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Thread: #Northernfox Build

  1. #71
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    Make sure to read the tips and tricks from Better aircraft. Has lots of good info in there.

  2. #72
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    I've been terrible at keeping this updated... I promise I'll get all the latest done over the last month and a half posted soon..

    I just wanted to share my excitement that I've just passed my pre-cover and got the ok to move forwards. Super excited.

    Next I'll apply for my registration and tail number!
    912 IS
    Airmaster Prop
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    C-FKLO

  3. #73
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    Quote Originally Posted by tracstarr View Post
    I've been terrible at keeping this updated...I've just passed my pre-cover and got the ok to move forward..
    Hoping this is only a Canadian requirement?

  4. #74
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    I believe so.
    912 IS
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  5. #75
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    Hope so because I am already covered

  6. #76
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    Not a requirement in the US. It's not a bad idea to have an EAA tech counselor take a look. But based on your pictures, I'm pretty sure you have nothing to worry about.
    --Brian
    Flying - S7SS

  7. #77
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    It's been a really long time sine I've updated this. I'm pretty far behind. Difficult to get these done with the rest of life having to come first. Here's the last few updates that are also on my build site. I'll try and get caught up this week.


    Nov 14, 2018 - J Stringers

    J-Stringers cut, fit and secured today. These were originally already completed
    when I bought the kit, but they were removed for sandblasting and were
    damaged enough to just get some new material. Was pretty cheap to do all
    considered.

    Not overly complicated so things went pretty smooth. Filed them at the
    tail to have a smoother profile vs the chipmunk cheek look you get
    without.

    Also decided to make the bottom stringer out of aluminum as well.



    Nov 25, 2018 - Sanding and Fabrication


    The last few days was spent sanding and fabricating. The false bottom ribs were
    cut out to fit on the bottoms of the tanks and then hysoled on. Then there
    was a lot of sanding. Using a level all of the false ribs were sanded slightly to
    make the profiles perfect to make the fabric sit as nicely as possible.



    There was also a small bit of fabrication to make and install the pitot tube
    mounting plate.

    Additionally the rudder cable install was completed. A hair dryer and
    paint cans were used to help straighten out the tube which the cable runs.
    With a bit of difficulty, the cables were setup and attached in the rear.



    ORATEX ARRIVED

    The big excitement this week was that the oratex arrived! I'm glad it arrived early
    and I'm not stuck waiting on it. But now I feel the pressure to get things
    completed for pre-cover inspection.

    I'm close, really really close.


    Dec 4, 2018 - Re check the wing fit

    The past week a lot of little things got done. There was a lot final tightening of most things within the fuselage and adding witness marks.

    A bit of tweaking of the pitot mounting bracket and arm was needed to get a good fit. I decided to mount the arm such
    that it's accessed from the inside only. The reason is I think there will be a much nicer finish with the oratex this
    way. The drawback is that the pitot does have to be fully installed before covering the wing and if anything goes wrong
    I will have to cut my way in to fix it.




    The big step was putting the wings onto the fuselage and making sure all of the dimensions and angles were correct. This
    went pretty smooth with some help and everything was spot on. It's a zero degree setup as I am installing the 912IS.




    Dec 17, 2018 - Laker Leading Edge

    Things have been moving along the last few weeks and this is likely the last bit of work until the new year.

    After fitting the wings last time, I took the opportunity to install the smaller part of the wing struts. This wasn't
    very easy. There was a lot of adjusting, measureing, adjusting, measuring and then crossing of the fingers while
    drilling the holes. In the end all is good.



    The wings were then removed again to continue work. Next was running the pitot and AOA tubing through to the end of the
    wing as well as installing the regulator for the pitot.



    From there it was time to start work on the laker leading edge.
    This went rather well considering fiberglass is almost never perfect. There was some cutting and fitting and one
    re-adjustment of the leading edge mold locators/supports.



    Oh yeah, somewhere in there all of the ribs were also sanded and varnished. Just can't remember when.

    Also got the bottom bar and antenna mounting plate of the turtle deck fabricated and test fit.

    Now time for some R&R and enjoying the holidays with the Kids.
    912 IS
    Airmaster Prop
    Garmin Stack
    C-FKLO

  8. #78
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    A little late, but here's everything caught up...


    2019-01-08 LLE Prep for Cover


    Well, it's a new year. I'm looking forward to the next big steps on this build and getting in the air. There's still
    a ways to go, but just finishing up for the first big step.

