Category: Fuselage

Work after First Flight

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

Prep for First Flight

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

Started Interior

September 15, 2021 – I started putting some interior pieces in, even though I can’t have most of it in before the inspection.

I did have to install the seat belts.

I also put the baggage compartment upper wall in place, since it does contain a required placard.

I installed the boots for the aileron pushrods. This is an option for the interior, but I’ve read a lot about air coming in that way.

The next item is a small piece of vinyl that covers the lower end of the pillar. This gets glued in with spray adhesive.

Then I test fit the carpet under the seats.

This is going to be very nice. Can’t wait to see this finished.

Time: 5:00

Fuel Calibration—-Yay and Nay!

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

A Small Step Backwards…

August 6, 2021 – A small adjustment turned into a slightly larger project.

Moving the airplane in and out of the hangar, I’ve noticed that the brakes drag a little bit. I know this is an issue that has its fixes.

I decided to add springs to the master cylinder actuators on the pedals. On the first one I tried to do, the bolt attaching the top of the actuator was very tight going through the actuator. I decided to tap it out with my rivet gun. Of course I turned the pressure down. Well, when I did this, the welded tab on the pedal bent sideways. So I made the decision not to work this in the airplane, but to try to take the rudder pedal assembly out and do the work on the table. I had no idea if the assembly would even come out of the finished airplane, since it got installed very early on…

It does in fact come out… I had to disconnect the throttle cable at the quadrant.

Here’s the tab that bent…

I inspected it with a magnifying glass. Seems OK, so I pressed on with the rest of the work.

I installed the springs. They are 5/8″ x 3″ x .080″, by the way. I also put thread sealant on the fittings in the master cylinders. After my first engine run I noticed the tiniest bit of fluid seepage on a couple of the fittings.

The assembly actually slid back into place on the airplane a lot easier than when it came out. I still have to finish installing the bolts and connect the brake lines, then service the brakes again.

Time: 3:00

Transponder Check

August 18, 2021 – I got the transponder check done.

Not much to tell. I’m waiting for my seats and interior from Classic Aero, and not much else to do on the airplane. I’ve been working on some projects around the house, and we’ve been getting some things done that require me to stay home. So this is as good a time as any to get these things done.

I did work on the schematics for my future maintenance manual. That was a big job that needed to be done.

Anyway, I had the transponder check done. It passed with flying colors!

Time: 1:00

Added Ammeter Shunt

August 18, 2021 – I decided to add the ammeter shunt.

In my research about the VPX addition to the airplane, I had read that an ammeter shunt is not required. What I inferred from that is that I would get an ammeter reading from the VPX. While that is true, the indication appears on the VPX page on the Dynon, and not on the engine bar on the main Dynon screens. You can select battery voltage specifically from the VPX to be displayed, but it doesn’t appear that there is that option for amps. The theory is that you can monitor battery voltage for a charge on the battery.

I decided that having an amp reading would give a better indication of charging health, so I installed the shunt. The hardest part of this was  installing the shunt on the firewall. I found the wires from the EMS box and ran them out through the firewall and across to the right side.

Then I installed the shunt and connected the wires. The shunt is in the wire from the ANL60 fuse to the VPX. I haven’t run the engine again since, but I get a 10 amp discharge with power on the airplane, which agrees with the reading on the VPX page.

Time: 2:45

Aileron Trim

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

Loose Ends…and Oshkosh!!!

August 5, 2021 – Little things need to be done; waiting on my interior from Classic Aero.

I mentioned in my last post that I had some issues from the first engine run. Some of them I chalk up to a total lack of experience on my part. This entire project has been a learning experience…

I had a few leaks after that first run.

Since the run was right before Oshkosh, I had to wait until after to address those issues. This year was my bride’s first time there. She was a good sport. I think she enjoyed it…she says she’ll come back next year when the RV goes up.

At Oshkosh I bought a union to streamline the manifold pressure installation. I had previously used a piece of the manifold that Van’s sells to use for oil pressure, fuel pressure, etc. I never liked that installation. Here’s the new one:

I also had an issue with RPM. Turns out I neglected to wire for it! So I used the RPM lead for the Dynon EMS and ran it to the tach output on the right PMag. I also investigated the issue with #4 cylinder. It was totally cold during the first run. I disconnected the fuel line at the injector and ran fuel into a bottle. While I had that open, I removed the injector. I could see right through it, so it wasn’t clogged. Put it all back together and rolled the airplane outside.

Well, between a bit of flooding and a low battery charge, we couldn’t get a good start. Back inside, I put the battery tender on it and went home.

The next morning I rolled it outside. Got it started, but it didn’t run well. The RPM indication worked, and #4 cylinder was working. However, I had very little throttle travel before the RPM was very high. The engine was happy around the 2000 RPM point, but anything less than 1400 it barely ran. I couldn’t precisely control the throttle because it was VERY sensitive. I also had the prop control full aft in low RPM. My unfamiliarity with constant speed props led to this.

