Dave's SS7

[Pushboy]

Agree with Jim- awesome work Dave. Another suggestion I did on my console side panels was to bend a slight crease inboard at the front end. It moved the front of the console away from the rudder pedals just a bit but mainly did it to add some stiffness to the end of the panel. Doesn't take much. Apologize that the pic isn't really clear but the red line is where I creased it and you can see it's not much.

Keep on it man - great progress and outstanding job.

G

Attachment 33375

Geek— thanks for the kind words.

Your console looks awesome— that’s the look I’m trying to get to.
I’ve been mulling over in my mind the front edges of the sides as you mention. I saw on the tropical tuba pages he cut them flush with the angled tube. Is this what you did but also added a bend for stiffness?

Is the heat shrink over the flap and pedal arms?

And what’s the black floor scuff pad? I have some 1/16 ABS I was thinking of using, but I don’t like how it leaves a lip on top of the floor.

Thanks again,

Dave.


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[Pushboy]

What you have done so far looks like very good craftsmanship to me.
One small suggestion: On the very aft part of the tail access panel opening I recommend bonding (Hysol) a thin aluminum strip to the back side of the fiberglass tailpost fairing. There will be several screws securing the access panels to that fiberglass fairing. Trust me, they will soon strip out if they only have thin fiberglass to bite into. The aluminum will give the self-tapping screws something much more solid to bite.

Hi Jim— thanks for the tip. You are describing exactly why I left that part of the project… I couldn’t decide how to attach the panel, use tinnermans, or nut plates, or the sheet metal screws.
Do you think 0.015 2024 aluminum would suffice in that location?
I have some of that left over.

Dave.


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[jiott]

Dave, I use tinnerman nuts; they don't strip, are self locking, are floating for self alignment, and quick to install or replace.
I would suggest something thicker than 0.015" aluminum, more like 0.032" or more. Of course anything is better than nothing.

[Geek]

Geek— thanks for the kind words.

Your console looks awesome— that’s the look I’m trying to get to.
I’ve been mulling over in my mind the front edges of the sides as you mention. I saw on the tropical tuba pages he cut them flush with the angled tube. Is this what you did but also added a bend for stiffness?

Is the heat shrink over the flap and pedal arms?

And what’s the black floor scuff pad? I have some 1/16 ABS I was thinking of using, but I don’t like how it leaves a lip on top of the floor.

Thanks again,

Dave.

Thanks Dave. I did not cut my panel fronts like topical tuba did (but that is a good resource to look at - lots of good ideas and tips in there). I just left them stock and put the crease in there for some stiffness. The flap and pedal levers are painted flat black. I thought about the shrink tubing route and tried it but the tubing rubbed against the console edge and the detent brackets underneath. Probably could have opened them up a bit but didn't. If I had it to do again I think I might do powder coat. The black floor panels are .032 aluminum that I painted and then put the lacquer sealer on the whole floorboard.

Geek

[efwd]

w ith regard to the center console side panels. I originally had those panels full length. Over the years it seems the leading edge near the fire wall was deformed inward toward the adjustable rudder pedal pulley. During a hard forward slip I felt the rudder pedal bind up then break free. I discovered that the leading edge had grabbed the Castle nut on the pulley and bent it backward as I pushed hard on the pedal. Due to the thin material it bent back 180 degrees when it let go of the nut. I would suggest trimming them back.

[olsonCCR]

Dave,
I have to comment, your craftsmanship looks amazing. Looking forward to watching your progress. I'm working on my wingtips trying to get wings ready to cover but at my rate, you'll probably surpass me in the build process . Thanks for posting your pics, and everyone great feedback and suggestions! After reading the posts, I went out to my plane this morning and took off my console panels put a crease in each of them, and hysol'd in a few aluminum backing plates on my vertical fairing.

Kevin
Building KitFox STi

[Pushboy]

Dave,
I have to comment, your craftsmanship looks amazing. Looking forward to watching your progress. I'm working on my wingtips trying to get wings ready to cover but at my rate, you'll probably surpass me in the build process . Thanks for posting your pics, and everyone great feedback and suggestions! After reading the posts, I went out to my plane this morning and took off my console panels put a crease in each of them, and hysol'd in a few aluminum backing plates on my vertical fairing.

Kevin
Building KitFox STi

Hey Kevin - thank for the nice words. I've been watching your updates (short videos) online. I'm impressed with all the carbon you've done. I had big plans to do some similar items, but in the end I feel I'll never get in the air if was to do that. My new plan is to use some carbon vinyl wrap on various parts (maybe...) then I can call my plane "the counterfeit carbon".
Anyway -- it's aways good to see photos of parts of builds, I find it very helpful to envision how things go together and fit. The manual is very very good... but a few more photos never hurt.
Good luck with the wing tips.

Dave.

[Pushboy]

This won’t be a full update post, but I’m working on the rudder pedals and I have a quick question.

Like others I have resorted to shimming the outer rudder pedal brackets - in order to get good alignment and free movement.

My question is - how much asymmetry in the thickness of shims is acceptable?

The passenger side has a shim of approx 7/32” thick.


The pilot side is approx 3/32”


The center is flat on the floorboard.


In this configuration all the pedals flop around freely.

Have others had this much of a difference side to side?

Is it worth it to make an angled shim for the center mount to the raise the pilot side and lower the passenger side?

Any advice would be great - Thanks.

Dave.


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[Kitfox Pilot]

Dave the number is different for each build. If 1/4" is what it takes to level it, that is what you need to use.

[efwd]

I don't know, how spongy is that shim on top of yet more laminate wood floor board? I know I have done some hard braking in my SS7 and I wonder what the longevity of that stack would be? Maybe metal would be more trustworthy. I fear if the shim should collapse a bit in due time, you may begin to feel binding in the pedals. Trouble shooting anything that might be going wrong, anywhere up in that space, is not fun. And to fix any binding in the pedals, it's going to require some work, boot cowl removal to start. So far I have escaped that but others have not. A lot of us have experienced problems installing this component and when its all tightened down binding develops. I can't help but think that the problem in part, is due to the wood substrate.