    The LLE install was completed with not too much trouble. Also started some of the prep work to make the transitions
    and seams super smooth. Going with Oratex every little bump will be noticeable. So, superfill was put to use along the
    top of the tanks and the transitions from LLE to capstrip.







    Everything is now ready for inspection, which is scheduled in two more days.

    2019-01-10 Pre-Cover Inspection

    Well, it's a big day here. My first inspection by the local MDRA. This is the pre-cover inspection. It was rather
    uneventful, which is good. Everything went smooth and I have the thumbs up to move ahead with covering. Super excited!
    The only think I need to do is provide pictures of the final pitot tube plumbing before it's covered since there will
    be no access without cutting an access hole.

    Time for Oratex!

    2019-02-07 Prep for the Fuselage Fabric


    Well, it's been almost a month already. Boy does time fly when you realize there's still A LOT of prep work before
    covering can begin.

    Since I'm using Oratex, every little bit of what's being covered needs to be perfect - or at least as perfect as I can
    manage. The reason - Oratex is thin and heat shrunk, so every little bump and crease will show.

    I decided to take the time and smooth out every transition and every bump and every rivit. Lots of superfill, some hysol
    and lots of sanding by hand required. A few coats of primer and it's ready.




    Oh yeah, also fabricated a small plate for the bottom where the header tank is accessable for the fuel drain. This gives
    me a nice solid location for the fabric to be glued to and the ring plate to sit against.



    After that, everything was cleaned up really good with acetone to prepare for the Oratex.

    Now, the scary part... cutting the Oratex. At something like $199 a yard, you only get one chance so you better make
    it right. What I did was take the 20 year old poly fiber roll that came with my buy and used it to template the sides
    bottom and top of the fuselage. Hopefully this is fool proof right?



    After fitting the template and checking and re-checking, I made some cuts. I opted to start with the bottom first. It
    looked like it would be the easiest. It's the flattest, no compound curves or anything to stress me out more than I
    needed.



    The template was cut out and ready to go - but not today.




    2019-02-11 Covering the Fuselage

    So the last few days have gone great. A bit nerve racking dealing with Oratex for the first time. But, that said, I'm
    100% more confident already. It's not as scary as you think and much more forgiving as well. Although, don't get me
    wrong, it's still easy to mess up if you have glue in the wrong place or don't plan out the shrinking.

    I started first with doing the "glue test" as perscribed in the manuals. So far so good. Although, there was a panic
    moment when I noticed the bottles of glue I was sent expired in 2 days. After some frantic calls to Lars everything
    worked out and I was able to continue.



    First, this is a two person job. I know others have done it alone, but it's so much easier with some help. We laid
    the Oratex onto the bottom and clamped it into approximate place. Some relief cuts were made. I then crawled under and
    used a yellow pencil to mark all of the tubes where glue would need to be applied on the fabric. Once done, the Oratex
    was placed onto the work bench were two coats of the glue was applied. Thin coats. We also applied two thin coats on the
    frame.





    We came back the following day after giving the glue ample time to dry. The Oratex was then placed back onto the
    fuselage and clamped into place. From there I used the hot iron to tack one side and then the other under the seating
    area. Once that was tacked we moved along back and forth along the tail. I tacked it down and the other helped pull and
    stretch as necessary. Very little was needed.



    Once tacked along all edges we continued by fully tacking the Oratex the full 270 degrees around the tubing and following
    that up with full temperature to set the glue. Everything so far was going great. The nerves were slowing calming.





    Now, the next part I realized after the fact that I probably should have waited a lot longer as the manual suggests.
    Instead, I only gave the glue a few hours before I started the shrinking process. Using the heat gun I nervously
    started applying the heat to shrink it. It was shrinking. It was actually shrinking a lot more than expected. It was
    rather satisfying to be honest.



    It took a few passes to get use to the distance from material and speed to get the shrink working well. There really
    wasn't much to it at this point. I was very happy with the way it was working out.



    Next, we applied some more glue directly between the fabric and stringers and then all of the smaller tubes under the
    main cockpit area. These were previously without glue to allow shrinking first without activation. This was recommended
    by Lars (whom I had several calls with during this initial process).



    Let that dry and then went back and applied the iron to activate the glue along these structures. It's just a very very
    thin touch point, but should keep the fabric from vibrating. The bond, even on such a small surface, is very very strong.
    I was really impressed. It also means that no tapes are required over these areas as in typical Poly-fiber application.



    I did add some small circular re-enforcement patches to the areas where the small tabs stick out the bottom. It just
    helped clean up the look of the cuts.

