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9 Jun 10

I started the month planning to get the RV flying again and then park it for the annual condition inspection, but as I got into the work, I decided to take my time and go ahead and do the inspection as I make the current repairs.

Currently planned work - in addition to Condition Inspection

I pulled the exhaust pipes today and they came off fairly easily.  I expected a battle getting them off.  There was minor carbon in the exhaust ports and I cleaned them out.  Next I'll grind off the pipe welds and remove the extensions.

I removed the fiberglass exit air nose strut fairing expecting to have to make a new one.  The old one was bubbled up on the outside and I thought the fiberglass (not high temp resin) had not withstood the exhaust heat.  After I got it off I discovered the paint had bubbled, not the fiberglass resin.  So, I decided to reuse the old fairing by repairing some wear spots and repainting it with high temp paint.  I may add some sheet aluminum to add protection near the exhaust pipes and to control the exit air.

While I have the root fairings off, I'll check all the connections at the wing root - especially the brake lines as it appears there may be a leak in the lines at the fuselage/wing intersection.

16 Jun 10

Reworked the wingtip fiberglass.  It has bothered me for the past year and so I'm going to get it done.  I added glass and reattached the wingtip so it could cure in place.

I'm also making templates for .025 aluminum sheets to be mounted near the exhaust air exit to smooth the airflow.  The strut fairing is finished and ready for high temp paint.  I'll finish the .025 air deflectors and then ask the welder to do the engine mount welding and exhaust pipe welding.

Next I need to find a local source for some .018 stainless steel to use on the exhaust ramp.  I'm going to nutplate a stainless ramp and put some sealant behind it also.  I'll add a couple of external ribs on the ramp to guide the air flow.

I've been puzzling over how to provide cooling air to the P Mags.  I didn't have room for the one inch diameter tubing adapters that I bought for that use - plus I felt they were too large for the task and didn't have a good way to split the output from only one.  Then I thought about using some 1/4" aluminum tubing.  I can attach it to the baffles using a #4 union and attach an aluminum tube with an adel clamp as additional support.  One for each side should provide good cooling air to the mags.

I received my order of balsa wood to use in making fairings for the exhaust area engine mount tubes.  I'm going to make balsa forms and lay glass over them and pop off the glass to use on the tubes.  But that has to wait until the welding is finished.

18 Jun 10

Late start today because I had to hop a jet to IND during the night and didn't get back until this afternoon.  But, did some more of the never ending fiberglass sanding.  And added more patches to the left front engine baffle.  It had cracked in another spot and I anticipated more cracks so I just went ahead and patched it all over.  Odd that it is the only baffle cracking so far.

Talked to the welder again and we're going to do the welding next Wednesday.  It'll be good to get that done so I can move on with other things.

19 Jun 10

23 Jun 10

It took most of the day, but I got the engine mount welded and the exhaust pipes reshaped and welded.  The pipes aren't perfect, but the original Vetterman exhaust wasn't perfect either.  The original pipes pointed inboard slightly and were not even vertically, but they were acceptable.  With the rewelded ones, they point slightly outboard and aren't quite level vertically.  It was difficult getting them even as straight as we did because they had to be completely rewelded to make a little joggle inboard and then aft again.  I'm working on several projects in the same area, so it will be a few days before I get the pipes back on.

I'm doing some rework on the strut exhaust area fairing and I'll paint it with high temp paint.  Then I'm going to make some prototype high temp resin fairings for the exit area engine mount tubing.  I'm making balsa molds and will lay fiberglass over them and then fasten to the tubing.

Bob asked me to remove any sensitive radios or electronic gear, so tomorrow I have to reinstall all of them.  His TIG welder creates a very high frequency and he wanted to be sure to not damage anything.

The stainless sheet arrived today.  Now I need to get on that project, too.

25 Jun 10

For tomorrow, I need to get the stainless sheet installed on the exhaust ramp, the new rubber channel installed on the wing root fairings, cut metal and lay on the initial fiberglass for the winglets, and shape the balsa for the engine mount fairings.

29 Jun 10

Made two test pieces of fiberglass encased .032 sheet to check feasibility of using the same technique for winglets.  One piece of aluminum is covered with one layer and the other with two layers of S glass.  I'll trim them tomorrow and check for thickness and strength.  I clamped the test pieces between two tape covered boards.  Since I don't have a vacuum bagging capability, I'm testing to see if I can clamp the winglets between boards to make them as thin as possible and remove excess resin.  We'll see if it works.

30 Jun 10

Spent the day trying to buy a new car.  I hate car dealers.

Finally got to work late in the day.  First off was looking at the winglet test pieces.  They turned out well.  The one layer piece was strong enough, but it's very easy to sand through the single layer of glass.  Plus, the two layer piece will allow me to more easily use flat head screws for attachment.  The two layers are heavier, but that is what I'll use.

Then I made a test fairing for the engine mount tubes out of carbon fiber and high temp resin.  Next I'll shape the balsa some more to prep for the final fairings.