft grade wire.

  Apr 19, 2023     Seats, Rivnuts, Sound insulation       Category: Fuselage

As I quickly run out of parts again, a good problem to have, I am just trying to keep myself busy with some of the smaller projects that arent so much fun.

My son and I built the front seats together, that part was a lot of fun. I opted to not prime the seats due to the high number of small parts that would be a pain to prime and that I can remove the seats if ever needed. I also built the rear seat but I still have some pieces that are backordered and also while I had all of the perts per the inventory. The inventory sheet I have, 6.3, is actually wrong and shows the incorrect number of two different pieces so I am now also waiting on those as well.

I installed the GMU 11 and built the wire harness for that. It was a good start to see what is to come regarding wiring up the plane. I made the decision to wire up the plane/ avionics myself. Yes its going to take awhile but I am enjoying the build.

I also installed the NACA ducts and my son found a great use for them before I actually mounted them.

I also put together the throttle and parking brake assembly. Not much to note here but what I would like to do is have a machine shop thread the throttle handle so I can mount a go around switch on the side of the throttle assembly. I'll have to figure out how I am going to run the wires but it should be a fun modification.

I put the brackets, control valve, and tubing on the heater core in preparation for that to go in. Some other small projects I got done were, countersinking the seat rails and the plastic that mounts on them and installing sound insulation in the entire forward fuselage. I found more pieces that were under dimpled from the factory, not a complaint but something to lookout for. The pneumatic squeezer is great and getting in these small pieces and finishing the dimples. Regarding countersinking the seat rails, some of the holes are 4.8 and I dont have a countersink bit with a 4.8 pilot bit. so I clamped a piece of metal with a 4.0 whole centered on the backside of the seat rail and used that to guide the countersink bit. It worked like a charm.

Lastly I installed some of the seat belt anchor points. While it wasnt hard its a great illustration of how bad the construction manual can be at times. It says to enlarge the holes to 4.8mm. Ok that worked for the 3 rivets. Then it says to install an AN4 bolt with is to big for the 4.8 hole, an AN3 bolt does fit nicely in the 4.8 however. It also calls out a M4 stainless steel washer which is way to small to fit the AN4 bolt. The diameter of that washer is about the same diameter of the bolt.

  Apr 06, 2023     Side skins and firewall attached       Category: Fuselage

I prepped more parts for the side skin, side skin reinforcements, and the firewall install. The side skins went on pretty easy with minimal "encouragement" to get into position. The side skin reinforcement plates were a little more tricky and I found the order of the rivet install did matter. Luckily my step dad was in town and was a huge help in getting everything pushed into place and also riveted.

I pulled the old rudder cable and am still awaiting its replacement but I would rather find problems now and fix them. Some of the rudder cable guides are hard to get to as I installed them while a lot of the fuselage was not put together. Foot long drill bits came in very handy.

The firewall in also now on, it took some time because it ends up being a sandwich of 3 sheets of aluminum and 1 of steel. I had to work slow and install a cleco in every hole to help pull everything together. The parts were all dimpled individually, but I found it helpful to use my pneumatic squeezer with dimple dies and dimple the parts while they were all together.

After the firewall went on I checked my rudder pedals and unfortunately they were pretty hard to move. I assumed the floor had tweeked a little from the firewall going on. I started removing some rivets to adjust the pedals but I realized the stiffness wasn't coming from the pedal mounts but rather the matco brake cylinders. I had tightened the attachment bolts a little too much. After backing off the nuts just a little bit the rudder pedals started moving as they should. One good thing that came from this is that I noticed one of the top mount brackets that holds the pedals down was drilled incorrectly from the factory and wasnt supporting the way it was designed. I have a new part on order.

Lastly, the center fuselage center skin is on. I was waiting to do this because I didn't have access with the fuselage siting on the workbench. I had to slide the fuselage onto some work horses to get access.

