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Entry #	Created	Title	Category	Hours	Cost	# Pictures

226	Apr 25, 2023	Panel Layout	Instrument Panel	36	$0.00	5
The pictures gathered here show the end stage of the panel design development. It was driven by two primary factors: 1) Requirements of a minimal Corvair engine driven aircraft, 2) Engine control and instrumentation layout similar to C150/152 which I did my primary flight training in and will no doubt fly in from time to time. Development of this panel has gone through multiple iterations and the final version shown here as design drawing is based on analysis of circuit requirements for running the Corvair engine's critical electrical systems (ignition and power generation) and the non-critical electrical systems (lighting and avionics). I decided for traditional panel over software driven multi-display systems, though power and space is provided for COTS devices to run foreflight. I have spent at least 36 hours on the design and accumulation of tools and materials which converge on the panel itself. All electrical is being installed to standards defined in AC 43.13-B

 

225	Apr 21, 2023	Forward Fuselage	Fuselage	1.5	$0.00	2
Prepare forward fuselage floor for buildup and installation.

 

224	Apr 05, 2023	Seat Pan Support Area	Fuselage	2	$0.00	3
Marked (with a rivet spacer fan) and drilled holes in seat pan support panels / support brackets prior to install. Drilled out all holes to final size and then deburred all holes. Drilled extra attach holes in both vertical support channels on the rear fuselage because lower left / lower right holes have AN nuts so close behind the hole that rivet installation is not possible from outside, and inside the channel the rivet gun head will not fit. The extra hole is in middle of bottom row and make up for the missing outside lower rivet.

 

223	Apr 04, 2023	Seat Pan Support	Fuselage	2.5	$0.00	6
Outboard seat pan supports have to be drilled to fasten the seat pan down. A5 pitch 40 rivets are used. Pilot holes #40, then drilled out to A5 size. Not deburred yet. Also drilled out the pilot holes for the lower seat belt harness attach point, starboard and port sides.

 

222	Apr 01, 2023	Nut Repair	Fuselage	5	$0.00	6
Minor travails and new access panels to very tight spaces: When drilling a hole through the side channel upright on my fuselage, down by the landing gear fitment where the holes go to attach the seat pan, I noticed that the drill seemed to not want to go through the sheet-metal -- about like when metal is a bit thicker. So I used a little bit more force. But it turned out it wasn't sheet-metal. On inspection I saw that I had drilled into the nut of the top AN 4 bolt of the rear part of the starboard fitment that connects the front fuselage to the rear fuselage. I couldn't tell how deep I had drilled into the nut or maybe even the bolt. I was unwilling to ignore potential damage to part of the system that connects the rear fuselage to the front (everything might NOT be all right). So began an hours long endeavor to remove the bolt and nut to inspect and replace. It involved getting a 20 ton press, buying a wrench or other tool that I could bend in the press to a U-shape to be able to get back behind the side channel via the narrow area left between baggage floor and seat pan rear support. I knew that I could put an access panel instead and approach it that way. But I started with the "make your own tool way". I managed to remove the nut from the bolt, but had so much trouble getting a new one back on with a washer. Then my custom wrench head got stuck. I was forced to make an access panel. Once the access panel was open it took a whole 2 minutes to remove the stuck tool and reinstall the bolt and torque it correctly.

 

221	Mar 01, 2023	Critical Electrical And Panel Area	Landing Gear	15	$0.00	9
Bought 4x8 sheet of .025 from Airparts. Didn't have metal brake so used rubber mallet method of bending instrumentation wiring support pans between firewall and panel. Bent against grain by accident, however do not believe will be a problem given the non-structural nature and very low weight of service loops of wiring the pans will support. The battery, contactor, and distribution bus is mounted behind the passenger seat. Battery location reinforced with .092 extruded L and wrapped tight with sheet metal to resist high g loads in sudden stop situation. Fabrication and planning of these items took a long time. Acquired a small sheet metal bender for the smaller brackets that the bus and the contactor are mounted on. Used .016 L-angle as "finger" to get appropriate bend radius on those items. Used rubber mallet to create flange that cheap metal brake design doesn't support.

 

220	Feb 11, 2023	Landing Gear / Wheels / Tires	Landing Gear	3.5	$0.00	10
Assembled wheels into tires. Ran 1/16 in. bead of Permatex Ultra Grey (82194) high torque gasket maker around the face of one side of the wheel assembly to ensure no leakage between wheel halves. Placed lower wheel on 2x4 wood blocks under tire. Placed upper wheel half onto lower and bolted tight with all six bolts. Then placed the rubber o-ring at the wheel join. Used a lot of watery dish soap as lubricant during tire inflation, used ratchet strap to compress center of tire during inflation to seat bead onto rim. Gear installation preceded tire / wheel assembly.

 

219	Jul 21, 2022	Hangar Move In, Part One	Workshop	4	$0.00	2
Build rack to hold completed airframe subcomponents. Move engines to hangar.

 

218	Jul 15, 2022	Hangar Rented	Workshop	2	$0.00	4
Found a commericial hangar at KRVS in Tulsa. Rented from Bill Denton, Denton and Associates LLC. Bill is a recipient of the Charles Taylor Mechanic Award.

 

217	Jun 12, 2022	Rear Fuselage	Fuselage	2.5	$0.00	2
Installing flaperon actuator mount plate (flap function) and control tubes for flaperons (aileron function).

 

216	May 03, 2022	Rear Fuselage	Fuselage	1.5	$0.00	3
Preparing rear fuselage baggage area rear panel for installation.

 

215	Feb 21, 2022	Rear Fuselage	Fuselage	10	$0.00	4
The fuselage pieces, which have been riveted as subcomponents, are here assembled according to Zenith instructions and readied for riveting.

