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1 Jan 08        4 Hours        Total: 1670

Happy New Year.  Approaching the end of five building years.  Gotta get with it!  Hmmm ... I think I said that last year.

More work on filling and sanding the elevator tips.  Also, the left elevator needs rebalancing so we drilled out some lead from the counterweights and covered the hole with fiberglass after filling the cavity with a resin/microlite mixture.

2 Jan 08        3 Hours        Total: 1673

The glass tips are beginning to look good.  Still a lot of filling and sanding to do.

4 Jan 08        4 Hours        Total: 1677

Ordered the Garmin SL30 from SteinAir.com and he is making the harness for it - $3500.  It won't arrive for 2-3 weeks.  Also ordered the Becker transponder from Rollison Airplane Co (airplanegear.com) for $1775.

5 Jan 08        4 Hours        Total: 1671

The prop control does not have enough authority to get full travel on the prop governor.  The only way to get additional throw before hitting the throttle quadrant stops was to redrill the clevis attachment hole in the prop lever for the prop cable.  Nelson marked it and we drilled a new hole that gives greater governor movement for the same amount of lever movement.  It was as high as we could move the hole and it still wasn't enough, so on the phone to MT Propellors of Deland, FL to ask if they had encountered the problem before.  I've heard of other builders having the same problem, but the guy I talked to at MT (Urgen) had not heard of it.  He said we must have full authority to the high RPM end and we can accept not quite reaching the stop on the low RPM side.  We now reach the high stop and are about 1/8" off the low stop.  Torqued and safety wired the governor.

7 Jan 08        4 hours        Total: 1675

We started to work again on wiring the CHT and EGT probes and realized that it is time to mount the exhaust pipes for good.  We gathered all the parts together and remembered that we should use anti-seize on the studs.  But, we don't have any that is suitable, so that will wait for another day.

8 Jan 08        3 Hours        Total: 1678

Nelson did more work on the elevator tips - filling and sanding the glass.

9 Jan 08

No work on the RV today.  We spent today doing fabric patches on the Pacer.  Tomorrow we'll finish the fabric work.

The Becker transponder arrived today.  Will wait to install it when the SL30 arrives.

10 Jan 08        3 Hours        Total: 1681

Worked mostly on the Pacer today, but we did install the exhaust pipes and EGT probes on the RV.

11 Jan 08        2 Hours        Total: 1683

Final touchup on the Pacer and ordered the VG replacements.  Cut the firewall hole for the engine sensor wires (19 of them) and decided where to route the engine ground, starter and alternator wires.  We'll use #2 welding cable for the starter and engine ground wires and #8 for the alternator wire.  I ordered a larger SS firewall passthrough for the starter wire along with the Zaon MRX Traffic Monitor, CO Guardian and XCOM Intercom.  When those and the SL30 arrive and are installed, the panel will be essentially finished and we can paint it and install it in the airplane for the last time.  Then we'll be able to rivet on the top skin and get started on other things such as the cowling and canopy.

12 Jan 08       4 Hours        Total: 1687

More sanding and filling on the elevators.  Also did some more wiring planning.

17 Jan 08        4 Hours        Total: 1691

19 Jan 08        3 Hours        Total: 1694

The elevator and HS tips are almost complete.  We're now wishing we had attached the elevator tips with #6 screws, but we'll have to save that for the next plane.  Nelson has them almost complete.

Routed the P-Mag wires through the firewall and removed the mags for shipping to TX for the latest updates.

The following series of photos shows the progress of the elevator tips, but they can't describe the amount of work involved.

21 Jan 08        4 Hours        Total: 1698

Installed Becker transponder.

22 Jan 08        4 Hours        Total: 1702

Routed wires for elevator trim.  Sorted out the BMA EFIS One wiring harness.  Found a battery shop to make a four foot #2 welding cable with one 90 degree end for the starter cable.  It fit just right.  

23 Jan 08        6 Hours        Total: 1708

Good progress today.  A little work on the elevator tips.

Made an alternator B lead wire from #8 wire and routed the starter cable along with the alternator B lead, the alternator control wire and warning light wire.

24 Jan 08        4 Hours        Total: 1712

26 Jan 08        6 Hours        Total: 1718

Pinned the BMA EFIS One harness.  They don't offer harnesses for the Gen 4 (don't know why) so rather than discard the $450 harness I bought for the Gen 1/3 gold box, I decided to use it for the EFIS One.  Got it all wired and tested for install but couldn't locate that final wire - wire # 26.  It finally dawned on me that I'm pinning a 25 pin connector!  I had beautifully pinned a 25 pin connector according to the pin out diagram for a 26 pin high density connector.  No wonder I couldn't find the 26th wire.  So, tomorrow, it's back to square one.

27 Jan 08        4 Hours        Total: 1722

Removed all the pins installed yesterday and I'm standing by now until I can purchase a 26 pin HD connector.

Removed the Ariel Trim Mixer and installed the Safety-Trim.  I had to remove the old Ariel bracket and modify it for the Safety Trim.

29 Jan 08        6 Hours        Total: 1728

Sorted out the AF-3400 EM wiring.  Added nutplates for adel clamps along firewall to accommodate the engine sensors wiring.  Also determined the routing for the P Mag wiring.  The P Mags come with an automotive style wiring and we changed it to aircraft grade 18 gauge wiring.  Shrink wrapped some of the wires to get a cleaner look.

Talked to Stein Air and added several items to the SL30 order.  They promised it to me by the end of the week.  Everything is waiting on the radio.  Once the radio arrives, we can cut the hole for it, get it installed, then remove everything from the panel and rivet on the top skin.  So, we're anxious to get the radio.

30 Jan 08        5 Hours        Total: 1733

2 Feb 08        3 Hours        Total: 1736

5 Feb 08        6 Hours        Total: 1742

6 Feb 08        5 Hours        Total: 1747

7 Feb 08

Kevin took the Pacer to Tyndall AFB to bounce around in while he's doing his F-22 training.  He got a cool photo with the Pacer alongside the Raptor.  The Pacer is much better looking!  But, I have to admit the Raptor avionics are more modern.

7 Feb 08        4 Hours        Total: 1751

Nelson did more fine sanding of the elevators and they are practically done.  We finished up the alternate air control cable, installed the Icom Intercom, did more wiring planning, and installed the Icom antenna switchbox.

8 Feb 08

Had to drive to Tampa to pick up the SteinAir and P Mags shipments - both went to the old address.  My initial look at the SL30 mounting rack (they call it a tube) indicates it will not fit below the EFIS One as I planned.  No time to look at it tonight in more detail.

9 Feb 08        4 Hours        Total: 1755

Cut the opening in the panel for the new Garmin SL30.  Lots of holes in the panel now.

14 Feb 08        3 Hours        Total: 1758

Nelson devised a strap to hold the back of the SL30 and also made angle brackets to connect it to the instrument panel.  It looks like it will fit after all.  I sent SteinAir a note telling them it should fit.  Also remounted the P Mags.

15 Feb 08        6 Hours        Total: 1764

Nelson worked on making the SL30 straps while I did the wiring for the P Mags.  Also did the pin outs for the EFIS One to transponder connection.  That took more time than expected since I made a mistake by crimping on male pins instead of females for the transponder DB25.

16 Feb 08        9 Hours        Total: 1773

I got the wiring harness for the EFIS 1 DB26 serial connection wired.  But, I forgot to put heat shrink on the wires before inserting them.  I could pull them all out and put the heat shrink on, but I think I'll try to find a work around.  Maybe use some of the silicone tape to wrap and protect the wires as they enter the protective case.

17 Feb 08        9 Hours        Total: 1782

I worked the entire day on wiring the harness for the SL30 and EFIS.  Not complicated - you just have to take you time and think through each step before acting.  Also, made AWG14 wires for the fuel boost pump.

