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Thread: The Barn Find Build

  1. #391
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I'm having a bit of analysis paralysis and could use some advice.

    I'm looking at mounting the LP Aero Plastics bubble windows on the door frames. The guidance from Kitfox, in both the S5 and S7 manuals, shows the hinges mounted to the outside face of the butyrate (S5, left image) or polycarbonate (S7, right image) window material:

    S5_Door_Mounting.jpg S7_Door_Mounting.JPG

    The instructions from LP Aero Plastics, which are text only, say this:

    [...] When alignment is satisfactory, using a china marker grease pencil, mark the door hinge location for notching of the window for hinge clearance. Notch the window with a small drum sander mounted in a rotary (Dremel) tool.
    That sounds like a terrifying procedure, so I'm wondering how others with the LP Aero bubble doors accomplished the hinge mounting. If you notched the window, how much clearance did you leave around the hinge plate? Did you later fill that gap with something like silicone?



    EDIT: The instructions for installing the bubble door that are provided by Kitfox don't say anything about the hinge mounting, but one of the images appears to show the hinge plate on the outside of the window plastic.

    Kitfox_Door_Image.jpg
    Last edited by Eric Page; 10-01-2021 at 07:26 PM. Reason: Add image from Kitfox bubble door instructions
    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. #392
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Eric, I mounted my hinges on the outside of the bubble door material (which is Acrylic by the way, not polycarbonate) without any notching.
    Remember to space out the bubble door frame from the fuselage with some rubber like you will use to seal the door.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

  3. #393
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Thanks, John. I'll get back to this soon and see how it goes.

    I spent most of today going through the Rotax installation manual, trying to get my head around its electrical system and how it integrates with the airframe electrical...
    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. #394
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I'm finally getting back to making progress on this monster that's taken over my garage. I've put aside mounting the doors for now; I need some more time standing there looking at them and thinking before I gather enough courage to start trimming the bubbles.

    I started today making a template for a part to extend the rudder control horns. Details are in another thread, so I won't repeat it all here.

    After shattering the rudder cap during that project, my next order of business was to remove the broken portion, cut the foam back to a square, unbroken section, then prepare and bond on a replacement section of foam. That should be ready to shape and coat tomorrow.

    IMG_1814.jpg IMG_1815.jpg

    The rest of the day was spent installing items that will be difficult to reach once the fuselage is covered. Obviously, some of this started a few days ago...

    First was a slightly unorthodox mounting for the GPS antenna. It's located in a bay aft of the turtle deck, mounted on a couple sticks of 3/8" square wood dowel. The wood is varnished, then bonded to the fuselage tubes with Hysol. This turned out surprisingly rigid; it should be plenty sturdy enough, given that the antenna weighs next to nothing. The top surface of the antenna will sit ~3/16" below the fabric. The four-wire loom is routed up to the firewall with a couple of feet to spare.

    IMG_1819.jpg

    Next was a quickie. I mounted a SkyView network hub just behind the pitch servo. It will gather the cables for the two autopilot servos and the ADAHRS to a single cable going forward. All this required was a couple of nylon cable ties.

    IMG_1816.jpg

    Next up was the ADS-B receiver. That went on a small piece of varnished plywood bonded to the fuselage, right behind the copilot.

    IMG_1818.jpg

    The last item mounted today was the tray for the transponder. That went right behind the control mixer, on the left side of the fuselage. Definitely the most complex project today. That sucker isn't going anywhere.

    IMG_1817.jpg

    I want to get the ADAHRS mounted as well, but that requires getting the fuselage leveled fore/aft and left/right. I stacked up most of the loose garbage I could find in the garage, lifted the tail onto it, and it all added up to perfectly level. Left/right just required a tiny shim on one side. I've got some more 3/8" square dowel sections coated with varnish; they'll cure overnight and I'll get them installed as near to square and level as I can tomorrow.

    IMG_1820.jpg IMG_1804.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

  5. #395
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I'm not doing a very good job keeping this thread updated, but here's what I've accomplished since the last post.

    Once the Hysol cured on the new foam on my rudder cap, I shaped it to about 1/16" under the undamaged part, then coated it with Hysol and set it aside to cure.

    IMG_1827.jpg IMG_1828.jpg

    Once that hardened, I used a rasp to shape it, then gave it a coat of smurf poo.

