January 23, 2022 – I had always said when I built my wingtip lighting that if I ever had an issue with them, they’d come right out and I’d replace them. After a few hours of flying we noticed noise when the Nav lights were switched on.
I bought a set of AeroLED Pulsars and installed them.
Here’s the original lights:
…and my new ones:
October 22, 2021 – I have given up on my right tank fuel quantity issue, for now…
I got a new sensor from Van’s. I installed it, reinstalled the tank, ands started the fuel calibration again. Believe it or not, no help. The sensor and float move just fine, and electrically it works. but when it’s in the tank, there is still no apparent movement (i.e. voltage change) when I add fuel.
I tried bypassing my wiring; running a wire from pin 21 of the Dynon EMS to the sensor. That was no help. I also double-checked the ground.
OK. I’ve had enough. I decided to go scorched-earth, and reconfigure the tank back to the fixed pickup tube and relocate the float sensor to it’s normal place in the inboard bay of the tank.
I removed the tank again, and ordered the pickup tube with a screen and the anti-rotation brackets from Van’s.
I removed the access plate on the inboard rib, to see if I could tell if the float was hanging up. I was able to stick something through and move the float. I also checked the resistance while I was moving it. I couldn’t find anything wrong.
I cut an access hole in the back baffle of the tank as needed to get access to the bay.
Here’s the flop tube inside the tank.
I removed the flop tube and the float from the next bay over. I left the small mods that are installed with the flop tube; there’s a twisted strap that keeps the flop tube from hanging up in the next rib, and there’s a small trap door that acts as a check valve to keep fuel in the inboard bay so fuel doesn’t slosh outboard and starve the flop tube.
I drilled the hole in the inboard access plate for the sensor…
…and when I got the pickup tube, I located that hole, then secured the tube in place along with the anti-rotation bracket.
So here’s everything in place:
The float does not and cannot hang on anything. It also doesn’t touch either the top or the bottom.
I made the panels to close the tank back up and installed them.
Two days later, I pumped up the tank with a bike pump and used soapy water to look for leaks. Absolutely nothing…
I plugged the hole at the leading edge where the flop tube was mounted, and where fuel exited the tank. I used an AN fitting with two AN caps and thoroughly sealed them inside and out…
I also had to make a new fuel line to the fuselage since the location was different…
I installed the tank, and proceeded to begin the calibration.
Guess what?… It still doesn’t work.
Well, I was able to get a “calibration”, but I had to thump the top of the tank with my fist to get the sensor voltage to change after each 2-gallon addition.
I filled it to 21 gallons, and the Dynon accepted the calibration.
I proceeded to drain 10 gallons from the tank to put in the left tank. The indicated quantity did not change.
My drain valve was dripping, so I drained the rest of the fuel so I could check the o-ring on the drain. I did expect to find a piece of aluminum stuck there, and I did. I reinstalled the drain. With an empty tank, Dynon still indicated 20+.
OK. This airplane needs to be flown, so I decided I’ll not hit my head against the wall any more, and just manage the fuel for the time being.
I may call Van’s at some point, and probably will end up ordering another sensor, but maybe not until the condition inspection next year.
Time: 24:30
October 8, 2021 – I took care of the items that were noted during the first flight.
Chuck suggested that I remove a little bit of the dam in front of the #1 cylinder, because it was getting a little warm.
I also took care of some of the items that were related to configuration on the Dynon. Battery voltage showed a steady 14.5 volts, yet was annunciated in yellow. I changed the parameter for the yellow to 15 volts. I also had a yellow caution band on the RPM gauge. Chuck questioned whether it had to be there. I called Aerosport Power, then Hartzell. Based on my engine and prop combination, there was no restriction, so I changed the parameters for that sensor in Dynon to remove the yellow band.
My airspeed issue was because I reversed the AOA and Pitot connections at the tube. My transponder guy came out, found that, and he also pumped up the airplane from the pitot tube back. No leaks and an accurate indication.
I also had a slight yaw issue, where the ball was a little bit to the right. I installed a temporary tab, and we will investigate further during the next flight.
After the first flight issues were taken care of, and because my pilots are on vacation, I decided to pull the right fuel tank to try to address my calibration issue.
Yay. What joy to remove the bolts that attach the tank to the wing spar…
I took out the float sensor. It electrically checked out, but it seemed a bit stiff. I decided to go ahead and order a new one from Van’s.
I have since installed the new one. I’m going to give the sealant time before I put fuel to it.
I moved on to the interior.
I’ve had to make some small mods because of things that I have done differently in the airplane.
