| day |
notes |
hours |
| 1 |
Turn off heat. Remove peel-ply from yesterday's layups. Hacksaw & file down excess along top edge of rib. |
904.4 |
| 2 |
8C, 40% RH. Turn on heaters. Rub down outer W18s with 240 grit wet-and-dry used dry. Abrade bonding areas around outboard W18 positions with fine Perma-Grit sheet and emery cloth for getting into corners. 18C, 36% RH. Give W18s a final clean-up on the almost worn-out 100 grade ScotchBrite wheel. Swing south end of table westwards for clearance below W18s. Mix 3 strokes of older epoxy & add 4 and a bit doses of flox to make a fairly stiff consistency but not too dry. Butter it fairly liberally onto rib faces at W18 positions. Slide each W18 in from underneath at an angle and press lightly into position, securing with cocktail sticks. Put W21/OR6 assembly in between W18s & hold in place with toolmakers clamps. Scrape off all excess flox that has squeezed out and wipe fillets into all corners. Mix a peg-5 (90g) batch of fresh epoxy & paint onto rib & skin bonding areas. Lay on BID pieces one by one, folding along long axis centreline as before to position, and wet out each layer. The epoxy is thickening slightly before the last layer is finished so mix a peg-3 (30g) batch to wet it out. Cut 2 off 500mm lengths of 250mm peel-ply. Slit one as before and fit to inboard side rib-skin junction. Outboard one needs no slit as the join is straight all the way to TE. 22C, 32% RH. Cut the inter-rib reinforcement piece from 3mm ply (95mm high, 42mm at top , 41mm at bottom). Check packet of already-cut BID pieces for suitable sizes for the inter-rib reinforcement. Not quite enough, so cut one more piece from short roll. That leaves 5 off 50mm strips on it ranging from about 500mm to about 900mm. |
907.7 |
| 4 |
While looking at side view of proposed SL40 installation in CADintosh, decide to check again the depth available behind the radio panel, with the thought of using larger rails than the present 12mm to set it back slightly. Turns out to be almost exactly the behind-panel depth of the SL40. I'm sure I checked it before I decided to buy, but am a bit surprised there's so little to spare. As the radio panel is angled, the most clearance will be obtained by placing the SL40 at the right hand side. Try that out on the drawing. The right-hand rail will need to be no longer than the height of the radio, so no triangulation strut can be fitted at that side. A single strut at the left hand side should be sufficient, though. I'm not sure whether the rail should project above or below the radio - depends what else needs width, but no need to make a decision yet. 10C, 68% RH in workshop, turn on heaters. Abrade bonding areas for ply between W18s on double rib. Attach the ply piece with small dabs of 90-second epoxy, just to keep it in place during the layup. Mark out 95mm tramlines on polyethylene sheet and divide into 2 off 150mm sections with bend lines at 55mm and 95mm. Trim one edge to tramline. Cut and lay 3 layers of BID on each sheet and wet out with a peg-5 (90g) mix of epoxy. That's way too much, almost half of it spare, must have miscalculated. Apply to ply and rib using the wooden corner tool. Add peel-ply, including some on the bottom to catch any epoxy running down there. 22C, 36% RH. |
909.1 |
| 5 |
Remove peel-ply from layups around double rib & file off protruding bits of glass. Remove W21/OR6 assembly. Check journal for how starboard root layup was done. Mark layup extremities on forward and aft faces of spar & measure length of BID needed. Mask off spar bush with masking tape covered with parcel tape, trimmed to a circle. Mark on main BID roll pieces 150mm wide by 285mm, 320mm & 425mm (aft) and 390mm, 425mm & 530mm (forward). Mark up pieces of polyethylene sheet with border lines of all BID layers, bend linen and spar bush location. Remove peel-ply from root rib. Remove 3D Mouldings label from root rib (it was starting to peel off anyway) and stick it down with UHU clear glue to bottom skin near pitot-static mast mount. Abrade all bonding areas with fine Perma-Grit sheet. Lay longest pieces of BID on polyethylene sheet and with some tedious fiddling cut out the holes for the spar bushes. Temporarily roll back the long pieces of BID and lay down the others in correct position and order (shortest next to the plastic). Refill epoxy dispenser bottles from the supply tins. Mix a peg-3 (60g) batch of epoxy and wet out the shorter (aft) BID. Some epoxy spare so use it to wet out a small patch of BID over the 3D Mouldings label. Offer up the layup to the spar and the care in measuring, cutting and marking out is repaid with very good alignment of edges and spar bush hole. Press it into the corner with the wooden wedge tool, and then along root rib. Peel off polyethylene & press BID into corners with brush. Add peel-ply. Mix a peg-4 (75g) epoxy batch and wet out larger (forward) BID. Apply and peel-ply as for aft. Just enough epoxy could be wiped off brush to make samples from each layup, so much less wastage today. 