Back to School! HOBBS 304.5 hrs

Just a quick note...part of the reason for the limited progress the last week was the fact that I have decided to go back to school. I know, I know, I must be crazy...building an airplane, working full time and now starting grad school! I enrolled in the Master's of Engineering program in Engineering Management at good ol' CU Boulder. My company will reimburse me for up to $30,000 in schooling so why not? Gotta increase the earning potential for the future to pay for these awesome toys!! :) So, right now, as I adapt to being a student once again, the project may be on the back burner a little bit. I expect I will become more efficient with school as the semester progresses and be back cranking on the project more.

Right Tank Prep HOBBS 304.5 hrs

There's been a lot going on lately, unfortunately not much of it was progress on the project. This weekend was the annual Rocky Mountain Airshow out at KBJC. I spent all day out there saturday, culminating with a BBQ at Shawn and Bob's (Colorado Pilot's Association) hangar before the night airshow and fireworks. Saw the Oshkosh award winning RV8 from Evergreen and met the owner (cant remember his name however?). Very nice looking plane. Also met Sean Blair from Meadowlake (Colorado Springs) who is building a RV7A...or RV7...or...he is still debating. We exchanged business cards since we are both at almost identical stages of our build.

As for the project. Working on getting the right tank ready for the pro-seal dance. Anti-hang up brackets for the flop tube. Fuel cap, fuel sump/drain, etc, etc.

I ordered another flop tube from Van's...yup, I decided to go with a two flop tube system. I can go into inverted flight on either tank. I also ordered four extra 6' piano hinges...stay tuned for what those are for. Some 426 -4 rivets for the flop tube area where I was having the interference problem. Oh, and another small tube of pro-seal. I was told by someone who has done multiple sets of tanks that it is really a nice way to apply pro-seal to the tanks and I knew I probably needed more anyway. Not much for $105, thats for sure.

I did a better job of layout on the right tank. Here is the nut sitting in place so I can see what kind of clearance I need for those rivets. But, even with all this, I left out one of the (6) rivets they show in the plans.

Whoops, I cut my angle attach bracket wrong...I fit it to the wrong rib so it was in the 'left' orientation. At first I said, 'crap!' gotta order another angle piece. But luckily Van's sends enough to make three brackets...so I just fabricated another. Hey Bryan...got an extra one for the left tank if you want it!! :)

Fuel tank access cover cleco-ed in place. This will be attached with cap screws...that for some reason dont come with the kit from what I can tell?? I have to look into this more to be sure.

Here is a shot of the (5) holes instead of (6)...

Had to fabricate this anti-hang up bracket...this will ensure that the flop tube doesn't catch on the nut plates (not shown) or scar up the tube as it slides over the top. Actually the one in this picture was discarded. It was a little too tall for my taste as it looked like it could still catch the tube so I made another one a little shorter...sorry didnt snap a pic.

Use a cardboard file folder for layout...cut and fit, then transfer the bend lines over to the sheet metal.

On to the Right Tank HOBBS 300.5 hrs

Started on the right tank, all of the attach brackets are done. Tank is back in the cradle, ready for all of the same prep work (drilling, countersinking, angle bracket, access hole, etc) I just did on the left tank. Pics will be a little redundant so I wont post many through this process. It is going much faster the second time around, not nearly as much reading and studying plans as I know pretty much what needs to be done. When doing new tasks, I think you spend about 50% of your time just reading and trying to understand the steps in the process. I think if a guy built a second one of these, it would go so much faster.

Funny story, my neighbors walked by while I was working tonight and asked about the project. I told them I was building an airplane...they responded, "oh, thats neat". Then they took a peak inside and saw the wings in the stand...and thats when they said, "wow, thats a real airplane!" haha. I love the misconceptions this hobby has with the general public...most people think you are building an ultralight or something. Yep, its a real airplane...and then some! :)

Sully! HOBBS 298.5 hrs

Photo courtesy of Bryan Raley

I had meant to take some time to post this after Oshkosh, but it kept slipping my mind. So here it is, a little late, but still effective. My first evening after I arrived at Osh this year was the Young Eagles banquet. If you follow my blog, you will know that I am a big fan of the program. But the main event to this evening was our friend and fellow EAA chapter 301 member, Rudy Kniese (pictured in the center), was honored as YE event coordinator of the year! Very cool and a nice accomplishment for Rudy...you can read here Young Eagle Day what I think of Rudy's YE operations.

The surprise of the night was our VIP seating (up close and personal) at the YE banquet (which was free) and the very nice setup that EAA had for us. Full buffet style dinner (that was tasty), with an open bar and bottles of complimentary wine at our tables!! Sheesh, I wasnt expecting that, but sure wasnt complaining! It was a packed house, not an empty chair in the place...approx. 900-1000 people all seated in the Eagle hangar at the museum. What a great setting, I very much enjoyed this evening.

This brings me to the title of my post...'Sully' or Capt. Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger You may remember him as the Captain of the ill-fated Hudson ditching flight. Sully, along with Jeff Skiles, his first officer on the flight are now chairmen of the Young Eagles, taking over the reins from Harrison Ford.

