| day |
notes |
hours |
| 2 |
Roll dolly southward to put tail of fuselage out of garage to allow access for rigging tailplanes. Apply a little grease to the torque tube and fit the tailplanes - the grease does seem to make it a bit easier although the main difficulty is that the tail is free to swing around - it'll be much easier when it's on the tailwheel. Set the digital level on a scrap of wood to keep it steady and set CS17A in the end of CS17/1 pushrod, clamping it lightly to secure it. Adjust depth of insertion to get roughly the tailplane deflection wanted. Holding the tailplane I get readings of -9.4 at full down, -2.4 at neutral (as judged by lineup with the fuselage fairing) and +12.0 at full up. That translates to 7.4 degrees up from neutral and 14.4 degrees down from neutral. Get Dorothy to read the level while I operate the stick and the readings are down -9.9, neutral -2.8, up +11.0 giving 7.1 down from neutral and 13.8 up. Mark the aluminium template using a knife against the end of CS17/1. That shows the CS17A is inserted about 4.5mm into the CS17/1. Since we can afford to have a little less down, don't need to shorten the CS17/1 quite so much so could shorten it just 3mm. Investigate why the pip-pin holes in tailplane & torque tube are not lining up and conclude it's a mixture of layup untidiness around the edges of the bush in the tailplane root, and the flanges not yet trimmed enough. Clean off the excess around the entry hole for the torque tube on both tailplane roots, and deepen the drive pins holes slightly with a size E drill bit. Mark the starboard flange and cut it with the padsaw, which brings it much nearer. A little more needed, likewise on port. Notice that there some nicks on the CS17/1 pushrod that will have to be dressed out - it must have landed on one of the TC files when it dropped off the CS17A end fitting at some time. |
1394.8 |
| 10 |
Dress out the nicks on CS17/1 with a fine swiss file and polish the area off with the Scotchbrite wheel. That shows that some pits are not completely removed so file some more, re-polish and repeat until clear. Set the oddleg calipers to 3mm and scribe a line around the end of CS17/1. Cut off the end with a fine hacksaw and deburr it with a fine swiss file. Stick the paper hole-drilling template on with impact adhesive and centre-pop all the holes. |
1395.5 |
| 12 |
Set up the CS17/1 pushrod and CS17A end-fitting for drilling the rivet holes 3.3mm, using a vee-block on the offset pillar drill table and blocks on the vice anvil to support the pushrod near its centre. Squeeze the pushrod tube slightly with a clamp to keep the end-fitting in position while drilling. Put a rivet in the first hole while drilling the next one. The rivet won't stay in the second hole, so apply a blob of Uhu glue to each one in turn to keep them in place. The clamp is too much in the way for more drilling with this setup, so clamp the pushrod lightly in the vice with the soft jaws and use the cordless drill instead. Mark the tube and end fitting for orientation, take out the rivets. The CS17A end-fitting comes out quite easily compared to the one at the forward end. Deburr all holes and clean off the Uhu glue and drilling template with acetone. Squirt some ACF-50 down the inside of the tube. Make up a push-through with cotton wool wrapped around the end of a long thin lath, soak it in ACF-50 and push it all the way in and out again to ensure full coating of the inside of the tube. Apply ACF-50 to the inside of the end fitting with the wad. Degrease the end of the tube and the outside of the end-fitting and apply Loctite 638 to all mating areas. Apply a small amount of Loctite 638 to each rivet before insertion. With all rivets inserted, pull them up on alternate sides. Clean off excess Loctiite. Confirm position of checknut at forward end, 16mm from end of thread, and apply more masking tape to restrain it from rotating. Climb into the rear fuselage so I can reach to screw the pushrod into the MW5 rod-end on the pitch cross-tube. Check the position of the check-nut at the rear end of the pushrod. Remove the rod-end from the torque-tube horns and screw it onto the pushrod end-fitting. Replace the rod-end between the horns. This is quite tricky to do, particularly getting the washers between the horns and the rod-end - but it will be much more tricky if the pushrod length needs to be adjusted after the fuselage top is on! |
1397.6 |
| 16 |
