Fabricated the cowl attach hinges. Deburred all the edges. Scuffed all the parts.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Fuselage Time (hours): | 178.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 632.5 |
Finished fabrication, deburring, and scuffing
Month: December 2019
Began Work on Upper Forward Fuselage (Section 35)
Picked, inspected, and peeled all the parts.
I separated all the parts that required parting and began fabrication. I made the canopy release pins by shortening and chamfering the ends of a couple of eye bolts. I made the canopy release push tubes from some aluminum tubing.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 3.0 |
| Fuselage Time (hours): | 176.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 630.5 |
Completed Flap Actuation System (Section 34)
Drilled the tiny hole in the linear actuator rod for safety wire. First attempt broke through. Second attempt, I ignored Van’s instructions and started by drilling a hole in the end. Then drilled a hole from the side to meet up with the first hole. Then final drilled at an angle to eliminate the right angle and allow the safety wire to slide through.
Greased up the torque tubes and inserted into the bearing blocks on either side. Then I bolted them to the flap crank in the middle. Finally, I bolted the flap motor in place and tested with a 9-volt battery. Worked perfectly.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Fuselage Time (hours): | 173.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 627.5 |
Began work on the flap actuation system (Section 34)
Picked and inspected all four parts.
Used the alignment template thing-a-mabob to locate and match drill the holes from the crank to the torque tubes.
I primed the inside of the tubes with SEM. I’ll let them dry tonight and install everything tomorrow.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 1.0 |
| Fuselage Time (hours): | 171.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 625.5 |
Completed Rudder and Brake Systems (Section 33)
Installed the links that attach the rudder cables to the rudder pedals. Riveted the rudder cable fairleads in place. Not pictured, I also bolted in the four adel clamps that hold the plastic rudder cable routing tubes in place. This was a huge pain in the ass. Very little room to get fingers in to get the nuts started. Plus the angle of the tunnel cants the bolts in toward the adjacent structure making it hard to get a socket or wrench on the nuts. But futzed with it long enough and got it done.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 2.0 |
| Fuselage Time (hours): | 170.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 624.5 |
Installed rudder pedals and brake lines
Attached the brake pedals and brake master cylinders to the rudder pedals.
Drilled out the mounting blocks and installed the rudder pedal assembly into the fuselage.
Installed the brake fluid reservoir. The threads in the filler neck were galled so I’m going to call Van’s and have them send me a replacement. I mounted it in place anyway so that I could run all the brake lines.
Installed the brake lines.
Separated and painted the rudder cable links. I’ll install these along with the fairleads where the cables exit the tunnel tomorrow and that will complete this section.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 3.0 |
| Fuselage Time (hours): | 168.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 622.5 |
Finished brake pedals and painted interior
Put a final coat of paint on the rudder and brake pedals. I covered the front of the brake pedals with grip tape that I bought from Amazon.
I finally picked a color! I went with Rustoleum Painter’s Touch Dark Gray Gloss. Changed my mind on the color at least five times. I even bought the paint for what turned out to be the runner up. Hopefully I can return it. The paint came out okay. I think I shot it a bit too heavy and got a pretty good orange peel going. But it’s good enough. Most of it will be covered with carpet. I’m happy with the result.
| Today’s Time (hours): | 4.0 |
| Fuselage Time (hours): | 165.0 |
| Total Time (hours): | 619.5 |
