tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38529621463420091452024-03-12T19:13:10.104-05:00Operation "RV-10"Van's RV-10 Experimental Aircraft Build LogJustinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-41401270891055631612019-06-16T18:08:00.000-05:002019-06-29T11:32:59.650-05:00DebriefEnthusiastically I now consider Operation "RV-10" a success! What started as a project in my garage is now a fully functional and rather capable 4 place aircraft that I will enjoy for the years to come. The entire process is a learning experience and I've made some fantastic friends throughout the process. A lot of blood, sweat and tears (literally) has gone into the production of this aircraft.<br />
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The capstone activity for my build was the painting of N10JW. This was something I didn't want to try and tackle on my own and selected <a href="https://www.gloaircraftpainting.com/">Glo Aircraft Painting</a> to do the chore. Mark and his team worked with me on the design which I based off some pictures of some RV-10s out of Brazil. They were able to replicate the clean lines and put their own touches along with a high level of attention to detail. This included some stenciling, hardware replacement and other features which just brought it up to a show quality level. The end result is nothing less than phenomenal!<br />
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<span id="goog_1942891865"></span>Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-82904352812018488602019-04-16T09:56:00.003-05:002019-04-18T08:56:57.529-05:00Phase I - Flight TestingOn April 12th I completed my 40 hours of Phase I flight testing, allowing me now to operate the plane in a normal manner consistent with a traditionally certified airplane. I was a bit naive with this stage of building thinking I would just start the plane up and go fly for 40 hours. This wasn't the case and it really was a bit of a struggle, causing me to shift paint to the right by about a month.<br />
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I framed my test flights around the <a href="https://www.eaa.org/Shop/ProductCatalog/Product.aspx?ID=2695484&SubTopicID=941">EAA Flight Test Manual</a> which has a layout of 18 individual flight plans. This resource was worth the nominal cost and helps first time test pilots such as myself get a bit more comfortable with the process and have a structured approach. In the end it took me 20 flights to accomplish all the testing outlined in the manual as well as the testing specific to my build and system setup.<br />
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On top of the flying I had substantial maintenance activities to attend to. These ranged from system configurations, part replacement to additional fiberglass work. The idea of just jump in and fly with no issues wasn't the case with my build. Working through the bugs and squawks seems to have taken as much time on the ground as I spent flying the plane. Even today I have a handful of items I'll continue to work through before paint. None of these are airworthy items, just things I want to deal with at some point. I guess this is why people say that "<i>the building is never done"</i>.<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-6099149160111395162019-02-10T15:50:00.002-06:002019-02-10T15:50:29.092-06:00DAR InspectionAs of 2/9/2019, N10JW is a legitimate airplane, complete with it's own Airworthiness certification. Happy to say she successfully passed with no major issues. The DAR was fantastic throughout the process, fielding the numerous questions I had as well as helping with the completion of all the fun FAA paperwork!<br />
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For the actual inspection he gave me to posture of the plane prior to coming out. Basically access panels removed, empennage fairing with no screws, baggage panels removed, but the engine cowled up. He spent about 45 mins looking over the plane, we also removed the cowling so he could see the engine. All in all I had 5 or so items he wanted me to double check and made some great suggestions.<br />
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We then went back to the heated FBO where he looked at my build log (this site), FAA forms and made all the appropriate entries. He also walked me through the special airworthiness certificate which now also includes operating limitations. After everything was completed and explained we took the obligatory inspection picture and now I'm clear to fly! (Going to wait till I made a few corrections as well as run through 138 item condition checklist)<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-56780033599797614192019-02-02T15:22:00.004-06:002019-02-02T15:22:46.340-06:00Ready for inspection Sir!After 3 years and 5 months and 1380 hours of actual construction time N10JW is ready for inspection! It's a bit surreal to be 'completed' with the construction phase and ready for the DAR inspection and forthcoming 1st flight!<br />
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The journey will continue - dealing with the inevitable squawks, 40 hours of flight testing and eventual painting. I'm anxious but am looking forward to that over bucking rivets and playing with fiberglass!<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-63438658039133545732019-01-18T17:06:00.000-06:002019-01-18T17:06:12.139-06:00Finished Interior & Finish Line Punch List<h2>
<b>Finished Interior</b></h2>
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WIWf4U4U_-E/XEJRoBHxD3I/AAAAAAAAHU8/VWPuLszGaYQnbcTplPq7S2jRUlA_I26OgCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0861.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-WIWf4U4U_-E/XEJRoBHxD3I/AAAAAAAAHU8/VWPuLszGaYQnbcTplPq7S2jRUlA_I26OgCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0861.jpg" width="320" /></a>Throughout the build I've posted various pictures of the interior during the different stages. Today I did some of the final placarding and cleaning. I essentially went with the full interior from <a href="https://www.aerosportproducts.com/">Aerosport Products</a>. Their products and service is top notch, they even helped me figure out color scheme and stand behind their products. Case in point I broke one of the control horns for the rudder trim, they sent me a replacement, no questions asked.<br />
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The panel, everything mounted in it and the harnesses were all done by <a href="https://www.steinair.com/">Steinair Inc</a>. Likewise they were immensely helpful working with me on the design and what components to use. They fielded numerous calls from me on all sorts of questions which really helped with the moderately painful process of getting everything wired up. I've done plenty of system tests and have had zero issues with the harness. I've had issues but it's always been something that I did incorrectly.<br />
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Here is a good set of photos taken today...<br />
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<h2 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Punch List</h2>
I see the finish line but I'm not there yet. I'm down to a handful of things, some have to be done before final inspection and a few things can be done while I'm flying.<br />
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<li><b>Fiberglass Work </b>- I had to revisit some of my previous fiberglass work and essentially make a larger gap between the prop bulkhead and intakes. That's completed but something I need to do now is move my RamAir intake inlet back a bit. Where it is now and the width of the prop would cause an issue at full pitch. Will take a bit of time but not overly worried about doing it.</li>
<li><b>Control Cable Bracket </b>- You can see in previous entries what I did to mount the control cables. Based on my engine runs I wasn't happy with the movement. It's not really linear and the throttle cable conflicts with the fuel and AC lines. Following the plans that Larry put out on <a href="http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=133473">VAF</a> I'm going to fabricate a new one. This will move the mixture and throttle to the same side, correcting the hose conflict. It will also put the cable in the direct position for proper push-and-pull function.</li>
<li><b>FWF Work </b>- There are several tasks I need to complete as a result of the primary engine tests. One is to install the new Oil Cooler that Bill from AirFlow Systems promptly replaced. I'll need to drop the fuel servo to connect cable bracket I'm going to make and then set all the proper cable throws. Then it's time to work on my safety wiring skills on both the alternator bracket and propeller hub. I'm also going to figure out a method to cover the firewall mounted shunts with something non-conductive just as a protective measure.</li>
<li><b>Weight & Balance </b>- Once all the above is done I will then commission the help of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reliablemx/">Brian</a> and his guys to get her weighed and see the result of all the extras I bolted on.</li>
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That's about it prior to my inspection. I've already been in contact with the DAR and he's helping me ensure I have the information to have everything ready. There are several other things that I plan on doing during phase one and prior to paint. I'm slated for paint in April so my hope is a few months to conduct Phase 1 and wrap up any immediate things I want to do. A new W&B will be done after paint so if I add a few things here and there then it will all be accounted for then.</div>
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<li><b>91.411/413 Tests - </b>These are your altimeter, static and transponder tests. Because this is an IFR capable traveling machine, I will need these before flying into controlled airspace or filing IFR anywhere. If I can get these done prior to flying I will try, however no one on the field does it and I can't seem to find anyone in the OKC area that will travel out and do these.</li>
<li><b>Air-conditioner </b>- You can see my receiver air transitions poking through the top of the bulkhead. Again working with Bill to get some covers that will slide on the top of these and finish them out a bit. Additionally I may change up the way I have my air delivery to include a cabin flood vent along with the overhead air. Additionally I'll need to connect all the lines and charge the system. I don't plan on doing that however until it warms up.</li>
<li><b>Parking Brake</b> - I have a parking brake installed. It's not leaking however I haven't tightened the control cable. This I'll probably connect and test prior to flying but it's not really a priority until I start parking at random airports.</li>
<li><b>Fabricate/Install Gustlock </b>- Seems there are several systems out there for gust locks. I've seen <a href="http://www.nwacaptain.com/rudder_lock.html">Greg's solution</a> a number of times and it's really slick. I've ordered the pieces so at some point will get this on the plane as my gust lock solution. I'm going to start just with the rudder lock.</li>
<li><b>Wash Exterior </b>- This plane is absolutely filthy! There is hangar dust on every service of her and she could use a good bath. I'm not worried about scratches and what not that will get fixed during paint but I guess I would gain a good knot or two with a proper wipe down.</li>
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I'm sitting at 1359 hours spent on actual construction activities right now. With what I have left above to do I'm going to guess I'll be done somewhere around 1400 hours. That's with the quickbuild so if I hadn't done that I would be maybe halfway through.</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-79528508185192084702019-01-16T20:58:00.003-06:002019-01-20T17:54:26.819-06:00Fuel & Engine TestsReally nothing motivates you more than having an almost complete airplane in your hangar. If I'm not working, doing family stuff or sleeping... and it's decent weather out (anything sub 40 is not decent) then I'm out at the hangar working on the plane.<br />
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The idea of testing something I've put together gives me a bit of anxiety. I've read countless posts and write ups on the various testing and even began to write out my own test plan based on other people's write ups. In my searches I came across the recently released <a href="https://www.eaa.org/shop/ProductCatalog/Product.aspx?ID=2695484&SubTopicID=957">EAA Flight Test Manual.</a> I assumed this took far more man hours to create by experts knowing what they're doing and for $18 you can't go wrong. Not writing a review on the product but can tell you it helped me wrap my head around some things from what I would consider a definitive source. They're also very clear that your testing actually should build upon this base for your specific project. For example Yaw Damper testing isn't covered. So if you have that it should be worked in once you know the plane can fly and land safely.<br />
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The first two tests they recommend doing is the Fuel and First Engine Start. I'm going to apologize I don't have pictures detailing much of this process. During both evolution's I was too focused on the event themselves rather than taking pictures.<br />
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Fuel Test </h3>
I was well prepared for this. I picked up two 5 gallon Jerry cans, weighted each, put 2 gallons of each and then weighted that. My idea was I would run those two gallons out time it and then extrapolate the results. That would also give me the weight of any fuel left in the tanks. That was the idea at least.<br />
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I set the nose at about 5% nose high. I've seen pictures of people putting their plane in all sorts of pitches to ensure it runs. That's probably important for acrobatic tests, I'm going to guess it's not needed on a cross-country machine as it also wasn't suggested in the EAA Test Cards.<br />
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With the plane set up and the fuel line disconnected from the mechanical pump I was ready to get to test. With the bucket and timer set I hit the boost pump. It kicked on right away and... well nothing. No gas, didn't seem like any air was running out.. a big flat zero flow.<br />
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No gas, is no good so I got to troubleshooting. Did everything from switching tanks, to checking lines to adding more fuel (throwing off my scientific weight tests). I ran low pressure air up through the system and confirmed not only was the fuel selector correctly plumbed but there was no type of blockage. I fiddled with things more having no luck.<br />
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I made the assumption that given the low wing nature and that the pump hadn't been run with fuel that it was as they call it 'airlocked'. I ended up using a shop vac to suck some fuel out from the front. Put the pump on and walla! Fuel! ummm lots of it.<br />
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Because I was turn on and turn off the boost pump at this point I had given up on timing anything. I also spilled a bit of fuel at the wing root, under the seats, ect... so my weights would have been off anyhow. I let the pump run on the right tank for a bit, along with the fuel there was an oily mess that I assume was from the pickling of the boost pump.. may or may not have been an issue on the initial priming.<br />
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For the other tank I did the timing and ran it for exactly 1 min. Weighted the contents minus the bucket and came up with close to 7 pounds. Extrapolate that out and it's roughly 60 GPH. Per the EAA guide they recommend 150% of your max anticipated fuel flow. The lycoming manual provided some ranges and the max I saw was 28 GPH so I needed to be at least 42 GPH which I was above so I called it good.<br />
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Should also not that I had no leaks until I connected it all back up and ran it through to the servo. I apparently forgot to double check the servo connection so it pissed some fuel out past the nose gear. Once that was tightened again no leaks and was getting ample fuel pressure.<br />
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Now I have to revisit the usable fuel test. At this point I'll run both tanks dry and measure what's left via volume instead of weight. I don't anticipate much given others experience with the RV-10.<br />
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<h3>
First Engine Start</h3>