 

214	Jan 27, 2022	Fuselage Sides	Fuselage	3	$0.00	3
Setting up L-angle and longeron on the passenger and pilot fuselage side skins. Also fit the rear fuselage front upright to the front edge of the fuselage. These parts are match drilled but have to be deburred and, on occasion, chased, before riveting. Also shown is the William Wynne Corvair flight engine in temporary storage before installation. Each day it gets lovingly dusted.

 

213	Dec 22, 2021	Fuselage Top	Fuselage	1.5	$0.00	2
Various L-angle placement and trimming, baggage support. Some holes need to be drilled out to size, deburred.

 

212	Dec 21, 2021	Fuselage Top	Fuselage	1	$0.00	1
Drilling, deburring. Re-clecoing.

 

211	Dec 20, 2021	Fuselage Bottom and Top	Fuselage	3	$0.00	4
Riveted fuselage bottom pieces together: longerons and z channel around the access hatch. Layout top fuselage skin and longerons. Cleco together.

 

210	Dec 16, 2021	Fuselage Bottom	Fuselage	1.7	$0.00	3
Laying out z channel on bottom of fuselage. The note about missing part was wrong.

 

209	Dec 14, 2021	Fuselage Bottom	Fuselage	1.5	$0.00	2
Attaching fuselage bottom to the longerons. Parts in storage. They were soon to be moved to Tulsa, OK in March.

 

208	Dec 03, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	1.5	$0.00	2
Wing complete.

 

207	Nov 16, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	2	$0.00	2
More wing root work. The sheet metal is now fully in place. It will not be riveted in until final assembly when the wings have been attached to the fuselage, the controls rigged, and all connections tested (including fuel lines).

 

206	Nov 08, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	1.5	$0.00	1
Wing root sheet metal work.

 

205	Oct 24, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	2.5	$0.00	2
Connector to plug into AeroLED wingtip lights.

 

204	Oct 23, 2021	Fuel Line	Wings	3	$0.00	8
Used Earl's tooling to fabricate braided steel fuel lines using Earl's AN fittings. Used proper tools (line cutter and fitting clamp). Leak test with 100LL to follow.

 

203	Oct 20, 2021	Build and Install Fuel Tank	Wings	4	$0.00	6
Wing was a lot easier the second time; should be done with this wing soon. The deeper consideration, basic learning, tool and part acquisition was on the first wing. This one is all about refinement and getting better at doing something the second time through. Installed fuel sender with appropriate aviation grade sealant. Wired according to plans and crimped according to 43.13-1b.

 

202	Oct 06, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	3	$0.00	4
Top wing skin work. Including setting up cover for fuel tank.

 

201	Sep 27, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	2	$0.00	3
More drilling to final size and deburring.

 

200	Sep 25, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	1.5	$0.00	2
Leading edge skin work.

 

199	Sep 10, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	3	$0.00	10
Wiring runs along rear spar bolted in with AN hardware and MS21919 clamps. Pitot tubes secured per manufacturer instructions.

 

198	Sep 09, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	15	$0.00	1
Front skins and trailing edge work.

 

197	Aug 24, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	3	$0.00	3
Bottom skin and rear channel riveting.

 

196	Aug 15, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	3.5	$0.00	5
Wing bottom skins.

 

195	Aug 09, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	3	$0.00	4
More riveting of pilot side bottom skin.

 

194	Aug 06, 2021	Pilot Wing	Wings	2.5	$0.00	4
Working on drilling, deburring, and riveting front ribs. In last picture the main spar attachment for the struts is visible. It was attached with AN-4 bolts and nylon lock nuts per instructions.

 

193	Aug 04, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	1.5	$0.00	1
Initial skeleton of pilot side wing.

 

192	Jul 23, 2021	Pilot Wing Skeleton	Wings	2	$0.00	1
Cleco together the pilot side wing skeleton, attach both front and rear ribs, attach the rear spar and prepare for riveting.

 

191	Jul 12, 2021	Pilot Side Wing	Wings	2.5	$0.00	4
Wing skeleton layout, including nose ribs.

 

190	Jun 22, 2021	Passenger Side Wing	Wings	4.5	$0.00	9
Wing tip electrical.

 

189	Jun 22, 2021	Passenger Wing Tip and Light	Lighting	10	$0.00	9
Wired and grounded using techniques from AC 43.13-B and instructions from manufacturer AeroLED.

 

188	Jun 08, 2021	Passenger Side Wing	Wings	2	$0.00	4
Fuel tank fittings.

 

187	May 29, 2021	Wing Root	Wings	3	$0.00	2
Wing root fabrication and sheet metal install. Required using fluting pliers. Clamp root skin into place. Drill #40 pilot holes into fluted support l-angle and cleco.

 

186	May 13, 2021	Passenger Side Wing	Wings	3	$0.00	5
Installing the wiring for the fuel sender, as per requirements of 43.13-1b table 11-14.

 

185	Apr 19, 2021	Nutplates in Wing Access Panel	Wings	1.5	$0.00	3
Drilling nutplate holes for fuel tank access panel using standard jig tool.

 

184	Mar 14, 2021	Engine on Test Stand	Engine	8	$0.00	2
At William Wynne's hangar, supervised top-end build and test run. Finished installing: Oil pan, starter bracket / ground bar, starter. Filled with oil. Put on test stand and rotated prop for 30 minutes by hand while running oil pump with drill adapter. Installed distributor at correct test run position. Test run commenced about 300pm. Engine started within 2 seconds. Ran at varying RPM for 30 minutes. Adjusted heavy duty oil pump bottom plate to account for slightly stiff rotation to bring it into a level of resistance to rotation that is consistent with other engine builds. Removed from test stand and prepped engine for transport back to Texas.

