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aviator79
01-02-2018, 08:55 AM
My kit arrived while I was out of town on the 29th. I got home on the 30th and almost immediately got to work inventorying, and spent the last couple days starting the build. I find the various build logs here on the site to be really helpful, so I thought I'd do the same.

Build Space:
I'm building in a one car garage with a floor footprint of 11'x20'. It also has quite a bit of attached storage, and a small attached 6'x14' workshop area. While I may not have a lot of information to add to the many very good logs on the forum (Thanks Esser, EFWD, Cherrybark, et al.) regarding the actual building of the plane, I may learn some things that someone else contemplating a build in a small space might find useful.

I did a lot of space planning prior to receiving the kit. With one wing on a rotisserie, and the fuselage on the "production floor", I find I have plenty of working space. To accommodate this project, I built a back yard shed where all the stuff that used to be in the garage went. I also bought a 6x6 "pop up" shed for the family's bikes. I also have a large play/game room that I can use for additional storage. One of the wings, the flaperons, and some other long items are currently hanging from the ceiling in that room. I also live literally right next to the airport (https://www.google.com/maps/place/982+Nambe+Loop,+Los+Alamos,+NM+87544/@35.8817421,-106.2823285,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x871813a16753847f:0xad9ec 922e93fc1b9!8m2!3d35.8817421!4d-106.2801398) where I own a hangar. I'm currently renting that hangar to the flying club I'm in, so I'm not currently using it for this project in any capacity. Eventually I'll have to kick the club out and the airplane will go there for final assembly. Until then, it's nice to have a backup if the project grows out of my garage.

I will say that if you're contemplating doing this in a one-car garage, you must have additional storage somewhere. It's best if it's on-site so that you don't have to work the logistics of moving parts around into your build schedule, but you can't store all the parts, both wings, the fuselage, your tools, etc and have room to work in an 11 x 20 space.

The wing rotisserie on wheels is absolutely essential in this small of a space. It allows me to store the wing upright and out of the way when I'm not working on it, and I have moved and turned it a whole lot in the couple days I've been working on the project. To that end, everything in my shop is on wheels, which is also essential. It's nice to just push things out of the way.

Build order:
I'm not following the order the manual strictly. My plan is to build and cover each wing independently, then start on the fuselage. There are a few reasons for this:
-The fuselage is the one part that I really can't store anywhere else. I don't want to finish it, and then have it sitting in the garage subject to handling and incidental damage while I work on the other parts. I can build the wings, and then move them out of the garage to a location where they won't be damaged while I work on the fuselage.
-John McBean recommended that if possible, he would have preferred to spread the covering out over the build. He said he personally just got really sick of covering when doing it all at once. The manual actually makes this same recommendation. It also recommends covering the wings first. So it kind of makes sense to build them first if you want to spread the covering process out over the build.

Support:
While at the factory, I discussed the challenges of building in a space too small to even attach a single wing, where a lot of the year it's too cold to cure Hysol overnight outdoors. John was very helpful in offering some tips and options that are already making my life so much easier. So if you have special considerations about your build, I encourage you to talk to the factory about them, they are extremely helpful. From these initial conversations, to Brandon delivering my kit as part of his holiday after an understandable shipping delay, the factory has been a real a pleasure to work with.

The production floor:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0yQ8AXXSs7i-LwMPgJjW6XjHLjxikotwQPgozo9dj_4ZdPadViAOozEO2jFMAH lN4jp74iv_XoTATpOoTu04kBLiIrLyKNzPRK07MOSqjjCx0Ndn ZWS0b-O-osY3sw5scelsIhaNTJo

Esser
01-02-2018, 09:04 AM
Nice! The fun begins! All the pictures on my build are not being hosted anymore so if you have any questions or need clarification on one of my posts, let me know and I can dig up the picture. I still plan on updating it when things settle down a bit.

Good advice on the covering. Everyone says they really enjoyed the covering. I hated it. Probably my least favourite part of the build. It’s good to cover the wing first as it’s the easiest bit to do.

Good luck!

aviator79
01-02-2018, 09:13 AM
I drilled, glued and riveted the lift strut attach brackets. At first, Hysol is not the easiest stuff to work with. I thougt it would be more of a liquid, but it's a much pastier consistency. This makes measuring the resin and hardener a little more difficult than I thought.

I think maybe I used too much on the first one.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/neyLbGlBQRz4h5Dye6Y0uzwTeg-fSYkMg7wvAYJdHETzoozk8Y4Zbp-y4WR8HS3pEnCnLGckIIMWfmUjvQYw1iZKq_K7gii_T0tWdX02L gW6MorkaJUE4ZIkL4U5pmIP1njTC4hXcIY

Cleans up nice with some denatured alcohol though:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uE1XdYskZ42w1tkUD8Da1jSuK7dudM2114XPc9sceA380nRCQW N-c8kPJHU6ACUejuUG_cnO3R2RP8gVVp4vSKUAwtovfgv0CsPpkU 7yEe5pfH55aOpP3CvjGWkf4nI6I87MITvaCS8

It's nice to have someone pull clecos while someone else rivets:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NA2VHYVtnEwg3knMPQEzp2OI7o5idkWIDJ6QfyVK7iFSi32c1m jNoplQeBhm0YiLTDjNbFQReTMMPET8LcwYaot_3S_nukidxdew pdStylgdc8_o9CTSMhDkfDsaoytz_KWcLBUcBQk

Maybe not quite enough Hysol on the second try. I didn't get as much squish-out as I'd like, so I went back and filleted the perimeter with more. Also, I had a moment of panic: The hole on the left between the bracket ears was impossible to get at with a rivet gun. I have a manual and a pneumatic, but neither one could grip the rivet mandrel between the bracket ears. Eventually I took a bench grinder to my manual rivet gun to make it fit between the bracket ears. To my relief, it worked beautifully. It also taught me a lesson in thinking through any hole's entire lifecycle prior to drilling it.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/p5BUNESzoNOH0qwU_sHuURCfyrOM1UVnNlHdezAy-uDThUnqeFQUxIu51iYhEbgOWwu0CrmjXoeVWZBuVA3Doz7j40m 50pjrmDGmem_Dbwla9S_Kmgdu2Rg_07mTgwq_yFBo5lBUxXs

colospace
01-02-2018, 09:59 AM
Just curious. You received the kit on the 29th, and it looks like you already have the tanks installed?!

Esser
01-02-2018, 10:41 AM
I think the factory does rigging now which may include installing the tanks and the butt rib

aviator79
01-02-2018, 11:00 AM
My factory pre-rig did include a bit more to help assure that all my hysol cures in a temp-controlled environment. (I can't let anything cure with the wings on in my small garage.) This also did get me off to a fast start on the wings.

David47
01-02-2018, 04:07 PM
Good luck with the build Aviator79 and wish you well on the journey. It's good to see yet another KF builder joining the ranks.

efwd
01-02-2018, 06:39 PM
Man, every time someone posts a pic of the wing struts, rigging etc. My heart rate goes up. Doing all that was stressful for me. I so did not want to mess that up and as a result I stressed out.:D

aviator79
01-03-2018, 08:32 AM
I'm going to varnish my butt ribs, and was curious what application technique you guys used. Does spray application give substantially better results? The polyfiber manual specifies using a brush for the first coat and says that a spray gun may be used for subsequent coats. I'm just curious if it's worth setting up and cleaning my spray gun for two ribs.

For that matter, did you spray varnish the rest of the ribs? It seems it would make shorter work of the task, but you might get varnish all kinds of places you don't really need it.

efwd
01-03-2018, 08:46 AM
I used a brush or foam brush to apply the varnish. As for over spray, I found a touch up spray gun to have a small spray pattern and I used it to do the primer on all the metal in the wing. I didn't find that there was all that much over spray for that so I bet if you spray the varnish you would be fine also.
Eddie

mr bill
01-03-2018, 10:20 AM
I used Stits epoxy varnish, three parts varnish to 1 part thinner. It allowed the varnish to really penetrate, I brushed on 2 coats over all the wood in the plane.

aviator79
01-04-2018, 09:47 AM
The manual calls for Hysol between the tank and the #1 and #3 rib capstrips. I have about 1/4 inch gap at the #1 rib, and 1/8" at the #3. Is the intent here to fill the gap with Hysol? That seems like a big gap to bridge. Would Superfil be more appropriate?

The materials, skills, and methods are all new to me, so please excuse me if I ask a bunch of noob questions.

Esser
01-04-2018, 10:21 AM
I didn’t fill it all. The wooden spacers that are installed on the tank provide all the structural support. I believe this step is purely cosmetic

efwd
01-04-2018, 10:40 AM
My gap was even bigger. I placed tape on the under side and filled it in with Hysol. I wonder if Super Fill will flake out from the gap over time? If I do it again I might lay in Hysol a little thinner and then put Super Fill on top so that the sanding down to skin level would be easier. Make an attempt at pushing the tank outboard as far as possible. Maybe even trim the flange off some. You will benefit from the added space on the inboard side so that your fuel fittings will clear the first rib. I was afraid to trim it off in fear of causing a leak in the flange but I know people have done it successfully. Had I knew the fuel fittings were such a close fit I would have done so.
Eddie

jrevens
01-04-2018, 11:11 AM
... Make an attempt at pushing the tank outboard as far as possible. ... Had I knew the fuel fittings were such a close fit I would have done so.
Eddie

Good advice about positioning the tanks, Eddie. I filled my gaps on both sides with Hysol, thickened with flox. Used tape temporarily on the underside to help keep it from sagging also. I was able to smooth it out nicely, after a short amount of curing, so that no sanding was necessary.

jiott
01-04-2018, 11:26 AM
Like Esser I didn't fill the #3 gap at all (put some extra wood spacer blocks). I wanted to leave that gap open to make the rib stitching easy. I would not use SuperFill (other than for some final smoothing) because it is not strong enough to take the flexing that occurs when the wing twists and flexes in turbulence, etc. Would be afraid it might flake loose.

David47
01-04-2018, 04:03 PM
So I positioned the tank outboard as far as I could and didn't fill the gap with anything, like Josh. There is enough room to allow rib stitching. Reason I did this is that I'm putting an access panel directly under the tank fittings for the purpose of inspection and to allow easy access and removal of the tank outlet/strainer fitting, and as a "just in case" scenario should I need to fix a fuel leak.

aviator79
01-05-2018, 05:31 AM
Thanks guys. I have just enough gap on the #3 to rib stitch, so I think I'll just leave it open.

New question: Should I have instructions for the Laker Leading Edge? I have the fiberglass pieces, but nothing that indicates what I do with them. It appears I use the short piece of leading edge extrusion, perhaps cut into small lengths, and install per the wing instructions to define the LE contour, and then just trim the fiberglass and yysol it to the ribs, but most of the options come with their own instructions, and I didn't want to start making stuff up if there's a manual somewhere that I'm missing.

colospace
01-05-2018, 10:02 AM
I pushed the tank outboard like Eddie mentioned to get as much room as possible for the tank fuel fittings. I still used a thin strip of balsa under the flanges to support the Hysol. When I laid out the rib stitching, I simply drilled holes big enough for the stitching needle to pass thru easily. Worked well for me.

jrevens
01-05-2018, 12:22 PM
I drilled holes for the lacing also.

Regarding the Laker leading edge, I called Debra, and she sent a sheet with some pictures and instructions. It’s pretty simple, but it seems like you should get that with the darn things, especially considering what they cost. Yes, you do use little pieces of the original leading edge material to locate and align the LLE. Some short pieces of that material were included with my LLEs.

aviator79
01-08-2018, 08:12 AM
In the last week, I varnished and installed the butt ribs to the fuselage.
I fabricated, drilled, and painted the fuel sight gauge plates. I'll install them after the wing is covered and painted. I installed the false ribs between ribs 6 and 7, and trimmed and installed the false ribs under the fuel tank. Installed the #2 rib. I managed to match the underside contour really well from the trailing edge to just short of the leading edge where I couldn't hold enough curvature while the Hysol cured. I installed the trailing edge between the #1 and #3 ribs, and drilled the wingtip mounting strips to be installed after covering.

I'm really enjoying the build. I bought a clock for the garage because space time warps in the vicinity of the Kitfox. 15 minutes "reading the manual" before work. Yeah right...

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gk8rzD9rTy_VVE6rILLfijaX25fZ8IMYGisxrJEJokQX4jacDo PF1CorV78KOCPLBzkEfOqToIclqW3IiHhatAeYxxZerenwlmSQ ilTiEjRHqRwy9uQBLhFdE5wP9IU7ZGX63bgGcys

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CoQQzBdCRJkHe6i_ck_1QcqZVe7w_13TAuML9jBlg1_fMY2aM8 hkGQBGiidvBRAvsk8BNT1kCTpb4oRLT7wtmyOvlhHCkfZVSLs9 BK0CpqXaIi_ljpGRjpljr8g635-MivfEXQ3s1Uc

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WbW6jMQZaht7qH0XkomTFVIbqIIfBlhy39_kiT6B1l02gJWUIZ 5GhZZl7lVwZfqtz2U090VlayWuAkr4cfYtV9CpQe-dAOSmXWoIjL6BUiRMTC8DWltICNwpPMucMmLQhQnxVuDYx6k

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BfXYICFaQnA3tfGDxkkHXFwQEFg_-aVG3yIOOK3DNPeBRg2FNyPU1hGVy5gTPCDE8iwra44t6d0sDeB o6TD9c6W31RFucblOYFdUuLd8SzpLOOuzDrr8yhUNatgfNvm4e uZULVwBvNs

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LMOwWKyd1u7jI_CBwvWFuoeDsp8IrcSY6dscDVUsQumc_dgcGA V-_bUH5T3aelt1Dhx4r0JsrULMdGVkhxx4ujdVWT5CbjSgopwHUl 4hE4dnGPr4WQDKbBM0fMYl3bsC_qrCQmsadIk

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Q7TOnddnDL1M6glSpNTcirTCjYjqQKn3qPlumn_zDxBzFtfnxQ Luq__uAhBR7lujXA6Kd5Y4C8fWTv_PXAOceT2zQTFf35gXQfH1 FTDRYAn_6kKL9QOdL2yH9eRUB-f9ZNek7VbiK_s

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Q7TOnddnDL1M6glSpNTcirTCjYjqQKn3qPlumn_zDxBzFtfnxQ Luq__uAhBR7lujXA6Kd5Y4C8fWTv_PXAOceT2zQTFf35gXQfH1 FTDRYAn_6kKL9QOdL2yH9eRUB-f9ZNek7VbiK_s

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/h7v2DE_YmYimkRB7998n4vsMmtF5xIDVgPCCmkb9N-iqlcBCE-VqLK6pMwrJCh-y8ecqD8UmhSU_0v0NySqC0APow-ZInFgjnFPIOuAN6IcI7WupZk1wusCpsuDYaNT5M2ePKtxpziE

David47
01-09-2018, 05:28 AM
Really like your lower ribs instal under the tank. My effort isn't anywhere as neat. I had to do a lot of trimming to get the false ribs to follow the contour of ribs 1 and 3. Thank god for fabric covering !. Good work.

aviator79
01-09-2018, 08:26 AM
I'm glad the picture is taken from far enough away that my work looks neat.

There was indeed a lot of trimming. I placed a false rib against the #3 rib,
and trimmed to just short of that line. Then I clamped a straightedge between #1 and #3 and iteratively trimmed the false rib until it fit nicely underneath the straightedge. I then used that rib as a template for the rest of them to get them close and again finished them iteratively. I want to thank whomever on this forum introduced me to a bandfile. That thing has quickly become one of my favorite tools.

aviator79
01-12-2018, 08:22 PM
I've been varnishing away. I've drilled the aluminum strips for the wingtips, but I can't get my head around how I'm supposed to trim the wingtips. I have the upgraded wingtips with the cutout for lights. The manual instructions say you should clamp the upper part of the wingtip to the Al strip, but I don't see how that's possible since the wingtip slips over the top of the Al strip. The instructions also indicate that even if I could pull this magical feat of clamping the tips on, I should mark the inboard edge of the capstrip onto the tip, and then mark an inch out from there. But there is not an inch worth of material to cut off without cutting out half of the light mount area. Does anyone have pictures or tips?

Esser
01-12-2018, 08:30 PM
Yeah the instructions didn’t make a ton of sense for me either. Basically I R.A. a tape line down the top, cut a straight clean line with an angle grinder and did the same on the bottom. I then put the tip on the wing and eye balled if the tip was square to the wing. If it wasnt square I trimmed more of the side that needed to be brought down to make it square. Don’t make your first cut at the scribe line so you have enough material to work with.

Flybyjim
01-13-2018, 06:13 PM
I just finished installing the lights into my tips today and have them fitted as best as possible until I have the wing covered. Josh is correct, go slow with the cuts you will find there is enough room for the lights but just enough. I took 1-inch wide blue painters tape and ran a line of tape as straight as I could as close to the edge of the fibergalss to get a completely straight line. I did this for both top and bottom. I then slipped the tip over the metal strips that are clecoed to the wing. You will need to work the wing tip back and forth, side to side as you get a nice fit. This takes time as does all parts of the build. It may seem confusing at first but as you go it will all come together.

I used a long block hand sander I made 4 foot long to work the edges down. As for final fitting, I will do that after the wing is covered. Once you pull the covering around the last rib this may or may not be an effect on the metal strips and that could slightly change the tip position.

aviator79
01-16-2018, 08:40 AM
I have the Laker Leading Edge trimmed and ready to install, but decided I want to prime the spars even though I live in about the dryest of dry climates. It's cheap and easy to do it now. So I had to order some primer. I also decided that I wanted to wait until the wing was covered to do the wingtip so that I can fit it up well.

So I decided I'd get a start on the flaperon, but when I opened a box from Aircraft Spruce, the dimple dies I'd ordered for flush riveting the trailing edges weren't there. One phone call and they are sending them out. So I thought I could move on with the end rib installation, but my end rib didn't fit in the end of the flaperon on account of a welding error. So, an email and some pictures to Debra, and a replacement is on the way.

That left me pretty much stuck in the mud for making progress on the wing, so I got started on the fuselage, which was really enjoyable work. I got the aileron, elevator, and flap controls installed. The only slight frustration is that I had more resistance in the pitch axis of the control column than I would have liked. What was strange is that it only started to bind up when I tightened any fastener on the right side bracket. So I removed the whole thing and clamped the left (delrin) bearing to the workbench, and noticed that when moving the stick fore and aft, the bracket rotated slightly around its vertical axis. This indicated either a bent bolt or a hole that wasn't straight. I replaced the bolt, which didn't change anything. I recalled that the pre-fabbed bracket was pretty rough from the factory, and I suspected that the hole perhaps wasn't straight, which would misalign the bearing halves. I disassembled the whole enchilada, and very carefully removed a small amount of material from the pre-fab bracket. I reassembled, and the situation was much improved, but still not perfect. So I chucked up the bushing in a drill press and sanded it down with 600 grit. I repeated this process several times, removing only the tiniest bit of material at each iteration until the bushing slipped easily into the bearing, and the control column gave smooth motion with the bracket clamped firmly to the workbench. This was a lot of effort, but I'm not going to compromise on the nicely balanced controls that I experienced in Idaho.

I also got the floor boards trimmed and drilled, and they'll get their second coat of varnish this afternoon.