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After another few weeks of hangar sessions it was time to test the engine for the first time. Hey at least I know it has fuel! Everything else, not so sure on. I reached out to my local A&P to get assistance from him and his shop. I also had some questions I wanted to bounce off of him and as always he was extremely accommodating. If you ever need a shop in the Oklahoma City area I highly suggest Brian Butler and his guys at <a href="https://www.facebook.com/reliablemx/">Reliable Aircraft Maintenance</a> out at KHSD (Sundance). These guys are the best hands down!</div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_AETNhDVDnY/XD_XTo2rrPI/AAAAAAAAHUQ/HPcz8tNHi2o1OT7zfZ2raLanUr4qUhKMQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0783%25281%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_AETNhDVDnY/XD_XTo2rrPI/AAAAAAAAHUQ/HPcz8tNHi2o1OT7zfZ2raLanUr4qUhKMQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0783%25281%2529.JPG" width="320" /></a>Okay back on track, Brian and his crew looked over the engine and got it ready for the first start. Unfortunately the starter wouldn't actually spin the bendix. It would extend as it should but then just "click-click-click."</div>
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Worked with Brian, walking through things I wired up and how certain parts were connected. It ended up being the ground I hooked directly up to the Starter on apparently the wrong place. So if someone tells you to hang a ground off a Sky-Tec starter where there's a boot covering the black wire... they're wrong. You could probably hook it directly up to one of the other holes on the starter but I decided to just bolt this ground directly to a close by engine bolt, away from any arcing danger. So now I have dual engine grounds!</div>
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We finally got the prop to start spinning. They ran it through with the bottom plugs to build up oil pressure and that's when the next issue occurred. My oil cooler actually had a small really hard to see pin hole in it. Called Bill from <a href="https://www.airflow-systems.com/category/aircraft-oil-coolers/">Airflow Systems</a> and he's sending me a replacement, even offered to do next day. I declined next day as it's about to get sub 40 which means I'm not working on plane stuff unless it's either inside the plane or homework activities. The leak isn't big and no clue how it happened but in the end Bill stands by all his products and is always great to talk with. We just threw a connector on the two oil hoses so we could continue with the engine start, minus the oil cooler.</div>
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We did a series of three starts actually. The first start seemed a bit high on the RPMs so he shut it down in about 5 seconds. Made some throttle adjustments and ran it again, this time I couldn't find the RPM so we instead tested the alternators and looked at what was showing up on the EFIS. This run was about 30 seconds. I went into the G3X configuration and changed up the RPM settings and alternator screens for the last run.</div>
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The last and longest run was about 3 mins which was the max I wanted to go. Even though this engine spent time on a test cell I still plan on using ground runs very sparingly. Engine started great, EFIS engine readings were solid minus RPM (Now know I put the sensor on the wrong part of the mag), Alternator Shunts (Emailed the Garmin folks to validate how it should be set up to see amps, volts were showing correctly but 0 amps). The most important part was the engine ran, nothing blew up and it was down right amazing to see it all! Here's a picture of technically the first spin, with the plugs out to build up oil pressure.</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-44219680330515125142019-01-02T16:44:00.000-06:002019-01-02T16:44:59.705-06:00RiggingHappy New Year! It's cold outside which by default makes it a non-build day. So I thought I would do a quick update on where I'm at with rigging. This is something I've worked with on and off since I attached the wings but I wasn't particularly happy with it so decided to start from scratch and follow a process. Should also note the plans come with a very handy table in Section 5 that state the distances in degrees that your surfaces should move. This is handy to ensure you have enough travel. Here is the order I did everything in:<br />
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<li><b>Elevator -</b> I started by working the elevator rigging so I could lock pitch in neutral for the rest of the rigging. Problem encountered was that my control stick was hitting the front panel. It was just barely hitting since I could put a bit of roll in the controls and it would stop just left or right of center. Either way I needed to put a bit of a bend in the sticks to allow full movement. Now the controls are all free and clear, with the only obstructions being my legs or crotch. Once the elevator was set I locked it into neutral via some tape and moved on.</li>
<li><b>Flaps </b>- I wanted to ensure my flaps were set correctly even though I previously set them. Using my digital level I wasn't happy with my angle. You're looking for a 3 degree reflex on full up position. This is also when the flaps are even with the bottom of the fuselage. I think I ended up with about 3.2%. The difference is so minimal that I doubt it mattered. Also you'll want to put a bit of upward pressure because in flight the wind will be doing that. Takes a bit of fiddling but with the VPX you can adjust the stop point rather than tweaking the control arm.</li>
<li><b>Ailerons - </b>The Ailerons should be in line with the flaps. I double checked they were in the neutral position with the template you get from vans. They were and in fact they were inline with the flaps and fairly close to the wingtip. The right one was a bit off, not in neutral position but where the control rod connects on the root. I remember doing this solo and it was hard to get the template in the wing root and adjust the rod. The solution was to lock the left aileron with a clamp. Then the right one, ensuring it still in neutral position and then make adjustments on the rod end.</li>
<li><b>Rudder </b>- For good measure I'll include connecting up the rudder which really only involves making a set of brackets. You have some choices from 1" - 2.25". Not knowing what I really wanted I made a bracket out of aluminium with hole spacing to accommodate 1"- 2". I decided for me who likes to have full rudder authority that 1.75" was the best spacing. That allows me to have solid rudder control without having to have the seat pulled all the way forward.</li>
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I'm sure you could spend a lot of time trying to get everything within a 1/10th of a degree, or exactly aligned. Anyone who has ever done a preflight on an aircraft will point out there's a bit of play on these surfaces. The plane will find it's equilibrium, you just want to help as much as you can to ensure your first flight will be straight and level as possible. You can always go back and tweak things during Phase 1.</div>
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-28538318977850121422018-12-20T17:26:00.002-06:002019-02-02T15:12:33.620-06:00Wing Attachment<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Section 44</td></tr>
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Being the first time to ever attach wings onto a plane I figured I would diligently follow the steps in order, and sticking to the plans... well that didn't last. My major concern is once you put on the wings the plans have you pull them back off to do some attachments and what have you. Then you push them back in for final bolting. Given the importance of the wings I didn't like that idea, instead I decided to push the wings on and bolt them all down so all my match drilling and what not would be solid and not shift around.<br />
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The problem was that I made everything a bit harder going this route. A lesson learned is I should of drilled the hole for my Pitot/AoA tubes before putting the wings on. That made this a bit harder. Also I should of gone ahead and riveted on the wing root fairing supports. That also became a challenge with the wings attached.<br />
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The biggest time-sink by far on this section is all the drilling, match drilling, nut plates, putting on parts, taking them off, putting them back on ect. You also spent quite a bit of time sanding. You have to sand the inboard edges of the flaps so they fit, you also sand the top and bottom fairings so they fit. It's not hard, just time consuming.<br />
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With the wings attached, and all related parts done I was able to finish wiring routing of the wings. My conduit works out fantastically and was about perfect on size. I had to get creative since I'm putting my OAT by the first access panel on the left wing. This involved drilling a hole in the conduit and fishing the wire so it come from the cabin to that spot. I did the same on the right wing for the trim and trim sensor wires. This kept wires in the conduit and out of the ribs. Below is a picture of the root after I dressed the wires.<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-89903585908365487752018-12-12T11:11:00.002-06:002018-12-12T11:11:49.023-06:00Paperwork & Progress<h2>
Paperwork</h2>
I've really shied away from creating any sort of timeline pressure on this build. I've always wanted to be able to work on the project, or if I felt like it, not touch it for weeks at a time. However that is now over as I've submitting my initial paperwork to the FAA and the clock is ticking!<br />
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I dug out the 'Step-by-Step Certification Guide' that had been sitting in my office for the last 3 years and gave it a look through. Not sure if EAA still offers these, but for the $12 or so it cost it's well worth it. You can find similar information out just searching but the guide shows you examples and literally is a checklist for the process. In short here is what I sent off the to FAA:<br />
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<li>AC Form 8050-1 Aircraft Registration Application: This came with the above mentioned EAA guide, however you can also go to your local FSDO and pick one up. If you've ever bought or sold an airplane it will look familiar. Whatever information you put on this will need to match your airplane info; builder, serial, model. For me I kept it pretty basic (Last Name, First Name, Builder Number, RV-10)</li>
<li> FAA Form 8050-2 Aircraft Bill of Sale: You request this through Vans ensuring you give them the same information you're using on the 8050. It all has to match.</li>
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<li> FAA Form 8050-88 Affidavit of Ownership for Amateur Built Aircraft: I downloaded and filled out this form. It has to be notarized as well.</li>
<li>$5 Check</li>
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Make copies of the above and mail to the FAA PO Box on the forms. Being local I took it to the actual post office where the PO Box is. I still had to pay for shipping but I assume it made it to the box safe and sound. It's suggested you give them around 90 days to process this through. I'm aiming for a March/April first flight so my plan is to submit the next batch of paperwork (Special Airworthiness Certificate) in about a month.<br />
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Progress</h2>
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bGVpe73FgCQ/XBEt_E16npI/AAAAAAAAHQk/yc9TgCI1u9MCEKpYYpM-pVL-mxT2RNpQwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0866.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-bGVpe73FgCQ/XBEt_E16npI/AAAAAAAAHQk/yc9TgCI1u9MCEKpYYpM-pVL-mxT2RNpQwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0866.JPG" width="320" /></a>With the weather getting near or below freezing I've not been going to the hangar on a daily basis as I did the first week. That hasn't slowed me down because on top of doing paperwork, planning and ordering odds and ins I've been doing my 'Homework'. In fact one of my homework items was to finish up lights for the wing tips and clean up the empennage fairing.<br />
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This, as with most fiberglass was a fairly tedious cycle of sanding, filling, sanding, ect. Particular to the wing tip lights there was a lot of sanding to get the cutout hole the exact size without having it too large. This is done with 150 grit or so slide between the light and the side and just worked around until you have the spacing you want. Because of the temps I had to move the project out of the garage and into the kitchen so everything cures correctly.<br />
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My only complaint is the CS pull rivets were not long enough to capture the inside mount. This was mainly due to me building up the inside of the tips for strength. So it's not as smooth as I would like, however once painted I doubt it will bother me at all. Will be taking these back to the hangar now for future wiring.<br />
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Onto hangar activity, I was able to take advantage of a few warm days to work on wing attachment items as well as final fitting the empennage fairing. I am just about done with all wing attachment steps but will make a separate post with pictures once I'm complete. I will however show my variation from the plans with a really good looking aftermarket vent from <a href="https://www.jdair.com/">JD Air</a>.<br />
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The problem I was trying to solve was around fuel vent freezing. If the vent freezes it stops the air into the gas tank which restricts the tanks ability to feed fuel to your engine. That's bad! I was talking to Tom with <a href="https://www.tsflightlines.com/">TSFlightlines</a> about this issue and was thinking of using a check valve or something. He directed me over to JD Air who makes a vent that helps mitigates this problem by having two openings. Not to mention it looks really slick.<br />
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Installation was extremely easy, you just install it to your wing root bottom piece and then bend some 1/4 tubing to connect it all. I had tried to avoid ever making lines but Tom suggested instead of spending $45 on braided lines to connect this that a rigid line was best. Having excluded this material from my kits I went to Ace Hardware and picked up two 12" sections of aluminium tubing for $1.80 a piece. I then swung by Harbor Freight and picked up a $10 bending tool. That along with my 30+ year old flare tool I was able to make some solid first time vent lines which fit perfectly.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H3GZWOObWEE/XBEuAE6bChI/AAAAAAAAHQw/dwtTERzUmxgTRCGvO_-ncBVxOGcxPETxQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-H3GZWOObWEE/XBEuAE6bChI/AAAAAAAAHQw/dwtTERzUmxgTRCGvO_-ncBVxOGcxPETxQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0875.JPG" width="320" /></a>Another item I've spent some time on is the empennage fairing. I've become a bit obsessive compulsive on fiberglass work. From the factory I was happy with the fitting of the fairing and there was a good 1/4 gap between the front of the horizontal stabilizer and the fairing piece. I was able to essentially force it into place but it then required me to rebuild a few of the edges a bit. I also deviated from the plans in terms of attachments. For example I tapped all the holes on the bottom for #6 screws which include the ones that tie into the vertical stabilizer. I also didn't dimple or countersink any portion that was under the fiberglass. For whatever reason there are several holes that the plans ask you to countersink but are covered with fiberglass, which is counters sinked so the piece behind it can be flat. The picture on the above right shows the gap fairing which turned out well.<br />
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I am 31 nut plate installations away from completion of the empennage section. I need to work on some rigging items, connecting the rudders and such but rigging I consider it's own little thing. Here's a good picture of where it sits now.<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-12744638177546942632018-12-02T20:07:00.002-06:002018-12-12T10:33:06.814-06:00Final Assembly Progress<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I've been burning hot on the project since the hangar move last week. Over the course of 7 days I've been able to rack up 32 hours of solid progress towards completion. The airport is a good 25 minutes drive which forces me to be more organized on my work session planning. Because the plane, tools and parts are no longer collocated in my garage, I've been taking things back and forth. At this moment I have the wing tips, landing & nav lights as well as a trimmed, fitted empennage fairing all ready for some finalization. I'm going to save that for later this week when the weather gets below 40. My garage is insulated, my hangar is not making the garage the preferred cold weather activity spot.<br />
