My engine installation and finishing will be far different from most others you will find. First, I purchased an O-320 from a storm-damaged RV-6A, giving me completed baffles, engine mount already on the engine, and many other parts such as oil cooler, exhaust, nose gear and main wheels/tires, and some of the hoses. This makes the installation of the engine far easier than most installations.
Secondly, at least as of this writing, we will NOT be using Van's canopy system. As I understand it, this is one of the hardest things to install on the entire aircraft. My partner, Larry, and I plan on using a completely new all carbon fiber canopy system being developed. We will have the first production model. This appears to be a GREAT improvement over the standard system; 12 pounds lighter, 1 1/2 times stronger, and over 80 hours less work. Cost is the only negative as we see it. STAY TUNED if you are interested. This will probably happen in mid February, 2005. I will have pictures and progress on the whole thing.
January 22, 2005. Already about 12 hours have been dedicated to installing the engine. This was documented on the Fuselage page. So, we begin with the aircraft on the wheels with engine mounted.
March 23, 2005. The last two months have been a mixed bag of
work--harder to keep track of than when working on one component.
Basically, we have split our time between the fuselage and
finishing when the weather was warm enough to work in the garage
and the wings when the weather was cold. I moved one wing at a
time into the living room (see the Wing
Progress page for details.
Finishing work has included installing the XCOM-760 comm radio,
the six-pack in the panel, the transponder, ignition switch and
master, the fuse panel, the AF-2500 (aka ACS-2002) engine
monitor, AvMap IV GPS, Trio AP, switches, and other electrical stuff. I designed and
fabricated a drawer to fit under the panel. Larry will do most
of the wiring. Also we have mounted the oil cooler and cleaned
up the cooling baffles, along with other engine-related work. We
have decided to go with the new carbon fiber canopy system.
Some of the "differences" that I feel are significant from most
panels out there are the quick release mount for the GPS, the
drop down fuse panel, and the use of XLR power outlets for ANR
headsets and other stuff requiring 12v power. The need for the
quick release should be obvious; I don't plan on always leaving
it in the plane. It will come out in a couple of seconds. The
drop down fuse panel saves space, weight, wiring length, and is
totally out of the way, yet accessible in seconds. It allows
changing fuses without loosening your belt. The XLR's seem like
a good idea as I use Senheiser headsets that come with XLR
connectors for 12v. Also, the "cigaret lighter" type are always
coming loose. I plan on carrying an XLR-to-lighter adapter for
the occasional need for that outlet. It should fit in the map
drawer.
Other finishing items include mounting the throttle, mixture and
carb heat cables and making a two-switch (AP shutoff and PTT)
pistol-grip stick handle out of red cedar. Like the RV, I like
the way cedar permeates the air!
Panel thoughts: Spend more time thinking than cutting holes. Use
www.epanelbuilder.com. Plan ahead and mount things like your GPS
temporarily, if there is a chance you will upgrade soon. Spend
more time thinking than cutting holes. I feel it is a good idea
to put your "6-pack" into a subpanel. With that subpanel removed,
you can reach inside to work on and wire almost all your other
avionics. It allows changing part of you panel without having to
make a whole new panel. Fuses seem to be the way to go. Switches
on a subpanel also allows for easier changes in the future. Spend
more time thinking than cutting holes. Buying wiring harnesses
is a great way to save time and aggravation. KISS is a good
thought, but it doesn't apply to aircraft instrument panels. And
oh, yes--spend more time thinking than cutting holes.
Estimated finish work in the last two months: Larry 10 hours, me 50.
Mar 29, Most of the last week has been spent on the right wing, but in finishing I wired some on the AF-2500 and have begun to insulate the firewall. I am VERY impressed with both the AF-2500 and the company that makes it. I also finished mounting the Narco 111 (yes, it's old) Nav unit in the bottom center of the six-pack. I figure the VOR is basically a backup nav system in most of the flying that I do now, so until I need a unit with GS, the Narco will do just fine. And at $100, I could almost afford it. My time, 10 hours (total so far in finishing 70 hours and for the project 1050 hours. Not too bad for having a plane on the wheels with the engine mounted and partially wired.)
Mar 30-Apr 4, The XCOM-760 came on today for the first time. Most of the wiring is connected to the AF-2500. I haven't been able to update it to vs 3.0 software, apparently due to not liking my Dell Latitude laptop. The company has had this happen before and doesn't know why. Only Dell Latitudes with windoze 2000. Anyway, put in another 15 hours on finishing work.
