Wow! That's a lot of work! Looking good.
Wow! That's a lot of work! Looking good.
Dustin Dickerson
Building 7ss STI x 2
Oratex
29" shock monster
EP912STI 155hp
Garmin
N33TF......FLYING!
N53TF......FLYING!
A ton of work!
It's going well but sucking up some serious time. The cold weather will be here soon. I have a few more weeks to get the paint on. I have placed a ceramic heater by the ventilation fan and viola - warm air wafts in and things get nice and warm quickly. We shall see if I can continue when the real cold gets here. With luck - I'll be done soon with the paint... Lol.
The internal structure is so I can power down the fans after work without the Chi-Com paint booth totally collapsing. I purposely made room in the shop so I can continue to work despite the weather. It is not rain proof! Had to wrap the rafters in old sheets and towels to keep it from chafing. But so far it's working great! The last pic is when the booth is deflated.
The Apollo 5 stage HVLP system is so nice to use. It's totally eliminated the problems I had with my other standard paint guns and air compressor system. I highly recommend it.
Shout out to John McBean at Kitfox, Joe Ruscito and Bryan Bowen for all the help and video's.
Also thanks to all who have gone before me here in the forum as I have used many of their ideas and solutions to solve the myriad of issues and problems that come up during a build.
I continue to be humbled as I build my plane. A good exercise in following prescribed practices and NOT reinventing the wheel! Lol. When in doubt RTFM.
Back to work!
"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: N46KF, 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul 110hp, G3x with 2 axis a/p, Beringer wheels & brakes, SS7 firewall forward, NR prop, Custom paint
Hard work starting to pay off. Still can see some light in places after three coats from the 5000 lumen led strip. I think one more coat of Poly-Spray will do it.
"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: N46KF, 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul 110hp, G3x with 2 axis a/p, Beringer wheels & brakes, SS7 firewall forward, NR prop, Custom paint
Did you varnish the ribs so they would not be damaged when you washed he spars?
Looking awesome! Next time I paint I think I’ll go the same way with the booth.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
"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: N46KF, 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul 110hp, G3x with 2 axis a/p, Beringer wheels & brakes, SS7 firewall forward, NR prop, Custom paint
Best weather window for painting in years. 70 - 80 deg. Low humidity. Just perfect. Might go on another week or so...
The plastic painting cups are nice to use and the tops have a built in filter. You can store your leftovers with a cap and clean up is easy too.
When I sprayed the Poly-Spray, I knew what the Stits manual said was true.... "All your sins will be revealed." Some pieces turned out very good - others not so much. I have spent a lot of time fixing little bug-a-boo's.
Haven't worked this hard in years.
"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: N46KF, 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul 110hp, G3x with 2 axis a/p, Beringer wheels & brakes, SS7 firewall forward, NR prop, Custom paint
May I ask why so many inspection rings on the lower wing surface and why aft of the rear spar? The location aft of the spar seems odd and the number seems excessive to me.
John Brannen
Morris, IL
Sonerai IIL (Single Seat)
Kitfox 3/4 1050 - Rotax 582 (Back Flying and sold)
Kitfox IV 1050 - Rotax 582 (sold)
Kitfox IV 1200 Speedster - Rotax 912 UL (rebuilt and now flying)
Piper Twin Comanche (Sold)
Glasair 1 FT (Waiting to start)
"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: N46KF, 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul 110hp, G3x with 2 axis a/p, Beringer wheels & brakes, SS7 firewall forward, NR prop, Custom paint
Working indoors now as the cold weather has settled in. A benefit of the paint booth is that it makes working comfortable in 35/40 deg. as it heats up to 55/60, but at 20 deg. or colder it struggles to make it to 40 deg. mark. So work has to shift to the heated garage at the house.
Finalized my instrument panel layout and spent a few days carefully cutting and shaping. Used an two part etching primer. Plans are to use a white two part semi gloss primer followed by a two part semi gloss gray topcoat. I plan on having the panel engraved or may use an overlay - not sure yet. Paint thickness is critical for that so I'll have to be careful.
I was going to send the instrument panel in to be cut professionally but as my friend Bryan says "what's the fun in that?"
It was a little nerve wracking tbh. But it all came out nice. Amazing what you can do with a Dremel tool, a step drill and a file.
Throttle and choke to be on a bracket under and a bit forward of the panel.
Finally finished Jeweling the firewall - what a job! Looks good but glad it's over!.
I modified some aluminum blocks I found on a RV website. I have big feet and I know I'll be on those toe brakes from sitting in the a/c. Time will tell if they are worth it. After cutting and drilling they added 9 oz.
Finalized the GSU 25, GTX 45R and the Sirius ant placements. I spend way to much time hand wringing over these details. Lol.
Made a jig and mocked up the instrument panel to work some issues out. Glad I did. I have a wiring jig made up and plan on spending the rest of the winter making my harness. Oh Joy! Should be fun!
What a great way to spend your time working on your airplane. We are all so blessed. Have a great X-mas season everyone!
Last edited by bbs428; 12-15-2020 at 08:31 AM.
"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: N46KF, 1998 Model 5 Outback, 912ul 110hp, G3x with 2 axis a/p, Beringer wheels & brakes, SS7 firewall forward, NR prop, Custom paint