Chad and Bekah's RV- 7

Pilot Stick and Nav/Strobe wiring

2012-02-29T19:38:00.000-08:00

I decided to get the pilot stick wire runs figured out along with the strobe and nav lights. The Nav and Strobe lights are hard to wire even though they seem simple. I am going with LED lights and they recommend you have a shielded wire where the shield is locally ground as well as firewall ground. But also you need one circuit to run to both wing tips and the tail, as well as a "sync" wire that connects the strobes together to ensure they fire at the same time. In my case I am running all the lights from the right wing through the fuse to the left wing bay where I will connect them all and run them forward. So across the center of my fuse I have a strobe wire, nav wire, sync wire in a shielded bundle. I am going to sync the wing tip strobes, but not the tail. I am not going to run a sync wire all the way forward, so the tail strobe will fire randomly which is fine by me.

The wire bundles are combined with the pitot tube and AOA tube coming from the ADAHRS behind the baggage compartment, and go through the outer ribs to go forward as well as out to the wing tip.. Also, the Pilot stick wiring is complete and feeds through the same snap bushings going forward to the VP-X. Pilot stick as I indicated earlier contains switches for roll trim, pitch trim, push to talk, A/P disconnect, and com radio flip flop..

I know it sounds confusing, but its the only way to get this done. Looking at the photos, at least the runs look clean. :-)

Snuck in the Engine Start Button

2012-02-23T12:18:00.000-08:00

Well, the Engine is here, I am now waiting for the prop and governor. I need to install the governor before I hang the engine, well, at least that is my plan. I am still doing other research to determine what I need to do before hanging it. In the meantime I borrowed a hoist which is mega stout from a friend in my EAA Chapter, put it together and it awaits the big event..

But the Honda S-2000 engine start button also showed up, so I quickly punched a hole in the panel and mounted that. Theres more work to do on the start button, but I got it in the panel to make sure I am going to like where I put it. When ever the engine isn't running, this button will be lit and enabled by the VP-X (if the master switch is on). As soon as constant RPMs are detected, the button is disabled to protect from accidental activation.

I wired the button by hijacking a computer floppy disk drive plug. It fits perfectly with the design of the button and I moved the wires around a bit so you have Red: power coming from the VP-X, Black: going to Ground for the light, and the switched Yellow goes to the starter relay. Pretty simple process and the engine start button looks cool!

Look what Showed up today !

2012-02-20T11:13:00.001-08:00

My last huge shipment showed up today. The Engine is here ! This baby will be leading the way for us all over the country for the next many years. The engine is quite impressive from AeroSport and I am so happy with my color choice, it looks just amazing in person. it is so great to finally have this thing in my hands. Just as my non motion insurance kicks in, the engine shows up. Makes me feel better that I have some coverage now that this is sitting in my garage.

I tried to take lots of pics from different angles to refer to later as necessary and will post them here. The first one is how it came wrapped in the crate.

Below are some front/side and back shots for future reference. You can see the Left Mag, Fuel pump, and oil filter in the first one. Second is head on, which shows the LightSpeed EI ignition wire and so on. I don't have a good shot of the starter, will need to get that one later.

I haven' t found any AeroSport shirts. Hopefully they will come out in one of the boxes, I still have those yet to go through tonight.

Continued VP-X Connections

2012-02-19T00:15:00.000-08:00

I connected Flaps, Nav Lights, Strobe Lights, Left and RightLanding lights, as well as Pitch and Roll trim and Flap sensor to theVP-X. These connections were the easierones because they go straight from the VP-X all the way to the poweredcomponent. Then the switch which will bewired up later connects straight to the VP-X. Other Components like the Seat Heat, Starter switch, etc, have the switchinline between the powered component and VP-X, so I need to wait until I amable to wire up the switches before running the final line to the VP-X. For now I am starting to get the big mess of jumbled wires to lay reasonablynicely.

Loads of Electrical Work !

2012-02-14T09:25:00.000-08:00

In order to keep making progress I continue to work onelectrical while I wait for my engine. My approach is to get all the wires ran to where they need to be, then comeback to tidy up and secure them with the terminals as I focus on certain areas. I suppose there are different ways to workthrough electrical, but with my knowledge so far, this works for me. At this point I have learned about enough tobe dangerous. ;-)

So I have ran about 90% of all my wires down through theconduit to the rear of the plane. I havelots of wiring behind the panel yet to do, and firewall forward, but for theremainder I have ran about everything. I still need to do my runs for the Skyview Network and all the lighting outto where the wings join the fuse, but that is about it. I also have ran my Pitot/Static/AOA tubingand am pretty happy how it turned out. My runs remain straight and efficient. I have Pitot and Static running both to thePanel (for the Gemini) as well as to the AHARS (Dynon) in the tail cone. My AOA only runs to the tail cone. Junctions are in the left wing root sectionas well as near the AHARS.

I have also just started labeling and grounding my wires upfront at the firewall ground block. I amgrouping some wires where it makes sense, such as my two seat heat grounds, mytwo auto pilot servo grounds, and probably others to save tabs on my groundblock. Critical components I will groundIndividually, such as the VP-X grounds. Also, I was able to run the first few VP-X grounds to the block aswell. Not long and I will update the softwarein the VP-X and start to connecting the remaining wires to it.

All this fun, can’t be complete without some Left SeatTime. ;-) I was able to sit in place and play aroundwith my panel layout. Liking the way itis coming together at this point. I temporarilyinstalled the throttle quadrant and really like the way the throttle/flaps/fuel pumpswitches are aligned.

Don't forget that oil breather hose clamp ! !

2012-02-10T18:33:00.000-08:00

Wouldn’t you know it.. The day after I seal up thefirewall opening, I realize that I need to drill out one more rivet from thefront and install a nutplate so that I can bolt on the oil breather line adelclamp. I don’t feel too bad, because the drawing is a bitconfusing. I looked at it and where this nutplate goes it indicates“alternate location for engine ground”. Well I am going to use the top ofthe firewall to ground the engine, so I moved on, and didn’t realize thisnutplate is also used to secure the oil breather.. ugh..

To complicate this, the nutplate is right behind a bar onthe engine mount, so to drill the holes and shoot the rivets I had to getcreative. All in all, anything is possible, it’s just a matter ofhow difficult. This one turned out to be fairly difficult butdoable.. A recoverable mistake is always a goodone.. Like any landing you can walk away from.. J

With Bekah’s help I used an angle drill to open up the holesfor the #10 screw and nutplate attach points. Then she bucked theface of the firewall while I back riveted the nutplate from inside thefuse. Not an easy task, but we got it done per plans.

I also started sorting out the pressuretransducer. This unit holds the pressure sensors and the tubes thatfeed pressure directly from the source to the sensor. I am setting it upso that top is the manifold pressure, middle is oil pressure, and bottom iffuel pressure.

Firewall Recess

2012-02-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

There was only one goal for this work session.. Rivet and seal the firewall recess. The recess is designed so the prop governoron the engine can fit in the recess, but still forward of the firewall. Up to now I have had a large hole that provided great access from out front, but I knew that wouldn't last forever.. I can’t think of anything else I need to doon the front lower area inside the cabin, so have now sealed it up and am readyfor the engine.

The entire process took about an hour and was a great miniproject that had a beginning and an end. Those are always nice. I mixedup some sealant, and put a bead on the flange then clecod the recess inplace. Then started riveting. I did have to take off the battery, heatbox, VP-X support, and brake lines in the cabin. These will all go back on shortly.

Wiring and Panel work

2012-02-07T13:29:00.000-08:00

My exhaust arrived last week, no pictures, but its here and ready for the engine.. The engine has been test ran and will most likely ship next week, so I will have it quite soon.. In the meantime I continued working on electrical and panel. Mainly my plan was to finish as much wire runs as possible, at least getting the wires to the general location. I got the aft GPS antenna cable ran, the pilot stick switch wires ran, all my pitot/static tubes inside the cabin ran, both my com antenna cables, and that is about it. Lots of wires now, routed all throughout. Looks colorful don't you think.. Also, this is the last picture through the firewall, since tonight I will be sealing up the firewall recess..

I also was able to finish the Map Box and add some better imagery to my panel. This gives a better idea of what it will look like. Also, a view of the wire runs under the cabin floor. Notice the writing on the Passenger Warning !

Here you will see that I also painted the outside sub-panel sections and am ready to rivet those in place for good as well. When I do that I might add the top skin if at all possible, because I know the top skin forces the whole forward deck down about 1/16 inch. I want to make my canopy fit as good as it did when I first installed it, so I want to make sure all rivets are set with the same stresses in the metal as were there when I cut the canopy.

Initial Panel Cutting

2012-01-30T12:19:00.001-08:00

Couple of interesting points..

1) At this point I really can work on plenty of various items. There are no clear directions for this part of the build, and since I am waiting for my engine, prop/governor, and exhaust I really can't go any further on the firewall forward, so I thought its time to work a bit on the Panel.

2) Also, Sometimes in building, you are really worried about movingforward since you don’t have the path completely figured out. For me it has happened a few times and now Iam in the same boat with the Panel. Ido know what I want and want to get going, but don’t have all the components yet. So considering the risk I took the chance and wentfor it. Hopefully this work won’t need to berepeated, but a new panel blank is only 40 bucks or so from Van’s so if I need todo it again at least that is an option.

So for now, I started cutting where the Gemini will go using a 3 1/8 inch hole saw which worked great. I wantedto use a panel punch since this will be a visible cut. At high speed and clamping everything down, the hole saw left an amazing cut. Looking good sofar, I went ahead and started punching 15/32nd holes for the switches. My panel is going to be as effective as I canmake it, yet as simple as possible. Also added the parking brake in an area of the panel where it can be easily released from standing outside the aircraft, also the 10 amp non-switched power point.

Right now I can’t start cutting holes for the Skyview andthe 650, but I had already started the map box, so I continued with it. Almost finishing the map box, which has somevery critical points to it, but they all came out fairly well and I am happywith it. Don't mind the scratches, the panel is thick and they will be all buffed out, then it will be coated with some thick paint or powder coat.. Its gonna look nice. ;-)

Panel is now officially underway. Keepthe fingers crossed ! !

Pilot Stick Grip

2012-01-25T09:02:00.000-08:00

While I wait for the engine I decided it was a good time to tackle the pilot stick grip. I went with the Ray Allen G207.. This stick has 7 switches that I will be using as follows:

Pitch Trim up
Pitch Trim down
Roll Trim left
Roll Trim right
Pilot Push to Talk
Auto Pilot Disconnect
Radio Frequency Toggle (most likely)

I love the look of this stick grip, but wiring it was a pain. First off I wired as indicated in the G207 instructions, if you use a VP-X, you can't wire it like this, so I had to rewire part of it. Also, the terminals need to be soldered and they are extremely small which adds to the complexity.

I temporarily added the engine control bracket to get a feel for where the stick was going to be. I ended up cutting off just about 2 inches off the pilot stick.. The top of the Ray Allen adds about 1.5 inches, so I am now about .5 inch shorter than Van's supplied stick. I still may take off another 1/2 inch or so, but need to research it a bit. I can always come back later and shorten it with the pipe cutter.

Sorry for the blurry pics, I have been using my I-Phone 4S but its not as great at point and click as they say.. So soon it will be back to the cannon for me.

Update: Here is some additional work on the wiring down through the stick. I will join this in with a d-sub connector, or just additional pins and heat shrink.. Depending on what best fits the run of the wire when complete. Also, this pic was taken with the Cannon, much better quality.

Finished Fuel Lines, Ran conduit up firewall

2012-01-24T11:22:00.000-08:00

I have done a few odds and ends lately that I won’t list,but the standout progress is on the fuel lines and electrical. First off, I think I am finished with all mytube bending and flaring that needs to happen on the fuel lines ! Yay ! Basically from each wing tank, through the fuse, through the fuel selector,through the fuel pump, and now along the floor to the Firewall, I have nowconnected everything. This 3/8 inchtube is tough to work with so am glad it is done, I just hope I don’t have torework anything down the road. It’sfunny, because almost each piece along the run I had to make a couple times, meaningthere is just as much tube in my trash can as in my airplane. Good thing it isn’t that expensive. Also, I have borrowed my tube bending andflaring tools from a fellow builder. Time to give them back to him for good !

I also ran conduit from under the floor cover, up thefirewall. I chose to do it on bothsides since I will have quite a bit of electrical wires that will be involved. So now, it’s pretty simple to run wires upthrough there and also looks good with the other black components in thecockpit. Having this complete I amalmost to the point where I can rivet the firewall recess.. This will need to be done before the engineis hung.