    Time to move on to the sides!
    912 IS
    Airmaster Prop
    Garmin Stack
    C-FKLO

  9. #79
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    2019-02-14 Avionics Order


    Well, another big step. All the avionics were ordered. As I'm sure every builder can a-test to, it's a hard decision
    what to get. You can build a panel from as low as maybe 5k up to 30k plus (very quickly). Me, being me, always
    wants the best and latest gear.


    I had to really sit back and think about what I wanted to be able to do. First, obviously, VFR requirements had to be
    met. From there, I decided I wanted to be able to do both night VFR and OTT (Over the top). Each of these required
    additional specialized equipment over standard VFR. For a while I wanted auto pilot, but eventually decided against it.


    Additionally, although not a requirement in Canada (yet), I wanted both ADSB IN and OUT. Being so close to the US border,
    and likely doing flying down there as well as being able to get some of the ADSB benefits while flying in Canada close
    to the border, I went with a Mode S transponder with ASDB IN/OUT.


    The other big decisions includes going with the Vertical Power VPX electronic circuit breaker protection and having
    all the equipment remote mounted (or such that it's all hidden except the required bits). So things like the transponder,
    radios etc don't require dash space as they can all be controlled from the main screen.


    And then brand...I went with Garmin. They have a very strong showing in the Experimental category and are a big name
    brand. Their equipment is used in all kinds of commercial and certified planes and has a very very good reputation.


    Finally, with all the decisions made, I contacted Stein Air to help put the package together for me. They were by far
    the best to deal with of the 5 or so companies I called. With my order now placed, it's just a waiting game.


    Here's what I went with:


    - Garmin G3X
    - G5 (with backup battery)
    - Engine component kit for the 912is
    - GPS-20A
    - GA-35
    - GTX-45R
    - GAP 26 regulated pitot
    - TCW backup battery
    - VPX-Sport
    - Artex ELT
    - all the connection and mounting bits I'll need


    2019-02-28 More Prep


    While I'm waiting on some answers about the Oratex requirements by the MDRA I've moved on to more pre-work for covering.
    The wings and other surfaces needed much more prep work to really smooth out the transitions and attachment areas. A lot
    more superfil and sanding was done. Additionally, all areas that would require glue were preped with primer and then
    lightly sanded as per the documentation for Oratex glue. I really think the effort is going to pay off.





    2019-03-01 Oratex on Hold


    Disappointment and delay. I said last time I was waiting on some answers from local MDRA inspectors. Well, things are
    totally up in the air right now.


    The short story here is that Oratex has different requirements than standard fabric, but the MDRA wants to inspect it
    as if it is Poly - fiber and that I have to meet those requirements. There are two main issues. Number one is that some
    of those go against the Oratex requirements. Second is that the recommendations by Better Aircraft Fabric in some cases
    also go against the Oratex manufacturers provided documents.


    So why is this a problem? In one sense it's not. If I 100% follow the Oratex manufacturer documents and provide them to
    the inspectors, they really have no choice but to approve it if I followed them. Oratex is STC'd in Canada. However,
    the issue I have with that is that it would lead to a terrible looking airplane. The required seam overlaps and taping
    would lead to the (mostly fuselage) looking like crap. (this is both my opinion and a very strong opinion of Better
    Aircraft Fabric). BAF has their own recommendations which have been used for years in the US and just leave you a much
    better looking aircraft. However, these are not signed off by the fabric manufacturer so I cannot provide them to the
    inspectors.


    Again, what's the big deal? Well, I want my airplane to both function as needed but also look nice. In no way am I
    trying to sacrifice safety though - lets make that clear. However, if there are known application methods that allow
    for both safe application and improved looks - I'd like to take that path.


    All that said, things are on hold with the covering of the fuselage. I'm working with Lars at BAF to get the required
    documentation to continue.


    2019-03-02 Prop and Tires


    My initial thought was to just upgrade to the Desser 21" tires. But, after poking around I decided to drop that decision
    and just go to the big boys. Well, to the Airstreak 2.0 26" tires that is. Screw it right? I'm just going to get what I
    really want and not look back. Project is already close to being over budget and at this point. Why be upset with the
    decision, waste the money and then just upgrade a few months later.


    So that's what I did. Got some new tires and opted for the T3 tailspring and Tundra Lite tailwheel. Yeah, a bit more
    than just getting the Dessers. But I'm happy!


    One of the final major pieces was getting my prop ordered. Early on I decided that I was going to get a constant
    speed. I've never actually flown one myself, but the cost per increased performance over a fixed pitch is too
    obvious to give up. I'm sure I'd be more than happy with fixed/groud adjustable, but I do have it in my budget and
    so that's the plan.


