| day |
notes |
hours |
| 1 |
Move cars, wheel out fuselage. [13:05] Pull trailer forward, move stuff out for access to wings. [13:20] Find some blue foam offcuts of a suitable size and try taping one to LE of port wing just outboard of fairing to act as a support when wing root has to be rested on the ground. Wheel out port wing and although the foam block is a bit wobbly it does the job. Rig port wing (getting better at finding the right angle now). [13:40] Similarly tape a piece of foam to starboard wing, wheel it out and rig it. [14:00] Starboard flap won't extend - a little bit of Redux has oozed out into the gap between the wing TE and flap. Release it by cutting through the Redux with a fine hacksaw blade in a padsaw handle. File off remaining bits of Redux on flap & wing. Remove card packing strips from fuselage. Gaps between fairing and fuselage are not too bad in most places, although a bit large on starboard underside. Wonder (too late!) if I could have achieved a better result by pulling the fairings tight onto the wings with ratchet straps. [14:15] Get out blue foam pieces for flap root extension. Set angle gauge to the angle between starboard flap and fuselage at flap upper surface. Remove all pins and pull out starboard wing enough to get at flap root. Compare size of foam and internal size of flap root closeout - about 4mm difference. Measure depth of closeout - about 22mm max with shallower areas around drive pin and hinge insert. Offer up foam and mark position of pin. Drill a hole for it in the face of the foam using a 20mm holesaw. Set up Dremel tool in router base with end cutter projecting 2mm. Mark a line all around outboard end of foam, 22mm from end. Mill a 2mm rebate all round, leaving a thin piece at the edge to support the router base, then remove that strip and chamfer corners. Offer up to flap and sand off with Perma-Grit block where not fitting. Sand hollows in face of foam to match the closeout profile around pin and hinge. Re-insert wing and measure distance from LE of flap to fuselage side using outside calipers - about 30mm. Using the angle gauge, mark a line about 15mm inboard from that and bandsaw along that line. Fit foam into closeout to check fit against fuselage. [15:50] Pause for lunch. [16:30] Push wing in until foam almost touches fuselage. Retract flap and mark areas of foam that need to be relieved. Pull out wing. Remove foam from flap and sand back with Perma-Grit convex file. Had forgotten to allow for the curve of the fuselage away from the flap at the underside when bandsawing, but fortunately just enough left in that area. Hollow out centre of foam face so only edges touch fuselage. Re-fit foam, push wing in, mark high spots, file off, check again & repeat until satisfied with the fit of the foam against the fuselage. Pull starboard wing right out as it's not easy to move the port spar in & out with the starboard one in position. Measure distance from flap LE to fuselage - a bit larger this side at 40mm. Repeat foam carving and sanding exercise on port side. The TE of the foam is barely wide enough to reach the fuselage, but should provide adequate support for the layup since some clearance is needed. Wheel starboard wing back to trailer and remove flap once wing is stowed. Move engine, de-rig port wing, wheel back to stow in trailer and remove flap. Store flaps in garage. [20;15] Pause for dinner. [20:45] put away fuselage in garage, re-park trailer and cars. [21:20] |
2244.2 |
| 5 |
Start to file the hollow on the second SRBF rubbing strip for FL15 cross-tube, then decide they could be thinned a bit more. Put each in turn in the milling vise, supported by wavy parallels, and run the 12.7mm ball-ended mill along them again until each is about 3.5mm deep in the middle. File outer edges with large coarse half-round file to get a curve near to the radius of FL15. Tape a piece of coarse sandpaper, grit out, to the straight section of FL15 and rub SRBF pieces on that to improve profile further. When satisfied with that side, file chamfers on long edges and ends. Position rubbing strips centrally upon cable witness marks on FL15 and mark outlines with fine felt-tip pen. |
2245.6 |
| 7 |