 

183	Mar 13, 2021	Top End / Accessory Attachment	Engine	9	$0.00	8
Assembled top end of motor at William Wynne's hangar as supervised build. These components assembled as per specification in the SPA Corvair Engine Assembly Manual except when William recommended and showed newer, improved methods.

 

182	Feb 27, 2021	Final engine assembly prep	Engine	2	$0.00	1
Ensure all tools and materials per the final assembly list in the SPA Corvair Engine Assembly Manual and per William Wynne's required tools and materials list put together and made ready to transport to Green Cove Springs, Florida.

 

181	Jan 23, 2021	Passenger Wing	Wings	2.5	$0.00	3
Finish up riveting bottom skin on passenger wing.

 

180	Jan 20, 2021	Passenger Wing	Wings	1	$0.00	2
Preparing to rivet bottom skin of passenger side wing to the skeleton. Beginning the rivet process.

 

179	Jan 09, 2021	Skin on Wing	Wings	3.5	$0.00	6
Unpack bottom wing skin for installation. Place skin with clecos. Rivet skin into place in all pre-drilled holes.

 

178	Jan 08, 2021	Rear Spar Work	Wings	1.7	$0.00	3
Fastened inboard and outboard rear spar together. A5 rivets in doubler.

 

177	Dec 06, 2020	Starboard Wing Skeleton Assembly	Wings	2.5	$0.00	4
Unpacked the wing skeleton from the crate, organized parts and set them aside in order of assembly. Clecoed wing ribs to main and trailing spar. Checked for level.

 

176	Dec 05, 2020	Slats and Flaperons	Wings	1.5	$0.00	3
Installing tips

 

175	Dec 03, 2020	Slats and Flaperons	Wings	3	$0.00	5
Install tips

 

174	Nov 21, 2020	Slats	Wings	2	$0.00	3

 

173	Nov 19, 2020	Slats	Wings	3	$0.00	4

 

172	Nov 17, 2020	Slats	Wings	3	$0.00	7

 

171	Nov 16, 2020	Slats	Wings	1	$0.00	1

 

170	Nov 13, 2020	Slats	Wings	6	$0.00	11
Further assembly of slats. This was a bit trickier than I thought and it didn't come together until I figured out the correct order to attach the clecos.

 

169	Nov 11, 2020	Slats	Wings	2	$0.00	4
Attaching the doubler to the slat front top / bottom bend.

 

168	Nov 10, 2020	Slats	Wings	2	$0.00	1

 

167	Nov 06, 2020	Flaperons	Wings	4	$0.00	12

 

166	Nov 04, 2020	Flaperons	Wings	2	$0.00	3

 

165	Nov 01, 2020	Flaperons	Wings	3	$0.00	7

 

164	Oct 30, 2020	Flaperons	Wings	1	$0.00	2

 

163	Oct 29, 2020	Flaperons	Wings	1	$0.00	1

 

162	Oct 28, 2020	Flaperons	Wings	2	$0.00	5

 

161	Oct 26, 2020	Flaperons	Wings	2	$0.00	6

 

160	Oct 24, 2020	Flaperons	Wings	3	$0.00	10

 

159	Oct 21, 2020	Harmonic Balancer Final Install	Engine	.5	$0.00	3
Note to self: Write SPA a note about their install documentation. 2 inch install bolt does not penetrate far enough into crankshaft to tighten balancer down correctly (at least on my crankshaft). Stripped two inch bolt.

 

158	Oct 20, 2020	Harmonic Balancer Install	Engine	2	$0.00	9

 

157	Oct 10, 2020	Finish Cylinder Installs	Engine	5	$0.00	5

 

156	Oct 08, 2020	Parts	Engine	.5	$0.00	7

 

155	Oct 05, 2020	Piston / Cylinder #1 Install	Engine	1.5	$0.00	4

 

154	Sep 30, 2020	Piston / Cylinder #1 Install	Engine	1.5	$0.00	11

 

153	Sep 28, 2020	Piston / Cylinder #1 Install	Engine	2	$0.00	11

 

152	Sep 27, 2020	Piston / Cylinder Install Prep	Engine	1	$0.00	2

 

151	Sep 22, 2020	Piston / Cylinder Install Prep	Engine	1	$0.00	2

 

150	Sep 19, 2020	Piston / Cylinder Install Prep	Engine	2.5	$0.00	7

 

149	Sep 17, 2020	Piston / Cylinder Install Prep	Engine	1	$0.00	8

 

148	Sep 09, 2020	Inventory	Fuselage	3	$0.00	5

 

147	Aug 31, 2020	Inventory	Fuselage	3	$0.00	4

 

146	Aug 30, 2020	Inventory	Fuselage	4	$0.00	11

 

145	Aug 22, 2020	Inventory	Fuselage	2	$0.00	3

 

144	Aug 20, 2020	Inventory	Fuselage	2	$0.00	1

 

143	Aug 18, 2020	Airframe Delivery at Home	Fuselage	1	$0.00	7

 

142	Aug 17, 2020	Pick up rest of airframe at Zenith	Fuselage	1	$0.00	9

 

141	Aug 09, 2020	Parts Storage / Reorg	Workshop	1	$0.00	3

 

140	Aug 01, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2	$0.00	11

 

139	Aug 01, 2020	Elevator Riveting	Empennage	2.5	$0.00	4
Riveted the elevator closed. Riveted top and bottom and back center bracket onto elevator. Did a demo video of riveting, but rivet gun was angled badly. So it's a nice video of how to NOT rivet. Decided to drill out, caused hole problems. Was going to do a doubler, but decided not to in the end. A5 seems okay. Would have been better to leave it not seated perfectly. Made note to check this out often during inspections. Will replace if any issue shows up. But it is not a high stress point and nothing will happen if it fails in flight (which it won't). One of 3 minor drilling mistakes on the elevator. And, as usual, it was done in haste not taking enough time to think about what I was doing (that is ALWAYS the root cause of errors so far).