Brakes and Initial Power Wiring

2012-01-16T12:29:00.000-08:00

Over the last few days I worked through a couple options onthe brakes. I think I decided on this asmy final solution. Basically I used the stainlesswrapped flexible lines that Vans supplied with the kit. These originally were meant to be used at thebrake pedals themselves, but I ordered black lines from Bonaco for better lookand improved performance. With theseleftovers, I was able to bypass the requirement to create a loop around the axlewith the hard tube. The loop is designedto allow flex and keep it from braking. This works fine, but the only problem is every time you replace brakepads you need to bend the metal tube. With this set up, the flexible tube will allow the caliper to movearound no problem during service and via a brake pad replacement. The good news is I used the tube from Vans,so didn’t have to order any new. Win Winif you ask me. At this point nothing is torqued,but I have my break system complete !

Also, I worked on my initial power wiring. I took a #6 AWG from the master relay to theVP-X. All power will run through thiswire. I also took a #8 and ran it up toa battery bus which will power the below:

Battery Bus:

5 Amp Electronic Ignition (Switched and breaker)
2 Amp Dome Light (Switched - always hot)
10 Amp Power Receptacle (un-switched - alwayshot)
2 Amp Glare shield (Switched - always hot)
20-30 amp ( Switched VP-X Bypass / Endurance bus) *** This will include diodes ***

#8 AWG for this might be a bit heavy of wire, but I had thewire and it is a very short run, so no weight issues. For the 20-30 amp VP-X Bypass I will be using#12 most likely. The VP-X bypass will bean interesting circuit. Basically I willpick a few key items that will be backed up by this bus. They need to be backed up in case theBattery Switch, Master Relay, VP-X Itself, Wiring between switch and relay, orwiring between relay and VP-X, fail. Also, for those familiar this will function like an endurance bus if thealternator fails.

In general, this will enable fully separate fused power circuitsso the below items can be run off a single switch directly to the battery. Individual Diodes will be in line for eachcircuit so it won’t back feed the rest of the electrical system.

VP-X Bypass / Endurance Bus

GTN Com 1
GTN Main Power GPS
True Track Gemini
Audio Panel

Skyview will not be on this switch since it has an internal batterybackup.

Landing Gear !

2012-01-08T20:14:00.000-08:00

This weekend was a huge weekend for the project. I finished up all the misc items on thefirewall, mounted and torqued the engine mount, worked on the wheels andbrakes, then finally put the plane up on its gear. I will say that working with the brakes andwheels wasn’t at all straight forward and I was a little surprised with howdifficult it ended up. I got through itthough and things are looking good. Iwill need to remove the wheels to final torque the brakes though, and probablyrepack the bearings, but for now she is mobile.. The plane is definitely a lot taller than I though it would be. Looks huge in my garage !

First thing I did was remove the bottom hinge from thefirewall, which I replaced with a plate.. I am planning on using screws or camlocs forthe underside of the cowling due to many builders having the hinges looseeyelets, I don’t have a good picture of the plate, but I am sure down the roada good one will show up. I also startedworking on the wheel pant mounting flange which connects through the breakassembly. I had to remove quite a bitof material to allow the brake pins to fit past the flange. Also, I would recommend doing a complete wheel install before the gear is on the plane. Right down to drilling the retaining nut hole through the axle.. This was a bit hard to do while the gear was on the plane.

Mounting the gear was a no brainer, just had to wrestle withthe engine mount a bit first and then carefully line up the hole so I coulddrill out the undersized hole in the engine mount. The rear hole is slightly undersized so thatyou can get a really smooth fit for the single bolt that holds on the landinggear.. Yes only one bolt per side holdsthese puppies on..

The tail wheel was piece of cake since I had pretty muchfinished it months ago. Sorry for lack of photos and description. There was a lot more work to this than I show here, I just wanted to get through with it and am now glad its done.

Firewall Hinges; VP-X Install

2012-01-03T21:35:00.000-08:00

Its been a busy week on the plane, I am trying to get everything ready to torque the engine mount for good and get it up on its landing gear. Part of the problem is that the cowl is secured by the hinges you see in the photos below, but these can't be riveted to the firewall when the engine mount is on. So its good to do this earlier than indicated in the instructions. Also, you are taking a bit of a chance doing this since you can't measure them exactly, but I left part of them free so that I can trim the upper section if necessary. Also, I am going to redo the lower hinges, I will replace them with a plate and use camlocs to secure the bottom of the lower cowl. The hinges work great, but due to high vibrations in this area, some builders loose some eyelets on the hinges and end up replacing them anyway.

Onto the VP-X.. I got the VP-X Pro which is a dual bus Electronic circuit breaker system. These units are amazing and kind of act as a brain box for the electrical system. Everything plugs into it and it allows for tons of cool functionality that will be covered in future posts. The big thing is that it replaces all my circuit breakers electronically, so I will only have a few back up ones that I have to install. Now the VP-X itself is a single point of failure, so I will be backing it up with a separate bus powering a few essential systems, but will go into that later.

Back to the Firewall

2011-12-29T11:52:00.000-08:00

Getting back to the firewall, I installed both the Dynon ammeter shunt and the ANL current Limiter. These guys are in line between the alternator and the battery relay. Basically, it works as a breaker to protect the Alternator, and allows for measurement of the current being produced by the Alternator. Eventually, this will be visible on the VP-X screen on my Skyview. Looking forward to that day..

These aren't the best pics so I will most likely update eventually.. but you can see where I installed them and as well where I placed the doubler on the inside of the firewall. Next step is to connect these units all together with thin copper bar.

Antenna Doublers

2011-12-26T23:56:00.000-08:00

I don't know why, but today I decided to attach the Comm Antennas (temporarily so I could get the doublers figured out.).. Not much information about how to mount these, but basically they go through the skin; need to be about 3 feet apart; and since they are out in the wind will need to have doublers so that they don't consistently flex the skin and eventually start to pull and or tear at the skin. Also, they need to have a metal ground plane, which is no problem here since the airplane is all metal. ;-)

A lot of people, just add a second layer of .032 or .040 where the antenna penetrates and move on. For me I was still concerned about the amount of flex in the skin, at least with these bent whip antennas. So I decided to tie the doubler into one of the seat ribs. According to the aircraft handbook, this is the way you are supposed to do it anyway. I decided to mount them under the seat pans, on each outside bay. The actual center post is exactly 9 inches aft of the main spar web, which is as far back as I could get them. Since the skin at this point in the fuse has a slight fore/aft curve, I decided to cut the angle so that I did't have a straight edge the length of the doubler. This allows for the slight curve with no problems. Happy the way this turned out, now I just need to prime or alodine these parts and get Bekah to help me rivet them in..

Gear Leg egress, Flap Sensor

2011-12-24T15:29:00.000-08:00

While the engine mount was on, I measured out the bit of firewall flange that needed to be cut back to allow for the gear legs. You can see in this pics what I mean by this. Basically I used a die grinder with cut off wheels and various and other bits to trim back the flange. Turned out OK, but in the process I sure breathed in a lot of metal.. Probably should have been wearing a mask for this one..

After that I started working back inside the fuse again, on the flap sensor. This is a cool unit as it will tell my EFIS where the flaps are and I will get a readout on the panel if they are up/down, or in the middle. It also will allow my flaps to be set so that one flip of the switch will either raise them all the way then stop, or will raise them to a preset point. Without this sensor, I would have to hold the switch and count or look at the flaps to know exactly where they are. I didn't take any shortcuts on installing this sensor. I created a fully serviceable mount, and took the time to make sure it was in line and was a straight shot at the sensor. Hopefully a long useful live out of this one. Those who are familiar might recognize some of the parts I used on this. Lets say they aren't TSO'd but are fully functional. ;-)

Fuel Line Penetration, Engine Mount

2011-12-22T13:58:00.000-08:00

Lots of Progress over the last couple days on big stuff and little stuff. I mounted a few firewall nut plates that are used to hold the oil pressure line, but won't even show pics of this.. The stuff I am proud of is the Fuel line penetration of the firewall, and the engine mount. First I used a step-drill and after careful measuring installed the doubler for the fuel line per the plans. This turned out pretty well except I riveted it too quickly after painting and bunged it up a bit.. Touched up though and its now looking good.

What I am really excited about is how well the engine mount drilling went. I was nervous because drilling through the stainless firewall is always a risk. The drill bit sticks, pulls chips in under the stainless, tries to lodge them where you can get them out, and deforms it etc.. In general it is just tough to drill through the firewall, and with these holes, they go through a lot of metal layers, first stainless firewall, then some aluminum doublers, then finally into a doubled over metal web that connects to the rest of the forward fuse structure.. Lots of metal for sure, but for good reason since it holds the entire engine on the front of the plane...

The mount was secured to the fuse by bungees and clamps.. Then I used two bits, first 1/4 inch bit inside some scrap tubing. This worked great as the tubing fit snug in the engine mount hole, and the 1/4 inch bit didn't wander at all. I drilled the top two holes, then used a AN4 bolt to hold the mount in place. Then I pulled the tubing and used my 3/8 inch bit, and with some BOE Lube, went to town. Pressing firmly on the mount to try to keep the stainless from pealing up underneath.. Turned out Great.. I am really excited how clean my holes are, and how accurate they are.. here are some pics, you can see the one with the bolts in place sticking through the firewall, the holes are clean !

After I did the 4 holes around the outside, I made some small spacers, and drilled the two lower central holes the same way. These were a bit easier, because once through stainless all you had to drill through was aluminum.

All in all, great progress !

Fuel line plumbing, Wing Nutplates, Battery, Starter Relay Bar

2011-12-18T19:12:00.000-08:00

I got lots accomplished this weekend and don't know where to start logging it.. First off I finished all misc items needed while the wings were mounted, namely the fuel line tubing is now complete. I will pull these apart and save them for the next year or so until the wings are finally mounted for good. These complex bends in 3/8 inch tubing are a pain and I am just really glad they are done.

After the plumbing was complete I pulled the wings and finished up all the nutplates and misc items to get the wings ready for final assembly. This piece alone took about 3-4 hours, much longer than I expected.. Drilling all those nutplates is crazy... Some of them were countersunk, some dimpled, different nutplates were needed for each scenario.. It wasn't trivial, but doable.

After the wings were complete I put them back in the cradle reorganized the entire garage and started do to some minor work on the firewall. From here forward it is pretty much going to be all firewall, and electrical work. In fact, pretty soon the plane will be on its own gear.. For now I mounted the battery, and also connected the Battery and Starter relays with the Copper Bar as indicated in the plans.. There are many amps that go through this connection when starting the engine, so it needs to be solid.

Flap Hinge Pin Secure

2011-12-15T08:53:00.000-08:00

I am just about wrapping up the wings but wanted to get a fewmore items out of the way now so I don’t have to worry about them later. Here you can see how I decided to secure theflap piano hinge pin. It goes on easyand is very secure.

Wing Root Fairing, Tank Attach, and Vent Tube work

2011-12-12T10:40:00.000-08:00

This weekend I put about 6 hours into the RV. Got lots done and am now almost ready to remove the wings and get them up to the airport.

I started with a test fit of the root fairings, they are pre punched and can cleco into the back part of the wing, but where they wrap over the tank there are no pre-drilled holes. I measured out a line 3/8 inch from the edge of the tank and after aligning the holes from the fairing I started drilling into the edge of the tank skin. Once I reached the leading edge of the wing, I wrapped the fairing around and anchored the underneath to the aft most point on the tank and finished drilling. Took some time, but it came out straight and looks good.

After that I started working on the tank attach points and vent tube. for the attach point, i bent it per the plans until it mated well with the tank flange. To drill the hole I just used my 1/4 inch angle drill here and leveraged the steel attach point to help keep the bit centered as I let her rip. I did find that it was easier with the fuse attach point bolted down.. Made it solid and drilled straight and clean. I used a sharpie and marked 1/4 seam away from the fuseloge. Then removed them, cut them along the seam and cleaned them up. Now ready to dimple and prime.

The vent tube was pretty easy, just some short runs here to connect the vent out from the tank into the fuse vent pick up. Easy..