18 Feb 08        8 Hours        Total: 1790

Got the console switch panels drilled for the switches.  Devised a plan for rerouting the fuel lines to put the fuel flow transducer in the correct position in the fuel flow process - that is, downstream of all pumps.  A phone call to Blue Mountain revealed that the harness that SteinAir made was all that's needed for the connection to the EFIS One!  I had spent hours carefully sorting, heat shrinking, and pinning the wires for the SL30 connection only to discover that I needed to remove them all.  Apparently the EFIS receives all nav info from the SL30 through a serial connection that has only 3 wires.  So, all my work was wasted.  Oh well, a good learning experience.

19 Feb 08        11 Hours        Total: 1801

Finished cutting all holes in the switch panels.  Wired the fuel boost pump.  Installed some of the switches to check for fit and clearance.  All looks good.  Had to add another conduit to the main battery to accommodate more ground wires to the forest of tabs grounding point.

20 Feb 08        6 Hours        Total: 1807

Drove to Orlando today to get fuel line hose and fittings to use for moving the fuel lines so the fuel flow transducer reads correctly.  We got those together, thermo-sleeved, and installed.  They required additional clamps - which are a challenge to install in tight quarters.

Cut the holes for the master caution and alternator warning lights.  I didn't want them shining directly in my eyes (they're LEDs) yet they had to be noticeable day and night.  I believe the chosen location will be good.

Ordered a DB15 connector over the internet because no local stores carry them.  The Xcom intercom came with a DB15 but it has solder pots and I wanted a crimp-style connector.  I'll get the intercom wired when it arrives.  For now, I'll wire the AOA - tomorrow.

21 Feb 08        8 Hours        Total: 1815

Nelson got a lot done on the fuel lines.  We ran the fuel boost pump to check for leaks and to check that it produces good pressure.  We sucked fuel out of a gas can and the connections check leak free.  So Nelson mixed up some Proseal and sealed the line from the fuel pump vapor box to the firewall.  He also added a number of clamps needed to secure the fuel lines forward of the fuselage, torqued the fuel flow transducer and secured the electrical wire for it.

I worked on more wiring issues.  I'm waiting for a DB15 connector to come.  I couldn't find one locally so had to order on the net.  They are hard to find because they were used mostly for older Mac computers and there is little demand for them now.  The DB15 is used to wire the intercom.  I ran the wires for the aft battery and contactor and I'm deciding where to mount the Schottky diode between the main and standby busses.  We're heat shrinking most of the wiring so it has a neat professional appearance.  The firewall forward is looking very nice with Thermo-sleeved hoses and heat shrinked wires.

22 Feb 08        12 Hours        Total: 1827

Mounted the shunt on the side of the aft battery box.  I'm going to have two amp measurements - one is the HE device which measures the amps from the alternator and the shunt which measures the load on the standby battery.  Also ran the #8 wire for the aft battery to the bus.  Worked on routing of electrical and sensor wiring FWF.  Got many of the wires heat shrinked and routed with clamps installed.  Connected the manifold pressure wiring.  Had a decision session on how best to route the wires going to the wings.  The placement of the main spar in the RV-8 makes routing wires fore and aft clumsy.  To keep them hidden requires going aft behind the cockpit and then back forward.  We're looking at a means to provide a conduit that will not look too bad and provide much shorter routing o the wires.  Decided to route the strobes wires and realized the best place to route them requires removal of the aft floor panel and flap weldment.  I thought those had been installed for the last time - ha!  Anyway, got it in and routed and now I have to add some nutplates for clamps to secure the wire.

23 Feb 08        10 Hours        Total: 1837

24 Feb 08        8 Hours        Total: 1843

The empennage fairing turned out nice and needed only a little more filling.  That is done and we'll remove it and begin the laborious sanding and finishing process.  Also figured out a way to mount the schottsky diode on the mechanical switch bracket, so we'll move it when we have time.

27 Feb 08        3 Hours        Total: 1846

28 Feb 08        3 Hours        Total: 1849

Some work on smoothing the empennage fairing.  There's a lot of filling and sanding to be done, I'm looking for a filling primer to reduce the work load.

Cut the hole for the AF3400 OAT in the NACA scoop under the right wing.  We'll insert a connector for it at the wing root.

We're also figuring out the intercom connections.  Figuring out how to connect all the shields to ground.

29 Feb 08        7 Hours        Total: 1856

Frustrating day trying to get the avionics wiring to work.  We decided to bench test the intercom - headsets - SL30 connections but I apparently have the intercom wired wrong.  So, more hair pulling fun ahead.

Installed two clamps to secure the strobe wiring near the flap rods.

1 Mar 08       6 Hours        Total: 1862

Installed the elevators for the final time today.  We connected and heat shrink wrapped the wires for the trim tab servo, installed the servo, mounted the elevators and connected the trim wires to the terminal strip.

2 Mar 08        5 Hours        Total: 1867

Installed a bracket to steady the end of the ELT rubber duckie under the empennage fairing.  It was too floppy and needed a little support.

Started to install the rudder and heat shrinked the tail light and strobe wires and pulled them through the rudder bottom.  Got the rudder pinned on the plane and discovered that much of the great fiberglass work we did on the rudder bottom would have to be removed because it was causing the rudder to not reach the stops.  So, we started grinding off some of the glass and we'll finish tomorrow and start doing the repairs.

3 Mar 08        6 Hours        Total: 1873

4 Mar 08        6 Hours        Total: 1879

Needed to change some pins in the intercom DB15 connector, but couldn't remove the pins.  Nelson figured out I was crimping the D sub pins too close to the barrel end and caused the removal tool to not work.  So, we had to buy a new connector at the local avionics shop and start over.  Ah well, it's fun to learn.

Nelson added a layer of fiberglass to the rudder bottom to cover the exposed metal after our modification.

5 Mar 08        6 Hours        Total: 1885

Removed all of the the old rudder bottom fiberglass that was so painstakingly applied and sanded and filled and sanded.  I hate having to spend time now removing the hours of work we put into the rudder bottom glass work, but it just makes sense to do it.  Now the rudder bottom will look like any other RV.

Added 4.7k ohm resistors to three of the four audio wires that will feed into the intercom.  SteinAir and XCom both confirmed that I can feed multiple audios into the single aux audio input on the intercom if I crimp a 4.7k ohm 1/2 watt resistor in each line before bringing them all together into the single aux input.  I'll have the AF3400, MRX PCAS, AOA and nav radio audios feeding the intercom.  Photos below show how the resistor was butt-spliced into the wire using the ends of the butt splices to help protect the resistor.  I doubled it back and put on heat shrink leaving the signal wire and shield ground exposed (heat shrink not yet shrunk).

6 Mar 08        8 Hours        Total: 1893

The package from ACS arrived with the AeroSun 800 LED lights.  I decided the only way to decide whether or not they're suitable is to by a pair and try them.  They worked about as I expected.

I've done a lot of experimenting with various wattage LEDs and accompanying lenses to focus or diffuse the light.  I discovered that LEDs are not yet up to the job of lighting the runway sufficiently for use as a landing light.  They are to the point of development such that they can be used for taxi lights and recognition lights.  That is the best you can expect from the AeroSun 800 LED lights.  They will light an area out to about 100 feet well enough for landing.  Beyond that they are not adequate.  But, they would be fine as taxi lights and recognition lights.

My thoughts on the AeroSun 800 LED lights follow:

- They are suitable for taxi/recognition but not landing.

- They get almost as hot as other lights.  The heat sink case was hot to the touch after 10 minutes.

- They are heavy.  The metal heat sink creates the weight.

- The quality of workmanship is top notch.

- All necessary brackets and hardware are included.

- One light is master and the other is slave, so you must run four wires from wingtip to wingtip (in my case)

- There is a built-in wig wag function.  In my opinion the flash rate is too fast - but acceptable.