LLE fitting and trimming:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BJ4StGzQ4wwShzoz3pG0g_EoAQerLz5njEP1vAskLYMLzuPF0B 2HZKgpaSL_kNWBkHgEcw8WqBTrjB-yk6OxTF5FUmavf6NoytcOdwji182zT25tnDNQqgOPhbDskwNh6 vgCxHVXRsM
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bSobK6VJFfQ10Yk2ZjGjoKpev-6BhO033KKmkk-uGmTZ5qs-DhCSPRPsfeYPPuc4FrKtnGVKCc6HIQlftjAiWgURUEzH_DAVX_ WgJLusdI_2ZLNCE4nvBYs2bnsCKAxQeZrveoYdajo
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SETn2Kc6Qcz7B2_Czz5B6_ja0wy3ysVFpYC1-4rfTqzW1cLfgIDUC0iC0tvZaW53O7sxUd4BKbcJHDYMNI5g1E_ SNziS2G4t5nJgGeGgHvNYg18wGB0WtsNzQjKJXOXTjyy8KMEGH CI
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8Ryp1k5Sia2kmBjYdRSXPrNs9-oTLKeBN55XMi8eiVl-JjwTmyhYI7XKk0Le0FYZzLz6tTluKYtcKtJovF-Ycl1eKmergug6obQKH8PLTv_4Hx9sLDYWhlnrWBszBiHzvLnHf _P6EwI

Control column bracket as-received:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cvRyfLrkO10fneB1tHP68fhU6FnBcN-1FzbQ-xdi4g8099ZPyfdYixUx0Gbu4b2KTKhE1eJL3po3Oet-pltYaoWC9pXwYoVnd0di_vM4rdiMJfrZx-m3iK51215gkOskdoaCRpKqiJ0
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iybUWk6CV63NoLD_intVRvSq-gJc0p7HLPgqlJBWhNyLw4jSaXmKEpmkeBQyE29Fj6HiQm0TinI JZ3iUeIGU-AbbFmrDNvB_hJqJPz4fRWTV2GucdXfzFe3ALIdY_Dv5VGF4tvA JzTE

Flight control assembly:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vN9dKFK1hQcsxYdl3bibmbG-EIyV_rSQwEPadBeD0cMUSgm3nDHbn7Ck0QX_kiY4SCL8JAom7M XwshdFeNptd42ZzFs7ZhmHMBgmKzdcHCZ8YZfP2grCAdaK6Hdy ysUbiSgr6M0NYNM
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5Z8DK9t62KMPay4az-gZFU_W017d8l83yPqv_m5u5w5hhzmz52zdPmbqBHbiEKih4ZKw HmriuBVNV4z3M8rTtH96BCbsgMOdKX5IDSoeC5WyCIXxBad8dc 646tSgscJ5uD3y5AMFNNI
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nfdshe3IacEn5gObS6UKPIPIQvDkLgqPUwloKrfOLL0YWqPDz_ DVK8o4g2QvS0UXeB-JRi4m1nBB1PE0K-DF6iTCBUkN0w3Nv2qFoYtfWTXlylUH5tTWU-TXyqVut8wI0PBs18egHaY
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qr-xNh5y-0N-WsUMUsq6sBCtgIyyM1jJdI8ro5j0jjFK9FU3iyN852UmE_1DkK D-9_MWL0Qbu4PrsdGWKZUV7-n7UkXOIBMd1oEtse-7pZqXS7ZKx7Tm2mIZAqcwezPGp0R8v5V1w_k

Floorboard fit-up:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/585wGiJBxn5zdosEdwPdPk55TKfCM8sBsdCpU60imf1QL66oiw _JxYSFXFkoYEvYBaJxcrQnlyC9UNXRbdlyAcZYpes_hwQFv1nx 0c56x9DJzT4sDVhDwGyX4Fn2jI4_0VnwkjYG1fQ

--Brian

Esser
01-16-2018, 08:47 AM
Sounds like you got it licked Brian but I had to put a washer between my bracket and the fuselage on one of my bolts that completely freed up the same binding you experienced.

aviator79
01-16-2018, 09:08 AM
Actually, I didn't mention it, but I did the same thing Josh! In addition to what I mentioned, I noticed that with the left bearing removed, the whole control column angled down slightly from right to left, so I shimmed it exactly the same way. It was a lot of voodoo, but I'm really pleased with the control feel now. Generally, the fuselage tabs are not always perfectly straight or aligned. Fortunately, it's usually not too critical. You can see in one of my photos that the fore elevator idler arm is kind of crooked because the tabs aren't perfectly aligned. But there's more than enough rotation in the rod ends, so tight manufacturing tolerances at the tabs aren't required. It's worth reminding myself sometimes that I'm the builder; some problem solving and hand-finishing are required. It's not quite like a Lego kit.

Esser
01-16-2018, 10:19 AM
Yes, there have been things that I have been frustrated with cause it didn’t assemble easily and I made it worse. Sometimes you have to take a step back and remember what your doing!

What are you using for image sharing? I tried to get the google app to get links for my pictures but it didn’t seem to work when I attached the link for the picture. I looks like you are using some sort of google photo sharing thing.

aviator79
01-16-2018, 10:30 AM
It's a bit of a hassle, 2-step process, but I use this link (https://ctrlq.org/google/photos/) to convert google photos shareable links into direct links that will work with vBulletin's [IMG] tags.

The workflow is:
1) From Google photos, click [share icon]->Get Link. Copy the link.
2) Paste the link into the website linked above which will generate a direct link.
3) Copy that link into the IMG tags in your vBulletin post.

aviator79
01-22-2018, 08:44 AM
In the last week:
-Varnished and installed floorboards.
-Finished flaperon mixer installation, added safety wire.
-Primed all the aluminum in the right wing (I'm building the right first.)
-Built the right flaperaon - end rib, hinge, control horn drilled and clecoed. Per the manual, final assembly to be done after paint. Imstalled counterweights.
-Fabricated and installed the foam flaperon tip. I still have some superfil finishing to do when I get home today.

Looking forward, I'm taking a Poly Fiber covering class in Phoenix Feb 10th-11th, and I'd like to have the right wing ready to cover by then. I think I'm on pace to make that happen. I still need to install the flaperaon attach brackets and the laker leading edge. I'm waiting a few more days to give the epoxy primer a good cure because the LLE will bond to some primed locations.

Primer in the wing. I didn't concern myself with overspray. The wood varnish is compatible with the primer and everything is well-sealed.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mX98Jh_3gk_22n96S_Y7ULKO25Mpps8nwP1GCaPtS2wsumRG5S OueyB4NBXFjzXD06lNDFyhsBCS2wQlz7yItE6RG6blyQzrDvCf a74PR-vx6OY3VBDmmvRGoroGw_jekunjj2X_ZGk

Flaperon:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Xi2tlSVkM3_m89AdZEcEoF_o-vpUcT0X-B1fOuBtNKihnk_HNspqJgds2LRy8qaIhklDuvhOniAS1qCjypK UVrXeznNdNO_0MWzAxS8C_i7PJ7-1Nu4eeuZJsPgFAkuMHWzEILB4rKc
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/B87Hz4cqd8hG3UrlLVFnXXrVl7D97FISGoLarNE1-RtfB0EwOKunBtyC1GlVrLaQymLgYPydTk_BPwYvaoQJq-Tc94GCPppxrDvHh_hAFKy7zYDAX1rrMoasGr-PLjOhv3cCPSCMtyY
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SC5m6MA5g_5tYltmWW6wnun3tBfq0DBYambTVlG0Nvip8Og8pe Q5Hd-sCVqfvorZvnAtvVDaHbHlX0_sAnFRygUAsy_aFGxn3uejwjQwO S3oAP8GnocLpVRH-9ZiIlPggAvL7yFYllU
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/feS0MpBV-2jrGCqpfcuZqdQMuF6AOFeNyHsu5Ko3geIWMRdWeK7V9eKZaX6 DY1tr1WYWXovwgIx5y7Y92RNZ9cmnpqbEXn7YaO1Ci8_MfY8Sj aWWMMoNetNF0pl1_a3iNNu_fQQkSt8
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rEVWPy0cfgLlPFfaMIC1Ies1Tqvcda1itbyP2bVGlOa_2tk5nW Chs1Igbqk1glndr0oYavNFnX8trg_zP2sdx_gD-WrQFSqpOZIfzLIrgnUB9Z--hexPeUVs1DkaUIbSTS9taX8nODc
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/6HTealCoFMlI1tBQ-F2te0hxhs0JZ3q7QfGp6hAhgC3MgjrFN4uXDpzXtDpKUxeRF26 dU3_cwjMH380DBWAHYhn74f6Za3LF8PEvVMXlOp7CBhrin_C92 OU2c9vXaFv0jWEPlshUL54
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ASl-MR58rEDBajYA4sDVGI0H00C4abhBLGu8lovtqyFXkh91zdI9JM oNVTMjpmuA7nsqDQ7mBiOdAxPVsHfyWArpGOzNkN6cE17iQvV2 bazaNFQZunPxEwq2SGpap1p7Jm9b2IgGhrw
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gmUNzW55Vql6if8GKaO_v9l_jfm6kwqttnFaf0im9ftt88aYQH dcQLLIaEsugS1yXyJjnjvcJ_PTBBcD5i2UPIXkNxJ0WjX3YUUA GOPcxmDsiymat8noIG62gvv9cR5luF0yGoifGX8
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XNtgAstpxT02rgJbehl6AuZXHjZd8PjSHlslnSFMBxAKdJ6ctN KjKz77MWGPXUutmMO-C8x7ZtYzVMUrwWGeTDYN9sYWP2itfrpBQdRxZMuLda68_LHIbe Cu_xKvj6hfENU4pSsDqTo

aviator79
01-22-2018, 08:59 AM
I also thought I'd share how I made my Flaperon clamps. Because the spar is not on the centerline, I didn't figure it was possible to drill a hole that would allow me to accurately place the bolted 2x2's on the end of the flaperon to trace the contour. It would have to be oversized to allow the 2x2's to be placed, and then there wouldn't be a good way to hold the 2x2s in the right spot while I traced the contour.

So instead, I put a hole the diameter of the spar in a piece of cardboard, and traced the countour onto the cardboard to make a template that I then used to transfer the contour to the clamps:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xYombwGDKE0JCCc8vUxP3av0IUG6X6zJLUgiSoZMvFkFCsv_Cu 69sFvt6LasnAAqeveQSgBSsIThJD5TW6dMu0soBt7ED_POaUsj qG9qFfTEvdpfNOaedRQqBLE56UYiMH1zZSNqN9Y
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/K3OisjxvvlO3hUojaG0uUrCUWtuZkC0IgMyQhL_azS4g4amsOD 9gl2TEhQao5UjlWCtUM6KmR0IRhJg96vffQFshz3HbwKboBzDj Bo-Byf2FNo_66wReRAQekwc5Dlctib0uXqPT67U
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/L1s4x8E0zkHVWkdI25pjwLS4sMEB5V2saUUtboG9JNI7zs-hMsQt0Z4tDg9mRmnK6hMP9Ye-BfbN2Tm6coll5BYk7oUK6xarLbC2D00BeALkZzCIRpvanUMOtk Al65NCep9uX_oz2As
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/peyIa98aIGizsl46F8H2gzbagRQHXP3XY_m1iD24I2QYL2JF--JWsugkQdWxjzXa0Hu9E5HDYWCG_x-BL5XGFm4s9I7c8Y9iemwAMnmLh-NQCrAm74kizOWPrmS2y2gntbjELt48lrg

aviator79
01-23-2018, 06:58 AM
Finished up this tip last night. I started the tip thinking that maybe I should have bought the plastic tips. But now I'm glad I didn't. Hand-shaping the tip was enjoyable to the point of being relaxing. SuperFil is very easy to work with. I also think that visually it looks as good (better?) than the plastic tips, and really wasn't much more work.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ntjCh7IjcdnIDzCQMCSayHo_CZQu2XEMIQS1Mtct7vtTcmvlJP A7U4c0mvitlFGequ4aghO9mekI3P1x-fcMaLEmeq_QDiP8MekWtUmnVGQkzUJJqq2I2qVdTQ_eNNT6hLI avMZAGRo

colospace
01-23-2018, 09:32 AM
That does look real nice and you probably did not spent any more time than it took me to make the plastic tips fit to my satisfaction.

Floog
01-28-2018, 10:45 AM
Really nice pictures, 79! Those are going to be appreciated by a lot of builders.

David47
01-28-2018, 04:47 PM
Nice work. You're making very good progress.

aviator79
01-29-2018, 07:26 AM
I got the right flaperon finished. Drilled the brackets and removed. Installed the LLE, and glued in optional trailing edge stiffeners. The right wing is ready to cover! I'll do that after I take the SportAir workshop in Phoenix Feb 10th-11th.

I got the center console mostly finished. Rudder control horns modified, and the rudder pedal assemblies mostly complete. My long #30 drill bit went dull, so I need another one to finish riveting together the second rudder pedal assembly.

Some wisdom earned this week:
-There is a note when assembling the flap handle to make sure that you get full travel of the slider before assembling. This note is not present in the instructions for the rudder adjustment handles. As it happens, my flap handle had full travel, so I had forgotten this tidbit when assembling the rudder adjustment handle. When I got the center console on, I couldn't get the detent pin to disengage from the detents. It took me a few minutes to figure out why. The result was drilling out the securing pin to disassemble the handle and take some material off the slider. Now I need to procure a new securing pin before I can reassemble the second handle and finish the center console. I believe (hope) they sell these tension pins at the local hardware store.
-On the LLE, the instructions recommend two clecos in each rib, and 5 in the #1 and # 10. When I do the left wing, I'll use 5 clecos at the number 5 rib where the two LLE halves meet, and maybe even in all the ribs. As it is, it worked fine, but the fiberglass doesn't sit perfectly against the ribs everywhere, and I just think the result would have been better with more clamping. There was some "waviness" in the trailing edge of the LLE, which is very minor as long as it's even while the hysol cures, so I weighed it down.

Pictures:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/930kFekYL8ZeisLNFTyU2tiLNv96C7tURmjJHcF6c0Fkg7fkIW Ok4aqIss3zTwweE3QqJGvP7NPAG9SuJRZ3Iu_0P1drwe-qJmr9BlcSVj7kd95n1c-7fd_qrmq5HtUK3zmYXo1jtDQ
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HWBxnfPdyELhkIkzJfE-I3mweTEHxdDC90zfyHHMV2EcIPyuZ7pOlkFeKdoRn5OR2tO-tjHESfOeZ76MpIY4IDZcJPTBYK6tQEcs0-6xilVFcxI7s6scmJRgtlIGZtvEsWLFPyZ05dA
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Djjxr3biwFaBIuSBj9FBNVewxy3iv36sdqWydkziAc_AMXcaCe 34n1ZAwttujnvzq-SDQpX1y_lWfoVrQ5268FlPgHdyAxsUdXoeJ7WSc3QqpJCmtEjh JMVF101VJgnFyKLSbzhEb68
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CtTOEbYaMNppnkR_nNsYgcVx830Y4LaNGF-wstgCk-Qd1MH2TXJOqqhE93I76XrI_9HD2fXSXM8JnaJqT5cFPMq6-FfegcpOkkd5NQiA0acORhKfl8PjepNvjzPWxFvIm7uypxdrZtA

Note the lack of full travel of slider. I hadn't assembled the detent pin in this side yet. But in the one in the background, it is fit up to the detent bracket, but won't disengage.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/sY8TVSed4IOTRnn-Oz2Wn6w0TQzLZLuFgFQq0c1DKQYB9uLG4nC67t-E69bPoF0AJjAMtaCWN_Xg7wfzcpjBoq5GvR8666OM_n7u9H8D8 SBJkF46yMpBbuUfRzHcozjwJvh97d96D7w

Rudder pedal assembly:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pY_sFqldBKLrbGgohayahE9Rzh0jvCr72ile6d1jK2F_ztyLqi qrPSSu2k96FN7Y5-lywlKJkz7T254EtnvDWY8NWI9JqpTuGAvVL_oME-lsTMnIql5_69l5wOWJoHVITZa7I8xNsDo
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-iwgZ5Nl4KhSzwhYmcx6VqDUeK2vRU6R3dAB0UOtcJITurkTLtd DbrYJuqIchYs2iEp3-rSLxkAmQ1NlZ8eXpC_umfuGe21QKVK6jH1kIDnePMmG-DGt9LTuUC2rH_29Y0VQooXTC3g
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/bh4mmJyq4tnhjNxEhZP6ef7w-Y5igkvkvpyZInsC0hh81BId15luRRupqeju7sifZfzdjXISASA qqBfV7c2gaKKFR0oYXIKpyuDqfHFD3w3jCgmooZnmMLihq8cnQ pr0j_DK776t4mk
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/s2UjycNvsHdao087nsd4yKL7SCrdvAyw5mB4RIw10ySXA1TJA5 8Y_JdbyMPH-I-t8c7siIG5j3SOhM3InvboWMLYzLUK9t4PawBogYU7bstO1hAGX EgWTrB5jTOjUkIMQ_9eW26R9Pk

aviator79
01-29-2018, 08:38 AM
One other piece of wisdom learned:
When you fit up the floorboards, lay the center console in place, lest you end up drilling eight holes in the aft floorboards instead of four. I placed the aft ones to line up pleasingly with the middle ones, and the center console did not fit between them at the aft end. I had to trim them on the outsides to move them outward to fit the center console, requiring me to redrill the mounting holes and fill the old ones. I wish I had time and money to build two of these things, because I think I could do a nicer job the second time around. I'm already worried that my plane will only fly in circles because my left wing will be built much better than the right. ;)

rosslr
01-29-2018, 02:49 PM
HI Brian,

I haven't commented much on your posts because I haven't anything of value to add but just wanted to say that I find your descriptions really clear ( as are the photos) and although I have finished building, I know many following you are going to find your posts a treasure trove of practical wisdom. The warts and all reports are great - makes me feel human! (I have some nice wrinkles at the back of the LLE! - doesn't effect anything as far as I know)

It looks like its going along well with your build and I look forward to more posts.

Best

ross

aviator79
01-29-2018, 03:53 PM
I'm trying to hold myself to a pretty high standard of craftsmanship, so it stings a little bit when I discover that I need to rework something. The slider travel was one where I kicked myself. The LLE fiberglass is simply not going to fit perfect. I tried several ways to get rid of the wave at the trailing edge, but at the end of the day, it's just not quite the same shape as the wing, so something has to give somewhere. I've seen some people scallop the edge which probably mitigates or masks the wave somewhat. Weighing it down assures that the amount of wave stays the same between each false rib, and prevents the wave from lifting the trailing edge away from the false ribs while the hysol cures. I figure it'll certainly be less wavy with the LLE than without.

Brandon Petersen
01-29-2018, 07:11 PM
Make sure to support the center of the wing of you're installing the LLE on a rotisserie. I like to fit and install the LLE with the wing on a rotisserie in the vertical orientation.

Have fun!
B

aviator79
01-29-2018, 07:26 PM
Now you tell me, Branden! ;)I actually did install it vertical, but then turned in horizontal to weigh it down.

If the wing sags enough in the middle to make a difference, will I be in trouble if I fit my flaperon brackets up while it was horizontal in the rotisserie?

colospace
01-30-2018, 10:18 AM
I did my LLE vertical in my rotation fixture and did scallop the aft edges. The LLE on both wings laid down nice and flat. I was well pleased. I set them aside in my holding dolly for some time while I worked on other things. When I brought them out for covering, I noticed waviness had appeared. Sometime later (Turtle Build remember) it seemed to have flattened back out. I think it may be a thermally related thing although my garage is insulated. In the end, it is not something to fret over although I am glad I did the scallops.

efwd
01-31-2018, 08:58 AM
There is enough lateral play in the flapperon hinges to accommodate slight changes in dimension of the hinge brackets I am certain.
Eddie

aviator79
01-31-2018, 09:29 AM
Thanks Eddie. I ensured that the hinges were all as close to center as possible for precisely this reason. I also scoured the internet for images, and see other examples of flaperons installed while the wings were on rotisseries, and apparently those planes haven't fallen out of the sky yet.

I've been fitting the rudder pedals the last couple days. This looks really simple in the manual, but not so easy in practice. It's difficult to get the outboard pedals to operate as smoothly as the inboards. I've got it pretty close. The inboards have basically no resistance to motion; they spin freely on the torque tubes. The outboards have some resistance, but they will flop over under their own weight. I don't know that I can get them to operate any smoother without making the fit sloppy. My hope is that once everything is cabled, all the bearings will move at the same time, so the control feel should be identical inboard pedal to outboard pedal and left seat to right seat.

I'll also add that I found it quite difficult to align the bearing brackets with the channels under the floorboard. This was made especially difficult by the fact that my assembled rudder pedals with no lateral bearing play put the outboard bearing brackets past the centerlines of the mounting channels. i.e. The complete pedal assembly was too wide (Or the channels welded too far inboard). The manual says you can add washers to make it wider, but there's no remedy listed to make it narrower. In my case, it was a difficult optimization problem to get everything in exactly the right place where the holes in the channels wouldn't be too far outboard to get washers and nuts on. What I ended up doing was getting my tiniest wire gauge drill bit (#60) and drilling two holes in the floorboard along each channel edge from underneath, and then drawing pencil lines on the top of the floorboard to locate the channels. You can only see the holes if you know they are there. As an alternative, one could grind material off of the pedals and torque tubes to correctly locate the brackets over the channels, but I lean toward not removing material from anything unless and until it is necessary. It's really hard to put it back.

I considered fitting up the pedals with the floorboard removed, drilling down through the channels, reinstalling the floorboard, and drilling back up through the floorboard, but felt that the floorboard in between the frame and the bearing brackets may change the fit of the pedal bearings. So I opted to get everything as smooth as possible, and then drill it in exactly that configuration.

Esser
01-31-2018, 11:25 AM
I used gasket remover to remove the powder coat on the rudder pedals. Turned out silk smooth. Getting the rudder to be smooth is a whole other animal.

aviator79
01-31-2018, 11:33 AM
I saw your gasket remover tip in another thread. I used that stuff to remove gaskets on my old motorcycle, and it's amazing at dissolving stuff. Even skin! I didn't use it in this case, but I did use a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a socket and chucked into a drill to remove all the powder coat form the interior of the torque tubes. The pedals really are quite smooth at this point, but the outers do have a little more friction than the inners. I also didn't grease the outers since the manual doesn't say to do so.

Just I so know what's coming down the pike, what makes getting the rudder smooth difficult?

