Left Wing Details HOBBS 2598.5 hrs

I put in an order for the balance of my flexible fuel/oil lines from Aircraft Specialty. Its a nice alternative for ordering hoses that I found on VAF. I like the way I can pick/choose my fuel lines right on the website. This way nothing gets lost in translation during a phone call. Most hose suppliers require you to put your order in by phone. C'mon people, embrace technology.

 

 

I think I've said this before, but just in case, if I were to do this all over again I wouldn't order ANY hoses from Van's FWF kit. Unless you have an exact copy of their standard system (which I surely don't), the hoses probably are not going to be the right length for your application. Order them custom...save the headache. I now have several extra hoses that I am stuck with...and they aren't cheap.

 

With this order of hoses (I added the firesleeve myself...saves some money), I was able to get all of my oil/fuel lines done...including the auxiliary fuel tanks.

 

Because of not very good planning on my part, this vent line coming out of the main tank attaching to the aux tank was hidden behind a wing nose rib. I was forced to either cut an access hole in the nose rib or pull the tank to get to it. I chose the latter. I opted for a flexible line here just for ease of assembly. Here you can see the hose in place. Now its easy to put the tank back on.

 

The plans I followed for the aux fuel tanks specified putting a fuel transfer pump in between the two tanks for takeoff and unusual attitude scenarios. I wasn't convinced they were needed and had heard that the original designer didn't even use his. I decided to remove them...for once, deciding to simplify my system. In place of the fuel pump, I also decided to add a check valve as shown here. The "U" shape in the line was intentional to allow for flex between the tanks.

 

If you are using the capacitance plate system from Dynon, you will need to install one of these converters (I have four...one for each tank). I don't like this design...they look flimsy (one exposed soldered wire could render it useless), have an exposed circuit board and seem like the bayonet connector could easily come unplugged. But, alas...I am stuck with it, there are not any options.

 

The ones on my aux tank are connected directly to the tank since they are well protected from the elements inside the wing. The main tanks however are right where the wing root fairing attaches to the wing...I can imagine plenty of water coming through this lap joint during a rain scenario. I decided I didn't like that and remotely mounted them inside the cockpit. Looking closely you can see my RG58 running into the fuse, protected by corrugated conduit.

 

Here you can see my fuel line routing...I added that coupler for ease of assembly/disassembly. Also notice how I safety wired the front tank attach point. Really no instructions that I saw from Van's on how to do this? I drilled a #30 hole in the bracket and used that for the safety wire attach point.

 

Once I got these last tidbits done, it was time to close up the wing root gap with the fairing. Not much to this task...did a little trim work to get a 3/16" gap and then installed the gap seal.

Top Wing Skins HOBBS 610.0 hrs

Well this is a first, I have never created a blog post where I could add 57 hrs to the project HOBBS meter!! It was a busy week to say the least. I am way behind in posts so this one is going to have a lot of pictures and I am going to try and keep it short (fat chance!).

The two weeks with Dad helping out were amazing, we logged 82 man-hours in that time. I was able to get about 6-8 weeks of work done in two weeks with his help. That is a huge step forward in helping me get this thing flying sooner rather than later. 

We got all of the fuel tank problems solved, all tanks passed their pressure tests. That was the green light to attach the tanks in place, install the Duckworks LE lights and rivet the top skins. Here are the pics and descriptions of our work...

As you all probably know by now, I like doing little things on my plane to make it my own. Little touches that make it unique. The idea of having a plane exactly like everyone else's is mind numbing to me. So, here is another of my touches, unique to my plane. I changed the landing light cutout from the standard rectangular pattern to a circle. My thinking is, the lamp is round, why should the cutout be rectangle? I came up with this idea on my own but I'm sure I'm not the first to do it. Here is what I used for my cutout pattern...good ol' Shiner Bock from Texas! :)

Pattern layout and ready for the delicate cutout work with a dremel tool. Cutting into a perfectly good leading edge assembly certainly gives a guy pause. Cant make a mistake here or I'd lose my mind!

Dad having a go at his wing, he bravely went first as I drug my feet before starting  mine. We both chose one wing to do from start to finish...it was a friendly little competition to see who's would turn out better. ;) In the end I would have to call it a draw...they both looked really nice.

Marking the holes and match drilling for the lens attach brackets.

Fitting the lens in place for match drilling. I think this is where we made a mistake in our process. Both of our lenses didn't come out with a nice tight fit with the skin even though they looked perfect at this stage. I think it was because we had this layer of masking tape on the lens for protection when we did our match drilling. The thickness of the tape may have caused our problem. 