  Mar 15, 2023     Center Fuselage       Category: Fuselage

More work on the center fuselage. I have been finding more and more things in the plan that are misleading and/or incorrect. For example some of the rivnuts that the plans show installed interfere with the seat rail and I reached out to technical which confirmed they had to be removed. Also I was inspecting my rudder cable to ensure it was correct in accordance with a sling safety bulletin and I found my cable had some problems with it. I sent pictures to technical and Sling is sending a new cable. Additionally, I have rivets that simply will not fit where the holes are factory drilled. Its annoying but I have been shortening some of the rivets. Lastly some of the longerons dont have all of the holes predrilled but I have been clecoing what I can and drilling the rest of the holes. Its not the end of the world but I havent had to do that yet, maybe I am spoiled?
I also added the brake lines tot he toe brakes which was straight forward.
Lastly, the parts that I have been waiting on since November, that were damaged in Torrence California, will be repackaged and sent directly to my house from Africa in the next few days. That should help a bunch as I have been waiting on the rear fuselage skins. I guess I will have to make sure I finish up the rear fuselage wiring so I can put those skins on. Actually I need those skins off to swap out the rudder cable so it works out.

  Feb 16, 2023     Center Fuselage       Category: Fuselage

Lots of work done these past four days. I primed all of the parts that I spent the prior week prepping. Once the priming was done things went together fast. I put the center fuselage floor together and attached the skeleton of the center console and the rudder pedals to the floor. I wasnt able to finish installing the brake cylinders on the rudder pedals because I have 8 bushings that are back ordered. I had to sand down the bushings for the rudder pedals to smooth out the movement.

After the rudder pedals went in I tried to install a control stick, the other one is back ordered. But I ran in to a problem which was that it initially looked like the stick was too short as I couldnt get the stick mounts bolted to the spar. I figured out that the problem was that I had to angle the front fuselage floor instead of having it in plane with the center fuselage floor. Once the front floor had the correct angle the stick fit as it should. Currently there is a lot more resistance on the side to side motion of the stick but I am waiting to fix it until the side skins are on as that should ensure I have the exact correct angle of the front floor skin. Next I installed the flap and elevator torque tubes but I didnt rivet the them in yet. The rear elevator torque tube I did rivet in place, and I did take it out several times to sand the bushings to reduce the friction on the tube. I had it where I wanted it but after shooting the rivets the tube it tight again. I'll have to drill the rivets and take it back out to sand some more but for the time being I moved on.

I also installed various parts on the center fuselage but I am running into small clearance issues and have had to grind away a little bit here and there to ensure a proper fit. I also installed the aileron garmin autopilot servo because it just seemed easier to do now while there was more clearance.

Lastly I tried to install the flap actuator but the problem I ran into there was that the instructions call for 8 AN5 thin washers but the kit inventory and what I had on hand only have 3 thin washers. I tried to install it with regular washers but the nut does not have enough grip on the bolt so I will have to get the thin washers or get a longer AN5 drilled bolt.

  Feb 07, 2023     More part prep and connected aft to center fuselage       Category: Fuselage

I was only home for two days so not much time and it was too humid and windy to prime parts so I spent more time deburring and prepping parts. I have most of the fusalage parts prepped and a lot or priming that I need to do now. I also connected the aft to center fuselage. My only concern now it that there isnt that much holding the two big parts together so I am going to have to be careful and get a helper to move it. The plans didnt call to put the jigs in just yet but I figured it couldnt hurt and should help distribute some of the forces when I have to move the assembly around. Its almost too big to move by myself. Lastly there is a picture of a firewall part that I was concerned was was over countersunk. I was going to email technical but after looking at it some I realized it just wasnt drilled all the way. I finished drilling that hole and moved on.

  Feb 01, 2023     Part prep       Category: Fuselage

We had a cold snap with a lot of sleet and ice in Texas. It was colder than I wanted to deal with, the shop isnt heated or insulated. I did the next best thing and brought piles of parts into the house and spent about two days peeling plastic off of parts and installing rivnuts. I am still using steel epoxy to help the rivnuts so they are a pain but hopefully I am avoiding problems in the future.

  Jan 27, 2023     Center fuselage skeleton and floor       Category: Fuselage

I continued work on the center fuselage skeleton but didnt connect it to the rear fuselage just yet because when I do that it will be too big and awkward for me to move by myself. Instead I started working on the center fuselage floor, prepping parts, deburring, priming and installing a lot of rivnuts. I need to add some foam to the inside of the bottom floor and I still need to prime the inside skin of the fuselage skin so that I can install it.

