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Thread: aviator79's build

  1. #41
    Senior Member aviator79's Avatar
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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    I'm trying to hold myself to a pretty high standard of craftsmanship, so it stings a little bit when I discover that I need to rework something. The slider travel was one where I kicked myself. The LLE fiberglass is simply not going to fit perfect. I tried several ways to get rid of the wave at the trailing edge, but at the end of the day, it's just not quite the same shape as the wing, so something has to give somewhere. I've seen some people scallop the edge which probably mitigates or masks the wave somewhat. Weighing it down assures that the amount of wave stays the same between each false rib, and prevents the wave from lifting the trailing edge away from the false ribs while the hysol cures. I figure it'll certainly be less wavy with the LLE than without.

  2. #42

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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    Make sure to support the center of the wing of you're installing the LLE on a rotisserie. I like to fit and install the LLE with the wing on a rotisserie in the vertical orientation.

    Have fun!
    B

  3. #43
    Senior Member aviator79's Avatar
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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    Now you tell me, Branden! I actually did install it vertical, but then turned in horizontal to weigh it down.

    If the wing sags enough in the middle to make a difference, will I be in trouble if I fit my flaperon brackets up while it was horizontal in the rotisserie?
    Last edited by aviator79; 01-29-2018 at 07:35 PM.

  4. #44
    Senior Member colospace's Avatar
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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    I did my LLE vertical in my rotation fixture and did scallop the aft edges. The LLE on both wings laid down nice and flat. I was well pleased. I set them aside in my holding dolly for some time while I worked on other things. When I brought them out for covering, I noticed waviness had appeared. Sometime later (Turtle Build remember) it seemed to have flattened back out. I think it may be a thermally related thing although my garage is insulated. In the end, it is not something to fret over although I am glad I did the scallops.
    - Gary
    S7 SuperSport Tri-gear
    w/Rotax 912, Oratex, Dynon

  5. #45
    Senior Member efwd's Avatar
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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    There is enough lateral play in the flapperon hinges to accommodate slight changes in dimension of the hinge brackets I am certain.
    Eddie

  6. #46
    Senior Member aviator79's Avatar
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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    Thanks Eddie. I ensured that the hinges were all as close to center as possible for precisely this reason. I also scoured the internet for images, and see other examples of flaperons installed while the wings were on rotisseries, and apparently those planes haven't fallen out of the sky yet.

    I've been fitting the rudder pedals the last couple days. This looks really simple in the manual, but not so easy in practice. It's difficult to get the outboard pedals to operate as smoothly as the inboards. I've got it pretty close. The inboards have basically no resistance to motion; they spin freely on the torque tubes. The outboards have some resistance, but they will flop over under their own weight. I don't know that I can get them to operate any smoother without making the fit sloppy. My hope is that once everything is cabled, all the bearings will move at the same time, so the control feel should be identical inboard pedal to outboard pedal and left seat to right seat.

    I'll also add that I found it quite difficult to align the bearing brackets with the channels under the floorboard. This was made especially difficult by the fact that my assembled rudder pedals with no lateral bearing play put the outboard bearing brackets past the centerlines of the mounting channels. i.e. The complete pedal assembly was too wide (Or the channels welded too far inboard). The manual says you can add washers to make it wider, but there's no remedy listed to make it narrower. In my case, it was a difficult optimization problem to get everything in exactly the right place where the holes in the channels wouldn't be too far outboard to get washers and nuts on. What I ended up doing was getting my tiniest wire gauge drill bit (#60) and drilling two holes in the floorboard along each channel edge from underneath, and then drawing pencil lines on the top of the floorboard to locate the channels. You can only see the holes if you know they are there. As an alternative, one could grind material off of the pedals and torque tubes to correctly locate the brackets over the channels, but I lean toward not removing material from anything unless and until it is necessary. It's really hard to put it back.

    I considered fitting up the pedals with the floorboard removed, drilling down through the channels, reinstalling the floorboard, and drilling back up through the floorboard, but felt that the floorboard in between the frame and the bearing brackets may change the fit of the pedal bearings. So I opted to get everything as smooth as possible, and then drill it in exactly that configuration.

  7. #47
    Senior Member Esser's Avatar
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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    I used gasket remover to remove the powder coat on the rudder pedals. Turned out silk smooth. Getting the rudder to be smooth is a whole other animal.
    ------------------
    Josh Esser
    Flying SS7
    Rotax 914iS
    AirMaster Prop

    Edmonton, AB, CWL3

  8. #48
    Senior Member aviator79's Avatar
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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    I saw your gasket remover tip in another thread. I used that stuff to remove gaskets on my old motorcycle, and it's amazing at dissolving stuff. Even skin! I didn't use it in this case, but I did use a piece of sandpaper wrapped around a socket and chucked into a drill to remove all the powder coat form the interior of the torque tubes. The pedals really are quite smooth at this point, but the outers do have a little more friction than the inners. I also didn't grease the outers since the manual doesn't say to do so.

    Just I so know what's coming down the pike, what makes getting the rudder smooth difficult?

  9. #49
    Senior Member Esser's Avatar
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    Default Re: aviator79's build

    Lining up the three hinges perfectly is a challenge. There seems to be a bit of welding warp/very slight inaccuracies. You can always get two to make it very smooth but every time I put a bolt in the third one it wasn’t as good as I would have liked. I never did get it to where I i was super happy with it.
    ------------------
    Josh Esser
    Flying SS7
    Rotax 914iS
    AirMaster Prop

    Edmonton, AB, CWL3

  10. #50
    Senior Member aviator79's Avatar
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    Default LLE blending

    I had a visit from an EAA Tech Counselor to take a pre-cover look at my wing. He said I'm doing good work. He did comment on the aft edge of the LLE being a potential wear and eventual cracking spot for the fabric. He recommended Superfil or something to blend the edge into the fuel tank and ribs. He said anti chafe tape would be okay, but would leave an unsightly line. What, if anything did you all do to protect your fabric?

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