I plan to redo these lenses later and will forgo the masking tape for hopefully a better fit. Although the lenses didn't come out as we had hoped, everything else turned out great and it was a fun project. It took us both, working in parallel, a few hours to accomplish--its certainly not a 45 min task that's for sure.

Dad prepping the lens for the brackets and trimming it to size so it will fit in the hole. This took some doing to get it to fit in my round holes, but it is possible if you decide to go this route.

Here is what it looks like when its all finished. I was really happy with my choice to go with the round holes...looks pretty slick!

We mounted the light ballast on the end rib, outboard. I figured this was a good location so I could easily get to it if needed when the wingtip is removed. It also makes the wire routing a breeze as I can just enter the main conduit (just below in this pic) running down the length of the wing.

Man is that puuuuuuurdy! wooooo-wee!

We got all our prep work done that we needed to on Friday, setting the stage for riveting the top skins in place. We got up bright and early Saturday morning and attacked, and I mean attacked the top skins like we were possessed. We riveted all four top skins in place in roughly 5 1/2 hrs...the first wing (two skins) took about 3. We had to drill out exactly two rivets during the entire process (and one of the screwups I did was with the squeezer! doh!) and I also had one slip with the gun producing a small 'smiley' in the skin (no worries, this will be fixed during the painting process). Other than that, I was ecstatic about how they turned out! Even better than I expected to be honest. They really look great as you can see from the pics.

Although I had planned to use the back rivet method, Dad and I decided we liked the traditional method better...its quicker in my opinion. I was on the gun, Dad manned the bucking bar and we worked very well as a team burning through those skins. Its quite amazing how fast you can go with a good riveting partner. We got in a nice rhythm and cranked through them in no time. As Chris Ledoux used to sing during my rodeo days, "it was like child's play on Grandma's rocking chair."

I gotta tell ya, we were both pretty tired by the end, it was an intense 5 1/2 hrs to say the least. But probably the most rewarding part of the project so far.

Plumbing work for my ER tank vent line that I will run back to the fuse. This is different than how Mr. Tuckey did it...his vent exited through the bottom of the wing.

Installing the Dynon autopilot servo mounting bracket in the right wing. I ordered this mounting kit from Aircraft Spruce for $75. Yes, in case you were wondering, I am now about 99% sure I am going with the Dynon SkyView system/Autopilot and AOA heated pitot. Its a lot to invest in one company, but I'm certainly hoping it will be a good choice.

Wow, this was quite a sight and milestone. Moving the wings out of the wing stand (amazing how light they were to carry!) so that we could disassemble the stand. It was kind of surreal...I had looked at that stand as a fixture in my garage for about 9 months and now I was taking it down and getting ready to store the wings and move on to the fuse. Surreal...but very cool.

Dad tackled the task of building a wing cradle to store the wings and did a fine job. I also learned the cradle will be real handy for doing the finishing touches (wiring/plumbing) on the wing before closing it up. He just reused the end pieces from my fuel tank cradle to fit the contour of the wing. I also reused the same wheels I had on my wing stand and voila...a sturdy rolling wing cradle. This is where the wings will reside until they are mounted to the fuse later in the project.

A couple photos of us celebrating a very rewarding work session. After we finished the top skins, it was time for a shot of celebratory Canadian whiskey (Crown Royal...my drink of choice) and a Costa Rican cigar! What a great feeling to see the cleco's all removed and a nice shiny wing staring back at us for the first time. In my mind, I could already see the wind flowing over it, creating lift.

In summary, we didnt get the wings done as I had hoped while Dad was here but we came pretty darn close. If I hadnt had fuel tank problems, I think we would've got there. The good news is the wings are in a state that I can either work on them now and finish them up or wait til later. I've been reading other blogs and I think I can rivet those bottom skins on solo...sounds like others have done it without too much trouble. So nothing is holding up my continued progress for the forseeable future. Many thanks to my Dad for working so tirelessly while he was here...I had a hard time keeping up with him! :) I have had no less than three offers from other builders wanting to fly my Dad to their project to do the same for them!! haha! Once again, a perfect example of Aviation creating lifelong memories that I will always cherish. KPR my friends!

More Wing Prep HOBBS 553.0 hrs

Here are a few shots from some misc wing prep we have been doing while the ProSeal sets up on my fuel tank fixes.