Esser
01-31-2018, 01:46 PM
Lining up the three hinges perfectly is a challenge. There seems to be a bit of welding warp/very slight inaccuracies. You can always get two to make it very smooth but every time I put a bolt in the third one it wasn’t as good as I would have liked. I never did get it to where I i was super happy with it.

aviator79
02-02-2018, 05:39 PM
I had a visit from an EAA Tech Counselor to take a pre-cover look at my wing. He said I'm doing good work. He did comment on the aft edge of the LLE being a potential wear and eventual cracking spot for the fabric. He recommended Superfil or something to blend the edge into the fuel tank and ribs. He said anti chafe tape would be okay, but would leave an unsightly line. What, if anything did you all do to protect your fabric?

colospace
02-02-2018, 07:24 PM
In addition to scalloping the aft edges between ribs, I also used SuperFil to fair the straight edges over the tank and each rib.

aviator79
02-05-2018, 02:21 PM
I got the rudder pedals installed. They were initially tighter than I would have liked. Reaming all the powder coat and some steel out of the torque tubes at the end bearings is essential to smooth operation. Lining the brackets up with the channels underneath was difficult. My pedal assembly was exactly per the manual without any excess play, but the assembly was wider than the centerlines of the channels. I posted previously about how I lined them up. If I had been off at all, I would not have been able to drill the holes where I could still get washers and nuts on inside the channels. The brake cylinders and return springs went on pretty easily. I also got the pulleys and cable retainers installed.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9ma63YW9mraDjZ2nKNF-yt8_JUsgnRSVT8DylAq9N1tn2JiXpzpH9xI_TtUCFqT2qpoKBb b9Ib74RN4lPIGwPtVceMh7mYLkW6tN-y8hT0_MemYGjn6FYn0vjd95Z76SK14BVCfiuYo

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cYxid440wTDS8UdDiVu80K8yeEEGfBUYhKxAfxvfk_JkNeyKdZ zvA8xoWCPQUag_2sXEaSAj0jQptM2kjhn_tUv_wyUWptbLnXyo EKR82ZkJmRBDi32xZR0ZtCDzQgTErH2Z_qYbmGM

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iYrM7FdbJxhzjt1mOJn_R5QNAz9NiOhOLEIktXlmSQtRevg7sS ZXFOiXOiIj2wcl3hD0QSqYhW-Y010aVVuyf5UQqvUfZAcO2WkIVv4G7Bf5esrp3V2w7hARX_oqv sIo1NZo2FaL_j0

I installed the vertical stab and rudder ribs and stiffeners. I didn't get many pictures of this process. I should take some more with everything installed. Here's the only picture I got. On subsequent rib/tube installations, I marked the holes on the tube and didn't put adhesive where the holes are.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5xL5HTWXeLZ7lxCN9HQyTOQpgjDxDWTEaMphMTpfAKmskBDTUF R2717tLwwbxR9MrOKECNSh0FuIxosqIuIFHa_IkWiyO-8-NPgGmXwL3gJ6KRQaCGHzParjZ8DSX4W2mtHqRJ46SoA

Also fit the seat pan up and started the seat belt slots.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wkT14qbl7Vv6dRYaNuMWs9-0S8KuALceEfJzO0QT-EtkMPTpdgFL0YEl0_FE-BX3jzE-JHcXA-9xi47pHOJKfgOKCDuZDqyR6ImBe1oTPcl-pzzW04q77gncPIU-pDgADIkw7wRNgRc

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NM22-cR-mC1K777pAtS0t2jFJKOIlYQmnVeDFT8D1jAyL0r4kx_h4OxCHE YLcYY5Y-Ufio-_mfmaPbE4UoYn_YcEMHcXDbe-jNghkEmQ6g7wxrN1sKP4a8FzKWNAOdRev58Jz4lm1I0

I applied Superfil fillets (Superfillets?) To the leading edge to fuel tank and rib transitions. I think it'll make the wing look nicer and be easier on the fabric. I didn't take a picture though.

I still need to finish my center console, but I need a replacement detent pin for a rudder adjustment handle first. I also need that before I can install the rudder cables. Building this thing is fun.

aviator79
02-13-2018, 09:40 AM
Today was my slowest week owing to the fact that I spent the weekend at the EAA SportAir Fabric Covering Workshop on Phoenix. It was a good time, and by my count there were four Kitfox builders/potential builders, and three Team Kitfoxers, one of whom can be forgiven for building a SuperStol instead. I also randomly reconnected with a friend in the class I hadn't seen in over 20 years. Anyhow, here's the update on what I did get done.

I finished up the Superfil transitions to the LLE.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Fj2XeXTNy4Kni5zY3tSLMv21Gocl_dSS8OgLFe--OHFL3LZtuvexuEAOIJcN63gIff3gHDa-Gc8BaKESuZnV8IEn2aku7mAw0WGSbMyu4NicYhFY8ENbBh9hQw wuyOCGDwphiQYm_6M

I finished the right side Rudder adjustment lever, center console, and installed rudder cables, leaving them unattached at the rudder per the manual.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PH0xNPhWqxem-1fZPNs4gwJN7fyr-c7PrdQNf5-Jf32DTubAhmir1K0AOCWF7OPuwzKJHFZjmr_-Pe1t-nbL8p9a2jqG_NyjrVBRYU_X0P5mhaz3jq8vPv20pl1MhDP4JSE m9rE6hPQ

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WG17AF56UH5647Ju0DuXIE3Xsf2qqXwDEJ5OWMxQqkjrNN03gp Z5c5VDzB8CqNLtALBgb8LdZ9JEWQAutMJlNKZSil6_zmKWwyK2 F2zBvR6QzVmn7qmconFRWfyXmP_il4mWCK_qZ7A

I also varnished the VS/rudder ribs.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/V_rtz8UViKkfGfH9hHk2q36TCUouDyIZv6i1vLUAtmbmop3rvQ xKca0tC2eWQMvQIVtpOtShspQMR1RMdFggGrkTcHn5qDblJ9d_ BYZ3J_ejQ9u-vziEhAfcCEUg0dUzstLE9j4m3II

When I got home from Phoenix yesterday, I started installing the VS-to-rudder fairings. This is a bit more time consuming than I expected. I'm still working on the VS fairing. The instructions in the manual are a little sparse on how to get it to all fit up. I don't think it's too difficult to figure out, but there is definitely more to it than what's in the manual. In any event, Now that I'm done with the fabric covering workshop, I'm going to set the fuselage work aside to get my wing covered.

The workshop was at the Arizona airbase of the Commemorative Air Force. I'd post more pictures, but I don't like to post pictures with people in them without their permission. Pretty cool to learn underneath this beauty:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/XUd9zxnxQXeuN4NeLV-WvoUbPJZKFq_ML2SjxRTb_YN7a1pudUKSgukDQ8NUUg5roPmKy rdclSj3CVvo7rJs6weYLnh_WgTDaYcNZcwDfM92gtBnLt1Exhf 0gonxphMEyin7nXWSz-Y

Really a beautiful venue. I grew up in Phoenix, so it was nice to visit home for a bit.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/F64WMUuMpBS-Qgum9Tq0MwdZ5Xmxn5ALQZJkmQ5q8ZTO9MTqIDYXbA1WM4_Z05 HeGFrWu-7_T2yCf0oDt_-i_MTYKLUVIszPGHyFke5Xkts9ug_WO8rAqZ9e804OVOI97UJAT rSHyhM

David47
02-13-2018, 06:17 PM
You're travelling along VERY well. Congratulations on the high standard you set yourself. And nice pic's of the Commemorative aircraft as well.

aviator79
02-14-2018, 08:24 AM
Mind you, I'm doing one wing at a time, so my progress may appear to be twice as fast as it is. A little bit every day.

aviator79
02-20-2018, 07:51 AM
Weekly update:
I had some work travel Thurs-Fri this week, so missed a few hours of plane-building. I got caught up pretty well over the long weekend though. I got the right wing covering done up through rib lacing. My fingers are sore this morning.

The only thing that I feel didn't go that well were the fabric reinforcement plates that go inside the bottom fabric at the lift strut brackets. The Kitfox manual and the Polyfiber manual are at odds about how to handle these protrusions. I followed the Kitfox manual and glued in the reinforcement plates and cut little slits for the ears prior to shrinking. The rear plate went okay, but shrinking the fabric did open up those slits and make it look sloppy. The front bracket was a mess though. Because it's very close to where the fabric is cemented, the fabric shrinks toward the center of the wing, and it moves that bracket substantially. The slits for the ears grew very wide, and the little tab on the reinforcement plate that goes between the ears wasn't between the ears anymore. I had to unglue and reglue the plate, being very careful not to drop it into my now completely-enclosed wing. I've already made the required gusset which I hope will cover up the ugly. Polyfiber's instructions are to shrink the fabric to 250, then cut slits for the protrusions, and apply a fabric gusset after the first coat of polybrush. They don't have any provision for reinforcing fabric with glued-in metal plates. This certainly would have been cleaner and easier. Is there a specific reason Kitfox uses the metal reinforcement plates? There's not much other commentary to provide since every thing else went pretty much by the book, so I'll just post some pictures.

Sanded under-fabric surfaces with 220:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/t1M_pl0K5DrJplxZ2uWSmcU4Rd4DGQmuQLFQ24gDwAczi4Tkkx f2-liU7WZx15NddP_wiR39ZqhGsymi0TpbO04rcLvrh1rrup0yUCc pCVC092HbUfmbFYhFIrkSRfYOmRIKmdHZY54

Two coats of Poly Brush:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/N5xCRAq2J94WFpx-1y_EmJWfDPZTvBEAz2otc4H7PjaJQPjfThHF13K8CXQuru3O0M SiffYNu0AtJpsCqZ_uIVcVNq37ywnH2CI5kWKknEt5hkXgkU_k Zw6sV7erc2BDsZz-iWB9wsM

Laying out fabric:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/FxkTgJJsxZujdiFAWOh2rUlGTOTUrVkTNTDNRLi8wh1fGYUzEI veOuokJSISduEX0rHxPYOx-d5I_OaWnozIYZMHjG4O2X-SK4wgpKiwDWZDvnlNeZdq4MJSV9CJ5WHHBt6UMYC9VZg

Bottom edge heat-formed and glued around the capstrip:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jdM2faBS3cQlZffeS8h1jXsHYRmOC_UC-hpMpM8OylEorcUSUZ0zqnvxauCSUdnztQ9eD-DRyeccpRtLFNyGUB4Jmf-CZWEXKXUDc4Mvw7_OPoPAFMrMVsyjUJo2s4lP38J98RYb8KU

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xyXriQGZwqzpt6aXEMk645a8_kmgNH1rBqo4w5d3vHJmi1ouaH 0c2GV8MqyEQR6BgIA-FhnvjAYirdRlVhnBfqzfvi_tQiLnIaR71L85BGjxYwQ7t29gMW 0BEHRjR8WIn7nJqX1iEWk

Plates before shrinking:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tmdaJMuz025l4JdKkVcIOFsGnjKBa9SwwEqzhRgZRTIKPvUF3o 3mMNAGQ6hQBTWeqGkoKkP6HFvswo7mWtYh3G9Ix708z8DaAyad w9R-9iNrr4978IGweynY4Jq-HWsJrww46cNJr9U

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/yn7XLawmAyK1BZ2Hgv2Y3mYf7E3MPQaQS7XrPE_OTSytXh179F sdM9Mtg0vZObekQgoVwVsRr5Ub0tHaGJfTT2NH4Bq4JwZ6HXPX 0be4fdZS_N-UnKtOinCOSLfAMWcP-twWUHMQ0jo

Holy cow it looks like a wing!
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rAO3EM5ZToi8PQwb8CfFGMKljCUhQEcpMqPvSoBYiHMCtSAlp5 Td5aFHjarEWBny7tZbWh0Qr-_UYuRPDVgl-sOPlr1DVfpzFZezRImXk2LVhQbGukhdGMV6qJhzjHVCyPh6Cu1 IAAE

Fuel filler done "the Poly Fiber way" for protrusions:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/k8uz4xhjltSlr1893hTVKFflviIIruJcYWZCo3BZeu_hw9VSIW Ct-z5ieVHHNZCkp1xZVUN0D19ZFSkAugmS461N0QXye316Y9fylz5 ENW9qdV9A5HPrBznuvDoy4DB7SBL4AUPV7tQ

Poly Brush brushed on. Lot of runs on the inside (I'm told that's a good thing)
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QmbRka3yZW8IMrGiLccRbNUtL36MY2S0aiL_xB8JNTFTR-bnb7d9tIyW2mMt5h4hRdpkv4sRF8CpM7PMxxprGPdqqz3cRjuC Ri_0tvvCYw4vp6oaZFZtLRv82n8oJjKkvgOtNMCFvyQ

My workshop buddy:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/cBmW50N5DuY8LF0Fqrc3vAq79B0wf6FrzBjNufEobbW5Cy7joe-2zLJo4TBv5DMXiq2rllLc0oA8ssI3xOgBR4_GehZFd677WeRzT sc2Ausk-RC4_S2gnDn7W6j7Gzmjs-AomXHUHIU

All laced up:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/YILAAqRhR1TD5mwvpK2Zhc9bSiVzMun5APzGMos79Sk3O-a78sXZAVF2IZjyYZrafqyxIqjZjUDztSdu7A0Bt6R3xVpqmUoW JTGZNOC0XuYRnfIIUeBoqxp6bedE944U9zUYqRDQ9qs

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7fAh_YEYX-7cIZQ7jTfcFjAqTlCRxoxI4U3uWjhhe8Bx8rS9pvQnFN4iYTkn 4JE0CGlBIlBBUaFuw0ad7HLX0Mokg9pz9amoMvIA2ftLv05OSU NdRdKtStC_a44MwqQZ54dZ-6mKkdE

Esser
02-20-2018, 08:25 AM
I differed from the manual after messing up the first and did what you would do with an inspection hole. Shrink the fabric, polybrush the plate on top of the fabric, and then put a patch on top.

Clark in AZ
02-20-2018, 10:29 AM
WOW! Excellent progress. Any problems or things that were different from class? Looks like it was pretty straight forward.

Clark

aviator79
02-20-2018, 11:01 AM
It's been pretty much just like the class except for the reinforcement plates mentioned above.

On the Kitfox, the #1 rib and the tip rib are different. You have to heat-form and glue the fabric around the inside of the capstrips, but I think this is easier than heat forming to a tip bow. It does bring up a question that I haven't figured out yet. What do we do with the finish tapes at the tip and butt ribs? You can't curl them around the capstrip at the tip because they would cover the wingtip mounting strips, but it doesn't seem right to not center the tape up on the rib either. Cut it flush to the end of the capstrip? I feel like that would unravel over time. I'll be doing this pretty soon, so maybe someone will chime in with advice.

I do have a couple of crooked stitches because I had to work around internal structure and had to make a call between moving and adding stitches or moving one side of the stitch a bit, making it crooked. I don't know if it's possible to have straight stitches and consistent spacing while avoiding all the internal structure. If it is, I think it would take a lot of time to figure out. You can choose which side of the wing (top or bottom) is crooked. Mine are straight on the top of the wing. In hindsight, people see the bottom more, so I probably should have made them crooked on top. I guess I'll have to be sure I don't hang a "Judge Me" sign on the prop if Gary is around. One thing that is helpful is to pre-poke all the stitch holes all the way through the wing instead of doing the holes in the top and then the holes in the bottom. If you go all the way through, you will find the places where internal structure is in the way.

Also, with 2.5 inch spacing, the rear spar doesn't fit between stitches. I referenced the stitch spacing off the spar instead of the rear of the leading-edge fairing, and spaced the stitches on either side of the spar at 3 inches.

jiott
02-20-2018, 12:56 PM
I heat formed the butt rib finish tape around the capstrip. At the wingtip I also formed the finish tape over the aluminum tip mounting strips and then opened holes thru it where the threaded nutplates were with an old soldering iron. You will need something anyway to shim the mounting strip surface up so that the wingtip fiberglass is flush with the rest of the wing surface.

The method I used to fairly quickly layout the rib stitch spacing so it missed all internal structures was this: Before fabric covering I used about a 1" strip of fiberglass trimming from the wingtip to lay on top of the wing rib and lay out a stitch pattern, in pencil, which appeared to miss the internal structures. Then I took this strip and layed it on top of each rib to double check the pattern. I erased and tweaked the pattern several times before I finalized it. When I marked it later on the fabric and did the stitching it worked perfectly.

aviator79
02-20-2018, 01:07 PM
I like that method Jim. Shows a lot of foresight. The spacing might not be uniform, but I'd bet it's less noticeable visually than having crooked stitches, or some stitches that aren't in line with the rest of the wing.

It's good to know that the fabric on the mounting plates actually helps the tips match the wing countour. I haven't trimmed and fitted mine; I was waiting until after it was covered so I could make sure it lined up with the covered surface correctly. I was worried about the opposite problem, thinking that the fabric thickness on the mounting strip might make the surface of the tip sit too high.

jiott
02-20-2018, 01:24 PM
Actually I was able to arrive at a stitch pattern that was identical for all ribs, and so nearly evenly spaced that you cannot tell by looking, and they all line up.

I believe the manual says to mount the tip strips after covering, but before you apply finish tape. The thickness of the fiberglass is less than the thickness of the rib capstrip so yes, you do need to shim it up some if you want a real nice looking flush fit (I'm not saying that mine is perfect).

aviator79
02-20-2018, 01:41 PM
Actually I was able to arrive at a stitch pattern that was identical for all ribs, and so nearly evenly spaced that you cannot tell by looking, and they all line up.

That's exactly what I meant, but the semantics are difficult. I mean that the spacing is non-uniform on a single rib, but not between ribs. In fact, even if your stitches were spaced exactly uniform across the top of each rib (say 2.5 inches), they would still be non-uniform along the bottom because the curvature of the top is changing. So really, your method sacrifices nothing visually. Pretty neat.

Floog
02-20-2018, 02:10 PM
I can attest to Jim's method: he let me use his templates. The lacing came out very nice and uniform. And the fabric is still on the wing almost 4 years later! Thanks, Jim.k

aviator79
02-20-2018, 02:30 PM
New question: Where do you all recommend inspection holes? My EAA tech counselor said that more than the two recommended by the manual would be a good idea. What do you guys think?

Dave S
02-20-2018, 03:07 PM
Brian,

People's mileage certainly varies on this.

Inspection rings are cheap - I put one into each bay between the main ribs for inspection purposes (except for the wing tank bays).

A person can always put in the rings, paint the whole works and cut the hole later if they want to get inside the wing for a looksee.

Also got a mess of plates, painted them and put the extras in a box if I ever decided to cut out the holes.

Builder's discretion.

OK forgot to mention on the first pass....also one under the static port and another on the side by the lower stab attach point (S7 with manual trim - not trimmable stab)

colospace
02-20-2018, 03:31 PM
I have not opened any of my access holes yet, but I put one under the mid-fuselage elevator idler bellcrank location to access that and also be able to inspect the rudder cable swages. I also put access at my pitot as well as under each fuel line outlet fitting.

Esser
02-20-2018, 03:49 PM
New question: Where do you all recommend inspection holes? My EAA tech counselor said that more than the two recommended by the manual would be a good idea. What do you guys think?

I put mine so one was always beside a bay or in a bay. I think it works out to two Per wing with the exception of the last bay which I can reach with the tip removed.

Looks like this if “0” is a bay with no inspection ring and X is a bay with one.


I 0 I X I 0 I 0 I X I 0 I 0

David47
02-20-2018, 06:29 PM
In addition to the fabric round access holes, I've also incorporated screw on access panels into the following areas:

Wings:


directly under the outlet fittings of each wing tank
at each wing strut to wing joint
my pitot/static mast is attached to a screw on access panel
beside my magnetometer in the LH wing

Fuselage:



rear lower fuselage, just forward of the stab trim motor, both sides (I'm putting rudder cable turnbuckles in this area)
may need another somewhere on the rear fuselage for battery access - haven't decided if needed or where at this stage.
looking at a large access panel forward of the landing gear. Not firm on that yet.

These access panels are big enough to get hands through if something needs to be unscrewed and removed, and they're all made from commercial grade aluminium.

Happy to share photos, dimensions etc for whatever you want.

jiott
02-20-2018, 07:53 PM
The most important one to me that I use every year at annual is the inspection cover where Gary mentioned, on the bottom right under the rear elevator idler bellcrank. It also happens to be close to the static pitot port. As Gary says, its great for inspection, lubrication of these items as well as rudder cable swages. The beauty of it is I don't need to remove my baggage compartment sack and crawl into the tailcone to inspect/lube these items. Its the only inspection ring I have cut the fabric out of in 4 years.

BobRS
02-22-2018, 09:32 PM
Brian
I put inspection ports near the pitot tubes (I have 2, one for the AFS panel, and a back up to a steam gauge ASI). I've used them both. I also have an inspection port near the rear bell crank, but I'm still flexible enough to crawl into the cargo area and haven't "cut it out". When you come down to ABQ, I'll show you what we did.

BobRS
SS7, Trigear
Flying N104Y, 914

aviator79
02-26-2018, 08:09 AM
This week I added inspection rings, doilies, gussets, and most of the tapes on the right wing. I realized the middle of last week that the kit does not include 1" tapes for the false ribs. I should get a roll of tape today so that I can continue. I decided to do inspection rings directly under the finger strainer fitting, in the bays that have LS or JS attach fittings, and in the second to last bay. This makes it so that every bay has a ring or is adjacent to one that does. It should permit inspection of most anything using a borescope.

I'm happy to say that the gussets on the LS attach brackets completely hide the ugly lurking beneath. I'll definitely follow the polyfiber instructions instead of the KF manual instructions when I do the left wing, but all is well that ends well.

Doing the taping went by the PF book. I installed all the 2" rib tapes, the spar tape, and the trailing edge tape. The only slight difficulty I had was doing the trailing edge tape. It would have been very helpful to have a second person doing this job. It would have been nice to have extra hands to hold the tape while I brushed on the wet polybrush. As it was, I was trying to hold the tape, but not pull it off where I had already applied it, while working quickly enough to lay tape into wet polybrush. It is managable, but it took a lot of heat smoothing after it dried to get the wrinkles and bubbles out. The Poly Fiber manual is correct though: with patience and a calibrated iron, you can work out pretty much any imperfection. I may have spent a good two hours just heat smoothing the trailing edge tape. I also heat smoothed every square cm of every tape that I've installed.

