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An Unforeseen Journey

Made some progress this weekend

Got the empennage sort of squared away. Trim system installed, set up for the recommended deflection that avoids the one tab up/one tab down scenario. The poly tubing trick worked well for chasing the trim cables through the horizontal stab grommets.



Rudder deflection checked out after one adjustment to the bearing end at the bottom. I drilled out and repositioned the rudder stops that had been installed backwards. Seeing no way to buck rivets in between the bracket halves, I opted for AN-3 hardware with spacers and drilling through both upper and lower brackets. Worked well. Here's the obligatory FAA "yes, I built it" shot that shows my smug mug in the aluminum mirror.



One thing I'm not sure about is how best to section this thing back apart for storage, painting - and the trip out of the basement through the 9-foot door. Even though I made the attach brackets for the trim cables removable (mounted with #8 screws and locknuts vs. riveted) the cables will still have to come out of them to pass through the grommets if the elevators are detached from the horizontal stab. That will make it difficult to recover the exact settings I worked so long on this morning to get the trim tab deflections where I wanted them. I will try some kind of marking scheme, but the settings will absolutely have to be verified after final assembly.



Earlier in another temp thread we were discussing my accidental oversizing of some holes in the forward spar of the horizontal stab. Edge distance was the primary concern, and some observed that we typically want 1.5 - 2x fastener D, especially in aluminum. This critical part seems not to follow that rule as pre-punched by the factory. Awhile back, a VAFer suggested bushing this hole in the trim horn with SS automotive brake line (3/16" OD) and JB Weld, to avoid issues with wear and slop in the tab and clevis. I can't help but think that would take edge distance down to almost nothing. It's inadequate to the rule-of-thumb as-is. Should we be sandwiching extra aluminum sheet in the horns with a larger radius end and more edge distance (as the clevis fork depth allows)?



Now, it's time to decide whether to change mental gears to fiberglass work (next in the plans) or set the tip work aside for a winter day and move on to closing up the ~QB wings.
 
More progress, a boo-boo, and good news from Van's support

Making some headway on the forward fuse after putting the empennage away for awhile.



Earlier, I made an impulsive mistake and oversized 4 holes in the forward HS spar while drilling the attach piece for the vertical stab forward spar - I made all the holes 1/4" when 4 of the 5 were supposed to be 3/16"! Holy edge distance, Batman.


I was not sure how significant this might be, but knew it could range from a show-stopper to "build-on." Here's the reply I received from the mothership. My original emails sat unanswered for three weeks until I got Sterling on the phone; thereafter it was answered riki-tik.

>>Bill,
The issue is not the edge distance ? it?s the size of the hole, which reduces the cross sectional area carrying the loads.
The fix is a doubler of .063 2024T3 angle (you can make this from another HS-1013) nested into the existing spar caps. These should extend as far as the ribs on each side, and will require drilling out the 12 rivets in the HS-1013 in that area on the bottom and 10 on the top (ref dwg 8-6). When the bolt holes are drilled through this you may need a washer ground to fit under the bolt heads if they dig into the radius of the bend.

Van's Aircraft, Inc.<<

So, for $14.70 and some time (hours, not weeks) I can fix my flub and move on. Life is good :D
 
Cosmetic skin fit issue

Moving on to the forward fuselage skin, I have a little gap where it meets the side skin up near the firewall. The far side, not depicted is butting the side skin tightly enough that it is trying to stand proud at the butting edge. That's easily fixed with a marking pen and few passes of a Vixen file to let it tuck in properly, but the gap on the pilot's side bothers me. In the old days, before pre-punch, this skin would have been fitted first with straps, then match drilled. Now we cleco from the center outward and hope Van's CAD software and CNC punch have done their magic.

I am suspicious that if I took this skin off again and re-cleco'd I could persuade it to match up better here at this butt joint, but in the process I would have to throw off the alignment of every one of the firewall flange holes in the vicinity. Is this a place for catalyzed body filler and paint? That's what I did with the 6A, and it still looks 'original' 18 years later. I'm building a "five-foot-away" airplane, here, not a Lindy candidate. But I feel like filling this area would be pretty noticeable in just one portion of a skin butt joint.


