bbs428 Build

[bbs428]

Flaperon installation went well. Still have to make up some red touch up paint for the rivet heads and sealant that sealed the holes in the rivets. Not sure how much morning dew or rain it will keep out of the wing, but I felt better for doing it.

Folded the completed wings for the 1st time. Tail was on the ground, so it really wanted to get away from me. I was prepared for that, so no rash occurred, and it all worked as advertised. You really have to be super careful as the flaperons transition into the turtledeck area! It sure made that tail heavy!

Installed the transport kit. Rear braces came up a little short, as the back of my lift struts are contacting the fuselage covering in the middle, preventing the wings from getting in closer. My angle cut was 35" inches and looking back, 36" might have been better. I can force it closer as the fabric has plenty of give to it, but I don't want to mar the paint, which will happen when transported. Not sure if this is a real problem or not. Adding some material to the brace would be a minor pita but a possible solution. A lift strut recut and paint would cure the issue as well, but I would hate to do that as it's a major pita. Anyone else have this happen?

Luck was with me as my pitot tube just cleared the stabilizer! I think there's a lot of merit getting the pitot inside the lift strut area where you or others cannot run your head into it!

Sorting out the dash and windscreen over the next few days. Still debating on the quarter window tint. I have some material with no tint, some with a dark tint, but none with the light smoke tint like the windscreen and turtledeck.
A call to LP aero plastics and sure, they can send me the material for the window, but it's hard to justify being that color coordinated for the price they quoted. Ouch!

In other news - The latest storm with 100mph winds took out my pine tree, so I'll be lumber jacking it as well over the next week unless I can convince the local mill to come get some free wood! Got to love the mid-west in spring!

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[Dave S]

Brett,

Really do like your paint job!

Just a thought, regarding the interference with the lift strut and fabric.

Not quite the same thing, but during my build I ran into not liking the way the fabric fit around the transition area on the elevator between the large and small tube. A beer and some tent time brought me to the conclusion that if I don't do something with it, I'll be reminded of the fact each time I walk around the darn thing. So I ripped off the fabric, got some appropriate materials and made a smooth, straight transition from the large tube tapering back to the trailing edge of the elevator. Much happier with the end result.

It's pretty hard to have everything work without some occasional backpeddling.

[bbs428]

Thanks for the kind words, Dave.

Upon closer inspection, the flaperons are hard up on the transport cushion and the hinges are up hard against the flaperon skin so I really cannot go any further inboard even if I made more clearance with the wing strut. I'm sure subtle differences between the series 5 and 7 are at play here.
I'm not into a reverse engineering job, nor all the labor that's involved, so I think I'll modify the rear transport wing brace and gain some clearance. Don't need much. When/if I get a hanger, the need to transport and fold the wings will be greatly minimized.

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[Dave S]

Brett,

Modifying the lock back brace will certainly take care of it for transport purposes. Jeez - I didn't think of that!

You know, I thought I would be folding the wings frequently - turns out in practice hardly ever!

I think the only person who would be affected by a slightly wider wing lockback would be someone trying to stuff the plane in a really,really narrow box trailer.

Take care and enjoy your project.

[Eric Page]

...the hinges are up hard against the flaperon skin...

Be very careful with this. It's quite easy to push just a little too hard and force the hinge arms to dent or even cut through the flaperon skin. I had to patch several hinge slots in my flaperons because the previous builder stored them carelessly.

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[bbs428]

Thanks Eric, I remember your post on this. They are very fragile when subjected to forces other than their design parameters.

The flaperon slots will need to be relieved about .0625 so they can stand up straight when folded without contacting the hinge. One bump going down the road will make for a bad day with things as they are.
Chase Balcom (sky pirate) told me he used a micro-fiber towel between his lift strut and fuselage to prevent chafing as his lift strut was up against the fuselage when folded as well.

Ordered a longer bolt to accommodate the added measurement for the rear transport brace. That and a few washers will be enough to get me back and forth from M. Grahm Clark airport without any undue stress...I hope.

As you can see in the pics that a bit more length of bolt will give me enough slack to secure the wing. Had to "tweak" the brace a bit to get the angles right. The last pic shows the flaperon not at the right angle when contacting the cushion. It's impinged at the flaperon slots.
The transport kit is for a ss7, not a 5 outback so there might be some slight variations between airframes. Was able to pick it up in the classified section of the forum some time ago at a good discount. So, I don't mind the minor inconveniences getting it all to work.

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[alexM]

Brett,

Really do like your paint job!

Just a thought, regarding the interference with the lift strut and fabric.

Not quite the same thing, but during my build I ran into not liking the way the fabric fit around the transition area on the elevator between the large and small tube. A beer and some tent time brought me to the conclusion that if I don't do something with it, I'll be reminded of the fact each time I walk around the darn thing. So I ripped off the fabric, got some appropriate materials and made a smooth, straight transition from the large tube tapering back to the trailing edge of the elevator. Much happier with the end result.

It's pretty hard to have everything work without some occasional backpeddling.

I will second this opinion. My series 5 elevator was the first piece I covered and I did not like how the small to large tube transition (near the fuselage) worked out.

I have a series 7 which needs to be covered and I'll be filling that area with wood/hysol/superfill.

[Dave S]

Alex,

Man, I am with you on that! Our S7 is an earlier model with the manual trim; but, that does not change the area of attention. Three photos attached including: 1) the fill area, 2) "in the suede" (primered) and 3) what it looks like after covering and paint. Outboard ends of elevator similar.

[Jerrytex]

I ran into the same issue withe Pitot Mast. I am glad your's cleared. I had to cut about 3/4" off the mast. Was a huge PITA trying to Squarely cut the mast while mounted to the wing while working upside down.

Looking back, I think I would have mounted it inside the lift strut like others have done.

Project is coming along and Looking good.

Hoping the brake line fittings made it to you........

[PapuaPilot]

My Garmin pitot tube came close to the horizontal stab when it is in the full up position, just like yours.

For the transport hole alignment issue couldn't you just add a short piece of steel to the yellow fork with a bolt and drill a new hole that lines up with the wing?