This small panel wraps around the air vents. Since I made my own air vent brackets, I had to make a cut about 1″ long to accommodate…
The big side pockets fit under the armrests. Since I installed the J-stringer sections to stiffen the armrests, I had to modify these…
Time: 12:30
September 23, 2021 – I completed the finishing touches to get ready for the first flight.
I had asked the test pilot if he wanted to see anything before I closed up. He came out and gave me a short list.
I put in some of the interior so I could place the seats.
The measles are velcro dots that get attached on the seat pans for the carpet. This is how Classic Aero has you install the carpet.
I also closed up all the external panels.
I installed the wing root fairings. Dealing with these in the past, I learned some new words while trying to put these on. I got some gasket adhesive and glued the rubber seals to the panels, and they went right on.
The tail was closed next.
I installed the cowling last. Had an interesting problem with some of the fasteners. About 5 of the Skybolt fasteners wouldn’t go in. I was getting frustrated because I had done these previously with no issues. Come to find out that when I sealed the interiors with resin for the heat blanket, some of the resin had gotten inside the openings for the fasteners. So I took out the fasteners, scraped around the collar to clear the dried resin, and everything went in like it was supposed to. I also tried out the inlet plugs I’d gotten from Bruce’s at Oshkosh.
I put 174PM to bed. We have a big day tomorrow…
Time: 16:00
September 15, 2021 – I started fuel tank calibration.
I jacked up the tail to level, and started the calibration on the left wing. In hindsight, I kind of did this maybe the hard way, but it worked.
I bought 5 gallons of fuel at a time (my hangar has fuel), and transferred that to a marked 1-gallon jug. I did the Dynon procedure, where you tell it how much is full, then click “Add” every two gallons.
Here’s the screen as fuel got added:
Got to 21 gallons and clicked “Full”. I rebooted the Dynon and got a good reading. Actually it doesn’t read above 15 gallons or so, but that’s a “feature”.
Now to the right wing.
I drained the left tank 5 gallons at a time and started the transfer to the right tank.
Maybe it’s worth noting that the right tank has a flop tube for fuel pickup, which moves the fuel float to the next bay outboard in the tank. As I started filling the right tank, the readings didn’t change.
The first time I tried this, I got to 12 gallons, went around to press “Add” on the screen, and saw that the Dynon system had shed its load because the battery couldn’t keep up. Oh, well, just as well. I really didn’t want to get all the way to 21 gallons with this problem. But the next day I decided to try again. Same problem. I filled up to 21 gallons. The Dynon asked me if I wanted to use that calibration, even though it wasn’t successful. I answered yes, but after I restarted, the right side still showed the annunciator for CAL. My inspection is scheduled, so I asked my DAR as well as the test pilot if this was going to be an issue. They both said no, so I’m going to defer this until after the airplane flies.
I’m assuming I’ll need to pull the tank.
So I drained 10 gallons from the right side, and put them in the left. My test pilot asked for 1/2 tanks for first flight. Oh, by the way, I bought a battery-powered pump from Harbor Freight. Took no time to drain a 5-gallon can.
Time: 6:20
August 18, 2021 – I finished the installation of the aileron trim.
The trim block and shaft had been previously installed; I just needed to connect the block and handle to the aileron system. This is just the installation of springs to the trim arm. The springs are connected with .041″ safety wire. The wire is tighter than it looks in the picture…
Time: 2:00
July 2, 2021 – I installed wingwalks.
I was trying to figure out what I wanted to use for my wingwalks. I like the Van’s treads with the aircraft type cut into them, but I wanted to wait until the airplane is painted. I priced adhesive material and found it more expensive than I liked. Somehow I came around to skateboards. I found skateboard grip tape. These happened to be 9″ wide, which is perfect. So I went to a skateboard shop here in town and got these at $6.00 each. They’re 9 x 33, so I just had to cut a short length off of each. These will be fine for a “temporarily permanent” solution.
Time: 1:00
June 28, 2021 – A lot has happened lately. This is a long post, but it’s a lot easier to just do a post with everything I’ve done instead of breaking it out by specific project. So here goes…
We’ll start with the obvious…the panel.
I got the panel installed. I had some nice black brass screws to install the panel blank into the airplane. Well, the third screw in broke. I decided I didn’t have any magnetic sensitive need to use brass, so I ordered black steel screws. Much better. I started to install items in the panel, starting in the middle and high up, so I had access.
I installed a bracket for the alternate air, so I could keep from running the cable through the panel itself.
I also installed my glareshield lights. When everything important was in, I fired it up…
I’ve also been installing placards and labels where needed. My friend Clint Caldwell in Atlanta made me some laser-etched placards. Thanks, Clint!!!