I plan to match-drill this skin this evening. If I don't change my present course, I will be drilling it as-is. Removing and replacing that many clecos without a pneumatic cleco-runner is more than it's probably worth unless it's certain to fix the fit issue. If you have thoughts, let's hear 'em. Thanks!
 
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Bill, I have a small gap there too. In my case, I filled the rear portion of the seam while fitting and finishing the canopy and windshield, but didn't worry about the forward portion, with it being such a small gap. Now, that small gap catches the oil/water that seeps out of the cowling when I fly through rain, and shows up as a black line. So, I would plan on filling any gap, both sides.

Nice work,
 
Amazing how you and your wife have recovered from the loss of your home.

The precast features of you home are most interesting, not that I will ever build again at this point in life. (I am settled in a small condo and like it.)

The concept looks a little like building a Vans airplane. :)
 
Thanks, David

I pray for you every time I see you post. The loss you have endured is profound, but I know grace is enough.

The house build has been fun, especially against the backdrop of losing the old one. But at least with it, we could wave our hands and have the contractor's boys make it happen. With RV's, it's squarely on the one waving his hands to do the execution as well as the dreaming...
 
Another day, another delay...

That's the way of the world. I'm bumping into some of the reasons why an airplane project you think will take a day ends up taking a week, etc.

I am replacing my ancient GRT EIS 2000 with a 4-channel EIS 4000, and will have to bury it behind the panel for space reasons. Display will be on a Mini-X, once I get the software upgraded and the options code put in. There's the rub. After finally sourcing all the USB connector-ology required to use a thumb drive with a mini-USB port, I thought I was ready for the big day on the test bench. Not so fast. :mad:

Downloaded Mini software version 2a from GRT's email link. Downloaded magic $200 unlock code. Transferred same to brand new Sandisk 32GB thumb drive. Mac says the files are good to go on the removable volume. Eject it, plug it into the Mini, power up. Follow GRT's step-by-step instructions for the EFIS software update. "Installing AHRSUP.dat Rebooting in 5 seconds..."

Unit reboots itself. Scroll around looking for place to enter unlock code. Not anywhere. What? Reboot again, just in case. Now unit shows the old software still in place. Go through installation steps again. "Unable to write file." Call GRT. It's after tech support hours but maybe they're there till 5. No dice. Delete files from thumb drive. Download new copies, try again. Still "Unable to write file."

Thought many righteously indignant thoughts of how the help line is only manned during the time I'm seeing patients all week - and not a minute outside of those hours. Blah, blah, blah. Realized this is a cruddy attitude to have, and that I should not have been a grump at dinner as a result. These annoyances would not even be part of my life if I weren't blessed to be able to play with airplanes (but then again maybe I'd be pep-talking myself over outboard motors or golf clubs if it weren't for RV's :rolleyes:

Finally came here to vent a bit and see if anyone had ideas. I know you friends are not the help desk. I'm going to gather up the power supply, Mini, cables and peripherals and take them with me to work tomorrow, so I can get help during the time there's help to be got. Hopefully that 6 month old and her parents won't mind waiting an extra 20 minutes to get shots. Behind schedule is behind schedule - we won't tell.

 
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Still AOG

After over an hour on the phone with a patient tech who tried everything he could think of to troubleshoot the EFIS, it still won't accept a new file from the thumb drive - so no software update and no engine monitor display capability. EIS buried behind the panel means no EFIS = no visible readouts of oil pressure, RPM, things like that. So, AOG until the box makes a two-way trip to Michigan. Not under warranty, either. One piece of used avionics that wasn't the bargain it seemed.

The disappointing fallout is that my medical and BFR run out this month, and my cross country to get them knocked out will be pushed into next. The blessing is I can back away from my recent frenetic pace to get the aircraft flying by a deadline - and enjoy a weekend with family where they see more of me than the soles of my feet sticking out from the cockpit.

(Comments I've seen here about an avionics firm that answers calls and emails on weekends and goes the extra mile in customer service are being quietly filed away in the annals of memory, for future reference.)
 
Things that make you say, Hmmm...