Remove paint from marked areas of FL15 cross-tube with wire brush in Dremel. Degrease those areas, and the bonding faces of the rubbing strips, with acetone. Mix 10g + 4g Araldite 420 (Redux) and spread onto bonding areas. Clamp rubbing strips in place on FL15. Scrape off squeezed-out Redux with mixing stick and clean up with acetone-soaked tissue. Mix some rapid epoxy and stick foam pieces to roots of flaps with blobs of it. Once epoxy set, cut and fit pieces of double-sided adhesive tape to both sides of both foam pieces. Cut a length of the 250mm wide peel-ply and stick it to one foam piece. Cut off excess and stick that to other foam piece. Mark 150mm x 450mm rectangles on 2 pieces of polyethylene sheet. Mark 4 off 150mm x 450mm rectangles on BID & cut out, laying them 2 thick on polyethylene sheets. Trim each stack at an angle to better match the shape of the foam and reduce overhang. Mix a peg-4 (75g) batch of standard epoxy and pour it onto the BID stacks. Stipple with brush to wet out. Lay each one onto a foam piece, overlapping onto the flap as far as the hinge and press down. Peel off polyethylene sheet and stipple down BID with brush. Apply peel-ply - the offcuts from earlier are nearly enough but a few extra strips are needed for full coverage. 20C, 42% RH. Turn on fan heater. Prop up FL15 on wooden blocks between heater and flaps to get it up to a better curing temperature. By bedtime, 21C, 40% RH. |
2250.6 |
| 8 |
21C, 40% RH. Redux and layups cured. Remove clamps from rubbing strips and with razor blade scrape of a few small blobs of Redux. Find a couple of wooden blocks about the same length as the flap hinges to support flaps right-way-up. Remove peel-ply from starboard flap root extension layup. Cut off TE support foam with padsaw and sand down cut area with Perma-Grit block. Peel back the peel-ply along the TE flange and cut it off along the edge of the foam (should really have used a separate strip of peel-ply here, but it's so long since I've done one of these I forgot). Smooth off foam to profile with fine Perma-Grit block. Apply double-sided adhesive tape and stick down a piece of peel-ply to cover the foam where the support block has been removed. Abrade flap root bonding area and BID at LE where the top-side layup will overlap. Repeat the whole process on the port flap root extension. |
2251.8 |
| 12 |
21C, 40% RH. Check size of flap extension upper surface layup. Mark on BID 2 rectangles 500mm x 250mm. Divide each short side into 2 sections at the 150mm point, in opposite directions each end, and join those points to form 2 trapezia (500mm long, 150mm wide at one end and 100mm wide at the other) within each rectangle. Mark corresponding shapes on 2 pieces of polyethylene sheet; cut BID and lay in place 2 layers thick. Mix a peg-4 batch of standard epoxy and start to wet out each layup. Not enough, so mix a peg-2 (45g) batch and finish the wetting out. Paint epoxy on flap root, exposed TE section of underside layup and LE area of underside layup to ensure good initial adhesion. Drape each layup in turn onto the foam and press down before peeling off polyethylene sheet. Stipple down each layup then apply peel-ply all over. 21C, 38% RH. Turn on fan heater. |
2253.4 |
| 13 |
24C, 32% RH. Turn off fan heater. Remove peel-ply from yesterday's layups. Trim back flanges close to edge of foam with heavy-duty cutting wheel in Dremel. |
2253.7 |
| 14 |
With Perma-Grit block, sand back the edges of the flap root extension flanges to within about 1mm of the foam profile. Lay a ruler on each flap TE and extend the line of the TE onto each layup with a felt-tip pen. Trim layups off close to those lines with cut-off wheel in Dremel. With an old chisel and a padsaw, dig the foam out of the starboard flap root extension and remove the inner peel-ply. |
2254.4 |
| 15 |
22C, 38% RH. Turn on fan heater. Dig out foam core from port flap root extension and remove inner peel-ply. With power file, grind off blobs of rapid epoxy where the foam was attached to the flap closeouts. Warm a couple of slightly warped areas of the flanges with the hot-air gun and clamp them between pieces of aluminium section to keep them straight while cooling. Abrade all inner surfaces of extensions and original closeouts. Measure size of layups needed for TE & LE. Mark out on polyethylene sheet 2 rectangles 200mm x 150mm (for TE) and 2 off 200mm x 90mm (for LE). Mark a centreline to give 2 off 100mm wide panels on TE pieces. Mark out and cut 4 off pieces BID 200mm x 150mm and 4 off 200mm x 90mm, and lay them 2-thick on the polyethylene sheets. To protect the pins from epoxy, slide a couple of garden hose offcuts onto them, and jam in place by pushing a piece of split mixing stick into each. Mix a peg-5 (90g) batch