Since I had some time waiting for 1" tape, I also fit the center console sides, Installed the nutplates for the seat pan, finished fitting up the vertical stab fairing, and used some filler to clean up a few rough spots.

I didn't take that many pictures, but I'll post what I have. Hopefully I'll have more to add next week.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dZ22pPbe1rS-kGskXKQv26GP-vIJqfb2hErXoxcFOpM8w4NA7S5aKoQC8ScmYsX2a3o464eFnO0 RKIAv7qh6WXSmQwmEtisQp11MHFSZvDppe-smkOPNTlSZq5ozxn6kxHmT6h-5ZHI=w500

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5vMUijM2FNXqef3emClWehpTbT4gjtM6jTjagBuB7zAH4aXtTW zf12_AzWFGscpajgLasDKcSYmIh6y59HxJ9NJfihpDqWVbC0En BJtVqACu4GJKUQ4C0DGWDuAL4ziwdSEvSS_EBTg=w500

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8KcnKCCAw_G74MRnyWQX8I_gHSP2ctF33-6AolMnUDndhJqQ4zwkjG7Fi98_g4pTCBVK2H5gVsCP1Ce8g1eh ICltg6XJVVXY_kX016plHyo9JgzOwo-gDTvJmojTlrXkzpDlY52CoRo=w500

aviator79
02-26-2018, 08:19 AM
One thing to add for anyone following along from the beginning: After covering, the "waviness" that concerned me at the rear of the LLE is no longer apparent. The tension in the fabric holds the edge down, and it looks great.

jiott
02-26-2018, 11:05 AM
I had more than enough 2" tape, so I just cut it in half, with pinking shears, to get 1" tape. Also, I think you get way more than enough 4" tape.

aviator79
02-27-2018, 11:41 AM
Just posting a couple additional photos of last week's progress.

Spar tape, TE tape, and top false rib tapes installed:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Uy5lFaDi95efktSI_LmK_-OVQY00S4GKwKdutigruB5Vfjd5maVC8iN8kBFoJU6t03FQlGwj dsaXppq4cRE8tBKsaRnFnmMKR6PkEFZQgywONDHwzGTPRiGk75 ToSjMPA2AsjOGGfic=w600

Shot down the aft edge of the LLE:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/H8wL8iOhJGTFMObBPRNbImxyMBwMuFSejcAi9bZAO3UYzEZRBl klyst9L6TLvIjdXXJroZLLDipkjL0oL0gDzbnIlaOB8HFvfnHV toFXalq4tliuDQrqA45W96c9oCbAIrsmRGSjBew=w600

David47
02-28-2018, 06:34 AM
You’re powering ahead Brian. Great work.

aviator79
03-05-2018, 07:18 AM
A lot of hours put into a small number of tasks this week as the covering proceeds. I've gotten through the second sprayed coat of Poly Spray. I should be able to finish it this week.

Poly Fiber is a labor-intensive process. I thank John for his advice to spread the covering out over the build. I enjoy the process, but by the time I finish this wing I'll be ready to do something else for awhile. I can't help but think this wing would be done if I were using Oratex. I believe my reasons for sticking with Poly Fiber are still valid, so I don't regret the decision. However, I would bet that Oratex-like systems are the future of fabric covering just on account of how much labor they save.

Taping complete. (and heat smoothed and heat smoothed and heat smoothed.):
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fbt9Wcpopzp9HnGOd97Lk7dkWmhnavYh8d2sdaWNVRfApK7kCx MXehiKRR_itRRZUCN3mTgABF52-zGSZSshnlnmrKvqdafD3ESL56mqQVQ9qy5pnbj85jEUdirravF OBJu2AQDudy0=w600

2/3 sprayed coats of Poly Brush:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CCcDvg63n9wKZ51tiR8XnTEBlr9vg2menPeaIZNwRMimU1KI1q 8h02RzmnFOBr0xbSFCxpq2FuZpZ5yjDUyicdxYtaBI9rhydv69 Xlyf8U8tdxp0YOhBe2dY9imKoqTjXVWoKaGwtxo=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ZeNumhxIAByHvVnbBwObLniqYEyoTITzYEZ6LJxxV_pnUz0pk9 5GzONM8Ko9MJXhm8nwLmadSmMQmnhTSSo3_jITluxZg81QwYmi jcFTVO3_4sallocj0b6bMMwIHcWOigCYDqOJRyA=w600

aviator79
03-12-2018, 07:49 AM
More covering this week. I'm done covering the right wing (through Poly-Spray). Covering is a lot of work. I've spent about as much time covering the wing as I did on all of the assembly tasks for the wing.

With covering done, I also fit and trimmed the right wingtip and cut holes for the lights. I fretted about this step when reading the instructions, but in practice it wasn't difficult. The tip with the light provision fit pretty nicely when trimmed to the scribe line, and the length was spot-on. I've got some Superfil curing today because the fiberglass needed some cleanup. The gelcoat didn't make it all the way to the scribe lines, and also chipped in some places while I was trimming. Once I clean that up the right wing will be done! I had intended to move the right wing out of the garage and bring in the left, but we had wet slushy snow yesterday, so thought it better to wait. So this afternoon I'll get the left wing into the shop and start all over.

Since I couldn't move the wings, I finished fitting and bonding the VS fairing. I really did a shameful hack job on this fairing and can't wait to get fabric on it. The manual basically just says to align, trim and glue it. There is a lot more to it than that by the time it fits the ribs and has the required holes, slots, notches and reliefs to clear the bosses, rudder stops, weldments and welds. I made a few mistakes that needed to be corrected with Hysol. And despite my best efforts, I won't be winning any Hysol artistry awards. I see pictures in other build logs of beautiful hysol fillets that make it look like mine was applied by an impatient three year old. I do my best to use a gloved finger in denatured alcohol to clean them up, but I'm still glad that they'll be under the fabric.

All silvery. Looks like a real airplane wing. There are some imperfections that won't be present on the other wing.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wUiDl9zP3vPc8wuxNyQFOSXgBBay0iUmUawsXKLkm49UQE2S5l Wly0YOkdXM_Coz9QiD26fCxcK0Ukk4l_wo3sad857b6nRi267d _BAZ77KrdtOZ3kIGkj23gM8nPN1PHCzAB1qg8RU=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OsYATXlLocBEtFbfQ1t8Xda8hQL2QpumdAH3pIyfp0opGbNL-BGZNkcOGL7ypV59zebno411Ygq_SpNui11wKZdlkogeLGfqoxl ocyMH6oP9Mw8c9gUJtZ3T_NXfWlM5RzksxS4q5lw=w600

Scribe line taped to assist with trimming:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/2sM7mSyaLm4Tfj5R0QMe9xom1ExG_KjsAilgrLK_zbYpZ2lTT4 g8P4_n4L8sLXT09yPc4GzjF466rhrfvhPsORxYSRoe49s_FpR6 qxO7aaimJHJl3MtB04Y0g7eqatLr-trdQx1PZGc=w600

Gelcoat doesn't make it to the sribe line. I'm glad it fit well, as I didn't have much excess material to "sneak up" on the scribe line if I would have had to iterate a few times to get the fit right.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/pW3iKH6puF6UQiL7P2yAfutJycEv75T02tVpkXuZjrdH1uSBvD q2m6gMZ0ezAPMeNq3xA8TuiHAYhayPMZ6sUfzEeZ44xwB5HswF 0tJqdswNlSsyrh74mdQqTkMW3QQmYMy3ic-u9vs=w600

Fits well. Hopefully the left goes as smoothly. The Superfil that I'm using will also make up some of the thickness to the wing, but there will still be a small step at the tip-to-wing joint.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gV_09eM09f2QFPg-kmFLFoJpdvzOu88s05jtTFapEIMxVPo6ZJPf0V8Y57lGiBIt5k e4oLswXMTRkQ7HfA0E9BskYK6X4cHdpmGIB-omsDqMAud_k5ukYlMe-Z4Cc6OUwDYcl4vBotY=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/HEeDUO1Qt-p1AbnkpdHeed1Pz0D9_hxyBkyvDcwoYonp6JbANKciGlQiLfuD i5_U6ton0MEO38VZVVVksSl7myrNIhaLR_3xQWrJSzYheYNS6i nKs0PseaNVDws5v2U-xWlcLtpPQeU=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0f7xA7PqizAJKM6FqWoGzD9TyxDBrxYISMSSrzOsOgiGgta6vk oCy2vU8IDr947aoahsX_-9mFR7n5bhqH9-0PRT3-mQHEpBHUe4ypsyCq0jR4ZFAplJ1tVtDL5bjGfbyht88NNLPCw= w600

Lights:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/SedogB2At7uYwGsK3vpC5d6dI6LcQE8U5l9xGdsTxqTXRqemL6 kTSFpj6s4sWznXsh0o5yePOBFmyuh_-BcJkMpyKcnE60QqG1gYoYRR5pqSlDA_1mYnRbKkYsnId7JUqlu _A_bDTUA=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dFVyjxxh-qP72V4Cb4T-wfRo-QKMy0bnca-iu4P-nm5gYlVFDqmsWPlO3LXj9uN5vBr8-JiIYneWytrsBCQup87R9T8T51p0IQ5bSpyme6t-7TAGV0zIumLUB_4KvZuqKeK8JklIIf4=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mWkF_8rNqT2oxTOSRyGlsxfbuRfUkag4jelNZ0oUgXnE-y-v9fAZExwif3OZfiKG_-SdVqALDkwBTgwgzEyBd7lPvv2MrpGKb1rXKN53SoCDRkARqrNh gHfZr5m_m3wAz4qWAG8g1OE=w600

If quality were measured in the number of clamps used, then my work would be top notch.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3BaOQ0Dlqpg-Sg8DpkRLFtnk6iTtwsvRA4OzRc_DbDGsOm65hZ7Z6hwC_8oEJU oqe3adK1CLX4dQa-MM5cuKlWtesld6jFA60QWdSaqR7InO3NbhMwy_DEUMbPaoNbP9 o1n7REovBow=w600

Clark in AZ
03-12-2018, 08:20 AM
Looks great Brian. Good job on the covering, even with the class I'm sure there was a learning curve.

I'm picking up my SuperSTOL next week. :)

Clark

aviator79
03-12-2018, 08:38 AM
Thanks Clark.

The biggest thing that bothers me is the trailing edge. The Al trailing edge is a "V" channel. That V angle isn't consistent across the wing and is more acute than the rib trailing edge angle in between some of the ribs. It is minor enough that I thought the fabric would fair over it, but it's very apparent on the covered wing where the fabric comes over the tubular TE reinfocement and steps down to the "V" channel. An hour and half of Superfil work would have enhanced the appearance of the trailing edge substantially. The bigger lesson learned here is anytime a voice in your head says "The fabric will cover that", you best check it with your fingers. If you can feel it, it will show.

You can see it here:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lJpwH1gCeZDDSzWWuIZSPpoLbDvOPpH_lheB22WYQpFgK4f_Ii i4OtD5rZ5ZoJhNrlS1AFsy6Mrt3Hlh0rrqqYr44VctEWCwOO5I 8PB58mbtNpXzGBA0yZMy3d5vOvC2ANkf_X8PZz0=w500

You must be super excited about your plane. Next time I'm in the valley, would you mind if I stopped by and took a look?

Clark in AZ
03-12-2018, 08:49 AM
Great points about what will "show" through the fabric. I'll remember that.

You bet! Anytime you're over this way let me know. I'll be spending a week at the factory and 3 to 4 days driving back. Then the work begins!

Clark

aviator79
03-13-2018, 06:21 AM
It's deja vu all over again.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/D8HbGkKUTwj3EdRoS3B2qPdi1riMSdWGQ6VA4UKI1fffWmoTyq K7mlmq1gnVXHMehcw-PMWQcVR5_7wRyZ3EUKqO-dwrC5SxED6VMclmnOEXLzvXp-M7y-3BeBLP98GfQ2X1TJWA5Z0=w600

David47
03-13-2018, 06:29 PM
...... The bigger lesson learned here is anytime a voice in your head says "The fabric will cover that", you best check it with your fingers. If you can feel it, it will show.

I have a copy of the Poly Fibre video sold through EAA. The saying throughout it is .."if you can feel it, you'll see it".

After covering my RH wing, I know what they mean !. I reinforced my training edge with 3/8" channel section instead of the tubing, and you can see a faint ridge line. But it's on the upper surface so no biggie.

aviator79
03-19-2018, 07:31 AM
The left wing is really just the right wing all over again, but providing a build update weekly kind of helps me sustain momentum.

On the left wing, I installed the LS and JS attach brackets, false ribs, #2 rib, #1 rib-to-tank braces. I installed the trailing edge from ribs 1 to 3, and glued in tubular stiffeners. I installed the pitot mounting plate and fabricated a magnetometer mounting plate. I varnished all the wood, primed all the aluminum.

Next I'll do the LLE and wingtip mounting strips, then onto the Flaperon.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/kraRNqYbjtVgG-Es49u4Qo0E-DPkuMs23fg1hIeYxEHGD2O2t8HjPkth7feaaStKHjroS8xUVyX x5O-RUHSwjyYMyTLePOtvLp2js_Qrba-PF54VuUhFMDKYh4uHRVOhoDZ48P9cbxQ=w600


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/evpqlUpieAcl0DZDkL3igJ5A1gUnz3CUIbLWiBcKkx3r7HceMK qpyAVH4t9yKcnlBSo-pR9xzq00mRynfNjWBLswM8ALZ1uGbINCESYfHUQRwbNlXMSa7N qNy6KQGLM6nm5nVGWjfiM=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-j0Jr_pCKLvm7uqjz--rSLALKc9liCZnSTJhnyBjBWRdHtjU5FZer1k9aKcc4Xnkuw6CO DUwNLhBXNaqiOlctR9Se_jYcDi2bqzP4iYAt1SEA1Apw8-0j-Itl-rZpEz--DfH6QoHYsc=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KylET2UTOcDL7Itg6pSzDvrgXer55qZJpYtMVp8DvijcAy9YCE OmWQIqs-WnlsdGfZjzNztfRfKfo1SK-am38ZnA45au1spf4oYICFnMAT5XRwZpWqB3DVYVmUEZ3b-PAuPTPGEEDQ0=w600

David47
03-19-2018, 10:02 PM
Because I'm close to where you are in the build, I freaked out .... thought I was looking at my own left hand wing sitting in the rotisserie right now !. You're making excellent progress Brian. Useful photos for other builders.

aviator79
03-20-2018, 06:57 AM
You're kind to say that we're close to each other in the build. You're substantially further along than I am, and progressing furiously. Our left wings are in a similar state though. Next week my wife and kids will be visiting grandparents for spring break. Unfortunately, I have to stay behind for work. The good news is I should be able to make a strong push on this wing next week. I hope to be well into covering it by the time they get back.

David47
03-21-2018, 04:33 AM
Couldn’t do this without my family, particularly my partner. She’s been incredibly patient, and she doesn’t even like flying !. But at the same time, it’s great to get the odd day when you have the garage to yourself to just immerse yourself in building. I, along with a friend who came by, had 2 days like that last weekend, which is why the build moved along so well.

aviator79
03-26-2018, 07:04 AM
The week in reveiw:
I installed the leading edge. So much easier the second time! I used 6 clecos in each rib, and enough blue painter's tape to move 3M's stock price. I also installed it and kept it vertical per Brandon Peterson's suggestion. The right one looked fine, but this one looks good.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OXt8wVileDZ7rl9hcigglQABCDBKFnSocnWo77VrHpt1Jm8GBu H0EkYaD2YHQIUidS4Iz_wDUFu6aX-1_mqZsEwZu-0CQthuWTi-FzlBahBC15XrjU0Y2N4LvsLIxtezQlv7mijorh4=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tSgbfulSNVAS3_UlroCbN2N9vi068F9lDHAhXQYmDl0PsbmC-ot5ao9vOfoYyKqUOtljepNu37LhYe3HtUaEwvmq49pOSJpaQGj K_Pyrg29R4p9O0O82vCJiJQRNAYlyNw1aSVtaC00=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/b7sNNS2Am7PHxp56xrrKboFJ1UIUXdPFxEcgMuQB0nDWpMW5_8 Hc_bbhhpIg-E22JDvgTJrfKk3kNOKTL2UrxHp_WoQV9bJUwFffzjT6Fjx1Qdu gwjHUBCmrU-I9JGn8nUimm55wVx8=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MpwtKpVIVemTE1LkxFMQ1TTRIDqvjsyivyfdowUZeahxkx9v2D _EApbAL1LG16_j1kEUNozGWDatbpYRjg4Kj9UTp6SFpQqS_Y_A I9v-dal-adAFmQCfWtTOKV4rSflEzgl32SgoR94=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/RfFxa3efA9VymNY6lpYDcTdM7h6gwa-WuoHFRU1xc96DGNcPS_mridAhOS5pvfogZMdwHNzF-qRfoYglAEqIe-8tb1Ap5EWtI_Xgj3kqT2fRrNkkrPWkKE5ZU0j7FHsldEIOX_Lg Ejs=w600

Built/installed/removed the flaperon.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JYXtkPbBcVMIr_vuC2Pleeick4sn1c82BWGj8RY799iXrztFEG daqmzYJJ-FCBGIIP5HoimEyblohDJDCWWhX-AjH3vcMvmeYjJBOK_geXLC0KggG-Jtl2SffySwud5qeRRHlM6tsHw=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UZh5EQs9mjUJD6GS6Y_6DPr5JWUhH-T0XHluH2G-3h8fXHmMRUluBHubq_YGlW3wliCkR8XUGZoaias58WEZU_glQS khlQBgsXzoPozmZo4OKSIBDtSWNQ4wNGwvSvvYiHiJqYxLs_0= w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3Tff1DhnPl3xn9hI7IvBhce0ByTuxeF2lJ7scChzfTOcaoHWsl 1-tbaktdsQxRfAYBYBPqJkYSME9cxvu2yEKXppAQbRIwnUTmvOeP GoBvsPjhshdXvyxV6csIEfm7OJU3Tz84fDxjs=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-f6v4M3LC9LlZ2wbS8ve8Epsm1G5dY1FGIDmxZlwnQXOIuevEUC ebOvUfOwtMwgrzXprHTa6V_fTSAxA6QmMonVu9N6PxbgF10Yqc 8NUqOwCeoq1vZW1VjtOrjfT48wJBE7xLtjo5-8=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PeQeaqICd5hF1hE6VLpe-8FEFoU3pkVpdct5UW95iyI5Yq_t7E66YxOt8Sy44hKxdHrQQSR DlyRE5HjmDxNxajKbgL6306zqpyK5fkBPHdryxDi0n4sd8DABQ VGRdGLtBuYM80ICSBg=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/y_hsUTNiCrCD-w0m2ovmwMwPwseMQgz21eziwcdXe1maELQqAI_lSL4taLk01e8 Z6iJcy2HKo551aC7UpH0UWZgunN6PFRQRe-xL5ec4qYk1sSKH99QUzzXp7lgNnlgJ_BuowJp4wz0=w600

Installed the remote magnetometer. I didn't take a picture with the magnetometer actually in place, but here's the mounting plate:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PgI04XivWhnKS_NguRErYbZScFivF_uOwqcLkZ66ISIlInKxnn 7GnOE2kFAGloyQhUg6QLwsBqXUVp_AxRzvTt1RW1X3AzLD8eaV Y_Zcf4MHAHiD_QdOsVfg80RotVWPQQO3f24LC1Y=w600

I applied a bunch of blue goo (Super Fil) to fair the trailing edge stiffeners and the LLE transitions.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/O1ABEp2HQ3f8ET6CvOQSxthJbplhDCXxZZpFvks-IyM6bkJ8Zt9F2Uk4de47DGUHYkilahf7xrVL4_PiSbh78OVqbj vXwCsmJIbKN1a9K0AvL4BR8ZwwQAkbZ8Qt01DcRMMd8Tw-QAE=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/jLQid7wGpR2e54RbCoOQ2fXFYbplcRh9tYdWtHwTMP97Kc38Y1 vZ2TA2-0qGZ9mXpYvZTAEYyqmiQsYJmwVYys0X3djx7zxCHal15i_3DCk 4MlcIbT6eDyL6XZ_rUrdHPspTeg-vI3I=w600

I started plumbing the pitot/AOA tubing.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/9cY_9WeV1EYF-T8U9HIYinVadWXpY-CYv30yQcKhBKKuW1mS3Ubw16m59hdc1VrXPh4Sfo8xbyxmT4fn 5OtpL2ttj-1O0au-L7ZJEtRWekJb4kruLDPFESASZlZ3Pb5cWyZXGD4pQoc=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xGu5FBkSXRJ8FmtYANZTw4fy24gSY8MxDTDn73UFk1vK45qyFi E1sOMN8yld9YOlEu25ehMq2gqp_QCZO9-6nX9Ze_dWstn1GyhcXxAwSJ9BeP0aenecOWcXebDM3xhivcTu6 6fWGgM=w600

OAT sensor:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KubeB-L8W9njd8Ua_Hvwu_gUUe915lzPnO-j6Rr3x62PR5Kalwqn36VLtj1pKSk59yHOhrBAhpggWDn_-gg9Mmy2a708hd48wtQRYi4etuqmWAW0dvAuY4y_yYAZ2AVcaqB 8wnySJp4=w600

I also had an opportunity to visit fellow Kitfoxer BobRS in Albuquerque yesterday where he gave generously of his time on a gorgeous flying day to show off his beautiful airplane. He let me poke and prod, take a lot of pictures and ask a lot of questions. He even had a printed sheet ready for me with a list of things he'd do different. I owe him.