Drag the fuselage far enough out of the garage to rig the tailplanes. Fit port panel and check for clearance of flange from fairing. Clarify marks where needed, cut and file down to the lines. Try again and it needs just a little more on the underside. Now on assembly it looks as though the pip-pin hole is well-aligned. Try the pip-pin and it goes in nicely. Slide the starboard tailplane on and check where its flange needs trimming. Take it off again (practice is making this operation easier), cut and file, offer up, underside still needs more taken off in the centre. File it down and also take off some small protruding areas on the root around the edge of the torque-tube bush. Assemble again and it goes well home. Try the pip-pin and in fact it is slightly inboard of perfect now, so that will do! Check that both pip-pins will lock. Re-check the tailplane deflection angles and it looks as thought the rod-end could go another turn onto the pushrod end fitting. Take the bolt out, turn the rod-end one full turn and re-assemble. Getting slightly better at this tricky bit. Check angles again - could use about another half-turn. Take it apart again, tighten by half a turn and re-assemble. Now reading -7.2 at full down, -1.0 at neutral and +14.4 at full up, so looks fine. Mark the position of the rear face of the tab drive pins on the fuselage sides, making lines each side all the way from bottom to top with the tabs in-line with the tailplane, and ones from bottom to middle with tabs down and from top to middle with tabs up (about the same amount as max down). These lines are not very well aligned with the tiny scribe lines in the moulding except at the middle. The trim-tab link rod is in box 10, the bushes in box 3 and the other fittings in box 5. |
1400.3 |
| 17 |
Get the TS05 link rod out of box 10 in the trailer. It's wrapped with & taped to T18 (the original, superseded version). Spot the replacement T18/6 while I'm there so grab it too. Unwrap TS05 and note how rusty it and T18 look - especially compared to the new T18/6 which appears to be plated. The AN490HT8P insert is in box 5 but the fork is not. Find it's already out, among the empty trim system (TS) packets. Can't find TS06 bushes in box 3, nor in the pile of empty packets already got out for the trim system. No sign of it after a quick look around the work area, but will need to make a more thorough check, sifting through everything that is accumulated within the fuselage bottom shell, and probably pulling the fuselage dolly out of the garage to see behind it. Check the fit of the AN490HT8P insert in the end of TS05 and it won't go in, even after making sure the internal edge is deburred. Will have to shave the insert down a bit, same as for CS12. |
|
| 21 |
Spend some time looking for TS06 again, but no sign of it after sorting through all the various stuff lying in and around the fuselage, although I do come across the TP18F "butterfly" fitting for the modified TP18/6 which allows fitting the lateral-restraint cables again. Also check the other storage boxes to be sure. Give up and order another pair from the factory. Put 4 plain nuts on the threads of the AN490HT8P insert. Chuck it in the lathe and turn down the insert by about 0.25mm on the radius. That doesn't actually go far enough to get the tool cutting around the entire circumference, but is enough to let it slip into the end of TS05. Make up a dummy of the TS05 link rod from an old piece of TV aerial tubing, with only one arm, which is made shorter than the original so that I can check the position of the slot from inside the fuselage. Clamp it to the insert with a tie-wrap. Fit to fork and to servo bellcrank, run trim servo to one end and mark line of both forward and aft faces of dummy TS05 on port face. Run servo to other end and repeat. Reverse on bellcrank and repeat for starboard side. Aft extreme lines appear to be well-aligned with marks on outside of fuselage moulding; forward ones are a bit inside the marked lines. That's OK; link rod may need to be shortened. Cut the slots a bit inside the lines with the large Perma-Grit wheel in the Dremel tool. Try the fit of TS05 and extend the slots slightly forward. Note that the link rod is very close to the bellcrank at the max forward and max up position; it would probably be good to ensure the rivets securing the insert are at 45 degrees, with the factory head at the top, so they don't foul the bellcrank. Decide where the cable clips for the servo cable should be on the aft face of the bulkhead and abrade