We have Flaps

2011-12-09T18:02:00.001-08:00

Over the last couple days I worked on the flap egress holes.. The egress holes are holes right through the bottom of the fuse where the flap pushrods go. I started by just mounting the flap bolt/bearing without the pushrod, then found where it contacted the fuse and trimmed to fit. Basically this takes you up the side of the fuse a bit and underneath. Vans marks places where this hole starts too which helps. Once the bearing was clear, I lowered the flaps all the way to see where the rod ended up. Cut the hole to that location using my dremel and a small sanding drum... Then wouldn't you know it after about 2 hours on the first side, and a third hour on the second side I have flaps. They work great, up, down, up, down.. Bekah even likes them. ;-)

Wing Incidence Complete

2011-12-07T11:42:00.001-08:00

After you set the incidence and sweep on the wings, you lock it in by drilling a bolt hole in the rear spar of each wing. To set the wings I used 4 plumb bobs and string along the leading edge to ensure tip to tip they were straight. With only one mount and removal of the wings I was able to trim the rear spar up enough to get the sweep what seemed perfect to me. I confirmed by measuring and getting the exact same measurement on each side from a common point on the tail. I don't think I can do anything more to ensure the wings are straight.

Then I used a bubble level and measured the incidence on each wing from tip to tail with a 3 inch riser off the rear spar. I don't have any pics, but the fuse had already been leveled, so with the spacer on the rear spar and the level on the front spar, I moved the aft part of the wing up and down until the wing was level. So basically the rear of the wing is 3 inches lower than the main spar, when the fuselage is level. Its most important that both wings are even and level, so I measured this several times. With both wings leveled out I was finally set to drill the rear spar retaining holes.

These holes are arguably the most important holes to drill correctly on the entire build. Edge distance is critical as well as a straight clean hole. I used an undersized reamer and stepped up to it with various drill sizes, and took about 2 hours to get the hole thing done. I am pretty darn confident that I nailed it.. At least I am happy with the outcome and will trust this to hold on the aft portion of my wings. ;-)

Also, before I did this I installed the flaps to ensure they were even on the fuse, they looked good at this incidence, also I noticed that with the hardware bolts in the main spar attach holes, there was about 1/4 inch slop out at the wingtip. Something no builders have talked about. However, the slop was even and consistent on both sides and only in the up/down direction, not for/aft or longitudinally.. I am good here, but just something for other builders to note.

Mated the Wings ! - Kinda like building a ship in a bottle...

2011-12-05T08:34:00.001-08:00

I spent the last couple days rearranging the garage so thatI could get the wings mounted for the first time. In building, you need to mate the wings acouple times about midway in the build to set the sweep and incidence, drill thefairings, drill the flap holes, drill the fuel tank bracket, and finish theplumbing for the fuel line and vent.. So all in all I will have the wings on for a couple weeks. This is the first time in the build thatBekah will need to park her car outside for a while and I am bummed that it isDecember, but the time of year can’t be planned.

Anyway, I organized the garage and measured everything out,looks like it will fit.. I lubed up thespar and drift pins with Boe Lube, filed an ever so slight bevel in the sparper the directions. Got the wingsprepped by removing the flaps and anchoring the ailerons.. Then had a fellow builder and Bekah helpslowly slide the wings into thefuse. It went really well and faster thanI thought. The whole process after theprep was done only took about 30 mins I assume.

Looks awesome ! Ican’t believe how exciting this momentwas to see the plane coming together in my garage.. Kind of like a ship in a bottle, but verycool just the same. Once the wings weremounted I put some plumb bobs over the leading edge at the root and tip andused them to get an idea of the “sweep” of the wings.. Its only about 1/8 inch forward sweep, and willneed to trim a small amount off the rear spar attach point to correct this. All builders have to do this, but to see how muchneeded to be trimmed, I had to mount the wings first. Its the forward bar on the fuselage spar where it interferes with the wing rib flange. Quite common.. Tomorrow they will come off and I will trimit all up then get them back on to set the incidence.. Looking good ! !

Stepped away from the build but got the engine ordered

2011-11-30T12:23:00.001-08:00

The past couple weeks have been a blast.. Bekah and I stepped away from everything and enjoyed ourselves in Hawaii.. A good time for me to prove to the world that I do get away from work and the airplane for the important times. We had our 5th Anniversary in Hawaii.. It was great...

I completely stepped away from the airplane.. But that point might be argued, due to the Dynon, PSE, and Vertical Power Install Manuals that I had printed and ready to review during the trip. Bekah read her books while I freshened up on my install intelligence.. Worked great.. Also, I was able to get the engine ordered from Aero Sport Power.. I won't tell you the cost of this thing, but I can assure you it is more than you think. Probably about 3-4 times more than you think. Maybe even more than that.. Those who are building know what I am talking about..

Below are the Specs.. It should be here in late Jan.

AeroSport Power Ltd. New IO-375 (195 HP)Horizontal Induction Engine Includes:

SuperiorCylinders with standard 8.0 to 1 compression ratio, One Slick Magneto andHarness with Light speed Plasma II + Crank Triggered Electronic Ignition, SparkPlugs, Sky-Tec Light Weight Inline Starter, Plane Power 60 Amp Alternator, PrecisionSilver Hawk Fuel Injection, Fuel Pump, Camshaft and Lifters, Superior Cold Air HorizontalInduction Sump, Connecting Rods, ECI Crankshaft, Dynafocal Type 1 Crankcase,Ring Gear, Inner Cylinder Baffles, Dipstick and Tube, 90 Degree Spin on OilFilter Adapter and Vacuum Pump Adapter Housing. Engine to be painted yellow, cylinder black bases and gold alodined fins. Inverted oil modifications.

ConstantSpeed (M1S) Outright

Using SuperiorComponents with Roller Lifters

Battery Box, Master/Starter Relays

2011-11-17T09:13:00.001-08:00

Last night I drilled more holes in the firewall and installed the battery box and relays. I actually completed everything I had planned outside of the copper bar that connects the two relays. This copper bar isn't included in the Firewall Forward kit which is frustrating so I will need to order separate. Also, I cheated a bit and painted the internal components black, where most builders paint these the same as the firewall. I think in my case the black looks good with the other sandstone color and part of my plan is "sporty/industrial" if that is such a theme.. My internal nutplates and stiffeners fit that theme well. ;-). Also, just for those who are new to this, the Relays connect direct to the battery and are really just huge switches that can carry tons of load which would melt smaller switches. These big switches are activated by smaller switches on the panel.

Firewall Forward Kit is here

2011-11-13T23:40:00.001-08:00

I received the firewall forward kit from Vans. I basically ordered the standard kit for the IO-360 with Horizontal induction, but pulled the Governor, Oil Cooler, Alternator, Exhaust and a few other small dollar items out since I am going somewhat custom on these items.. This cut the cost in half and of course made it possible to ship in a much smaller container. The kit has much of the fuel/oil line and mounting items for the engine. Also the battery tray which is the first thing I put together. I also did some additional wire runs for the Aileron Trim, and as well started to look at the Starter and Master solenoid.. These will be mounted to the firewall in the next couple days.

Firewall Penetrations and Heat Selector Box

2011-11-06T19:54:00.000-08:00

While I wait for some shipments, I took the time to work on some odds and ends on the firewall. First the two upper holes with the red fire sleeve are for wire pass throughs. Basically on the right will be the high power wires and on the left will be the engine sensor wires. For all the holes I used new hole saws from Lowes. They worked well and the 1 1/8 inch saw cut 5 holes and can still go for more. The firewall is made of stainless steel and is quite sharp and hard to cut so I am glad these hole saws worked well. It was a bit tricky I actually used a fairly fast speed and boe-lube to make it cut fairly cleanly. All the holes came out well. These pass throughs are about 1 inch above the top firewall cross angle and 1.75 inches outside of the upper ribs. These spots should work out with no conflicts.

The next stepw as 3 cable pass throughs that will be for the Mixture, Prop Speed, and Throttle. These were placed per the plans and came out well. The throttle is the one by the heater box down low on the firewall.

Finally I cut the 2 inch hole for the heatbox. I was worried about this one, but other than lots of noise, smoke and sharp edges it went really well. I just used emory cloth to clean up the edges and dull the sharpness.. On all the holes I can run my fingers without risk of cut, that is effectively deburred.

I also hooked up the cable for the heater box and worked it a few times. Functions smoothly.

ADAHRS Platform and Misc Plumbing

2011-10-31T16:02:00.000-07:00

Now is the point in the build where you really go off script in the build which is imtimidating because until now I have been following fairly detailed directions. There will be times when I come back to the directions, like when I attach the wings and do some final assembly, but for the most part, Electrical, Avionics, and Firewall Forward have no details. This is because the installations vary so much between builders. There is tons of information available for this part of the project, but it takes along time mainly because you want to be sure of everything before you go.

Today I focused on the platform for the ADAHRS, which is really the brains behind the glass cockpit.. This device will tell me tons of flight information including "Bekah's Attitude" so it needs to be installed on a level platform away from any magnetic materials. Many builders choose to install it in a similar location as I did. Here I will have enough room for two ADAHRS if I choose to down the road.

You can also see how I chose to route the Static line.. Eventually both the Pitot and AOA (angle of attack) lines will be routed to this location as well. I had to split the static line so that I could route it to the ADAHRS as well as forward to the Panel.. I will have a Trutrak Gemini as back up in the panel, which is why I may only go with one ADAHRS.

After working on the static line I went ahead and installed the vents and Scat tube forward of the panel. This may be temporary as I will probably upgrade to aviation grade tubing down the road, but these came with the kit and are good to have in place for now so I have an idea where they stand so I can run wiring effectively..

Finally, I made some "drift" pins for when it comes time to temporarily mount the wings. That will happen after thanksgiving, but these guys are ready.. They look a bit rough, so maybe some more buffing before I use them finnaly. These guys took way longer than I thought to make.. I will have to "sell" them if I ever give them away to another builder.. Just jokes..

Rear Top Skin

2011-10-29T15:40:00.000-07:00

The last couple days, Bekah and I took to riveting the rear top skin. It went well for the most part but did take a couple sessions. We were able to do it without climing in the tailcone. I also attached the seatbelt anchors.

Tail Cone Odds and Ends

2011-10-24T10:37:00.000-07:00

Bekah and I are about ready to rivet on the rear top skin so am takingcare of everything I can in the tail cone to minimize the amount oftimes I have to crawl around in there. You'll see, I actually will have to crawl in several times in the future. This past weekend I was able to run the wire for the tail position andstrobe lights. I am planning on LED lights, soam using a shielded 18 gauge wire with 2 conductors (one for the position andone for the strobe). The ground is inthe shield which works out well and I also ground it to the airframe per thewiring diagram on Aero LEDs. (My tail strobe will not flash in sync with the wing strobes). Afterrunning the wire I took a crack at lacing the wires together. This keeps them tight and looks good toboot.. It was my first attempt, but Ithink I did pretty well. Also, to keep the CGforward, I am minimizing what goes out to the back of the plane. The only items I will have out back are thetrim servo, lights, and potentially the ELT antenna. I am going to wait on the ELT though because itwill get a separate run which I already have planned out.

I also added some nutplates to the rear bulkhead which willbe the attach point for the empennage fairing. Looking forward, I went ahead and installed these now, lets hope I gotthem in the most appropriate spot. Ialso installed the mounts for the seat belt anchors.. These aren’t torqued because they will needto be adjusted as I rivet the skin, but at least they are in place and I willbe able to rivet and torque them all at once when I am laying in thetailcone. I also drilled out and tappedall the holes for the lower emp fairing.. I was planning on prosealing this one, but I figure might as well followthe plans since it was an easy step to drill out those rivets and tap theholes..

Finally, I installed the rudder cable exit Fairings. These guys look good and since I riveted andprosealed them, they are on for good. Ihad wanted to just proseal them, but adding the rivets helped ensure they werecompressed tight to the skin.

Basically other than mounting the ELT antenna to the aftdeck, working the emp fairing, and rigging everything up, I am complete withthe back of the plane.. At least I thinkso..

Couple sad days for us and work on the Overhead Console

2011-10-20T17:44:00.000-07:00

Things have been rocky for the last few days. First off, Bekah and I have lost our littledog Levi earlier this week. He was a CockerSpaniel who was 14.5 years old and outlived all his litter. We loved him tons, were so sad to lose him,and will remember him always. He had anawesome life though for a little dog, Bekah took amazing care of him and he sawmany sites, traveled near and far, snuck many snacks and chased tons of cats… Sowhen he got to the age where he couldn't manage anymore, it was difficult forall. For now we have Libby (Wiener Dog)and Swoop (Mangy Cat) who will still keep us busy into the future. (note: the cat in photo below is Lucky my sisters old cat)

So understandably things on the plane have been a bit slow,but I have played around with the overhead console and think I have something thatwe will like. I used some LEDs and aswitch/dimmer in a location where it can be reached from the ground or while inthe plane. This will be wired fused directto the battery bus and will act like a dome light in any vehicle. The forward facing lights shine on the pilotand passengers lap, and since dim-able will work as a map light in flight. The Dimmer is too deep for the roll barchannel as it stands, so I fabbed up some balsa spacers coated with epoxy, paintedyellow.. Adds a cool flash of color tothe assembly.. Looks great and tested outworks great too.