I forgot to add some 7/16" dia holes in the ribs for the snap-in grommets for the pitot line and the AOA. Other builders, you might want to plan for this before riveting your skeleton together. All of the ribs were easy to get to with my right angle drill except the the two center ones where the wingwalk doubler resides. After some discussion, we figured we could get this solved with a long drill bit. Well, shoot, Harbor Freight to the rescue once again. We found a set of 3 of these huge 24" long drill bits for $8. Problem solved, worked great. If anyone needs to borrow them, give me a call.

A shot of Dad building a bracket for the right ER tank fuel pump. He's giving the pneumatic rivet squeezer with my new longeron yoke a go. The squeezer takes a little getting used to when you first get started with it. But he did say he is a big fan of it, it is a nice tool.

Cutting my access holes for the ER tank...just mirrored what I did on the left wing.

Fuel Tank Purgatory! HOBBS 551.0 hrs

Well, some good news/bad news on the last week's activities. The good news is, there has been quite a bit of activity between Dad and I. Its been fun working with Dad. The bad news is we've had a few rather frustrating setbacks with the fuel tanks. I had three...yeah three, fuel tanks leak during the pressure test!! What the...!!!??

The left main tank leaked right down the center of the BNC connector...I didnt read about this particular problem on VAF until after I did this tank. To other builders, this is certainly a potential 'gotcha'...make sure you really goop up the wire if you are using the capacitance sender system. It will leak out the center if you dont! So I commenced to removing the access plate and attempting to fix this (results forthcoming). Good news is it wasnt too difficult to remove even though it was ProSealed in place vs. the cork gasket.

Both ER tanks leaked at the nose in almost identical locations. I am still scratching my head over how this could be?? I not only did the same procedure as the main tanks, which had no problems in this area, but I was even more dilligent with the ER tanks. I cant for the life of me understand how they both leaked?

I have two theories however. One, we are using the cutoff finger of a glove as our makeshift 'balloon'. It certainly takes more pressure to inflate one of those than a regular balloon. For the next round of tests, I will purchase some actual balloons. Two, I have a suspicion that the ProSeal hadnt fully set up yet when we attempted the leak test. The reason I say this is, the second ER tank initially held pressure and then all of a sudden I heard a faint, but audible, pop like a balloon popping, followed by the gut wrenching, hisssing sound of leaking air.

So, we set about doing some more ProSeal work this weekend and plan to let that set up good and long this time before we try again later this week. The problem is, the leading edge ER tanks are the first sequence in riveting the wings so that is holding up progress. There isnt much left to do until we can get past that.

No More Fuel Tanks!! HOBBS 521.0 hrs

Four fuel tanks....check! After a very productive 14 hr weekend, I'm all done with fuel tanks and ProSeal! woohoo! As I cleaned the ProSeal off the cleco's, tools and the work table for the last time I was giddy. What a great feeling to be done with that crap. I still need to do some leak tests, add some access holes, plumbing, etc...but the ProSeal portion is done. (Note: one of the ER tanks in the pic is not completely done yet, it still needs a few ribs...although the tank itself is done.)

They say the most satisfying things in life are the ones that are the hardest to achieve. Well, needless to say, I am pretty satisfied with these tanks. They were a fair amount of grinding work, but they're all mine and I will smile every time I look at them because I intimately know what went into them. My fingerprints are all over 'em...literally. Dad arrives tomorrow so hopefully we will burn through the remainder of these wings in short order.

Help is on the Way! HOBBS 507.0 hrs

On monday, my retired father is flying into the ol' Mile High City to give his son a helping hand on the project. I have been trying to get him out here since the project started, but the logistics hadnt worked out until now. It will be nice having him around as he's had prior experience with RV kits and spent most of his working life as a machinist, mechanic and skilled craftsman.  I'm definitely looking forward to it.

Tonight I am heading over to fellow RV builder Brian Beatty's project to help him rivet his top wing skins. Brian has visited my project previously, but this will be my first visit to his. This will be great experience for me as I am literally knocking on the door of doing my own wing skins.

This weekend, I will be finishing up my last fuel tank. From there, it should be smooth sailing to finish up these wings and get started on the fuse.

More Tank Work HOBBS 507.0 hrs

No pictures...no comment... ;)

Tank Stiffeners HOBBS 503.0 hrs

The project is a little bit of a grind right now, I feel like I am laboring to get over this last hump on the wings... the last fuel tank. Sometimes, even though its not much fun, you just gotta roll up your sleeves and get after it. This morning I did just that.

I can now check the following off the 'to do' list: Stiffeners, fuel filler, fuel drain, extra holes in the skin plugged, nose reinforcement plates riveted onto the end ribs and some last misc ProSeal work on the 3rd tank. This was a good chunk of ProSeal work right here, I pretty much went non-stop for about 4 hrs...several batches of ProSeal. It was a productive day.

