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Thread: The Barn Find Build

  1. #261
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Another slightly frustrating and unproductive day. I got the roll servo mounted, but wasted a good hour and a foot of aluminum angle fabricating a bracket that didn't work on the airplane like it did in my head.

    In the second photo below, you'll see two plastic cable ties around the servo motor. They're temporary, until I get a long enough steel hose clamp. The fuselage tube under the motor is wrapped with silicone tape, then there's a thin wood shim (which will come out for varnish tomorrow) to level the motor. The hose clamp will hold it all together and stiffen the mounting since the 3/4" angle isn't quite rigid enough on its own.

    IMG_1314.jpg IMG_1315.jpg

    After installing it in the plane and safety-wiring it in place (because why do it on the bench?), I installed a new shear screw in this servo, which Dynon was kind enough to send for free.

    IMG_1317.jpg

    I pulled the clecoes from the wing tip mounting strips and stored them for later.

    A package arrived today from Spruce that had the 1" Adel clamp for the pitch servo to grab ahold of the elevator push-pull tube. I didn't mount it yet since the tube length isn't set, but I loosely attached it to the servo pushrod so it won't disappear.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  2. #262
    Senior Member bbs428's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Your the last person who I would think has a two digit IQ... That slot is reserved for me.

    Love your work Eric. Keep on trucking!
    Somebody said that carrier pilots were the best in the world, and they must be or there wouldn't be any of them left alive. — Ernie Pyle

    Brett Butler
    Flying: 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul Zipper 110hp, G3x avionics, ss7 upgrades

  3. #263
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Took a day off on Thu this week. A Spruce package arrived with the missing hardware for the brake masters and rudder cables, so I got to work on those yesterday. First was the brakes, and I'm really glad I ordered another bag of -10 and -10L washers! Getting them in was a bit of a fiddle, and the hose fittings will need to be removed and reinstalled to clock them correctly, but it's progress.

    IMG_1320.jpg IMG_1321.jpg

    Remember those eight rudder links that I spent a couple of hours stripping, priming and painting earlier this week? Well, yesterday I found this in the S7 manual:

    IMG_1324.jpg

    That bold note isn't in the S5 manual, but reading ahead to the appendix that describes adjustable rudder pedal installation would have revealed that they're not used. However, the similar links that attach the cables to the rudder's control horns are missing, so I'll modify four of the pedal links for that duty.

    Rudder cables were next. I read through both the S5 and S7 manuals, and the S7 instructions made more sense WRT position of swaging the co-pilot's cables to the pilot's. The S5 manual called for 67" but that put the swage right in front of one of the nylon pass-throughs, so I went with the S7 manual's 62" measurement.

    I put a thimble on the end of the cable, attached it to the adjustment handle, then fed the whole length of cable around the pilot's pulley, through the plane and cut it off about 8" beyond the tail. Wash, rinse, repeat. A couple of C clamps held them in place while I worked, and I'll bundle them inside the fuselage for later rigging. I repeated that for the co-pilot side, except I cut them off at just beyond 62" aft of the carry-through, then taped them to a fuselage tube for now; I'm sure if I swage them now, they'll have to come out for something later.

    IMG_1325.jpg IMG_1327.jpg

    IMG_1328.jpg

    You'll notice that in the second photo above, the far (left) thimble attachment is fatter than the others. The tape slipped off the end of the cable during swaging and the cable immediately untwisted and went in all directions. The loose ends kept piercing the heat shrink during shrinking, so I had to put a wrap of gaffer tape around it to hold it tight, then cover that with larger heat shrink. You'll also notice that the washers are missing from the thimbles on the adjustment handle; I'm still mulling whether to order a box of 100 stainless steel #6 fender washers and drill some of them to a larger ID, or just grind a flat on some AN970s and hit them with primer.

    I even remembered to put a Nicopress sleeve and a piece of heat shrink on the pilot's cables as I fed them through!

