Based on the blog, you’d think we haven’t been working on the plane. Quite the opposite is true. We’ve been working nearly every day, with little time left over for documenting the build. When we last left off, Spork had completed the battery box and installed it.
We added a simple 24 gauge cable to provide for a battery condition monitor LED, a feature of the EarthX battery. The problem was we didn’t have the correct connector, despite ordering an entire set of connectors for airplane builders. We had every connector in the world, except the one we needed. Luckily Scott bailed us out, again, and got us the connector we needed. Here you see the cable, with a service loop installed.
Since we had the correct connectors, and we had our new label maker, we also ran the ELT cable for the cockpit remote switch. We labeled the cable so that when the time comes, we won’t be wondering which white cable this is.
We had a lot of false starts on covering our first wing. We had to install the compression tubes for the fuel tank, we had to paint the spoilers three our four times, I lost count, and we had a number of parts we had to go get or special order in. We lost several days due to these issues.
I fretted over whether to sandblast the spoilers for a few days. Luckily I decided to do so because we ended up sand blasting off our paint several times and starting over. We started with an automotive style rattle can primer and paint. When that proved to be too fragile we went to an epoxy based primer, PPG brand from Single Source here in town. While I was at it, I painted the locking collars from the tailwheel, the little circles you see beside the spoilers.
We also used the belt sander to break the corners of the spoilers and the edges. Corners and edges are the first places to loose paint and these things will be sticking up into the wind quite a bit so I wanted to make sure the paint stayed in place. Rounded edges will help quite a bit.
With the compression tubes nearly installed, we came across a problem. We didn’t have a simple little bracket that is installed on the hardware for the fuel tank and holds the flap return spring. We also didn’t have the bolts that held the bracket. I called Amy at Just Aircraft and she had the needed hardware going out the same day, along with a firewall forward kit I’d ordered a few days before from Billy at Plane Fun Aircraft. Everything showed up literally minutes before we ran out of parts and had to stop work. With hardware in hand, we were able to install the flap return spring, the compression tubes, and temporarily mount the fuel tank. Everything went in just like it should, at least after we thinned out some of the shim washers for the fuel tank.
Once the compression tubes were in the wings I checked with Robby to see how he mounts them. “Some people use screws but I just rivet them in place. They are easy to drill out.”
I liked the idea of riveting them, but looking at the needed dimensions I saw that the CCP-44 rivets were not going to work. In desperation, I went to visit Scott to see what he thought I should do. “Rivnuts” was his answer. We ordered some, along with screws, to be delivered this coming week. With rivnuts in hand, we’ll install them and then install the tanks. These are an even better solution than rivets as we will have simple screws to remove the tank should we need to at some point in the future.
As I said, we had several in and outs with the spoilers but it was ok. I needed some practice painting and the spoilers were a good item to practice on. A small mistake could be sand blasted off in a few minutes and the could be repainted with a small amount of materials.
With the several setbacks behind us, we finally started covering the wing. About this time, we had a stomach bug start working its way through the house putting both Cody and Spork on their butts. I spent an entire day working by myself on Saturday and made good progress on the wing.
When the fabric is installed, we burn holes through the ribs in spots pre-drilled. These allow us to install large headed rivets for holding the fabric in place. This is fun because it is so easy, and terrifying because one wrong move and you burn a hole through your fabric. Scary!
While we were doing all this work, our paint showed up for the airplane. These few cans of paint is what $3000 worth of paint looks like. Good thing I’m a master painter and won’t make any mistakes. Yeah right.
This is a bit of a disjointed update. Lots was done but it was all given short shrift in this multi day post. We’ve been going from can to can’t these past few weeks, trying to get as much done on the plane as possible, while still maintaining a farm, having two renters move out the same month, and still doing work at the Civil Air Patrol. It has been fun. Our status today is the right wing is covered, minus the final heat shrink and tapes. Once those tapes are done, we’ll move the wing to the next bay over and cover it to protect it from the sun. Then we’ll start on the left wing and wash, rinse, repeat. Once the left wing is done, hopefully this week, we’ll move that wing out and we’ll have room for the paint booth to be built while we start covering the fuselage. When everything is covered, it will be time to paint, sand, paint, sand, etc.
Once the painting is over, we’ll bring all the pieces together and remount the wings and take the fuselage off the stands for good, putting the plane on its gear. With wings and gear, we’ll hang the engine which should be here by then, and then it is time for the avionics.
Then it is time for final assembly! That will probably take two months but whatever, it is something to dream about.
Hopefully our perennial pet, Mr. Frog, will still be around by then so he can see our creation come to life.