  Jan 19, 2023     Center fuselage skeleton start       Category: Fuselage

So I dont have a lot to show for it but the center fuse skeleton is underway. Typical debur and prime parts. I have 30 plus rivnuts to install which took a full day because I am adding steel epoxy to each rivnut before I squeeze it to hopefully avoid the dreaded spinning rivnut after the fact. I have some more pieces to add to assembly you see pictured and then it will be attached to the rear fuselage.

  Jan 16, 2023     Rear Fuselage Baggage floor       Category: Fuselage

I have been working on the baggage floor which wasn't terribly difficult but i did have to drill some rivets holding the bottom floor C channels to the aft compartment skin. As it was half one way or half the other rivet holes were not lining up. By drilling the bottom C channel all of the holes lined up with the exception of 4 holes where the C channels riveted to the aft compartment skin. It was to tight in there for me to use the tools I had so I am now the new owner of a 90 degree drill which has already come in very hand in multiple other areas as well.

Before I permanently installed the baggage floor I installed some sound deadening foam per the plans.

I also riveted the rudder cable guides in place and installed the rudder centering springs into place. I didnt realize I needed to install some larger rivnuts for those springs and I didnt have access to install the rivnuts with my normal tool but I had some screws, washers, and nuts and was able to get the rivnuts installed it was just a pain in the but.

  Dec 21, 2022     Left Wing and Tank done, Fuselage started       Category: Fuel System

I fixed the aux tank mount problem by drilling the nut plates, elongating the holes for the bolts then drilling and countersinking new holes for the nutplates. Problem solved. With the tanks mounted next was riveting the top skin on. Luckily for me my mother and step father were in town for the holidays so I put them to work. It took us about two days but we finished the left wing and moved it over to the rack.

I also started putting the rear fuselage together which went a lot quicker than expected once the ribs were all built. Currently I am only able to install the lower aft fuselage skins because sling sent me the parachute version and I ordered the non-parachute.

  Dec 09, 2022     Left Wing Aux Tank Install       Category: Fuel System

So I finished leak checking the left wing auxiliary tank and no leaks. I went to install it on the wing and all the clecos line up and both mount ends bolt in. For some reason the middle mount is off. I double and triple checked the instructions and I am confident it is assembled correctly. I didnt have this problem on the right wing. I will reach out to technical support for further guidance. Right now I am thinking I will remove the nut plates on the middle mount, elongate the holes, drill new holes for the rivets to hold the nut plates and I think that will work. I'll let you know what I come up with.

  Dec 06, 2022     Rear Fuselage Priming       Category: Fuselage

Good news, I finally received the long awaited fuel lines that were back ordered and I am now finishing up the last auxiliary tank. I need to pressure/ leak check then I can install it and finish the left wing. Things are getting tight in the garage so being able to put the left wing away in its cradle will free up some work space.
I started prepping and spraying a 2 part epoxy primer on the fuselage parts. Just like the wings, the prep work is taking longer than the actual building. Luckily I am enjoying the process and am not in a rush. I am about to rivet the lower rear fuselage skins but I had to send a few questions to tech support before I continue. Once the skins are on there is going to be a lot less access so I want to make sure I am not missing anything. The rear tie down has 8 rivet holes and the instructions only had me rivet 5 of the holes. I dont want to rivet the other three just to have to drill them out later on down the road. Thats all for now.

  Nov 21, 2022     Fusalage kit arrived       Category: Fuselage

I received the fuselage kit on Nov 4th. It took me almost two weeks to do inventory as I started my next job after the military and I have only been home on the weekends. This kit arrived in much better condition than the wings did. I did have two pieces of damaged skin however. The two other problems is I was missing the entire center console section and the factory sent me the parachute version of the kit when I ordered the non-parachute. They are going to make it right so I am not to worried about it. The most frustrating part is that I am still waiting on the fuel tank lines for my left aux tank and I have done everything I can around those pieces. There is literally nothing else I can do with the wings until I receive those fuel lines.

Lastly, in my move from Florida to Texas, the movers were horrible and broke/ lost a lot of my things. My spray painting table was one of them. I had to rebuild a new table so I can do the epoxy primer on all of the fuselage parts. I wont be building this weekend as I have a funeral to attend but hopefully I can start in the beginning of December.