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Over the last 7 days I've taken a ground zero approach and started moving through the plans per section ensuring items have been completed. As mentioned last entry I had already noticed some things that I didn't do for whatever reason. I worked all the way through the empennage section through attaching the fairing. I wasn't happy with the fit and trimmed a bit too much off in some places so now I have some fiberglass work to do along with some nut plates and that section will be 100% complete.<br />
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With the wings everything checked out and the only pending items are around the AeroLED light installations. I had <a href="http://operationrv10.blogspot.com/2016/11/landingtaxi-lights-wing-tip.html">modified the wing tip</a> just over two years ago. So once I complete the homework of installing those, the wings will also be done.<br />
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GR6MVG0jcBc/XAQUMisRjkI/AAAAAAAAHQE/wJ5Ox0LL3Igt1RCp51cJu9B--c11m4JsQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GR6MVG0jcBc/XAQUMisRjkI/AAAAAAAAHQE/wJ5Ox0LL3Igt1RCp51cJu9B--c11m4JsQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0849.JPG" width="320" /></a>Onto the fuselage there really wasn't anything that I hadn't already done in the garage for most the sections. In the second to last section the only outstanding item involves riveting the forward tail cone top skin. This is still pending some Air Conditioning items so that's on the side burner and will more than likely be one of the last items completed. The last section however is also the most exciting item of this update involving attachment of the wings. I didn't struggle with this as much as I thought I would, having at least another set of helping hands is a huge benefit. It really deserves it's own log update so once I'm finished up I'll post more later. I have just a handful of steps left, mostly around nut plate installations.<br />
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Once I wrap up the above, my plan is to go through both the finishing and firewall forward sections. As with above it's to ensure completeness and that I hadn't inadvertently missed anything. Just flipping through them though there's little if anything that I'll need to do. Then the focus will be purely on finishing non-structural items in preparation for inspection.<br />
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-3395467426352276872018-11-25T09:18:00.003-06:002018-12-10T21:45:58.047-06:00Moving Day & Final Assembly<h3>
Hangar Move</h3>
After over 3 years of N10JW living in my garage it was time to do the big move. I had completed a majority of my <a href="http://operationrv10.blogspot.com/2018/09/happy-3rd-birthday-hangar-move-punch.html">Hangar Move punch list</a> with only the Air Conditioning items outstanding. I didn't want that to hold up progression so I made the call to go forward with the move.<br />
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The same friends that loaned me a truck last year and helped <a href="http://operationrv10.blogspot.com/2018/01/engine-mounted.html">hang the engine</a> also happen to own a Roll-Back which is a perfect method for moving the chassis. In preparation I pulled her out to my drive way for a couple photos.</div>
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Once Andy got here we talked a bit about it and figured out the best way to pull the plane onto the truck. The plane has an incredibly wide wheel base compared to your average car and we determined there was about 3/4" clearance available on each side. We also decided it would be best to go ahead and remove the wheel pant mounts from the wheel nut to avoid any damage. Once that was done I lined her up and actually laid under the fuselage with a tow bar attached to stear her while she was SLOWLY winched onto the truck.<br />
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Now Andy has some plane part moving experience. He also helped me about a year ago when I moved the wings and the horizontal stabilizer to the hangar. After looking things through decided it was best to do an additional strap on the nose gear, one on each main that would cross and another around the steps to hold it all down.<br />
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Moment of truth came and we pushed on the 20 mile or so journey to the airport. It's a pretty funny sight and being the chase car I enjoyed watching people's reactions to what they were seeing. We also drove no faster than 50 MPH on the highway.<br />
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Unloading was a lot easier than loading. We had her off the truck and in the hangar in about 5 minutes. It was a HUGE relief to have that safely done and quite a project milestone. </div>
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<h2>
Final Assembly</h2>
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I would imagine its hard for any builder to do that move and then just lock up and go home. I had come a bit prepared and brought a number of things from my garage with me so I could get a bit acclimated to everything. From a work prospective, still working off punch lists I now have it divided into 'Final Assembly' and 'Home Work'. Some things like say the wing tips, I can finish up in my garage, while other things like the obvious wing attachment have to occur in the hangar. My plan moving forward is before every work session I'll write out the things I want to get done, review those planned elements and ensure I have the tools and parts needed to do them and then head out to the airport. Make notes, lists, ect. prior to coming home. Rinse & Repeat and I'm expecting to make fast progress.</div>
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Not wanting to wait on progress I decided to started on the first task of removing tape and other protective coatings that I had left on. After that started with reviewing each page of the plans, one by one and ensure the all steps had been done as I'm now able to go through the plans and complete things that I skipped previously. Didn't take me too long to realize for whatever reason I left out two rows of AD470 rivets on the Vertical Stabilizer for whatever reason. I assume I might have thought that it got rivets to the tail-cone skin seeing two rows pre-punched holes on the aft part, which I now know were used for other rivets. So I had circled this step, put my VS up in my garage and forgot about it the next 3 years. Given that I didn't bring my #30 bit I was quickly at a hard stop. Not to be beaten I used the time to remove the wingtips so I could bring those home and organize my hangar a bit better.</div>
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I did however take a picture of N10JW prettied up a bit!</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-5411893187561796972018-11-08T13:35:00.000-06:002018-12-10T21:46:06.355-06:00Ram Air ServoSometimes it's fun to overly complicate things just to have cool buttons to press! This was the case with the actuating function of the Ram Air. The kit comes with a bowden cable you can run to your panel. I'm sure that works great but I felt I really needed more buttons to push in flight so I pushed forward looking for a solution.<br />
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The switch requirements are the same as my cowl flaps as it requires just swapping of polarity to extend and retract the actuator. The actuator itself is a <a href="http://thesweetsetup.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/time-zones-plus.jpg">L12 Linear Actuator 30mm 50:1 12v</a>. 30mm is the throw and the lowest it can be. I did some measuring and it seemed to me that would work fine. 50:1 is the gear ratio that is essentially the force to open and close. I'm going with this one first and if in flight I find it needs more force for whatever reason I can replace with a 100:1 or more. wiring that swaps polarity between the two switch positions. Since I resolved that with the cowl flaps that was the easiest component to this.<br />
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My dilemma was trying to figure out how to work the actuator arm on the canister in a somewhat cramped space, which running the arm the full throw of the servo. I tried various things such as replacement arms, changed brackets and even remotely mounting the servo somewhere else. The only other person I talked to who had done this mounted his servo in the tunnel and ran the bowden cable there. If I end up with heat issues I may have to go back and do that. But for now I tried to do a self contained unit. I won't bore you with my trail and tribulations so here's what I ended up with.<br />
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Canister prep was basically attaching a small piece of bowden cable and adel clip. I expieremented on different holes and in different orientations. What I found worked the best and didn't interfere with anything was to position the arm for a downward movement, run the bowden cable down and to the side to allow me to mount the servo on the bottom of the unit. Far from the engine, exhaust and other heat elements.<br />
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Then I made a bracket to mount onto the canister that would allow the actuator enough space to move a very small piece of bowden cable. It's about 3 inches wide and hand formed to the curve of the radius of the canister. I then drilled 2 holes down the center, with the mounted point to match an existing canister hole. Then I spaced to additional holes an equal amount apart. Lastly I put some foil tape on the back to help as much as I could with heat.<br />
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I did a test run and found the actuator pushed up vs pushing the cable. The actuator came with two little clamps, having no idea what they were used for I just ignored. Then it occurred to me that these are to mount the actuator so it wouldn't move. Fortunately me I happened to space the two hole out in just the right spot that these could be attached to the bracket screws.<br />
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I re-purposed some connecting hardware meant for the carb heat (Which I don't have) as well as safety wired everything up. I mounted the unit fairly painlessly and used a molex connector for the wiring. Checked the cowl spacing and gave it a quick <a href="https://youtu.be/rAAqXonnYKE">test</a>. As you can see in the video it works well. It doesn't close as much as I would like, however I'm not overly concerned with anything getting through that space. If it poses a problem I can upgrade the servo to a 100:1 or more to get something with a bit more pull/push strength. I'm going to wait though to see if heat becomes an issue as well before I do anything like that.</div>
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-34414236173679151112018-11-05T10:51:00.002-06:002018-12-10T21:46:19.765-06:00Flaps Position SensorLots of options when it comes to how you want to work your flaps. The current 10 I'm flying just has a momentary switch on the panel for flap actuation. My method in landing is I hold it down for 3-4 on each part of the pattern. I am not a huge fan of this because that means during downwind, base and final I have my hand off the throttle and I'm counting in my head and looking out the window to verify. I haven't crashed so it works, just not the most optimal.<br />
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To alleviate this I put the switch on my sticks which to me is a bit of a no brainier. However I also wanted the flaps to work similar to planes that have 'notches' that work like a Showtime Rotisserie and you can <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLq27iOW0R0">"Set it and forget it!"</a>. Okay maybe not forget it, still need to make a visual check that the flaps are down but in reality you should feel it in the attitude of the plane. To accomplish this I choose to use a combination of a <a href="http://www.rayallencompany.com/products/indsens.html">Ray Allen Position Sensor</a> and the VPX.</div>
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I will note that <a href="http://www.phaviation.com/">PHAviation</a> has taken an off the shelf actuator with a built in sensor which is a great idea. I'm sure it works great but the stock system I had already installed and the tunnel is a bit cramped with AC lines and the like. I didn't know how the larger actuator would affect that so the path of least resistance was a stand alone sensor.</div>
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Even mounting the sensor you have various options. My buddy Mike was able to install his in the tunnel similar to how the <a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SLlU6--hdOo/Vsf4s81XT0I/AAAAAAAAJYI/ayPE-1mf4w8/s1600/flap%2Bposition%2Bsensor.png">RV-14</a> is attached. That's probably a better way but again I had the tunnel all close up and didn't want to try and manage in that area with drills and what not. Others have mounted it on the tube itself using Adel clamps but to me that doesn't seem as solid of hard points. It's probably not likely but in theory a clamp could slip over time.</div>
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What I ultimately ended up doing was mounting it outside of the fuselage, directly connected to the flap horn itself. This is extremely easy to get to and solid enough that it's not going to slip around. There seems to be a concern of water getting in there but I mitigated that a bit with the bracket I made and the way it's positioned.</div>
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The bracket I made used a scrap piece of carbon fiber from some of my interior pieces. I had tried a few things with bending some metal into various shapes. I wasn't happy with any of those options then remember some of this scrap I had. It's light, strong and had the clearance where I was able to mount the sensor outboard enough to attach on the outside of the flap horn. I did want to strengthen it a bit so I used some adhesive and attached some skin aluminium to the mounting points.</div>
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Attaching everything together took a bit more work. Using RC Plane parts (Thanks Mike and Julie!) I worked a bit to determine the best location to place this thing. I found that if I mounted it off center on the horn then at the beginning of the horn movement it didn't register. The connecting rod would just rotate down. I also wasn't comfortable going between the root and first lighting hole. It may be fine, but as I'm not an engineer I don't know the kind of load this thing takes. Following another builders lead I decided to make a aluminium bracket and secure it onto the horn. I chose to put it inside the horn and stagger the rivets where there was more material. Took some time to shape it but then it was a matter of putting some adhesive onto the rivets and popping them in. I added some adhesive just to ensure these don't move over time.</div>
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The rest is just drilling holes, and attaching things together. I tried to get as close to a full 1.2 stroke of the position sensor as possible. I probably could of moved the rod up just a bit, but figured the middle of my aluminium piece had the most strength so that's where it went. Here is everything clecod for testing.</div>
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Placement of the bracket is fairly important. In short it perpendicular to the arm being at it's halfway point. The horn position in these pictures is with the flaps retracted or in the up position. Therefore I wanted the sensor to be all the way in. Then I rotated the bracket to that perpendicular angle did some testing with duct tape and the VPX and was happy with the movement and sensing which I'll talk about in a second. When I was happy with the position it was just match drilling and riveting.<br />
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Back to water protection. The only entry points into the sensor are on the bottom and where the actuator arm goes in and out. Placing it upside down protects the bottom from any moisture and having it slanted a bit should protect the arm. I suppose if you leave it on the ramp, with the flaps down in a heavy rain storm then water could get on the arm and then retracted into the unit.... I guess that's the chance I'm willing to take. Back up plan is manual extension of the flaps through the EFIS.<br />