24C, 36% RH. Measure bellcrank access recess as about 100mm x 120mm, but not quite square. Tape a piece of paper to the bottom wing skin and take a rubbing of the shape with a pencil. Cut out and transfer shape to protective film on 3mm Lexan sheet. Hacksaw to marked lines and file corners. Repeatedly offer up to recess and file small amounts off sides and corners with millenicut file until it fits. Mark anchor nut positions on the panel and drill 5mm. Tape panel to recess and drill though 5mm. Remove panel and attach anchor nuts with button-head screws and various washers to stop screws entering stiff areas of anchor nuts. Because upper skin extends above working area, use tight-fit drill kit to drill fixing holes through 3/32". Rivet holes are very near edge of recess, so turn up a 5mm x 5mm bush from a small piece of steel rod, drilled through 2mm, to extend riveter nose slightly. Coat rivets and fixing holes of anchor nuts with Duralac and pull up rivets. Store bush in drawer with TAPK33BS rivets. Mark 25mm in from each anchor nut centre at 45 degrees and make pilot holes with tight-fit drill kit. From underside, use the pilot holes to centre a 38mm holesaw which gives nicely rounded corners to the aperture. Hacksaw and file the edges straight between the holes. Rub down all edges with emery cloth to make them safe. Fit inspection panel with temporary button-head screws. Collect parts for bellcrank assembly from storage drawers. |
916.7 |
| 6 |
Phone AFE as headset jacks still not received. Remove peel-ply from root layups, file down edges and re-open transverse pushrod hole & quick-connect bellcrank pivot hole. Remove masking over spar bush and cut away some stray glass strands. Knife slips, making a small scratch in the BID; will have to patch that. Assemble outboard bellcrank (using AN4-7A bolts for the rod-ends instead of the shortened AN4-10A called out in the manual). Flange mounting holes need easing with a round file to fit the studs. Whole thing appears slightly off-square, but that should not matter. Get S03 spacer out of box 1 in the trailer. Take down port transverse pushrod from its storage place by the window & brush off dust & cobwebs. Trial assemble it to the outboard bellcrank. Immediately obvious that much relieving will be needed at the forward side of the hole through the double rib. |
918.0 |
| 7 |
Phone AFE again as no call-back received. They say the paperwork got lost between their Manchester office (where the website stuff is done) and the Oxford office (where the parts are stocked). They promise to get it in the post today. Get box 6 (marked XS WK hardware Rev 02 serial 138) out of trailer for AN4-31A bolt, and store few remaining items in the garage drawers. Drill out quick-connect bellcrank mounting hole from the under 5mm as found to 1/4", trying to keep it as square to the spar as possible. Counterbore front of spar with 20mm forstner bit. Find on first trial assembly that the bolt will be threadbound, so the counterbore, although measured carefully as 16mm, was just a bit too deep. Re-reading the manual, the starboard countersink is specified as "at least" and the port one is "up to" - I had not fully appreciated that subtle difference. Add a couple of the thin EURO01 washers under the head of the bolt to solve the problem. Remove outer bellcrank bracket and file holes in double rib out to where I hope it will clear pushrod. Re-assemble pushrod to both bellcranks and mark up spots on ribs where it's binding. Dismantle and file out holes with coarse Perma-Grit half-round file, re-assemble and repeat until pushrod clear of holes throughout full travel, with both rod-ends screwed fully home. While waiting for car brake pad change at Warners, use the Wi-Fi hotspot to do some internet research on Mode S transponders, and download details of Garmin, Becker, Filser (Funkwerk) & Trig types. Order spare facemask with filters and new abrasive wheel from CSM Abrasives Plus website. Although I've been calling it ScotchBrite, the ones they now stock appear to be neither that nor Webrax, the other well-known non-woven abrasive. Consider that fitting the removable aluminium avionics panel from Europa will gain a few millimetres clearance for the back of the SL40 radio, as that will move everything out from the firewall by the thickness of the existing composite panel. That will also make maintenance access easier. Compile a comparison table of transponders. The Filser/Funkwerk stands out as smallest and cheapest. |