Running the Trim Wire

2011-10-13T20:00:00.000-07:00

Now I know how long wiring is going to take.. The last couple nights I have been contemplating and running the trim wire which is really a 5 wire bundle in a single sheath. Per the pics you can see I haven't terminated it because just running it has been a bit of a challenge. Many builders make this run in different ways, but I think I have found a reasonable path that will accommodate the tail strobe and position light as well. I still need to do some tidying up along the route, but in general I think I am going to like this path. Next I need to determine if I am going to put the ELT antenna run and the Outside Air Temp (OAT) out to the back deck as well. For now I am leaning towards keeping those runs in the fuse or wings to keep center of gravity as far forward as possible. Don't mind the string in the photo coming from the conduit under the seats. That will always be there as I need it for future wire runs.

Rudder Stops

2011-10-09T20:43:00.000-07:00

I finally got the pesky rudder stops done.. Second time is a charm I guess in this case. The first ones I drilled ended up allowing too much swing of the rudder. Correctly built, the stops should stop the rudder when it is 1 and 1/8th inch from the elevator. You have to get this pretty darn accurate or else the crimped end of the cable up by the peddle will start hitting the first bulkhead. I am pretty sure it isn't a good idea to allow that first bulkhead to stop the rudder by hitting the crimp on the cable.

In a recent order from Vans I got the Passenger warning placard.. Check this out, pretty cool hey? Do you think this will scare anyone off ?

Elevator Trim Tab Wiring

2011-10-07T14:22:00.000-07:00

I approached my first bit ofwiring on the elevator trim servo. Mostcases in aviation you don’t solder terminals or wire joints.. Where possible you try to use crimp fittings becausethey handle vibration better. On thetrim servo though it is difficult to work with crimp fittings since it fitsinto such a small interior space. Alsothe wires are really small (#26) so manypeople solder them. I used multiplelayers of heat Shrink to dampen the vibration. I also chose to run the wire through the existing manual trim cable holeon the horizontal stab since I am not going to be using manual trim. I did however drill an additional hole in theelevator as you can see because the servo actuator moves in and out of theexisting hole. Basically I think I gota pretty elegant solution here and of course it will last 20 years.. ;-) Iwill be using a D-Sub connector on the top of the aft deck to connect this tothe line that I have yet to run through the fuse.

Continued EMP, Vertical Stab and Rudder Bottom Fairing

2011-10-03T11:04:00.000-07:00

This weekend I made tons of progress.. I was able to fully mount the vertical stabilizer as well as the rudder along with running control cables running all the way up to the pedals.. The only part that didn't so so well is the elevator stops, they will have to be re-worked. The stops are fairly critical to set up the amount of swing that the rudder can travel so it doesn't hit the elevator, but also almost as importantly so that the cables don't ground out on the forward bulkhead that they go through just before the pedals up in the front. Anyway, I will need to rework them to make sure the rudder stops 1 and 1/8th inch from the elevators..

Below are some pics of the mounting of the vertical stab. Note that it is Offset at the tip 1/4 inch from center line, to account for torque and p-factor etc from the prop. This is intended to allow straight flight with no control inputs during cruise.. Also, you can see that I drilled the 3 main holes that go through the stab and the tails spring holder. These were critical holes drilled blindly, but I was able to get good edge distance on all of them.

I also went on to working the rudder bottom fairing.. This was a bit tricky because you need to remove some of the top forward part of it to ensure the bottom is high enough to clear the tail spring.. I leveraged some other sites (Mike's RV-7 rudder fairing) for information on this, but think I got it fairly well nailed. It looks good too.. In my case I wanted it removable so I could maintain the light that will be on the very aft point. I just need to drill a couple additional holes for wiring and I will be good to go.

Emp Mounting Continued

2011-09-30T12:27:00.000-07:00

Last night I was able to drill the 4 attach holes for the rear spar of the horizontal stabilizer. This went much easier than the front spar. I basically used the pre-drilled holes to back-drill through the spar at #30, then came in again from the rear of the plane to open them up to #12.. Was easy in this case. Mounting these 4 bolts sure adds strength to the entire Stabilizer.

Next I trimmed the 5/8 inch off the vertical stabilizer and temporarily clamped it in place. It was a tight fit at the base of the rear spar of the vertical stab.. I had to open up the fuse skin with my hand seamers to get it to fit properly. It sure ended up being a perfect fit between the longerons though.

This sure makes my garage look small, but at the same time really looks good on the plane..

Mounting the EMP

2011-09-29T11:20:00.000-07:00

Wow, it has been a long time since I have done anything with the empennage.. Time to pull it out, dust it off and mount the horizontal stabilizer to the back of the plane. I am only going to mount it temporarily, but while it is on the tail I will wire up the back end of the plane to get that out of the way.

Mounting it seemed pretty easy.. Clamp it to the tail, then measure everywhere to make sure it is straight.. Then drill.. The outside holes went really well, for the inside holes you must use the 90 degree angle drill.. Did I say how much I dislike those drills ? Well after fighting with it a bunch, I finally got the holes drilled on the forward spar..

The rear spar I have yet to do.. However, I went ahead and mounted the elevator and connected it to the stick.. For the first time I was able to make parts of the airplane move ! Bekah wanted to get a video, but probably just to make me feel better.. I figure it wasn't really that impressive, so we will wait. In the end I was able to control the elevator from the pilot stick. It was a great feeling.. Now I need to complete the rear elevator stop as well final drill the rear spar to complete the horizontal stabilizer before starting on the rudder. Sorry for the sideways picture below. If I angle the camera at all the pictures get posted sideways and I haven't been able to figure out how to resolve it. Any thoughts?

Putting the Canopy Away

2011-09-24T20:12:00.000-07:00

I am calling the Canopy done for now. I went ahead and screwed it down to the canopy frame and just snugged it up. Basically I want to make sure that I have the front top skin on and riveted before I do any final fitting of the canopy. This includes the fiberglass faring in the front. I will probably get to that next summer but wanted to wait now because I may need to move the plexi around a bit to do some of the final fitting work once that skin is on. So here are some pics of what she looks like before I put the canopy upstairs on the guest room bed. ;-) Oh, and notice the glare shield cover and the preliminary panel cut outs.

Electrical Training

2011-09-18T21:08:00.000-07:00

This weekend I flew down with a friend in his Long Eze Canard to Prineville Oregon. I went down there for the SportAir training workshops and participated in the Electrical Systems course. I am really close to a turning point on this project. The first couple years are all structural, the next couple years are mostly electrical and firewall forward so this class was fairly perfect timing. These are put on by the EAA and costs some $$ but are well worth it. I learned quite a bit as you can see from the syllabus. Also got some practical work on several projects.. One of which you can see in the pic below. Not much, but each project covered many different concepts.

Oh, and I didn't put the burn mark in the Certificate, the instructor did it.. Makes me worry ? Not at all. :-)

Defrost and glareshield paint

2011-09-15T18:01:00.000-07:00

Over the last couple days I have been debating on a defroster or not in the glareshield. I decided to throw one in since it isn't much extra work and its better to be safe than sorry when I decide to go IFR.. I am going to connect this little computer fan to the master switch so it will always be running. No switches on the panel, and when its hot, it will help circulate air out of the instrument cluster behind the panel when its cold it will take warm air from under the panel and blow it up onto the canopy.... Its a win win.. Plus I get to play around with some cool fan covers..

After working on the fan, I drilled the aft canopy lugs with a 3/32nd drill. I will open up the hole to AN3, but only after the front skin is riveted on and the canopy is in its final position. These lugs need to be just perfect so that the canopy is snug when closed.

I also painted the glareshield and the roll bar. I hadn't completed the roll bar yet and was sick of looking at it primed.. Now things will look really nice in my cabin.

Wrapping up on the Canopy !

2011-09-12T23:23:00.000-07:00

I admit I haven't been as diligent at logging progress on the canopy as I have on other parts.. I am sorry for that, but at least I have lots of pics that hopefully will help any prospective builders. All I can say is there is a lot of on and off and fitting and trimming and filing involved and then in the end I am leaving everything a bit long until the front top skin is finally riveted on. Then I will final trim the rear and side skirts on the canopy. But as you can see things are fitting quite well right now..

Also, make sure the front top skin is at least clecoed on for every measurement and cut on the canopy. I realized that with the skin off the canopy frame sits back about 1/8th inch aft.

Also, all I have left at this point is riveting the center stiffener on and doing the fiberglass fillet in the front of the canopy. I might hold off on this until later as well. The center stiffener is waiting for a defrost fan that I should get in the mail in the next couple days. Its an option that I might go with but will have to check it out when it arrives.. The fan will go under the glare shield and inside the stiffener..

Continued Canopy Frame

2011-09-07T21:56:00.000-07:00

I haven't entered a post for a while, but have been working away quite consistently.. Let me try to sum up my progress.. I drilled and final finished the rear window. Fit it then wrapped it up and set it aside.. That window won't come out again until it is ready to be installed permanently. I also started working and actually finished my side rails on the canopy frame. These guys went fairly easy, but the trick is to make sure the canopy frame assembly is in its final position, which means the front top skin needs to be on when you fit the and cut the side skins (AKA Side skirts). After they were drilled, fit and primed I riveted them in place. Just moving along quickly with this canopy I actually final coated the canopy frame.. Black and I think it looks good.. Also did some final finishing of the canopy plexi edges. I left the rear of the canopy about 1/16 inch long for now and will trim it as necessary after the front top skin is riveted in place.

Next step is to figure out if I want to install a defrost fan, or just finish this thing up by riveting in the stiffeners. I will mull on that for a couple days and talk to some guys on the blogs.

Continued Plexi Work - Rear Window

2011-08-31T09:22:00.000-07:00

Now that I have drilled the main canopy, I am continuing to fit the rear window and finish all edges. Basically I cut it down enough to fit into place, then I traced the outline of the window on the plexi. From there I used tape to mark off about ¾ inch from the line and went back to the cutting wheel and sliced up the rear window. Fits fairly well now, but not drilled yet. That is for tonight.

Also, I was worried about scratching the plexi so I uncovered it temporarily to make sure it was still clean. Yup, no scratches yet so that is good. Will cover it back up tonight after drilling and put it away in a nice safe spot for the next couple years.. ;-)

Also, I am starting to work on the exterior canopy side sheets. Hopefully progress there tonight as well.

She's a Tipper !

2011-08-29T10:47:00.000-07:00

Big weekend as I finished all the misc parts of drilling the canopy and was able to tip it for the first time. The only problem here is that I had to pull it out of the garage to do it. I am able to tip it in the garage, but then can't open the garage, so will need to figure that one out as time goes by..

I also fit the rear safety latch and was able to see it function correctly. I was worried with my mod to keep it from spinning freely if it would function as desired. Now the only issue is I will need to use two hands to move the canopy from Taxi position shown below to the closed position. Because the pressure of the spring I will need to push up on the bow with one hand while I twist the latch with the other.. No problems, and its better than risking having the canopy slam shut, the latch turn and locking me out.. Which has happened to others..

I also was able to start cutting the rear window. got it to a point where the preliminary fit is pretty good. Will still need to trim it up quite a bit and as well completely trim and finish the edges on both the rear window and canopy.

In case you wanted to see the messy details, below are all the slices of Plexi that I have made so far building this canopy. I still have more timing to do on the rear window but this shows you the amount of effort involved in this project... Ugh..

Drilled the Canopy !

2011-08-26T10:30:00.001-07:00

OK, I didn’t get pictures during the process, but will explain what I did and post as many pics as I can come up with. Basically I continued to cut and fit the canopy one more time after completing the riveting of the glare shield. (I fit and drilled the frame stiffeners, but did not rivet them yet) Also, I did mark and drill all holes to #40 in the frame side rails and canopy bow. The plan is to drill through the plexi and hit each hole.

After placing the canopy on and fitting it one last time with tons of duct tape and Bekah’s help to hold it down tight. I went ahead and using PLEXI BITS drilled the plexi holes to full size (5/32nds) the first time. (i.e. no pilot hole..) I did this because I found that drilling a fresh hole never cracked or splintered the exit of the plexi, only when I first drilled a smaller hole, then followed with a bigger bit did it pull and tug and provide small fractures on the exit. Drilling this way I was able to hit dead center on each #40 hole in the frame and come away with perfect holes in the canopy. I started at the top back putting in clecos as I went, and skipped a couple holes the first pass as I moved down and to the front. I came back and drilled out all other holes after the canopy was pretty much locked in position. It all worked great! I removed the canopy and ran the debur tool slightly over each hole to get a smooth edge.. Next step is to countersink the holes in the canopy for the #6 screws and open up the holes in the frame to #27.