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Talking about the EFIS and flap position I found the setup within the VPX extremely easy. You seem to be able to chose about 4 positions. Full up, and full down take up two of those positions. There's also a reflex option but I'm not sure what that does and haven't messed with it. The range of sensor movement for mine seems to be 0 - 227. So 0 is all the way up, so right now I have it stop at 1, then all the way down I have it stop at 226. I then just made the middle two increments of 75 for now. The way it works is I push down on the stick switch it goes one 'notch', down again the 2nd 'notch', 3rd time it's all the way down. Hit it once up and the flaps will fully retract. That's one thing I'm not a huge fan of, but there may be some way to change it. For now I selected the 'slow retract' option so if I'm on final and I inadvertently hit retract hopefully it gives me enough time to correct. Because I don't have the wings on as of yet I can't finalize any of these settings. My goal will most likely be 0, 10, 20, 30 degrees of flaps at each setting.</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-44680297120604110102018-10-29T23:59:00.000-05:002018-10-29T23:59:08.710-05:00Brake ChargingAbout the middle of last week it occurred to me that for the last year I could have gone ahead and charged up my brakes. I wish I would have done this prior to installing some panels and interior pieces. Having some of these in place complicated the process a bit. I didn't think about it at the time but there's a was a good chance, being my first plane and all that I didn't have all the connections as tight as I should have. More about that in a bit.<br />
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Apparently there are several methods of filling the system with hydraulic fluid and bleeding the air out. My previous experience was on motorcycles which was basically put the fluid in the reservoir and hammer on the brakes until they work. I decided to watch several videos on the subject and the one from <a href="http://www.eaavideo.org/detail/video/2520164560001">EAA</a> I found the most informative.<br />
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I reviewed the Matco documentation for the type of fluid needed and went ahead and ordered everything. Essentially it was $14 for a quart of Royco 782 Hydraulic fluid and another $10 for a pistol oiler off Amazon. So for roughly $25 I was ready to go!<br />
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The video laid out how to fill it from bottom up, having someone watch the reservoir for when it overflows. Seemed easy enough and I had some extra static line tubing which worked well to connect to the Matco fittings. Attached it, loosened the nut and got to pumping. I immediately noticed some fluid coming from one of the fittings so promptly tighten that up. Should note that I had torqued this previously but apparently either I did it wrong or it wasn't enough. I got back to pumping, after about a 1/3 of the quart was used I got a bit concerned and removed the seat panel. Well there was the fluid, all over my foam insulation and starting to go all over the place.<br />
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Found the leak, tightened the fitting and went around and tightened a few more fittings and starting pumping again. As I was pumping I was looking for leaks and found another one on the parking brake fitting. Luckily I had the forethought to remove the forward carpeting so it was an easy fix and clean up. I then double checked that I had the parking brake open, and pressed on. After a bit there was more fluid coming out of the reservoir, down my firewall and all over the garage floor. More clean up....<br />
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After that I got to the right one and went through the same steps. It seemed to have taken a lot of fluid, so I spent a lot of time trying to look inside my tunnel through the side access panel so I didn't have to take off my throttle quadrant. It's doable, just didn't want to do it if it wasn't needed. Hence why if I did this when it was all open, it would have been easier. Anyhow after awhile it started coming out the reservoir as well.<br />
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I made the decision at this point to go ahead and remove the foam insulation I had put under the seat. It's a bit hard to find leaks with this stuff, it also probably absorbs liquids and I foresee going through a similar process once I connect the wings and fuel lines. To be honest the RV-10 I'm flying now has zero insulation, just leather interior and I don't find it particularly noisy or anything. Or at least nothing the ANR headset can't block out. Anyhow it was a mess to get the foam out, there's still some sticky tape pieces I'll have to pick out later, but I was at least able to get a majority of the liquid out.<br />
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Testing is pretty simple. I climbed in, had someone watch the reservoir and pumped the brakes on both sides. Not having them rigged makes them push back a bit too far and expect some extra fluid to come out and you actuate them. I did this several times to ensure later when I close these up that I'm not going to end up with hydraulic fluid all over my firewall.<br />
<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-577331847127361442018-10-21T21:00:00.002-05:002018-10-21T21:00:49.715-05:00Checklist Updates & Control Stick Wiring<h2>
Checklist Updates</h2>
Over the last month and a half I've made some solid progress on my pre-move <a href="http://operationrv10.blogspot.com/2018/09/happy-3rd-birthday-hangar-move-punch.html">checklist</a>. Some of the items I've made specific posts on and some I've just worked through and didn't feel they needed their own build log entry. Here's a list of these activities with some overall comments.<br />
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<li><i>Wire ACS Starter switch</i> - This wasn't all that bad at first, I just followed the instructions. However after reading about Mag wiring I decided to remove the ground from the ACS and instead utilize the grounding of the actual magnetos themselves.</li>
<li><i>Wire Magnetos</i> - Something so simple I actually struggled a bit with. I ended up doing quite a bit of research and ordered some shielded cable making essentially my own p-lead. Was strange I couldn't find any Bendix 1200 install pictures but the Aeroelectric book had this <a href="https://i.postimg.cc/ncMbXc5n/Magneto.jpg">diagram</a> that I went with.</li>
<li><i>Wire Cowl Flaps</i> - Initially wasn't all that bad, I used Molex connectors and then shielded the wire runs on the inside of the cowl. The pain point was with the switch. Having worked on electrical the last 3 months I realized my original SPST switch was not going to cut it. For these servos to work there has to be a polarity switch. I ended up getting a DPDT switch and figured out the cross wiring to get it to work. The lights don't work as I wanted to but it still lights up enough that I can see it and it functions as I need it to, so not overly worried.</li>
<li><i>Wire Door Sensors </i>- <a href="http://www.nwacaptain.com/">Greg Hale</a> had shot me a suggestion this spring on door sensor wiring. Instead of using the relays and sensors that Vans sends with the kit, you can eliminate all that by using 'normally open' sensors instead. This fit my set up perfectly since for the door alarms I'm using the discrete input on the EFIS vs lights on the panel. So I ordered 540-MP201702 proximity sensors and wired them similar to the plans, however I just grounded one end to the bolt. Then I ran and chained all four wires to a single input which I installed into my GEA 24. How it works is if the doors are open the discrete input is constantly grounded therefore alerting me of that on the EFIS. As I close the doors and latch them the magnets in the rod ends break that connection and in turn removes the ground. If all 4 grounds are removed then there's no alert and that only happens if the doors are shut and latched. Very simple.</li>
<li><i>Wire Headset Jacks - </i>As I was typing this out, it got very long so I decided to take a few pictures instead. This jist is all connections are located in the center console which made wiring easy and hard all at the same time. I had to watch several videos on wiring these up and then took the time to test each set of plugs and Lemos connections to ensure they all work.</li>
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<li><i>Wire USB Chargers </i>- I had some issues with some cheap plug in USB charges in my old bird. To ensure I had no issues I waited until the radios were up and going and then messed with the USB chargers. Happy to say no issues even with four devices plugged in. I mounted one on the panel and one on the back of the console for read seat passengers. This is something you only get in first class on United, available on N10JW to all passengers!</li>
<li><i>Refinish all plastic panels Interior</i> - I have all my plastic interior panels painted and all nutplates installed for installation. There are several things I need to do though prior to installing these. I did however install some of the carpet, rear seats and such. I'll do a larger write-up with lost of pictures of the interior once it's done.</li>
<li><i>Air-condition </i>- I'm working with Bill at AirFlow systems on a new installation method for the over-sized evaporator. The idea is to have the return are on the top baggage bulkhead piece and having that flow directly into the unit, thus improving flow capacity. Then we're working on the delivery air to have the least possible turns for both cabin flood and overhead delivery of air. He sent me some templates to get some dimensions and with a few tweaks they should allow someone to easily mount the evaporator in the correct place and have top notch airflow. The delivery air is going to require some new tooling but all I did was turn one of his same pieces up side down and used some tape to see how it would fit. Maybe that's confusing to read so I tossed a picture of it below.</li>
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The Air Conditioning at this point is driving the critical path. I don't want to lose the accessibility by closing out the empennage until Bill finishes the return air design. It's just easier to size and position things looking in from the side rather then being inside the baggage area and looking up. In the meantime I'll keep knocking out stuff as I can.</div>
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Control Stick Wiring</h2>
The RV-10 I've been flying has about as basic of a control stick as you can get. It has push to talk and pitch trim. Works great and I'm sure was simple to wire but I just wanted a bit more out of a control setup. I went with a set of <a href="http://infinityaerospace.com/">INFINITY Aerospace</a> grips, because they look great and are completely customization allowing you set up in accordance with your <i>button philosophy</i>.<br />
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My preferences are pretty straight forward. If it's something I use during critical flight phases (take offs and landings) or if it's something I use all the time (Push to talk) I wanted it on the stick. I also took this a step forward into some nerd territory and programmed my home flight sim joystick with various things and determined what I liked the best. Here's a run down of my choices-<br />
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<li><i>Trigger </i>- Push-to-talk, because I don't have weapons.</li>
<li><i>Coolie Hat </i>- Pitch and Roll trim is fairly standard on these.</li>
<li><i>Top Left button </i>- This is the TO/GA switch. I debated a few different things but ultimately I didn't want to take my hand off the stick or the throttle if I find myself 500 AGL in some clouds and needed to go around.</li>
<li><i>Top Right switch </i>- I have a momentary two way switch in this location to control flaps up and down. This is out of the way enough that accidental hitting isn't going to be an issue but allows me to have my hand on the stick until I'm on the ground.</li>
<li><i>Thumb Button </i>- This is where I put Autopilot disconnect and Control Wheel Steering (CWS), seems the most natural place to have this function.</li>
<li><i>Pinkie button </i>- Very strange button that most people seem to use as a push to start function. I didn't want something I would use once a flight, but to be honest I was running out of functions, thought about maybe radio fliping, but I have two radios and I'm somewhat used to doing this on the panel. So because I needed a place for it, this is my Airhorn switch.</li>
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Knowing how you want everything is one thing, figuring out how to wire it all is totally something else. It took me a bit to conceptualize my wiring plan for the control sticks. In the end I ran a set of wires to the Pilot side and then behind the panel I solder sleeved additional runs for the Co-Pilot side. The only item not shared is the PTT as there's a Pilot PTT and Co-Pilot PTT. I also didn't want a mess of wires all over the place so I choice to encase the wires for each stick inside some sleeving with heat shrink on the ends. This gave it a clean look and all the runs together. Here's a picture of where it all splits out.</div>
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There was some additional construction to the sticks as well that had to be done. First off there's a bit of a clearance issue and what some have done is cut the back part of the control stick to bring it in tighter. I did this, taking about an inch off the back and had to redrill the bolt holes.</div>
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Next I decided to go with <a href="http://infinityaerospace.com/product/featured/stick-grip-pivoting-spacer/">Stick Grip Pivoting Spacer</a> so I had to figure that out. Now I almost didn't go with this option but when going over my order with JD he upsold me on it. He had some very valid points and assured me that my fear of this thing wobbling around on landings was unfounded. I should note that actually did a test on the RV-10 I'm flying. I made the universal okay symbol and flew around rotating my hand around the stick. I did this on a landing and found I apparently can fly the plane regardless of my wrist position.</div>
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Once I had the spacers installed the grips went on easy enough. In full disclosure through I actually had to install it twice. My first go through I didn't want the spacer hanging out the bottom of the stick. However that made the stick a bit too high. Knowing there's a bit of a clearance issue I took it apparent and came down to about as far down as you could. The finishing touch was installing my Aerosport stick covers which conveniently just zip on, hiding both the cable and the bottom of the pivot spacer.</div>
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For the most part these sticks are going to be permanently installed in the plane. However there may be some times I need to remove them for maintenance or convenience. In those cases I don't want to have to cut and re-splice wires so I went with the installation of DB15 connectors. I ended up with 12 actual pins. All the switch functions just use grounds, so I could have made it 11 but decided to merge all grounds from the stick to 2 DB pins, which then go to a single wire to the grounding tree. My reasoning is more from a troubleshooting rather than a redundancy perspective. For example if a function isn't working on one stick, but works on the other then it's probably a ground issue. If it doesn't work on either then it's probably a VPX or other issue.</div>
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I secured the connections to the gear weldment using silicone wrapped cable ties. Nothing too fancy about it, you just don't want it unplugging in flight or otherwise bouncing around in there.</div>
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Here's a picture I took prior to connecting the grounds, or the Co-Pilot stick for that matter. Should also note it's important to test the connections when you can. I tested all the Control Stick buttons/switches to the DB15 connection to ensure those work, then I tested up to the VPX on both sticks. I'll have to wait until I can power the plane back up to ensure PTT, AP Disc, TO/GA, Airhorn and such work.<br />