I took the airplane outside to check on the GPS operation. Looks like a lot of green bars…
The next item to take care of was the stick grips and their wiring.
I used 9-pin dsub connectors for the stick grips. I wanted to make them as simple as possible to remove.
I had previously cut the sticks down to height, and I didn’t like the cut on the right stick. Luckily I had enough of the stick tube left over from the cut to make a new one. I then covered the sticks with vinyl again.
Since the airplane is registered and my number is official, I ordered numbers. These will be temporarily permanent. I got 12″ decals from Sporty’s. Decent price and a fairly fast turnaround. These seem huge, but for the time being they’re fine.
Something I’ve wanted to do for a long time is to replace the HID bulbs in my Duckworks landing lights with LEDs. I ordered some on Amazon. These are very nice.
Another item I didn’t do before was to install aileron stops.
I’ve always read about delryn stops at the attach bolt as opposed to the stock angle riveted to the aileron. I started doing a bit of research as to how to do these. I thought about a guy at Aerocountry who does a bit of machining and fabrication for his RV6. I contacted him and he sent me a picture of his. We agreed to meet the next day at his hangar to talk about it. When I showed up at his hangar he handed me a bag with two stops turned to 3/4″ outside diameter, which according to my research seems to be the sweet spot for 7’s. “Here you go; I made these last night.” Wow. I love this community. I asked him what I owed him and he shrugged and said “20 bucks”.
I installed them and the upward throw is 27.5 degrees on both sides. That’s well within the required range, so I’m sticking with them.
Thanks, Colin!!! Here’s before and after, different sides, of course…
I hung the flaps and set out to rig them.
First off is just hanging the flaps.
Here’s my pin safety setup that I made when I built the wings…
The inboard upper skin of each flap did rub the fuselage skin, so I ended up removing roughly 1/8″ from each flap.
I had to make the flap rods that attach the flaps to the bellcrank inside the airplane.
The next thing I had to do was cut the holes in the belly where the flap rods come through the fuselage. This was a little difficult to do, since you’re cutting perfectly good metal, and also it’s hard to get a good shape without removing too much material. There are holes that get you started…
Oddly enough, it appears I don’t have a picture of the final holes.
I installed the flap actuator housing in the cockpit. To do this I closed the baggage compartment tunnel. I cleaned it out really well ,then installed the panel.
Then I installed the forward and aft faces of the actuator housing. I figured out that I had to install the bolt for the actuator before I installed the housing.
I connected the flaps to the bellcrank, locked the ailerons to the wingtips, lined up the flaps with the ailerons, adjusted the rods, the slid bolts into place. Put power on the airplane and ran the flaps. After a small adjustment, got the flaps to a perfect 45 degrees.
After tying some wiring back and cleaning up back there, I installed the large elevator control rod. This goes from the elevator bellcrank just behind the baggage compartment all the way back to the elevators.
I removed all of the blue film from the airplane. I’ve read how this causes some people a lot of panic about how hard it is to remove, but it was no problem. There’s a lot of it, and it took part of 2 days to get it all. I did have to drop end end of each aileron because I left the film on the leading edges and I couldn’t get to it all. It looks like…well…a new airplane. I left one panel of it on the left wing where I’m making a final to-do list.
April 27, 2021 – Now that the wings are on I can connect the wing wiring.
I safetied the tank attach bolts. Not sure why they need to be safetied, since they go into a nutplate that locks, but OK… I drilled the safety wire hole in the steel bracket.
I also installed the fuel lines.
I ran the pitot and AOA tubes into the fuselage and back to the ADAHRS, then connected the heat controller. Put power on the airplane and the heat works. I don’t have a message saying the heta is either on or off yet; I’ll set that up later in Dynon.
I ran and terminated the wires for the roll autopilot servo. The Skyview network portion is connected to the hub in the back.
I plan on connecting the wires for the lighting and the stick grips on a terminal bar under the left seat.
When I tried my lights, I had crossed the wires for the right landing light and the right nav lights. Got that figured out and now the lighting works correctly.
Time: 25:00
April 2, 2021 – The wings are installed, hopefully for good!
With the wings off, I prepped the holes for the fairing that wraps around the wing root.
I also added holes for the fuel quantity wiring where it will enter the fuselage. These wires are forward of the wing spar and there was no other entry point except where the fuel feed lines go in. I got very small ID grommets from Spruce for these holes.
I decided it was time, so I gathered my faithful friends and helpers.
After it was all done, we took a breather, and there was the usual hangar talk.
The next day I finished the wing install.
I torqued the mount bolts:
…and I installed the aft spar bolts and the fuel tank attach bolts:
No pictures, but I then routed the wing wires from the wings into the fuselage. That wasn’t a lot of fun because of the limited space between the wing roots and the fuselage skin.