Not sure if I'm the only one, but a second look at this ad inside the cover of Sport Aviation made me ponder the wisdom of going bare-bones in an EFIS. Looking out the windscreen (no doubt a manipulated, composite image) and at the EFIS display, there seems to be something lacking - a terrain depiction!:eek:



While this is being advertised as a VFR instrument, the lack of synthetic vision looks like a CFIT waiting to happen if this guy stumbles into IMC, as we all have or will. I'm convinced that an electronic horizon/attitude depiction that lacks terrain is probably an attractive nuisance to the modern brain that's accustomed to seeing a full-suite of virtual reality depicted on glass panels. In a similar vein, when I flew for awhile with my Aera 795 looking at the terrain page but having "NO ATTITUDE INFORMATION," I told myself "No way am I having that realistic image staring at me and not have it show accurate attitude along with realistic terrain!" and I promptly bought a GDL-39 3D to remedy that.

This is IMO no place to go cheap, considering the state of our subconscious expectations in the iPad Age. Terrain and attitude: get both!
 
S/V rocks

The synthetic vision is one of those things you don't realize how wonderful it is until you have made the switch.

After flying with my new GRT HR screens, no way would I consider going back to the old units that did not have the synthetic vision.
 
Upgraded EIS, but it's not all smooth sailing

Swapped my GRT EIS-2000 for a fuller-featured -4000 this past month, along with a Mini-X to display it all. Re-used all the original sensors and copied my original settings for each into the new unit. Had to send the Mini to GRT to have the EPROM re-flashed after finding nothing we tried would allow a software update, but they handled that under warranty with excellent service.

I powered up the boxes today and lit the engine to see how it all did. It was nice to see 4 channels of accurate-looking and responsive EGT and CHT data on that color Mini-X screen. But apparently things aren't so great in fluid sensor-land. Oil Pressure seems spot on, ditto RPM and Voltage. Other than that, the fuel pressure is stuck at 1.9 psi, the MAP only reads 4.8 in. Hg. no matter the throttle setting, and the oil temp won't budge off of 59F. Time to triple-check wiring and connections (done with D-sub crimped pins as splices) and verify what I can. It's unbelievably frustrating to complete that much climbing in and out of the cockpit and that much attention to detail not to have it work first time, especially knowing that those sensors were functioning normally last time they were connected to an EIS box and their plumbing connections have not been touched. Cowl coming off again :mad:

Am I the only 6-owner who would literally prefer a free root canal to removing and replacing the cowl?
 
A little progress

Discovered I had failed to reconnect anything but the serial data line from the MAP sensor to the new EIS-4000. Sensor module works better with power and ground going to it!

The MAP displayed today was 28.7" Hg with engine off. Local altimeter was 30.10 and my plane is hangared at 1060' MSL. Unless the day is way off standard conditions, shouldn't the reading be closer to 29.1"? Not sure when the last time was I checked the MAP reading with engine off, but I'm guessing I have a sensor that's drifted with age (18 years) or the EIS needs to see a different offset or K-factor than original.

Oil temp and fuel pressure gremlins next. Fuel pressure reading 1.9 psig since yesterday, no change with boost pump on or off.
 
Moving slowly along

Turns out the MAP issue on my 6A was just a matter of dialing in a new AuxOffset for that input. Dialed it in to agree with my altimeter, corrected for field elevation, with engine off. The Fuel pressure gauge issue was a lack of bias voltage to the sender, and apparently an original wiring error/omission from two decades ago :eek: that I simply carried forward when I replaced the EIS 2000 with the 4000. Proper 200 ohm resistor will fix that. I will be replacing the VDO oil and fuel pressure senders anyway, due to their high rate of failure over time - mine are 18 years old.

I will also take a whack at converting the Van's fuel qty gauges to (properly biased) resistive inputs for the EIS when the needed 470 ohm resistors arrive from GRT. It will be fun calibrating the tanks a gallon at a time all over again, and so nice to have a bar graph readout of fuel qty on the Mini. I think eventually I'll pony up the $$$ for fuel flow cube and software and call it good for the time being. I've never had flow/totalizer info before, but it might serve some useful purpose in the old gal.

Contemplating the -10 wings this weekend, with almost nothing in the way of starting the bottom skin close-out, I wanted to ask a few questions.

