| day |
notes |
hours |
| 3 |
David Corbett visits to buy lazy-tongs riveter, and Keith Jones visits with Canadian friend. While they are there, unclamp tailplane TEs and slide apart to show tab details. |
|
| 4 |
Climate 18C, 65% RH. Remove starboard tab from tailplane and put tailplanes on one side. Peel off peel-ply from flox, where possible. Clean out rest in flange corner with burr in Dremel. File and sand down to near LE profile. Scuff sand bonding areas. Mask off hinge with masking & parcel tape. Cut out 3 pieces BID 75mm x 125mm. Squirt small fraction of a stroke into drip cup, to prevent any problems with uneven amounts being retained in wooden pipe caps. Mix 2 strokes epoxy and paint on. Lay up 3 layers of BID and wet out, trimming as necessary. 1st layer seemed to shrink away from bottom LE corner, so add a small overlapping patch there. Apply peel-ply in several overlapping pieces. Leave to cure with fan heater on 3.5 and dehumidifier on. At bedtime, up to 21C and 53% RH. |
282.2 |
| 5 |
Turn off heat about 10:00. Sample well cured. |
|
| 10 |
Remove peel-ply and clean up around layup. Replace torque tube parts and clamp to jig. Find I have to leave nuts off temporary securing bolts in order to clear jig blocks. Note that David Corbett's jig blocks are set further apart than on manual illustration, resulting in the bushes, not the tube itself, being on the vees and clamped down. This is probably a good thing as it's the drive pins attached to those sleeves that have to be set horizontal. Not happy with David Corbett's block for setting the pins level. Make a new one from a mahogany offcut, and use hole cutter to make notch for torque-tube so there is not a sharp corner stress-riser. Try setting everything up for marking the hole postions for TP13 bushes in root ribs. Foam blocks and wedges seem OK for setting tailplane angles, but will need to strip off some peel-ply where the incidence template sits as there are some resin lumps. Wonder if it would be worthwhile making up little points to slip over the TP12 pins and mark the centres more precisely. |
285.4 |
| 12 |
Europa News arrives and in parts list mod 62 "replacement of tailplane torque tube drive pins", changing from 1/4" to 3/8" makes me think I should decide now if I want to incorporate that. It's £51.10 so not trivial. |
|
| 18 |
Phone Europa factory to discuss mod 62 and decide to go ahead with it, as it needs to be done before drilling for pip pins if it's going to be done at all. Order parts for delivery at Cranfield, and also order mod 51, the retract lever strut, at the same time. |
|
| 21 |
Collect mods 51 & 62 from Toni at Europa Rally stand (£62.39 total). In discussing my progress with various people, most reckon that a dab of paint on the ends of the TP12 pins is the easiest way to mark the position of the holes in the tailplane root rib for the TP13 bushes. |
|
| 22 |
Wander round Rally flea-market and notice several apparently nice VSIs. Robin Morton comes to Club stand later and I ask him if it's advisable to buy a s/h VSI. He says the calibrated leak is the big issue as that can't be replaced; also they are very sensitive to case leaks. We look at the ones in the flea-market and he reckons several are rubbish as they appear to have case cracks; another reasonable-looking one has cream markings but is £70. He says Pete Smoothy at Airworld has brand new ones for not much more. We go to Airworld and I buy a new +/- 2000fpm one with a guarantee for 82.90 + VAT. |
|
| 23 |
Ask Neville and Andy on Europa stand why the Winter 1.5-turn ASI is preferred for the Europa, and they say it gives important info for the monowheel around 35kt, showing clearly when one can expect control-surface authority. Despite my dislike of the aesthetics of the 1.5-turn one, I can't find another ASI on any stand which offers as good resolution around those speeds, so do not make any other ASI purchase. Airworld list a suitable altimeter but don't have one left; I order one for delivery at the show price. |
|
| 26 |
For mod 62, check that I have 23/64" & 9mm drills in stock and order 3/8" hand reamer from Buck & Hickman. After noting the caution in the instructions for the mod about using a marker pen to preserve orientation of the bits, phone Neville to ask about the scratches on the outside of my torque tube (where the swarf from the holes got dragged along as I removed the TPxx parts). He says lengthwise scratches are not a problem - they wanted to prevent people making centre-pop, number punch or similar heavy marks on any of the parts. |
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| 27 |
Letter arrives from Francis Donaldson with new annual checks for main gear and outriggers to prevent collapses. Collect 3/8" reamer from Buck & Hickman (£23.72). |
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