After drilling the canopy, I then finished drilling the center section of the canopy bow. Making sure that it was snug up against the canopy and clamped before drilling, then removing the canopy. I also was able to drill on the canopy center locking assembly that I had fabricated about a month ago to the center of the bow.. So far everything has turned out well.. Next steps here is to back rivet the center “bow” section so I can move on.. Before unclamping the bow, I closely measured the width at the base so I can make sure to get it exactly the same when I back rivet it. I want to make sure to get as smooth a canopy fit as possible. J That’s all there is to it !

Glare Shield Riveting

2011-08-23T10:12:00.000-07:00

I was able to get through about ½ of the riveting on the front deck/canopy frame. It went smoother than I thought and ended up turning out pretty nice.. My fit between the canopy frame and the front top skin remains very consistent. (but I have yet to mount the struts which might impact this fit.) It was amazing how strong this became… Its always funny how a few rivets makes the assembly bullet proof. I haven’t even started riveting the canopy frame stiffener assembly yet and it is super tight. I did put a few shims in the outside edge of the canopy frame, and will end up putting some #6 Stainless Washers in where the gaps are on the outside edge of the glare shield. All builders have to deal with this problem, and I think the washers are the simplest and elegant solution. I will show pics of this in later posts.

Prepping Canopy Frame for Rivet

2011-08-22T09:57:00.000-07:00

This weekend was a big weekend for working on the plane. I got tons done, but not a lot to show for it. Basically I am going to rivet the canopy frame before final fitting and drilling of the canopy. The steps here are kind of vague in the plans, so builders build this inconsistently. For me I think the key to a good canopy fit is to ensure the canopy frame is as final as possible. So before riveting I had to build and fit the canopy reinforcement. Basically I used the cheapo edge bender from Avery and riveted it into an angle so that I could get a good squeeze on the lightening holes to strengthen the reinforcement. Very similar to this builders example. "here" After these holes were bent I went ahead and shaped the reinforcement to fit under the canopy frame and drilled it away. The prepped everything and have decided to put some bright yellow flash underneath the canopy frame.. This will never be seen except for when the canopy is open which I am hoping will add a bit to the coolness factor of the airplane.. We’ll see.. Anyway, I also “pre-painted” the frame so that the parts that will be hard to get to when the skin is on are already black. This way once I final paint this I am hoping it will be flawless.. Here is hopin.. ;-) Also, I added the UMHV tape at the leading edge over the paint. This will protect the exposed skin that rides ontop of the forward deck.. Thus far things are turning out pretty good..

Canopy Cutting day 6/7 and other canopy frame work

2011-08-19T09:00:00.000-07:00

I haven’t posted for a while mainly due to the whole two steps forward one step backward routine that seems to go on with building an RV. I was able to continue cutting the canopy until it is about 99% fitting to the canopy frame. Before the final fit and drilling I decided it was time to work on the canopy frame.. Deburring, dimpling/countersinking and prepping for riveting. There is a ton of work to do on this piece and I am starting to not like this chunk of metal. The glare shield does not fit well to the frame and work needs to be done to improve the fit, but nothing discussed in the plans. I am trying alternatives with marginal success. I think I am going to just go with some standard aluminum shims in the end. I tried working with metal epoxy, but the stuff just isn’t strong enough for my comfort. So it is back to the grinder for me to form some shims. I was able to debur dimple the entire frame and skin including the holes to mount the strut support. I also started working with the canopy frame reinforcement which I hope to be able to talk more about in a future entry… Making progress, just slow.

Canopy Cutting Day 5

2011-08-11T11:53:00.000-07:00

Today I didn't have much time to work on the project so I just trimmed off the edges so that they would fit in the groove of the canopy frame side rails. I wanted to leave a bit extra so I could trim in the future but ended up cutting them just about right. Toward the aft they fit perfectly and are a little longer near the front. I will need to trim them down a bit as I focus on the corner getting it to fit behind the tab.. That is next on my list..

Day 4 - The Big Cut !

2011-08-09T11:10:00.000-07:00

After marking my line and checking it twice, I decided it was time for the big cut. You are supposed to use a table or saw horses, mount blocks to hold the canopy from flexing and splitting while making the big cut.. I tried a non-conventional approach. I had it in the grass a few days ago and realized that the grass grabs the edges really well. Adding some scuba weights on each side sealed the deal, and it was so much easier than per plans. The riskiest part was cutting up each side about 3 inches while propping it up so that I didn’t have to go all the way to the dirt with my cutoff wheel. I also barely had 70 degrees here yesterday, but was determined to make it work. I used duck tape to help hold things together as I went along.

Happy to say that it turned out Great ! I now have two halves of canopy and it is easier to move around than ever. Time for some final alignment and cuts before drilling..

Canopy Cutting Day 3

2011-08-08T13:28:00.000-07:00

Today I took slice after slice off the leading edge of the canopy. 4 in total, equaling to about a total of 1.3 inches.. This lowered the canopy well but not all the way to the roll bar. I am nervous to go any further until after the big cut. Its currently about 2/8 inch from the roll bar, and fits like a glove over the glare shield. I think we are good enough for now.

I also started to line up the canopy and tape up a line for the big cut. This is where the canopy is cut in two pieces one for the rear window and one for the tipping part above me and the passenger. You can see here that after I made sure the canopy edges were duck taped to the canopy frame tight that I used several layers of masking tape the make the clean line for the cut. It looks good and is ready to cut. I hope to make the big cut soon…

Canopy Cutting Day 2

2011-08-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

After a trip to Oshkosh (AirVenture 2011) and NY for a family wedding, I am back to work on the project. The weather is good here these days, so it’s the perfect time to continue cutting on the canopy. My plan is to take it slow and cut small strips off to creep up on the final fit. Today I cut the tooling marks off the sides and also cut an additional strip off the front trying to match the contour that will be needed to fit the glare shield.

I almost nailed the contour and hope to keep it this accurate as I continue cutting on it. Basically, the front needs to be cut off until it lowers the height of the canopy to the point where it is straight across and as close to the roll bar as possible. From the pic below (the blurry not so good one) you can see I have about an entire inch above the roll bar.. This definitely needs to be lower. My plan is to cut ½ inch off the front again and see where it gets me. Then I will work on the front corners and sides a bit before the big cut.. Still lots to do on this but I am excited for the day where the cutting is over. It’s hot with all the protective gear on and no way that you can’t do this without being messy…

Canopy Cutting Day 1

2011-07-25T05:22:00.000-07:00

Today it was about 80 degrees in Seattle, so I decided to take my first few steps on the canopy. Directions tell you to draw a center-line down the canopy on the protective covering.. Good luck with that. There is no real way to tell what is center, so I measured from about 20 different places and did the best I could.. Using the very edges, as well as the edges of the tooling marks.. I think I got it.. Then it was time to pull back the plastic and tape it up to make the first few cuts. Initially you are supposed to remove the tooling marks along all 4 sides. I only worked the front and the back today, to get a feel for how to cut this plexigas stuff. I used the disk supplied with the kit and my die grinder. It cut fairly slow and I think if I had 3/8 inch air line vs. the 1/4 inch I could get more power to my grinder, but I was able to get through it working slow. Glad they tell you to practice on these first few cuts because there is a learning curve to cutting this stuff. Do it first when it is hot outside, Then focus on the front of the disk and the back while cutting. Keep it from binding and move slowly. Tape up the cut line as you go so that the pieces to start to get floppy and use both hands because the grinder bounces around a bit. Here is the first cut.

Also, I think next time I will use my respirator vs my dust mask. The smell of that burning plexi is nasty and my sinuses were effected all day. Use really big protective eye wear because the bits of plastic are hot and there are tons of them, they burn a bit when they get in your eyes. Cuts 3 and 4 I decided to start taking of the forward corners.. Then for Cut 4 I took off the tooling marks in the back.

After cutting and before moving the canopy I used a orbiting sander with 80 grit sandpaper and it cleaned up the edge really nicely. That was the only part that worked better or was easier than I thought it was going to be.. ;-) Anyway, I got through my first cuts and the canopy sits a bit better on the fuse now...

Strut Mounts - Interior look see

2011-07-21T09:32:00.000-07:00

Since I haven’t been able to get enough time to start cutting on the canopy, I have moved forward a bit out of sequence so that I can at least continue moving. Hopefully I won’t get myself in trouble doing this, but I went ahead and fabricated the rear strut mounts and drilled them to the canopy side rails. Glad I got these done now because I can get them prepped and painted as the canopy frame continues to come together. Also, These buggers are hard as heck to bolt onto these rails.. You need to get back there with a wrench which is not easy.. Also, you must have a 11/32nds combination wrench to do it. I didn’t have one, so needed to pick one up specifically for this job.. I want to take these off one more time for final finish, then get them bolted on forever..

Also, I figured since I wasn't going to be working inside the plane I would set my covers and seat floors in place to get a good look how the interior is coming together. Minus the carpets and leather seats, it is pretty much complete and I am really liking the way it is coming out.. Check out the photos….

Misc Canopy Items / Painted Tail wheel Fork

2011-07-13T10:12:00.000-07:00

Cutting the Canopy is the next piece of work and it is huge.. I won't have a lot of bulk time to spend for a while, plus the weather needs to get hot before I start cutting the Plexi.. Also, Seattle is the coldest place on the planet right now so in the meantime I am working on some other misc items.. The good news is I borrowed some Plexi bits from a fellow builder and am practicing on plexi-glass in the meantime, so I should be ready to roll when I get a chance to take a crack at the canopy..

So I have been able to finish the forward latch assembly completely. It turned out great.. With the UMHV tape in between the angles, there is no scratching on the actuator.. The action is smooth and efficient. Plus I drilled a hole in the exterior portion of the arm, and can use a mini paddle lock to lock up the RV. Many builders do this since there is no doors on the plane. (Even though the novice wouldn't even know how to open the latch anyway.. Best to have some sort of deterrent to keep people honest)

I also worked on the canopy security latch mod, by adding a spring to the mechanism, this will pull the latch up and keep it from twisting accidentally when nobody is inside the plane. If it twists, it could lock the canopy shut with no way to ever open it up again from the outside.. This will save me from that headache..

Also, I painted and finished up the Doug Bell tail wheel for and greased up the whole assembly. Its beautiful and I can't wait to get the plane rolling around sometime soon.. Probably next year. ;-)

Canopy Frame Shims..

2011-07-07T09:19:00.000-07:00

These canopy frame shims are easy for some, but for me they were quite difficult.. I don’t have a belt sander, and filing these puppies was just a horrible experience. I borrowed the use of a fellow builders sander and ended up with some really great shims.. Finally got them in place by talking the frame off the fuselage and got them drilled.. Turned out Great, sorry for the fuzzy pictures..

Then I went ahead and riveted the frame sides and am edging ever closer to getting out that big plastic bubble and starting to cut it up.. Note that there is a funny pre-punched hole in the skin that many builders don't know what to do with since it falls so close to where the plans have you drill on of the holes used to connect the sides to the front frame. In this case, I used the hole as a guide, so one of the 10 side rivets is slightly off as you can see and I am leaving it open (clecoed) for now, because down the road, I am hoping to use it as a rivet to hold the skin down. Other builders have added additional rivets for this purpose, I am just trying to be efficient. We'll see if it works out.

Canopy Frame work continued

2011-07-05T12:10:00.000-07:00

This weekend I took a deep look at the canopy frame assembly. This is the foundation for the entire canopy and is a large part with lots of interrelated components. It seems that work you do now will impact pieces and their fit down the road quite a bit. So basically you need to get everything in process and continue looking forward and back throughout the construction of the whole canopy. To start I put up the canopy bow against the roll bar using the 4 blocks for spacing that Vans recommends. Then I used 1/8th inch spacers on the side frame pieces to ensure appropriate position. Once situated, I started drilling the parts. Its funny, on the canopy when fitting the parts, I think you work from the front to the back, then from the back to the front and meet up somewhere in the middle with a good fit. Then you drill holes one size twoo small and don't rivet them until much later to make sure you have really the right fit. I started drilling to 3/32 then enlarged some of them to 1/8th. Hopefully I didn't enlarge them too soon. I lined everything up as precise as I could, so we will see what happens when the canopy is finally fit..