Obviously I need to run static/pitot/AoA tuning and conduit (and might as well pull wires, too) before close-out. It looks to me as if the aileron bell crank, push-pull tubes and the roll servo (Dynon, most likely) would be 1) much easier to install now, and 2) not really in the way of bucking the bottom skin rivets - yet the plans list the bottom skin before the aileron hardware. Is this for some good reason that I don't see?

My wing LE's are already cut out for Duckworks landing lights. Is there a good LED alternative to the halogen and HID lamps this kit was designed for 10 years ago? If not, I might close up the holes and go with tip mounted landing lights. Pretty sure the nav lights and strobes will be FlyLEDs.
 
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Time to choose an autopilot brand



Wings came to me with Dynon roll servo bracket already there. Not sure if Dynon and AFS use the same servo (or one with same external form factor). Pretty sure my glass will be from one of those two vendors, but if they're not interchangeable, the time to change this out most easily would be now.




Looks like the countersink removed a little too much material on this lower inboard wing skin. Other side is almost as bad. Does this look like an issue? Does it need a patch of some sort?
 
It's been awhile

Time for an update. Not a lot to show for a year of opportunity to make headway on this thing, but I've decided it's going to take however long it takes, and my family is not going to play second fiddle to this pile of aluminum in any way. (No, I am not being held hostage and forced to write this - if I were, I would use the secret code word to alert y'all to my duress.)

The fuselage is really coming together. I'm working on side panels and floorboards now, having finished the baggage bulkhead, door and floor.





My 6 year old grandson Jace helped with some blind riveting over the Christmas holiday;


The baggage door went together in straightforward fashion. There is the usual bow across the top edge where it stands proud of the fuselage side, which I will fill with epoxy/micro when the time comes to blend it in with the cabin top.




Things came to a standstill in the airplane factory for several weeks while I made my wife her Christmas present. Inspiration by me, graphic design by my talented daughter in law of oxdeer.com - the web design business she owns with my son, stencil cutting by my brother-in-law via his side business offthehookgraphics.com - and 3D relief carving by Mister Dremel :cool: She's pretty happy with it. Need to find a place for it in our yard close to the house and out of sight of road hunters and mailbox smashers.


Lorri wrote a book about her personal journey out of addiction and into recovery ministry, and put a phoenix on the cover. I am honored that she regards me as the missing final chapter in her story of rising from the ashes. (This all took on even more poignant meaning with last year's house fire.) She points a seemingly endless stream of broken women in our little mountain community to sobriety, wholeness and the Father's love. It's her calling, and I love being her wingman.

Next puzzlement is how to insert the rear seat floor pans only once, as some have chosen to simplify life by doing, and yet deburr the holes that must be match-drilled in to the rear web of the center spar carry-through. Maybe it's not really necessary.
 
Conduit routing

under the rear seats and baggage floor has been "Starkey'd" and looks like it will serve the purpose well.
 
My wing LE's are already cut out for Duckworks landing lights. Is there a good LED alternative to the halogen and HID lamps this kit was designed for 10 years ago? If not, I might close up the holes and go with tip mounted landing lights. Pretty sure the nav lights and strobes will be FlyLEDs.

Bill, I just upgraded my Duckworks landing lights to these bad boys... Baja Designs Squadron Pro. There's an excellent thread right here, started by my good friend Mike Bullock. He really did his homework on these lights, and others who have used them give them very high remarks, too. The LED's are extremely bright, and they use a fraction of the current draw that the old lights use. No radio noise either!

http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=105248&highlight=baja+designs

Here are my original Duckworks 100W Incandescent lights:

100_4904%20(Small).JPG


100_4907%20(Small).JPG


Besides the fresh flat black paint, it was easy to cut out 2 squares of .032" sheet and fabricate these plates, and rivet them on to the existing brackets.

P1050144%20(Small).JPG


P1050145%20(Small).JPG


The new lights drop right in place. Easy peasy:

P1050146%20(Small).JPG


P1050147%20(Small).JPG


They're now ready to go back in the wings!

P1050148%20(Small).JPG


I'm also going with the FlyLed's for the Nav/Strobe lights. I've been busy here soldering the LED's, resistors, etc. to the boards. It's fun! You save a lot of money, and boy are they bright! Excellent product.
 
Thanks for the info, Bruce. Eager to try my hand at just what you did here.

They're gonna be right and bright!
 