- They will last for the life of the airplane.

- They are priced too high.

I set up an unscientific test of the AeroSun 800 lights by putting two stools that are about wingtip height 15 feet apart and I placed them in from of the Pacer so I could compare it's light (which I consider just adequate) to the LEDs.

At this time, I can not recommend the AeroSun 800 LED lights for use as landing lights.  They would be very good for use as taxi/recognition lights.  I suspect the 4 LED version would be suitable only as recognition lights.

Got some more wiring done for the rear battery.  We're about ready to start wiring the circuit breaker tray.  The shielded 2 conductor wire arrived today for the intercom, so as soon as I understand whether or not to ground the shield at both ends, I'll get on with it.  SteinAir tells me to only ground one end of the radio to intercom shield and XCom tells me to ground both ends of the shield.  I'm confused.

7 Mar 08        10 Hours        Total: 1903

Got the rudder bottom sanded (2 hours) back to shape and added epoxy/microlite slurry to surface for final shaping.

Heat shrunk multiple wires and cut to their final length, terminal ends added, and labels.  The aft battery case went in for the last time.

8 Mar 08       10 Hours        Total: 1913

The rudder bottom is looking much better.  Got it sanded and we'll prime it tomorrow and start filling pinholes and sanding.

Got the headset plugs soldered and the attachment plates for the aileron boots made.

9 Mar 08        4 Hours        Total: 1917

Today was the Spruce Creek Wing and Wheels event where everyone brings their toys for display.  Aircraft ranged from P-51s to jets to Wacos to LSAs.  They had numerous classic and new cars on display.  We decided to enter the spot landing contest so that took until mid afternoon.  We tied for last place with 5 other guys.  Pretty impressive overall.

Nelson did a great job on repairing the rudder bottom.  It looks very nice and he almost has it finished.

We installed some of the Molex pins for the Whelen strobe power supply.

10 Mar 08        8 Hours        Total: 1925

11 Mar 08        10 Hours        Total: 1935

Installed transponder antenna.  Made a mounting bracket for the Zaon MRX.

12 Mar 08        10 Hours        Total: 1945

13 Mar 08        5 Hours        Total: 1950

Some additional fitting of Vert Stab Tip.  Ganged together all the audio inputs for the intercom.  They had to individually have a 4.7k Ohm Resistor and then all be brought into a single audio input for the intercom.  That was a pain.  Also had to gang together all the shields and tie them into a single ground pin on the intercom.  It'll be a miracle if it all works.  Also pinned most of the intercom input wires.

14 Mar 08        10 Hours        Total: 1960

Nelson is remaking the ADC oil filter bracket.  We were concerned that the old one might not be strong enough when it is full of oil and the plane is loaded to 5 Gs.  So, he is remaking it with greater strength.  Pinned the intercom DB15 connector.  Removed the warning LEDs to replace them with conventional looking warning lights.  But, broke one of the lights as I was fitting it so had to reorder a new one.  Made a 6' x 8' x 6' paint booth with 1x2s and 2 mil plastic.  We've got several parts to paint or repaint and needed something to keep the overspray under control.

15 Mar 08        10 Hours        Total: 1970

More work on the ADC oil filter bracket.  It's almost finished and final mounting is tomorrow.  We had about 9 pieces to paint or repaint and after sanding and figuring out the spray gun and mixing the paint, we got them sprayed.  We'll see how well it went tomorrow.  We discovered that it is probably optimum to paint 4 items at a time.  Any more than that and there is too little room in a small paint booth and it gets too foggy to see well enough to do a good job.

Wired the AOA push-to-test and dimmer buttons.  Installed the mechanical switches as a test fit.  Looks like only minor adjustment is needed.

16 Mar 08        12 Hours        Total: 1982

If you have ever installed a Click-Bond nutplate on your airplane, I encourage you to immediately go to your airplane, remove it, throw it in the trash and replace it with something else - anything else.  The Click-Bond nutplates do not function as advertised.  The adhesive sticks only when you don't want it to - when you're trying to remove it after the nutplate has fallen off.  I've had numerous Click-Bond nutplates fall off and I've replaced them with real nutplates.  Perhaps I did something wrong when attaching all of the nutplates - but I doubt it.  I can understand I might have done a poor job with some of them, but not all of them that have fallen off.  Tomorrow all of the Click-Bond nutplates are coming out of my plane and I'll replace them with something that works.  It will take several hours to replace them, but it will be worth it.  Besides not adhering properly, I have two major concerns with the Click-Bond nutplates.  First is that they may become unstuck and become FOD inside the airplane to get jammed in whatever it can find.  The second concern is that when removing something held on by one of those nutplates that is in a hidden (unreachable location - which is a common reason for using a nutplate) spot, the nutplate may become unstuck and then it simply spins thus making removal of the piece difficult or impossible.  My opinion is that Click-Bond nutplates are potentially hazardous and, as a minimum, sure to create significant aggravation at some time in the future.

Today, we got the ADC oil filter bracket completed and the chip detector and oil bypass wired.  Also, got all of the hoses properly routed and the Thermo-Sleeve secured.  Repainted some of the pieces from yesterday that had runs.  Finished the aft fuselage tie wraps and reinstalled the aft floor panels and flap weldment.  Also installed the aft baggage floor, but it will have to be removed in order to replace the Click-Bond nutplates.  Reinstalled the instrument panel outer frame and installed the EFIS Lite controller, one caution light, the intercom, G meter and mag compass.

17 Mar 08        12 Hours        Total: 1994

Removed all of the Click Bond nutplates and replaced them with normal plates.

18 Mar 08        10 Hours        Total: 2004

Finished the aft baggage floor and it is installed.  I snapped off a screw in one of the nutplates as we installed it last night so it had to come back out today for replacement of the nutplate.  Made good progress on the wiring task.  Got started on making a doubler with DB25 connectors to pass through a bulkhead below the seats.  We're going to run all of the wires from the stick to a DB25 connector and then to the functional connections - flaps, trim, etc.

19 Mar 08        6 Hours        Total: 2010

20 Mar 08        6 Hours        Total: 2016

Nelson finished the DB25 doubler and connector mount and mounted it.  Also made a bracket for attaching the stick wire bundles for strain relief.  The stick wires connection is going to work great.  More wiring completed.  Connected the aft battery and did an ops check of the contactor and avionics bus.

24 Mar 08        5 Hours        Total: 2021

Removed the sticks and discovered that the previous owner had used a 1/4" diameter rod end bearing in the F-839 instead of 3/16" M3414M bearing.  That would be fine except that the strength of the 1/4" bearing may not be adequate because the width of the bearing is less than that of the 3/16" bearing.  So, I ordered a new WD-412BPC for the RCP stick along with the correct bearings.  We'll install the sticks for the last time once those things arrive.

Received the new ALT warning light and got it installed and wired.  Wired the alternator field switch.

We got the stick grips pinned and wired today.  The stick grip wire bundle is pinned to a DB25 connector and it will feed all of the stick grip actuated controls.  Right photo shows where wire bundles will be secured with adel clamps below the control column.

I emailed Rob at Advanced Flight to ask about the master caution light wiring and got an immediate answer from him.  I have the light wired wrong and need to correct it.  The wire from the AF3400 to the light is actually a ground.  I need to provide power from the bus for the light and it will pull to ground via the AF3400.

25 Mar 08        8 Hours        Total: 2029

More wiring.  I don't think it will ever stop.

Pinned out some of the DB25 female connector.  Changed the wires to the warning lights.  I had them set up to get power from the AF3400 and alternator when, in fact, the AF3400 and alternator pull to ground so I need to provide power to the lights and connect the ground to the AF3400 and alternator.  Done.