920.1 |
| 8 |
Re-assemble transverse pushrod with 5 turns of thread exposed at both ends, and check again for free movement - all OK. Check for rubbing against ribs when deflected slightly in centre to mimic G loads and mark trouble spots. Remove pushrod, file rib holes where marked. Smooth edges of all rib holes with emery cloth. Take outboard bellcrank bracket apart and re-assemble using stiffnuts and Duralac on all mating surfaces. Also re-assemble rod ends to bellcrank with Duralac and stiffnuts. Put a dab of inspector's lacquer on all 4 stiffnuts. Should get a fresh tube of lacquer as this one's drying out. Open pitot & static tubing holes in ribs to 10mm with Perma-Grit cone tool in Dremel. Fit grommets - the ones where extra BID overlaid the holes need considerable persuasion. Thread TU21RM tubing in from root end and attach to pitot-static head to assess roughly how much slack will be needed. Final decision on that can be made after the aileron pushrod and the conduit have been installed. Consider that it might be useful to make a keeper for the ends of the tubing, that would mount in place of the pitot-static head and keep dirt out of the tubing and prevent the ends getting lost. It would mimic the shape of the pitot-static head within the wing, but not have anything protruding to get damaged. Leave the loop of tubing at the root end uncut for now. Open the conduit pilot holes again where they have been covered by BID. Drill them out with 20mm grit-edged holesaw. Have to use air-powered right-angle drill for the BL29.5 rib, and it just reaches through to the angled rib beyond. Conduit goes through easily, but the BID sleeve needs a little more room. Enlarge the holes slightly with round and half-round grit files, but leave the hole in BL127 at 20mm for the moment. Slide a piece of conduit through it and out to touch inside of tip moulding. With conduit held at half-spar height, mark around the end of it inside the tip moulding. Put a light inside the tip so that inside marking can be seen from outside, and mark the centre on the outside. Drill 20mm with grit-edged holesaw. Smooth edge of hole with emery cloth. File out BL127 hole to take BID sleeve. Download dimensions of AirGizmos mount for Garmin 196, draw up in CADintosh and try out on radio panel layout. Having decided that the radio goes as far right as possible, everything else seems to fall into place around it; intercom & transponder below, GPS above. |
924.2 |
| 9 |
AFE order arrives, less the "free" keyring which is nevertheless shown on the packing note - ho hum. Mark out 18 off 120mm squares at 45 degrees on BID for reinforcement donuts around conduit holes. |
924.7 |
| 11 |
8C, 55% RH, turn on heaters. Tidy up inside wing area. Abrade areas around conduit holes on shiny side of ribs with fine Perma-Grit sheet. Cut out 18 off 120mm squares of BID. Lay them in pairs at 45 degrees and cut off projecting points to form octagons, and lay out on polyethylene sheet. Cut a small piece of BID to patch over the scratch on the spar overlay BID. 20C, 41% RH. Wet out the BID pieces with 5 strokes of the older epoxy. Separate polyethylene sheet into individual pieces and apply to all conduit holes. Apply patch to spar overlap BID. Peel-ply all layups. 21C, 41% RH. All looks well-cured by bedtime so turn off heaters. 22C, 33% RH. |
926.8 |
| 12 |
Refer back to journal and pictures of starboard outer conduit installation. Remove peel-ply from yesterday's layups. Drill and file out all holes again. Insert root end conduit to check length it protrudes into inspection panel bay. Insert tip end conduit and check where it should be bent. Bend it using internal bending spring for 19mm copper pipe. Insert again and find scrap of blue foam to support inner end. Bandsaw and file it to shape. Mark and cut outer end to just beyond tip of spar. Smooth ends of all conduit with emery cloth. |
928.7 |
| 13 |