Rolling along

Working on rear seats, floor and side panels. Time for control system and brake & fuel lines soon. Inching my way toward the cabin top. :eek:[/URL[URL=http://s1303.photobucket.com/user/sportav8r/media/IMG_3851_zpsc4w0amk9.jpg.html]

Wondering about this fuel selector - it's a simplex Andair and there are no return ports on the fuel tanks. I might find myself limited to fuel injection systems that don't require that, and I'm not sure whose that includes and who it eliminates in the market. Ideas?
 
Think like a turbine. Feed all fuel from one tank, and return to that tank. Transfer fuel from the other tank as needed. Easy to add return & transfer ports (could be the same port...) to the supply tank.

Works fine; lasts a long time.

Charlie
 
I guess I follow you

- but it's certainly not "factory," and I'd never modify a Van's fuel system without a team of engineers behind me.

So my question remains: given that my kit was built to this point with no provision for fuel return lines, what types of fuel injection, EFI, FADEC does that support and what ones does it leave out. Second question, how hard is it to add return fittings to the tanks, and third question only I can answer - would adding the return plumbing be worth the effort required at this point.
 
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- but it's certainly not "factory," and I'd never modify a Van's fuel system without a team of engineers behind me.

So my question remains: given that my kit was built to this point with no provision for fuel return lines, what types of fuel injection, EFI, FADEC does that support and what ones does it leave out. Second question, how hard is it to add return fittings to the tanks, and third question only I can answer - would adding the be worth the effort required at this point.

*Any* option other than a carb or Bendix style injection is a radical change to Van's fuel system, so....

What I proposed is as close to stock as you can get, and not be stock. The path from tank to engine is identical to Van's, when the selector valve isn't being moved. The vent system is unchanged.

You do give up the option of switching tanks if the engine stops, but you also lose that step in the troubleshooting decision tree. And many, many planes, both certified and homebuilt, fly with a single tank. The turbine world seems to think it's a good idea to feed an engine from a single tank, too.

Adding return fittings to the tank isn't difficult at all, though routing the return line through the airframe may be a different story. That was the trickiest thing to do on my -7. The return fitting on my -7 is near the top of the inboard tank bulkhead, just forward of the inspection cover, but it could just as easily be mounted on the cover itself. Some run the return line through the tank to the outboard bay, which would be tricky to do on a finished tank. Someone like Ross could probably give you an expert opinion about whether that's really required. (My inexpert opinion is that running it to the outer bay may make the supply when low on fuel less stable, rather than more stable.) Ross can also tell you about the option of a 'dead head' supply to the engine vs. an open loop with the regulator on the engine.

FWIW,

Charlie
 
Yeah, talking to Ross at this stage wouldn't be a bad idea. 'Twould end a lot of speculation on my part.:eek:
 
F-1042 nut plates

Plans call for K-1000-08's in 5 places, but that seems to be correct in only one location, where the overlying piece is C/S for the 100 degree screw head. Seems like the others should be K-1100-08's since the mating covers are clearly supposed to be dimpled for #8 screws. Naturally, my predecessor already put flat nut plates in those locations per the plans, and yours truly has already dimpled the cover pieces. I read over the plans for that section, already completed when I bought the kit, and I don't see where the dimple/countersink (of the F-1042 L&R) issue is addressed but maybe I missed it

Who else has encountered this discrepancy and how did you resolve it?

ETA: the F-1042's themselves are pretty thick material (I'm writing from work and not beside the plane) and would be difficult but probably not impossible to dimple. I could maybe countersink, but the C/S for a #8 screw dimple is pretty wide and deep. Not sure I want to stick my #8 C/S bit's pilot nub into the nut plates that are already there - breakage might occur. I guess I could C/S the holes in the 1042's with a deburring bit, freehand?
 
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Fuel system

What am I looking at here? Looks similar but not identical to the parts depicted in the plans. Clearly some aftermarket items being used. I'm not sure of the fuel path in the factory system and the need for the "Tee" at the fuel selector output in the factory scheme - is that for a pump bypass of some sort? I'm afraid what I don't yet know about fuel injection would fill volumes. I need to get up to speed. Here is the fuel pump and I presume a relief valve or filter with associated manifolds - one inlet and one outlet.