26 Mar 08        8 Hours        Total: 2037

Got more wiring done.  Finished wiring the warning lights and tested them.  Wired the CO Guardian and most of the wiring for the Safety Trim.  We tested the aileron and elevator trim servos for correct movement by connecting the stick to the Safety Trim and powering up the Safety Trim.  The trim servo wires are pinned into a DB9 connector and we'll mount it below the floor near the aileron servo.

27 Mar 08        6 Hours        Total: 2043

Nelson got the pitot tubing completed.  We just have a few more tubing adapters to add.  He also made a bracket for the DB9 connectors that join the Safety Trim to the servos.  Got a little more wiring done - connected the EFIS Lite to a W-31 CB and tested it.  Connected the AF3400 ground.

30 Mar 08        8 Hours        Total: 2051

Nelson completed the bracket for mounting the trim DB9 connector and then made a bracket for the front baggage compartment LED lights.  He added a switch to the bracket, as well.  He bought a Rat Shack relay to use with the oil low level sensor.  The sensor maker (Aircraft Extras) makes the sensor "fail-safe" by using a normally closed (NC) switch.  The problem is I'm connecting it to my engine monitor and the monitor requires a NO switch.  So, we had to incorporate a relay to properly send the signal to the engine monitor.  I got that mounted and connected.  Did a test run of the AF3400 to check for the master caution light and for the oil low level indication.  Neither displayed.  So, I've done something wrong.  Will work on it tomorrow.

31 Mar 08        8 Hours        Total: 2059

Nothing wrong with the caution light display - the AF 3400 is set to display the caution light when the engine is running.  I will reconfigure it to display when the RPM is zero so I can have a preflight check of the bulbs.

1 Apr 08        10 Hours        Total: 2069

Will the wiring ever stop?

Lots of wiring today.  Traced a lot of loose ends and got them terminated and connected.  Figuring out the correct trim wiring was challenging because I have the Safety Trim connected to the servos while the AF3400 needs input from the servos and flap position.  I finally figured out that the Safety Trim powers the servo motor while the AF3400 powers the indicator sensor.  Both the servo motor and the position sensor need power.  Once that was realized we made good progress making the connections.  Finished wiring the FCP LED flood lights and they are operating good.  Got the SL30 connected and ops checked through the aircraft wiring.

In fact, I connected everything through the standby battery circuitry and ops checked it.  Everything worked as planned.  Then I connected the power to the alternator B lead and turned everything on as if the main battery were installed.  Everything powered up as expected.

2 Apr 08        7 Hours        Total: 2076

Van's shipment arrived with the replacement rod end bearings and rear stick weldment.  We got those attached and the sticks went in for the last time today.  Now we have to connect the stick wiring and ops check it all.

Using power through the B lead ( as if the engine were running) I turned on all systems and ops checked it all.  Only a few glitches - all of which are probably my fault.  The EFIS 1 is not getting the magnetometer signal, but the signal is normal when connected to the EFIS Lite, so I obviously have it wired wrong.

I downloaded the latest AF3400 software and installed it.  I really like how the AF3400 operates except for one thing - and it is enough to cause me to remove the unit and replace it with a Dynon or something else.  Every time you start the AF3400, you have to select "I agree" to their legal disclaimer.  I HATE THAT!  Kind of like pushing one for spanish or two for English.  Otherwise I like their product.

5 Apr 08        8 Hours        Total: 2084

More wiring.  Ran several ground and power wires.  Finished pinning and connecting the stick wiring.

6 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2090

Puzzling over why the intercom doesn't work.  It will transmit, but cannot receive from the SL30.  No intercom capability between the FCP and RCP.

7 Apr 08

Sun n Fun started today so we went to attend the opening day.

8 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2096

Note to self: when you're working on the headset plugs and you have them hanging from the wires so you can work on them, do not let them touch one another when you're testing them.  I was getting intermittent and confusing operation of the intercom and radio.  Even though we thought the plugs were isolated from one another, apparently they weren't.  The problems disappeared when we taped them to insure no contact.

The radio transmitted and received okay.  The intercom is working properly, also.  All audio inputs to the intercom are functioning.  Had to adjust the AOA audio volume in the AOA CPU - a TINY little screw.

9 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2102

We had to rewire some of the stick wires.  I had mispinned the RCP PTT, but it is working right now.  On the RCP stick, I'll have only trim, flaps, and PTT functions.  The FCP will have those plus the starter button, autopilot disconnect, and smoke (should I install a smoke pump in the future).

11 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2108

The flaps were not extending.  The motor would try to start and then immediately stop.  A little study discovered that if one stick is commanding up flaps, the other stick cannot lower them.  The stick not being used must have the flap switch in the center (neutral) position so as to not affect the other stick.  Optionally, one can install a switch that gives command to one stick or the other.  I'm installing that switch, but the only function it will switch is the flap control.  No other stick functions will be affected.

We've decided to add an avionics ground bus behind the panel, then a single wire will go forward to the main aircraft grounding bus.  I have too many little wires routed to the main ground bus and an avionics bus will help clean up the wiring mess.

12 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2114

Nelson removed the engine oil separator to install the hose from the separator to the collection cup.  I've been pestering the Andair folks for two years to give me one of the (hard to find) nipples for their separator.  They finally broke down this year and gave me one at SnF.  He made two brackets to fit outboard of the flap rods for tie wrapping wires to keep them clear of the flap rod.

We rewired the starter contactor wires to put the positive through a CB and then to the stick and back to the contactor.  Normally a contactor is pulled to ground, but Nelson had a good point that if it were to short, the starter could be engaged inflight.  Whereas, if the switch were on the positive side, the CB would pop in the event of a shorted wire to the starter contactor.

We found out the AF3400 inputs can be normally open or normally closed, so we need to go back and remove the relay used in the oil low level circuit. 

Today I bought the Precise Flight rectangular HID landing lights (originally made for the Lancair) and Whelen LED taxi/recognition lights.

14 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2120

15 Apr 08        4 Hours        Total: 2124

Fitted the left aft floor panel with grommets for the RCP wire bundle and the stick selector switch.  Nelson made a bracket that serves dual duty to add strength to the floor panel and provide a mounting location for tie wrapping wiring.  Pinned the stick selector and ops checked it.  Did some of the wiring for the starter contactor.

16 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2130

Pinned and stowed the smoke wire for possible later use.  Nelson rerouted the flap wiring and we ops checked the stick switches.  Removed all the avionics grounds from the forward aircraft ground and put them all on their own avionics ground and ops checked good.

17 Apr 08        4 Hours        Total: 2134

Nelson found some zener diodes that we can use in the taxi/recognition lights wiring.  I'm using Whelen LED lights for taxi and recognition.  They are highly focused with a 10 degree beam.  That's a bit too tight for me, but it does concentrate the light well which is what is required with LEDs.  I'm connecting the light through Eric Jones' wig wag module and in order to do that and use a single DPDT switch, we needed diodes to keep power from flowing one direction in the wires.

We cut and routed wires through the fuselage for the Whelen LED position lights (incredibly low 0.25 Amps per light) and for the LED taxi lights (0.9 Amps).  They're wound up outside the fuselage for later insertion in the wing.

20 Apr 08        8 Hours        Total: 2142

Made good progress on wiring today.  Nelson rigged up a relay that can replace the diodes planned in the last entry.  The diodes worked okay, but they are zener diodes and are primarily for voltage reduction.  So, we have a design now with a relay that switches between steady on and flash for the LED taxi lights.

We put oil in the engine and watched for the AF3400 to indicate when the oil low level sensor floated high enough to turn off.  The oil low level sensor will turn on the indication on the AF3400 at about 3.25 quarts.

We got the wiring for the position lights, pitot heat, taxi/recognition lights, strobes and AOA line all routed through the fuselage.  We need to run the OAT wires also.