of standard epoxy and wet out all the BID. Paint the layup areas on the insides of the flap flanges with the remaining epoxy. Drape TE pieces in turn over an old stripping knife with blunt edges on the centreline, and use that to place the layup into position, tucking the centre fold firmly into the TE. With some difficulty as it wants to bring the BID with it, peel off the polyethylene sheet. Using the stripping knife, to both separate the two and keep the layup in contact with the flanges, is the most successful approach. Stipple layup with brush. Trim off excess BID with Tuff-Kut scissors to minimise droop. Place LE pieces in turn, peel off polyethylene sheet, stipple down, and trim edges. Apply peel-ply in 2 sections to each layup - a narrow strip on each closeout flange and another piece covering all the rest of each layup. 23C, 36% RH. Leave fan heater running for cure. |
2258.5 |
| 18 |
14C, 61% RH. Turn on fan heater. Remove peel-ply from flap extension inner LE & TE layups. Abrade central inner bonding areas and vacuum out dust. On 4 pieces of polyethylene sheet, mark trapezia 270mm base with sides 140mm & 100mm high, 2 LH & 2 RH. On BID mark 4 off rectangles 270mm x 240mm then subdivide each into trapezia with lines joining the 100mm and 140mm points along the short sides. Cut out the 8 BID trapezia and lay on the polyethylene sheet 2 thick. Start to mix a peg-3 (60g) batch of standard epoxy but there isn't quite enough resin. Top up the plastic dispenser bottle with the end of a can from the cupboard and carry on. Wet out 2 of the BID stacks. Paint epoxy onto bonding areas inside starboard flap root extension. Turn flap upside-down. Trim polyethylene sheet along straight edge of BID and place in position on upper inside surface of flap root extension, overlapping onto TE & LE layups. Peel off polyethylene sheet and stipple down BID. Trim off excess overhanging BID. Apply peel-ply in 2 pieces. Turn flap over and likewise apply BID to lower inside surface, adding peel-ply. Mix another peg-3 batch of epoxy but while preparing to pour it onto the BID, knock the mixing cup over and spill it on the floor. Pour the remnant onto one BID stack and start to mix another batch of epoxy. Not enough in the resin container again, so go to get another can from the cupboard and at that point realise I had earlier used the tail end of a can of hardener, not resin, to top up the resin dispenser bottle! Discard the partly-wetted BID, pull off the layups made earlier and wipe off the bonding surfaces with acetone-soaked tissue. Clean out the resin dispenser bottle with acetone and leave to drain. |
2261.3 |
| 19 |
Clean up the rest of the hardener spills as much as possible. The starboard TE inner layup has not yet been trimmed, so do that now with Dremel cut-off wheel. Mark 3 more polyethylene sheets with the trapezoidal shapes as before. Mark out and cut 6 off trapezoidal pieces of BID and lay them 2-thick on the polyethylene sheets. Re-fill the cleaned resin dispenser bottle and top up the hardener too, making sure I use the right cans this time! 17C, 54% RH. Start fan heater. Mix a peg-3 (60g) batch of standard epoxy and wet out 2 BID stacks for the inner upper-side layups. In turn, trim each polyethylene sheet flush with straight edge of BID and position BID, overlapping onto flap closeout flange and the LE & TE inner layups. Remove polyethylene sheet and stipple down BID. Trim off excess BID close to edge of flange. Apply peel-ply in several pieces. Lay on small 2-layer pieces of BID on both TEs to extend and strengthen them. Support beyond TE with aluminium section clamped to TE. 19C, 43% RH. Leave to cure. |
2263.7 |
| 20 |
21C, 36% RH in the morning; layups cured, turn off fan heater. |
|
| 21 |
Want to finish flap root extension layups but also want to have garage open for other work so not sure what to do until the bright idea strikes to use the car as the curing tent/oven. After putting the thermometer in the car while parked in the sunshine, it shows 30C, 34% RH which is excellent. Remove peel-ply from last layups and sand off sharp edges. Mix a peg-3 (60g) batch of standard epoxy and wet out the last 2 trapezoidal BID stacks. Also wet out and lay on 2 layers of BID patches on upper surface of each flap TE and apply peel-ply. For each layup in turn, paint the inside of the flap extension where the layup will go, trim off the polyethylene sheet along the straight edge of the BID, lay BID in place, peel off polyethylene sheet, stipple down BID, trim off excess with Tuff-Kut scissors and apply peel-ply. Take each flap out to the car and lay on headrests with layup at rear, over polyethylene sheet to catch any drips. 