 11C, 54% RH, turn on heaters. Cut conduit-retaining BID straps: 2 off 25mm x 150mm for foam block and 4 off 25mm x 100mm plus 2 off 50mm x 100mm for outboard end. Lay on polyethylene sheet. Abrade bonding areas on skin and spar. Hacksaw the BID sleeve into 7 off 200mm lengths for ribs BL29.5 - BL127, one about 50mm for angled rib and one about 25mm for root rib. Fit to rib holes and insert conduit. 21C, 39% RH. Open older Redux pack and mix 40g + 16g. Apply around all BID sleeves (retracting slightly from rib hole to apply) and put a small dollop on each side bridging onto the conduit, to discourage lengthwise movement. Coat bottom of foam pad with Redux and line up with conduit, with weights applied. Now seems a bit low, so cut a couple of lengths of mixing stick to go underneath and raise it enough. Plenty Redux left, so, before it goes off, abrade inside TE end of tip moulding and top & bottom faces of W54. Apply Redux to both and insert W54. Clamp in place with a piece of wood across inboard side, with polyethylene sheet interposed to stop it sticking. Mix 3 strokes of older epoxy and wet out BID straps with it. To remainder add 2 doses flox to make a fairly stiff non-slump mix. Apply to spar above & below conduit in strap bonding areas and along edge of foam block where mixing-stick shims have left a gap. Lay BID straps on and peel-ply. 23C, 34% RH. Leave heaters on. While checking card statement online discover that AFE have charged me twice for the headset jacks! |
932.1 |
| 14 |
Phone AFE to chase duplicate card charge and they phone back later to say they will refund it and send a keyring. Remove peel-ply from yesterday's layups and file off protruding strands of glass. Trim flange edges of double clip layup. Cut 11 off sections approx 15mm each. Smooth underside of rounded edges to prevent tubing damage. Fit pitot-static mast to check tube positioning again. Abrade all clip mating areas of skin and bottom of clips. The flanges tend to curl up slightly when weighted centrally so cut up some pieces of wood to bridge them and place the pressure on the flanges. Mix 10g + 4g of older Redux. Apply to bottom of clips, position and weigh down. After wrestling with tubing at outboard end to maintain desired position of clip adjacent to pitot-static mast, eventually remove tubing from mast which makes things much easier. 25C, 30% RH. Start to sketch up dummy pitot-static mast to keep ends of tubing in place and protected from contamination. This means the real mast does not have to stay installed with the consequent likelihood of damage to its projecting parts in subsequent operations. Online account check shows AFE have made the refund to my card. |
934.0 |
| 15 |
Remove weights and wooden bridges from tube clips. Some bits of wood are stuck where Redux has oozed out and need to be prised off. The furthest outboard one hasn't adhered properly in the centre and can be peeled off. I think there was just too much repositioning and general messing-about on that one, and the Redux seems to have been wiped out too thin to cope with the slightly uneven surface there - the clip goes over the foam pad strap and the 3D Mouldings label patch. Where it was touching, it took the outer layer off the BID when removed, so clearly no problem if properly applied. Find a piece of 3mm aluminium (the centre waste from making a gyro hole) to use as the base of the dummy pitot-static mast. Cut out a piece about 40mm in diameter using a 46mm holesaw and turn to size on a M6 screw as a mandrel in the lathe. Drill pilot holes for mounting screws and dummy pipes using indexing attachment on vertical slide. Drill out mounting holes to 5mm and others to 4.2mm, then tap them M5. From 8mm aluminium rod turn up dummy pipes matching in length the parts above the original mounting plate, but slightly smaller (3.4mm instead of 4mm) for easier tube fitting and removal. Reverse, hold in 1/4" collet, turn down 3mm stub to 5mm and diecut M5 to fit mounting plate. Screw them in and secure with Loctite. Abrade skin and BID patches where outboard pitot-static clip is to go, and abrade bottom of a fresh double clip. Mix 10g + 4g of older Redux and apply generously to clip and skin. Put a piece of polyethylene sheet over the clip this time under the wooden bridge and weigh down for cure. |
934.7 |
| 16 |
Do some more work on the CADintosh circuit diagram. Remove weights from clip and tidy up stuff inside wing. Check tubing length and alignment on dummy mast. Once satisfied, cut root ends to recommended 120mm and fit connectors. Store spare tubing in parts drawer. Raise wing enough to get it LE down and mark position of horns and hinges on edge of bottom skin with aileron held against tip moulding. Extend using square to full horn outlines on outside of skin. Lower wing to horizontal again and use a light underneath to trace lines onto inside surface of bottom skin and hinge flange. Try horn boxes for fit. They both need a bit of fettling around the edges where the moulding was not fully trimmed, and the outboard one needs to be moved 10mm outwards. Cut and file away glass and foam to suit. |