    IMG_1834.jpg IMG_1835.jpg

    With the poo solidified, another go with the rasp and sandpaper put the cap back in good shape.

    IMG_1841.jpg IMG_1842.jpg

    I didn't get photos, but I also mounted the ADAHRS right behind the baggage sack (using a similar method to the GPS antenna, above), made a short SkyView network cable to connect it to the 5-port hub, then made a long network cable to connect the hub to the avionics in the instrument panel.

    I also finished the remaining plumbing/wiring in the wings (pitot/AOA, wingtip lights, landing/taxi lights, magnetometer cable), so now the only remaining tasks to be done before the wings can be covered are locating the flaperon brackets and priming the spar tubes. I think the priming operation is going to make a mess since the wings are already assembled, but the primer won't hurt anything and it'll all be hidden from view. Fortunately I can heat my garage, so I don't have to wait for the spring thaw.

    WRT the door bubbles, I think I'm going to have to notch the window around the hinge plates. The first builder already drilled the butt rib brackets for the hinges, so their distance from the door frames is set in steel. If I sandwich the window between the vertical hinge plate (on the door) and the door frame, it will push the horizontal hinge plate about half a diameter out of alignment with the existing holes in the butt rib bracket. I think the only way around this would have been to get the holes welded up and re-drill them, but that train already left the station.
    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

  6. #396
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    That's some smooth looking poo Eric. I forget, were you going to use a conduit of some kind for the wires and tubing?
    Kitfox 5 (under construction)
    Commercial SE/ME, CFII

  7. #397
    Senior Member jiott's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    One thing I learned on shaping the end blocks for rudder, elevator and horizontal stab was that the basic shape was important, but no need to spend a lot of time smoothing and polishing the surface finish. It gets covered with so many layers of fabric and trim tape that scratches and pock marks will not show thru.
    Jim Ott
    Portland, OR
    Kitfox SS7 flying
    Rotax 912ULS

  8. #398
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    Quote Originally Posted by alexM View Post
    I forget, were you going to use a conduit of some kind for the wires and tubing?
    I ran most of them through the aft spar tube (no conduit; they're just laying in there). A couple of them I didn't want to take all the way to the wingtip and back, so I used a few dots of bathroom caulk to tack them in the space between the aft spar, the fuel tank and the false ribs. They'll enter the fuselage right behind the spar attach fitting.

    Quote Originally Posted by jiott View Post
    One thing I learned on shaping the end blocks for rudder, elevator and horizontal stab was that the basic shape was important, but no need to spend a lot of time smoothing and polishing the surface finish. It gets covered with so many layers of fabric and trim tape that scratches and pock marks will not show thru.
    For sure! I realized that after spending a lot of time applying multiple coats and sanding like I was prepping for paint the first time around. As you can see from the last photo, I didn't bother so much this time.
    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. #399
    Senior Member bbs428's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    I can relate to the shattered rudder endcap!

    My "ready for paint" rudder fell over and landed on the only thing in the paint booth that could damage it, so I'm recovering...sigh.
    On the upside I now can do the rudder control horn mod that you described earlier.

    Some nice work going on with the doors and the Skyview cable hub & network.
    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

  10. #400
    Senior Member Eric Page's Avatar
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    Default Re: The Barn Find Build

    With the flaperon bracket problem finally solved I started working on locating them on the wings, and immediately ran into two more problems. The hinge for the #1 rib is part of the control horn assembly that's attached to the inboard end of the flaperon.

    IMG_1947.jpg

    It appears to me that the shim slides over the end of the flaperon horn's tube, then inside the two flanged nylon bearings and the retaining ring, with the hinge captured between the flanges of the nylon bearings.

    First problem: I have a significant mismatch between the outside diameter of the shims and the inside diameter of the bearings. There's about 1/8" of slop between the parts. What am I missing here? Am I misinterpreting the drawing, or is this a known problem?

    IMG_1948.jpg

    Second problem: Location of the #1 hinge arm. With the other four hinges lined up perfectly, the #1 hinge arm measures exactly 35-1/2" from the #3 arm (as shown in the drawing), but the arm is about 3/32" too far inboard to align with the center of the #1 cap strip.

    The bearing flange isn't thick enough to be sanded to align the arm. The only solution I can come up with is to reduce the length of the tubular section of the hinge so that its arm sits slightly farther outboard. Is that what others have done?
    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

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