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-12826704636390387902018-09-28T08:43:00.001-05:002018-09-28T08:43:19.638-05:00Control Cables<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The control cables are a basic function of any engine really. With a constant speed prop I have essentially three cables similar to whats depicted in the plans; throttle, prop, mixture. What varies on my set up is the routing, mounting and lengths. The main culprits are my tunnel mounted throttle quadrant, forward facing fuel servo and the air conditioning system. Each of these changes the cable lengths and in the case of the mixture the mounting bracket.<br />
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For the cables I went with <a href="http://push-pull.com/">California Push-Pull</a> based on a number of referrals. Here are some basic things I learned about control cables. The point where the cable is hard mounted to a structure is called the 'bulkhead'. Then there is the 'throw' which is the distance the threaded ends will move. In my case and most other builders I picked a 2.25" throw. Meaning the two working ends will essentially shift back and forth that much once connected to whatever you're connecting it to. That throw will give you another measurement between the bulkhead and the swivel support tube to include the threaded end at mid-travel.... All clear?? Wasn't for me even after reviewing the measuring<a href="http://push-pull.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/industrial_catalog.pdf"> guide.</a><br />
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Some items I had to mentally digest was that whatever your cabin side bulkhead to mid-travel threaded end measurement was should be somewhat similar on the working side. So on a 2.25" throw cable you couldn't have the cabin side be 6" and the throttle side be 10". Unless maybe if you start threading extensions on at one end. Also not every item has the same move distance on the working end. For me the throttle matched my lever movement, but prop and mixture were about half. From a working perspective pushing full forward on all three levers results in full throttle, full props and full rich on the mixture. If I pulled everything back the throttle comes all the way back but the prop and mixture level stop just over halfway but they're at their limits.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xy6cbUmw3M8/W64aitSw-SI/AAAAAAAAHG0/zDjJ5t939tkbjEUENthsQBaeYPCSQnq3gCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0596.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xy6cbUmw3M8/W64aitSw-SI/AAAAAAAAHG0/zDjJ5t939tkbjEUENthsQBaeYPCSQnq3gCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0596.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Full Throttle, Props, Mixture</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All Back</td></tr>
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The last item deals with the measurements, after all my conversations with David at Push-Pull I thought the measurement for length was bulkhead to bulkhead, but it's from threaded tip to threaded tip. I spend A LOT of time doing the measurements, double and triple checking so I was surprised that my cables were about 10" too short when trying to install them. Realizing the mistake I talked to David and ordered a new set. The good news is I talked to my buddy Mike who's building an RV-10 and he's going to be able to use them, but they'll have to be shortened first. My final 'new' cable lengths are-<br />
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176-vtt-2.25 93"</div>
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176-vtt-2.25 72"</div>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: "arial" , "helvetica" , sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">176-vtt-2.25 74"</span><br />
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With my new cables they were able to be installed and were spot on for length. It takes some tweaking but I was able to get the new ones installed and routed fairly easy. Given these are thicker diameter than stock Vans ones I had to do some drilling out on my pass-throughs, brackets and used bigger adel clips.<br />
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Speaking of brackets I did have to make a new bracket to mount the Mixture cable. The stock would have had it something like 14" back and adding a bunch of threaded extensions doesn't sound like a good idea. I had previously worked up a bracket that mounted on the bottom of the sump but that really didn't work out. This bracket made the bulkhead within 2" of the rod end, which was an issue after learning the above. I decided to wait until I got my new cables and then retroactively work through a bracket. Now if you're really good at steel work then you should try and do something like Larry did on his fantastic build shown <a href="http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=158711">here</a>. He came up with a steel bracket that replaces the stock bracket that mounts on the bottom of the sump and ends up moving throttle and mixture to a single side. Given I had an issue with even understanding how these cables work I decided to utilize the stock bracket and fabricate something just for the mixture.<br />
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I ended up not fabricating anything but rather re-purposing an already powder coated steel hinge. It's original intent was to be installed in the wing, which I had done, however replaced it with the servo bracket so had it just laying around. I went through several ideas but decided to just keep it as simple as possible and make some bigger holes in it and hang it off one of the elbow screws off the bottom of the sump. Hard to really see it in the picture but I had to slightly bend it to accommodate an upward angle. The back of the piece also prevents any serious movement as well. Maybe I'll do some safety wire just in case.<br />
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Here are several other pictures showing the Prop and Throttle runs and how I have them aligned. Because of the AC the prop run has to go over the engine and with the forward mounted fuel servo had to reclock the throttle a bit. All seems to work out though.<br />
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Last picture might be a hard to see, but the lines follow a fairly solid path to the per plans firewall breaks. Like with all these firewall penetrations I used some 3M fire barrier to fill in the gaps.<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-70674190438411368912018-09-14T23:37:00.002-05:002018-12-10T21:51:21.257-06:00Antennas<br />
Installations of the antennas was bumped to the top of my punch list after I was told that I shouldn't power up the avionics without them. I was going to push this off until I had the wings on and what not but instead I decided to go ahead and do it. This will allow me to test out things in my driveway, so maybe it's best that way.<br />
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I'm not sure I realized just how many antennas I was going to need to mount all over the plane. It's very much dependent on what you're throwing in there and since I'm doing a full glass panel with several redundant components I knew I was going to need to do some placement planning. For my set up I needed the following antennas; 2 for radios, 1 for ADSB, 3 GPS pucks, NAV, a magnetometer and then of course on for the ELT. That's 9 antennas that I had to figure out where and how to mount. There's certain spacing and installation parameters you need to consider. I originally wanted to shove most everything in the tail minus the NAV antenna that's out in the right wingtip. I have to wait until the wings are on to install the NAV and I'm still debating on how and where to install the ELT antenna, so I'll do those later.<br />
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<h3>
Doublers</h3>
Obviously when you install antennas you end up cutting up to 3/4 inch holes into the airplane skins. Doublers are typically suggested but not required. My 172 had GPS pucks with no doublers and never had an issue. But since I tend to overbuild so I wanted to go ahead with doublers for all antennas. Making them wasn't an issue, for the GPS pucks I actually had a factory made one that I was able to replicate, and then using some ideas online make them for the rest.<br />
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Attaching them is a different story. I've seen some elaborate rivet patterns which frankly look like drilling, dimpling and two person rivet driving. I read that the rivets actually help with the strength, but that guy was using metal the same thickness of the skins (thin). I decided to go thicker metal and use 3M aviation two part epoxy to secure in place. I also went ahead and primed the exposed side. In the end these things aren't going anywhere, the skin is thicker and it adds to the rigidity.<br />
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Here's a picture showing my GPS puck doublers. The one on the left is from Garmin, the other two I made.<br />
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Comm antennas</h3>
Not surprisingly there are a number of strong options on how and where to place your comm antennas. The two schools of thought is you should put one on top of your tailcone and the other on the bottom. This would prevent any shadowing or possibility of dropped comms. Then you have the other group that prefers to mount both antennas on the bottom, either the front or read seats. The idea is shorter runs, a bit out of the way and suitable. I've read plenty from both sides and my conclusion is people have been successful installing either way so I needed to pick what will work best for me. My tailcone is pretty cramped so I decided under the back seats was the way to go.<br />
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First I needed some way to access these. I had seen people use the Vans wing access panels but those are pretty big. All I needed was enough space to get my hand in to do the initial installation and any future maintenance. Luckily I have baby hands so it will fit between the ribs fairly easy. However you don't want a gaping hole beneath your seats and still need a way to cover it. I just went head and essentially made a door on some hinges.<br />
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For this doubler I didn't want it over the rib piece. So decided to go ahead and epoxy the piece in there first and then drill the mounting holes. This saved me the trouble of trying to match holes, just slap it on and let it cure.<br />
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Once it was cured I drilled out the holes based on the gasket I received and used drawn lines to center. Then it's just a matter of bolting on the CI 122 VHF comm antennas, one each side. Two person job to tighten and to torque I had to do about 8 inches of extensions to reach the nuts.</div>
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ADSB</h3>
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Hmm, I didn't take any pictures but I went with the <a href="https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=images&cd=&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=2ahUKEwi2soX5krzdAhX0JTQIHXvRB-8QjRx6BAgBEAU&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.seaerospace.com%2Fsales%2Fproduct%2FComant%2FCI-105%2FCI-105&psig=AOvVaw2e5K1-c5UQaceGfO50Etso&ust=1537071285921694">CI-105</a> and I mounted it under the copilot seat, basically centered and making sure it's not hitting any brake or fuel lines. I also made a doubler specific for this antenna.</div>
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GPS</h3>
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I have two GA 56's for the G3X and G5 and a much larger GA 35 for the GTN 650. Using the doublers pictured above I installed one behind the firewall but in front of the windscreen. For that one I used the stock Garmin backing plate and didn't epoxy. Mainly out of laziness, I didn't want to try to mess with that stuff crawled under the panel. Interesting note I used a antenna I got off Ebay for my 172 that I never ended up using. It's dirty looking but only cost maybe $40.</div>
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The last two I installed behind the cabin on the top of the tailcone. I had to wait to talk to Bill at Airflow Systems to ensure this position wasn't going to interfere with the AC system I haven't fully installed yet. It was easy to work with since the top skin isn't riveted down, just had to mark it and then match drill the holes, epoxy up and after cured clean the holes and bolt them on.</div>
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<h3>
Magnetometer</h3>
I can't even pronounce what this is. It's basically an electronic compass that needs to be clear of all sorts of things while limiting what's called the CAN bus down to 40 feet. Stein did the harness and really the only place to put this is in the tailcone. Also it needs to be level, within a few degrees of the plane heading and away from all sorts of things. I saw all sorts of elaborate things hanging off the top of the tailcone but given that would be fairly close to my AC and lots of spinning metal I decided to make some type of shelve to span across the longerons. That would ensure it's level in flight and hopefully give enough space to not run into interference. I haven't tested this so the jury is still out.<br />
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What I did was make a tiny shelve across two aluminium angles to mount behind between the 2nd and 3rd compartments in the tail. I do this I had to make part of it removable that I can rivet post testing. I'll also epoxy it down to the longerons vs drilling holes to hold it in place. Again going to do this after all the testing is done.<br />
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Short post for the amount of work that went into all this. When it cools off a bit I'm going to go ahead and pull the plane to the driveway and start doing some testing and calibration... actually I'll probably get impatient and start messing with it.Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-78945106363798675262018-09-08T22:02:00.000-05:002018-12-10T21:44:48.904-06:00Happy 3rd Birthday! Hangar move punch list <h3>
Happy 3rd Birthday!</h3>
3 years and 1,115 hours into this project as of today! I hope to have the plane moved out of my garage and into the hangar within the next 6 months. And then if all goes well, flying by this summer. As exciting as that all is there is still quite a bit of heavy lifting before I get to that point. I want to ensure I have as much done on the plane as possible before making the move. I started to split my punch list into two categories; pre-hanger move and final assembly.<br />
<h3>
</h3>
<h3>
Hangar move punch list </h3>
<div>
When it comes to the punch list there are some obvious items that can't be complete prior to the move. For example I can't do the control rigging or wire up the landing lights until the wings are on. I've used lists throughout the process to keep things straight, especially when working on items that don't have specific plans. Here are all the current items I plan to have complete prior to moving. Some are small few hour tasks, some are more in-depth and will require a bit more then a day or two to complete. In those cases I split them out into even more subtasks. Here's what I'm looking at-</div>
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<div>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="disc">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wire ACS Starter switch<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wire Mag ½<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wire Cowl Flaps<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wire Door Sensors</span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">44-2- Bevel lower corners<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">44-4 Install
K1100-08 nutplates <o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Mount flaps Position sensor & run wire<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wire Headset Jacks<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wire USB Chargers<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Control sticks<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Install leather
wrapping<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Mount sticks<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wire
Pilot/CoPilot – DB connectors<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Mount Antennas<o:p></o:p></span></li>
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<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Comm #1 Comm #2
<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Nav #1 – Bob
Archer Wingtip (Run cable)<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">G3X GPS – GA56
Tail<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">GTN 650 GPS –
GA 35 Tail<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">G5 GPS – GA 56