I'm having a problem getting the heading indication from the magnetometer to the EFIS one.  The EFIS Lite is working fine on either magnetometer, but the EFIS One will not get a signal from either mag.  I've send a note to BMA asking for help.

21 Apr 08        3 Hours        Total: 2145

Nelson modified the wiring plan for the taxi/recognition lights relay and ops checked it.  They work great.

We discovered the problem with the BMA EFIS One not getting heading info.  It was, as usual, operator or installation error.  I had mispinned two of the wires from the magnetometer.  Once those were corrected, it worked great.

26 Apr 08        8 Hours        Total: 2153

Fortunately, Nelson has great troubleshooting skills.  He led us to several problem-solving solutions.  He traced down the reason for the autopilot disconnect not working - you guessed it - I had mispinned the disconnect button.  Once it was correctly repinned, the autopilot disconnect works as advertised.  The roll direction of the AP is backward, but that is easily correct through software.  We'll get that done tomorrow.  Also, he rerouted the magnetometer cables to gain extra length so as to have a larger loop behind the panel for removing instruments.  We now have a problem with the SL30 not transmitting.  It receives clearly and the intercom works with the headset plugs and headsets.  So, we have a problem of some type between the intercom and the radio.  When we try to transmit, we get carrier but no modulation.  So, that is tomorrow's task.  As soon as we get all the bugs wrung out, we'll get started on the fuselage top skin.  It sure has been nice having easy access to the back of the panel.

Not too long before Nelson begins his summer time wanderings and I'll be stumbling along in the dark again with the building process.  It sure is nice to have two sets of eyes and two brains to solve problems.  The result is always better.

27 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2159

A frustrating day trying to figure out the electronics.  After ringing out every wire in the aircraft from the stick to the headset plugs to the intercom to the radio, we've determined the intercom is likely at fault - or maybe the SL30.  I assumed the problem was with my wiring, but every wire checks out and has been checked in the correct pin location about 10 times.

The headsets work good between each other through the intecom.  The PTT in the FCP is good - the RCP is intermittent.  Radio receives clearly, but transmissions are 1x1 - weak and garbled.  We removed the intercom from the equation by jump wiring the intercom DB15 connector to permit the audio and PTT signal from the headset plugs to go directly to the SL30.  Same results.  We rang out every wire in the bundle and they all checked out good.  So, I'm going to call Stein and XCom to find out what is going on.

Tomorrow we will likely begin riveting on the fuselage top skin.

28 Apr 08        6 Hours        Total: 2165

Some rerouting and cleaning up of wiring.  Lots of tie wrapping and adel clamping.  The wiring bundles are looking better, but we still have the weak and garbled radio transmission problem.  We're talking to Stein about the problem in search of a solution.

29 Apr 08        14 Hours        Total: 2179

Whew!  A long day.  A little more struggle with the radio problem with no success.

However, the bulk of the day was spent riveting the top skin on the fuselage.  This has been a long delayed event so as to get as much done to the wiring and panel as possible before adding the top skin.  We've reached a point where additional delay doesn't make sense for the potential small gains in easy work.  So, Nelson and I riveted on the top skin and it turned out looking excellent.  Having the top skin in place permits me to begin doing important steps that had been waiting on the top skin.  Things such as the canopy, canopy skirt, and cowling.

30 Apr 08        4 Hours        Total: 2183

Finished up riveting the top skin on.  Some rivets could not be reached to be bucked, so they became cherry max.  Made a bracket for the master cylinder brake lines to connect them to the bottom of the baggage floor.  Reinstalled the avionics grounding block.  Installed the cabin heat ducting.  Nelson leaves on his wanderings tomorrow, so the summer time work is all up to me.  I'll start the canopy before too long.

1 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2185

Reinstalled the panel warning lights.  Tested the new HID landing lights - they are BRIGHT.  Refreshed the silica in the engine plugs, sprayed LPS3 in the cylinders and rotated the engine.  I have to find a mic jack to use to do a test rewiring to the intercom.  Stein recommended bypassing the installed wires with a test harness to isolate the problem I'm having with the radio transmissions.  Off to Rat Shack tomorrow to find a mic jack.

2 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2187

Made a new harness to test the radio but had no success.  I'm doing something wrong.  I'll be glad when I discover what it is.

5 May 08        1 Hour        Total: 2188

Work sure gets in the way of my RV building.  Installed the SS firewall passthroughs, but I'm thinking about taking them back off and removing a little more material around the wire hole and then packing them with flame resistant RTV.  Did a little more planning on the wingtip lights.

7 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2190

Too much house renovation going on - no time to do RV building.  Decided to attempt my idea of using the wingtips as molds to make fiberglass inserts that can be used to build the wingtip light brackets.  So, I taped up the inside of the tips and laid in the first coat of glass.  I'll let it cure and turn them over to do the other side.

8 May 08        1 Hour        Total: 2191

9 May 08        1 Hour        Total: 2192

I met the EMag guys (Brad and Tom) at Sun n Fun and they promised to send me some of the silicone tubing used for providing the manifold pressure to the P Mags - it arrived along with the necessary T fitting.  My thanks to them.

A little work on the wingtips cutting styrofoam for making the light mounts.

11 May 08        1 Hour        Total: 2193

Sanded the styrofoam for the left wingtip into a closer shape for the lights mounting.

13 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2195

Shaped the foam for the wingtips and added some filler on the wingtip inserts.

15 May 08        1 Hour        Total: 2196

Sanded and added filler to the wingtip insert.  Did some planning for the manifold pressure lines for the E Mags.

16 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2198

Sanded wingtip inserts and filled again.

18 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2200

Sanded wingtip inserts.

21 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2202

Sanded wingtip inserts.

22 May 08        3 Hours        Total: 2204

Finished shaping of foam wingtip forms and laid on first layer of fiberglass.  Later I laid on the second layer.

23 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2206

Laid on two more layers of glass today - total of four (see above).  Borrowed a fiberglass glare shield from another guy who had removed it from his damaged plane and I'll use it to make a mold.

25 May 08        2 Hours        Total: 2208

Cleanup work on the fiberglass wingtip light mounts.  Lots of sanding.

9 Jun 08        2 Hours        Total: 2210

10 Jun 08        2 Hours        Total: 2212

Finished up filing on the two front aluminum overlays and made two for the next aft section.  The overlays will all be polished so as to provide greatest reflectivity.  Drilled attachment holes to align the overlays on the inserts.  The alignment holes will also be the attachment points using #8 SS Torx head screws.  I'll put nutplates inside the inserts for attaching the aluminum overlays.

16 Jun 08        4 Hours        Total: 2216

6 Aug 08        2 Hours        Total: 2218

Ahhhh.  I actually got to work on the RV today after two months of nothing but house renovation.

I cut the opening for the right wing LED light in the metal cover.  The space for the LED to fit is one tenth of an inch narrower than the left side and that is just enough to make it difficult to fit.  I'm not sure the right side is going to fit.  I may have to remake the right wingtip.

11 Aug 08        2 Hours        Total: 2220

Filing and sanding the right wingtip LED metal cover.  The metal is getting very narrow in a couple of spots.  I almost have it fitting and will finish tomorrow.

12 Aug 08        2 Hours        Total: 2222

Finished filing and fitting the LED into the right wingtip cover.  It only barely fits.  Now I have to make this flimsy cover attach to and stay firmly in place on the wingtip.  I'll find a way.

I marked the cutouts in the fiberglass and began making a template for the HID lights to use in marking the cutouts in the landing light metal covers.  The template is made of .025 sheet.  I got it cut, filed and sanded and the HID fits fairly well.  I'll use the template to mark the cutouts on the metal covers.

14 Aug 08        2 Hours        Total: 2224

Used the template to mark the HID cutouts, but I made the template such that it will fit flush on the light allowing the lens to protrude through.  To do that I had to allow slots on the top and bottom for little "tabs" on the glass lens that are used for alignment.  But, since I am planning to angle the light inboard about 10-11 degrees, the slot is not necessary.  So, I don't like the part I made and I plan to redo it tomorrow.