Time: 15:45
March 21, 2021 – I made the wiring harness for the ELT.
The connector that came with the ELT was a new one for me. The pins are solder cups, so the wires are soldered into the connector. I’d never dealt with this before but it was fairly simple. I ran a shielded 3-wire bundle through the airplane to check for length, then pulled it back out and terminated the ELT end.
I added a nutplate to the ELT mounting bracket, and made a bracket one bulkhead back for a clamp so I could secure the antenna coax.
Then I riveted the antenna doubler and installed the antenna.
On to some other items…
Airport friends came back and we pulled the wings again so I could finish what had to be done before permanently installing the wings next time.
I also installed boots on the battery cables and installed the hold-down bar.
Time: 18:00
March 5, 2021 – I drilled the wing root fairings.
These were a tight fit wrapping around the leading edge, but they turned out pretty nice. I started at the aft end on top, then worked my way around.
Time: 4:00
February 23, 2021 – With the wings on, I started doing various tasks that need to be done while the wings can still come off.
After quick verification that the wings were in the correct position from the previous drilling 5 years ago, I drilled the fuel tank attach brackets. This was a simple matter of using a drill bushing to center the hole in the fuselage bracket slot.
When the wings come back off, I’ll install the nutplates for the attach bolts.
The next step is the fuel line connections. These are the vent lines and the main fuel feeds from the tanks. The right tank is routed differently because I have a flop tube installed there. The main fuel connection from the left side is a straight shot into the fuselage.
There are fairings all the way around the wing root that enclose the gaps you see in the above pictures.
There is a short section underneath where the fuselage skin is attached to the wing skin on each side. I used a hole-finder to start these holes, then enlarged the holes up to the correct size for the screws.
The next part is the large wrap-around panel that wraps around the leading edges of the wings.
These panels have pre-punched holes that match open holes in the wings. Holes do need to be match-drilled to the skins of the fuel tanks.
Time: 6:00
February 10, 2021 – Back in April of 2016, we set the wings and drilled the aft spar.
Today, we installed them temporarily so I could do some more work. Thanks to Ken, Marvin and Larry for coming out on this COLD day (for Dallas).
I have to drill the fuel tank bracket, drill for the nutplates and screws where the fuselage skin attaches to the wings, and I’ll get my fuel lines set up. After that, the wings will come off; I’ll do the nutplates, then the wings should go back on for good…
Time: 3:00
February 3, 2021 – Well, I fired up (poor choice of words) the panel using my power supply. No pops, sizzles, smoke or fire.
It also was pretty underwhelming, because only the left screen turned on. I tried the dimmer for a lit rocker switch, and it worked. The glareshield fans also worked. So I call it a win. I know there are several things to do to get everything up and running.
I needed to get into the VPX and get it set up. The interface external to the VPX is ethernet. Well, my laptop has no ethernet port, so I used an alternate method suggested by Vertical Power. I used a wireless router.
Once that was complete, I looked over at the panel and saw this:
The right screen came up!
I downloaded the latest software from Dynon (as of January 27) and installed it on both screens.
I then went in to system setup and set up the serial ports and scanned for devices on the Skyview Network.
The issue I then had was that the screens weren’t talking to each other. You can “daisy-chain” the devices on the network, which I had. But it seemed evident that maybe I needed to directly connect the screens to each other. So I ordered a 3-foot Skyview Network cable. When I got it, I rearranged the cables between devices. It worked!
I decided to prepare the wings for installation, so I could get ALL the wiring connected and do all the panel setup maybe at one time.
I started on the pitot tube. I was given a brand-new Dynon heated tube. I had seen online where people mounted the heat controller to the wing access panel.
I took the tube out and realized I didn’t have any of the AN hardware I needed to connect the tube to the pitot and AOA lines. I visited a local avionics shop and got most of what I needed from there. In the meantime, I drilled the holes to attach the tube into the mast. I already had holes in the mast from a long time ago, so I transferred these hole locations to the new tube. Drilled with a #36 bit and tapped for a #6 screw.
I made a bracket to support the plastic pitot and AOA lines and keep them away from the aileron bellcrank.
I’m on hold for the parts I’m still missing, so I moved on to the autopilot roll servo in the right wing.
Here’s the right wing aileron bellcrank without the servo:
The servo bracket replaces the small mounting angle there in the center of the picture. You have to take the bellcrank partly apart, because it has to be drilled. This is where the servo control rod attaches.
I installed the new bracket, and then bolted the servo in place.
The control rod is supposed to be 5 inches long.