This week I hope to have a pre-cover chat with our EAA tech counselor, sand down all those Super Fil-lets, finish installing the pitot tubing, and get back to covering.

David47
03-27-2018, 05:10 AM
Great going Brian. I see the amount of blue tape on the lower edge of the LLE. Looks like yours didn’t sit tight against the ribs just like mine. I did it slightly different. I put 2x1 lengths on edge along the lower edge and used clamps to pull down hard. Worked well. You’re powering along. Keep up the good work. And excellent photos.

aviator79
04-02-2018, 06:34 AM
3 months and 250 hours into the build.

Tuesday I had a pre-cover visit from the EAA Tech counselor and a TC in training. They looked at my covered right wing, and seemed impressed enough. They also looked at the left wing and gave me the green light to cover, so:

Pitot tube:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DQ-_gvjzETCkEovwC5syiamuvUW4ahxYm4t2BDuKU7nY2EfCOTT9N hnoLdBFc83BInI-6XKRCaVQIETUZWirkR7jf8gG_9u0vkj7EBot-TDFK-Rp1xtbOw-h7f-xv1fLFcrm6oCBpbE=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/B6x_5JJ4p8ZxmUNGwWZB1ysazBztYgTnjWrNPpRw-uxAF57N_4AXUqb6zUbBkUKGZ6GmdAA4AeFh_h0vu-qntZciXM0pKRe6t4dDUO7GVS26_TXA3gRd67XQG5UGzuhA5Nj9 5V9Ijlw=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Fvywg3_QgOHlcjhbUiit532JLwOBr1BJEGg_gvi82vzo65irBF jZSOY2bnTRmZdxaz8EZCaU6LXaHHJBl9bCA3K8M6boCJ_o9Phc JRXmyICIqbju3CUsI4M53cN3ORFLGoQaJ9CJkGI=w600

And covering:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/PCBdnzV8Kp2NN1bCd9C_tEDuOu827WST-DN2BsXMoSu9OstMijgUxA-51WvdLqkVnfzS9RFuxtCSrgRDdMVc9UxFEES04B1Lt397uCBK2-lYGY13MoeoiGwQwYyNDFfXBYfVkQkvB20=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KakBPWyoy0Et4260VkrrsDBi2CMZhLhxZhHKAqE1UB1IEThK9X LtfjG2Sc9iLO_K4tZxLDM8IaW0z5KImNyHPzFUK3ziaD3emxVt Sq9l8b00M0docoBB2K_rulw0N28A3btG_lKbZKA=w600

On the right wing, I had quite a few pinholes to fix over the LLE and fuel tank. So I used more Poly-brush pre-coat this time, and then, after the brushed PB coat, went around and smoothed any bubbles with reducer and followed up with more Poly Brush to fill the weave. We'll see if it's any better when I start spraying.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/7cR1v5vGvU-R5ppYSxoqUJh1ktj8--IDbAG9Zm9e762L_fqFCoABf--qct9mK161g9I30xoYsz6kx6mLu-36sVIGTxjmiEB4yRc8ATT5QJaNM4WZRTTtf6nLxBHREdfE9P3O dcb6L2I=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WLku6f6O2WZ-SmLeHlYJgKMwn1PKUKpa2nOccNXCUOTj9LedrWzD7p5cGTbVUA nvSv-gOhA5ANysijLF_UdkXobtRv9oe7ma8sI2t5GZENVOHgZwJ5BGd 2SXCiJ_3SP-gSMOI8mHBko=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BhaxJPN5L9z7cGH-_-9gx_jAYOdgmvzSfnP7JWQNsGEeoqQNjKUauWPQqrLwV9nPZqf--4NxWlGA142BEHu7MZrl3aakhJQGBaQhX-MWvtLzRXHYn0M7VwXg-py6dqtrDrst9DI7tTA=w600

Near optimal 1" tape utilization:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/A44kuAe1PjbZnZkwrMJC9p9x8ZaKOZ8ZZGY132ul0YqxjtujHb ijHAlCwSLM4pE0K3Q9eom1G5bBI4CQdBSmbZfJwFTHEM3F3Jhd 2sQz6iDI9DQZUrDYlV7xkWYh56WTzeodXjspOnY=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/NGYBbGM7hg7wrFAI-Uly4BVQ0WucyZjrIezgSGsRg6GAok68AxV-VGllaHx7Mhx-37XxChKE4FUidjXlqc_MTB3-ai4Xpv6bT_i2HV7JGQWvTxqy4G1vpznygmU0LHXqtlH8QjCGr8 Y=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4loZu1l0JFNSoNlsEot4p_B7PdSIrxa7_a2PeFxtWVg76Zvr6G ve2EiptM-4uNpC7QbgGPqSuj0dwv3lE88ZpjFFGYXG4OQerP9jMmYarGJdB hHYoyzIyvIH9Lake18dMyA84Twtihc=w600

jrevens
04-02-2018, 10:04 AM
That's looking very good, Brian!

David47
04-03-2018, 02:15 AM
Wow, that's roughly 80 hours per month. Outstanding Brian. Your workmanship looks excellent and you'll be finished in no time ..... I'm 12 months in and am logging my hours. Roughly 600 hours to date.

Also, just curious why you're using aluminium AN fittings on your pitot and static mast tubes.

aviator79
04-03-2018, 05:44 AM
I log my hours in a spreadsheet that continuously computes my average weekly time spent. 18.2 as of today. I don't yet know if I can sustain this average throughout the build. I'm not in a hurry to finish per se; I just don't want to lose momentum.

I'm using the AN fittings because they came with the Dynon install kit, and that's what the instructions say to use. I don't have a more technical rationale than that, I'm afraid. The other side of the fitting is NPT, which mates to a push-in tube fitting. I pointed the fittings straight up to make it fairly easy to install, maintain and repair.

Clark in AZ
04-03-2018, 06:02 AM
Hey Brian, looks great! You're sure moving on with the build.

What is the tool to the left of the pitot tube in this pic? Some kind of tubing bender? I can't have enough tools! ;)

Clark
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DQ-_gvjzETCkEovwC5syiamuvUW4ahxYm4t2BDuKU7nY2EfCOTT9N hnoLdBFc83BInI-6XKRCaVQIETUZWirkR7jf8gG_9u0vkj7EBot-TDFK-Rp1xtbOw-h7f-xv1fLFcrm6oCBpbE=w600

PaulSS
04-03-2018, 07:44 AM
I think it's one of those tools that you use to widen the hole in the aluminium tubes (from the pitot tube) in order that you can then attach the blue fittings to them. I've never used one but a mate of mine showed me how they work once. Damned if I can remember though :)

colospace
04-03-2018, 08:19 AM
I'll chime in here. That's a tube flaring tool for putting the flare on the tube as required for the AN fitting.

jiott
04-03-2018, 10:01 AM
Right Gary. I also have one of those; its a very nice flaring tool made by Parker I believe (about $50 when I bought mine). You will need to borrow or buy some sort of flaring tool when you install the aluminum fuel lines with AN fittings.

Esser
04-03-2018, 10:18 AM
Great pace Brian! Momentum is everything. At this pace we will be flying at the same time ;)

aviator79
04-03-2018, 12:28 PM
That is, in fact, a tube flaring tool for AN flared fittings. Piece of cake to use. I'm fortunate in that our EAA chapter has a tool crib from which I could rent it for $5. They are about $100 now I think, I don't intend to make that many flares.

aviator79
04-09-2018, 07:15 AM
A lot of work this week, but not much to say. The left wing is now covered. Some extra poly-brush on the fiberglass and taking care of pinholes before spraying poly brush worked to prevent pinholes during spraying.

I got a start on the wingtip, but this one will be a bit more challenging. The scribe line(s) are in bad shape. They are missing entirely in some places, and the parts of scribe line I can find aren't colinear. I'm going to use the right wingtip and a laser line to make the left a mirror image of the right.


https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/M-wAiOmW9RP_3pCEdAqjFx7FTG99L16egnDFj3R9EGKTMZQT6UX9 5rieEjnRP9O-cHnaW1N0k9RJ5QH4gs2oqglK-BCwez0nw6BjpFvWJ-wlpOFmViOWDK3OEQvXhXDDaBKjIykBPlQ=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CEFbbmPwk7eJVdp2IRZ7xFrOMWwtnokfMHFEAzqkpiznT6781v HLR6Gd93Ucekk404ZrYt2wAv72ZE9kCJsKKWlKfUtieZf0i9uV L4imM-AuSZC4zrvzYXejiNy-hnFg9GAFO0t2Z20=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Tzb40SMt9DGZTMatFQDU_P33_HJpZUqBOBsdgkgagoOiC_xTOg IlV5qoHUlkXNAl3QDvSwBlPED_fu8Qsi6Ma_gcG6CsSiP7fO_Q djkbGv-_NZ9P8-DGIOAt5UwsZtzxRgt8kINPh20=w600

Esser
04-09-2018, 09:26 AM
Ignore the scribe line. Just try to make it square and take off as little as possible.

aviator79
04-09-2018, 12:52 PM
That's what I've read in other threads. On my right tip, the scribe lines ended up being perfect. I'm glad I did that one first. I'll be using a laser to make my own square cut lines. I think it will be fine.

David47
04-09-2018, 03:00 PM
Really great quality work there Brian. Wings sure look more like airplane wings with the Poly Spray on. Great progress.

aviator79
04-14-2018, 04:00 AM
On the Horizontal stab rib third from the tip, it appears in the manual that it should butt against the metal rib. The instructions note that the tolerance is 1/8" and that ribs can be trimmed to move them against the ribs. It specifically mentions the 308 rib. This one is the 304 rib. Without trimming, it sits a good inch away from the metal rib. If I trim it to put it against the rib, the contour will be off. I also note that the distance from the stab centerline given in the manual is 34 1/2 inches. The inboard side of the metal rib is at 35 3/8. Am I missing something here?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/DXO_uflW-LO_jqTTIaH3jHzB-4d-EvwWJCh-2DdnuaZPglrfvXUxcYppKA9bhFSt7xv4qk01OG9zVSxK3U8H03 JV7yKjNnahCQDW3ZQRR1qU1hLIPw8V4G1aoy9IUsqbjvchgmUX _EQ=w600

jiott
04-14-2018, 09:24 AM
I had the same concern; I ended up putting it against the metal for good stiffness and then readjusted the other ribs for fairly even spacing. When you do this, also take into account the positions of the elevator ribs, because you will want them all to line up for good appearance. In my opinion the very tiny effect on the airfoil profile is a non-issue.

jrevens
04-14-2018, 09:29 AM
My thoughts were pretty much in line with Jim’s. I believe that I located that rib just a little bit away from the metal rib so that it would line up with the one on the elevator which was right against it’s metal tube/“rib”, and used small plywood spacers to bond it to the metal one.

aviator79
04-16-2018, 06:43 AM
I finished up the left wingtip. I used a laser to "scribe" a straight line. It worked well once I got it all set up.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/vNoJ-rWdBltg1B75o3QR78UURkYmq7q8U89xE5CDnVE-UcbZBp0Oxdt5UTnCOMkyR4c7GtHJodp3Ch1hzV2gdOmZ9Ke5uU MSj3F0TFSTVYg1blCZ6NJT3ziMyAZzP2yWuMNp7IkXYsk=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KcP0dukir4_0zmubHXQYq-MI0iG2KWRGm3Z3K7Lo9UMZlDnkwOo5Q4m5mG9YQLxG6qzYTvzg kV_uvpU_EZ47HRTfYtB7zXZikXdzBX-Vc-v-o6rDcK2pHYNMIETGF0MSuEWZdVooIW8=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/MBZ5s1cPl7zFYxCfwkE7guydN45sU6Adun2eluo0EL2kk8E41T ZxYiJ8kzUk1qbFbuow_GfvtS6UP83dYCAAQLfdFL4vMiv5TJ8t mkxzYOrWhrPpxEkmLw5pGiFop4tUWZ_qdN6U2Gs=w600

Installed tail access cover mounting strips:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ISrAHoJKxP0f0Jg75-NICOx-ZNj1-Yoz8RnkaHw2dWgSPRzBBYJBhTs0o79w_3j3dzLw9vSrprFqK8j 9AcDJ5qPj6No30_sOHOK8uwx0ej5xH2nHlMJR3MTYbuM6DZwtX VQn8EHXnOo=w600

Glued the ribs into the horizontal stab and elevator:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LtCWCFz4T52ugfaUozWCM4UffG4w4S9D5rB5_h-8oGp-0T2R_7tz0Qw-9OyHGZk4Kp7Q55XcJt47fbsni2RyP8VJdjwsetrY_KFJEj7Wz9 TxlAsXjdekLkNvEXg0hBzK1eZoGBms_MA=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/J6nTJ5Qca4rBgtNaZ-KmX6W0SfIpLUfuMv7nROOhhtZBq3NnCz8VK9Tkov6-lPM41PCeqvTj-qn-3vy0LPS3bRX8euePB0GO6af64EAnBil9t09em2jQIzybFUSOuD b-xgns-7R3i9E=w600

While the epoxy cured, I trimmed and fit up the side stringers to the fuse. Then I fit the stab to the fuse. It's starting to look plane-like.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/xivi31yT7_lM23WVvTEa8oPAOhoxkgc5bqs0HQbavSo_BVoJ6k GWg0Hi6m8K7F-rIlNkRJXZ4ZEtA5GX2E3MQ3wY5LD1pz9EFgGl-x5kKH15Wd3A5gspPQmQaPzNVsi_uKPR6dxXtio=w600

Clark in AZ
04-16-2018, 06:53 AM
Excellent Brian, you're really moving along. Great tip on the laser. Looks like you got a really clean, straight line and a tight fit. Good job!

Clark

aviator79
04-16-2018, 07:24 AM
The only "trick" is to make sure that the surface you're projecting the laser onto is perpendicular to the plane of the laser, otherwise you'll get a curved line. I marked a few points along the laser line, then went back and drew the line with a pencil and straightedge before marking it again with blue tape.

Clark in AZ
04-16-2018, 07:44 AM
Yeah, that makes sense. Thanks for the clarification...

Clark

jrevens
04-16-2018, 10:50 AM
Hi Brian,

It’s looking good! I want to let you know about a minor issue that I had (self-inflicted) that you might encounter also. In the 4th picture down (“installed tail access cover mounting strips”) it looks like you did the same thing that I did... the short plywood “rib”, that the end of your elevator push-pull tube is laying on, appears to be bonded to and sitting on the top of the 2 tabs at the forward edge. It made sense to me that it should be on the top of those also, but I believe the manual shows it bonded to the bottom surface of those tabs. Here’s what I found - when everything is hooked up, and the horizontal tail trim is in the full “down” position (leading edge up), the end of the push-pull tube contacted the edge of the rib and actually prevented it from moving as far as it needs to. If the rib had been mounted against the bottom of the tabs there would have been adequate clearance. I had to cut away some of the plywood (enlarge the cut-out) to remedy it. It would be a lot easier to do that before the fuselage is covered and the tail-feathers mounted. You may not have the same issue, but I thought I’d let you, and any other builders, know.

aviator79
04-16-2018, 01:54 PM
Good eye to even see which side I mounted it on John! In my manual, the tabs aren't visible at all in the illustration. Because the illustration is a top-left iso view, I would think it indicates the rib goes on top of the tabs. It could also be that they just aren't depicted. To be honest, I don't think I noticed or thought about this until you mentioned it. Nonetheless, I appreciate the heads up. I have the elevator on now, and I'll rig the elevator and check for clearance as soon as I have the trim servo installed.

David47
04-16-2018, 03:26 PM
Man, you are making fabulous progress Brian !. At this rate you’ll be done by end of the year. Would make one recommendation and that would be to put some stiffeners on the ribs in the horizontal stab and elevator. I found with mine that when I bonded them in place and left them for couple of weeks, they started to bow, even though they’d been varnished ... twice. Same thing happened with the false ribs on my wings.

aviator79
04-16-2018, 03:54 PM
I'll definitely add the stiffeners. More glue syringes arrived from Amazon just now!

efwd
04-16-2018, 08:02 PM
Thanks John E. . Now I understand what happened to me. I too had to cut into that wood.
Eddie

aviator79
04-23-2018, 07:56 AM
This week, I finished the tips on the horizontal stabilizer and elevator, and rough shaped the tips of the vertical stabilizer and rudder. I installed the trim motor and elevator, adjusted the trim per the manual, adjusted the elevator pushrods and set the stops.

One thing to note here. With the elevator set at neutral with control stick set at 80 degrees off the floor, I did not have enough forward stick travel to get 20 degrees of downward deflection in the elevator. There is a forward-facing flange on the left side of the control column assembly that hit the floorboard. I cut a notch into the floorboard to accommodate this flange, which allowed me to get the full 20 degrees of travel. Also, John was right about having to remove material from the VS rib to clear the rod end. I'm not sure that it would have cleared the rib even if the rib were installed under the tabs, and I'm not convinced it's intended to be installed under the tabs. The best illustration in my manual does not show the tabs on top. Nontheless, I'm glad I rigged everything before covering so that I could fine these things and make adjustments.

I varnished the ribs with the HS and elevator installed, and prepped for covering. I started covering the HS. While the scale is smaller, it's a bit more difficult than the wing because the geometry is more complex. I've spent almost 7 hours just attaching the fabric. Nonetheless, I'm happy with my work so far. I'm going to cover the HS, elevator, and rudder at the same time.

I didn't take enough pictures this week, but here's what I have:

Shaping the tips:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BzphUqfgToXt5FdAkT2pNvEdp8EzolvDnepFmIFNRjAIkLIwRG 7kwilDRLinVnafGp0ZifhqTr4YBitELNRFscCgaqrmWEk6T4Wi nmXzNUg5VkPkp-iUtOP4XZEXhaeCBcPAU9xhRZc=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/My_v3gr2AVdelm_YsWaMh5IsbjXL3I-AcxVFzJU4n6fKXC6ZfjZ4he_ILBLxXakJsd4o9VWsKTWMYL-6rdA5EwCL0t52GHAydlZLxh3EzcCB4jKxlSlaSf6-WL774tsd_3P-Xa4mUgI=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/fhbKwhwhJLs3SwFcMAB_NfRzmsFAXq21utxq77KkHwqeHr8F3B 9PycnAnTlG_a-eefhYw-W8EIeFu2TwZ0OK7F1s8qEZURHGnGlqEFimZQzawPGXExDsCHcy 5C4CKgGY6PCiuBg2qOA=w600

Rigging the horizontal tail:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0JKhAS00_jgxmS5EkpuC3HAkXZBq9HDk6TOvACMSFDqT29ahgT fCmGbbzVnBwYrwae5a0OR3r89-aMpKVrXA3kvrO01gxrGhAtXjgzNtpI8vU-RHZsV6ZbGnA0bbaKkic7LyGuPtXfQ=w600

Starting to cover. I'm pleased with the result of heat-forming the fabric around the curved tubes, and the compound curve of the tips.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BOQMmPufh0L3H52DKidrx5dbGnstMkkIWjmaD-RBQQDImn0e6BmvQiew4uDxEaVRqyrs8JY6ivKtiINbiepTk5Qb cttBFJtiDZ_CP_Gj-yDQL2PA1nTW0BxWMwmWNkffE8ryRxOKQmw=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/M3rWLAPSl07ylyLvrrl4S89GyfJxb5ldCuDRqC-ZysHozKyPJi0fdF576GJdgELk4srT6PVFkTbm3YOeDUHhh0Xrq pr_7lR1t5-fS_6ljnsCPU6rWQLXvR8qYOLbqhkGSONyc5JsBNY=w600

aviator79
04-23-2018, 08:51 AM
One other thought for those who come after me...

I'm not building in the order things are in the manual, although pretty soon I will be back to that order. For anyone else going out of order, I'll say that if I had it to do over again I would have finished the horizontal tail before working on the vertical tail. The ribs get in the way when you want to drill the trim slider blocks, and there's a bunch of extra stuff to work around when trying to get the washers to stack up while installing the trim servo. Incidentally, superglue to hold the washers in place while you fit them is a big help.

jrevens
04-23-2018, 11:19 AM
That’s looking real good Brian! I wish I could’ve accomplished as much as you have in such a short time... I’m not getting any younger!

aviator79
04-23-2018, 12:02 PM
You've still got me beat by a T-18 and most of a Kitfox, John. I doubt I'll catch up to your plane count by the time I catch up in age. ;)

David47
04-23-2018, 06:12 PM
Nice job of the HS tip shaping. And yes, 7 hours attaching fabric to the HS is the same as me. And the elevator and rudder take about the same. You'll have to get creative around the base of the rudder. I know others have filled this area and done various adaptions, but I went with just fabric covering. Seemed to work out ok. But your progress is amazing. Do you do a Graveyard shift as well ??!! :D

Esser
04-23-2018, 07:09 PM
Brian, I am really kicking myself for not being proactive and doing all the rigging before covering. It was a definitely a mistake I didn't really think of but I know I won't have fun doing that now that it's covered...

aviator79
04-24-2018, 07:27 AM
It probably won't be that bad Josh. If you need to trim that rib, it should be pretty accessible through the tail access cover. The more challenging part will be accessing the rod ends to adjust them. I wouldn't worry about it though. You'll be fine.

jiott
04-24-2018, 09:50 AM
I trimmed that rib on mine after cover; it was very doable.