Even though I wasn't working on the plane I still was working, I build some extra storage for the fuselage skins. Also a wind storm cracked some of the plastic sheeting on the roof of my metal garage. It was the second time the cracked so I replaced those pieces with metal sheets which then made the garage very dark so I ordered an LED shop lighting kit and installed that. Hopefully the side projects are done.

  Oct 28, 2022     Right wing wingtip install and Left wing pitot wireing       Category: Wings

With the right wing almost done I removed the construction jigs and with the help of my wife lowered the wing into the wing cradle I build and then worked on installing the wingtip. I followed the instructions which had me ratchet strap the tip forward into position. I went as hard as I felt comfortable with but I still had 1/8 inch gap at the front of the wing tip. I can put filler and form it before paint. I then match drilled, countersunk and dimpled as appropriate. I didnt rivet it on yet as I still need to install the position light. I think I will wait to do that when the wings are mounted on the plane so I can make sure the lights are parallel to the ground as there isnt a very good reference point.

On the left wing I cleaned up the wiring a little more and installed all the clamps i wanted to secure the wiring in place.

  Oct 25, 2022     Rt Main fuel tank install, Lt Main tank leak test       Category: Fuel System

Now that the aux tank is installed and the top skin it was time to install the Rt Main fuel tank. The only little thing here is that it was a tight fit for the fuel line from the aux tank behind the main tank. Yes that line was wrapped in foam tape but some of the main tank brackets were pressing into the foam a little more than I wanted to I also put some plastic wire conduit around the foam for a little protection. Other than that the tank went on without a hitch. After that I tapped or caped all the fittings or holes so I wouldnt get any bugs making homes.

After that I leak tested my Lt Main tank and I found my first leak. I slightly pressurized the tank and sprayed the tank with soapy water and thats how I found the leak. Luckily it was a pin hole size leak, unfortunately there was no was I could get to it from the inside. So I mixed up some B2 sealant and dabbed it on the leak from the outside and let it cure for a couple days. I leak checked again and pressure held for 24 hours.

After that I finished what I could on the Lt aux tank but I am still waiting on two fuel lines from the factory so I cant finish the tank or install it which is holding up the rest of the build.

  Oct 24, 2022     Rt wing top skin       Category: Wings

Today I riveted on the right wing top skin and the aux tank. It took me awhile but it was straight forward. The only thing that I changed is the plans had me trimming some 8mm long pull rivets down to 5.2mm long. I felt this was a pain for 100 plus rivets and decided to use solid rivets. The reason to trim the rivets was to avoid interference with the tails of the rivets and the flap skins. I did trim 1 rivet and pull it in place to measure the length of the tail. I forget what the measurement was but I then set a solid rivet and the tail was even shorter than the pull rivet so I am confident that I am good to go. Luckily I had a squeezer so I didnt have to buy any extra tools and the entire aft edge is done with solid rivets and the squeezer.

  Oct 23, 2022     All fuel tanks       Category: Fuel System

The right main fuel tank is done and pressure tested, the right auxiliary tank i finished and pressure tested yesterday and bolted it onto the right wing spar today. So far, fingers crossed, I have not had to fix any leaks on the tanks. The vent line on the auxiliary tank was leaking but the flare from the factory was not good so I touched it up with my flare tool and it is now sealed.
The biggest surprise I have had so far is that, last week me Tech counselor swung by and advised me to plug all of my tubing and holes to the tanks. This week I found where a mud dobber completely plugged the fuel feed line for the aux tank. Luckily I noticed it and was able to take it out and clean it up.
My left main tank is also complete but I am letting the sealant cure for another day before I pressure test it. I have been using a piece of tubing as a manometer to build pressure and test for leaks. Interestingly the fuel level sender on the left tank matches exactly what the manual says it should be. I build it the same way as the right wing but I did not get the same results with the right. I contacted technical support and was told that it should work anyway as the delta between empty and full is plenty.

Lastly I am still not able to finish my left aux tank as I am waiting for two more pieces of fuel tubings/fittings to install before I can close it up. One of the pieces is internal to the tank and I just cant do anymore with it. Unfortunately that also means I cant install the top skin, main tank or wing tip because of that.