Here it is on the mounting bracket in the tunnel that the previous builder had fashioned for it. Looking aft.

Some aftermarket filters in line with the fuel lines from each tank. Right side shown.

Thoughts about this setup? The Andair fuel valve is a three-port (non-duplex) and the tanks are not plumbed for return lines. Just trying to get familiar with the advantages and possible drawbacks to what I inherited with this build.
 
(This place is awesome!)

Well, Mike, looking at that link, I'd have to say you're right! And since I was seriously considering this route (Bus Manager food fight going on currently in another thread notwithstanding), that kinda makes me happy. Looks like I need to hit Ross up for a rag-chew about fuel systems and EFI.:)
 
Bill,

I'm pretty sure that pump assy is for Bendix style injection, which does not actually *need* a return line to the tank. That product bypasses excess flow to the input of the pump. Some have added a return to the tank, used only to 'purge' hot fuel from the engine compartment when hot starting, but it's certainly not required. Thousands of certified and exp a/c fly without the purge line, and real men don't need one. {insert obligatory ;-) here} If you decide on auto style electronic injection, you'd need either a different (dual) pump setup, or an additional pump, for redundancy. The engine driven pump would no longer be in the equation.

If you decide on electronic injection, and you're into 'education' more than check writing, you can do dual pumps for *much* less money than the pre-packaged pumps, using the same pump modules you get in the packaged units.

Charlie
 
progress...

She's starting to get a "soul" as the control systems slowly go in. You can tell the pile of parts is going to be quite airworthy one day




Shared this pic on another thread last week - nice brake line kit from TS Flightlines.


Reaching that point in the build where you start to feel the "thousand cuts" of Aircraft Spruce orders - can't find my AN23-10 clevis bolts for the rudder cable links and not sure I want (to or have spares) to substitute an AN3 bolt here, so off goes the latest order for two dollars in parts with three dollars shipping (not that any of that pricing is unreasonable, it's just that I probably own and simply misplaced those buggers somewhere when I opened and separated all those paper bags last year). I remember going through this 20 years ago. I'm going to start being better about batching these orders while I build on in other areas and come back to it when the parts arrive. Won't be long before I will have glass cloth, epoxy and other related goodies to bundle the nut and bolt orders with ::eek:
 
Not sure, Vlad

I'll have to check the plans and see. They came to me already in place. I too like the robustness of the execution:)
 
Latest question down the pike

Unable to insert the control sticks any further than this into the weldments. The powder coat is way back from this line. Plans say to insert "as far as it will go" before match-drilling.

Far enough?
 
Have you picked out the control grips you plan to use already?

I had to cut off an inch or more at the bottom of the stick in order for the top of the control grips to clear the panel.

I used Tosten grips, love them----- but they will hit the panel unless the stick is trimmed down.

You might wait to install the sticks until you have the panel in and the grip installed, just to insure clearance.

Due to the curved shape of the stick, and the short straight section on top, I had to trim both ends------unlike a straight stick where you can do all the needed trimming on the top.
 
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I had a similar problem with the copilot side on my 9A during construction - the pilot side fit fine. I was really curious about that and found that the interior of the socket weldment had a very slight distortion caused by the weld bead on the exterior, and it was just enough to pinch down on the stick at that point and cause it to bind. One weldment was fine, the other had interference. I just took a dremel tool with a carbide grinding bit and removed a few thousandths right there at the weld point and it went in fine. That point is now on my annual inspection checklist to inspect for cracking as a result of my dremel work.
 
Static port plumbing

Bill,
In your tailcone photo, it looks like the static port plumbing will connect the line forward at the bottom of that tee on the right static port. If rain water or wash water gets in the right static port it will run forward and accumulate until problems are created, blocking BOTH static ports. Perhaps better to put that tee ABOVE the static port so that water is less likely to accumulate in the system and cannot block both ports. Simple is good, but in this case there may be value in adding one more fitting.
 
I'll check that

Bill,
In your tailcone photo, it looks like the static port plumbing will connect the line forward at the bottom of that tee on the right static port. If rain water or wash water gets in the right static port it will run forward and accumulate until problems are created, blocking BOTH static ports. Perhaps better to put that tee ABOVE the static port so that water is less likely to accumulate in the system and cannot block both ports. Simple is good, but in this case there may be value in adding one more fitting.