15 Aug 08        4 Hours        Total: 2228

Remade the HID .032 cover.  It's amazing how much easier the second and third ones of anything are compared to the first one.  Got both sides cut, fit, cleaned up and the back side primed for protection.  The front will be polished.

17 Aug 08        4 Hours        Total: 2236

Got everything carefully fitted and was ready to put it all together when I decided I didn't like the outboard light covers.  They were too narrow in spots and making a bracket for mounting the light to them was going to be difficult.  Then the fix came to me - I'll use the two screws holding together the Whelen LED lens to mount the light to the .032 cover.  I can add washers or a spacer to get the 9 degree angle for taxi.  The light pattern for the two LED taxi lights will overlap two to four feet so I'll make adjustments after they're on the plane.

18 Aug 08        6 Hours        Total: 2242

19 Aug 08        7 Hours        Total: 2249

More trimming on the fiberglass inserts and added nutplates.  The metal covers are coming along although I've made a few scratches on the surface to be polished.  I may be able to remove most of them.  The covers are all fitting well.  As I remove the foam from the glass insert, I'm having to add some glass and resin to strengthen the corners.

20 Aug 08        6 Hours        Total: 2255

26 Aug 08        6 Hours        Total: 2261

Finished the nutplates on the glass inserts except for the ones that are on order from Van's.  I drilled in assembly the wingtip, wingtip insert and light mounting insert.  That gave me a fixed reference for all three so I could do the cutout in the wingtip insert.  Drew the curves using french curves and made the cut using a Dremel with diamond blade.  I've filed and sanded the inserts to very close final shape and I've decided to make some mods to the plan for nutplates to hold on the lens cover.  Some of the nutplates will be exposed inside the lens cover so I may use SS nutplates so they'll look nicer.  Also have to put them in different places than originally planned.  Still should only need six screws to hold on the lens cover.

27 Aug 08        5 Hours        Total: 2266

I found three more #6 nutplates and installed them.  That allowed me to move on with permanently afixing the lights mount to the glass insert using fiberglass resin.  I let them setup in the wingtip so they would assume the correct shape of the wingtip.  When I removed them I discovered an unexpected problem - a gap between the light mount insert and the wingtip insert.  Not a huge problem, but to make it look best, I would need to remake several of the metal covers.  Before I do that, I'm going to try to fill the gap and blend it to see if the appearance is acceptable.  So, I did an initial application of resin and Microlight to fill the void.

28 Aug 08        3 Hours        Total: 2269

More gap filling with Microlite and resin.  Also, made a prototype ram air intake.  The air intake will have a selectable filtered alternate air intake inside the cowling.  Thus, in dusty conditions or in the event of intake icing or to warm the engine more quickly after start, I can select the alternate air.  For maximum ram effect, there will be no obstructions in the intake.

I made the intake by shaping foam to transition from square to round and tried to make it look like something air would like.  I didn't like the rough interior texture on the fiberglass after using styrofoam on the wingtips, so I first wrapped the intake with peal ply and then laid on 2 layers of glass.  It was a challenge to dig out the foam and peal ply, but eventually it came out.

My idea behind this intake design is multiple

1. I want ram air.

2. I want filtered air option

3. I want alternate air option.

4. The alternate air door is easier to make if the front of the intake is rectangular.

5. The intake must transition to a 3.25" injector opening.

6. I want a fail-safe alternate air system.

7. I want minimal obstructions in the ram intake.

1 Sep 08        2 Hours        Total: 2271

Bought 3 inch PVC pipe to experiment with making a round intake.  The outer diameter is 3.5 inches, so it's a bit too large, but I believe I can make it work.

Used Dremel to clean up some of the fiberglass resin.  I need to add a bit more resin and filler.

2 Sep 08        1 Hour        Total: 2272

Bought a new Dremel and made the big cuts in the leading edges of the wingtips.

3 Sep 08        2 Hours        Total: 2274

Cleaned up edges on wingtip opening.  Here are the lighting mount inserts temp installed in the wingtips.  After trimming the openings I'll glass the inserts into the wingtip and then cut and fit the lens cover.

5 Sep 08        6 Hours        Total: 2280

Trimmed the wingtip openings back so as to make a lip for the lens cover to fit in to.  Then lots of filing to smooth everything out and make things fit.  Everything in the wingtip just BARELY fits.  I'm going to have to cut some slots in the metal covers so they will fit over the nutplates which will be required to hold the lens cover on.

10 Sep 08        3 Hours        Total: 2283

Some filling with micro slurry (resin and glass bubbles) and then filing and sanding.  Need to do another round of the same and then in a day or so the primer/filler I ordered will arrive and I can fill the pinholes in the glass work.

I dropped one of the Precise Flight HIDs while fitting it late at night and cracked the glass lens.  A few choice words reverberated off the hangar walls.  I talked to Charlie Babb at Precise Flight and he's getting me a new one.

11 Sep 08        5 Hours        Total: 2288

12 Sep 08        6 Hours        Total: 2294

A lot of fine tuning to get the wingtips to fit the wing.  On both wings, but especially on the left, the wingtip insert was causing the wing skin adjacent to it, when installed on the wing, to bow out.  So after lots of filing and sanding, I got the bow down to about .032 inches on the left and virtually even on the right.

Filled in all of the little gaps between the wingtip and the inserts with micro slurry.

I decided to make a round ram air intake prototype.  I used a 3 inch ID PVC sewer pipe as a form.  The OD on the PVC to too large to fit the fuel injector body, so I did a little trimming to the PVC before laying the glass so as to create an inner opening that exactly matched the ID of the injector body and has a lip that will fit over the injector body.  The lip will have a rubber seal to permit movement and stop air from drawing around the edges of the injector.

I used a Dremel type with sanding drum to cut and indention about .6 inches from the end and then filed and sanded it to a smooth finish as seen in middle.  When glass is laid on the shaped end, it will form an intake opening that matches the injector opening of 3.25 inches while creating a lip that can fit over the injector.  Right photo shows after glass was laid.  I used mold release on the PVC and I can break it out if necessary.

13 Sep 08        4 Hours        Total: 2298

It took over an hour to remove the PVC pipe from inside the ram intake.  It was a different type of PVC than the last one I used as a mold and was not as brittle, so it didn't break out as easily.  Fortunately I only had to chip out half of it - I was able to push the rest of it out the end.  The ram intake piece turned out fairly good, but I didn't cut the PVC down enough and thus it doesn't fit the injector body as well as I hoped.  But, it should be usable.

16 Sep 08        3 Hours        Total: 2301

Sanded off the wingtip primer and did some more hole filling with resin and careful filing of edges.  I'll resand tomorrow and reprime.

I need to order the Sikaflex adhesive and primer so I can get started next week with cutting and gluing the canopy.

17 Sep 08        4 Hours        Total: 2305

Cut the right landing light lens cover.  I bought the untrimmed (straight out of the mold) lenses from RMD and I'm trimming them (by filing and sanding) to fit.  It is time-consuming.  I also got some hoses to uses as spacers on the canopy frame as I Sika Flex it to the canopy.

18 Sep 08        3 Hours        Total: 2308

More fitting of the right lens cover.

28 Sep 08        1 Hour        Total: 2309

Lens cover fitting.

2 Oct 08       5 Hours        Total: 2314

Trimmed the top front skin where the canopy meets it.  Had to trim both sides to slide the canopy full forward.  Cut more hose pieces for the canopy gluing.  Got started on cutting the canopy excess but my diamond Dremel cutter is wearing out and I had to stop - I'll buy a new one tomorrow.  The diamond cutter works very good for cutting the canopy - although it is very expensive.  I cut the left wingtip lens cover from the RMD stock.  It appears I may have cut the left lens cover too small.