The elevator push rod rod ends adjustment are no problem either, PROVIDED you put one of those round access covers on the belly right under the swing arm in the tail cone. You will be glad you did in years to come at every annual when you need to inspect and lube these joints.

aviator79
05-07-2018, 07:23 AM
I skipped the update last week because I was on some work travel. I also missed a couple days of building, and will miss a few more this week. But in the last two weeks, I've continued covering tail feathers. It's been pretty straightforward. The only challenge was getting tapes to go around the corners. I used 4" bias. 3" might have been easier. I'm satisfied with the results, but there are a few imperfections I couldn't quite tame with the iron. I have included some pictures of how I did the rudder for anyone else approaching it in the future. I imagine there are a million ways to do this, but none seemed obvious. I ended up scrapping my first attempt. I'm not sure if it means I'll run out of fabric before finishing the fuselage, but fabric is relatively cheap.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/eJmRBlFNGGpTPy4XHtNQqS8ENIggA8wSkbmEWe9jY7VydVvJ1f OzpWK4Acv9D4IU-wPcN5nVjmFMbFJahKtQ1FNckFPaQDlV_6nKnOgQCXR9sn1vBRU HcDVJlFWVU3Pux61U5mUoHAs=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-c6i6V7Yayl51zjLWTCsStneqYfOTudJ-gqDT1EubJKZLZkt0UE78Itwu19pwW5WB-JsXtL9MZnQ1kxfRg0N6ZoRIJRQgjAuwObvtLOYQ4Us7FBfo3E8 kJRrbkWE2VahB4W_MSK_fMg=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-1XGyLPVq7xVGHFYZym_k2hZDk0xcAhaA65U8Ktj-GMPz16IpsTeSfnKvf_ZSZOy_t6OQo9RXX3elC5irHthvbC5G8s vJWDQSmBr11vuIa-MGOWF0vmkriXCj_UN_I8k3UoPCCvfRxA=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ttGDAkYsDHeebBxTfQ8nA1M6OOO6DS2q_gqvxeTpR26h_PwBA8 dwUqQMUxpW69e8ANWx76Gf5i05BpyraJ8rPe5Cd6qlmTdEwCMo KtyzX6ly2pED0BM_orYikTra3YHMrx6Nw2U8UbA=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/JYwNMB9NvZ03NOGej_Zi2yXdpelfOFwKL8MucN5gqCpcTCJjJX WxAzU9ASiFQgaocw3vJziSMoKsTae27mn7Yytl55TCJqeOIqVk NtP5ToDdGGRrLWUHbRlALQiBgWWmzXzLDEEiq8g=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/px7PNn0FfWCTmPbJTYsfYP0DKY8W_dZ1H7kt_Y0DjarXSE3n-WPEq449OMaUynTtbrm0MeY0p4SrQJjthoWjv5B1KMG7nqWAaVo f0Yazu4MFRALYACFgqNLA8aK5hvmb2kIFlhrnEDc=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Avp9Go_-v9LAjj2ATwfvgBtTshUu347NX-pJsxVLa0gfY-UJxkaTLPwf5H3T8HPigycrV9yBO6Z_pSBdVCnlGcbC06dYKih1 r7TN6Dt72hAxTvka-F-eSHCzD9xrKFIwErkdQz35j3g=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-O2hixRhUSMu-CFRF66LNgJhdt0PztJi8ZXJJ5KUjBYiwJhTpokGwSIBZypfX3u viKKksURS5tHcdrnqON0m4iMWknL_Ejb0GFL5EOofCNrl7qPbH bEDNOtz05iyJvRmdgsjT39q8GY=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ElbJDRMaRVtnbdAWwbfLFN-l06OIZd97T2M4YF8HjFEb3HYRwwH5C4h71nxg-rmfk9mRsM0-67eUD-6inz1U7JeZkjoOqlf9QrtafJxEOzpE8-rsh0tD0XApaEuBOuHeKJfvmBFgaJ0=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/tDujvPDuWeXVOzuQGlsHPNJirSg4o8IKzgNdNdRptxkV2g0mXf zUEJU5M8FYoGLDh_aa2XtF7jgUczKJ49SwZKtMSt-SNBIVuWfJjLy5gT-HvTkVXUQJbGDoT4LNzwRDaMd-T6mRrE8=w600

efwd
05-07-2018, 07:27 AM
Looking good Brian. Thanks for the post.
Eddie

David47
05-07-2018, 03:40 PM
Yes, those curves in the tail feathers can be tricky. I used 3”bias tape and it seemed to work ok. Biggest issue was the intersection between the spar tube and the tip fairing. Looking good Brian.

aviator79
05-14-2018, 08:54 AM
No pictures of the build from this week. I got all the rudder tapes applied. I'm currently prepping the tail feathers for spraying.

I flew my wife to a trail race at Zion. So while I don't have build pictures, I thought you might enjoy these instead:

Shiprock, NM
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AgeN-I3reTV7zga43_uTrAl4GkkLHhKF8mc0rchUAP5DHieKkLDfTxr GiLm-UjP2GwL1Mr10YPcikDQ97yMmmi2er3piK6r1RlO_75cLAABCqU tojV65_ZejD38R3tPnmn7EQRKBrCI=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/beUjj_96rIIVCt3SH2Q6fuO3sM6dcxhBV0EUUp-CozSA7Cyb3wDjg4ur95lyGapwdig9ZiT2Rwaoc7jErQJauEeXG MRpSeHpf7tXXVQKy9a82-zAPPr5NromQLvIIhkUwadwGHw5MnU=w600

Monument Valley, AZ/UT
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/wwRLFv2tDT5DRx59OuMXRCxMU6kKT2m7HAyhblUsOc3hR4CMkH IyesqnU4jqa-cJiGXqvf-LisQ0VeTMbtwMJ9T7nC0nxX-OO7lZeER-3A7olP0uMe4UwyHbM5-QuciHQO6m_8u18kE=w600

Lake Powell, AZ
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5yWCz_8eYynxLTuzPVR3ZR2IP5YY-qhcoRYUTa-Wp8nX0HajwqbvLF1SNaGreRod_wGKkZnvWI_u6xojUXDvr9DrV 58YVWj15UO0aYAQh6X9itFTfoCqU7dMq3wx_H33if5Bpjlx_Mo =w600

Grand Canyon
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/sdmh2VgLCeKwFKgfH7gi0HKw2oqKAf_dpB779YoRdKBIGUvGxX HLusr8ldjNOQtJIjaEtLnKh8X-3Ab2fE_IpFzisT1NTgeFOaaTSsp0EpSkH3TtjyC27Z8zMrGp70 kV2vme3TUesiU=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QP4vrOL1M4ZN0NUCVVrlBd63068whzaXZ-9u9wwpX-5Pw6ydIkcssvwbHnQ9_K_YC0AuU-6UTnMV6FYfIxbT7tv6sU5_fbYbkOz4YQFC6N5fbRDVhypfiVYX viF2Il6YR4cUqsETeD4=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lL_I_Cs_-Nn3RJjrWQNhDiL_aL4SzUwIolHl2J7mDbAMPVHNAQQR6c4fejT 7X6YzNX70dfSkbgn1cmsBt_QbStEiCmAzfwQ4rVyXv-_bv5sKRESl-SAIc-1e4K9_nIl3IVzv7IO0TBY=w600

DesertFox4
05-14-2018, 09:42 AM
Love the photos Brian. I need to fly Monument Valley one of these days. Some great old western movies shot there.

efwd
05-14-2018, 10:48 AM
Those are cool pics. Was the route over the canyon a painful endeavor or was it not bad?
Im in on that trip Steve, just let me know when. Of course we have work to complete first.
Eddie

aviator79
05-14-2018, 11:08 AM
The route over the canyon is a piece of cake. Just study the chart a little bit. The corridors/altitudes are a bit restrictive, but you still get some great views. We just did the Dragon and Zuni Point Corridors. If we had more time and smoother air, it might have been fun to fly all of them, but I don't feel like we missed out on much.

If you guys do plan that trip and my plane is done, I'll join you. It would have been nice to take in the views from the panoramic cockpit of a Kitfox instead of through the cloudy 40 year old windows of the club Cardinal. I saw plenty of fun places that it would have been fun to explore more. It would be neat to organize a multi-day tour of the broader area. There are so many beautiful landmarks within a few hours of each other.

GMKman
05-14-2018, 12:40 PM
Count me in on that trip too Steve. Been to Page in my old Glastar taildragger but not any further North than that.

littlecricket
05-14-2018, 12:56 PM
Flew to Bar 10 last week, that would be a fun overnight on your trip... on the northern edge of the ditch.

Clark in AZ
05-15-2018, 05:59 AM
Nice Brian! Thanks for those. The build looks great.


Clark

aviator79
05-21-2018, 07:05 AM
Tail feathers basically done. I sprayed a coat of white Poly Tone on to ensure color consistency of the top coat. I'm letting the solvents evaporate for a few days before putting on the top coat (Aero-thane). On the wings I stopped after Poly Spray. My thinking was that because paint continues to cure over its lifetime, there might be a color mismatch if I'd painted them several months before everything else. In hindsight, I wish I'd just finished them off while I had them on the rotisserie. I doubt there would be any noticeable color difference, especially since they are not being subject to any UV or other environmental stress.

Progress over the next few weeks will be slower than average. It's my son's baseball season, so I have a lot of practices and games to attend, and I have a bunch of work travel in June (LA and Philly).

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/khkWwif6NaH8cSwN_RqdS0Kjwh4Vmxx0480Qq2J9Z6ZnE6MFIG mtwRiv4udSiTVioaq5WlzSxXAzEh56PLWd1RSHmYlqD0PKmfil lRCn7aTnYcKlZsRRiS8bedWE8b0busKXZLJ4J1g=w600

efwd
05-21-2018, 11:40 AM
I'm close to LA Brian. If you have down time with nothing better to do give me a PM.
Eddie

aviator79
05-21-2018, 12:26 PM
I'd enjoy getting together Eddie. I'll send you a PM.

aviator79
05-25-2018, 05:35 AM
If you don't see me in the pattern, it's your fault.
International Orange Aerothane. It looks a little more red in the picuture.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8McfPh_UfhNbY0Fya19vXv0if1-Wm3Sz_Y6zfg6Z6HxI1oMHxOcIm1M2qYTwjc4VQTfr31X9R9PZN-6xSrlIAY2OV5bx1Xj6H6kkzshe9lM8ykhfLJP3oqlBLEic2dDB aIwDSkf1bIw=w600

Clark in AZ
05-25-2018, 08:34 AM
WOW! That's bright. Is the whole plane going to be that color?


Clark

aviator79
05-25-2018, 10:13 AM
The photo is kind of oversaturated. It is bright though. That is the primary color. Here is the concept. Thwre will be no wheel pants and I may set the blue off with a thin white stripe.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/nyVoIj2gWkzPXoUq9Y4h4pKKKhgYaNkWz17ttKg7ydQ-kQMwknhTqv1SMG8dgWgbFbDbgp6G48FDyyEHV909_i275NRrYc V-amFxgMLY-qVU40UQKfk5rc79t9S0dVm3M5ByKnbzwx4=w600

aviator79
05-28-2018, 11:56 AM
Finished the tail feathers. Made a cap for the bottom of the rudder fairing final attachment with tinnerman nuts.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/C5CvINSwyCyGEDh4ii6eXw87rlpV6aU4ElpB871vTSL2fOtjkB Sc8nZ7KK-hFLGe1Xqf2aVxw-AnBWqpBXtDAb4JP73jomtoT6nYrX9hBOf7diMnPZRwi022Gtvw uVa7rNQ1x-D7U_o=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/97f3stHSXnBpwzebyXXEZNrhh3Ao4GY3L6KZKAnjMR1FOrxy7h GL4ljE9eW-Y1Q7zxKcMLYSG5xKnXCHxsDPDyVjCSWnrU-JK8MzRlrkhmeMgnel9pavt5C_Pnny9A1jBfC4Uvb4iQ0=w600

Installed header tank, autopilot servos and ELT. You can use the Kitfox AP mounts for Dynon servos, but you need to order the long arm servos from Dynon. I’m going to call them tomorrow to see about exchanging mine. It does not look practical to replace the arms on the servos. The weldments for installing the ELT that Kitfox provides are a thoughtful touch.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ZGNBFfpSeo0vbOQThhP1EOy7Lkczl4_QFHog0MeX4GXIK07LL_ fhTf1jP5HKgZRpYVnwOiQ57mJTAmfcSjOMKqFjl93w0o1xGT0o 1cD0Ia1xHDMC6CPtoXya8URuYD_NafaO-UctMvM=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gtLidJqQ7eEBiQvIiY0sX3E2JIZfBcQR2EYBRzxvy1JdJ6DBhW sgWo-VgWmALcHDgB9WyDwDw9glYrE7xuvBhTXebHBR4cNxpfpM14UwL PGo-SVwGuF2dIJYoAaHI3cRCUarhDiN3-M=w600

Door frames installed on both sides, and the bubble door fit up on the right. The fit of the window angles was really bad, but apparently that’s normal. I still need to go back and clean them up with some filler. On the door, the fit is much better if you grind down the welds on the doorframe that contact the bubble door.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4pj89TimABltN3IId59fWgCPBtP82SI9GhX-cCOtTMPtBP4WoA-Fxd0Cycfbs1mPnA-MnbMpk0PufjeXrqCOpc7z9tMo0I1phTcdeAVFEhhYZ2TaI37l8 ursT6714I22cIv7Ye4MIxk=w600

David47
05-29-2018, 01:45 AM
Congratulations on the pace you’re setting Brian. It’s extraordinary. And that paint scheme will be eye catching.

jmodguy
05-29-2018, 05:26 AM
Another orange Kitfox! Looking great!

aviator79
06-04-2018, 06:53 AM
Decent progress this last week.

Both doors trimmed and fit. I was worried about this step for some reason, but it was pretty straightforward. I decided to use rivnuts instead of the acorn nuts. It's a really clean install. I still need to install the hinges, and I won't permanently mount the bubble doors until I paint the door frames.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KexaugGfx1SN75jA_c7-9y_RbGa2wB-LBHVXtjCq1GZ-zTxOs-ewnMiBrjw38j4O1GF0zeB44kyqcPgDW1KLJ1Bjhbl2owR-TU04PkPqXvDIj2g9-Qwm-E6I1-h3ebzwXmFXMniID-I=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4odSph9OLj-5t6kzGo48YhJcnoLng0yK8EYfb3NzG9X-OLox2THjXKTQeCO-nhzshyL03HLVnWxxScmzK0DdoGVYPd3XinCoG3L1RaCZrQGYjb pXfYcKCnv7U5MUkSHEEDGQvR9Ffes=w600

Finished filling and sanding the door and window frames. It came out well despite the big gaps on initial fit up.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dPIMZ4KkNJszge9U86GJHL10VSjOS6WF_FSNprwDGJ9PtvmK83 vOK31AtGEtvLDMKDe1aYv_2kiulDHXF9eTKpCYLiDj7jpqfU2Q PD6sSPBua-uxi1K8UOnoM2Hz_xFbTdVgz9sCb2Y=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/31c5i1Xms33Ycn7NRgei6G0nUdxujQkAG0u23CHuvOMFa-uGfGxAu2625RRJORoFZPujRestn29M3BeyhFK5js-CMCGIpaFcXXfLYdcbGBStYK65-a3TKDkKGDPzR_OL333FeO7QP8E=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/mzlXfdfyXCtqbslZWcQ-jplxy-V6h9aec_6wExmg8vfO_3q4mzqEIZTtEdGoYp9CjQcGYcHc8gem m7NRocHuIIY856OCSdbkl3YaGY1an6Uh9HFq35BAFPOgeVz409 Wm4X4dz6MpEEo=w600

Fit up the baggage sack. I varnished the floorboard for it this morning. When I get back from travel, I'll paint it black and finish installing.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ItPG-4HotoJJOnZL2eo5ozsVAFyhHZSLY-qt9WZuul_7wkibAcOm6zRNZ3eXZN8rFGrZh7wcT5ENNnEAn_6o KhutQIxBxeQb8Q_S-oc2gj6RFwhL77WyrBQiUDfFk_EA2ksH5FNEL6Y=w600

I didn't take any pictures of the butt rib closeouts, but I also got those installed this week. I have a small punch list of things to do before I'm ready to cover the fuselage. I have a lot of travel in the next few weeks, but I hope to be into covering the fuse by the beginning of July.

jiott
06-04-2018, 09:48 AM
I recommend some lightweight carpet or fabric on the baggage sack floor. It helps keep stuff from sliding around too much. Of course you also need a cargo net or bungees for securing baggage. Put some tie down loops or similar in several places around the edges of the baggage floor.

efwd
06-04-2018, 09:55 AM
Great Idea Jim. Thx
Eddie

n85ae
06-05-2018, 09:27 AM
Eyebolts, and a motorcycle cargo net. Should be required as part of the install
of the cargo compartment.

aviator79
06-11-2018, 08:42 AM
I was on travel most of the week, so I only got a few hours in. I did, however, have an opportunity to have dinner with fellow teamkitfoxer Eddie (efwd). It turns out we grew up in the same area, hung out at the same airport (CHD), worked at the same place, and we know a lot of the same people. It was fun to catch up. Thanks for dinner, Eddie. I hope we can do it again some time.

On the plane, I bonded in a mounting plate and bolted in my ADAHRS under/behind the pilot seat. I finished installing the baggage sack, and then folded it and tied it in place where it will stay for covering. I painted the door hinges and frames. I fabricated and installed aluminum plates to close the fore/aft cutouts in the butt ribs, and did the final assembly of the right side door with the VHB tape.

I didn't take any pictures though, so maybe I'll post some later. The VHB mounting tape is very gummy and sticky. If you were to take the backing off and try to fit the door, it is very likely you could get it stuck on the tape without the door plastic being in the correct position, and it's sticky enough that you could make a mess trying to re-position it. The workflow I used worked well, but in case it isn't obvious:

-Leave the backing on the VHB tape and loosely install the door to the frame with 3-4 screws such that you can still lift one edge of the door a 1/4 inch or so.
-Using tweezers, peel off the backing paper under that one edge only.
-Install the screws in that edge.
-Remove whatever screws are necessary to lift the next edge enough to get the backing with tweezers.
-Repeat with all edges.

This keeps the door position correctly defined as you sequentially get all the edges of the door pressed into the tape. Keep in mind that once that tape sticks to something, it's stuck.

jiott
06-11-2018, 08:59 AM
Exactly the way I did it too. Yea that stuff grabs as soon as it touches; kind of like contact cement.

efwd
06-11-2018, 01:03 PM
My pleasure Brian. Im sure we have some flying together in the future. It was almost comical to discover the connections we had. Even attending Embry-Riddle.
I did the same on the doors but I didn't explain it as well in previous posts.
Eddie

aviator79
06-21-2018, 05:21 PM
Dang. Fitting up the door to install the hinges and....

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/lcy33AEPbwXHm2VEBxe_g7GsiLX9zBbbCQeN6SMvNCrE1t7hWw MIFRUwIK5VbFvnqnxL-t3YqxZtZKVXOl5KH5O-Tsn_SFkAp6KLoMoYvVIHOI2iZkvbRwRl2CoUfRHy89aIb9UPPi A=w600

It just slipped out of my hand while clamping in place.

Very frustrated with myself. I'm going to try to repair it with some acrylic cement before ordering and fitting a new door. Dang dang dang.

Esser
06-21-2018, 05:34 PM
Oh I feel so bad for you. The methylchloride should bond it strong enough. It’s in a spot you won’t notice. You could even bond a doubler on itbin that spot.

Clark in AZ
06-21-2018, 05:52 PM
WOW! Sorry to see this on your beautiful build. There are always set backs though.


Clark

aviator79
06-21-2018, 06:09 PM
Wow. It's a $428 door! I think if the repair will hold, It's inconspicuous enough to not spend $428. It's hard to swallow though because I want my plane to be top notch.

efwd
06-21-2018, 06:13 PM
Try doing it to the Acrylic windshield up by the wing root cuff. That thing costs a lot of money. I used a doubler behind it and use a clear adhesive I got from Grainger's, but you can get it everywhere. it is Called E6000. its flexible and it seems to have done the job for me.
Eddie

aviator79
06-21-2018, 06:18 PM
Thanks Eddie. Your plane is beautiful, so it's good to put things in perspective. I'm pretty sure it's repairable and won't be noticable from 10'. I will always know it's there though.

Clark in AZ
06-21-2018, 06:40 PM
...I will always know it's there though.


That's the hard part...