Front<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Transponder<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Magnometer install<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Engine Control Cables<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Fabricate new Mix bracket.<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Install Interior Nutplates<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Refinish all plastic panels Interior<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Air-condition<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<ul style="margin-top: 0in;" type="circle">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Mount
evaporator to shelf<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Crimp hose to
fittings<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Install return
airflow<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Install cabin
flood and overhead duct<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wiring rotary
switch<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level2 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Wire Panel to
Evaporator<o:p></o:p></span></li>
</ul>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Secure Aft FWD Skin and backing strip<o:p></o:p></span></li>
<li class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in; mso-layout-grid-align: none; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; mso-pagination: none; text-autospace: none;"><span lang="EN">Review and collect parts for final assembly</span></li>
</ul>
<div>
Posts without pictures aren't as fun so I decided to include a picture of my panel all powered up. I took this a few days ago, however nothing is really going to function until I add the antennas and magnetometer. I am slightly concerns though because when talking to Stein prior to ordering my antennas he mentioned that he's had problems with the transponders blowing a fuse or something when they're powered up without an antenna. I really hope this isn't the case but to be safe moving forward I disabled all the avionic breakers in the VPX.</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-72662980414288444582018-08-22T19:37:00.001-05:002018-08-22T19:37:48.400-05:00Firewall Forward WiringThe Engine Information System (EIS) I'm installing as part of the G3X package is fairly robust. The Sensor Kit came with;<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>6 Exhaust Gas Temp (EGT) probes</li>
<li>6 Cylinder Head Temp (CHT) probes</li>
<li>Oil Temp probe</li>
<li>Mag Sensor (In lieu of a mechanical one)</li>
<li>Oil Pressure sensor</li>
<li>Manifold Pressure</li>
<li>Fuel Flow Transducer (Didn't realize this, had already bought one)</li>
<li>Shunt</li>
</ul>
<div>
I started this out by looking at the harness I received from Stein. There are a lot of wires which actually just lines up with everything list above. I spent a good bit of time upside down under the panel dressing the harness wires and routing them to my firewall passthroughs. Given the length of the cables I needed to route the EGT and CHT wires for heads 2/4/6 on the pilot side, leaving heads 1/3/5 the copilot side, along with the rest of the wires. I also went ahead and installed some non-EIS stuff such as wires for my ramair servo and air conditioning compressor.</div>
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With all parts installed and the harness wires sticking through I worked from the firewall moving forward. I did sections at a time and used a mix of adel clamps and cable ties. I tried to only use the adels in the firewall area but I decided to go ahead and use some heat stabilized ties which I can easily inspect each year. It also gives a much cleaner look.</div>
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<br />
From an EIS perspective the only items I have to wire still are the sensor wires for the two shunts. Now I had previously decided to not use shunts and was going to rely on the VPX to give all power info. For the most part I'm only concerned with if the Alternator is working and if the battery is charging and I've flown plenty of airplanes which a voltmeter was my only monitoring tool. However, because my harness had sensor wires for both primary and secondary alternators and because I hung a number of things independent of the VPX, I decided to go ahead and install two shunts.<br />
<br />
The only reason I hadn't wired them yet is because it's suggested that you put 1 amp fused at the end of each wire so in the case there's a short, it doesn't blow out any of your avionics. I went back and forth on how to do this. Originally was going to use 4 inline fuse holders with 1 amp blades, but that seems cumbersome. Then I was thinking of doing a fusible link, which is basically a small wire encased in a fiberglass sheath. This idea is if it gets too hot it melts and breaks the link. Then on a suggestion I looked at these really <a href="http://d.digikey.com/yB0SXBrp070NKXOI2000000">small micro fuses</a> that I'll be able to solder in similar to a diode and shrink wrap it. Should make it all safe and give it a clean look.<br />
<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-8259687165827612842018-08-15T19:32:00.001-05:002020-04-04T19:15:26.108-05:00Airhorn!<b>UPDATE: The engine area obviously gets much hotter than a typical motorcycle. This causes some internal components to melt a bit, changing the tough train sounding horn more to that of a clown car. I went through a few horns and ended up removing it at annual. It was fun for a bit but the novelty wears off.</b><br />
<br />
What I've been telling people about the wiring progress is it's the little victories that make me happy. One of those was tonight when I finally had a chance to wire up the Airhorn (Or is it 'air horn'). This device has been sitting on a shelve since I bought off <a href="https://www.amazon.com/SUPER-MARCO-TORNADO-Compact-Vehicles/dp/B01FMN90KU/ref=sr_1_1?s=lamps-light&ie=UTF8&qid=1534377822&sr=8-1&keywords=marco+tornado">Amazon</a> a number of months ago. For $50 it's one of the cheapest components you can buy for your airplane. I went with the Marco Tornado intended for Motorcycles, Cars & Trucks... so why not an airplane?<br />
<br />
I originally was going to hang it off the VPX, but the larger 10 amps or more 'breakers' are at a premium. I decided to go ahead and hang it off the ANL feeding the VPX. In fact going to use this same spot to connect my Air Conditioning Components and USB chargers. I have breakers for the AC parts but for the rest I used in-line blade fuse holders. I went with a 20A fuse to match the instructions and 14 gauge wire for all but the switch lead.<br />
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In normal operations I'm going to trigger this via the pinky button on the stick. However I don't know if I'll have a tendency to hit it in flight so I went ahead and used the spare switch space I had for an Airhorn switch. If I find I don't need it and then end up needing a rocker switch for something else I can just remove it from the path later.<br />
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The airhorn is physically mounted in an open space on the firewall via one bolt. It's a 5/16 hole, which like all the holes I have, get sealed up with some fire barrier stuff before placing in the hardware. Wiring works off a relay and because it's built for car horns which rely on some voltage you need to jumper a smaller wire off the positive input over to another tab. Then it works like any other switch where grounding it out triggers the relay and allows the larger amperage across.<br />
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With the help of my kids I decided to let my son flip the switches and my youngest daughter film. Here's a <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0P6OfAR_xs&feature=youtu.be">video</a> of the test, glad she didn't drop her phone! Also pardon the mess of wires, it's still a work in progress.<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-66033044080063231102018-07-30T20:46:00.002-05:002018-08-15T15:59:42.210-05:00Avionics Racking and Stacking & Power Distribution<h3>
Avionics Racking and Stacking</h3>
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Over the last week I've been focused on getting all my avionics mounted either in the panel or behind the panel. Avionics and electrical for that matter dive into an entirely different set of skills and for me, uncharted waters per se. I can honestly say I've been planning my Avionics installation since before I ever began building as it's one of the things I am most excited about. I have several build log entries on my thoughts behind my layout. The most recent being specific to the <a href="http://operationrv10.blogspot.com/2017/12/holiday-panel-and-electrical-design.html">panel design and electrical schematic</a>.<br />
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The panel has changed very little since then although I did end up taking the TO/GA button off the panel and that will be placed on the stick. I found out I only needed a single button for AP disconnect and Control Wheel Steering (CWS). The electrical on the other hand has changed quite a bit in terms of backup electrical and wire gauge, ect. This document I'm changing as I move through the process, keeping it updated so I'll have an accurate representation of my system. This will I assume be invaluable post build for maintenance purposes.<br />
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Jumping into it the first thing you really have to figure out is how and where you're going to place things behind the panel and attached to the sub-panel. I decided to start with the radio stack section because of the rack system I know where everything will go. However the GTN650 is deeper than the 10 inches or so between the panel and the sub-panel so you have to cut a hole in the sub-panel to accommodate the extra depth.<br />
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To mark the hole to cut I removed the harness from the rack and put it on the panel insert which then I aligned it to the panel and tightened as much as I could. Without the harness it almost fit all the way in there. It allowed me to use a straight edge to mark out the area that will need to be removed. Because of the wiring harness I went an extra inch to accommodate it on the left side. Per the fuselage plans you also need to reinforce the cut out area and they give several options. One of which is to make a doubler out of .32 and the other uses angle pieces, but I had issues with that. Using hand tools to make CNC level cuts is an skill I don't have, so instead of having a janky looking doubler I decided to instead go with the aluminium angle method.<br />
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I went with 1/8th angle over 1/16th angle. It's a bit heavier but wanted to ensure this subpanel was reinforced and I don't know the stresses this area takes so better safe than sorry I assume. I also had an piece of my old longeron that was removed from a <a href="http://operationrv10.blogspot.com/2015/12/tailcone-reassembly-gap-fix-and.html">previous mistake</a>. This already had properly spaced holes drilled in it so using that saved me some time. I chose not to paint or prime it, but I did put a piece of rubber on the bottom to keep things in place.<br />
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With the sub-panel cut I decided to go ahead and mount in the panel piece and the G5. Fun part is the G5 has a backup battery which allowed me to turn it on! That makes it the first powered up avionics piece of equipment in N10JW.<br />
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I then moved the harness from my table to the inside of the plane. Using the harness and spacing I was able to get a good visual representation of where I can locate equipment on the sub-panel. There's a lot of pieces that need to go back there and limited real estate available. I wanted to avoid placing anything behind the sub-panel for ease of maintenance. So used some tape, snapped a pic and then posted on <a href="http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=162566">VAF</a> to see what others had done.<br />
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Getting some solid feed back I decided to get building some mounts/rails for the GTR 20 (Comm#2), VPX and GTX 45R(Transponder/ADS-B). I used a combination of various 1/16 aluminum angles picked up from Lowes and some scrap I had to fabricate these three items. I also went ahead and screwed in the racks and placed the audio panel and 650 in.<br />
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The main issue with the GTX 45R is the depth, not only for placement but to be capable of removing it if need be later for service. I decided to build a cradle out of angle and pull riveted it up to the panel and sub-panel.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">GTX 45R cradle</td></tr>
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After that I moved onto the GTR 20. The idea is somewhat similiar to the cradle but instead of the uprights looking pieces I just put a few holes in the angle to mount the unit on top. I tried different orientations of the piece but had to put it where it's at to avoid interference with my rudder trim and to still allow me to slide the GTX 45R out if need be. Then just matched drilled some holes and pull riveted it on.<br />
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This is where I encountered my biggest challenge. I could not for the life of me figure out a method to install the VPX and still allow access to the connectors while also not interfering with other connectors or the rudder trim cables. I spent hours holding the VPX behind the panel trying to figure out what would work. I then started thinking about way to mount it behind the sub-panel or putting large holes in the sub-panel to get it to work.<br />
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I really wanted to make it accessible and after fiddling around I determined I could put the VPX on a hinge, secure it to the sub-panel and then put another Lowe's special aluminum angle and attach it to the panel braces. I originally tried to use my left over thumb quarter turn parts. However the hole you have to drill for the receptacle really broke the diameter rule on the flange. So I instead opted to use some additional angle to secure up the flange area and use a 1/4 bolt to attach. Might be a tad overkill but better safe than sorry, don't want this thing falling off ever! I have some 1/4" nutplates on order which I will install to make it a bit easier to unscrew later down the line. Here's a picture in the 'down' position.<br />
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Here is a picture of it in the 'up' position. I chose this orientation because the Ethernet port is on the pilot side so it's easy to get to under the panel. I was happy that it's secure, doesn't interfere with any of the panel pieces and allows me to get the rest of my panel pieces mounted in there without anymore spacing issues... or so I thought. <i>(Edit: I thought the GSU (ADAHRS) mounted on the bottom of the panel, it's actually at the top and interferes with the way I mounted the VPX. The solution is I'm mounting it on the brace to the left)</i><br />
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I ran into issues with both the GD40 (CO2 detector) and the GEA 24 (Engine monitoring). Between the harness lead restrictions and the awkward shape of these I was having a hard time finding a place to put them that I was happy with. After some thought I decided the best place for the GD40 is going to be on the backside of the center pedestal cover. You have to remove these periodically for inspections so this is as easy as any place to get to it. Not wanting to drill additional holes through the pieces however I decided to try and source a few <a href="https://www.electricalhub.com/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/5e06319eda06f020e43594a9c230972d/6/8/68-3206.jpg">Click Bond</a> fasteners. These will allow me to attach the unit, and because it's not particularly heavy, it should work. <i>(Edit: I realized later I didn't remove the carbon fiber under the insert. Therefore I just used #6 countersunk screws and nylon lock washers)</i><br />
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That left me with the GEA which given the harness length really would only work somewhere to the right of the VPX, left of the radio stack. I tried to make mount that I could attach to the subpanel and have it more or less hang out. This is what I came up with...<br />
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It looked great but wasn't all that stable. I pictured this thing rattling around causing all sorts of issues later on down the road. I may have been able to extend the rails out and attach them between the panel and sub-panel for stability, but that would have required me to remove the fiberglass panel and probably mess up something doing so.<br />