3 Oct 08        3 Hours        Total: 2317

Working on fitting the left wingtip lens cover.  It may be too small - I'm carefully filing and sanding to fit.  Finished cutting the canopy and made the second trim cut on it.  But, I'm starting to make small mistakes, so time to stop for tonight.

4 Oct 08        1 Hour        Total: 2318

9 Oct 08        3 Hours        Total: 2321

Trimming the canopy 1/4" at a time.  But. it's coming into shape.  It's almost trimmed enough to rest on the roll bar.  The diamond cutters used in a Dremel-type tool works good for cutting the plexi.  I use a shop vac while making the cut to keep the dust and debris to a minimum.

10 Oct 08        3 Hours        Total: 2324

20 Oct 08        2 Hours        Total: 2326

Well, I just couldn't bring myself to do any RV work until today.  Did some more gradual fitting of the wingtip lenses.

21 Oct 08        3 Hours        Total: 2329

More fine fitting of the wingtip lenses.

22 Oct 08        5 Hours        Total: 2334

Okay - good progress on the wingtip lenses today.  Finally got them both trimmed (filing and sanding) so they fit well.  There are eight screws to mount each lens and I got those all drilled.  The lenses fit very well - not perfect - and I'm ready to move on with finishing up the wingtips to include mounting the Archer Nav antenna, priming, sanding, priming, installing all lights and ribs.  I have some more engineering to on the light brackets, but I believe it will progress well.

23 Oct 08        5 Hours        Total: 2339

I had to do some more fiberglass work on the wingtip to make the lenses fit watertight.  At the ends of the lenses I didn't have a good tight fit, so a little bit of glass and I'll shape it tomorrow.  Made some brackets to mount the HID light ballasts.  HID lights are similar to florescent light in that they require high voltage to get started - 10,000 volts, in fact.  The ballast builds up the voltage and then releases it to the Xenon bulb which causes the gas to start glowing.  Once the gas is excited, it doesn't require as much voltage to keep it glowing.  Anyway, I made a bracket from some aluminum U channel to mount them to the outboard rib in each wing.  I also sanded the aluminum covers for the lights with 1200 grit and began polishing them with Met-all.

I realized I should have trimmed the wingtips while I had the ailerons hanging on the wing.  Now I'll have to wait and do that after the wings are hanging on the plane.  Otherwise, I plan to complete the wingtips by the end of the month.

24 Oct 08        8 Hours        Total: 2347

25 Oct 08        5 Hours        Total: 2352

8 Nov 08        3 Hours        Total: 2355

Nelson returned to Florida and we've already ramped up the RV work pace.  He's figuring out the best way to install the Skybolt cowling fasteners and started making the .050 strips for mounting the Skybolt fasteners.

9 Nov 08        7 Hours        Total: 2362

10 Nov 08        5 Hours        Total: 2367

11 Nov 08        7 Hours        Total: 2374

Drilled the new Cowl strip to the firewall and riveted it on.  We found the baggage door leading edge gap unacceptable.  So, we made a new one and after carefully drilling and riveting and adding another small shim, we got a good fit.  The cowling fasteners strip is finally attached to the airplane.  Next we'll final fit the baggage door and permanently mount it.  Then we have to fit the cowlings - first the upper then the lower - and drill them in assembly to determine the fastener locations.

12 Nov 08        8 Hours        Total: 2382

14 Nov 08        1 Hour        Total: 2383

The initial layup was fairly good, but it needed a little more depth to the "shim" so I added some micro slurry and put the cowl back on the plane to let it setup overnight.

15 Nov 08        2 Hours        Total: 2385

16 Nov 08        5 Hours        Total: 2390

More fitting and sanding of the upper cowl.

17 Nov 08        6 Hours        Total: 2396

We discovered that as you work the cowling - a bit at a time - it begins to fit well.  The problem is that with the lower cowl, every edge must be trimmed at once.  Of course, that can't be done, so incremental changes is what works.

18 Nov 08        6 Hours        Total: 2402

Got the lower cowl trimmed to fit well and drilled and clecoed it to the firewall.  Started making the .050 strips for making the mount for the side fasteners.

19 Nov 08        6 Hours        Total: 2408

20 Nov
The Todd's canopy arrived but my initial peek into the box indicates it is much darker than I expected and the forward portion is a much different shape than Van's original.  I'll pull it out in a few days, put the two side by side, and see what the differences are.

23 Nov 08        2 Hours        Total: 2410

Nelson primed the wingtips today.  Now we can get them finished and attached to the wings.

24 Nov 08        8 Hours        Total: 2418

Opened the Todd's canopy box to discover it is longer than the original canopy and the windscreen is more sloped.  It is also darker than I expected.  On the phone, Todd told me that someone convinced him several years ago to make the windscreen 2.5 inches longer than Van's.  Personally I'd prefer an exact duplicate of Van's canopy, but I can work with this one.

Began trimming the new canopy, but something just didn't seem right.  A little investigation discovered that about 4 years ago I mounted the canopy slider 0.10 inches off center to the right.  That doesn't sound like much, but it is just enough to make fitting the canopy more difficult than it needs to be.  We could make it work, but I'm just not happy with it.  Nelson suggested that we could remove and remount the slider by riveting in new metal for those slider mounting screws that needed to be moved.  That is what we're going to do.  I cannot figure out why I mounted the slider a tenth of an inch too far to the right.  Once corrected, I will resume the canopy trimming and fitting.

Nelson scalloped the cowling horizontal Skybolt fastener strip and primed it.  We'll rivet it on tomorrow and continue with the cowling fitting.

Ordered new C-806 and F-873M plastic blocks for the baggage door and the canopy slider.

25 Nov 08        10 Hours        Total: 2428

Made great progress on the cowlings today.  As we drill more holes and fasten things together, everything fits better and better.  Made small pieces to close off small gaps in the seam between the cowlings.  Got them primed and installed.  Also installed the side mounting strips in the lower cowl.  The cowling is coming together very nice.

I will likely order Rod Bower's Ram Air intake and fiberglass snorkel for the lower cowl.

26 Nov 08        8 Hours        Total: 2436

More good progress on the cowlings.  More fine trimming of the lower cowl to make the nose strut fit better.  Also trimmed off the trailing edge of the exhaust ramp so as to clear the exhaust pipes better.  Had to remake the U-816 to fit the cowling.  Made the U-814 and U-815 from .063 stock.  We made them 5.5 inches long instead of 6 inches because that fit better in our particular situation.  Put the nose strut fairing on and drilled the Fairings, Etc nose strut fairing to fit.

Ordered the Rod Bowers intake and fiberglass snorkle.  It is expensive ($1000+), but he has done a nice job of designing and building his intake and I would spend many hours trying to duplicate it - possibly without success.  He'll ship it next week.  There is one potential problem with his snorkle that may force me to make my own.  His is a bit long and may interfere with the upper strut fairing.  We'll see when it arrives.

27 Nov 08        3 Hours        Total: 2439

Nelson installed the nutplates on the U-815 and the lower cowl and taped it so we can do some filling with resin.  There were a couple of spots where the screws through the strut fairing would pull it too much and it needed some filler for the screw to draw down against.  So, we mixed some micro slurry and smeared it on and screwed the fairing in place to setup overnight.

Emails with Rod Bowers indicate his "snorkle" and ram air intake will fit on a RV-8A cowl.  He sent some photos that made me at ease with the issue of a proper fit.

Rod's design appears to be excellent with top notch workmanship.  I will confirm that when mine arrives and post the info on this site.  Others are reporting a 1 to 1.5 inch gain in MP.

28 Nov 08        1 Hour        Total:2440

The upper strut fairing came off clean and with a bit of sanding it looks good.  I tried the Evercoat on it to fill the pinholes so we'll see how well that turns out.