Clark

av8rps
06-21-2018, 06:48 PM
Been there, done that. I glued the pieces together and it has held fine for years. I plan to mask some lines around door glass so I can paint trim around door frame with some sign primer and then matching paint like was used on plane so match will be perfect. If you do that you will never notice your repair and it will actually look better than the typical full glass door. So don't stress too much, and dont spend $400+ for a new door glass. I'm convinced if you do it the way I just described you will be more than happy with it.

Oh, and if you damage the windshield where it wraps around spar let me know. I have another good fix for that you also would be happy with. Yup, I managed to do that one to mine too ;)

Esser
06-21-2018, 07:07 PM
Wow. It's a $428 door! I think if the repair will hold, It's inconspicuous enough to not spend $428. It's hard to swallow though because I want my plane to be top notch.

I wanted my plane to be top notch too. You'll bang and scrape it and kick yourself while you are building just know that all our planes have those whoops areas on them that drive us nuts that no one else notices.

jrevens
06-21-2018, 07:12 PM
That is surely the truth!

aviator79
06-21-2018, 07:16 PM
Thanks guys. You all are saying exactly what I needed to hear. I love this forum.

aviator79
06-25-2018, 08:10 AM
In between trips I've been punching off items getting ready to cover the fuselage:
-Finished the doors (and broke one :().
-Installed autopilot servos.
-Drilled antenna mounting holes.
-Wired the aft fuselage.
-Adjusted flap and aileron pushrods.
-Cleaned up various rough edges and primed some things to get ready for fabric.

I also learned that the fancy fuselage rotisserie I made doesn't really work. I did not anticipate how bottom-heavy the fuse is. My rotisserie would not hold it it in position. So I removed it and did a Tic-tac-toe-ish monstrosity out of toothpicks and bailing wire. It's similar to what you've seen elsewhere on the forum, but uglier. It does the job though.

An EAA Tech Counselor is coming by to take a look tonight and then it's on to covering.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/5v-snah9o9JXHLQqiTPa4HwRPsJ4SIW2NBBE1NKxgqcYRn1hHmosS Fc02tRhGQm-ZNVPZjl7Eu4f2h5rz-4yQAHX8GGCY-M5jsu3Fg0FlZCA5q-TWV9VBvFTjRGJUCnkRvc0wz3BDfI=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/g07uv8CibglnZiTkHquTTR98vkblX4NJpnAQlGN853vgGd_Y1L pRDEuEPiMDQ6p_XWWbG9AfC0HIcIjmvteJofN4yFbSeUZzg5Ot i3Vwejuij4bVouk52vxHSFtcmHmdk4JMQywewDo=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rR4LpKeBcJgunNzi8xM-I4kr6ZVpqLvbItska-7JIvFos1-lU2hds6zKF1dKtC4xJa4jFbnXDruax_nIAMh9_LemzEMXGl-AmjMLaR-Y7RGULkrv6rBO7in0UtCYYjwHCPBa_dw4JwM=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/s_F4RFdIGQ5R-zdzNBNBlcBrRA8Y8eOOyLg9lrVonVtmSQIN3JMkWUECAweZMcz V3LmwFS7qRi2viALDaGuWDceDjLePq4Q22e-aDe8FbjDLHM3_P_UYtu26wdOJflQTf6acDrGiqjg=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/L8j8Y0EFD23tkshglAoue2Im5dmTVN58zaPtO8QBqOmIg82xFg LWgrGbRv7tV7sb8ooCZ5wYyUbyqglkbpohh5S-e-V3dUkTFrWXi46bog0RRQbBswHe1CKhDkIgd766Xdn-JM2Doms=w600

jiott
06-25-2018, 09:12 AM
Are you sure you want the ADHRS mounted that close to steel tubing? Also looks like you are using steel hardware instead of brass or aluminum?

efwd
06-25-2018, 09:18 AM
Looking great Brian. Funny how white powder coat seems to light up the whole place.
Eddie

aviator79
06-25-2018, 09:30 AM
Are you sure you want the ADHRS mounted that close to steel tubing?

I have a remote magnetometer in the left wing, mounted with brass screws. Incidentally, I had to order the brass in bulk, so if anyone needs brass screws, lock nuts, and washers, just let me know and I'll send you some.

Clark in AZ
06-25-2018, 09:36 AM
Looking great Brian!


Clark

aviator79
06-25-2018, 09:45 AM
Looking great Brian. Funny how white powder coat seems to light up the whole place.
Eddie

Indeed. Which is great in the shop, but not so much in the cockpit. When I have everything masked for paint, I'm going to paint the cockpit tubes black so they don't reflect off the windscreen. I actually tried to change my powdercoat to black, but they had already pre-rigged my wings to the fuse at that point, so it was too late to change. I think the white will be good as it makes corrosion easy to spot, but in my opinion, it's a terrible choice for anything that's near a window.

David47
06-26-2018, 01:30 AM
I'm seeing first flight for you before christmas Brian .... outstanding progress. Congratulations.

aviator79
06-26-2018, 09:56 AM
So much pressure!

It is, in fact, coming together faster than I anticipated, but I'm not concerned about the first flight date. There's still a lot to do. One day at a time and she flies when she flies. :)

aviator79
06-29-2018, 02:07 PM
:D

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/d1p0oqrlKhW6dz8eQVRWMXuVITmbrCDFudMTEgwUFaCFcm1ZdH p85Y-9eCKr28HADzSDu5lAlqJMT1yCpF0M7A8PuB8aU7WMCG6qMItXU grZgw7sOcoxV9LfeStbUMD4qofqexLrC4Q=w600

Esser
06-29-2018, 02:15 PM
Ooo I like the red! ;)

efwd
06-29-2018, 02:17 PM
Me tooooo.
eddie

Clark in AZ
06-29-2018, 04:02 PM
Nice! That's a milestone in the build. Can't wait to see it mounted.


Clark

aviator79
07-02-2018, 06:41 AM
I have most of the fabric on the fuselage. I need to finish up the vertical stab, then install my static ports, and then I'll do the top piece. I really ran to the ragged edge of having enough fabric.

Attaching and shrinking is going pretty nominally. There is a lot of geometry to work around on the side pieces, but it wasn't difficult to figure out. As I believe others have done, I completely covered the triangle window frame. This is purely and aesthetic decision.

On the second side, I glued the bottom first, and as I was gluing the top, I was running into a situation where keeping the glued edge nice and neat resulted in too much slack in the fabric. I did a lot of heat forming and stretching, and I intentionally left some wrinkles in the glued seam to take up some fabric slack, and once I got it attached, it looked kind of a mess. I was half expecting to tear it off and start over. However, with patient use of the iron, everything turned out nice and smooth.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/smgPN9esu-yalVsw9VLWSKgTH4TIvecwgxsUm4TCd0MH_IDpVyc5uXu6n5S1 JRe2zJ9mY8JRXnT2fwiqntXu1uWCoCucHiJWW77538136itV86 x8yD7sH7Ckr0jgoy3jB6UGV0FZnyQ=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/chqch9oFbOglGpfoj0NRqneByndUVlPdnuMBKdSoXWXRLIFqxI ap3HzFI_QPMH2gFR4kZ-g6UB0YUktihSQVRhhIZWTVPdoHP-Ybst5rUAWdoE9OE_omaz807Xsgh9vGFhGgMgL10Vk=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3tXE7TEEydNrrBp8BMnKzvSl8DENnM7CNQOXy1JtrbK6utW9Xf YRpn-T6YuedALpjaheZNTc67ue_E9suRF8SIB4wqaObyiZF_c2QeZDE fznkS-WDlvTTiOzDahTmrMdQbOjq7g7X0Y=w600

David47
07-02-2018, 03:59 PM
Great progress Brian. Never thought of covering the triangular window so I might consider doing the same thing. And I’ve also found that the patient use of the iron on wrinkles can change tears to cheers.

aviator79
07-02-2018, 04:56 PM
I covered right over the top of the window, then cut a triangle out with slits at the corners to make tabs that I folded and glued to the back of the angle. The effect is the forward legs of the triangle end up wrapped in fabric.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/x3KEan2MhZppNQqVX1TQVdQrc-j2NzZ9NyRHpDUtdr-5r6LXBhyvsH33Cdy22J_Iie1tJt7J8A58ukOQsnPq1pZGvf1LX kqJ5rJWYxKd5_V4jdYjNNWh67sgYz5X6RzRaybdSLh12wU=w60 0

David47
07-03-2018, 02:38 PM
Very neat way of doing it.

aviator79
07-09-2018, 06:59 AM
Oh my gosh so much taping. Coming along nicely though.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WehvKm5ZwdeE5w6IL_If77_st3fzaDde_pshyXBd6XtuDgoSJK M4Y4P_ED0S5Q4UCzYzccKoTER2uO6f2tGBWGK8rLnJ4QYL_7kW z38X6SJKTgnWrrYp0QEF06JWgyoUDgUPpNW8yR0=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/rJvEpUE3s4pf4PJW9TwoKcB0zV5Je-GOJZUhJoWoTwAH0agrpNwDc1edqnG_UFiYV3btPFDhNPqsZkrJ CnN4ewXQxm3OTHb9DbnNwSCeQ7bEvFhSjrYQEVR7wP5zHA_2Cx-5AK59n0k=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BpQnaKPefMKR9UNQLJeNqhH8dUaqv10PIGY8S6lwrCCWwPyZWJ 3QwvNAfZAT8B5dr2zhwa9f4um77dlhvE2K2m66RLfoTQW2qetx JHsnzqyPA_93gJddzO5WE_j-zccGLfTgSQCYukU=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WZ9y_wlRh4QQN6SmgKpoOgclYreYFisqA8xr0Xtb_MGVtN0U45 B0W7Crr7_CEdaixWOD_VEM5eThdj-RSzcpQZ-QQ-wNFYEaJOlkr5HWxG90ZJnAKeKOZMvf-ownW9f4kXhdK65SwZ0=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/1EMnuEwYsm27M8jE0qmjwl6pNde8PKmlek9qyxaeJgAHMGDx5a c83I8oX_WeOkR2b_iNQBiKYdCrqSNZRWshLLkiP7_es8IHlakE lkupOQPi5pemEIFJIgbMKfs56sIztnGLunW9dFY=w600

Clark in AZ
07-09-2018, 10:05 AM
Looks great Brian! Really coming along...

Clark

efwd
07-09-2018, 02:15 PM
Lookin Good Brian. I like that shot down the fuse.

David47
07-09-2018, 06:56 PM
Yeah, again, first flight before Christmas .... no pressure Brian ... !!

aviator79
07-09-2018, 07:34 PM
You first David!

aviator79
07-19-2018, 06:36 AM
Not a whole lot of visual progress lately. I got the aft turtledeck angle installed, all the taping/gussets/inspection rings on the fuselage done, masked most of the fuselage for spraying, and sprayed flat black on all the cockpit tubes. I'll be travelling again for a bit, but I'm working on finishing up the masking so I can start spraying Poly Stuff.

As an aside, I wish I would have thought to specify flat black powder coat when I ordered the kit. It's not an option listed on the order form, and by the time it occurred to me to ask, it was too late. For me, I don't think the cosmetic difference is all that great, I just didn't want the white tubes reflecting off the glass.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KggcmO0I52HK006gW-MmvTHXMXZ6uU4tEt5fzmEK6VDMVNafCEWhpXjyjY5Esn8rEC32 _vdHz-JrCyleptAXsGcZTmwjnQG4K3eteQ9knEXtZFa868_e72KpzdXW UiFduNYPyoaiXDc=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/l2V4MV6NCGCu51a_wNKU0PSr-svxy8jH1x2JUfkdDcug0QtyjfnAm1LxZ9RpdPXFKxT6stOn-yDj0N6IJo_bWNlhPGBw80lNr1WQP6UYIu9G87Y8CPgoHtKlELh PdVrsE281NnhTp08=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/0inrnXVkuZksmNgtD8LMAUXp5cQkHFv00EN0fHcfqILzwMNRv3 ekgsvES4OiDgAPMGTvDfBYs0N4zw8_5aMndbS6CGOYjsHrOgUF OXZ340Hl4idK2oDuaAYzvEfBW5_9sY9gVY_U7WA=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/IsAzEyrCeeGV0DgzbWid5iggT_zOXvXMX_5S-_R3dUyRAWw97xtlULyiNQeaniyDy1gnOWIRfOSfSp_pjNEAXIn dmgp7UuYK_Lt4vlcGLKuJSQD6RABCYWzfdp_pMaUN2IC87mROx yA=w600

AirFox
07-19-2018, 05:20 PM
You will be happy you painted that tubing black. See you Saturday afternoon.

Scott

aviator79
07-20-2018, 05:19 AM
I'm looking forward to it. See you tomorrow.

aviator79
07-26-2018, 08:43 AM
I had a good time last Saturday in Oregon with AirFox and Floog. I appreciate those guys letting me poke and prod at their planes, and for giving me my first gravel bar landing. It's a really cool community that exists around this airplane and always fun to link up with other Kitfoxers.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Z9YgnUf91WVzs3JZVv7RKVLi5KIsbePdYCkK6Qe9JAVqhKZFjJ 7WTcTZBhf3-5lCWdUBB3AuSYw-IROcXiXXtChGJ6KQ7wNYGyit1huSkHqZJhLVhUxDPDH174PKeX Qfm93mlkUIWWY=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ugBArc55saV3mrZEPyJaxZvzAb2A7gh_0Ifqph5ExAY6Mfyfii 6uWgAmFYvGFHVWfY9WeAfd8gZcOGKXudYjIISt-HqaF0CGccA-vLeP83uXkg_PxSwEGtXOTgz9p8fM-9fy8VDePZQ=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/EQ3lx7QQi4lPtuciJD_zvNNU2LYQdf3RaLCOJfhkZ74Rs_vZ-5aRLbK8z02tLMePZJrrbjVFZsoDoqWL2e17AFi-ihRe5mWjWdHdXcFjhQ93r3mO2cyCVpl7clqAbMM3oP_z-zowgb0=w600

AirFox
07-26-2018, 06:05 PM
Glad to help motivate your build Brian. Looking forward to seeing your plane flying. Next summer we'll be talking about meeting up in the backcountry.

Scott

aviator79
07-26-2018, 06:56 PM
Looking pretty in pink.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/AJF9-4HVgrSDtKSXgX74ZYIg-d22joCaWNV9gGE_4m236JEjml0KDCwiNp7httNyIlGtgC26ohI NrgULAkJhjCPxiDayfhmRhHj7EKxqRcTCABus32j9yPIbm2jho nHS2U7Zgm0yRCQ=w600

Floog
07-27-2018, 04:30 AM
You went home motivated! Nice work! Scott said you guys had a great time on the gravel bars. He donated a day helping me install the new windshield followed by a flight for $100 teriyaki. Incidentally, a windshield can be installed without removing the boot cowl. Don't know if anyone else has tried this. Saved a lot of time. I will be airborne again a week from today. I tried to attach a picture but resizing it down to 10 percent still exceeded the size limit!?!?

aviator79
07-27-2018, 04:49 AM
I wish we could have had more time. You guys really have a great playground up there, definitely a good motivator. The wife and kids are headed to visit friends in Texas the first full week in August, so I'm hoping to get the fuse painted and on the gear before they get back.

That's solid work getting airborne again so quickly. What did you decide to do about your struts?

aviator79
07-30-2018, 06:24 AM
Slick in Silver.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ytlsfbFCBf-JUYuoBpPYDzthxMPOrvHSR-grBNQzFt8IdpJMCsK-bPXHpxFV4ZrJTHP2QAUUOGKGsRYcLDScm2bj6NUtokzLM5Gmho psTt5C_dFLfkDW2lB9reajmM7Jh5kWl-dUPQo=w600

efwd
07-30-2018, 10:58 AM
well there you are Brian, looks like mine now.

aviator79
07-30-2018, 11:04 AM
I'm a bit away yet Eddie, and I would certainly consider it a success if mine ever looks half as good as yours. Now go do some wiring because I'm looking forward to your first flight.

aviator79
08-01-2018, 06:48 AM
The top paint line did not come out clean. I may have laid a coat on too thick. I'll have to clean it up.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/BEP1_D_HO6C2J-e4vMaXvOHFLzLuKA-kkZFz3_D2Ddolyf6V_7WvSGXRR9YUCtKJpAo4v0nN7t-epS6B_7DXjHeZCEfRTygR4x7zOeCvFjf5e5ysI2ORSYL1wEukw xEPYL5Q93cQuLk=w600

Direction I'm headed:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/UbMB-ffIIo8tjdB2Wt-4GFlsCf1J9VyIJaGI51daxXBfxinP6kA7vdJcqLooWrNFzbXtU K-EcjxkgJcwcTb9mokZfNh0AodoXibDAFRWW_-l2gPD3DvJWfyX3DDo5ts6f3chhijQPao=w600

David47
08-01-2018, 02:24 PM
That scheme’s gonna look good. You’re setting a blistering pace .... flying this year still looking good ...

PapuaPilot
08-01-2018, 06:18 PM
Looking great! ;)

aviator79
08-04-2018, 08:30 PM
It's got a couple imperfections, but I'm pretty happy with it for the first airplane (or anything else) I've ever painted.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Q0QR4DTNSdf4HXnHKt4dv55QxuC_2mx8V7AHOhA0fgKQTtDGfQ FHGzUZcQxa6ig6WjkYsfMwo8MiEXtsgPLWLKlPxlLxGZPK_aJg 64vZfZJ6qX1m6hdIPbi-w8YsdWPQPIGddfDrcbQ=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/aF7Uy1KysphvGex85oCEAzaPyxEqWhtuAYdDzRPQ2X3iEF-RIaIMa2vTn9ekx8prsfOG83rPLAQglmxO9TMBvug8tqykFfe0c nMP0-DaSqWOFHe5wibgMdbNvPQNBBSVhWJIV_d5jSI=w600

Clark in AZ
08-04-2018, 08:41 PM
Great job! Looks fantastic!


Clark

tjentzsch
08-04-2018, 08:45 PM
Looking superb! Look forward to seeing the final product.

Have you ever built anything on this scale before? Could you at some point share your experiences with the process?

efwd
08-04-2018, 10:47 PM
Brian, that looks really cool. Movin right along.

PapuaPilot
08-05-2018, 06:38 AM
Looks great! Any of us who have painted our plane know where all the imperfections are, but it will fly just fine. Yours looks like it's going 120 mph already.

aviator79
08-05-2018, 02:11 PM
She's got leeeggs.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ewa3sPSRMdnp5oMB4SflAdH5kUcjbhGT51OcF5W0lyycYlnQim zrTcTSi9mxOPeZsEPBao5UKVXe7hElEfudixpDg4TJW8ah5qHS iBJovJWvEVdQtoUsTQbJlbBahNylH9FIDEAzSi0=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/quj1tXNN19MiIJIOLbC8T8sxku2kHK_mgnIinncXDa_2uftSKu 7MBfJzxP6-ybs_q7o9gSzswv3sEqnMm8fbUCjqUQTbOt6qF60CAFZKGBE54N IvculGNEjV5AFH7-iPyVrEJahrA2s=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hDuVVM6mS0jvCctViTGHTDnt7lTdLwm6FZcj47azvofU_--VoDI6BHM_0duL4T8WOs3WkTtnoMaWkimSNR44tnEnQObvb0Qr5 LQ5NUdwmYWgCzAj7huF4ZQy7pTJUs0n5C33aARgUIQ=w600

Clark in AZ
08-05-2018, 03:56 PM
Very cool! Looks really nice! That's quite a milestone.


Clark

aviator79
08-06-2018, 06:41 AM
Have you ever built anything on this scale before?

I have not built anytyhing on this scale. I rebuilt a '78 Triumph Bonneville from the crank up, but that's a very different thing than fabric covering an airplane.

Keeping clean tape lines was a challenge. I thought I laid the orange on too thick, causing some bleeding past the tape edge. I touched up what bled, and sprayed the blue with less fluid flow. It did not bleed past the tape line, but it didn't flow and fill as well, so it's a little more rough-textured. When I did the gray, I tried to go somewhere in between, and I got some bleeding past my tape lines again in a few places. I used high-quality 3M green tape for automotive painting, and made sure the edges where smoothed and well-adhered. It was a little warm (~85 deg F), so that might be why I couldn't spray it light enough and still get a smooth texture. The manual says you should be able to spray up to 95 deg F though, so maybe there is some other secret. I have a light orange peel texture on all the colors, but it's not noticeable unless you really look into the glare. From 10' it looks great. I'm pretty happy with it. If you want any other details about the covering and painting process, let me know. All of the wisdom I have is contained in the Poly Fiber manual though.

Ronin
08-06-2018, 09:32 AM
It's called "fine line" painters tape. Feels more like electrical tape than regular masking tape. also lightly scotch-brite pad right up to the tape line before painting and also you can make sure the tape edge is tight with a rubber or plastic squeegee.

Frontier Fox
08-06-2018, 10:24 AM
I really like your color choices! Can’t wait to see the tail feathers and wings.

Joe G

aviator79
08-06-2018, 03:13 PM
So I'm installing the engine mount. I managed to get all 5 points aligned pretty easily. However, the AN5-17A bolt that the manual calls out for the bottom attach point is too long. There is not enough thread to pull the mount up tight. Am I missing something? It's hard to measure the bushing length, but it looks like 1.125. I might have some 5/16 washers I could stack to take up the play. Anyone else run into this?