    IMG_1326.jpg

    I can't say that I'm terribly impressed with the Economy No. 3 Swage-It tool. It works well enough for what it is, and if I had it to do again I probably wouldn't buy the $300 tool for just eight sleeves, but the No. 3 Swage-It isn't easy to align correctly. The instructions tell you to leave a 1/32" gap between crimps, but you can't see into the jaws of the tool well enough to know if you've got that spacing. Sometimes as you tighten it, the sleeve slips sideways so you're tightening on the first (center) crimp instead of the end. Anyway, not all of mine are as pretty as I'd like, but I'm satisfied that they have more than enough margin for safety.



    I was confused by one aspect of the cable installation. The instructions say to put the adjustment handles in the middle of their travel, but they don't mention a position for the rudder pedals or pulleys. Once the cables are in, it's pretty easy to pull the pedals upright from the tail by pulling on the cables. Is there a specific pedal position required for swaging the co-pilot and pilot cables together? It seems like having the cables kind of loose when you do that could lead to problems later. Shouldn't the pedals be pulled up to a position that matches the adjustment handles?
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  4. #264
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Eric

    Go to "builders hints and tips" and look at #47. It's a excellent method for swaging the cables. Also, if they still carry them, go to Lowes website and search for swaging tool. Got mine there for $30.

    Rick

  5. #265
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Well I don't have adjustable pedals but I can tell you for sure in my instructions told me to clamp the pedals so the vertical tubes were perpendicular to the floor. I found that a chunk of 1x4 inserted just aft of the vertical tubes in the front of the fuselage was the perfect size to block the tubes vertical.

    I thought I had a picture but I can't find it right now. Anyway that is when I discovered that the pedals weren't exactly lined up when the torque tubes were. So the step in the manual where it has you set the brake master cylinders to an exact length is only a starting point. I took the time to fine tune them until my pedals and tubes were all in perfect alignment, then clamped them and the 1x4 to the forward fuselage tubes.

    I also cut and swaged my cables for the rudder per the helpful hints section (page 46-ish), and once those were nailed I swaged and cut the right side cables. Make sure your rudder hinge gap is where you want it, and the rudder is clamped in the centered position before cutting the aft ends!

    I had zero issues with the swaging tool (bought mine from Kitfox but it looks like yours), and have actually used it since to crimp up some heavy duty battery cables (different vehicle). Just eyeball it best you can and alternate tightening the two bolts about 1/4 turn at a time. My instructions said to bottom the tool out, so I did. I swaged the center of the ferrule first and then one on either side. Easy.

    I also used the superglue trick on the cable, soaking about an inch of it pretty good before cutting. I think I only created one "meat hook" but it's hidden under the heat shrink now.
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  6. #266
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Quote Originally Posted by bumsteer View Post
    Go to "builders hints and tips" and look at #47. It's a excellent method for swaging the cables. Also, if they still carry them, go to Lowes website and search for swaging tool. Got mine there for $30.
    Thanks for that. I've read that whole thread, but remembering everything good that you've read on here is nigh impossible, and coming back here before every step is a recipe for an endless build! Definitely worth reading again.

    Shucks, if I had known that cheap hardware store crimper would do the job, I never would have ordered the Swage-It tool. I assumed those things were for another kind of sleeve and wouldn't be suitable for aviation parts. Home Depot carries the identical tool.

    Quote Originally Posted by alexM View Post
    ...I can tell you for sure in my instructions told me to clamp the pedals so the vertical tubes were perpendicular to the floor.
    Yeah, this whole process is a bit if a muddle. The appendix in my S5 manual (PDF) for adjustable pedals just says to put the handles in the middle of their travel. The pedals aren't mentioned until the "after covering" paragraph about swaging the rudder connections, where the pilot's adjust handle and pedal go full forward with the brake deflected. The next paragraph (which is done before the paragraph that precedes it!), about swaging the co-pilot's cables, says to "set both adjust levers in the same notch [and] put all four pedals in the same [unspecified] position." I'll just follow the advice in Hints & Tips, and use your 1x4 trick. Apparently it works!