Apr 5-Apr 21, Drug the desktop computer out, and sure enough, the ACS-2002 became an AF-2500. Now have everything hooked up except the fuel tanks and trim indicators. Have cleaned up most everything behind the panel. FWF, I have the throttle and mixture control hooked up and all the pass-throughs done except the mixture. Everything is smooth and tight. Now have very little to do FWF; new hoses for the oil cooler, connecting the primer system and making a bracket for one exhaust system support are about all that remains. That is probably a gross understatement, but it is getting close, anyway. Me 60 hours, Larry 10.
Finishing tip #1: With the plane on the wheels, weight the tail so that the whole assembly is nearly balanced. Push the tail down and it stays; ditto with the nose. Working on the underside of the engine is MUCH easier with the tail low, yet in moments you can have the nose wheel back on the ground. I used a couple of auto batteries and sand bags used for building the flaps. MAKE SURE ANY BATTERIES ARE FREE OF ACID!
Apr 22-Apr 30, Have replaced the oil cooler lines, installed the fuel primer solenoid, and secured a few more things. Avionics wise, I have installed the antennas (comm & xponder) and installed the nav hook-up cable to the wing root. The pilot PTT is hooked up and the GPS now talks to the AP. Installed the brake lines from the fuse to the wheels and installed the brakes. Cranked the engine over with the starter for the first time. I am enjoying this stage, even though nothing big seems to be getting done. If you aren't a "detail person," this might be harder for you but I like tedious things. Me 35 hours, Larry 5.
May 1-May 14, Made and installed the brackets to attach the corners of the instrument panel. Cleaned the floor and installed soundproofing. Painted and installed the fuel selector front and top covers, the panels in front of the spar and the center floor cover panel. Installed the fuel lines from the fuel selector to the electric fuel pump and on to the gascolator. Installed it and made an extension so it will extend through the bottom of the cowl. All gas lines done except for the line from the engine FP to the pressure transducer. Made the pilot side floor mat (surplus from a Mercedes 300E parts car.) Installed most of the panel labels. Re-routed wiring so amp gauge will show amps to the battery minus amps to the instruments, giving a neutral number during normal operation and a negative number with alt failure. Have one side of the firewall sound-proofed. Larry 4 hours, me 30. May 15, May22, More soundproofing done, "eye-ball" vents installed, wiring done except for flaps and trim. Floor center section in place and painted, along with fuel pump cover. Firewall is finished except for heater control valve. Me 15 hours, Larry 4
May 22-July 15, Work slowed considerably due to the illness of my mother. She moved in with us (at age 91) in April and broke her hip May 11. We have done our best to help her, but yesterday was forced to place her in a health care facility. It was not an easy choice. Anyway, in the interim we have mounted the wings and drilled them and done tons of "little" things toward finishing the plane. Larry has been a great help as for once he had more time than I. As it stands now, all the wiring is done except possibly adding a couple of panel lights. Everything seems to work! I covered the instrument panel in tan leather and I believe it looks very nice. No glare, also. Much of the soundproofing is done, carpet installed, rudder hooked up and we are ready to install the canopy. Ours will be the FIRST carbon fiber canopy system, and we expect to install it Monday, July 18. It shouldn't take over a few hours. Go to our canopy page for details. Total effort in these weeks; me 50 hours, Larry 30.
July 16-Sept 15. Up until late August, not much was done on the
project. My mother died July 26th (8/9/13 - 7/26/05) and the
long illness and subsequent dealing with the estate kept me very
busy. Mom lived a great life, we miss her, but considering her
age and infirmaties, it was her time. I did make it to Oshkosh
one day, a much needed break from the ordeal.
Finishing wise, we have been going over the plane looking for
"small stuff" that may have been missed. A nutplate here, a
rivet there. Added quick connects for the AOA and pitot at the
wing root. Installed the rudder cable to pedal links. Acquired
a "glow strip" light from SteinAir for the panel. Things looking
pretty well. Actually did more on the wings (see) Me 40 hours,
Larry 20.
Sept 16, Got the finish kit, or at least those parts we needed. Deleted the canopy, engine mount, wheels, tires, brakes and associated items as we have those already. Came in a pretty small box!
Sept 17-Oct 17, Well into the finish kit. Installed the fles
brake lines, nose gear leg fairing, partially done on the nose
wheel fairing, have one main wheel fairing ready to install
(halves together and pinholes fixed) and the other wheel fairing
nearly the same. Have the tail fairing filled and sanded. None
of this has taken all that much time.
