First, Build a Shed

[Cherrybark]

With the stabilizer & elevator ribs in place it was time to varnish. Mixed up a batch of varnish, rolled the work table outside and got to work. It seemed natural to rotate each airframe to vertical then walk from one side to another varnishing one rib at a time. The thinned epoxy did flow nicely - a little too nicely in fact. After the second coat dried I rolled the table back into the shop and noticed just how messy the job had turned out. One downside of flat black powder coating - every tiny drip, splatter and run of shiny epoxy varnish sparkles! A 3M pad knocks off the shine and roughs up the varnish so I'm not worried about adhesion of the fabric glue. But what a mess I made during this step.

Part of the fun of building is that almost every step is a brand new process to learn. Lots of balls in the air at the moment. Rather than playing on the internet, shouldn't I be studying choices of avionics or learning more about engine installations? Hard to plan the critical path of this project schedule with so little experience.

[efwd]

Awesome Carl.
I masked off the entire vertical tail and sprayed my varnish. Pain in the A..
I have used brushes ever since. I too learned about the drips after turning my horizontal over.
Eddie

[Cherrybark]

Work started on the center console installation today. While laying on the floor and threading a long 3/16" bit up through the fuselage to match drill the two aft mounting holes I admitted the bit was almost certainly going to drift and the hole wouldn't be close to nicely placed. Taking a clue from the pre-drilled front mounting tabs I unclamped the console and worked on the mounting tabs from the top - dimpling with a center punch, drilling a small starter hole, and finishing with a 3/16" bit. Then it was back to the floor to match drill the console, but now the long bit had a nice starter hole and the job went well.

I'm concerned about the placement of the "detent" assemblies for the flap and adjustable rudder pedal levers. To put off drilling the rivet holes, I decided to assemble the rudder pedal levers - another job involving drilling a 1/16" hole through a stainless rod. For the flap handle I used a piece of wood with a V-notch to secure the rod. Frankly, I think I got lucky to pass through the middle of the rod and not break the tiny bit. Some time in the past I came across the idea to use a block to hold the rod and guide a bit through the center. A scrap piece of 1 x 4 was drilled with a tight fitting hole for the rod. A pre-drilled pilot hole neatly guided the 1/16" bit right through the middle. No doubt this is old hat for many members but I was pleased to have remembered the idea and wanted to pass it along.

Any comments or photos showing the position of the flap and rudder pedal detent assemblies would be appreciated. That's the next job.

[efwd]

Hey Carl
I can tell you how I added more work to my center console install. When I was dealing with the forward flange it seemed the flange may have been bent a tad more than necessary. I allowed the console to sit deeper so that it contacted the tab on the firewall. This effectively leveled out the console a bit more and as a result the adjustable pedals and flap detent brackets sat further down. I then had to grind off about 1/16th inch of the brackets off so that when I pushed the button down on the handles the steel rod would not drag along the bottom of the brackets as I pulled the handle through its travel. In hind sight I should have taken some of the bend out or shimmed between the console flange and it mount tabs on the airframe. Hell, Im not sure now if I could have pushed the console forward or not. I would say try to mate the forward end of the console first maybe. Might have helped me out. All in all mine worked out well in the end.
Eddie

[jiott]

Carl,
Locate the flap and rudder pedal detent brackets as close as you can to where they are shown in the manual. Don't overly obsess about exact placement because when you actually rig the flaperon push rods there is quite a bit of adjustment available in the rod end threads. The rudder cables are installed to fit.

[Cherrybark]

Thanks for that note Jim. Just finishing up the trim servo today and console is next on the list.

[Cherrybark]

The last couple of weeks have seen steady progress but the jobs have required lots of fitting, clamping, checking and rechecking before finally drilling holes in the fuselage. I continue to be impressed with the descriptions and drawings in the manual. Sometimes have to remember to stop and read through a process to understand the complete job, rather than simply running down the steps.

Took two days to install the console with flap and rudder adjustment detents. Near the end of the first day I admitted the collection of spring clamps weren't suitable for the job and made a trip to the hardware store for some small C-clamps. Should have remembered to wear glove while working with the Hysol. Odd that such a small amount of epoxy could get on so many things! Alcohol to the rescue!

Tips in the forum to swap handles or rotate them 180 degrees eliminated all scraping on the console slots but I need to come up with some way to prevent scratching during normal use. Haven't found that solution in the forums yet.

Removed the console to make room for playing with the rudder pedals.