936.7 |
| 18 |
Phone CSM Abrasives Plus to find why order placed 2008-02-07 has not arrived. They say everything I wanted is marked "back-ordered" which seems exceptionally unlucky. Get battery isolator from Karparts. Seems to have potential for remote operation - mounted in engine compartment and operated from cockpit. 8C, 44% RH, turn on heaters. Find some pieces of BID for horn box recess patch, to give 50mm beyond cut area and 2 more layers adjacent to closeout. Abrade bonding areas. Mix a peg-1 (30g) batch of fresh epoxy and wet out BID in-situ. Add peel-ply and polyethylene sheet then clamp horn box lightly in place to maintain profile. 19C, 34% RH. |
937.6 |
| 19 |
Remove clamp, polyethylene and peel-ply from horn box recess patch. Cut along marked horn lines using pad saw and hacksaw blade, drilling along ends. Offer up aileron to check fit. File both ends of aileron slightly to improve fit. File horn slots, try fit, repeat until just fitting. Unstick inboard end of upper closeout where it abuts the vertical flange. Trim aileron LE root closeout flange and fit rod-end to try it - much more trimming needed. Look at starboard aileron in trailer for comparison and cut away a much larger piece. Make initial hole in closeout for aileron pushrod. Mark hinge position on top of flange by measurements in manual and offer up aileron to check - not far away, but different enough that we need to use the actual dimensions, not the theoretical ones. Raise wing and tilt onto LE for easier access, but decide that first I need to cut away the end of the closeout between aileron and flap positions for better access before I can clamp the hinges in the correct position. Check journal for how much to cut away. Mark & cut 8mm flange around edge of closeout. Mark and cut away hinge rebates. Raise wing onto LE again; mark out hinge screw positions on bottom. Centre-pop hole positions to prevent drill wandering. To give something to lean against while drilling hinges, lower wing (LE down) to floor beside table. Drill flange holes 3.3mm. Set aileron in correct lateral position but with horns outside top flange (ie at just over 90 degrees down) for clamping access. Clamp hinges to flange with large toolmakers clamps. Drill one hole in each; have to use tight-fit drill kit because aileron angle prevents access square to flange by normal drill. Unclamp, replace aileron in normal position with horns in slots and secure with a cleco in each hole. Drill remaining holes, adding clecos to each one to keep hinge tight against flange. Open up hole nearest root to 4.8mm and re-fit cleco with M3 washer on inside to secure (the cutaway in the end of the closeout makes positioning the washer relatively easy). Can't do the same on the outboard hinge as not enough finger room under horn. Instead, after opening up the hole nearest to the horn, fit button-head 10-32 screw and place nut inside using Blu-Tack on a mixing stick. Open up all holes to 4.8mm, working from the outboard end in each case so that drilling is always taking place adjacent to a securing device. Remove button-head screw, using the same technique again to hold the nut, remove cleco & M3 washer, remove aileron and smooth edges of flange holes where some glass strands have not been cut cleanly. |
942.0 |
| 20 |
While working on main circuit diagram, discover that the automotive blade-type fuses do not appear to be available in sizes below 3A (so a potential problem for the several 2A & 1A feeds), and that inline holders for 30A fuses (as specified for battery & alternator feeds) seem to be hard to find. Clear table and hoist wing back onto it. Fit anchor nut to hinge with button-head screw and spacer to avoid screw entering stiff part. Drill rivet holes 2.4mm and countersink with tip of 5.1mm drill. Remove anchor nut, paint mating face with Duralac and replace on hinge. Paint rivet with Duralac and pull up it using the spacer made earlier. That's needed because the spacer on the screw puts its head high enough to obstruct the standard riveter nose. Likewise with 2nd rivet. Repeat 7 times for the rest of the anchor nuts. Assemble aileron to wing with