It was funny I kept joking to our group, that as the evening progressed, Mr. Skiles was doing ALL of the talking and I kept thinking. Hmm, maybe Mr. Sullenberger is not much of a public speaker and that is why he is being so quiet?

He finally ended the night by taking the podium and speaking. And boy, was I dead wrong, he was a very eloquent, powerful speaker. He gave about a ten minute speech...not long but very direct with a great message.

He spoke about "doing the hard work" in training. That when the time came to ditch, it was so successful because he and his crew had done the hard work leading up to that moment and that made all the difference. It reminded me of my days playing sports, working your tail off at practice so that when the lights go on you are prepared for the pressure of the moment. All great players know this and I can guarantee what you see on game day is the result of doing the hard work when no one is watching.

Well, the lights went on and everyone was watching when they lost their engines because of a bird strike over the Hudson...and they did what they were expected to do. Some call them heroes, I'm not one in that camp nor does Mr. Sullenberger himself believe they are heroes. I think hero worship in today's day and age is quite overblown and media driven. I believe they did their job flawlessly under difficult circumstances and should be applauded for that, but it is what every pilot is trained to do from day one. The question is, can you perform flawlessly when the lights are on?? When you are staring possible death in the face, can you keep your cool and fly the airplane? No pilot can be sure until he is tested in that fashion, but we can all strive to be that professional in our flying.

In summary, one last thing I wanted to add. They replayed the cockpit conversation just before impact. Two things struck me when listening to it...#1, there was absolutely no panic in anyone's voice. And #2, Mr. Sullenberger practiced CRM (Crew Resource Management) right until the end when the last transmission you hear is when he turns to Mr. Skiles and asks one last time, "Any ideas?" and he gets the reply, "unfortunately not". Always use your 'crew' in an emergency...even if they are a non-pilot, you might be surprised how they can help if called upon.

2010 FTG Open House HOBBS 298.5 hrs

Saturday afternoon I took a small break from airplane construction to go out to the Front Range (FTG) open house and car show. Its free, and close, so why not eh? Check out some airplanes...see some flying, etc. I ran into Wes and Pete (RV8 owners) Pete's Engine Hanging at the CubCrafter table...they had their pretty yellow Carbon Cub on display trying to find some buyers. Tough going in today's economy, I feel for them. So, their RV8 project is kind of on hold these days...all about money.

I did see a couple of RV7's on the ramp. One was a -7 slider that I have seen before, the other an unpainted RV7A that I hadnt. It was interesting, I always like poking and prodding a finished plane of my model. He had the same infinity stick grips and interior that I plan to put in mine. I wanted to sit in it...but alas, I didnt get a chance to meet the owner. Here are some pics.

Side cowling louvers...rumor has it he had engine cooling issues that took him a year to get solved. Not sure what engine he had in it? I've ususally seen builders put them on the bottom of the cowl.

Some interesting 'nose art' on one of the cars at the show...gotta love it!

Left Tank Prep HOBBS 298.5 hrs

I'm almost done with my left tank prep work. I think I have everything crossed off the list of things to do..except for my inverted flight flap door (forgot that one...I'll add it later before sealing). I also ran into an issue with the flop tube...same problem others have had and I forgot about it until after I had already drilled my holes. The issue is that the flop tube fitting interferes with the -470 rivets on the end rib where the reinforcement plate goes (see pics below).

I will just install -426's (flathead rivets) instead and build on, not a factor except I think I need to order some rivets for this task. I also am having a dilema over the decision..."one or two flop tubes." I currently have one installed in the left tank but was considering ordering another one and installing it in the right tank as well. That way I dont have to be on a specific tank for inverted flight. I have heard that flop tubes get stiff over time rendering them ineffective to actually 'flop'. My thought is, they will get stiff in the airplane upright (bottom of the tank) position since this is where they spend most of their time. And if so, they will only be innefective when I go inverted and it will be very evident when the engine sputters from fuel starvation that I need to replace them. I dont see it as a safety issue. I will have to develop a maintenance strategy for these, not sure they need inspection at annuals or not? More research, data points needed before I decide.

An FAA shot...so they know I built it, which is comical to me...when I'm finished with this puppy go ahead and test me, ask me about any part of this airplane and I will be able to talk about it for hours in excruciating detail. :) That should be the test to see if someone actually built their airplane or had someone else do it, not silly pictures...but it is the federal government, what do you expect?

My fuel cap installation, get her centered up and drill some holes...looks cool. This will be the 'money hole' after its flying!

My 'deluxe' fuel cap installed and ready for action!

Fuel tank access hole. This is where you can access the interior of your tank if needed. You have to dril that large approx. 5.25" hole with a fly cutter...that was a little scary, I couldnt get my drill press turned down as far as I would have liked so the RPM's were a little high for my taste. But it worked. You can see I cut it a little bigger than the reinforcement ring.