This coming week I will install the top skin on the right tank and hopefully install the wing tip. But to do the wing tip I will have to take the wing off the factory jigs so I will have to make something to store the wings.

  Oct 23, 2022     Pitot install       Category: Avionics

I installed the GAP 26 heated and regulated pitot probe. I had to install some nut plates to mount the regulator, bend the tubes from the pitot and flare the ends for the AN fittings. After that I had to figure out what kind of electrical connectors. I ended up using seal all weather tight connectors. I didnt realize at first that I could use different size wire with the outer shells of the connectors, I just had to use different size pins and sockets. My only concern is how close the probe and wires are to where the aileron push pull tube will go. I am giving sling the shadow of a doubt that it will clear. I dont have the aileron push tube, its in the finishing kit so I will have to deal with that later if it is a problem. Fingers crossed.

  Oct 17, 2022     2nd EAA Tech Counselor visit       Category: Inspection

I called my local EAA Tech Counselor, Mel Asberry, to come and take a look at my wings before closing them up. He gave them a look and also looked at my fuel tanks, flaps and anything laying around. He was very happy with what he saw with his only input to seal up my tube openings for the tanks before mud dobbers make a home.

  Oct 16, 2022     Rt Main fuel tank complete       Category: Fuel System

The fuel sender Ohms readings from last week are fine per Sling Technical.

This past week I finished putting the back of the main fuel tank on. It took a lot longer than expected and I would not have finished without my wife's help so a big shout out to Sayo. I let the tank sit for a few days and then did a leak check with a ballon and then a homemade manometer for about a day. I am happy to report there are no leaks.

After that I started working on the landing lights, I worked more on the lens and the lens frame, painted the surrounding area black. I ordered and installed some electrical connectors. I had to decide what kind of connectors I was going to use and ended up deciding to use the same connectors that Midwest Builders uses.

I also started mounting the control box for the GAP26 pitot probe and had to order some connectors for that.

Lastly I went to go and bend some fuel line for the right side extended range tank and it turns out the fuel line bender I had didnt fit the line so I had to order a bigger fuel line bender. Once the bender came in i started bending away and you can see in the pictures, I think it came out pretty good.

  Oct 08, 2022     Fuel tank senders and lights/ first part destroyed       Category: Fuel System

Last week I noted that the fuel level sender did not fit correctly per the plans. After some back and forth with Sling Technical I found out that they updated some parts and I have the old parts. The old plans have different measurements and angles to bend the float arm than the new plans. They said my options were to modify the bracket that is attached to the plate or to re bend the float arms. I wasn't comfortable re bending the float arms because it is a big bend and I dont want to work harden or snap the float arm. Modifying the bracket wasnt much work and I have a working fuel sender. My only question now is the the Ohm readings at full and empty are acceptable as they dont match what thew plans say they should be. Ill just ask technical and see what they say.

I also started working on installing the landing and taxi lights in the extended range tanks and I also started trying to fit the light lens in the wing. Others have noted that it is a pain and I would agree. Of note I started bending the backing plate for the light lense before I deburred the part or prepped it. When I realized I took it over to the debur wheel and started. Well short story, shorter with ther part bent in the shape of the leading edge of the wing i made a mistake and allowed the part to touch the debur wheel at the wrong angle and it ripped the part out of my hands, wrapped around the wheel and was torn into pieces. Luckily I only received a cut on my finger but I will need a new part. I contacted Sling for a new part and they are awesome and a new part is in the mail free of charge.

Last big update is that my fuselage is in the port in California and should be offloaded and ready to ship to me any day now. For the up coming week I will be working on installing the backs of the fuel tanks into place then I will have to do final leak checks after a week or so. I also plan to install the pitot probe tubing and wiring this week.

  Oct 01, 2022     Left Wing tanks       Category: Fuel System

This week was more work on the left wing fuel tanks. I have been doing small jobs such as getting the right size screw to fill some machine holes in the tank ribs and sealing the screws. For some reason the rivets the factory calls for are too small so I had to use 1/4 - 20 screws. I also started leaf testing the right side tanks and I am happy to report no leaks so far. I also started assembling the fuel senders and attaching/ sealing/ bending them per the plans.