Then since I didn't really have a good plan for what to do next I skipped forward a few pages and started on the canopy strut mounts. These guys were fun to make, drilling holes and tapping out for the posts that hold the struts.. This will just get me further ahead when I get to that point. Oh, and I also drilled them to the canopy frame. I hope I didn't do this too early, but I figure now I have a match hole to use to drill the skin and enlarge to the #10 screw when the time is right. We'll see.

Canopy Stops

2011-06-30T09:36:00.000-07:00

I spent some time tonight doing a canopy mod that isn’t in the instructions but most people really recommend. The canopy is held in place only with the goosenecks in the front. When the pneumatic struts are installed and the canopy is closed, there is a large amount of forward pressure on the front corners of the canopy. This pressure bends the canopy frame and changes the alignment with the front skin in negative ways. These stops that I put in are adjustable and push back against the canopy frame absorbing the pressure from the struts. You can see here how they work. Pretty efficient and other than remaking the angles a few times weren’t that difficult to install.

Drilled Canopy Frame Hinge Brackets

2011-06-27T10:53:00.000-07:00

To drill the hinge brackets I had everything fitted per the plans and used my ¼ inch bit reaching up through the firewall access. It was awkward but I started the holes and pulled out the assembly to finish drilling them on the bench. This is where it got stressful.. I used a brand new sharp 3/8 inch bit to open the hole to final diameter. The hole was already opened up to about 5/16 and so only needed to be slightly larger. The sharp bit wanted to dig through the hole instead of drilling.. It almost flipped the entire frame out of my hand and off the bench as it caught. I started sweating and swearing a bit, but eventually got the hole drilled through straight and fairly clean. Then I pressed in the bushings and they went in smooth as well. No pics of the bushings right now, but I will add them shortly.

Then the moment of truth. Set the frame back on the fuse and look at the fit with the pins in place. As you can see in the pic, I think I got it nailed.. Some people have lots of trouble at this phase and throughout the build, this frame moves around a bit, but I think I got it nailed so far. If anything the fit might be too close and will need to be trimmed up before I try to

open the canopy the first time.

Initial Riveting of Canopy Frame

2011-06-24T10:51:00.000-07:00

After you do initial fitting and drilling, you need to spot prime and rivet the structure of the frame together. I deburred, countersunk and riveted the two frame halves and the angles that support the goose-necks. Next step is the big one.. I need to drill the goose-necks. I will need to make sure this thing is fitted and as solid as possible before doing that. I do think I am going to go forward with the mod outlined "here". This will ensure that the canopy frame is not pushed forward once the spring loaded struts are installed. They tend to move the frame around a bit which might mess things up down the road..

Fitting Canopy Frame

2011-06-23T11:53:00.001-07:00

Tonight I took the plunge and started to fit the canopy frame. There are lots of people who had problems with this so I am going to take my time and hopefully get it right. I carefully re-installed the forward top skin, then reached through the firewall to tighten up the bolts on the UMHV Blocks that hold the canopy so that everything is nice and tight. Then I protected the newly riveted side rails with tape and paint sticks.. As I tried to fit the frame, I think the major problem people have is they aren't able to get the two halves of the frame straight across in the center section. I used an additional angle and some clamps to force the halves straight. I almost pushed the center up beyond straight to see what it did to outer ends of the frame.. After some messing around I was able to get the fit really well. Then put on a ratcheting tie strap and it sucked it down great... Measuring out the gap in the skin with a spacer to be about .040 I then started the drilling process. Worked the center plate first, then drilled down the center ribs and the side ribs. After all the drilling was done I reached through the firewall with a Sharpe to mark the holes where the retaining pins will be drilled. Looks at least for now like I got the measurements right. The hol seems to hit dead center in the goose-neck. Although it might be a tad low (which I don't think will be a problem), at least both sides were the exact same. Time to remove this, clean it up and put back in to drill the forward holes in the goose necks...

Canopy Side Rail riveting

2011-06-22T11:11:00.000-07:00

Final step before going back to fitting the canopy frame is to rivet the side rails and all the rivets around the F705/Roll bar junction. You can see in the pics I got through all this and was able to rivet the side rails. The pics don't due it justice, the rivets popping out of the black paint look great.. I just hope the paint lasts. Time to be careful now and make sure no scratches happen during the rest of construction.

I also mounted the canopy latch with "lightening" holes built in.. Probably not a lot of weight savings, but sure looks cool..

Misc Items

2011-06-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the plane, just getting through some smaller items that aren't worth talking to much about. I am going to rivet the side rails before I drill my canopy frame, I want to be assured the fuse is as stable and as final of a position as possible. To do this I realized that I need to rivet F-705 seat back supports in place too, so over the next few days it will be more riveting for me. I took the roll bar off and filled the tooling holes with Epoxy and micro-balloons which turned out great (dirty in pic, but will be ultra smooth when painted). I also put the tubes and tires together using talc to make sure the tubes slid into appropriate positions inside the tires when I pumped them up. I also was able to trim the right side off of the canopy latch since it isn't used and provides additional weight savings. Lots of little things that add up and need to be done..

Map Box ?

2011-06-13T11:29:00.000-07:00

Working with Initial Panel layouts and I think I am going to be able to go with the Map box option. This will allow for a spot to put cell phones, car keys, sunglasses and other items from our back pockets that we don't want to mark up the seats.. ;-) The Map box is quite deep in fact it goes through the sub-panel, so in these pics you can see I modified the sub-panel per the instructions. It worked out pretty well and this was definitely the time to do this work while everything was removable and accessible. Going forward this hole will also be an advantage when it comes to riveting the forward top skin on.

Also, if you look closely in the pics you can see I worked through several efforts to make the canopy frame fit more snug. I ground down the bumps on the flanges of the sub-panel ribs where the top skins meet. Also, not shown I had to recess the spacer where the goose necks fit, so that the canopy frame will be able to slide all the way forward.

I am also reworking my forward canopy frame rails. I didn't like the way they fit with the panel, and since I had to cut the right one up for the map box it was a great opportunity to rework them with new ones..

Aft Canopy Latch and Pushrod

2011-06-07T09:48:00.000-07:00

Tons of progress yesterday with lots of moving parts. The entire canopy latch system is now installed and I have some great pictures to show for it. The install of the aft latch and push-rod went quite straight forward. Tapping the push-rod tube actually took the longest of all the steps.. I have to pull this all apart again to prep and prime, and of course there is some fine tuning and of course final riveting, but all in all it is a smooth mechanism..

Canopy forward Latch

2011-06-06T09:48:00.000-07:00

This was a fun piece of work. I fully installed the canopy forward latch this weekend. the latch comes punched but fairly rough job.. You have to straighten it out, and deburr like crazy. Then cut some angles to house the latch which eventually get riveted to the forward pilot side skin. The latch is really funny looking but works effectively. You can open it from inside or outside of the airplane. Its two parts and lock together when closed.. Some people upgrade this part, but I like the simplicity of Vans solution.

Once the latch has been roughly fabricated you use a template to start drilling in the side of the plane.. Drill careful here, you only get one shot at it.. Then you take it up to allow easy use of the die grinder to cut slots in the skin.

After the slot is drilled, you use some cardboard spacers to sandwich the latch mechanism in the angles, then the skin to match drill the angles. After painted and primed, UMHV take is used between the angle and latch to allow for smooth operation without binding or scratching.

The handle arms slide through the slots and allow you to function it from outside the plane as well,but they tuck away nicely when the latch is closed. From the inside you open the locking tab and rotate the latch rearward to unlock the canopy. I will be building in the rear latch and push-rod that connect to this latch shortly.

Canopy Quick Release

2011-06-03T09:33:00.000-07:00

I have been working on the quick release mechanism, but am not sure I will completely install it per plans. Fully installed it is meant to allow for the canopy to be jettisoned in flight.. To my knowledge, no RVs have ever used this functionality and many builders build it in specifically for a fast way to remove the canopy while the plane is in the shop. It installs right over the "hat" section. In the pics you can see the twisting of the center post pulls the pins out of their slots which releases the canopy attach hinges. I still have to do some work and actually buy a new UMHV (nylon) block since I miss-drilled mine a bit, but I have all the big pieces done. I used a die grinder to cut the metal slots in the push tubes.. Worked pretty well.

Note that the bolts sliped through the tubes are only temporary. In the end they will be non threaded pins securred by cotter pins. Vans sent the wrong size, I will need them to resend appropriate ones.

Work Officially begins on the Finish Kit

2011-05-31T09:59:00.000-07:00

I started by finishing up the “Hat Section” on the forward deck. This part shipped with the finish kit and really was the first thing I needed to get out of the kit to continue working. This section went together pretty quick and is there to support the Canopy Jettison mechanism. I am not sure if I will create a complete jettison system, but building this in now gives a quick way during the build to get the canopy on and off quickly. More work will happen on the jettison system later… For now the next step per the plans is drilling out the canopy frame mounting blocks. These need to be drilled very carefully and the directions tell you to drill the 2 mounting bolt holes and the ¼ inch canopy pin holes right now. I chose to wait on the canopy pin hole until I am able to get a better idea of how this all goes together. Some builders have missed the center of the goosenecks when drilling the canopy through this pin hole down the road. My goal is to see if there is another way to guarantee that I hit those guys dead center. If they are off a bit, it’s not the end of the world and the canopy is designed to accept some imperfection here, but my goal is it hit it right. The problem with drilling the goosenecks is that you install and can’t see them when you are drilling so as you drill them you are drilling blind. I will probably be drilling them in a couple weeks so stay tuned. With the mounting holes drilled I assembled everything so that I can drill the internal ribs. You have to have the top skin on and everything in place to do this.

Here is a quick shot of the canopy frame wedged in between the blocks.. Just a foreshadow of what is to come.. ;-)

Finish Kit Inventory Complete !

2011-05-28T09:53:00.000-07:00

Bekah and I took a couple hours to get through the inventory, organize the parts and clean up the garage. I was really worried about space before the finish kit arrived but it turns out I should be OK without renting a storage facility. In the end, the inventory went well and there were no missing parts. ! The engine mount was bolted right to the crate. The canopy is huge and was the most difficult to find a home for. Bekah was kind enough to donate the guest bed for a couple months. Hopefully the canopy will be on the plane by mid-summer, so we will see. The mount and the cowling fit under the fuse fairly nicely.. Hopefully they won’t be in the way there.

And of course it wouldn’t be a proper RV Finish Kit inventory session without playing around with the wheel pants..

Finish Kit Arrives - Finish Fuel Pump Installation !

2011-05-25T18:18:00.000-07:00

What a day.. I was able to finish all the remaining items on the fuse that I planned on finishing before the finish kit arrived and on the same day the finish kit showed up. Wish I could say I planned it that way..

First off I hate working with 3/8 inch tube. This stuff is crazy and must be so extremely accurate where the flared ends meet with the connections that you really have to get proficient at it. The way I see it you can learn how to measure everything out perfectly, or start making attempts at your intended shape and then improving from there. This was my method.. You use a lot of tube though this way.. Good thing it is cheap..

My Fuel Pump is fully installed and complete. See the pictures, it turned out great in the end..

About the time I was finishing up, here comes Tony with Fed Ex.. The same guy that has delivered all three of my main kits.. The Finish Kit is Here ! ! ! What is the finish kit you ask? Well, it should really be known as the half way done kit.. Because it really marks about the 1/2 way point in a build.. The finish kit includes the canopy, landing gear, engine mount, cowling, and other odds and ends to finish the airframe.. Now its time for another round of inventory with Bekah. This kit looks to have fewer parts, but definitely higher dollar parts than the other kits I have received to date... That canopy is $$$.

Misc Vent and Fuel Pump work

2011-05-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

Over the last few days I have been continuing work on the vents and fuel pump. Basically I now have the pump assembly/mount complete and am going to go back and take another crack at the fuel tubing. My first batch of tubing didn't work very well and now I am on my replacement order from Vans. The 3/8 inch tubing work takes some getting used to.

The mount turned out really well, I used angle beneath the pump which worked great and provided much rigidity, but to allow for wiring runs I had to remove some material in the downward facing flange of the angle. I can now use conduit under the pump assembly to make for easy wiring. The pump can be removed by taking out the entire section of the tunnel cover that it is mounted on but in general will never have to be removed once it is final mounted.

Updated: The mounting holes in the EFII pump mount are drilled square but the posts are offset. This makes some of them close to the posts, so I had to remove material from my bolt head for it to slide in correctly since the hole was too close to the post. (see pic). This conflicted with my idea to use nut-plates underneath and allow for the pump to removed via top access only. I ended up using standard nuts and now to remove the pump from its mount I have to remove the tunnel cover all together. The designer of the EFII pump indicated I can use allen heads to get access to use nuplates if I want, but I will leave it like this at this point since the benefits would be small.