Here is the little bracket that attaches the vent line to the fuel filler. I used a 0.25" drill bit to take the place of the 1/4" alum tubing.

Here it is in place, wasnt as difficult as I thought it was going to be.

Fuel filler machine countersunk.

A cheapo tube/pipe cutter from Harbor Freight...$5, gotta have one of these for the rigid fluid lines and the pitot/static plastic tubing. It gives a nice clean/square cut which is very important. It works perfectly fine, no need for an expensive one.

Here is my flop tube in place.

This picture shows my interference problem. The holes shown are supposed to take -470 rivets (universal dome head) and as you can see, they would interfere with the nut for the fitting. Its kind of aggravating because Van's makes no mention of this when they tell you to drill those holes. They give no measurements as to where they should be placed...just a generic picture and leave it to you, the builder, to put them in where you want. So...if you are putting in a flop tube, pay attention to the location of these holes. Or you can resign yourself to just do it the way I am, which isnt really a big deal if you have the rivets you need.

Using my fuel tank dimple dies to dimple the tank skin.

whoops...made a mistake, the holes for the fuel sump/drain do not get dimpled.

Not a problem, put my flat dies in and flatten 'er back out...build on. Funny, when I first started building this kind of thing would have made me sick to my stomach. Now, not even a blip on the radar. I really have learned that you should build one of these airplanes at the 'macro' level...instead of the 'micro' level. Keep the big picture in mind...the airplane as a whole, not a single screwed up rivet or single hole, etc....you will keep your sanity intact much better! :)

Squaring up the tank attach brackets (Z brackets). Once squared, mark it with a line so you have a visual sanity check before you start match drilling.

My dog Lakota...she doesnt like the noise of the shop (garage) but she does like to come to the door that I have propped open to keep an eye on whats going on and what Dad's up to.

More Tank Prep HOBBS 293.0 hrs

Its been a light week in the factory this week. No real reason beyond sometimes a guy just needs a break from the every day grind. I have been doing more prep work on the left fuel tank...there is quite a bit to be done to get it ready for the proseal/rivet dance. I also spent some time cleaning up the shop...it seriously needed it. So...its been capacitance plates, tank access hole, stiffeners, countersinking, wiring, vent line, flop tube, etc. I've slowed down as I'm going through a learning curve right now with some of this...this is the part I like.

I remember when I started this build, I didnt even know what  a 'flop tube' was!?? That has to be the best part about building one of these buggers...to intimately know the 'guts' of an airplane and how it all works is pretty cool. Of course, thats coming from an Engineer, so not a real revelation there. :) I'll post some pics in my next post.

SportAir Workshop-Round 3 HOBBS 290.0 hrs

I signed up for my third and probably last SportAir workshop Sept 11-12th. I have already attended the RV Assembly and Composites class and was very satisfied with the amount of knowledge and hands on experience I recieved for the money. So, the final installment in my training will be the Electrical systems, Wiring and Avionics class...see descpription here, SportAir Workshop. This is by far my weakest subject matter, beyond a basic circuits class during my college days...I really know nothing about the electrical side of this project. The class will cover quite a few topics that will come in very handy...soldering, wiring, connectors and antenna's. After this class, EAA should send me some sort of SportAir bachelors degree! haha! Some people probably would say I am spending too much money on this training and could get by without it as most builders do...but my stance on this is I dont mind spending my money on knowledge, that is never a waste in my book. And...its fun learning new things!

Left Fuel Tank Prep HOBBS 290.0 hrs

Spent all week working on the left fuel tank. First doing the Z-brackets to mount it to the main spar. I used the "Checkoway" method on these. It wasnt too painful and pretty straightforward. I do have a funny feeling that doing it exactly as Van's says to do it would yield perfectly fine results also.

So, the week's activities were...Z-brackets, match drilling skin to ribs/baffle, machine countersinking, capacitive plates, fuel tank mount bracket fabrication and stiffener fabrication and just misc prep work as I get closer to sealing the tanks. After I finish the left tank I will move on to the right tank next. Here are some pics from the week.

Hey look, a 'complete' wing...not quite, but it looks cool

Just before match drilling the end rib z-bracket

Left fuel tank in the cradle

Left fuel tank end ribs and baffle...skin and interior ribs removed. This is what it looks like before match drilling through the main spar.

Here is a step-by-step view of the fabrication of the fuel tank attach bracket. It starts out as a piece of angle aluminum...

Had to find something laying around the shop with a 2" diameter for the layout...this was real close...a smidge big, but it served its purpose.

We never want sharp radii...stress concentrations, especially on something that will be carrying a load like a mounting bracket. So, first step...drill some holes for the inside radii.

And there ya go, a finished part..came out nice

Machine countersinking the fuel tank skins, it really helped to lay the tank on its side like this...better leverage.

Attach bracket cleco-ed in place

Capacitive plates installed...partially. Notice I had to notch one of them to fit around one of the stiffener, they have a recommended clearance from all metal. The plates have to be electrically isolated from the rest of the tank to function properly. There is more to this installation, but I think the rest will wait until the tanks are sealed.