At work right now and unable to check, but IIRC there is a second tee at the top of the bow, and the one showing in the pic was intended as a drain or test port, to be capped in normal ops.
 
A test port would be better located forward of the baggage bulkhead, where it is easier to reach if/when needed.
 
Unable to insert the control sticks any further than this into the weldments. The powder coat is way back from this line. Plans say to insert "as far as it will go" before match-drilling.

Far enough?

Bill you need to file ream or what ever might be needed to get the stick in until it can go no further, it should bottom out inside until there is now way to go any further.
 
I used a cylinder honing tool to clean out powder coat and other debris from the inside of the gear leg mounts, and other places. When the male part fits, coat the inside of the mating part with gun bluing. It will help protect the surface without adding thickness to it.

Jim Bower
RV-6A N143DJ
Flying since 2011
 
Cabosil

My order from Spruce this week was meant to include everything I'd need to get going on the fiberglass parts of this plane - but the Cabosil is on backorder.

Don't know for how long, but wondering if flox and/or micro could substitute for door bonding thickening agent in a pinch.

Do it, or wait?

E.T.A. "Post 666." :-/ Meh. Clearly I should build on.
 
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Appreciative of a great resource

The VAF sure keeps me in touch with a great community. The people who have stepped forward to help materially and practically since the house fire and starting the 10 build have touched me profoundly, and I'm grateful. The knowledge base here is so much superior to what I had available 20 years ago building an RV alone and without mentors close by. I read up all I could and took the dreaded door plunge. Kind of anticlimactic in a way, although the process is only maybe 1/3 done.

This weekend I got my mower back from the shop after getting a blade stuck on so tightly that neither my impact wrench nor my extended socket wrench would budge the bolt. In the meantime, the abundant rain and warm weather had tried to reclaim the runway into a hayfield from whence it had come. I had to mow high and will need to make a second, lower pass tomorrow (so Vlad doesn't complain about the high grass if he happens to drop in).

Jax, a.k.a. "Li'l Boy," our 5 month old pit-lab mix who never ventures more than fifty feet from home, decided that Sunday was a beautiful spring day for chasing me on the zero-turn, so he roamed further than ever before. I was afraid he might stray into the road, but the runway end markers creeped him out and he bristled, barked, and turned tail for home once he caught sight of them.

 
The VAF sure keeps me in touch with a great community. The people who have stepped forward to help materially and practically since the house fire and starting the 10 build have touched me profoundly, and I'm grateful. The knowledge base here is so much superior to what I had available 20 years ago building an RV alone and without mentors close by. I read up all I could and took the dreaded door plunge. Kind of anticlimactic in a way, although the process is only maybe 1/3 done.

This weekend I got my mower back from the shop after getting a blade stuck on so tightly that neither my impact wrench nor my extended socket wrench would budge the bolt. In the meantime, the abundant rain and warm weather had tried to reclaim the runway into a hayfield from whence it had come. I had to mow high and will need to make a second, lower pass tomorrow (so Vlad doesn't complain about the high grass if he happens to drop in).

Jax, a.k.a. "Li'l Boy," our 5 month old pit-lab mix who never ventures more than fifty feet from home, decided that Sunday was a beautiful spring day for chasing me on the zero-turn, so he roamed further than ever before. I was afraid he might stray into the road, but the runway end markers creeped him out and he bristled, barked, and turned tail for home once he caught sight of them.


Looking good Bill and beautiful shop!
 
Thanks, Chris.

I definitely want to host another fly-in at 12VA, as we used to do all the time. You can come and check out the place firsthand.

Will advise as plans unfold for the summer. :)
 
LOL, yes.

Bill,
Will you be keeping the nickname "Stormy"???

For the sake of the Veggie Tale Squadron, yes. I'll continue to use it.

Besides, it's not just a well-earned nickname derrived from sucky weather anytime I try to have a fly-in event, it's a CALL SIGN... from back in the day when the formation boys stooped to letting me tuck in the slot and wax wings with them. :D I wear it with pride.

So there.
 
I was thinking of ewe but we are on a lockdown over the weekend. I might even get a chaperone. Keep that grass groomed for the 14th :D


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