I also was able to pro-seal my vent ducts in place. This was simple job but took a few days as I had to let the pro-seal dry between sessions. Threw in my control column to make sure it functions smoothly.. Had to remove a bit of material where the tunnel push rod connects to the control mechanism, but others have had to do this as well. My hope is that I can fine tune this assembly without having to remove it again.. Wishful thinking I know.. :-)

Vans just said they Shipped my Finish Kit ! ! ! Wahoo ! !

Vents and Pics from out front

2011-05-14T18:27:00.000-07:00

I spent much more time that I wanted to on the vent mounts.. These guys turned into quite a problem, in fact I made them about 3 times before finally getting it right. I basically made them out of .040 aluminum sheet and borrowed a bending brake from a co-builder. First time I bent one, I broke the tab right off. Lots of little lessons learned like that one. In the end they went in smooth and tight.. I think the audio jacks are perfect in this location and you can only get them here with the small vents..

After working on the vents, Bekah and I took the plane for a stroll out into the driveway. My fuse stand is great such that I am able to roll it all around and take the plane or walk. While it was out we played around with the horizontal stabilizer.

More Boost Pump and Fresh Air Vent work..

2011-05-09T10:48:00.000-07:00

This weekend I worked a ton on the boost pump set up. I am going with my own design here and trying to make it as solid as I can. Using different types of angle to make the structure as light and rigid as possible. Its turning out good so far, still have more to do.. Also another order from Vans will be required since I ran out of a couple types of angle. A few points that I like is the angle I used, the AA3 version fits in perfectly with the bend in the tunnel cover, and allows it to be extended to help support where it has been "cut".. Note I am using a combination of installs I have seen with the Andair pump and the EFII pump on other folks blogs.. Will post more pics as I get closer to being complete.

Also playing around with the final location of the Fresh air vents. I got the Small aluminum ones from Stein and think I can put the vent and the audio jacks in one panel. This is the mock up of Rebekah's vent and may very well end up being the final routing. See the holes to be enlarged for the audio jacks on the right. Also notice how smooth the vent fits into the edge of the panel..

Panel attach points

2011-05-04T10:16:00.000-07:00

After much turmoil I was able to get the panel attach points in place. Not complete yet but definitely over the hump. This seemed like a straight forward process at the beginning, but turned out to be pretty difficult. In order to get these drilled correctly I had to mount the panel and entire front deck.. Some of the points I could drill straight away, but others I had to mark on the blue tape, remove the panel and forward side rails to get good access to drilling. At this point it is all drilled, I need to rivet the attatch points onto the side rails. For the side attach points my plan is to rivet them first, then attach the nutplates. Excited to be through this part, now the end of the forward section is in site.. Ready for that Finish Kit..

Front Deck Taking Shape

2011-04-28T09:07:00.000-07:00

This is an exciting post.. Its funny how something as simple as a single skin can change the whole look of the airplane. This thing is coming together and looking good. Here are some pics after I got the front deck installed and the top skin on. Note the Brake reservoir on the firewall (opposite where plans call for it). Also, note the panel in place. When I put the panel in place without the skin on, the edges floated above the side rails nicely.. It seems the top skin sucked the whole assembly down so tight that I had to remove metal on the edges of the panel to get it to fit appropriately. Don't mind the cutouts on the panel. They aren't in any kind of accurate placement and aren't predicting what my panel will look like.

In getting to this point I fluted both the sub-panel flanges and the firewall flanges. Also, note the bend in the firewall. Some people pre-bend it some don't. I put some pressure where the ribs are to get a bit of a clean bend, but other than that the bend is natural..

Front Deck Continued

2011-04-27T12:45:00.000-07:00

Continuing on the front deck I temporarily attached the top skin (the last skin !) so that I could match drill the canopy mounting ribs in place. These need to have the skin clecod on so that the correct angle can be achieved. A similar process will have to happen with the hat section and center rib, but that will have to wait until the Finish Kit arrives. Next step is to mount this assembly on the fuse and match drill the entire thing along with the forward top skin to the Firewall..

Not Pictured, but I was also able to final rivet the armrests. Things are really starting to come together strongly now. Each new piece riveted in structure provides additional strength and rigidity..

Front Deck Continued

2011-04-25T16:28:00.000-07:00

I have been putting more time in on the front deck. With this piece I think the directions are more guidelines than anything, especially since they are telling you to work with a part that doesn't even come with the fuse kit. The "hat section" as they call it comes with the finish kit so you just have to work around it for the time being. I am deburring and prepping the parts, putting some special bends into the sub panel, and building the "gap seal" which supports the weather strip under the leading edge of the canopy. All coming together well and looking good. I will fit this onto the fuse, then drill the top skin as I am drilling other critical components to make sure it all lines up appropriately.

What the heck, just putting in another picture of the brake assembly for good measure..

You can't see it very clearly, but the sub-panel center section and sides in both pictures below have a slight bend in them.

Back to the Brakes

2011-04-24T07:01:00.000-07:00

Since I got my Bonaco hoses, I took another look at the brakes today. I was able to mount the reservoir and the parkiung brake as well as connect all fittings. Nothing is torqued at this point, but it is fitting together pretty well. I also got my pedal extensions from JD Air Parts and mounted them. These are the newer models that have two clamps in the back and I wasn't sure if I mounted them upside down or not since there were no instructions. Either way they hold very securely so I am fine for now.. Will check it out down the road and make sure I have them right. Anyway, after my session today the interior brake components are pretty much complete.

One thing to note is I put my reservoir on the pilot side since I don't have any passenger brakes. This makes for shorter hose runs and a more simple set up. I confirmed with a few other builders that I won't run into any troubles with this alternate reservoir location when I get into the firewall forward. I will take some pics of the reservior today and post. It is mounted on the other side of the firewall when looking at the pictures below.

Front Deck

2011-04-21T08:47:00.000-07:00

Today I started some initial work on the front deck. My focus was the panel support angle. This is a bunch of work and is actually pretty cool when it is done, but there is no way I can think of to make this an easy piece of work. First I cut the angle, which by the way the plans indicate are "scale", but they aren't.. You need to be careful there. So I measured the angle and cut it to length. Then measured each scallop and drilled a 1/8" hole through the angle. Measured exactly 1/4 inch on the edge centered on the hole which made for a 15 degree scallop. You can see the holes and my tick marks for the angles in the first pic. Then I used my articulating mitre saw at 7.5degrees to cut down the edge of the angle to the hole. I did this for all the holes, then flipped it and did the other side. It came out pretty clean and will need a bit of deburring, but all in all it worked great.. Drilled it to the panel and it turned out pretty darn good.

Heat Box

2011-04-18T10:20:00.000-07:00

I was out of town this weekend so not much work on the project, but I did start to fit together the heat box I got from Vans the other day. Some people upgrade to Stainless on these for more fire protection, but this is the standard box that Van's sells and if you buy the "kit" you get to put it together and also same some $$.. This only took about 1/2 hour and saved me about 30 bucks.. Not bad.. I may replace the "door" on this box with a stainless piece of sheet.. In my mind that would add all the protection anyone would need, plus be much cheaper than other alternatives.

More on Interior Paint and some brakes

2011-04-13T20:46:00.000-07:00

I have decided to go with a different color on the roll bar and side rails and top cross member of F-705 as I think the contrast will look great... I am still using the two part Sherwin Wiliams Genesis paint and loving it.. But now have gone to the Satin Black for these pieces. It is really beautiful and hard as a rock. Coats easy with no runs, but takes a couple days to dry.. Also, since I am doing the painting in the uncontrolled environment of my garage and the side of my house I have had a few floaties and even a bug or two walking on my paint. It frustrates me, but the casual observer won't even notice. All in All it looks great and I am really excited about how the interior is now turning out... This has been one of the toughest parts of building for me, just determining what the inside is going to look like. Haven't even thought about the oustide. Not looking forward to that at all...

Also, I did some final work on the brakes.. I went ahead and riveted them as well as bolted them into the pedals.. In aviation, everything is about attention to detail. These cotter pins are done via the "FAA Standard" method and are perfect.. ;-) Brakes are now ready for the Bonaco Tubing expected next week. Also, I have identified the spot for the Grove Parking brake.. That will be installed end of next week.

Roll Bar complete, movin on

2011-04-08T11:03:00.000-07:00

I am still working away, just haven't updated the blog. The Roll Bar is complete as far as I can take it for now, so I am moving on to next steps. In this case that is backwards to an extent. I didn't paint the interior of the F704 and F705 bulkheads with topcoat. I am removing everything from the interior of the plane and getting this done now. I am also going to take care of the side rails and all other items that have been finished for a while but never top coated. After a few painting sessions and putting things back together, the interior should look much more complete.

Roll Bar Continued - No Foolin..

2011-04-01T14:14:00.000-07:00

The Roll Bar is looking good but of course is taking longer than I expected. Over the last few days, I was able to rivet the front 1/2 (forward half) with my rivet squeezer while the bar remained clamped to the table. After measuring the width of the bar, the squeezer rested at a perfect height on the table and I fired away at the solid rivets riveting the internal straps into place. After that I added the other 1/2 (rear half) of the roll bar and through working with my hands and smacking with a rubber mallet got the holes to align perfectly. I then inserted all the pop rivets in place before riveting to make sure everything was truly in line. While clamped and measured width yet again I pulled all the rivets. I removed the clamps the roll bar sprung slightly tighter (narrower) by about 1/32 of an inch.. Just barely, but it did move.. I rushed to fit it on the plane to see its width and with the exterior angles in place it fits almost perfectly. Probably about 1/32nd off, but I am sure that much flex can be taken up by the bolts when torqued... I am happy...

After that I started working the attach angles. I clamped them in place at the bottom of the roll bar per plans and drilled them for the keeper rivets. Clamping them was tricky and no pictures since I wasn't proud of how I did it, but through a combination of clamps and hand holding while drilling I got the job done. Each Side turned out exactly the same so I am assuming I did a good job.

Then I sat the structure on the fuse to measure height.. It looked really cool, but was almost 1/4 inch high at the center. Lots of filing and fitting of the role bar to lower it appropriately.

One thing I am trying is I left the roll bar legs long where some people cut them to plans. Basically my thought is I will trim only the areas that interfere leaving the other areas long which will end up covering more of the eyesore that typically is exposed when this piece is complete.. Well see how low I can get the actual roll bar exterior to cover the mounting angles..

Roll Bar, New Fuel Pump and Fuel Valve !

2011-03-30T10:36:00.000-07:00

As work continues on the Roll Bar, I received some goodies in the mail the other day. My EFII Boost Pump is here as well as my Andair fuel valve. These items are looking good and I will talk more about them below.. For the roll bar, I finished the priming and am starting final assembly. Pulling out my back rivet set I was able to clamp it down to the bench and begin riveting the two halves together for front and back. Also, I mounted the upper support angles to the rear section of the roll bar.. The straps are ready to be inserted for final riveting. I am trying to be very careful and keep the width of the roll bar very precise.. I should know by this weekend if things are looking good or not.

So the biggest topic of the day is my new EFII pump. Here is a pic of what comes in the box. Looks pretty good and I am excited to start figuring out how to mount this. This thing is brand new to the market so not many people have explored how to mount this in a 7.. I had a few ideas but really needed to see the size and shape to come to my intended plan.. So for now it is starting to come together in my mind, and in fact I was able to bend and flare my first piece of tubing. My borrowed tube bender just happends to bend the 180 degree bend at the exact correct diameter to connect the filter ontop of the pump, so it looks like I will be able to keep this unit tight and compact and leverage the Vans Fuel Pump Cover to come up with a straight forward install.. Time will tell.. ;-)

Also, my Andair Fuel Valve is looking good. The original plate was quite pitted so Andair sent me a new one.. They are very upper end and highly priced, but do stand behind their products quite nicely.

Roll Bar (Cabin Frame Cont.)

2011-03-28T12:54:00.001-07:00

Continuing on the roll bar, I finished the drilling of the top plates just like the bottom ones using cut wood spacers to ensure proper thickness of the rollbar. Then countersunk every hole (there are a lot of them).. You have to kind of guess at the countersinking because the bend in the roll bar makes it impossible to use the countersink guide. Also, I did the countersinking with the strap in place so that the countersink cutter had an appropriate guide to keep the countersink centered.. I then drilled the angles that are used to attach it to the overhead support going back to the F=706 bulkhead. I also created a cover for the support going back to F-706 with some scrap. This creates sort of an overhead console that I will use for lighting options down the road. I am thinking a 8 dollar mini LED dome light and a rotational eyeball light both located in the console and connected to the same switch. That way both lights be used for night ops, and if a map light is needed I will have that option during flight. Not sure if this will be my final decision yet, but its sounding good right now.