One modification I decided to make was to shorten the wire fore the fuel sender. Its an adjustable sender so I had almost a foot of extra wire. It was a very simple process to cut the extra and solder the sorter wire back in place. Towards the end of the week with the sender and plate complete I tried to install it in the fuel tank and it wouldnt fit by a lot so I have sent an email to technical support and will have to let you know how that turns out next week. The float ball contacts the rib so much so that I cant get it to work correctly.

  Sep 25, 2022     Left wing and fuel tanks       Category: Wings

I have been working to catch the left wing up to the right wing to include securing the wiring and the protective sleeves. The biggest thing I need now is to 100% decide what kind of avionics I want so I can purchase the pitot probe and install it. I think I am going to go with Garmin. My kit came with an unheated probe, apparently by mistake, but I am going with a heated/ regulated probe. I decided regulated because it will use less power after it gets to temperature compared to the unregulated. Looking at some power consumption it looks like I will be very close to the 80% capacity of the generator installed on the rotax 915IS engine.
After working on the wing I started on the left side fuel tanks. Before I got started I did find that Sling has released an updated build manual and some of the rivet directions have changed and they have added some lock washers on the AN fuel fittings. I have requested those washers and am getting everything else done on the tanks that I can, which is most of the tanks.

  Sep 12, 2022     Flaps       Category: Controls

I started assembling one of my flaps. I can only do the right side flap because I am waiting on some mounts that need to be riveted to the right flap. The one I received with the kit did not rotate freely so I requested new one. I also cant build the ailerons because there are some control linkages that the instruction manual says must be installed before the aileron is built but that the pieces come in the finishing kit and not the wing kit, seems a little wrong to me but ill just have to wait. Lastly I cant rivet the leading edge of the flaps or ailerons just yet as the instructions say to wait so that you can adjust the twist in the flaps and ailerons to exactly match the wings.

  Sep 11, 2022     A little bit on wings, wiring, and fuel seals       Category: Wings

This past week was a little bit of many different things. I worked on the right wing wiring. I wrapped braided sleeve around the landing, taxi, position, and strobe lights. I also installed conduit running along the back top channel to put coax wire in. I am not sure if I will install a VOR/ILS antenna but at least this gives me the option to do it later if I want. I also didnt like the fuel tank seals for the fuel lever senders that came with the kit. I also had to spend some time with a good bit of goo gone to get the sticky stuff left behind when the factory packaged the spars up for transport. They are cork and I can picture the cork breaking down and floating around the tank. I instead bought a 1' X 1' sheet of viton rubber and made my own seals. Hopefully it works, but if not I can still use the cork seals. Lastly I started working on the left wing. I installed all the ribs except for rib 5 on the main spar then I attached the rear spar. I did not install rib 5 because on my flap torque tube I found a rivet that was not installed correctly and I think needs to be replaced. I will reach out to technical to be sure. The rivet is steel so it may be a pain to replace. Lastly, I found a C channel that was suppose to be riveted onto the main spar at the factory but isnt there. I will also reach out to technical and see if they will send me the pars to do it myself.

  Sep 02, 2022     Back to building       Category: Fuel System

So I had to take a break from building due to life events. I retired from the military, moved to Dallas, TX, found a new job, bought a house and have been doing a ton of projects related to the house. Now that I have things under control again I am able to get back to building. One of the projects I did was running 220V out to the "airplane factory" so I guess all of the projects werent just for the house. Some of the pictures are from loading the plane up in a UHAUL to transport from florida over to texas and then unloading the plan in its new home. I didnt do much today just installed some rivnuts into the fuel tanks with steel epoxy but, it did feel pretty good working on the plane again.

  May 08, 2022     Fiberglass tip for vertical stab       Category: Empennage

I have been putting off installing the fiberglass tip on the vertical stab because I didnt have enough hands. I had to firmly hold the tip with one hand while trying to form the sheet metal around the fiberglass, while also pushing the tip hard forward against the metal for a good fit, while also accurately drilling the holes. I finally bit the bullet and got it done and I am happy with the results.

