Feb 08, 2024     Floorboards, brake lines, elevator trim, misc - (20 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Good 3 days with lots of odds and ends:

Floorboards nearly complete. Created poster board templates for all 5 boards and the back wall of the baggage compartment. Templates worked great for final fitment and marking screw location. Used #10 floating nutplates with stainless screws for all attachment points. Ordered aluminum sheets from Wicks: .032 to replace incorrectly cut board #2, and .025 for the baggage compartment rear wall and possibly for guards over the rudder and flap cables.

Elevator Trim: Finished adjusting the elevator trim mechanism. Need to research if turnbuckle(s) are needed for future tension adjustments then final Nico the cables.

Brake lines: ordered flexible hoses from Pegasus Racing for the final connection to the brake pedals. Last task will be to attach the parking brake actuator cable and decide where to mount in the cockpit.

Interior: Great call with Abby from Flight Line Interiors in WInd Lake, WI. Will plan to drop seat frames off and let them do the rest.

  Jan 30, 2024     Catching up - (80 hours)       Category: Workshop

Bad News: 1st entry in many months. Not so Bad News: I have made some progress. Quick summary to date:
#1) Rotisserie is done and works better than I might have imagined.
#2) Main gear including wheels, tires, calipers, brakes is on with the completed shock struts. Brake lines are nearly complete with parking brake valve installed. #3) Rudder, Horizontal stabilizers and elevators are on. Rudder pedals and cables are installed. Decided not to install brakes in the rear seat (haven't had passenger brakes in my A36 for 27 years and never needed them). Elevator trim tabs are cut out and installed with tube openings epoxied. Control sticks are installed including elevator push rods. Elevator trim mechanism in the tail is installed and cables are ready to be finalized after adequate trim travel is confirmed.
#4) Flap handle installed along with cable and pulleys to the "Y" connector behind the baggage compartment.
#5) Made several aluminum pulley guards. Used single flush rivet to secure 90 degree double guards.
#6) Cut tagboard templates of existing aluminum floorboards for easier fit and finish. #10 floating nutplates to secure all floorboards are nearly complete. All holes are drilled using the nutplate jig, just waiting on more nutplates from Spruce.
#7) attached temporary plywood seats to each frame. Fun to sit behind the panel with the control stick in hand. Feels like progress.

11JAN2024 Matt Rybarczyk swung by for several hours and completed my first"EAA Technical Counselor Visit Report". (see photo below).

Full Confession: I have not been very good at tracking my hours to date. Estimating 80 hours since the last post. Committed to spending more time on the build and making far more frequent log entries.

  Jul 13, 2023     Airframe Paint - (16 hours)       Category: Fuselage

Moved the airframe back out to the airport for painting on July 10th. Used an Avanti .3mm gravity feed airbrush from Harbor Freight with Rustoleum Tractor and Implement Glossy Black diluted with 35% addition of mineral spirits, 30 psi line pressure). Paint and thinner weighed in grams on a digital food scale. Wanted to cover the inside visible airframe, rudder/brake pedals and control sticks. Two coats. Happy with the results. The inflatable paint booth and rotisserie were key. Never sprayed any paint before, definite new skill set for me. Starting to feel like a builder. Great assistance/support from Matt Rybarczyk. Planning to bring the airframe back to the shop early next week.

  Jul 07, 2023     First "real" build step - (2 hours)       Category: Landing Gear

After completing the hardware inventory and organizing (bagged, labeled, mounted on the shop wall). I completed the landing gear shock strut assembly. Easy and relatively quick. Nice task to "wade in" on the project.

  Jul 04, 2023     Ready to Build !!! - (20 hours)       Category: Workshop

Fuselage is in the shop and on the rotisserie, finally. Significant delay awaiting completion of the garage/shop specifically floor epoxy. Rotisserie design and welding assistance from Steve Greenway. Airframe parts and hardware (Wick's) are both inventoried and ready to go. Several pulleys and a few rivets on back order from Wicks but shouldn't slow things down. Looking forward to actually putting something on the airplane.

  Mar 21, 2023     Kit Arrival !!! - (1 hour)       Category: Workshop

The kit arrives on schedule after placing the original order in December of 2021. Exciting day. Never really thought about building a plane until the November, 2021 AOPA Pilot arrived with a Bearhawk 4 place on the cover. After reading the article several times, a lot of research on Cub knock-off kits, and a few phone calls I placed my order with Mark Goldberg: 2 place Patrol with the float plane kit (extra door and beefed up rear float attach points). 25 hours of tail wheel time in a Citabria and really looking forward to both the build and tail wheel flying (back country and likely later amphibious floats). Great additional flying experience to N9BN, an IFR all business A36 I've owned for 25 years and logged 3,800 hours in.

Plan to deliver the fuselage to the new garage in several months once the construction is complete.