 

138	Jul 31, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1	$0.00	1

 

137	Jul 29, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2	$0.00	4
Reassembled for final riveting. Fattened WRONG hole of an L angle tab that connects the spar with the port elevator end rib. Simply drilled another rivet hole enough below to work. Painted elevator hinges to inhibit corrosion. Riveted skeleton. Riveted wire to front spar.

 

136	Jul 28, 2020	Elevator	Empennage		$0.00	6

 

135	Jul 27, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1	$0.00	2

 

134	Jul 27, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	2
Place servo into the correct location, set the length of the clevis rod, attach to trim tab, and begin testing and adjustment to get to best travel distance for up and down deflection targeted in the plans. This servo Zenith shipped does not have quite the range specified in the plans though. I'm within 5 degrees up and 8 down. I'll enter exact numbers in a later entry. Run the wire out to the center section of the elevator. Link to test on youtube: https://youtu.be/F_ooA6mKN88

 

133	Jul 26, 2020	Servo Mount / Trim Tab Safety Wire	Empennage	2	$0.00	10

 

132	Jul 26, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2	$0.00	5
Set up nutplates around access hole. Place and mark. Drill. Rivet (3/32)

 

131	Jul 25, 2020	Trim Tab Wiring / Access Nut Plates	Empennage	2	$0.00	10

 

130	Jul 25, 2020	Elevator Servo	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	6
Put heat shrink tubing onto servo electrical wire connections. Drilled out access cover plate holes to A5 rivet size (5/32), because the nut plate holes are 8-32 size. Safety wire pliers arrived.

 

129	Jul 23, 2020	Trim Tab Servo Wiring	Empennage		$0.00	6

 

128	Jul 23, 2020	Servo Wiring	Empennage	1	$0.00	5
Use DMC crimper to crimp D-subminiature connectors onto Ray Allen Servo wires. Note colors / markings for future routing of wires up to cockpit!

 

127	Jul 18, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1	$0.00	3

 

126	Jul 18, 2020	Elevator Deburring	Empennage	2	$0.00	4
Deburring elevator holes. Electrical stuff for Ray Allen Servo wire connecting starting to arrive (after much research).

 

125	Jul 17, 2020	Elevator	Empennage		$0.00	1

 

124	Jul 15, 2020	Elevator	Empennage		$0.00	7

 

123	Jul 15, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2	$0.00	5
Final drilling to A4 for a few remaing holes. Needed angle drill. Disassemble for deburring. Drilled out nose rib for electrical wire grommet. Cylinder hold down clamps fabricated. Received DMC crimper.

 

122	Jul 12, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2.5	$0.00	5

 

121	Jul 11, 2020	Trim Tab Wiring / Cylinder Hold down fabrication	Empennage	2	$0.00	4

 

120	Jul 09, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2.5	$0.00	5
I have finished all the drilling, and built the control arm to the correct length to control my trim tab with the Ray Allen servo. This necessitated figuring out the in and out wiring, and measuring distances on the servo actuator arm to make sure I got it just in the middle for installation. A 9V battery runs in in and out. I recorded the polarity for both on the data sheet. Ready for inspection to make sure I didn't miss something, then disassembly and deburring.

 

119	Jul 08, 2020	Elevator Servo Placement	Empennage	2	$0.00	7
I've had the most fun with this servo, where I went off and did a fair bit of learning about aircraft wiring: https://corvair750.com/diary/07-02-2020-aircraft-wiring/ Spent some happy time in the shop drilling the holes for the Ray Allen servo used for trim tab control.

 

118	Jun 27, 2020	Cylinders	Engine	1.5	$0.00	8

 

117	Jun 27, 2020	Painting Cylinders and Studs	Engine	1.5	$0.00	6
Painted some cylinders and painted also the head studs. Head studs can tend to rust so I just painted them over flat black. Same with cylinders, they are prone to rust without paint. High temp engine paint with ceramic -- 500 degree. Note ingenious paint fixture, credit to Billy Kerchner who is building a Corvair powered Sonex (see his posts on WW FlyCorvair facebook group).

 

116	Jun 26, 2020	Cylinders	Engine	2	$0.00	13

 

115	Jun 26, 2020	Cylinder cleaning	Engine	2	$0.00	13
Finished control arm / clevis opening with filing. Then, change of pace: Working on prepping my 3.0L cylinders for installation on my short block Corvair. This is preparation for painting. Was concerned about the step area along the cylinder skirt and asked William Wynne about it. The gasket in that area is RTV green, about a 1/16 bead. No worries there. The areas near the step that are machined out near the stud channels are there so the cylinder does not vibrate against the stud in operation.

 

114	Jun 25, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1	$0.00	3

 

113	Jun 25, 2020	Elevator Trim Tab Control	Empennage		$0.00	6
Drilling and forming the trim tab control arm hole on the trim tab spar. Starting to figure out the Ray Allen control servo.

 

112	Jun 20, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	4
More drilling of elevator in tight spots, drilling out to A4 and finished bracket work.

 

111	Jun 18, 2020	Elevator work	Empennage	2	$0.00	4
I had to order an angle drill because it's just not possible to drill out some holes in the elevator without one. Trying to use a regular drill risked dinging up the spars and skins. So part of the delay of getting the elevator put together was researching tools. In this case the nice angle pneumatic drill. Definitely worked as needed once I got all the bits I needed which I hadn't ordered when I originally ordered the drill ...

 

110	Jun 14, 2020	Elevator, Trim Tab, and Engine Stand	Empennage	2	$0.00	5
Worked on the elevator trim tab, and drilling out holes to A4 and A5 and then put together the engine stand. Coffee kept me up late this night.