Let me add, as I was doing each of these steps...it certainly crossed my mind, barring any unusual circumstances, this is the LAST time I have to do this! I can't tell you how good it feels to close in on being done with ProSealing fuel tanks! I know, I know...its my own fault for wanting four fuel tanks. ;)

Oh...and I crossed the 500 hr thresh hold! Its cranking along...

Last Fuel Tank HOBBS 499.0 hrs

I have started construction on my 4th and FINAL fuel tank! Sorry, once again, no pics...it's just stuff you've already seen by now. Progress thus far => all fuel tank ribs fitted/match drilled to skin, fuel cap hole cut, fuel drain hole cut, skin dimpled, ribs fluted and dimpled, capacitance plates fitted, stiffeners placed and match drilled. Next steps => rivet/ProSeal stiffeners, fuel drain fitting, fuel cap inlet, etc.

Closing up the ER Tank HOBBS 492.0 hrs

I had monday off work for President's day, so a three day weekend was in order. What does that mean to an RV builder...all together now...more time to work on the plane! I know...pathetic huh? :) I need to get a life.

Anyway, the weekend started out with me doing some plumbing work between my fuel pump and the ER tank and the main tank. Wanted to make sure everything was good to go before closing up the tank. Well, lets just say that was slow going...bending rigid fluid lines is an art in and of itself. I started to get it down however...after several screwups. ;)

I riveted the access plate, the baffle and the tank attach brackets to the 3rd tank (left ER tank)...so its all closed up now! Hee haw! ...check for leaks in a few days and I have already started on the 4th and last tank. Here are some pics...

Fuel pump mounted to the wing spar. I fabricated that mounting bracket from some scrap I had in the shop. Came out good, but it is probably a little overkill (ie, too heavy) for its intended job. Oh well, so I will have a heavy airplane and a robust bracket...I am already resigned to this fact.

First test fit of the bell crank and the aileron push tubes...they actuate smooth as silk. I wanted to make sure my wiring for the fuel pump wasnt interfering with the motion of the control systems. I think I'm good.

Holes drilled into the spar to pass the ER tank vent line and coaxial cable for the capacitance fuel sender system. Rattle can primer to coat the holes...kind of ugly, but should be effective, you will never see it in the bowels of the aircraft.

Here  you can see the hole I drilled for the wire routing (the bell crank is directly behind this fuel pump).

Productive HOBBS 476.0 hrs

Although I didnt accomplish my goal of finishing up the ER tank this weekend, I took a pretty big bite out of it. I just need to rivet/ProSeal the baffle in place and do some fuel line plumbing. It was a very "productive" and exciting weekend in the shop.

I think we, as builders, should start a new collection of sayings...like the comedian Jeff Foxworthy did several years back, when he came out with the slogan..."you might be a redneck if...". Our version might be, "you might be building an airplane if..." you measure your weekends with words like "productive!" haha!

If it was a productive weekend, then I am a happy camper. This was one of those weekends. Its also always exciting to see large pieces of the airplane finished. When that happens I usually have a beer and just sit back and admire my work when I'm done. ;) Enjoy the journey as I always say. The leading edge/ER tank is almost there...very fulfilling to see it in this stage, more so than the standard tank for obvious reasons. Here are some pics from the progress I made...

Parts ready for priming...the tank parts dont get primer (you dont want a chunk of paint breaking off and plugging fuel lines), these are both sets of leading edge parts that will get painted. On a side note, I am pretty much out of my two part Akzo Nobel primer...so it lasted through the wings. Time to buy some more.

This was a pretty big milestone in this sub-assembly...all ribs riveted/ProSealed into place...I think I cracked open a cold beer after this. Really went pretty smooth...I have my ProSeal techniques down to a science now. I will say, once you finally can do some nose ribs without having to ProSeal them (the painted ones) it sure is a treat! :)

Here is a shot of the standard tank and ER tank installed on the wing for test fitting and match drilling the Z-brackets for the ER tank. Now, tell me that doesnt look cool! Of course, the two fuel caps are the coolest. I had one of the caps upside down though.

The underside showing my access holes...another cool shot...its starting to come together. The plumbing and fuel pump will reside in here. I started fabricating a mounting bracket for the fuel pump...more on this later.

This is a shot of the seam between the two tanks. Came out pretty darn good, almost perfect but not quite. However, its just a slight mismatch with the leading edges, not a big deal, overall I was happy with it. Its such a small deviation you cant even see it in this picture. Checkoway's Z-bracket match-drilling method worked well.