a couple of button-head screws per hinge to check travel and clearances. Inboard horn is just brushing end of slot so file that back a bit. Resin line on aileron where excess resin from horn attachment ran into edge of partly-removed peel-ply is catching on the upper TE and has to be filed down. Travel is roughly 24.8 degrees up (25 required) and 29 degrees down (22 required). Spot through empty screw holes onto face of aileron hinge vee with 3.9mm drill. Swap screws in holes and spot through others. Remove aileron and enlarge hole, first with 5.8mm drill and then with large Perma-Grit countersink and needle file. Also make hole for outer rivet tails to enter. Both hinges now folding down to within a couple of mm of hinge vee face. Re-fit aileron, this time using bungee around outer horn to secure that end while I get a screw into the inboard hinge. Re-fit aileron and check deflection again. Realise that the outboard hinge flange is sagging slightly now that the horn slot has been cut, displacing the apparent neutral point. When a better neutral is established, there is about 26.2 degrees up and 27.5 degrees down, with no horn boxes fitted. Offer up horn boxes and the inboard one sets the limit, at about 24.7 degrees, still satisfactory. get bellcrank assembly out of storage ready for measuring aileron pushrod length. As rod-end already installed on bellcrank, will measure to edge of bolt head and nut instead of to hole centres. |
945.7 |
| 21 |
CSM Abrasives Plus order arrives. The nylon abrasive wheel is branded "Bibielle", made in EU. The previous ones were unbranded, made in Germany. Re-fit bellcrank and measure for pushrod length. Easiest to do in 2 parts. At 23.5 degrees up (confirmed by about 75mm between aileron tip and wing tip with flange sag corrected) aileron drive to closeout front face is 53mm. With bellcrank against stop, closeout front face to rod-end bearing bolt is 358mm, a total of 411mm. Subtract the 92mm called out in manual to get 319mm. Repeat measurements to be absolutely sure. Mark cutting line on TU2 and check again that it looks correct when dimensions of rod-ends added. Hacksaw off excess and clean up cut end. Screw rod-ends onto rod-end bearings, slide pushrod into position and check for fit and clearance in closeout hole. Remove and file away most obvious places. Need to remove aileron to file back its LE slightly. Re-fit aileron and check for full and free movement, and that full down travel can just be achieved with rod-ends screwed fully home. Mark ends of pushrod for rivet holes with fine felt-tip pen. Notice that the main circuit diagram in the printed manual deviates from the PDF in at least one respect - it incorrectly shows the ground wire from the pitch trim indicator as bl/w. The PDF accords with the Ray Allen servo documentation in showing bk/w. |
947.2 |
| 22 |
Set a piece of M8 studding upright in a small piece of wood with nuts each side to act as a stand for aileron pushrod while spraying. Polish up pushrod with fine ScotchBrite (obliterating the rivet-hole markings) and degrease with acetone. Set on the stand and spray with zinc chromate aerosol. Clamp vee-blocks to drill table as jig to centre rivet holes on pushrod diameter. Insert rod end and drill 1st hole, but it doesn't seem to be quite centred. A re-check of vee-block positions shows they must have shifted slightly while clamping. Un-clamp and re-arrange with more care over clamping. Try fitting rivet into 1st hole but it gets very stiff and can only be removed with difficulty. Use spare 1/8" drill bit instead to provide alignment while drilling 2nd hole. That seems much better centred. Repeat at other end. Mark both ends with felt-tip pen for orientation. Remove rod ends by passing threaded end through a 1/4" hole in a piece of wood and fitting nut other side to give something to pull against. Clear out swarf and deburr. Squirt some zinc chromate into both ends from aerosol to coat inside of tube. Paint rod ends with Duralac and re-fit as marked. Find a small piece of steel to use as an anvil for the rivet set on the 1-ton press and drill it 4.8mm. Paint 1st rivet with Duralac and use press to form shop head. This seems easier than any other method so far tried. Multiple strikes seem to be better than a single sustained pressure, and it's much easier to keep the rivet vertical and get a square impact than when using a mallet. Place and set remaining rivets - despite running the 1/8" drill through again, they are quite stiff to insert and a careful press with the vice seems the easiest way to get them home. Might make an anvil for the rivet set that better fits the press base at some time. Remove aileron, file root end to clear wing closeout flange, refit with pushrod and checknuts. Fit lateral pushrod and quick-connect bellcrank to check everything operates OK. |