 

109	Jun 13, 2020	Elevator	Engine	1	$0.00	4

 

108	Jun 12, 2020	Elevator Trim Tab	Tail Feathers	1.5	$0.00	0
Drilled out to A4 and clecoed the trim tab into position. youtube:

 

107	Jun 10, 2020	Parts Inventory	Engine	1	$0.00	5

 

106	Jun 10, 2020	Parts from Green Cove Springs	Engine	.5	$0.00	1
Received various engine parts for Corvair powerplant.

 

105	Jun 08, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2.5	$0.00	10

 

104	Jun 08, 2020	Elevator and Engine Parts Inventory	Tail Feathers	4	$0.00	7
Worked on the passenger side nose skin (in some pics elevator is upside down -- trim tab is pilot side). And the cylinder kit for my 3.0L engine. Once the elevator is done I'm moving on to engine construction, get the cylinders and pistons in. Then also got the trim tab placed and ready for drilling.

 

103	Jun 05, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2	$0.00	7

 

102	Jun 05, 2020	Elevator Nose Skin / Engine Components	Tail Feathers	2	$0.00	2
More drilling on elevator nose skins (dimple drill first, then remove and drill all the way for proper alignment). Fit perfect, drilled out to A4. Corvair engine parts arrived from SPA.

 

101	Jun 04, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	5

 

100	Jun 03, 2020	Elevator Trim Tab Channel / Nose Skin Placement	Tail Feathers	3	$0.00	3
Got trim channel drilled out and placed. Started nose skin placement. Came up with a way to get holes on skin drilled perfectly even though removing the clecos on the spar leads to minor (.5 to 1 mil) misalignments of spar and tip rib. Basically: do not drill all the way through the skin with the slightly misaligned skeleton because the skeleton would have possibly misaligned holes with skin. Drilled part way through skin, removed, drilled rest of way. Worked perfect: Absolute alignment of holes in skin and skeleton when clecoed together. (have vid hopefully on youtube someday ...

 

99	Jun 02, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1	$0.00	2

 

98	Jun 02, 2020	Trim Tab Channel	Tail Feathers	1	$0.00	0
Cut new block and sanded so I could use mallet on trim tab channel to make it fit outboard tip rib.

 

97	Jun 01, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	9
Resolving issues with a factory made part that doesn't have enough joggle to fit in the end rib.

 

96	Jun 01, 2020	Trim Tab Channel Issue	Tail Feathers	1	$0.00	3
Ran into a problem with the trim tab channel. My solution of whacking on the aluminum a bit to get the "joggle" of the outboard part of the channel smaller to fit into the tip rib correctly was verified by Roger Dubbert at Zenith via email. Measuring, making a form block. The outboard side was about 2 mils to wide ...

 

95	May 28, 2020	Cylinder Assembly Research	Engine	1	$0.00	1
Cylinder assembly reading, SPA manual pp124 to pp143

 

94	May 25, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	3	$0.00	9

 

93	May 25, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	2	$0.00	8
More work on elevator, which is more delicate and complicated than I expected. Ordered a pneumatic angle drill because of tight quarters drilling so I can avoid drilling errors / damage to parts with drills that are too big. Ran into an issue with the CH750 prefab tip ribs not fitting correctly with the trim tab channel ends, which are slightly bent to accommodate fitting inside the tip rib flanges. Aligning the center of the trim tab channel flange properly with the third hole in the tip rib causes the tip rib flange to bulge considerably. So I have a technical question submitted to Zenith about it.

 

92	May 23, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	2	$0.00	3

 

91	May 20, 2020	Elevator	Empennage	1	$0.00	9

 

90	May 20, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	4
Setting up elevator hinge pins for drilling, cut one too much based on watching the homebuilthelp video. Had to order replacement as I was unwilling to compromise on strength in this area, though honestly I don't think stress tolerances would have changed much. But I didn't do calculations so .... Pictures show difference between cut and uncut. I didn't like that the A5 holes on the end would be so close to the cut end. Even though it's was within acceptable minimum distances for the material.

 

89	May 19, 2020	Elevator Work	Empennage	3	$0.00	8

 

88	May 19, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	3	$0.00	6
Skin and skeleton drilling.

 

87	May 15, 2020	Elevator Work	Empennage	2	$0.00	2

 

86	May 13, 2020	Assembly Research	Engine	1	$0.00	1
Studied cylinder assembly procedure. pp103 to pp 124

 

85	May 11, 2020	Corvair 3.0L Cylinder Set	Engine	.5	$0.00	3
Ordered 3.0L Corvair Cylinder Set for TZero

 

84	May 09, 2020	Elevator	Empennage		$0.00	2

 

83	May 06, 2020	Elevator Work	Empennage		$0.00	8

 

82	Apr 30, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	2	$0.00	2
Elevator skeleton construction and some skin placement.

 

81	Apr 22, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	1	$0.00	1
Layout of elevator skeleton and begin cleco-ing together.

 

80	Apr 19, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	3	$0.00	5
Riveting the top skin onto the stabilizer skeleton. Finished it up!

 

79	Apr 19, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	2	$0.00	7
Riveting the stabilizer skin on, bottom side first.

 

78	Apr 17, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	2	$0.00	3
Reassemble for riveting.

 

77	Apr 15, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	3	$0.00	3
Deburring the pieces.

 

76	Apr 13, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	2.5	$0.00	4
Drilling skins and clecoing with good straps.

 

75	Apr 12, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	2
Straps that don't work. Must have ratchet type.

 

74	Apr 11, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	2	$0.00	3
Bottom skin work, drilling.

 

73	Apr 09, 2020	Horizontal stabilizer	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	4
Working on tip rib angles and skin drilling.

