Esser's Build

[AirFox]

Nice work Josh! Keep it up.

Scott

[Esser]

Wow time flies. I can't believe it was over 3 weeks since I last worked on my plane. I have been pretty involved with this new airport that is going in so it is taking up some of my time. I feel that it will be worth it in the end.

Here is a shot of some progress at the new airport.

Cutting and filling the runway.


So last weekend me and Natalie signed up for the 16 hour poly fiber course that Gary Hillman puts on. We are really lucky to only live an hour and a half drive from Gary as he is the one who puts on many of the EAA sport air workshops, Sun and Fun courses, and next year he will be doing Oshkosh.

The course was amazing. I am so glad we were able to do it. It shows how forgiving the material really is. The course was 95% hands on with very little classroom time. I asked 100 questions as I thought about my project and now I feel very comfortable to cover and paint my own aircraft.


Getting ready to cover a DC3 aileron. This particular aileron was off of one of Buffalo Airways' planes(From . Our course was right next door to Buffalo's Red Deer hangar.



Natalie finishing up a ribs' lacing.



Gary showing some tips


Gary demonstrating how to do a corner with a non-baised tape.



Nat working the tapes



Gary demonstrating how to put on the first aerosol of Poly Brush



Bob from BC trying his hand. Bob is about to recover his Tripacer that has 38 year old covering on it.



First coat of Poly Spray. Gary didn't mix it up properly so we would know how it looked if we had forgot to get it shaken.


Gary demonstrating how to fix a repair.



Nice back drop for a course. Lockheed Electra


The course was held in Air Spray's hangar. Here is a few of their Shrike Commander Bird Dogs that act as forward controllers during air drop activities. They also operate 15 Electra's in the fire suppression role.


Now I can't wait to cover.

[mr bill]

You are a lucky man, my wife barely tolerates airplanes.

[SkyPirate]

Mine too Bill, but she got me a model 5 for my birthday, so i cant complain too much

[rosslr]

the new strip looks great - private venture? I assume that is where you will fly from? We are lucky here that we have a 800m strip that our council is happy to lease us land a have let us build a hanger - all just 5 mins walk from home!

What is your latest thinking on the UL engine Esser? I was considering the 350is -same story form John about not enough proven yet. I understand that and it does make me swing back to the rotax - I liked the 912 setup on JB's witht he inflight adjustable prop. Seemed to get a lot our of the engine.

cheers

r

[Esser]

the new strip looks great - private venture? I assume that is where you will fly from? We are lucky here that we have a 800m strip that our council is happy to lease us land a have let us build a hanger - all just 5 mins walk from home!

What is your latest thinking on the UL engine Esser? I was considering the 350is -same story form John about not enough proven yet. I understand that and it does make me swing back to the rotax - I liked the 912 setup on JB's witht he inflight adjustable prop. Seemed to get a lot our of the engine.

cheers

r

Hi Rosslr, the new strip is a private venture but open to the public. It's about a 5 minute drive north from my house. Phase one is 30 hanger lots and they have been sold out for over a month.

As for the UL, i have been following it closely. I am still going to go with the UL however, I will not be going with the 350iS. My wife tells me I have to put in the UL520i. I am not putting the iS in that way that way I have a little more choice with fuel. I have a friend who is an engineer for Pete Mcleod racing that will be designing my mount. If there is anyone else interested, let me know. There are some nay sayers about the engine and a few growing pains, but I am confident by the time i need an engine it will be all sorted out. There is now a company that makes IFA props for the UL so I will be watching them to see how they perform. But most likely I will be going with a fixed pitch climb prop from Catto.

Until recently, I was still considering going with a 914 but the cost is actually at the point where it is insane. If you have any specific questions about my set up, let me know.

[Esser]

Well after 2 months with out lifting a finger on the project, I decided something had to be done. I move the wings into the basement where it is nice and toasted as I never got the new garage door and furnace for my shop.

I bought a little work bench on sale for $80 bucks and it works pretty good but it is a little under sized. But that is OK because I am planning on doing light work on the wings, tips, leading edge, flapperon brackets, and that's about it.

So today I just cut my leading edge pieces and epoxied them on. Next time I venture in the garage I think I will fit my leading edge but only cleco it, and then work on the tips.




Finally got flying again after a hiatus since I started building. Felt really good. I need a few more hours before I am on the insurance but my wife is insured and if she's feeling nice we go up and knock the rust off my hands and feet. Last weekend we went and it was about -25 and a beautiful day for flying.


Our house



Blurry but getting down into the river valley

[Esser]

Well one piece of the leading edge is trimmed and ready for cleco's. I can't actually hysol these in place until my pre-close inspection in done.

Here is a picture of a tape line and using my oscillating tool. I think this is a must for cutting fibre glass.





Trimmed and fit.

There was actually quite a bit of trimming. The pieces are quite oversized and they are a rough finish and very sharp. So watch your hands when you are doing this. I actually wish they were cut in a shear before they were shipped and then all you would have to do it cut to length.

My goal is to do one of these pieces a night however tomorrow I won't be able to work on the plane due to work.

[DesertFox4]

Esser- it looks great and your right about that oscillating cutting tool with fiber glass. The Laker Leading Edge is an option I think we will see being installed on a great many new Kitfoxs in the near future. It really completes Harry Ribblet's vision for the Kitfox wing.

[Esser]

Got the second one fit up tonight. Tomorrow I'm hoping to get the second wing fully trimmed and clecoed on. It takes about an hour per piece. I could speed that up a bit but I am taking my time so that I'm not constantly trimming.


One wing fully trimmed.