30 Nov 08        1 Hour        Total: 2441

Sanded the Evercoat on the upper strut fairing.  Maybe I expected too much, but I'm not impressed with the pinhole filling ability of the Evercoat.

1 Dec 08        8 Hours        Total: 2449

Good progress today.  We started out working on the oil filler door for the upper cowl.  I cut the cowl opening while Nelson trimmed the door.  Then we spent 1+ hours on trying to make a hidden hinge that would allow the door to open more than 90 degrees so it would stay open while checking oil.  then I found one on the net from Avery Tools that is spring loaded to stay open.  It's pricey, but saves us a lot of work.  It should arrive in a few days.

With that on the back burner, we switched to working on the canopy slider.  It needed to be moved 0.10 inches to the left at the forward end.  That meant we would have to add new metal for drilling the new holes.  Nelson suggested we remove the locking nuts holding the slider screws and replace them with nutplates.  A great idea!  I wonder why Van doesn't do it that way in the first place.  So, we removed the slider, opened up the holes, added nutplates and reinstalled the slider - correctly centered this time.  We put the frame back on and what a difference.  The frame fit more evenly on the fuselage (although not perfect) and the canopy should fit better now.

I sanded the front strut upper fairing more and will prime it soon.  Also added a bit of resin on the inside of the fairing to fill some small gaps.

Guess we'll start fitting the canopy again tomorrow.

2 Dec 08        8 Hours        Total: 2457

You thought diamonds were the toughest thing know to man?  Ha - they don't hold a candle to UHMW-750 plastic that Van's baggage door latching blocks are made of.  They do not sand well with either heavy or light grit.  A belt sander doesn't faze them.  Grinder?  Forget it.  Permagrit?  Not even close.  A band saw with metal cutting blade works - but, when you want to take small amounts off of a small piece of UHMW, the fingers get too close to the blade for comfort.  The only thing that made any headway at all was a die grinder, volumes of continuous air, and a coarse rotary cutter.

We spent all day making and fitting the two forward baggage latching blocks.  Had we followed Van's recommendation on how to install them, we could have probably finished in an hour.  But nnnooooo!

Neither Nelson or I liked the idea of a 5/16 hole drilled through the SS firewall to fit the forward block.  The technique was fine for the aft block because there is no chance of fire from a hole in the F-886B.  But, a hole in the firewall introduces the possibility of a firewall forward fire getting into the cockpit.  We could have bought a piece of SS and cut it to patch over the hole, but neither of us liked the idea.  So, we worked for hours to get the little blocks to fit and function.

The canopy work will be tomorrow.

3 Dec 08        1 Hour        Total: 2458

Only a bit of canopy work to day - mostly thinking.  We did a bit of work on the oil door putting on the latches, but it just wasn't a day for working, so we didn't.  Just too chilly today.  We'll get after it on Pearl Harbor Day.

7 Dec 08        2 Hours        Total: 2460

Got to visit with Dennis Flosi in El Paso yesterday and see his airplane again.  I've decided to change my oil door fastener to be like his which is a latch made of hinge material with a hinge pin that inserts through the baggage compartment.  Along with the spring hinge I've ordered which holds the door open, the chance of accidentally taking off with it open should be greatly reduced.   Also, he has a neat little gas spring that holds open the front baggage door and I plan to use one of those.

We trimmed the canopy again today gradually bringing it closer to fitting the roll bar and frame.

14 Dec 087        2 Hours        Total: 2462

The Rod Bowers (http://www.ramairforhomebuilts.com/) intake arrived and it appears to be of high quality.  We'll begin fitting it soon.  Photos follow.

Nelson made a plaster of paris mold of the fiberglass glare shield that we plan to use.  We borrowed one from Bruce Turner and we're making a mold from it.

15 Dec 08        9 Hours        Total: 2471

16 Dec 08        8 Hours        Total: 2479

17 Dec 08        7 Hours        Total: 2486

Well, lots done today - and not much done today.

So, we switched to fitting the Bowers ram air intake.  His intake for the Airflow Performance injector is quite different than for the Bendix injector.  The machined portions of the intake are top notch quality.  However, the fiberglass "snorkle" which covers the whole contraption doesn't come even close to a good fit.  So, we will have to do some extensive modifications to get it to fit.  Additionally, for my 8A, the Bowers fiberglass interferes with the upper nose strut fairing, so additional modification will be required to make it fit nice.

The Bowers intake collar for the AP injector fits perfectly, but causes a blunt surface around the leading edge of the injector body.  That is fitted on first and then the red anodized filter canister is attached.  Then you hole saw a 3" opening in the fiberglass leading edge and put the 4' aluminum tube on the canister body.  Cut a hole in the cowling and put it on with the intake canister protruding through the cowling.  When we saw how much work is going to be required for the snorkle, we called it a day and we'll take it up again on Sunday.

20 Dec 08        3 Hours        Total: 2489

Nelson did some sanding on the intake snorkle and added some fiberglass to the cowling where they mate in the front.  He also finished the hinge latch for the oil door.

21 Dec 08        6 Hours        Total: 2495

Just can't get things done until other things are done.  A bit frustrating.  Waiting on the grommets to arrive to drill the canopy to the airplane.  Gotta get the frame painted before it can be drilled and glued.  So it waits.  Got another trimming of the canopy done today.

Also worked on the aft baggage access door for the rear battery.  It's an aggravation to make now, but it will make life much easier later, so I asked Nelson to help me make a battery access door in the aft baggage floor.  We came up with a good design and he's working on it.

I made a canopy carrier today for handling the canopy and frame once they are attached.  I saw something similar on another guys site and decided to copy it.

23 Dec 08        9 Hours        Total: 2504

24 Dec 08        8 Hours        Total: 2512

It's the day before Christmas - and we made the BIG CUT.  Everything was ready and no reason to wait, so we positioned the canopy for the last time, drilled a few alignment holes, clecoed on the canopy and cut the slider portion away from the windscreen.  I'm glad that's done.  Next we'll start fitting the skirt and prepping for the Sikaflex canopy adhesion.  I'm going to use some screws in the windscreen to attach it to the roll bar, but most of the canopy will be attached using only adhesive.

We spent some time on the intake fitting also.  While the Bower's intake metal work is superb, his fiberglass work is not even close - at least for the RV-8A lower cowling.  As we worked to fit the fiberglass part it became apparent that it will require a complete redesign and fabrication.

Well, I've decided that I want the intake opening on the front of the plane to be centered on the cowling.  That means there has to be a very slight kink in the direct air flow into the injector.  I doubt it will make any difference in performance.

As already mentioned, Rod Bower's intake is a work of art - except for the fiberglass.  The fiberglass "snorkle" will require extensive modification.

28 Dec 08        6 Hours        Total: 2518

Short workday due to a visit from an old F-16 buddy, Ron "Gunman" Moore.  He flew in from Little Rock and parked here at Spruce Creek.

There are several things that must be done before the windscreen is installed.  The roll bar handle must be installed, the GPS antennae mounted, and the glare shield finished.

29 Dec 08        8 Hours        Total: 2526

Fairly busy day today.  More work on the wooden mold for the glare shield.

Did some canopy trimming and edge polishing.  Made a hinge pin retainer for the nose strut fairing and devised a safety wire attachment to secure the same fairing.

Applied clay around the intake snorkle and draped fiberglass on it.  Tomorrow we'll remove the clay and clean up the fiberglass and start doing the filling and sanding to make if look descent.

30 Dec 08        9 Hours        Total: 2534

Good progress today.  Nelson got more fitting done on the oil door and the latch hinge pin finished.  It works great - I'm really happy with how it turned out.

The intake fiberglass turned out nice also.  We popped it off today, cleaned it up and reattached it permanently.  Also made good progress on the glare shield mold.