I shut down and rolled back inside. I did a little research and talked to some people. It was pointed out that Dynon has a setting for the pulses per revolution that it sees from the mag. PMags put out 2 pulses per revolution, and the Dynon default setting was 1. Therefore, the indicated RPM would be twice the actual RPM. Kind of makes sense; It ran happily at 2000rmp, that would really be 1000rpm. I found that setting in the Dynon and changed it to 2.

Took it back outside for a third try. WOW! It ran like butter. RPM indications were more in the real world. I had the prop control full forward. At 1800rpm or so I pulled the prop control to get the oil to it. It took 2 tries, but then the prop moved. Awesome! The RV grin is beginning to show up!

Later on I installed the spinner…

…and the dataplate.

I walked around a bit and found some bolts without nuts on them. Fixed those.

The to-do list is very short now. Like I said, I expect to have the interior soon.

Time: 4:45

Brakes!

July 2, 2021 – Today I serviced the brakes.

I started by making the links that connect the rudder cables to the pedals. These are made of steel. I still wasn’t really sure how long to make them, so I made them according to the drawing, which still leaves it open to where the pedals are set. It’s still kind of hard to tell, but the pedals appear to be in a good position. If I have to do it again when I get my seats, I will.

A friend had an as yet unused ATS brake servicing tool, essentially a garden sprayer. This has fittings used for brake servicing and bleeding. I also put a barbed AN fitting in the top of the reservoir to catch overflow.

In the second picture you can see the fluid in the lines at the pedals.

The smell of 5606 took me back to my C-5 days. We used to bathe in this stuff.

This went very easily. Connect everything, pressurize the pot, then open the valve. It took a couple of tries to get fluid with no air out of the top. It doesn’t appear that I have any leaks. When I go back in a couple of days I’ll try the pedals and see how they feel.

Time: 5:00

All You Gotta Do…

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…

Panel

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…

Sticks

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.

N-Numbers

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.

Landing Lights

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.

Aileron Stops

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…

Flaps

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.

Elevators

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. read more

Panel Prep and Wiring

May 31, 2021 – I covered the panel and finished securing wires.

I cut out the ELT hole and did some cleaning up on the panel before covering it.

I also finished securing the wiring down through the center tunnel. Ugghhh! What back-breaking work. I also figured out that I probably did the damage to the armrest that I posted last time. I found my self leaning against it while I was working in the cockpit area and the baggage compartment. I added quick connectors for the fuel pump and the flap actuator. I anticipate that these components will need to be replaced at some point. I like the Amp 48 Series Wire Splice Connectors.

One mod I had to make. Where the wire bundle goes up the firewall, I had to cut access on the far right forward corner in the panel that forms the cabin heat box .

I was ready to install the panel. I got nice black 8-32 screws that are brass. Well, the third screw into the process broke. So I had to take the panel back out and replace that nutplate. I decided to order steel screws to install the panel. I have nothing in the panel that will be affected by the steel. I didn’t order steel screws for the instruments themselves, so I need to be careful when I install those.

Time: 21:20

Panel and Final(?) Wiring Prep

May 6, 2021 – I removed the panel to get some last wiring prep done and get the panel ready to install for good.

To get my bearings with the Tosten stick grips, I put the pilot’s grip in place. I decided to go ahead and cut the stick down. In my hangar there’s an RV-7A just in front of me with Infinity grips. I measured them and the stick and the grips are nearly identical to mine. So I used those measurements. Worst case…I’ll need to replace my stick. I don’t think that’ll be a problem, though.

While I was working there in the cockpit, I took a look around, and my stomach sank…

My left armrest is torn nearly through, and the right one is starting to crack. This is frustrating because I KNOW I don’t lean on the armrests. At least they aren’t hard to replace. So they’re on order from Van’s. I’m thinking about putting a stainless doubler on the aft end of each armrest.

After coming back the next day, I decided to go ahead and pull the panel back out. I have to do some last wire routing, and change some pins on the VPX.

I had to trim a hole for a USB connection, and I had to cut the hole for the ELT remote panel.

Time: 9:15

Connecting Wing Wiring

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

Wing Prep and Reinstall

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

ELT Wiring and some other things

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

ELT and Fuselage Work

March 5, 2021 – I installed the bracket for the ELT in the tailcone.

The dreaded Van’s ELT/strobe power supply bracket… at least for me, anyway. I didn’t have a good time doing the bracket on the right side for the ADSB, and this one was no different. I learned lessons the first time, so I guess there’s that…

These brackets fit between the stringers just aft of the baggage compartment wall.

I also made the doubler for the ELT antenna. This will go just forward of the vertical stabilizer.

Another project I decided to do was to install a conduit under the left seat and baggage compartment floor for the pitot and AOA tubing from the left wing. It was a drag to have to drill up these panels, but it will be worth it. Once again, I wish I had known back then how things were going to go late in the game.

Time: 6:45