Still Chapter Eight…
The three big tasks tackled here
were the installation of the panel, the attaching of the fuselage top-half, and
the engine installation.
Panel installation…
The reason this was done now was
to allow easy access to the rear of the panel during installation. It is really
a question of "what you gain on the roundabouts you lose on the
swings." When installing the engine it was really difficult to route and
connect stuff behind the panel, however a lot of the work was not anywhere near
the panel itself. Wires were run from the tail for the various trim tabs,
lights etc. Wire came from the rear bulkhead to connect the flux gate (that’s
where I decided to put it) and the cabin fan. More wires from the stuff under
the backseat… Stormscope, remote gyro, 12V-24V converter for the GNS430 comm,
transponder antenna, and ELT. The following pictures are worth "a thousand
words," also a helluva lot easier for me to do… NOTE: All lefts and
rights refer to the picture and not the plane.
The above is a rearward view
showing the flux gate mounted on a piece of pre-preg mounted to the top of the fuse,
the ventilation fan is also visible. The photo was taken after the fuselage top
was installed, however the flux gate and fan were installed prior to the top
being mounted.
Looking in the same direction
but from further forward. The Stormscope antenna’s ground plane is visible to
the lower right, the ELT antenna being just a little behind that. Barely
visible to the lower left is one of the oxygen cylinder’s mounting points. The
hard-point on the left-side the bulkhead is one of the battery’s mounts. The
rationale for mounting the Stormscope’s antenna internally is that if it is in
the wrong place, I can easily move it to some external position later. However,
I think that the position is benign enough that it should be OK. The only
"interferer" is the flap motor that generally only works once the
flight is coming to an end.
The ELT is clearly visible next
to the transponder’s antenna ground plane. The flap motor and actuator is also
visible.
This view is of under the right
rear-seat. The front of plane is to the left of the photo. Starting from the
bottom is the flap motor/actuator (which is going to receive micro-switches to
replace the magnetic sensors, LML has reported several problems with the
magnetic sensors), then the remote gyro, 12V-24V converter and the Stormscope.
The last three items are mounted on a pre-preg plinth that provides a level
mounting surface. The gyro has a limited tolerance to pitch and roll.
This is the destination of the
wires and peripherals shown above. The panel is a very capable IFR one. I am
pretty proud that its very clean with a high degree of redundancy. It is all
analog (except for the Hobbs), none of those pesky gauges that you have
to consciously read.
Here is Nathan happily
stringing more wires through the fuselage.
Now the fuselage top…
The mounting of the fuselage top
requires the windows to be mounted before the top is set in place. Again good
use of photos will be made…
Yours truly demonstrating how to
drill a hole in the knee cap while drilling a hole in the fuselage top for
self-drilling screws used to squeeze the two halves together while the Hysol
"cooks." The technique used was to drill a hole in the outside (top)
half and then insert the self-drilling screw which drills a hole into the inside
(bottom) half, this ensures a good squeeze. Note the windows and the
ventilation duct is already in place.
Yours truly (foreground), Bruce
(mid-ground, our Aussie import and a model aviation buff in his own right, his
web site is: www.bigbruceracing.com) and Henry (our stalwart builder). Me still
drilling screw holes, the others are scuffing the bonding surface on the bottom
half.
On goes the Hysol. First a thin
coat on both halves, then a flox fattened mixture to the bottom half to fill
any voids between the two halves. Nathan on the left is applying the thin coat,
Henry following up behind him with the flox mix. Me avoiding work on the far
side.
Nathan watching the grace with
which Henry lowers the fuselage top into place. Bruce and I on the other side.
Note the generous amount of Hysol applied.
A similar view but of the other side
Henry couldn’t wait to start the finish work. Thank God for Henry,
he actually LIKES sanding!!
This shows the first fitting of
the door and the luggage door. Starting to look like a Lancair!!!
Now onto the engine…
The engine was delivered to
Leighton’s workshop. He graciously allowed me to have it delivered there as no
one would deliver it to my house due to the steep drive. Leighton, once again,
came to the fore and trucked it over to my place and brought along his engine
hoist. All this made a near impossible job a breeze. Nathan was as usual
available to help—one can never have enough help when hoisting engines in a
confined space.
Leighton’s truck and trailer
having just released the engine.
The first attempt wasn’t too successful, but got a much better
when we realized the engine was sideways. Moving the hoist to a better location
also helped.
Lowering the engine onto the
mount. Me at the controls, my engine after all. Nathan ready to catch it should
the chain break and Leighton manhandling it into position.
Spinning on the bolts that hold
the pucks in position and keep the engine secured to the plane.
The engine baffling went on
quite easily thanks to the kit purchased from Lancair. The kit came with
several parts short, but as usual a call to Vern fixed that with minimum of
fuss. Above is a view if the cooling ducts to the fuel pump, vacuum pump and
gascolator.
Something I struggled with was
the mounting of the oil sensors, i.e. the oil pressure sensors. I finally
devised the contraption shown above. It is a small aluminum plate onto which
the sensors are mounted. Cutting holes that allow the sensors to be inserted
into the plate, area washers held down by screws through small lengths of tube
into nut plates capture the sensors. The sensors are then coupled to the engine
by use of a steel tube and a flex hose. Also bought the hose kit from Lancair,
another bargain.
Another view of the sensors
shows the position in relation to the rest of the engine.
This shows the manifold pressure hose entering the manifold just
behind the throttle lever. The key to this was to use the hole just below the
one recommended in Continental’s manual. The recommended hole is right behind
the fuel distributor and is impossible to get to. Using the smaller and more
accessible hole made it easy.
With most of the engine hooked
up I decided to look at fitting the cowl. The first step was to mount my
beautiful MT prop and sit down for a few hours just imagining and admiring.
Now on goes the cowl. This is
not easy by any stretch of the imagination. There are about a half dozen things
that need to line up and, of course, the exhausts interfere with the cowl, so I
had to cut pieces out to enable the cowl to be fitted. Finally, I got it in
place with the help of Larry (that’s Larry Linik, my original helper, who now
lives with his wife Joyce in Richland, WA ) who came down to visit us for a
weekend. I’m going to have to modify the cowl to accommodate the exhaust, not
quite as severe as the Dolly Parton cowling used on the IVP, something
more like a Julia Roberts.