 

72	Apr 07, 2020	Corvair 110HP head overhaul	Engine	.5	$0.00	1
Ordered 110HP head overhaul from Sport Performance Aviation.

 

71	Apr 07, 2020	Stabilizer	Empennage	1	$0.00	2
Tip rib placement

 

70	Apr 06, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	2.5	$0.00	6
Stabilizer ribs. Nose and center section.

 

69	Apr 05, 2020	Horizontal Stabilizer	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	4
Stabilizer front brackets. Stabilizer tip rib mounting front spar L angle. Fun vid here: https://youtu.be/SeWA7AkL2Ds

 

68	Apr 04, 2020	Stabilizer	Empennage	3	$0.00	5
Doublers to A4 size, front and rear spar.

 

67	Apr 01, 2020	Stabilizer Skeleton	Empennage	3	$0.00	3
Initial work putting together the horizontal stabilizer skeleton. Upper and lower doublers on rear spar.

 

66	Mar 29, 2020	Stabilizer	Empennage	.5	$0.00	1

 

65	Mar 29, 2020	Parts Inventory	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	4
Unpack, inspect, check inventory. All present and accounted for.

 

64	Mar 27, 2020	Pick Up At Estes	Tail Feathers	2	$0.00	4
Went to Estes in SA to bring Tail kit, Slats / Flaperons kits back to shop. Unloaded parts.

 

63	Mar 26, 2020	ACF-50 Crankshaft	Engine	.5	$0.00	2
To protect the crankshaft while waiting further build out I slathered on ACF-50 and got it in the journal areas too.

 

62	Mar 25, 2020	110 HP Head Search	Engine	2	$0.00	0
Found a possible source for 110 Head. Contacted Mike's Corvair Parts. Since I have one head at William's hanger, casting #3856759, Mike is going to look to see if he has one around his main store.

 

61	Mar 07, 2020	Parts Rack	Workshop	3	$0.00	2
High tech finished parts rack made of 2x4. Shop organization. See this link: https://corvair750.com/personal-blog/finished-parts-rack/

 

60	Mar 06, 2020	Sky Ranch Engine Manual	Research	2	$0.00	0
Introduction. Start Chapter 1: Fatigue Analysis

 

59	Mar 02, 2020	Zenith Order	Tail Feathers	1	$0.00	0
Ordered Zenit Tail / Slats / Flaperons from Zenith. 2 week lead time. Shipping to Estes in San Antonio.

 

58	Feb 29, 2020	Rudder Final Rivet	Empennage	3	$0.00	5
Final riveting of the rudder after returning from Green Cove Springs where I built the Corvair short block.

 

57	Feb 24, 2020	Short Block	Engine	1	$0.00	2
Drive from Green Cove Springs Florida to Seguin Texas. 16 hours starting Sunday at 130pm arriving Seguin Monday about 11am. Move TZero into shop.

 

56	Feb 23, 2020	Short Block	Engine	3	$0.00	6
Rear oil housing install. Oil pickup install. Gold top and gold oil pan.

 

55	Feb 22, 2020	Short Block	Engine	12	$0.00	22
Installed oil gallery plugs. Put TZero in engine build stand. Put in crankshaft, camshaft, and aligned them. Lubed the cam lobes. Closed the case and torqued correctly. Put on 5th bearing case. Drilled and pinned 5th bearing. Put on gasket material and torqued 5th bearing housing correctly. Put on 5th bearing oil seal. Installed safety shaft and prop studs.

 

54	Feb 21, 2020	Case Inspection	Engine	3	$0.00	5
At William Wynne's hangar inspected TZero case for cleanliness. Restored all threads. William removed a case dowl pin from an older case because processing at SPA had lost the dowel pin in mine. Noted my original case bolts / nuts not returned. Other bolts instead.

 

53	Feb 16, 2020	Rudder Parts Trimming / Deburring	Empennage	2.6	$0.00	1
Trim nose skin. Tried to use Homebuilt Help technique of cutting with blade -- I didn't have the right blade. This turned into a PITA because of the excess filing I had to do. When cut with shears, line was straighter in the end and much faster to file. Can't do each hole deburr on skins -- will take too long. Need to give in and do the flat file technique to knock burrs off. Can buff out minor scratches with Scotch-Brite. Still have to deburr skeleton ribs and spar and second side of rear skin.

 

52	Feb 15, 2020	Rudder Rear Skin / Nose Skin	Empennage	3.6	$0.00	5
Drill out all holes to final size, in rear skin and nose skin. Separate parts for deburring. Mark up the nose skin for final cutting.

 

51	Feb 13, 2020	Rudder Rear Skin / Nose Skin	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	2
Put nose skin in place. Drill more holes.

 

50	Feb 10, 2020	Rudder Rear Skin	Empennage	1.5	$0.00	4
Work on rudder rear skin, placement and drilling out pilot holes and A4 holes.

 

49	Feb 08, 2020	Rudder Skeleton Riveting	Empennage	2.4	$0.00	5
Rivet rudder skeleton.

 

48	Feb 02, 2020	Plans analysis / HomebuiltHelp Video	Research	2	$0.00	0
Reviewed the sheet metal materials requirements for scratch building the horizontal stabilizer. Also viewed homebuilthelp video for scratch building metal aircraft. Ordered two more videos, one on tail section, one on rudder. Will review Rudder before riveting skeleton and working on the skins.

 

47	Jan 28, 2020	Rudder work	Empennage	2.5	$0.00	2
Had a problem with drilling too deep on the rudder bottom spar and was unsure of fit for rudder horn against rudder spar. Conferred with Zenith. Horn fits spar perfectly, decided to replace bottom rib instead of using a doubler.

 

46	Jan 27, 2020	Rudder Assembly	Empennage	2.7	$0.00	4
Began drilling rudder spar doublers to spar, marked out locations of ribs.