950.1 |
| 23 |
Move table southwards in hope of keeping flap template clear of it when turning wing over. Knock old polyester resin lumps off flap template. Clear all accumulated stuff out of wing. Find a piece of wood to keep flap template at right angles to the wing top surface. Cramp template and square in place, in line with forward end of root rib. Mix up some u-pol easylite polyester filler paste and put dabs against template-wing junction and against wooden square to secure it all. Once filler paste cured, raise wing and push table as far west as possible. Turn wing over gradually, keeping it to the east side of the table so there is room for the TE end of the template to pass. Put a lump of blue foam near the double rib to support outboard end and lower wing onto table. Try flap for fit. Some trimming seems needed but will also have to check the shape of the inboard end of the starboard aileron as the port one seems to be not parallel to the double rib (as one might have expected) or the tip end of the flap. Take flap off again and laminate a couple of mixing sticks in the vise to make some 3mm spacers to go between the flap LE and the vertical part of the wing skin. Main circuit diagram in CADintosh now finished to match the generic one in the manual. |
952.5 |
| 25 |
Compare starboard and port aileron root shapes. Both appear identical in shape and overall length. Look at starboard flap - it has been trimmed considerably at the root. Reference back to journal of 2003-08-08 confirms that it had 12mm removed. Remove (with some difficulty) masking tape from W18s and clean them up carefully to avoid any scratches. Trial assemble W19 & W20 to flap to check positions. With arrangement as for starboard (W19 outboard of FL1, W20 inboard of FL2), W19 is about 8mm inboard of its W18, W20 is about 20mm inboard of its W18, and FL3 is about 12mm inboard of the central line between the outboard W18s. Mark a (bent) line on tip of flap 12mm inboard from aileron and wing flange. Will probably have to change handing of W19 or W20 assembly. Root end of flap LE is only about 8mm proud of wing so it will not need any shortening. Need to take a bit off flap TE to get flap LE to wing spacing correct. Put solo clamps on north end of table to prevent template sliding off table if wing gets accidentally pushed in that direction. Mark a line 2.5mm in at root and 3.5mm in at tip. Hacksaw off and smooth with fine side of long Perma-Grit block. Hacksaw tip to marked line and try for fit. Needs more clearance at LE where wing skin corner is slightly rounded. Take a bit more off with 280mm Perma-Grit block, re-try for fit and repeat until flap & aileron TEs can touch without obstruction at flap LE. Put W21 assembly in place and re-check position of FL3. Needs to come out a fraction further so take a bit more off flap tip. Assemble W21s to FL3 and check alignment with W18s. Seems fine, although minimal clearance at flap tip. Can always trim that back later if needed. Clamp aileron tip at neutral, using a couple of mixing sticks to take up difference in thickness between aileron & tip moulding. Cut laminated mixing sticks into 3 pieces 50mm each. Hot-melt glue them to the vertical face of the wing skin at root, tip & midpoint. Position flap, clamp tip to aileron and root to template. Mix up a small batch of u-pol easylite polyester filler paste and put a blob between flap LE and each spacer, also between flap root and template. Coat a mixing stick with it and clamp in place across flap-aileron junction to give a more rigid connexion than the spring clamp. The bottom surface of the flap and wing (on top in this orientation) line up well across the span of the flap. A peek into the root of the gap between flap LE and wing recess reveals that there is only contact between the two at the TE of the wing skin and the rest of the space between is beautifully even throughout and straight along its length. |
957.3 |
| 26 |