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After removing it I messed around a bit with the harness and found I could put it under the GTR 20 and run it far enough on the other side of the sub-panel to make it a feasible mounting spot. It's now nice and secure on the back side of the sub-panel essentially over the tunnel. The four bolt pattern is visible in the below picture. I put threaded side out on one of the bolts for a future adel mounting spot. I also left the bracket end secured to the panel which will also function as a nice adel mounting spot if need be.<br />
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<h3>
Power Distribution</h3>
In between working various equipment mounting tasks I tackled some of the main power distribution and grounding activities. For power you run a #2 cable from the battery to the master contactor, to the starter contactor and then ultimately to the starter. It's debatable on what is the best method for grounding an aluminium plane. The planes essentially locally ground everything to the frame, then you ground the engine to the engine mount which is grounded to the frame through the giant attachment bolts. My method is a more centralized approach and I'm grounding the starter to the engine mount, and then from there to the cabin where I have a massive tree of tabs for grounds (See picture above), and then a #2 back to the negative terminal of the battery. This is probably over kill on grounding but I've flown several planes which have bad grounds somewhere resulting in audio feedback, intermittent lights or periodic failing antennas.<br />
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I previous ran <a href="http://operationrv10.blogspot.com/2016/05/steps-install-fuselage-conduit-sound.html">conduits</a> prior to securing the floor boards down. My hope was that this would make running wires fairly painless. This was not the case.... I don't know if it's the size of the conduit, the correlation or too many bends, but I tried the top two conduits to pull these large #2 gauge cables with no joy. I decided to use the bottom one knowing it's a more straight shot and it finally worked out. So in typical airplane build fashion the first one took an hour to do, the second about 4 mins. I also went ahead and drilled the mid-fuse sections to accommodate the 3rd path for wires. This allows me to still use the other two conduits as well as route wires from the wings to the panel area.<br />
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I have the battery side of things all terminated as well. Leaving the power off obviously until I'm ready to start testing things. Don't want to run into any issues or attempt a 'big bang' method of powering things up.<br />
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Firewall forward I have the starter contactor and ANLs (giant fuses) installed. These are for the alternator B-leads which are connected on the battery side of the starter contactor. Additionally I'm route some #6 back into the cabin, into a separate ANL for the VPX. The contactor side of that ANL will also feed my AC and Airhorn!<br />
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With equipment mounted and the possibility of everything having power I can push on to starting to connect things up.</div>
Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-53786427208631152472018-07-23T23:30:00.004-05:002018-12-10T21:42:10.905-06:00Let there be light!With all my new electrical supplies and tools, and the fact that I am home for at least 72 hours, I wanted to jump into something easy just to start building some knowledge and skills. I decided working on the switches would be the best place to start... however after about 4 hours of messing with the switches I was stuck to a point that I decided to <a href="http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=162499">post on VAF</a> about. Lesson learned- If you want to use a Vertical Power VPX system and also want a mix of dependent and independent lighting, then you need a dual power, single throw (DPST) switch. So had to order some of these and decided to move onto something else.<br />
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Back in May I did a quick post about my <a href="http://operationrv10.blogspot.com/2018/05/overhead-lighting-layout.html">overhead lighting layout</a>. These two panel pieces had been sitting in a box so I figured why not get this all wired up instead. Given that it's 105<b style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;">°</b> Fahrenheit out I was also able to make this an inside activity for the most part. It took a few hours but when I was done I had practiced some soldering, some heat shrinking, some molex pins and connectors and some wire routing.<br />
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With the panels completed I fished my harness down the center brace, connected some ziptie bases to hold the cables and then connected and screwed in the panels. I really like how it turned out and I think this set up will work out well.<br />
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I've been using a 9 volt battery to test out light function. At one point I was concerned because it looked like I had these wired in series because as I would turn additional lights on they would start to dim. Being a bit paranoid I tested on the planes actual battery and the lights are extremely bright and no degradation as I turn them all on. I'm actually going to hook these up to a rheostat as well so I can control the brightness, don't particularly like night flying and pretending on I'm a WW2 submarine.<br />
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Just for some additional pictures I went ahead and connected 9 volt to take some additional pictures. All these lights are independent for the most part. I can have a single red or both on, or the two white lights, or the white lights and a red light, or all the lights on. Here's what both Reds look like.<br />
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Here's what the two white lights look like. This is actually pretty dim, I think my 9 volt battery might be more like a 7 volt battery at this point. The green push button also looks extremely bright, which it is, however once it's on ships power and I have the rheostat the red and white lights are about 10x brighter and the green light stays about the same. So I will be able to turn the intensity down.<br />
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-46335837425814542522018-07-03T21:05:00.002-05:002018-12-10T21:42:03.978-06:00Christmas in July!Today I received a surprise... well it wasn't really a surprise because I had been emailed the tracking numbers for the shipment. However it was exciting nonetheless to received three large boxes from <a href="https://www.steinair.com/">Steinair</a>. These boxes contained all my avionics, wire harnesses, panel cutouts and other odds and ins that I purchased for my project.<br />
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I'm sort of at a loss of where to begin. I've read all the usual books, watched a number of videos but still it's a bit overwhelming to look at all the stuff I now have sitting on two fold out tables. I'll work on my organization just wanted to knock out the inventory and try to comprehend what I have and visualize where it goes.<br />
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Typically when I get a group of things I like to go ahead and start doing some progressive tasks to take the edge off. It made sense to go ahead and match drill the holes and mark the area's of the carbon fiber panel that I'll need to drill. It's not much, but it's the first real progress I've made on the project in a month or so.</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-19921653259064706322018-06-08T09:52:00.000-05:002018-12-10T21:41:53.133-06:00EarthX Battery Bracket<h3>
Why EarthX?</h3>
For main-ship power I chose to go with an <a href="https://earthxbatteries.com/shop/etx900">EarthX ETX900</a> battery. This lithium based battery has built-in battery management to prevent among over things... battery runaway that have caused laptops and hover-boards alike to catch on fire. Having your battery catch on fire in flight (Or in the hangar) would be a very bad situation. Not the first to go this route, others have been flying successfully with these batteries for years and have had very few problems, and the problems I've heard of have been non-critical issues that the company has taken care of. I'll also have a fault detection light on my panel so I will be able to see any issue prior to cranking up the plane.<br />
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The benefits going lithium are obvious to anyone who has messed with lead acid vehicle batteries. The typical single engine plane battery weights 22+ lbs, this weights 4.9 lbs. Given all the other stuff I'm shoving into the plane a close to 20 lbs weight savings will be great. Especially since it's in the same area of the air conditioning evaporator, it should offset enough to bring the plane into normal W&B limits. When I opened the box and pulled the battery out two things became immediately obvious. One was how light it is, you could seriously play catch with it if you wanted. Two the form factor is a lot smaller than a car/boat/airplane battery.<br />
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Solution</h3>
The RV-10 typical battery pad area in the tailcone is sized to fit a typical plane battery. I searched around to see what others have done and really couldn't find many pictures, which drove my decision to do this write up. I did find this <a href="http://i66.tinypic.com/2b6vso.jpg">picture</a> which shows a dual battery setup and a ADAHRS shelve. Looks great but I'm doing the dual battery/dual alternator system a bit different so didn't need two full size batteries.<br />
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The problem with the size of the battery and it not fitting is that the stock system relies on the sides of the battery platform to keep it from shifting and a bar that gets screwed down to keep it from falling out. Outside of the issue of having this thing slide around, I'm not to keen on having a strip of conductive metal crossing the top of the battery which then is sitting directly over the terminals. Even pushing it to one of the sides you still have the bar not really securing it very well. So I decided just to make one from my pile of scrap.<br />
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The solution I came up with is very easy and just took a few hours to put together. I took a piece of angle and match drilled the original bolt pattern towards the outward edge. It doesn't really follow rule of thumb on hole diameters to the edge, however this isn't structural and if it's exerting that much force on the battery bracket I have other issues. Setting the piece in the box on top of the battery, with the bolts through gives you some reference points for taking a chunk out so it clears the top of the battery.<br />
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With the clearance made I spaced out a few rivet holes and simply took another piece of angle flipped upside down to hold the back of the battery. This was a little tricky because you want the battery in the holder, bracket on top to match drill, but not break through the other side and end up drilling into the battery. I just drilled enough that I could take it all off and finish the holes on the workbench. I did one final test fit with some AN426AD-4-5 rivets just pushed through from the bottom up to ensure everything was going to work out. Had no fit issues so just cleaned up the edges of the pieces to make sure nothing was sharp then countersunk and drove the rivets from the bottom up. Went ahead and tossed some primer on the part and got working with the bolts.<br />
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The stock bolts are too long to be used with this smaller form battery. I decided to just cut off the existing thread and retread about an inch back. Using just a standard pipecutter works well for these types of things. After I took the threads off, cleaned it up a bit with the grinder and used a 1/4 28 die to retread. Larger bolts are harder to get started and get cut, takes a lot of WD40 and some back and forth. In the end I had cut bolts and a primed battery bracket, took a quick snapshot of the fit.<br />
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Gave the primer a bit of time to cure and then hit it with some top coat to match the rest of the tailcone area. After a night of curing I finished up the installation by applying some self-adhesive gasket material to the part that will connect the battery as well as on the battery pad itself. This is the same material I used for the baggage door and has some non-skid qualities to it.<br />
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I couldn't be more happy with the results. The bracket is clear of the terminals, and is solidly held in place. The gasket material on the bracket and the bottom prevent it from moving at all. There shouldn't be any chaffing either since there's a bit of clearance around the entire bracket top area. All in all I call this a success!<br />
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<br />Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3852962146342009145.post-53121368268451158642018-05-29T12:53:00.002-05:002019-06-01T17:03:13.868-05:00Spinner & Cowling<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Section 47</td></tr>
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<h3>
Spinner</h3>
Mounting of the actual propeller is one of those times when you just stand back and marvel at the awesomeness. Making it even more awesome, as shown in the picture I went with the gorgeous 3-blade Hartzell composite propeller. This decision wasn't really grounded in actual performance gains but more or less for up cosmetic ramp appeal. It just makes the plane look fast, even if it's not moving. There are some benefits supposedly with going this route. It's a lighter propeller and it may be smoother, it's reduced diameter has an added benefit in mitigating prop strikes. In reality though I'm sure I'm just looking to justify the added expense...<br />
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The stock spinner you receive is a fiberglass cone which takes some modification to work with your installation. I am unable to use that with a 3-blade and instead I bought the Hartzell shiny polished spinner to use. Because I had no part fabrication this section was fairly straight forward and even though mounting the prop was a bit cumbersome, I was able to do it solo without many issues.<br />
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Now the above picture was taken awhile ago, prior to initial fit of the cowl. You need the prop, or some sort of back-plate installed to get the proper spacing between the cowling and prop bulkhead. The goal for this is 1/8th of an inch which is pretty tight. I didn't trust my template making skills so instead just decided to use the real deal.<br />
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Removal and installation the propeller doesn't take all that long, but is a bit awkward. I've found using some of my custom made floor jacks help to act as a shelf to get the alignment down. Then it's a matter of tightening 6 bolts in the typical cross pattern fashion until everything is secure. Torque it up to 25 ft lbs or 300 in lbs (For my Propeller) and call it good. For my first install I used a typical open ended wrench which was a bit of a pain and I had no method to torque it down. The torque wrench called out in the Hartzell manual is a good $600. If you can borrow one great, if not do yourself a favor and buy the <a href="https://antisplataero.com/products/ultimate-propeller-wrench">Ultimate Propeller Wrench</a>. Not only does it speed up the nut turning but then you flip it over and you can attach a torque wrench in the typical 90 degree fashion for your final torques!<br />
<h3>
Cowling</h3>
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Out of all the sections I've worked so far I found this by far the most annoying and frustrating... a close second is still the doors. I take responsibility for the frustration though, it is entirely my fault for the add complication and time. Having added Pin covers, Air Conditioning, Ramair, oil door, cowl flaps and the such really are all self induced, per the plans might be less frustrating but I won't know on this build. The rest of it is just the nature of fiberglass which still is a bit of a challenge for me.<br />