    I decided to go with an Airmaster 332R hub and 75" Whirlwind blades with the AC200R (beta) controller. It was a pretty
    easy decision other than should i go 72" or 75". There is currently a two month lead time, so I should get it the
    end of April - hopefully just as I'm finishing up the engine install.


    While on the topic of buying things, a few weeks ago I did also purchase a BRS system. Again, not cheap, but something
    I had planned for from the beginning. Both BRS and Kitfox were very helpful in helping with the decision and the
    information I need to get it correctly installed. I'm getting the Kitfox mounting kit so all should hopefully go
    smooth.


    I know this is one of those big debatable topics. For me it's an easy choice. Although I agree that it's not the end
    all be all - I want that extra option. Where I fly there's not many options. It's dense forest or open lakes. Although
    I'm planning floats in the future, that's not an option right now. I will loose a bit of storage space and total
    capacity, but nothing I'm concerned about. I'm adding under fuselage "roof racks" to aid with carrying things as well
    as I'm only a small fry in the weight department.


    I should now have everything less some consumables and buttons for the panel. (I hope).





    2019-04-03 Wing Covering




    It's been a while. A month. What's happened in a month - sure doesn't feel like much.


    With the continued delays with the fabric application there was some work started with cutting and fitting the wing tips.
    This, in short, sucked. It took about two days just to get the cuts done and everything trimmed. Now I still have to
    glue the ends together and a lot of finish work and also cutting out for the lights.





    I felt a bit lost and moved on to the wing struts and got the speed fairings hysoled in place.


    Again, delays continued with the fabric but I tried to press on. I decided I could start covering the wings as they were
    not going to have any of the issues I was concerned about. They were fully preped so that's what I've been working on.





    I got the bottom of both wings now covered and shrunk. It went pretty smoothly. Each to cut out. Glue application was
    pretty straight forward. I used pencil to mark the bottom of the fabric for glue location. The one thing I have noticed
    is there is a substantial amount of glue wasted. You have to brush on wider than expected as it'll never line up perfect
    after you start sticking things together. On one hand it's necessary our you'd never have glue where needed, on the other
    you're wasting close to 50% IMO. I have to figure out if I can improve this.





    Speaking of glue. I did have a bit of a scare moment when I re-opened the glue from a month ago. As I poured it out it
    was chunky. Not good right! After a few phone calls to Lars, some pictures and investigation of the remaining bottles
    of glue we determined it was just chunks of dried up glue from the edges of the bottle. I did glue tests and fished out
    the chunks for close inspection. The glue test was perfect. The chunks were thin and smooth and were clearly dried up.
    The original worry was the it had frozen at one point. However, that would have been very distinctively different
    chunks. Phewf.





    Application to the wings was pretty easy. It's about taking your time, especially with the LLE. That you need to get
    totally smooth and no creases. You don't have the option to shrink it! It takes a while to really figure out the temps
    and speed to move at - especially just to tack vs total setting of the glue. It's sticking - so hopefully it's good!





    This time I also waited until the following day to shrink. Again, that's so satisfying. I used the heat gun first as I
    find it much easier/safer than the iron with large wrinkles. I followed that by the iron shrinking. The only bit I had
    trouble with was not cutting back enough the fabric that wraps the trailing edge. When I shrank, there was a distinctive
    line coming through where the fabrics touched. A little heat and pliers got the fabric pulled back off enough to trim and
    then re-apply glue and heat. Everything fixed.











    The one issue I did find, which is rather annoying, is that any contrasting color transitions show through. So for example,
    the white primer to wood. In the right light you can very clearly see this transition. I was rather disappointed to see
    this. All that extra work just felt like it was down the drain.











    But, a swift kick in the arse by my buddy got me going again. It's minimal on the bottom, and most will be covered by
    the leading edge tape, which is going to be black. However, we did decide we have to find a way to fix this on the top
    side before covering.





    So, that's where I've left off today. We are trying so of the matching orange paint I had mixed up to see if it will
    cover the transitions. Tomorrow will tell once it's dry. If that doesn't work, I'll have to paint the entire surface the
    same color.
    912 IS
    Airmaster Prop
    Garmin Stack
    C-FKLO

  10. #80
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    Default Re: #Northernfox Build

    Nice progress looking good!
    Dustin Dickerson

    Building 7ss STI x 2
    Oratex
    29" shock monster
    EP912STI 155hp
    Garmin
    N33TF......FLYING!
    N53TF......FLYING!

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