Here’s everything installed.
Now it’s time for wiring. I installed the DB9 connectors on the servo and the harness, then ran the harness through to the wing root. I had to do this twice because I had to avoid contact with the aileron bellcrank travel.
For right now, I secured the connection using the threaded bolt holes in the servo itself. This will place the connection on the aft side of the servo when it is on the airplane. The harness runs between the arms of the bellcrank and out through the wing ribs.
Time: 11:45
April 29, 2016 – What a day this was! Myself and a helpful crew got the wing drilling done.
This had to be the warmest day of Spring so far this year, and I was feeling it by the time we were done.
I moved the fuselage and the wing cradle out into the driveway. We removed the flaps to help give access to the aft spar for drilling. We then slid the wings into position. It kinda looked sad with the wings there but without the wing bolts installed.
We ground the threads off four hardware store bolts, and put them into place.
Looks much better with some dihedral…
We did have to trim the ends of the aft spars, and the forward strap of the center section “forks” to get the wings straight.
We leveled the fuselage laterally and longitudinally, then hung four plumb bobs on the leading edges, then snapped a chalk line on the driveway. We lined up the inboard plumb bobs on the chalk line, then started working on getting the outboard ends perpendicular. Both wings had a very slight forward sweep.
We measured from the outboard aft corner of each wing back to the upper corner of the side skin at the aft-most bulkhead. Got 173 5/8″ on each side.
We then used a level and a 3″ block to measure level on each wing. Some minor adjustments were needed, but we got it dialed in.
I then got down into position at the aft spar to drill. I had made a nice wood block with a drill bushing in order to get a straight perpendicular hole. We realized that we couldn’t keep the spar clamped AND have the block in place. I decided to do it by hand. I started with a #30, then stepped up to #21, then used reamers to .191″, .250″, and finally .312″. And a lot of Boelube… The bolts slipped in great and were nice and straight. Those of you who know will think that the bolt is in backwards in the photo below. I just slipped the bolt in to test fit. I had to take everything back apart because I’m still in the garage.
Here’s the before and after at the aft spar:
And here’s the proud daddy:
Time: 24:00 (total man-hours)
October 29, 2013 – I finished up the wiring and final light installation on the left wingtip. Pretty much identical to the right wingtip in the previous post.
Here’s the terminal strip:
…and the light test. Caught the strobe off in one of them.
Time: 2:10
October 23, 2013 – With the right wing on the table, I wanted to arrange the wiring so that the wingtip would be removable and the wiring would be reasonably secured.
I cut the 4-strand cable for the strobe to length and terminated the wires for the wingtip. I clamped the wires to the rib I installed in the tip. Here’s a before and after:
Here’s close-ups of the wiring inside the tip, and of the terminal connection on the wing itself.
I temporarily installed the wingtip to the wing, mainly just for storage. The phillips head 4-40 screws I have will not work later on. I’ve already stripped a few of them, so I’ll be getting torx fasteners later on.
Of course I had to try my lights with everything installed.
I’m calling the right wingtip complete.
A friend from work came over and helped me put the right wing back in the stand and the left wing on the table.
Time: 2:30
October 10, 2013 – It feels like forever since I’ve done anything on the airplane. Money issues and just life in general have gotten in the way, but things may be looking up.
I continued with the right wingtip lens. They’re trimmed about as well as I can get them, and then I transferred the holes for the attach screws. LJ helped clean up the cut edges and the screw countersinks.
I also had to repair the foam rib I installed in the right wingtip. Part of it had pulled away from the tip.
Before I installed the lenses, I needed to finalize the installation of the lights. I had made some spacers for the mirrored plexi, but I didn’t like them because they were hand cut and not very straight. A good friend of mine at work helped me out by cutting spacers on his lathe at home. They came out beautifully; all the same size and nice and smooth.
I assembled the lights and installed the lens.
The next thing I’m working on is securing the wiring in the wingtip so that when the wingtip is installed, the wiring will be safe.
I put the right wing on the table so it will be in an as-installed position. I realize that some people will say that this is over-engineered, but coming from a maintenance background, I want it…well…maintainable.
Time: 5:00
March 21, 2013 – I started cutting and fitting the wingtip lenses.
Van’s provides you with a formed bubble of plexiglass that you cut to make the two wingtip light lenses. I didn’t get a picture of it before I cut it in half, but here is a lens half before trimming:
I set it in place over the wingtip cutout and started trimming. I was able to use snips until I was down to fine adjustment, when I used files and sandpaper.
When I was happy with the fit, I taped it in place, and drilled the screw holes at #40, and clecoed the lens in place. Now on to the other one…
Time: 2:00