I test fit the roll bar assembly and was surprised at what I found.. The inside edge of the roll bar currently is interfering with the outside edge of my seat backs.. There are some tight tolerances here and I will need to figure out the best way to resolve the issue. It won’t be a problem and can be used as is, but I definitely want to make sure the final solution is robust and permanent.

I have prepped the aluminum for the Roll Bar assembly and will prime it at the next available time then start final assembly.

No Pics as the camera was otherwise engaged.. But I will have some down the road to post.

Roll Bar Continued

2011-03-25T09:25:00.000-07:00

Continuing slowly on the Roll Bar.. Tonight I was able to drill the upper flange and center strap.. Starting on the center strap, no matter how you do it, there is a lot of metal that needs to be removed on these to get them to fit appropriately.. I used an actual grinder which was loud and probably a bit dangerous, but it got the job done, then buffed the metal with the scotchbrite week when finished. Then I laid it in the track of the role bar and started drilling using my pre-drilled holes as guides. Not sure if I mentioned it, but earlier I used tape marked appropriately to pre-drill these holes at 3/32.. At this point I opened them up to 1/8 and pushed the hole through the strap using a #30 12 inch bit per the photo below. This top portion really wanted to bend upward off the table.. So I used clamps for every hole and think I was able to keep it in check.

I was also able to drill the rear angle that holes the roll bar support using the inner plate as a drill guide. This probably doesn't make sense to most of you, but I think builders will know what I am talking about. You have to back drill the angle at some point, so I decided to get it over with now..

Continued Roll Bar (AKA Cabin Frame)

2011-03-24T09:47:00.000-07:00

This part is unusually complex when it comes down to it. No pre-punched holes so everything needs to be measured and drilled, also, there are so many pressures/torques that you need to deal with when the metal pieces come together that many builders end up with the Roll Bar doing funny things when it is finally riveted. Mainly either shrinking or expanding in width. This is the critical piece because the roll bar and end attachment angles need to be exactly the width of the fuse when finished. So I am taking it slow.. Last night was able to drill the lower attachment flange into the rear half of the roll bar. It went well, but again I won't know if I am completely on target until the whole thing comes together.. The next step is the upper flange.. To get the flanges to fit you really need to take a lot of metal off them so that they fit into the "bend" of the roll bar channel flange. I will get more detailed pics of this as I go.

Roll Bar

2011-03-20T17:55:00.000-07:00

I started work on the Roll Bar today with all the fabrication of the various mounting angles. These guys were pretty tricky to cut and there are a lot of them. Here is a picture of all the finished pieces and all the shavings from the mitre-saw. BTW, I have been using a standard multi tooth wood blade in my mitre-saw to cut almost all the metal angles that have needed to be cut. It works great if you go slow, and doesn't dull the blade at all. Also I deburred all the roll bar bends..

After that the Roll Bar gets tricky and I am going to do some research since it is such a critical part. I was able to lay out the measurements of the fuse on my workbench and accounting for the attachment angles (per the lines drawn on my table) I drilled the first piece where the doubler attaches the two pieces at the top. I drilled this with 3/32nd straight into the table. These will get drilled to 1/8 down the road, but I am waiting to make sure I am on target.

Fuel Tank Vents

2011-03-19T17:33:00.000-07:00

In the RV, the fuel tank vents come inside the cabin, are routed up to the side rail level, then back down out the floor by the firewall to angled pick ups that allow for positive pressure during flight. This routing eliminates the risk of siphoning fuel out of the tank, but provides positive pressure in flight and the ability to vent tanks normally when on the ground.

Bending the 1/4 inch tube was a bit challenging at first, but not that bad overall. I was able to use a combination of hand pressure and a tube bending tool that I borrowed from a fellow builder. Also, there is the flaring that needs to happen where the tube connects to the fittings. No pictures of the flaring, I will try to get some later.

There were two difficult parts of this piece of work.. First the bend where the tube needs to flex around where the rudder cable goes through. I found that securing the fitting like seen in the first picture, then bending by hand works really well here, since it is such a tight fit and you have to have the sleeve in place anyway.

The next difficult place was that the bend near the side rails needs to be bent far enough to allow for the sub-panel flange to be in place. My first attempt shown below interfered with the sub-panel, so after all my work, more bending needed to take place once I test fit the panel. all in all it turned out great.. Now onto the Roll Bar...

Forward Elevator Push-rod

2011-03-17T09:59:00.000-07:00

There are two elevator push-rods that connect in series from the control column all the way to the back of the plane at the elevator. They attach and pivot on an arm just aft of the cabin. I test fit the forward push-rod and all went well. Its funny though, because everything that has been put in must be taken out to allow for this this thing to be inserted into position. Also, there is only ONE way that you can get it into place and its an awkward back and forth motion through the holes in F-705 and F-706.. Once it is in, it fit really well, the motion was very smooth.. Some builders have trouble with the rod rubbing on F-705 and the aft wing spar support bar, but luckily mine flowed smoothly. It was close though, so I may remove some material as others have done, but just enough so that during turbulence it doesn't make contact. Also, I need to remove it so that I can drill a hole in the pivot arm just aft of the cabin for the autopilot servo.. Forgot to do that earlier, but other than that I think this will be able to stay in for the rest of the build.

Elevator push-rods

2011-03-15T18:07:00.000-07:00

The highly technical process of using heater vents to help dry out the prime job inside the tubes of both the elevator push-rods.. (Don't tell Bekah).. ;-)

Forward fuse covers and pushrods

2011-03-14T23:23:00.000-07:00

Continuing on, I am now working on the front covers in the forward fuselage. I can't go too far on these since I don't have my fuel pump yet. Since I am getting the EFII pump, I will need to get creative with the center cover. I will probably start it before the pump gets here, at least where it connects to the firewall, but for tonight I just finished the forward F705 cover-plate supports. These are on the outside and support the cover plates on the -7 models where they cover the fuel lines and electrical. You can see I used pulled rivets into the gear web as directed, however, I used shorter ones that specified. Since the gear web butts right up against the outside skin, the LP4-3's were too long. I am not showing how I drilled the holes in the gear web, since I did these long ago when the fuse was upside down. For the nutplates, I used pulled rivets, since squeezing here would have been impossible due to hole position per plans.. Anyway, finished there and also cut and drilled the elevator push-rods. These guys were harder than expected since the fit of the aluminum cone was not perfect with the tube.. Lots of sanding had to occur.

Just sittin around "IN THE PLANE"

2011-03-12T11:56:00.000-08:00

Tonight Bekah and I got all prepped for the big ordeal of sitting in the plane.. She got in first, then I jumped in next to her. It took a while to get in because of the way the plane is perched up and there is no wing walk to climb on to jump in, but we were able to make it happen. Got some great pics, drank some great wine and enjoyed our imaginary flight date..

I also was able to then remove the seats and install/drill the flap mechanism side panels. These went on fairly straight forward..

Seat Floors Riveted

2011-03-10T08:58:00.000-08:00

I made tons of progress last night and finally was able to rivet down the seat pans for good. I went with the traditional pulled rivet installation route since I had conduit under the seats for wiring purposes. Even so, it wasn't that easy as each rivet needed to be finessed into the holes through the seats and into the ribs. I installed the rivets in every other hole throughout the entire seat before pulling any of them to make sure I was able to get them in smoothly. After that it went pretty fast.

I also was able to mount the center internal flap console components and arm rests and baggage side panels and even seat belts to get a feel for how this is going to look. It is coming together quite nice and I do love the internal color now and the contrast with the black in the seats.. Big milestone down.. I already asked Bekah for a date sitting in the airplane and drinking a bit of wine on Friday night. ;-) Wahoo !

Seat Backs - (small confession to make)

2011-03-09T08:52:00.000-08:00

So, my seatbacks are complete and ready for business. Now how did these come about with no construction photos? Well.. Small confession.. They came to me free, built and painted from a fellow RV Builder.. He did a great job on them and I might just use them instead of building my own. I don't know if I can get over the thought of having something built by someone else in my plane, but these look great and the black color goes well with my interior.. I will use them for now and most likely build my own, but that will be much later down the road. Anyway, here are some pics of them with the back support (Which I did build) in place..

Seat Pan Hinges and Top Coat

2011-03-07T00:34:00.000-08:00

Over the weekend I made lots of progress by first priming all the completed pieces that I have been working on. After that I final assembled components of the internal flap assembly that needed to be riveted before final paint, as well as the seat pan hinges.. Then I top coated it all.. Tons of progress, once this stuff dries I will be able to really put together much of the interior structure for good. I didn't get many pictures of the process itself, but here are a few pics of everything drying out and waiting for final assembly.

The Seat Pan hinges were a hassle.. The solid rivets were very difficult to rivet without warping the seat pans as many other builders have found out. I was able to use a combination of solid rivets and LP4-3 rivets to get the job done.

Back at it.. - Gear Web Gussets

2011-03-03T10:41:00.000-08:00

I was in Phoenix last weekend so haven't worked on the project in over a week.. Visited a friend.in Phoenix who lives on an airpark, so was able to still get my fix of RV. Here is a pic of his neighbor's RV-7. Quite a nice RV by all accounts..

So while I wait for a weekend to prime and paint my seats, I was able to still do odds and ends in the fuse.. I used some bolts to allign them, then drilled out the gear web gussets. It was difficult to make sure they were level, wasn't sure exactly how to do that, but they came out OK in the end.

Fuse Odds and Ends

2011-02-22T16:17:00.000-08:00

I ordered my fuel pump and my fuel selector.. I went with the new boost pump from EFII, and the Andair Fuel selector. Very excited for these items to arrive. (If you click on these links, use your back button to return to this page)

The EFII pump is brand new and should be a real winner, plus it is made in America.. (just like the rest of my airplane).. I am a bit nervous because there is no previous install examples to choose from.. So this is truly going to be experimental, but that is why I am here I guess. I look forward to the challenge. I will go into some good detail on how I do it and hopefully it will be useful for others down the road. Most likely I will be leveraging what others have done with various fuel pump installations. Not completely unknown territory.

After these orders I started working on some of the fuel selector panel and other front panels. My next big step is a major priming/painting section, then get moving on the seats and flaps etc.. Looking forward to sitting in the plane..

Also, after taking longer than I thought I was able to cut and tap the Flap push-rods.. Sometimes steps take much longer than they should.. This was one of them... But I am past it now.. The blue tape is to keep the lock washer in place since they won't be connected to the flaps for many moons..

Flap Mechanism

2011-02-20T16:18:00.000-08:00

I am working a bit out of order and should really get those seats riveted in before going too much further. I am hesitating because I think I might go with a two tone interior color. I am thinking about putting in a lighter color in the seat area including F705 and F704 supports that go up the sides of the fuse. Once I figure this out I will take care of the seats.. In the meantime I focused on the flap mechanism that needs to be done anyway. Its kind of exciting because I get to work with some parts other than just sheet metal..

First off the plans have you fabricate a bunch of parts then test fit the white flap tube (weldment). I don't have pics of everything, but are showing the main pieces involved. The electric flap motor sits in a channel that sits right between the two seats and moves the flap extension up and down which moves the end extensions that connect to push rods through the bottom of the fuse and attach to the flaps.

A few points to note is that you should make sure to check the bag that has the flap motor in it first because it contains parts that are further along than you might think. I missed this step and fabricated many of the parts from raw scrap metals. They all turned out great but would have been easier to use some of the precut ones.

Also, it takes a lot of finesse to get things to fit great in this section. Looking forward through the entire flap mechanism is important because the plans have you drill and install items early on that could impact things later in the build process. I think I got lucky in a few spots and it turned out great.. For example the middle UMHC block. I chose to center the holes on the baggage ribs... It let the block hang over a bit, but turns out it fits very smoothly against the support where I have noticed other planes have gaps between the two.

So all in all it went together well, even though it will need to be taken apart to get the seats down for good.

There was one big boo-boo that I made.. I grabbed the #12 bit vs the #19 bit when I drilled the top of the rear vertical support. You can see the two alternate color cleco's below.. The gold one is in the larger hole that I drilled by error.. To fix this and keep symmetry I will probably drill both them to the larger hole and use a AN3 bolt and an associated nutplate here. No harm no foul, will just be stronger. (and a bit heavier.)