 

45	Jan 25, 2020	Rudder	Empennage	1	$0.00	6
Uncrate Rudder Kit. Inventory all parts.

 

44	Jan 24, 2020	Unpack Tools	Tools	1	$0.00	1
Unpack and inspect Zenith toolkit. Inventory all quantities.

 

43	Jan 24, 2020	Unpack Tools	Tools	1	$0.00	0
Unpack and inspect Zenith toolkit. Inventory all quantities.

 

42	Jan 18, 2020	Aircraft Fabrication Bench	Workshop	8	$0.00	4
Build aircraft fabrication bench.

 

41	Jan 14, 2020	Toolkit	Tools		$0.00	0
Ordered complete toolkit from Zenith for CH 750.

 

40	Jan 14, 2020	Rudder	Empennage	.5	$0.00	0
Ordered Rudder Kit

 

39	Jan 13, 2020	Ordered Options Plans	Research	.2	$0.00	0
Ordered Options Plans from Zenith, since I want wing lights, dual stick, folding wings, etc

 

38	Jan 12, 2020	Engine Cleaning	Engine	1.7	$0.00	0
More tube, hardware, and valve cover cleaning.

 

37	Jan 10, 2020	Engine Cleaning	Engine	3.6	$0.00	3
Cleaned all kinds of parts including pushrod tubes, head clamps, clamp bolts, baffles, baffle hardware, valve cover. Some pushrod tubes may not be useable because of internal pitting which I don't approve of and find not acceptable. Plan to have William Wynne review.

 

36	Jan 10, 2020	Engine Shipping	Engine	2	$0.00	2
Crated and shipped engine case to Sport Performance Aviation LLC to have it bored to be a 3.0L engine.

 

35	Jan 09, 2020	Engine Cleanup	Engine	1	$0.00	0
Cleaned up case bolts and nuts to fasten case together to ship to Sport Performance Aviation LLC.

 

34	Jan 08, 2020	Engine Parts	Engine	2	$0.00	0
Ordered following components for rebuild from Sport Performance Aviation: Case bore service, case cleaning service, 5th Bearing Crankshaft Service w/New gear, crank core charge (refundable), 5th Bearing Journal - 2nd Gen, 5th Bearing Housing Kit, CV1100 Cam and Lifters, CV200-HV Rear Assembly, CV3301 - E/P distributor, Gold Billet oil pan, Oil pan installation kit, Starter kit

 

33	Jan 05, 2020	Workshop Reorg	Workshop	5	$0.00	0
More stuff, making more space. Need to get rid of a wood lathe, maybe in trade for an orbital spindle sander.

 

32	Jan 04, 2020	Workshop Reorg	Workshop	5	$0.00	0
Removing things I just don't want to be in the way. Like what? Well, like a Kubota T1880, tools to be sold on EBAY (forget facebook marketplace it's useless), and goat feeding supplies (goats donated to another person's cause. Next up will be selling a 2005 Sportster 883 - 1200 conversion. It's got go, and that's what I want it to do (though it was good to me).

 

31	Dec 31, 2019	Engine Cleaning	Engine	1.2	$0.00	3
Clean head attachment hardware. Inspect rocker arms. Not considered useable according to William Wynne's specs. Will have to find replacement. ACF-50 all head attachment components, useable or unuseable. Threw away pushrods.

 

30	Dec 30, 2019	Engine Cleaning	Engine	.9	$0.00	1
Clean 6 pushrod tubes.

 

29	Dec 29, 2019	Engine Cleaning	Engine	3.5	$0.00	3
Removed gasket material from rear oil case housing. Wire brushed oil pump housing bolts and cover plate. Cleaned oil pump gears.

 

28	Dec 17, 2019	CH750 Plans / Drawings	Research	2	$0.00	0
Begin evaluating material needs for Rudder, Horizontal Stabilizer, Elevator, slats, and flaperons. Find material suppliers. Begin looking at tool acquisition sources / costs. Begin reading Zenair Construction Standards.

 

27	Dec 15, 2019	Workshop organizing	Workshop	1	$0.00	0
Beginning to remove unneeded items. Plan for changes to allow successful build.

 

26	Dec 14, 2019	Engine Cleaning	Engine	3	$0.00	5
Finished cleaning left case and prep for sending to Florida. Began cleaning heads. Evaluation of head quality. Pictures sent to FlyWithSPA / FlyCorvair for a review. Two cylinders may be too damaged for reconditioning.

 

25	Dec 12, 2019	Engine Cleaning	Engine	2	$0.00	0
Remove rust and scale from case studs.

 

24	Dec 09, 2019	Engine Cleaning	Engine	1.5	$0.00	0
Engine internal, external, and lifter bores. Also a few more screw holes in base of case half. Removed gasket material. Ready to clean the case studs.

 

23	Dec 08, 2019	Engine Case Cleaning	Engine	2	$0.00	3
Left case cleaning. External. Internal. Oil galleries and all screw / dowl holes. Flush oil passageways. Remove scum and varnish.

 

22	Dec 06, 2019	Engine Assembly Instruction	Research	2	$0.00	3
Corvair engine assembly, DVD 1 by William Wynne. Covered putting crank and cam back into engine, placing case halves together, tightening.

 

21	Dec 06, 2019	Case / Cam	Engine	1.5	$0.00	2
Left case half cleaning. Exterior and interior. Oil galleries. Lifter bores. Clean cam, treat with ACF-50, wrap in plastic, ready to take to Florida.

 

20	Dec 01, 2019	Sheetmetal Scratch Technique review	Research	2	$0.00	0
Reviewed creation of form blanks from plans for aircraft parts using common woodshop tools, methods for cutting sheet metal, bending metal to form parts. First couple of chapters of Homebuilt Help's "Scratch Building Basics for Metal Aircraft".