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/8NRiw0ccaxAJRN-3ELmutogV71_gaGlEk-JpLEx0JvcYj5pOh3NidOUh1PvVWj7tKRxxjx-65eNha_CKOhc2Cf5TjLrOmu1UmIGBWHRPLPRFMyoimKlUMhPoP dAEbuXT6htL5crmxoo=w600

efwd
08-06-2018, 06:54 PM
Hell yes I ran into that. I had a miserable time getting all my bolts to go in. Ultimately I had to loosen all bolts. If Im not mistaken I had to get that particular bolt in first before I was able to work on the rest. The shoulder of that bolt would not pass the firewall as it would hang up. That particular area is so reinforced and inflexible. Put the bottom in and just run it down enough so that when your workin on the others your not putting stress on the threads of that bolt. Once that bolt was secure, I had to use ratchet straps to flex the other points an eighth inch or so. I was working alone so if you have help they may be able to strong arm the mount.

aviator79
08-06-2018, 07:14 PM
Eddie, I remember you had trouble getting them aligned. Mine actually aligned pretty easily, but the bottom bolt is at least 1/8 in. too long. I run out of threads before the engine mount and firewall come tight.

efwd
08-06-2018, 07:21 PM
Oh, I understand now. I may have had a short or long bolt myself. I have spare bolts of various lengths for my engine mount. I bought them in different lengths because I believe I was having similar issues.

David47
08-07-2018, 03:48 AM
Brian, if you don’t buy a shorter bolt, you could put one washer betweeen the firewall and engine mount and then add washers on the aft side of the firewall to get the correct thread engagement without bottoming out.

aviator79
08-07-2018, 06:27 AM
I went up to four washers, and that didn't quite get me there, so I ordered a shorter bolt. Ordered some other stuff too so that it didn't hurt so bad to pay for 2 day air. My family is traveling for a week, and I kind of want to have the engine on when they get home. As always though, no deadlines:only progress.

jiott
08-07-2018, 09:56 AM
I would put the extra washers all on the aft side, otherwise you are changing (by a very small amount) the mounting angle of the engine.

aviator79
08-07-2018, 10:43 AM
That's what I did, with the same logic. Nonetheless, the washers didn't get me there. I'm still curious why this is an issue for me though. I measured the bolt. It is the bolt specified by the manual. It seems like the kind of thing that would have been discovered and corrected in the manual pretty quickly. Maybe the bushing in my fuselage is shorter than standard? I verified several times that I wasn't missing anything in the instructions. I have the plain and lock washer on the cockpit side, and the modified large-diameter washer on the engine side. There is no question that the bolt is too long.

efwd
08-07-2018, 01:15 PM
I think its possible that an incorrect bolt was given to you. Check it in a bolt gauge and then verify that the manual is consistent with what you have in your hand. Just a thought.

Esser
08-07-2018, 04:37 PM
I concur. I also have received mis packaged parts. Just takes one bolt accidentally in the wrong bolt bin....

WestColoradoHopeful
08-09-2018, 10:26 AM
She's got leeeggs.



https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/hDuVVM6mS0jvCctViTGHTDnt7lTdLwm6FZcj47azvofU_--VoDI6BHM_0duL4T8WOs3WkTtnoMaWkimSNR44tnEnQObvb0Qr5 LQ5NUdwmYWgCzAj7huF4ZQy7pTJUs0n5C33aARgUIQ=w600


Awesome ! I've been looking through your posts - very cool.

Swanny
08-09-2018, 11:25 AM
This build has me very motivated, what size are those wheels?

aviator79
08-09-2018, 11:28 AM
850x6. Link. (https://www.desser.com/Aircraft-Tires-and-Tubes/850-6-4-PLY-AERO-CLASSIC-SMOOTH-TUNDRA-AERO-CLASS-AA4K5.asp)

You can order them from John and Debra. Same price I believe.

Esser
08-09-2018, 04:33 PM
Just be aware a Desser 8.50X6 is very different in size from an Air Trac 8.50X6 or a goodyear.

aviator79
08-09-2018, 07:44 PM
I thought I'd hang my engine tonight. Nope. I think it's a two person job. I have to work hard to compress a mount enough to get a couple threads to stick out, and there's no way with only two hands I can even try to get a nut started on it. I'll have to wait until I have some help.

Esser
08-09-2018, 08:17 PM
I hung my engine with the top two bolts with no rubber mounts. I then installed the bottom bolts with the rubber mounts and lowered the engine so the weight of the engine on the top two bolts pivoted and squeezed the bottom ones enough that I could get a nut on. I then lifted the engine, took out the top bolts, put in the rubber and lifted with it pulling back slightly so the force of lifting compressed the rubber enough to get the top threads started.

Hope that makes sense and that it helps!

efwd
08-10-2018, 05:27 AM
So weird. the mount will go onto the Ring mount so easily if you hang it first then hang the engine/mount to the firewall. Getting it all lined up to the firewall is another issue.

aviator79
08-10-2018, 06:27 AM
That did it Josh. Genius.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/KqVWzAwhzDhGLcsy-8EPoLn8IdZfDUjOlkLqOM2NgfS7GsKmF91otqTrq_nBA4LSApW 1y7c1i1ViHiAonYj610k4odtK-UrJHHj5I68o9DL2W3cbMPMVBh5qN9FeHZ51rHQpcisGY80=w60 0

aviator79
08-10-2018, 06:30 AM
So weird. the mount will go onto the Ring mount so easily if you hang it first then hang the engine/mount to the firewall. Getting it all lined up to the firewall is another issue.

I think part of the issue, Eddie, is that because the angle isn't perfect with the engine slung up, the rubber biscuits don't seat well into the engine mount. You're trying to shove them in at not-quite-the-right angle. On two of them, I still couldn't get the nuts on with the washers, but I was able to get the nut on without the washer and tighten it down. This squished everything up nice, and then you could remove the nut, and replace it with the washer.

aviator79
08-13-2018, 07:41 AM
I started on the firewall-forward installation. I'm still waiting on some parts, so I'm also picking items off while I wait. This week I did the following:
-Swaged rudder cables.
-Made and installed the tail access covers.
-Installed some aluminum angle and strips for the cargo bag velcro.
-Installed COM/XPDR/ADSB antennae
-Hung the engine.
-Installed the coolant overflow bottle, fuel filter, and fuel shutoff valve.
-Started installing the cabin heater. My drill stop collar slipped while drilling rivet holes and I nicked the heater core. That's some thin aluminum! I'm going to try an epoxy repair before I drop $170 on a new heater core.
-Installed the brake system except the parking brake (arrives tomorrow).
-Fabricated and installed quarter windows.

For the cargo bag velcro, I put two angles in with Adel clamps. I also bonded some Al strips to the bottom tube of the quarter window that aren't shown in the picture.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Yn-ROO2ci5OLghrsRWQOVo1mjx9i96eLO-vyVrYcH5cUXd8KSsO4cg8ZlsAKGRjiuX0wjMkfzlBw9jWkXonX unvSOJguPtusBSlmM26dJXNlKbsmxy-T6gtZ44HtsjJKK-uEsEnm02M=w600

On the brakes, if you heat the nylaflow tube in some hot water or with a heat gun, you can form it, and then run it under cold water so that it takes a set. This way you can make reasonably sharp bends without kinking the tube. This is handy where the brake lines go through the fabric to gear legs.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/LbLn8MSR8kBeuiruurvn-ntefOS8XbvthjG_7SL-op1F5aD6vavSRfzRVbRkYC5y1V6cawmEonv1T4-Gvvxd9rKEONZ9V1nTd3UoV-dTAiGSR54iQua9MREQH3hwRre28CFfk55_cKk=w600

Stuff appearing on the firewall.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/otejwkQZHviNMThInvvvtXvrAP5rseb9s-cqnq38AlC2NEHeLr88WF-N2j7n8g7iMV-rMY0m1ZK55TbMPe5uEZp7aIJlTA6yAjo-s9WAziqnivnijNPUHlgOkR3KzH8aHI5ucWN1VUY=w600

Quarter windows:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/EZSB606J75cS1_4hNk9V3E8qWsSYjy_NpFKvvwAxA5moUUP6_m vwHPChV-DajvYc3v9kKbsM05dfYk17hF_W-ERRLjzaaxV4GGz68srtLg7TbShKmWUOP-2cdeyeJARqCeSJ9AD5cT0=w600

Dave S
08-13-2018, 10:09 AM
Brian,


Looking good!


Neat trick on he nylaflo.


Question - what are the aluminum bars clamped up with cushion clamps along the top/side edge of the baggage bay used for?

aviator79
08-13-2018, 11:17 AM
Question - what are the aluminum bars clamped up with cushion clamps along the top/side edge of the baggage bay used for?

Something to attach the cargo bag velcro to.

efwd
08-13-2018, 01:17 PM
I like how you accomplished that strip for the bag. Ill have to copy that.

Floog
08-18-2018, 11:35 AM
I'm gonna copy that, too. Nice work, Brian. I've got 20 hours on the orange submarine! Scott and I were on the gravel bars yesterday. Fun!

jmodguy
08-18-2018, 12:22 PM
Really like your paint scheme!

David47
08-19-2018, 04:44 AM
So Brian, from the list you posted on August 14, I'm guessing you're working 9 day weeks and 35 hour days. That list would take me a month .... blistering pace. Great progress.

aviator79
08-19-2018, 04:49 AM
Ha! That was an unusual week. My wife and kids were visiting some friends in Austin. I got 35 hours in on the plane.

David47
08-20-2018, 07:58 AM
Well, I got one number correct ...:D

aviator79
08-24-2018, 06:31 AM
I've been doing a bunch of smallish tasks, waiting for parts, and making progress where I can. The phase of the build I'm in feels like slow progress. Because engine and electrical are different from plane to plane, the firewall forward manual and final assembly section of the main manual are not as specific as the rest of the manual, so there's a lot to figure out for yourself.

Fuel lines run up between the seats. My plan is to fabricate a stainless steel thermally insulated box to contain the 914 fuel pumps and mount them on the engine side side of the passenger's footwell, just like the 912iS fuel pump assembly. I'm waiting on some fittings to plumb up the fuel pumps/check valves, but I have enough that I'm confident it's all going to fit, and will be a much better arrangement than putting the pumps behind or under the seats. I have never done real sheet metal work, so we'll see how well my box turns out. I will probably be glad that it's underneath the cowl where nobody will see it.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/qnQwEk5ZGLvIkNC2qlep-gQw4o1bbBSJjLry0sVYPG1yKHX130lc37RGwPeP04cpq57uoOJ j-z9o7_JFE-gXXEBAfEBzwTbPb0jTyDkhz3HPlczym9cjp7PNsBKfMsYjV_AV Nvb0qF0=w600

In installed the heater core and fans per the manual. Then I went to fit the electronics trays, and they don't fit with the heater. I started measuring so that I could trim the trays to fit, and then realized it would be much smarter to remove the heater, install the trays, and then just install the heater to the trays. Trying to accurately drill the holes for the adel clamps that mount the heater was a pain, and it ended up a little off center. Not a big deal really, but in re-doing it to mount to the trays, it's now centered nicely. Also, I mounted the trays with adel clamps instead of the VHB tape specified by the manual. It's coming together well.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QJQzkqRysHSsj6wJH3sNKuYZ-UVzbPJ477YT6M6m92cTUFgWWN_7NiQar9ZH1DPA1xo8YqMM-Jm8nnJqY55uYHdNfKX1SkpH0e-e3HHcjpVOJ1u7dNlGMHa76nRCT9moFlGo4MAaaZc=w600

rv9ralph
08-24-2018, 10:10 PM
Brian,
On making the stainless box. A suggestion, first make the box out of an old file folder or other semi-stiff paper, when happy with the results, use that as a template for cutting and bending the metal for the box. Good luck with the stainless, it can be difficult to work with.

Ralph

aviator79
08-27-2018, 12:28 PM
I have several packages a day arriving now with fittings and parts that I need. A lot of my shop time right now is spent figuring things out, making diagrams, and planning instead of actual building. It feels a little less fun at the moment, but I'm still squeaking a little progress out each day.

I made some additional mounting trays, and started installing some components. The TCU and servo motor are on the right, the voltage reglator, EMS, and noise suppression capacitor are on the left. I have lovely cardboard cutout of the remote radio, transponder, ads-b receiver, and Advance Control Module holding their places in there.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/QVUaKuD9GnDaTm0cCqrGiFrcc3-qWGYnGFRLol9UtLxlzptDH0nSNU3qBvRtxvir5_6lCqj_r36so ncZm3ia-Lo9Ralasd0D6X0WABWfzaFquFhWca8ozlcvW5Gp-gVoaLf0miOOhfs=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/uVDQ95WN2HVk4EuGHhHDTcMb16S-_wCuKp8fXVNbMGfrBfNJ0H4ITKJrpja8DMwjgwkXuqhMdTH2c2 VPSGjmN2yaWMld2yhu1wCrB0g-_8zXRIdeT4JZmoI7_dFt0f2A-m0QGbUzxDc=w600

aviator79
08-27-2018, 12:49 PM
Also, some questions for you guys:

I'd be interested in ideas for locating the manifold pressure sensor. I'd like to keep in on the engine side so that I only have to pass electrical through the firewall, but it has strange geometry to find a good mount. This is the Dynon unit, but I think other systems use a similar sensor. I thought about zip tying it to a spark plug wire bundle, but it feels kind of janky there.

Also, for those with a 914 engine, what did you do with the ambient pressure sensor from the TCU? Route it to the static system? Just leave it open? Under the cowl? Behind the panel?

Esser
08-27-2018, 01:12 PM
Mine Was open behind the panel and I ended up teeing intonitbon a whim when I had some extra fittings

jiott
08-27-2018, 08:49 PM
My MP sensor is mounted up high on the firewall on the engine side. Been doing good there for 700 hours.

Dorsal
08-28-2018, 11:53 AM
I zip tied mine to one of the upper engine mount tubes.

aviator79
09-06-2018, 06:08 PM
I'm managing to keep moving forward as parts and supplies trickle in. Also battling a bout of strep and some long days at work. More wires are appearing here and there. I installed grips to the control sticks. I also started trimming the cowls. I think I have got the front to where I am satisfied. Final filling, sanding and trimming will be done after they are fit to the boot cowl and each other.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/ChC_qnxFwlr7AB3EJSKDH93d_smPvQzQ8hG39cmsTWulOWo4K6 VMI-Mn8inyZQRDoWPyiiERZ_Br8NHjqtQbO9nGDLONCA5kMw0eRih0 uqtvGH88JdqvrDe0MnKnRjSgmhPyYAa0LQE=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/dbcNljLdU1aPe74n2vwWo3Hc6_gkrH60Sm9beM08O3qRmbD0rI PhAyBmhsKvLvgKKjCsjrF3QmjZeqzhvBN2e2cPUppn45NhlZx2-5v4V_h_6aZBbiTL4UfUeLMk2Se2AKXPwV7Vat0=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/gBlN1DXxR6YzqJgb3qt1bfjIdoGB8obJmaxPKGd8fCFQTYyJFn KxbHEtkEioxCbelP547kUEsO68rYgfIQNqozUZ_tOAs0GBKIW5 3NPg3iu-EcAOWkkfznn9euuoZ-dvdJxGrqi8rBk=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/WrH5uTBifQlkNliIn78pxv5AxYKT7iougCpkFZCxdWz4lETIIX gBrogkkS6QW7cstx_6pZSuDwYRnQAO4DzLv_j03CognKjyAUhP J3n1BTeP_FLu8DaPbRQ2zKzwZ0UikLNgS_jEqTA=w600

Clark in AZ
09-06-2018, 07:43 PM
Things are really moving along for you Brian. Good job! What grips did you go with?


Thanks,
Clark

aviator79
09-06-2018, 07:49 PM
Ray Allen G405. I considered Tosten grips, but didn't like any of the button arrangements. I don't think the hat switch makes much sense if you don't have aileron trim.

efwd
09-06-2018, 07:57 PM
Looking great Brian. Other than the PTT switch, what else have you wired into that? I was so overcome with anxiety about the wiring that I figured I only wanted the PTT. Now, I think twice.

Clark in AZ
09-06-2018, 08:45 PM
Ray Allen G405. I considered Tosten grips


Funny, those are on my list too. I have also been waffling on the hat switch. What are your switch assignments?


Thanks,
Clark

aviator79
09-07-2018, 03:08 AM
The trigger will be ptt. There are four thumb buttons. The top and bottom will be nose down and up pitch trim. The left will be autopilot disconnect. I haven't really decided on the right. Maybe active/standby toggle for the radio? I'm open to suggestions, actually.

Clark in AZ
09-07-2018, 06:28 AM
I was thinking similarly. I like the radio active/stby toggle.


Other ideas: map zoom, screen toggle between pages, transponder ident, landing lights on/off, camera record on/off.


Not sure if all of those could be done?


Clark

aviator79
09-07-2018, 07:09 AM
I like the screen toggle between pages, and had the same thought, but I don't think there's a way to do it with the Dynon HDX I'm installing. Maybe other EFIS systems support this? I can't really think of a 5th function that I consider all that important, but that button needs to do SOMETHING, so it will probably be the active/standby toggle.

jmodguy
09-07-2018, 07:38 AM
I have the Ray Allen G207. Up and down are trim, L is stored freq step, R is freq select, upper L is transponder ident, upper R is AP disconnect, and trigger is transmit.
A hat switch would add another switch. They typically have 5 switches, up, dn, L, R, and center

aviator79
09-10-2018, 07:05 AM
I have my cowls mostly fit up. A few lessons learned:

-I was able to borrow a tool from another forum member that is really helpful in setting the prop flange spacing, and for ensuring that the circular front of the cowl is concentric with the prop flange. It's an 11.2" diameter aluminum plate with spacers on the back that would be specific to your prop selection. This assembly has at least four bolt holes of the prop flange pattern drilled into it. You bolt this to the prop flange, and cleco the lower cowl to it. This supports the cowl very securely up front, and positions the front of the cowl dead nuts. Getting the cowls fit and trimmed kind of feels like eating a soup sandwich, and I'm glad I wasn't doing it using only strapping tape to keep the front of the cowl in place.

-When drilling the holes at the boot cowl/firewall flange, check the hole locations to make sure they don't align with flutes in the firewall before drilling, and move them if necessary. Also, I had to move the most foreward holes at the upper/lower joint back to make sure they went through the flange on the lower cowl.

-I'm a little concerned that the camlocks on the firewall/cowl flange won't be perfectly square, making it hard to engage those. Has anyone had difficulty with that, or have any tips for installing the camlocks to ensure smooth removal and installation? I loathe changing the oil on our club cardinal just because the cowls are such a pain to get on and off. I'm hoping to have a painless process on my plane.

Initial fitup of the front. It won't be perfect after it's on the airplane because at this point the cowl is slightly deformed by the flanges you haven't cut yet. That's why god gave us Super Fil.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/OI9gPKPUPKVHufAP4MuE1--p_aYXxqD4F9FVrqfXjfEu00gcDid5_xBXQT0pgMFQ-6-_VsbLWzvCdJ90YsuBSHNMowOggQbMY6AqkB95SmdFFPE2thcu9 txvJXUSTEtG2wulKJ7Gcbg=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/c_Ew-WEUjmB0DkdFWzIWJCoJjbIUsyspYsw10f8kDayolvKyPbtccuS l1i6fMTDtwidaHw_yLdE2UufhFo2BRcbXvosbf7paZTWCbDN7J _ju-dWTzan2lBTQKZjcDY0fH8M7ebS5sGs=w600

With the tool in place, you can mark the cowls, remove, trim and repeat, using strapping tape to try to hold the soup sandwich together. I did the joint between the back of the bottom cowl and the boot cowl first, and then fit the top to the bottom. A lot of iteration to get it all dialed in.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/CQlz8Pn0N7BMkzetezRti8tcZQApJzQqnz40FWQuqk9SidUfLA AOd234LSpU8lTXdYZl6Zd6mr6tDDvCZBM5BaYYPoNoSYPsetSr 3idwwnzkPPAu6CDm9IpGKXucROWTAMq8o-6QkII=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/Hh6-3t0for6co5K_xsQCwuowII0uFNSMiUgJyAy9Osn70bpClhuHCi zgxLjtdHI9Ohs2i9WdyzJQyn5SU2hYiHVzKAVTzg4yBW8sc_pz 9fi4WzDR4phPmBxoYM-qL87n7o6rEDjGzJI=w600

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/3W6S_gdVDmT3_-t4dCJ00IsGHS8N5nnZnpXw2E1oaXmrvscR7OhqEGcakF4KzGcf dYUNncVxrg_pik910gCiZM_QVHgt2x2z9qv_uZUcV-P5DAa54ji9p4ChkMlG0dvtmXBpPrgeJms=w600

Everything clecoed in place. The clecos hold everything tighter than strapping tape, so I need to take a bit more off the edges of the top cowl to get it to fit in the joggle of the bottom and to leave some margin for paint thickness. Then I'll smear some Super Fil in various places and do some final sanding and trimming.
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/4NiEcQJ_2dS2DZQsgHwpEsv5iBe7Q54n3OJyNDjP2dmcztFcV7 hq4OLjUEhXgQO9cyxnDidcauUSR0PfYGNnkQOTt7KpAjt8t1j-8BZQoVrx3zJiIGHOw3vM2gqZwEA9SSAE5HosTrQ=w600