Mark hole positions on all W18s with fine felt-tip pen and centre-pop them. Clamp W21 assembly to its W18s with toolmakers clamps and drill the 4 accessible holes with 3/32" bit in tight-fit drill kit. Change to 3/16" bit and open up holes. Insert bolts, fit washers and plain nuts. Remove clamps, drill remaining 2 holes in the same way. Notice that despite the centre-pops the pilot drill tends to wander if I don't keep a very close eye on it. Insert bolts and find they are rather close to the end or OR6 - will need to shave a bit off the end of OR6 before I can get the washers on these bolts. Clamp W19 & W20 and start to drill as before. 3/16" bit snatches when breaking through first layer of 1st hole in W20. Although I had no trouble on the 6 holes in W21s, seems I need to keep a firmer grip on the right-angle adaptor, ease pressure when breaking through, and work through drill sizes in smaller steps (like it says in the instructions - duh!). For 2nd holes, after fitting bolts in first holes, start with #50 bit and work through 3/32", 1/8", 5/32" & 3/16" in succession. That seems to give much less tendency to snatch. When fitting one of the last bolts, it doesn't really seem to tighten up solid like the others and I find I have stripped the thread. Another one does the same, then a third! Check with torque screwdriver what torque I've been applying - seems about 6N-m. Check that all other AN3-5A bolts will tighten safely to that torque - no problems. Looks like I have had a few plain nuts that were on the slack end of the tolerance, and when they let go, the bolt threads were damaged too. Wonder why AN3-5A was specified anyway - if it wasn't for the washer they would be thread-bound. I think AN3-4A would be satisfactory. Phone factory, but no answer so leave a message. |
960.0 |
| 27 |
Roger rings back while I'm out and I call back again. Discuss the bolt problem and decide to order 20 off AN3-4A for all W18 bolts on both wings, rather than the AN3-5A. File OR6 to clear nuts and washers on aft W21-W18 mounting bolts. File hollows into W18s to clear head and washer of AN525-10R32 screws. Mark a line on the edge of OR4 against edge of OR7B with fine felt-tip pen. Protect inner edge of OR4 with a layer of masking tape covered with gaffer-tape. File down carefully towards the line, keeping a square as possible to side and edge. Try action. |
961.5 |
| 28 |
AN3-4A bolts delivered. Try one for size on W18/W20 and assemble with a well-greased MS21042-3 stiffnut. There are indeed 2 threads visible beyond the nut, so that is OK. Assemble W19, W20, & W21s with new bolts and plain nuts, being careful not to overtighten them this time. Start to assemble outrigger parts. Thin down the FL11 plastic washers for the mod in the lathe to about 1.1mm each which gives a good fit. I seem to be short of AN960-10L washers. Check parts database and that is correct - but there are spare ones in box 5 of the fuselage kit. Get that pack out of trailer and store in drawers. Assemble outrigger mechanism. Put foam blocks under wing and slide template off north end of table to let wing rest on foam blocks. Unclamp flap and aileron and crack template off wing. Knock off most of the filler blobs. Tap the 3mm spacers off the flap LE and check flap operation. Flap tip still needs more trimming as it's rubbing on aileron when extended. Get out OR2 & OR3. Try OR2 for fit in OR1 & OR3. Needs relieving both ends, much more for OR3. Take each end down for an appropriate length with millenicut file, checking regularly until each is a firm press fit. Find that blade fuses of 1A & 2A ratings are available from Auto Europe so order some, plus some 30A ones and some more fuseholders. |
965.0 |
| 29 |
Fit OR2 into OR1 to marked line. Drill part-way through with OR1 supported on vee-blocks to help keep square to the drill. Turn over and drill through from other side. Insert screw - takes considerable force to get it in and needs to be pulled home with the nut. Assemble OR1 to W21s. Fit OR3 and line up with W21s. Drill hole from both sides as for OR1 but in mid-air with the cordless drill this time. Assemble screw and check outrigger operation. All fine except flap tip still needs trimming. Try to dis-assemble OR1-OR2-OR3 again but screws very difficult to remove. Eventually persuade them out with a soft mallet. Run a 4.9mm drill through both ends of OR2 and now the AN525 screws are a good press fit, as opposed to "hammer-in". Dismantle wheel from fork to check that bearing is well-greased. Re-assemble on fork and put a dab of anti-tamper lacquer on nut. Assemble OR2 to OR3 with stiffnut and Duralac on metal mating surfaces. Put a dab of lacquer on nut. Degrease grease nipple and fit it into OR1 with Loctite. Put a dab of anti-tamper lacquer on it. |
966.5 |
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