Other than that I am moving to Dallas in about three weeks and I have been working on prepping (deburing, scuffing, cleaning, dimpleing, 2 part epoxy primer)all the parts that I can in an effort to use up all of my chemicals before the move. At this point I am very close to being done with the prep work and only have one more spray session and that should be it. When I am ready to build again in Dallas I think I am ready to just build and I expect things to move quickly.

The last two pictures are to document the scratches around the holes that need to be dimpled on the flaps. I was a little worried they might crack.

  Apr 25, 2022     Extened and Main fuel tank right wing       Category: Fuel System

I worked more on finishing up the odds and ends with the main and extended range right fuel tanks. On the main tank I installed and sealed the two end ribs. I also encapsulated the backs of the rivets on the main tank. On the extended range tank, I had a machining hole that the instructions said to fill with a 4.8 rivet, the problem is that rivet even when pulled fits thru the machine hole. I went to home depot and got a 1/4" screw to fill the hole then sealed it. I also installed the fuel pickup line in the extended tank. It may not seem like much but that was a two hour work session.

  Apr 24, 2022     Right Main wing       Category: Fuel System

This weekend I worked on the right main 198 Liter wing tank. A lot of prep work went into it. Last week I sealed the internal fuel tank structure and this weekend I installed and sealed the internal structure to the tank skin. Even with everything test fit, reamed, scuffed up, cleaned, test fir etc. I used almost every minute of the two hour working time of the B2 sealant. This includes a lot of help from my wife, I literally could not have done it without her. I let the tank cure one day while clecoed to the wing spar. Inspecting everything afterwords it looks great and I am very happy with how everything came out. I still need to seal and rivet the two end ribs and am going to add a little extra sealant in some of the corners and also encapsulate the backs of all the rivets for insurance. The tanks are taking a lot more time than I thought. But, I am hopeful that I wont have to be chasing down leaks later.

  Apr 17, 2022     Extened and Main fuel tank right wing       Category: Fuel System

Its been a few weeks as I have been working and also traveling for a job interview. This week was all working on the right wing fuel tanks. I have only done the initial steps and am now waiting on the B2 to cure. I have been using the 3.5 Oz pre mixed tubes but I estimate I will need about 4 more. Several of the sealed pull rivets have malfunctioned and I had to dremel them out. So far I have done two, full two hour sessions with the B2 and I am nowhere close to being done. I am trying not to rush and take my time. I am also taking the time to encapsulate all of the rivet heads on the wet side to help ensure I dont have a leak.

  Apr 03, 2022     Right Wing bottom skins       Category: Wings

I received the back ordered piece I was waiting on to continue with the right wing. I installed the piece and prepped to put the bottom skins on. Prep included alodining the countersunk holes in the main spar. I didnt pull any rivets for the skins yet but everything is ready to go for the next work session.

  Apr 03, 2022     Alodine main fuel tanks. Category: Fuel System

No pictures sorry, but some more of the same. I alodined the main fuel tanks. Due to the size of the tanks, about 9 feet long the pieces were awkward to work with but I managed to get all of the pieces done.

  Mar 27, 2022     Fuel tanks       Category: Fuel System

I started prepping the fuel tanks. Since I opted for the long range model I have four tanks to build and decided to start on the small, auxiliary tanks first. Since I cant prime the inside of the fuel tanks I decided to alodine the tanks. Most of the tank pieces were alodined this weekend with the exception of the largest pieces which just wouldnt fit in my crude dunk tank. I will wipe on the coating for the remaining pieces.

  Mar 13, 2022     Left Wing Ribs and fuel tank prep       Category: Wings

I finished assembling the left wing ribs from last week and also starting prepping the parts for the fuel tanks. I opted for the long rang model so I have four fuel tanks to make.I decided to alodine the fuel tanks for corrosion protection, the shipping for that stuff hurts.

  Mar 05, 2022     Left Wing ribs       Category: Empennage

This weekend I prepped and epoxy primed the left wing ribs. After prime I started assembling the ribs.

  Feb 27, 2022     Vertical stab finished       Category: Empennage

With the backordered rib that arrived last week I was able to finish up the vertical stab this weekend. I had to cleco the part together twice to get everything aligned just rights but once that was done everything went together quick enough. Also now that the parts are starting to pile up I made a stand to store my various finished pieces.