 

19	Nov 29, 2019	Engine cleaning	Engine	3	$0.00	3
Finished cleaning right case half. Removed rust / scale from case studs. Cleaned stud threads. Treated all studs with ACF-50 and wrapped in plastic for temp storage before taking to Floriday. Cleaned but camshaft and cam gear. Restored rear oil case attachment hardware to near orginal condition. Restored old head nuts (but will not reuse due to minor munging). All treated with ACF-50 and stored.

 

18	Nov 24, 2019	Engine crankshaft	Engine	2	$0.00	2
Finished cleaning engine crankshaft. All passages flushed with solvent. Main bearing and connecting rod throw journals cleaned with light application of scotch brite 7447. Slathered in ACF-50 and wrapped for storage until delivery to Florida for processing into flight engine crankshaft.

 

17	Nov 22, 2019	Engine Case and Crankshaft	Engine	2	$0.00	4
Almost finished cleaning R(ight) case half. All holes cleaned. Oil gallery cleaned. Surfaces cleaned and dowl holes cleaned. Still needs to have studs de-rusted / de-scaled. Minor pitting on some gasket surface areas that is not significant. No pitting on case mating surface. Internal surfaces clean enough for assembly.

 

16	Nov 17, 2019	Case and Crankshaft cleaning	Engine	1.8	$0.00	3
Gasket removal. Discovered that gasket remover does a great job of getting stubborn varnish out of internal areas that are hard to get at. Crankshaft cleaning / minor polishing. Flushed all the crankcase oil passages thoroughly with solvent. Note that in first crankshaft pic the first two throws have very mild surface corrosion. In second picture it is gone -- just a bit of light rubbing with Scotch-Brite 7447.

 

15	Nov 15, 2019	Case cleaning	Engine	1	$0.00	0
Case detailing, removing dirt on outside, varnish on inside. Removed oil gallery plug for later cleaning.

 

14	Nov 13, 2019	AC 43.13-1B Engine	Research	.5	$0.00	0
Chapter 8 Engines, Fuel, Exhaust, and Propellers 8.1 to 8.13

 

13	Nov 09, 2019	Detail cleaning	Engine	2.5	$0.00	2
Parts cleaner / lots of Scotch-Brite 7447

 

12	Nov 06, 2019	AC 43.13-1B Wiring	Research	.7	$0.00	0
9 Environmental Protection and Inspection, 10 Service Loop Harnesses, 11 Clamping, 12 Wire Insulation and Lacing String Tie, 13 Splicing

 

11	Nov 02, 2019	Case Cleaning / Crankshaft inspection	Engine	2	$0.00	3
More case cleaning. Crankshaft inspection and attempt removal of woodruff key. Wouldn't come out. Taking to William Wynne / Dan Weseman.

 

10	Oct 30, 2019	AC 43.13-1B	Research	1	$0.00	0
6 Aircraft Electrical Wire Selection, 7 Table of Acceptable Wires, 8 Wiring Installation INspection Requirements

 

9	Oct 28, 2019	Engine Cleaning	Engine	2	$0.00	3
Cleaning case halves.

 

8	Oct 25, 2019	AC 43.13-1B	Research	.7	$0.00	0
11.5 Electrical Wire Rating -- read it but still need to work through the examples.

 

7	Oct 21, 2019	Engine Core Teardown	Engine	4.5	$0.00	4
Remove stuck cylinders by whatever means necessary without damaging case. Result: Success. Crank looks serviceable as well as heads, case, and the oil routing end case.

 

6	Oct 17, 2019	Engine Core Teardown	Engine	2.5	$0.00	3
Remove front of case / bell housing. Split case by unding case bolts. Remove cylinder 5 by pounding on underside of piston stuck in cylinder. Same technique pounded piston out of cylinder 3. William Wynne recommended cutting slots (weak spots) on interior of cylinder wall to help break cylinder out of case.

 

5	Oct 14, 2019	AC43.13-1B 11.1 - 11.4	Research	1.5	$0.00	0
11.1 Inspection and Care of Electrical Systems 11.2 Storage Batteries 11.3 Inspection of Equipment Installation 11.4 Inspection of Circuit-Protection Devices

 

4	Oct 11, 2019	Engine Core Teardown	Engine	3	$0.00	2
Remove fan housing. Unable to get crank to rotate, so had to cut through rods (recommended by William Wynne). Cut through rods to be able to remove cylinders. After cutting through 4, began to be able to rotate crank while cylinders 1 & 2 still attached by rod. Undid rod bolts. Unable to remove rod cap. Sawed through both remaining rods. Tapped rod bolts out using previously removed rod with bolts set on the rod bolts not coming off and tapping lightly.

 

3	Oct 07, 2019	Engine Core Teardown	Engine	2.5	$0.00	6
Remove pushrod tubes and pushrods. Remove head stud bolts and rocker retainers. Remove cylinder bottom cooling baffle. Remove cylinder heads.

 

2	Sep 25, 2019	Engine Core Teardown	Engine	1.5	$0.00	5
Remove exhaust logs, engine cooling baffles (end pieces). Remove harmonic balancer. Remove distributor retaining screws. Left distributor in until understanding if it can be just pulled out. Videos can be found here: https://corvair750.blogspot.com/2019/09/steady-progress.html

 

1	Sep 18, 2019	Engine Core Teardown	Engine	1.5	$0.00	5
Began tearing down core engine for flight engine conversion rebuild. Engine serial No: T04I3RG, Heads S/N: 3856743. This identifies as a 1965-1969 95 HP Corvair engine core. Power washed. Removed sheet metal and accessories including carburetor and some vacuum lines.

  ------------ -------------- ------------- Totals551    $0.00    901