On to the cowl. The cowl is mounted! We still have to epoxy and
rivet the hinges (we are using Van's standard cowl mounting) to
the cowl, but it fits. Pretty nice fit, although it does take
some time. A couple of tips: When you replace the hinge pins
that come with the hinges with the steel ones that Van provides,
you will get a little play in the hinge. When drilling the
hinge-to-cowl holes, have the slacktaken out or the finished
product will gap more than you planned. We wedged shims into the
hinge. Tip #2, DO NOT follow Van's instructions for thinning
epoxy to fill pinholes in the fiberglass. After waiting for a
week for it to set, I called someone who knows about such things.
He said it changes the chemistry, and you have a mess. Glad I
only tried about one square foot, as that took too much time to
remove. If you need to thin the epoxy, he recommended a heat gun
to about 160 degrees f. Haven't tried that yet.
The new canopy tooling will be finished the week and that remains
as about the only major project. Oh yes, did install the Trio
altitude hold. Very easy job, perhaps three hours total.
Talking to a painter today. Painting does scare me. Over the
month, I put in 100 hours, Larry 24.
Oct 17, Nov 2, Decided to go with the painter we talked with. We
went back to the wings and tail and did quite a few things to get
them ready; stripping off the last "blue," double checking
everything, mounting the pitot tube, removing the flaps and
ailerons, etc. Will report on painting progress.
Finishing up the cowl. Filling imperfections, etc. We went with
an inside release for the horizontal hinge pins (the ones between
the upper and lower halves.) Basically, I ran a 1/4X28 bolt
through the firewall as close to the edge as possible. Most of
the bolt head was machined off. It has a hinge pin sized hole
through it slightly off center (nearer to the edge of the
firewall) and the pin extends back through the next bulkhead. No
outside screws, impossible for the pin to go forward into the
prop, and still quite simple. From the bulkhead to the bolt
through the firewall we ran a plastic tube so the pin goes in
easily. Oh ,yes. Also filled the pinholes in the tail fairing
and main gear pants. Not fun work. Carbon fiber canopy tooling
finished and we are awaiting the finished product. Me 40 hours,
Larry 12.
Nov 2, Dec 20, Lots of little things are coming together,
although not as quickly as I would like. Weather isn't
cooperating here in Indiana. Colder than normal, which isn't
good for an unheated garage. Nonetheless, we have accomplished
some things.
The wings and tail came out wonderful! Our painter really did
his homework on working with bare aluminum (he had only ever repainted
planes before.) VERY happy with the work, and it was reasonable.
The wings are at the airport and the tail is on the fuse here at
home. Decided to go with vinyl for all second/third color
graphics. May get a computer cutter and do a little for others.
Since I used to run a commercial art business it kinda makes
sence.
Installed the heater and associated items. Should have done that
long before the engine was installed as it was very difficult to
get everything in and the holes drilled. Don't do it like we
did!
I spent way too much time filling pinholes on the cowl. I am not
done yet, and have spent many days. I will admit I am being a
bit picky, but after I painted the tail fairing (I am painting
some of the small stuff, the painter doing big items) I found a
few that I had missed. Actually, they weren't hard to find!
Take your time.
I have fitted the main gear pants and installed the fiberglass lower
wheel to gear fairing. Got it from fairings-etc and was very
pleased. Me 80 hours, Larry 30.
Dec 21, Jan 15, GOT a vinyl cutter! Did the tail numbers and
some of the decal work and covered the complete rudder and elevator
tips in vinyl. Not perfect, but then again, it wouldn't have
been perfect if I'd painted it, either. Really a good way to go,
or so it would appear. If you are considering using vinyl for
your trim colors, contact me. I plan on doing a few planes to
cover my costs. Have already "sold" a job on a Glastar. Will be
considerably cheaper than others. I can do your tail numbers
(3") for $15.00/pair, including US shipping. Right now I have
black, bright blue and warm red (somewhere between red and
orange, nice color.) I can order other colors.
Working on pinholes (still!) and finishing everything under the
top deck, getting ready for the canopy. Hope to install it this
next week. Will have details on the "Carbon Fiber Canopy" page.
Have done some final assembly and should soon be ready for
fuselage painting. I may not have the slider painted, just so
that the carbon shows up. I would paint it later. One trick we
figured out; the gear is a little wide to fit between the wheel
wells on Larry's trailer. When the plane is off the ground, the
gear is narrower. We removed the brake calipers and put eye
bolts through the guide holes and put a strap between the wheels.
it holds them close enough together to easily load the fuselage.
Something to consider when transporting everything. Me, 25
hours, Larry 5 hours.
Jan 16, Jan 31 Pinholes all done on the cowl, and I couldn't be
happier. That is a chore. Put a final coat of primer over
everything and I think it will paint out very well. Have riveted
the right half of the top deck but am leaving the left half loose
as I had to send the Dynon D-10A back for repair and want the
open area to make re-installation easier. It should be back
today or tomorrow. Have finished everything under the deck, and
there were more little things to do than I had thought; wires to
secure, cleaning, checking static lines, etc.
