Well, 99.7, but the weather was so lousy here that I figured I might as well do an oil change and check everything under the cowl. I didn't think we'd get weather good enough to fly at all this weekend, but when the AWOS called 1100 and 5, I figured I had a chance! I ran around the pattern a couple times to get the oil temp up, then pulled the cowling to get started.
1) I found just a tiny amount of oil seepage around the top of the sump - a little touch of the torque wrench to each bolt, and we'll see if that took care of it. No other leaks found.
2) One of the pieces of air-seal fabric that seals the air intake to the cowl had pulled it's rivet out of the air box. I used a longer rivet and a backup washer to reinstall it. I had used the "baffle rivets" for this job because they have the large head, but I think the grip length is a little too short for the thickness of the fiberglass, so it expanded in the hole, rather than on the back side.
3) I found that the very back end of the throttle/mixture bracket was touching the engine mount, and had worn off the powder coat. I took a little off the end, and now it has clearance. This is the stock O-360 FWF configuration and kit from Van's - you might check this clearance if you have the same thing.
4) I found something that myself and everyone who has looked at the airplane had missed (including numerous mechanics and builders..). The nuts on the clevice bolts that anchor the forward end of the rudder cables and project through the firewall were just tightened to where the locking portion was engaging - the threads weren't sticking through the nut by any measurable amount. I guess this is a good example of one of those things that you temporarily put in place and "will come back to..." They weren't in any danger of letting go (that I could tell), but I was able to add a bunch of washers to each one to get them where they should be. I couldn't tell any diffence at all in the rudder pedals with the addition of maybe five washers on each side. (No one catches everything, and I bet there isn't a "perfect" airplane out there - but we should all try! )
5) I finally managed to remove the oil filter without spilling a drop - on the engine! I need to remember that it doesn't seem to do any good to punch air holes in the filter to get it to drain - nothing additional ever comes out. But I did it, and then I put vinyl tape over them, so that I wouldn't spill. Well, I finally go the right combination of zip-lock gas and rags under the filter mount so that when I spun it off, I didn't have any drippage on the plane, and as I was standing there with the filter in my hand, smiling at my brilliance, the tape came off and started dripping oil all over the hangar floor....Sooner or later, I'll get it right...
I still can't believe that I haven't had any significant problems with the plane at 100 hours. Problems like cracks, leaks, wear...I guess I was just expecting more "growing pains" with an experiemtnal aricraft - but the bottom line is that if you build it per Van's instructions, you really have a pretty well tried-and-true product with most of the bugs worked out.
On to the next hundred hours (if this weather will clear off...)
Paul
1) I found just a tiny amount of oil seepage around the top of the sump - a little touch of the torque wrench to each bolt, and we'll see if that took care of it. No other leaks found.
2) One of the pieces of air-seal fabric that seals the air intake to the cowl had pulled it's rivet out of the air box. I used a longer rivet and a backup washer to reinstall it. I had used the "baffle rivets" for this job because they have the large head, but I think the grip length is a little too short for the thickness of the fiberglass, so it expanded in the hole, rather than on the back side.
3) I found that the very back end of the throttle/mixture bracket was touching the engine mount, and had worn off the powder coat. I took a little off the end, and now it has clearance. This is the stock O-360 FWF configuration and kit from Van's - you might check this clearance if you have the same thing.
4) I found something that myself and everyone who has looked at the airplane had missed (including numerous mechanics and builders..). The nuts on the clevice bolts that anchor the forward end of the rudder cables and project through the firewall were just tightened to where the locking portion was engaging - the threads weren't sticking through the nut by any measurable amount. I guess this is a good example of one of those things that you temporarily put in place and "will come back to..." They weren't in any danger of letting go (that I could tell), but I was able to add a bunch of washers to each one to get them where they should be. I couldn't tell any diffence at all in the rudder pedals with the addition of maybe five washers on each side. (No one catches everything, and I bet there isn't a "perfect" airplane out there - but we should all try! )
5) I finally managed to remove the oil filter without spilling a drop - on the engine! I need to remember that it doesn't seem to do any good to punch air holes in the filter to get it to drain - nothing additional ever comes out. But I did it, and then I put vinyl tape over them, so that I wouldn't spill. Well, I finally go the right combination of zip-lock gas and rags under the filter mount so that when I spun it off, I didn't have any drippage on the plane, and as I was standing there with the filter in my hand, smiling at my brilliance, the tape came off and started dripping oil all over the hangar floor....Sooner or later, I'll get it right...
I still can't believe that I haven't had any significant problems with the plane at 100 hours. Problems like cracks, leaks, wear...I guess I was just expecting more "growing pains" with an experiemtnal aricraft - but the bottom line is that if you build it per Van's instructions, you really have a pretty well tried-and-true product with most of the bugs worked out.
On to the next hundred hours (if this weather will clear off...)
Paul