those areas. Drill a 4mm hole at an angle in the bulkhead where the cable will pass through. Disconnect the cable from the test harness and pass it through the hole. Re-connect the test harness and check function. Shorten the wings of 3 of the composite clips I made to about 15mm from the centreline and abrade the bonding faces. Mix some B&Q clear 5-minute epoxy and apply to bonding areas. With gloves on, hold clips in position until it sets. Check where the inspection holes will be - none proposed in the lower half, so no restrictions on cable route forward. Check AC43 for cable support spacing - the only guide I can find stipulates 24" maximum and I certainly don't intend to have them that far apart! Prepare and epoxy on more clips in the same way, 2 at a time, about 200mm apart, to take the cable forward just below the top edge of the brown foam on the port side. Keep the wings of the cable clips on the brown foam, clear of the glass-resin flange where the top will get bonded on, so as to be clear of any temporary fasteners that might be used on that joint. Stop just aft of the cockpit module. |
1404.3 |
| 23 |
TS06 bushes arrive from Europa factory. Check them on both TS05 and the tab drive pins - all are a nice fit. |
|
| 24 |
Pull the fuselage out of the garage far enough to allow rigging the tailplanes. Slide them on and fit the pip-pins. Measure the distance between the flanges of the TP16 drive pins as 162.5mm. The cross-piece of TS05 is 170.5mm, but not quite equal lengths on each side. With the TS06s in place the cross-piece is about 174mm. The TS06 flanges measure about 1.62mm. The manual requires that the TS05 cross-piece be 5mm shorter than the distance between the TP16 flanges, which would give about 1mm end-float at each side. Mark up the TS05 cross-piece at 78.75mm from centre (total width 157.5mm) and after a final check against the drive pins, cut with fine hacksaw. Square off and smooth with files, and deburr inside. Bond the TS06 bushes in with Araldite 2012 rapid epoxy. Check length with one drive pin inserted and the other flange against the end of TS05/TS06 - looks fine. Take out the pip pins and slide starboard tailplane off slightly to allow fitting TS05 properly. Engage it on port drive pin and after some fiddling manage to get the starboard tailplane back in position with its tab drive engaged. Power up the servo and run it to the central position (with 2 centre LEDs lit). This brings the ends of TS05 rather close to the edges of the slot, so some filing will be needed before TS05 aft end can be checked for correct length. De-rig, pull fuselage dolly back into garage and file the slot outline a bit in the places already noted as tight. |
1406.3 |
| 31 |
Pull tail out of garage, rig tailplanes with link rod in position. Clip tab trailing edges in line with tailplanes. Support tailplane in neutral position. Slide trim link rod end fitting into place. Check servo at neutral. Measure the displacement between the bellcrank and fork-end holes as about 12mm. De-rig, scribe line around link rod 12mm in from end, using oddleg caliper. Hacksaw off to line, clean up outside with files and deburr inside. Make mark lines around at 5mm and 10mm from end with chinagraph pencil. Slide end-fitting into position and align fork correctly with other end of link rod. Clamp in machine vise with wood softening on jaws, setting tee-end to 45 degrees and checking with a scrap of aluminium in the fork that it is at 45 degrees in the other direction. Tighten vise enough to keep the end fitting in position while drilling. Centre-pop on 5mm line and drill through 1/8". The end fitting is really tough and it is hard going with a lot of crunchy noise, even lubricated well with oil. Insert rivet once hole through, and set up again at 90 degrees for second hole on 10mm line. Centre-pop & drill. Clean up exit holes with tip of 1/2" drill bit. Pull the end-fitting out, keeping careful note of orientation, tap out swarf and clean up as much as possible. Spray inside tube with ACF-50 and replace end fitting. Insert rivets and tap home. Form shop heads with club hammer. They seem a bit small, but I think the rivets are expanding inside the hollow part of the AN490HT8P as well as spreading on the outside. Fit complete link rod to bellcrank. The tee-piece is now touching the forward edge of the slot for most of the way, so obviously will need enlarging more in that direction. |
1407.9 |
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