The windscreen part of the canopy is here (see
the Canopy page
for details. I won't install it until the Dynon is in. The
slider will be here shortly, but there is no hurry as our painter
won't be able to paint for 3-4 weeks. Me, 30 hours, Larry 8.
Feb 22, Cold weather has slowed progress somewhat, but we have finished the top deck and the insulation under it. The Dynon is in place and working as it should. Their service is just great! I am working on the front wheel pant, getting it ready to paint. All the pitot and static connections checked out fine. I made a tow bar out of scrap non-aircraft tubing and some old ultralight fittings. I would recommend having one just as soon as you mount the engine as it really makes moving the fuse a lot easier. Have spent some time doing "final" checks on engine components and other systems. Found a missing oil pan bolt, of all things. Think at one time a starter wire support was there and removed when we bought the engine. Me 40 hours, Larry 12.
Mar 31, Haven't been that productive. Have been working with missionaries quite a bit and had a system drive failure in my editing machine. The frustration level reached new highs working on that. I have finished the baggage area and much of the cockpit area (paint and etc as all the mechanical stuff was done.) The canopy was held up by illness and organizational issues with the manufacturer. Setting up a good manufacturing site is no small deal. I have gone over many "completed" areas and haven't found many squacks, which makes me pretty happy. I have done some decal work for other people; tail numbers for a push-pull Cessna and duplicates of the original factory stripes for a Globe Swift. If you know someone with a Swift, the hard work (doing the art) is done and I can cut a set easily. Me 20 hours, Larry 0.
June 1, Lots of time has past. The plane is at her new home, OVO (North Vernon AP, North Vernon, IN) and it is strange to have a real two-car garage. Most of the time has been spent on the canopy. While installing the composite canopy system (CCS) is a really quick thing to do, there was a lot of re-engineering to get to this point. Also we had some wait time, waiting for the painter to get ready for us. Now, let me tell you about the trip. Make sure your trailer is wide enough! Going to the painter, it was marginal at best. The wheels were lashed to uprights which were too near the edge, making it an uncomfortable trip. From the painter to the AP, Larry had widened the trailer and it was MUCH less stressful. We are waiting a few days for the paint to cure before starting any serious assembly. Times are a guess this time, but I suppose I have put in 50 hours and Larry 10.
Aug 11, Again, lots of time has past. "Metal Exercise" looks more and more like an airplane, and the parts bin is getting nearly empty. The tail is on, the wings are on (but only with the "hardware store" bolts at present,) and all of the controls are rigged. The flaps were easier than I had expected. We have found a few points that rubbed and took a little work with a file, but all in all everything has gone well. The vinyl is on making it look almost finished. Still to go are final mounting of the wings, plumbing, brake fluid, and all the little checks and tests. There is still considerable wiring to hook up; lights, strobes, etc. The trim (electric to both ailerons and elevator) work and read properly. Larry hasn't been able to help out much as his back has been "out." It is better now.
Oshkosh was a blast as it always is. Went for a week instead of my usual 3 days. Thought I might not walk as far or get as sore. HA!! DID finally get up in a 9A! Probably the easiest plane I ever flew. Absolutely splendid.
Haven't spent that much time in the last two months, about 30 for me and 10 for Larry.
Oct 22, Final assembly has been difficult at times. We have finished most of the systems but have ran into a few really difficult problems that have taken more time than we planned for. Completed items include: The brakes. Not too big a deal, although one side did have an air bubble that was hard to bleed. We added fluid from the wheels yet somehow one airlocked. Fixed now. Wings are permanently mounted. Used dry ice on the bolts but they were still hard. Putting on the bottom nuts was a real pain! Propeller is on, torqued and safety wired. Wingtips are installed. Strobes on and working. So are the nav lights and landing lights. Broken transponder antenna replaced. Steps removed and repainted, reinstalled. All control linkages torqued. Fuel plumbing hooked up. ENGINE STARTED!!
There began the problems. The first two starts were trouble-free. With the third start, the carb leaked fuel and ran rich. Classic needle/seat problem, right? Wrong. After replacing them, nothing changed. We went over EVERYTHING to no avail. I had noticed a small worn dimple where the float pushed up on the needle, but our A&P said that shouldn't cause it. Well, it did. After replacing the float, everything seems to be working. I will really test this, however. All this took over a week. Now we will set the timing, idle and mixture. We did order an E-Mag for the left side. Don't know if that will go on before the first flight or not. BTW, it taxis nicely.
We have contacted an AB-DAR. Things are getting close. It is so good to hear her run!