Aileron and flap mounting

It took me a LONG time to get the ailerons mounted. Not sure why but probably 4-5 hours each. I had to enlarge the holes in the rear spar for the push rods to keep them from rubbing.

TIP: DO NOT rivet the push rod ends to the aileron push rod... have them welded on. The rivets protude too much and rub. I had to do some pretty major filing to prevent the rubbing.

With them mounted I proceeded to 'rig' them so they fell into neutral position when the stick was vertical. This is just time consuming, having to work under the wing and put the bolts in/out every time you make an adjustment.

I also riveted on the little aileron stops to the bracket.

After the ailerons were on, the flaps went on quickly. 3 bolts and a push-rod. Don't forget to install the washers under the rod end bearing that goes into the flap itself.



(Time: 16 hrs)

Rudder / Fwd top skin / Oil cooler

I mounted the rudder.

I deburred and dimpled the fwd top fuse skin. I was able to set some of the rivets along the two side ribs and then Sandi came out to help me set the rest. It was pretty darn uncomfortable crawling up under the panel to buck rivets. I did a good job of keeping the areas near the rivets clear so I could buck them. A few are really hard to see and you have to buck them blind. Sandi did a perfect job of driving the rivet gun.



I'm still working on the baffles/plenum. I had to remake one of the side baffles and I'm probably going to order the left rear side baffle. The James Aircraft baffle templates are WAY off and I trimmed to much.

I started to work on getting the prop mounted but quickly messed up the forward spinner plate by drilling a hole to large, so I moved on.

Oil cooler... I was still debating on whether to baffle mount or firewall mount. I tried to fit the cooler on the back baffle but I just couldn't see how it would fit nicely, so firewall mount it is. I have the firewall oil cooler mount kit from Van's, so I pulled it out and went to work on it. I made up the two angles that attach to the firewall and a two other angles. I played with the oil cooler lines to get the position I wanted and I'll be able to use the stock lines... I was afraid I would have to order custom ones.

(Time: 8 hrs)

Canopy fairing

I installed 3 clips to hold down the front edge of the canopy to the frame. I mixed up a batch of epoxy with some flox and black dye to a semi-thick consistency and put it in a large syringe. I was able to squeeze a nice bead of epoxy under the lip, filling the gap between the canopy and frame. You need the epoxy thick enough so that it doesn't 'flow' out of the gap. I also squeezed just enough to get through on the inside. Using the syringe worked really well.

(Time: 2 hrs)

Wings are mounted!

I pulled the left wing back out and re-routed the pitot/aoa tubing. Since the wing is all closed up and access is pretty limited, I'm just going to route the tubes through the lightening holes where the push-rod runs. I'll use some split tubing on the hole edges and the attach the lines to that, holding them away from the push tube.

I called Sandi out to help me move the right wing on to some tables. I run a few wires for the landing light, strobe, position light and the auto-pilot servo wires through the conduit. Slid the wing into place and put some temporary bolts in place to hold it.





TIP: Another thing to not forget to do before mating wings is to put the small nutplate on the fuel tank attach bracket.





(Time: 4 hrs)

Fixes complete.. left wing On/Off/On...

Safety wired the right brake since I had to replace the tire.

I pulled off the left elevator and removed the snap bushing where the manual trim cable came through and cleaned up the leading edge where I had pretty severly mangled it. I put it back on and got it all hooked back up. (Note: Go with electric trim!)

Sandi helped me bring the right wing from home out to the hangar and I setup the left wing to run wiring in. I pulled the wires and tubing through the conduit and slid the wing in place but the plastic SafeAir tubing I used for pitot/aoa isn't flexible enough and since it doesn't exit the fuse at quite the same location as the conduit in the wing, I'll have to re-route it. The left wing is currently ON the plane but it will have to come OFF.

TIP: Things to do before putting the wing ON for the last time... mostly because there is NO room to work between fuse/wing.

- Make sure the gap fairing flap on the fuselge is dimpled. (Realized mine wasn't after wing was on.)
- Probably should hook up the wires for the fuel float sensor.
- Make sure your vent/fuel line tubing is right. :-)
- Install nutplate on tank attach angle.

(Time: 4 hours)

Tail surfaces, rear window, FLAT TIRE!

I mounted the horizonatal stab on Saturday and then mounted the vertical stab and elevators on Sunday. I hooked up the push tube as well, so I can make the eleveators go up and down.

Bad news: After I got everything mounted, I discovered that the snap bushing I installed in the rear spar of the HS where the trim cable comes through is now rubbing on the nose of the elevator. I also mangled the slot on the front of the elevator where the cable comes through. I did this when trying to mount the elevator. So the left one has to come back off so I can remove the snap bushing and fix the slot. Ughh!

I finished installing the rear window only to realize I left the plastic on the inside that I couldn't get off in the area between the support channel and canopy, so all the screws came back out so I could peel the plastic off.

And to make things even worse! I have my first flat tire and I haven't even flown it yet. I was moving the fuse around the hangar and Sandi noted the tire looked low... 5 minues later it was flat. Ugh! I quickly found the stem from a pop rivet embedded in the tire. Must have picked it up when we moved the fuse to the airport.

(Time: 10 hrs)

Parking Brake Valve reinstalled

I reinstalled the parking brake valve and put fluid back in the lines.. hopefully it won't leak this time.

(Time: 1 hrs)

Moved to Airport!

Called the local tow company and moved the airplane to the airport. The move went very well.

Brake line blues

I've had a slow leak at the parking brake valve on the firewall, so Friday night I decided to fix it. I drained the line, took off the fitting and put some goop on it. When I took the fitting out, the little plunger fell out of the valve. I put it back in and put the fitting back on, filled the line back up. I tested the brakes and it wouldn't hold the left brake, the one that was leaking.

Saturday morning... figured I had installed the plunger wrong and the only thing to do was drain the other brake line and take out the valve, which I did. I discovered that I had put the plunge in the right way but I didn't get it into the hole it needed to go into and when I tightened the fitting, it bend the brass part.

So needless to say I had a bad Friday night and Saturday and I reaked of brake fluid. It was not a good day.

(Time: 3 hrs)