    I thought I had a picture but I can't find it right now. Anyway that is when I discovered that the pedals weren't exactly lined up when the torque tubes were. So the step in the manual where it has you set the brake master cylinders to an exact length is only a starting point. I took the time to fine tune them until my pedals and tubes were all in perfect alignment, then clamped them and the 1x4 to the forward fuselage tubes.
    When you say, "pedals and tubes ... in perfect alignment," I'm not quite picturing what you mean. The tabs that the cables attach to (or in my case, the pulleys) are fixed with respect to the pedal uprights. Do you mean that the pedals were all in the same plane, and at the same angle (as set by the length of the master cylinders)?

    I'm more or less forced to stop at this point anyway, as I don't have the firewall I'm going to be using yet, so I can't set the 1/4" spacing between the pedals and foot-wells. I'll probably have to wait until after covering.

    Just eyeball it best you can and alternate tightening the two bolts about 1/4 turn at a time. My instructions said to bottom the tool out, so I did. I swaged the center of the ferrule first and then one on either side. Easy.
    Yep, that's exactly what I've been doing. I guess I got the cool and you got the talent!

    I also used the superglue trick on the cable, soaking about an inch of it pretty good before cutting. I think I only created one "meat hook" but it's hidden under the heat shrink now.
    First time I've heard of that. If it's in the Hints and Tips thread, I must have been falling asleep when I got to that part. I'm definitely stealing that idea for the rest of the job.



    Just computer work today, dreaming about the instrument panel. Didn't touch any tools.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  7. #267
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Finally got back to the project yesterday afternoon. I started by making a ground plane for the transponder antenna, this time doing the math correctly. The part is cut from a piece of galvanized step flashing from the aviation section at Home Depot. I center-punched the middle, then used a compass to mark out the circle. It was cut out with a manual nibbler, which was slow-going but produced a nice accurate edge that only needed a touch on the sander to smooth it out.

    Just for belt-and-suspenders reasons, I shot it with etching primer, minus the area where the lock washer makes connection on the back side. Finished weight: 1.8 oz.

    I only bought one piece of flashing and there wasn't enough left for the ADS-B antenna, but I'll be in town tomorrow so I'll stop for another piece.

    IMG_1329.jpg

    I made up my mind to try modifying some AN970 washers to replace the odd-ball washers supplied by SkyStar as thimble retainers on the rudder cables. It seemed to work fine, so I also primed and painted them black to match the adjustment handles. The bolts here are corroded garbage from the first build.

    IMG_1330.jpg IMG_1332.jpg

    Finally, I shortened four of the rudder pedal links to serve as rudder links, then re-primed and painted them as well. I'll need to re-ream the holes after four layers of primer and paint!

    IMG_1331.jpg IMG_1353.jpg
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  8. #268
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I spent a couple of hours this morning working on repairing a hinge slot tear in my flaperon skins. I wrote up that process in the "Repairing flaperons" thread.
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  9. #269
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Spent most of the day in the garage yesterday. I installed a total of three leading edge patches on my flaperons (two on one, one on the other) and one at the aft end of a slot. I'm really happy with how it turned out. The flaperons would be prettier without patches on them, but this worked much better than I expected.

    IMG_1360.jpg IMG_1361.jpg

    Once the patches were done, I got busy sanding out the numerous scratches with 320-grit. It appeared that the first builder had sliced the plastic protective film in a chord-wise direction, about every four inches across nearly the whole span of the flaperons, leaving straight scratches. They were also just generally beat up after 25 years of handling and storage.

    IMG_1362.jpg IMG_1364.jpg

    After about an hour of gentle sanding, they look and feel a lot better. I'm never going to have polished flaperons, but with judicious use of SuperFil to cover a few small dents that remain, they should look good after painting.

    IMG_1363.jpg IMG_1365.jpg

    One down and one to go...
    Eric Page
    Building: Kitfox 5 Safari | Rotax 912iS | Dynon HDX
    Member: EAA Lifetime, AOPA, ALPA
    ATP: AMEL | Comm: ASEL, Glider | ATCS: CTO
    Map of Landings

  10. #270
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Eric, just FYI, I don't know what type of 320 grit sandpaper you used, but be aware that the builder's tips say not to use a silica based sandpaper on aluminum due to possible corrosion issues. Scotch brite is recommended. If you did use a silica sandpaper there may be a deep cleaning process to remove all the silica debris before paint.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

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