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Followed the plans for the most part in getting things clammed together, doing some sanding, trimming and more sanding. You'll notice the cut out for AC Compressor clearance and a big cutout to get around the Ramair unit.<br />
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I find when I'm working through a task and getting pissed or otherwise frustrated that I don't seem to take pictures. Here's a quick run down of the work. There's was a lot of sanding to get the two halves together. The idea is to get them even with the smallest gap possible. I used rulers, lasers, tape... anything to try and ensure it's symmetrical and even. I obsessed a bit about this and spent at least 3 work sessions on doing all this... good news is it's fiberglass so if you mess up you can easily repair.<br />
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The next hurdle came with putting the clams together and cutting the back off so they are a good 1/8 back from prop and even wit the fuselage. The plans call for measuring a line 3" back, placing the cowling on and then measuring a line 3" forward. I botched this up a bit and end up cutting off too much in some places. I thought about using the laser for this and in hind sight that's what I should of done. My concern though was as it bends over the top and bottom that it wouldn't line up. Either way it was fit on and then attached the other half of piano hinges. Fairly straight forward, had to do some spot sanding in some areas.<br />
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Once the backs were attached then I had to work the sidelines. To be honest I'm not 100% sure how I did this. I'm pretty sure I just made a line with a ruler and started trimming. Then attached the piano hinges and all that and squeezed everything together. Spacing is always a concern so I reached out to a 3 time builder to ask advice on what he did. He suggested using a <a href="http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/topages/permagrithnd.php?clickkey=51423">Perma-grit F102</a> to work the consistent spacing. This worked out fantastic and even though it seems a little wide, I know paint will fill it but it's still not too tight that it will crack the paint.<br />
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With the sides being near perfect I was left with dealing with the back of the cowl. Some of the repair was easy just micro/epoxy fill. Some required me doing a scarf joint and using cloth. It was a back and forth deal of adding, sanding, testing strength, fixing etc.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Attached</td></tr>
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The above picture wasn't the finished product, but it was on enough that I could continue work on the baffles as well as start finishing, working the Ramair etc.</div>
<h3 style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Oil Door</h3>
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I'm not overly impressed with the plans oil door. It seems flimsy, you have to manually hold it up, the fasteners don't look streamlined... I followed other builders and decided to change it up. I bent up some aluminium to match the door profile and using some adhesives secured those together. Then I bought a hidden door hinge and some different fasteners and put it all together. Took some micro filling and sanding to get it all smoothed out but I like how it turned out in the end.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QxSLNskIsd8/WuCPLOL14DI/AAAAAAAAG0A/rof-S849XwMlmMkg_ApmhGigkWas-atewCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0277.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-QxSLNskIsd8/WuCPLOL14DI/AAAAAAAAG0A/rof-S849XwMlmMkg_ApmhGigkWas-atewCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0277.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This finishing touched on the oil door was another process in itself. I bought and installed these push camlocs for the opening and closing mechanism. They initially worked well cleco'd on but once I painted the pack of it started the micro fill work I wasn't happy with it at all. I ended up stripping the paint from the backside of the door, adding some shims to hold the latch mechanisms providing better clearance and then I was able to reinforce their attach points with a few strips of aluminum. I bought some 5/8 hole covers also and used some 3M adhesive to act as the button extenders. The rest was a matter of filling in some of the gaps to make it a smooth run, sand, epoxy, sand and here's what I ended up with.<br />
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RamAir</h3>
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Lets talk a bit about <a href="http://www.ramairforhomebuilts.com/">Rod Bower Aviation</a> products. My reasoning in going with these products was ultimately to enhanced performance at a cheaper cost point than a typical cold air induction setup. There are some utility benefits as well. These include easier removal of the cowling with a 3-blade propeller and a built in alternate air source. I can't speak about the results because I'm not flying yet but two people I've spoken with are very happy with their results and have easily achieved an extra 1" on manifold at altitude.</div>
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If you're going down this path on an RV-10 you need to <b>make sure</b> you're getting all the right pieces. Even though I ordered mine less than a year ago there have been some changes to unit. I was able to send my unit back in for a nominal labor fee and have it retrofitted to the newer <a href="http://www.ramairforhomebuilts.com/ram-air-systems---cooling.html">Enhanced Filter Air</a> canister. The difference in the two units are rectangle vs oval reeds, with the rectangles apparently being more efficient than even the stock set up. Next I picked up the <a href="http://www.ramairforhomebuilts.com/images/pasted%20image%20640x480.jpg?crc=485993761">Rambo Elbow</a> which re-positions your servo horizontal and forward facing giving it a straight shot of air vs the typical updraft model. No clue how that affects performance but we'll see.</div>
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To be completely honest the biggest challenge I had was with the fiberglass scoop. The original one sent to me fit the cowling great if the canister was in the original position. With the elbow and forward facing fuel servo it moves it up and out and the stock location wasn't going to work. It was obvious to me that it wasn't going to fit initially. I thought maybe when you used the elbow you had to do some fiberglass work, sent some pictures and emails to Rod and got some advice on how to make it work. In his defense he's not standing in my garage so it's probably a bit challenging to understand what the issue is. We had a number of conversations and I was ready to bastardize the scoop I had to get it to work. Rod gave me some suggestions on cutting the flanges off, how to position it etc. Even after doing that there was no possible way this was going to work. At this point I'm reading through making molds and all sorts of stuff and came across Larry's <a href="http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=158711&highlight=Rod+Bower&page=2">thread</a> on his install.</div>
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A couple things I noticed, 1) he has the old oval reed openings, 2) he had to machine his elbow to put a 3 degree angle in it and now Rod sells spacer for that, 3) His cowl scoop looks amazing! So I reached out to him to see what sort of techniques he used to get such a great fit and he said he had to do very little..... Okay at this point I knew without a doubt I had the wrong scoop so I sent Rod some of the pictures and essentially said '<i>I need what Larry used</i>'.</div>
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I hate that I ruined the original scoop so couldn't send it back, but I was more than willing to buy the new scoop which I did. A few weeks later I had the new scoop, which essentially fits perfectly. All I did was even out the flanges a bit but other than that I didn't have to do any major fitting. All in all in the scoop I'm guessing I spent less than 3 hours fitting it, cutting the matching hole and working the micro and fiberglass work. I spent another hour or so installing the camlocks and now I also have an amazing scoop!</div>
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<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EgApJI8zmsI/WwGuH4uPMsI/AAAAAAAAG1s/Ve-_VwjawyYD7JBUd13vW_7j2gMrGzOLQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0382.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EgApJI8zmsI/WwGuH4uPMsI/AAAAAAAAG1s/Ve-_VwjawyYD7JBUd13vW_7j2gMrGzOLQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0382.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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Cowl Flaps</h3>
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Lets talk Cylinder Head Temps (CHT). In the RV-10 I'm flying now you have to shallow your climb pretty soon after lift off to keep the CHTs under 400 degrees. This threshold is optimal as you don't want to burn them out or be overly hard on your engine. There are troves of information out there on a variety of topics to reduce the CHTs. There are a number of builder who do pretty much everything possible and still end up not being able to climb at their maximum rate, and those in hot climates such as mine that really have to reduce their performance to keep CHTs down. The solution for me are using <a href="https://antisplataero.com/products/ez-cool-cowl-flap">Cowl Flaps</a> in order to increase airflow on climb out. Cowlflaps aren't a new idea and have been around at least since at least WWII. I've flown planes with them and I don't find their use overly complex so wanted to incorporate them.</div>
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This is obviously a deviation in the planes and require some modifications. They go in place of the stock vents and you'll want to make sure that at no time are they interfering with the exhaust. Two major issues come up when you plan the install. The first issue if the only place to avoid interference is at the inner most corner all the way back. This causes you to have to figure out a method of attaching the center brace piece along with the flaps.</div>
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The second the flaps will be proud of the cowl, sticking out a good 1/8in inch of you don't build up the material behind it. <a href="http://www.goodplaneliving.com/cowl-flaps-finished/">Other builders</a> have come up with methods of building up the area. I tried to make a metal bracket but was having some consistency issues with my given workshop. I decided instead to build up the area with good old fiberglass. I started with 4 layers of pretty thick fiberglass tape, alternating the seams for rigidity. Next I made up some fairly think epoxy/milled fiber mixture and just laid it on thick. Once it started to set I manipulated it by hand a bit and then covered with peel ply and smashed the units down to get it somewhat even. Once cured it was a sanding marathon until you get it level and flush. To attach I decided to use countersunk screws and self locking (Non-nylon) type nuts. </div>
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<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aHLCz01MuM0/WwGuQ83pQzI/AAAAAAAAG1w/ZK6T8Qy5XnUt0v9DABHnyd5_3OPqxd5pACLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-aHLCz01MuM0/WwGuQ83pQzI/AAAAAAAAG1w/ZK6T8Qy5XnUt0v9DABHnyd5_3OPqxd5pACLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0379.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aKsP-ryPrWw/WwGuRVzD60I/AAAAAAAAG10/Z2Wa_tClQxgg7WVefkIdk3ms0k6NtGIiQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aKsP-ryPrWw/WwGuRVzD60I/AAAAAAAAG10/Z2Wa_tClQxgg7WVefkIdk3ms0k6NtGIiQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0380.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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With increasing this thickness you need to modify your closeout piece. I went ahead and just sandwiched two scrap fiberglass pieces and a piece of aluminium together with the stock piece. This gives you a line to trim and sand and in the end you end up with a not overly heavy thick piece that will work with this new set up. As shown in Ed's build log above you have to bend your brace a bit, it's not structural so it's a non-factor. You'll have to use much longer rivets obviously, and for the final screws for the nutplates I had to order some longer ones as well.</div>
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I will have to finish the wiring up later when I figure out how I'm going to route it. It's important to control the heat, I have little heat shields I can attach to the pipe, but I will also have to cover any wiring with fire barrier and foil.</div>
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Cowl Finishing</h3>
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I was extremely happy once I got to more mundane parts that really required just time. Putting on nutplates, skim coats and painting the interior etc. takes a bit of effort but it's fairly straight forward. I again used the same coating, think filler paint I used on the top and doors to finish up the cowling. I rolled on 3 coats and let cure for... and I let it cure for weeks to be more exact. The idea is that you ensure it's fully cured and won't do any additional shrinking post sanding. Here's what it looked like prior to sanding.</div>
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I also decided to reconstruct my original custom inlet ramp. My first attempt didn't allow the clearance required to get the cowling over the AC Compressor while being able to put the cowling behind the bulkhead. I ended up trimming off a bit to make it fit and frankly felt that the air would end up shooting under the baffle rather than over it. Time to rebuild it....</div>
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It wasn't especially difficult, but it did take me two 'prototypes' to get something I liked. The basic idea was to make a larger more gradual slop in order to direct air flow to the top of the baffle. It also made sense to me to make it removable, thus ensuring no issues with compressor clearance during cowl installation or removal.</div>
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After initial layup over the clay, let it cure, drilled some placement holes. Trimed and shaped the top piece how I wanted it. I then essentially reshaped the lower cowl to fit the new ramp and now it's about twice as thick as the other side, even after sanding the back a bit. I topped everything with several thick coats of primer to function as a high build layer and let it cure for 4 days. Then hit it up with some 320 to smooth it out and finished with nutplates and some countersunk screws.</div>
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<a href="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-utWOHU59Vf4/Ww10hvGOpkI/AAAAAAAAG3w/xp0tcBLupEIBbvQqshuWmBUSkcyb9CzqQCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0401.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-utWOHU59Vf4/Ww10hvGOpkI/AAAAAAAAG3w/xp0tcBLupEIBbvQqshuWmBUSkcyb9CzqQCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0401.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's not pretty but it should be functional and will get cleaned up along with the rest of the fiber glass come final paint. At first glance it looks like it will restrict airflow but really I just replaced the metal baffle ramp with fiberglass that will deliver the air to the top.</div>
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nyj8Nj9SZRE/Ww2S-_uQBQI/AAAAAAAAG4c/a6q69syvAV4Zyf6MOQzKiVW6t9V-UQmGwCLcBGAs/s1600/IMG_0405.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Nyj8Nj9SZRE/Ww2S-_uQBQI/AAAAAAAAG4c/a6q69syvAV4Zyf6MOQzKiVW6t9V-UQmGwCLcBGAs/s320/IMG_0405.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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After all this angst and agony my cowling is essentially complete. I'm extremely happy with the way everything turned out. If I had to change something I would of actually probably have done camlocs around the back of the top cowling. It is seriously a huge pain to take on and off. Sure it would have been another mod but I'm guessing it would of saved countless hours over the life of the plane.</div>
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I decided to leave the cowling off for these final section pictures. I anticipate waiting to recowl the plane until I make the move to the hangar.</div>
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Justinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01261006138752637628noreply@blogger.com0