29C, 20% RH in the shade on the boot cover, rising to 38C, 20% RH after about 15 minutes. Clear up working area of tools etc to allow tailwheel to pass. Pause for lunch and afterwards it's 47C, 14% RH in the car. Roll fuselage out onto drive, vacuum up remaining blue foam debris from flap extension work. Dig out small recesses in the blue foam at the inboard corners of the tailplane trim tabs where they were ground back to clear the rudder, and scrape the inside surfaces as clean as possible. Remove port aileron quick-connect bellcrank. Abrade bonding area around spot that was ground away (unnecessarily) at aft side of fuselage port spar hole to clear rod-end bearing bolt. Mix a peg-1 (30g) batch of standard epoxy and wet out a small patch of BID on polyethylene sheet. Add flox sparingly to remainder, making it slightly less stiff than usual so it will flow a little bit. Suck some flox mixture into a disposable syringe and squeeze it into the trim-tab recesses, inserting the nozzle fully to ensure the void fills from the bottom. Top up to a positive meniscus on each. Squeeze the flox mixture into the small gap at the aft face of the fuselage spar hole. Trim polyethylene sheet flush with long edge of BID and place it over the flox area, wrapping around onto the outside of the fuselage. Hold BID in place with peel-ply attached to fuel tank & side of fuselage with duct tape. Check flap layups - well cured and quite rigid, so take them out of the car and put tailplanes tip-down across rear footwell with polyethylene sheet across back of seat to catch drips. 33C, 15% RH on seatback. Turn fuselage around to get the sun on the port side to speed up the cure. After a few minutes the IR thermometer shows 35C on the side of the fuselage and 25C on the side of the spar hole. Remember, too late, as the flox mixture has gelled, that there was a fuselage drain hole that needs lining with flox. Remove baggage bay bulkhead from fuselage. Re-install FL15 cross-tube with stiffnuts. Insert FL20 flap pushrod from forward end, attach fork to FL21 and insert split-pin. Fit bolt at aft rod-end bearing and start stiffnut on thread. Check clearances then slacken and tighten fork-end checknut several times until satisfied with all clearances at both ends of travel. Tighten stiffnut on aft rod-end bearing. Notice a small transverse scratch on the pitch pushrod, highlighted by the angle of the sun. Dress it out with a fine Swiss file, followed by 280 grade wet-and-dry and fine ScotchBrite. Apply inspectors lacquer to all FL15 stiffnuts, to fork end checknut, and to several stiffnuts on port side of retract mechanism that seem to have been missed earlier. Jack fuselage dolly up as far as it will go and set safety screw. Re-fit fuel selector valve with extension and control knob. It's quite fiddly to do up some of the screws, but all can be reached with care and the right approach. Fit stainless screws in place of the black ones previously used for the valve. Remove caps from fuel line connectors and re-make connections. Seems quite awkward to get the 11/16" combination spanner onto the nuts, but eventually find an angle that works. Have to trim back the starboard side of the tunnel bulkhead flange slightly for spanner access - can't remember how I managed to undo it! Fit outlet pipe to selector, leaving aft end taped up & protruding below baggage bay. Tailplane trim tab flox now cured; 26C, 23% RH in car. Move tailplanes back to garage. Fuselage spar hole layup not fully cured but gelling OK. Lower fuselage dolly to normal height and wheel fuselage back into garage. |
2271.2 |
| 22 |
Order Dynon D2 from Transair. Check shape of fuel runs and estimate length of hoses required. Decide that elbows would be better than straight bulkhead fittings at tunnel bulkhead and firewall. Note that a bulkhead AN elbow plus a straight hose-end is much cheaper than a straight AN bulkhead fitting and an elbow hose-end. Order braided hoses and end fittings etc for fuel system from Speedflow. Order AN4 & AN6 pipe fitting wrenches from Summit Racing, for delivery to Esther to avoid punitive shipping charges. Update fuel system database and drawing to reflect bulkhead fitting changes. Remove peel-ply from starboard flap layups. Start to trim and sand off the rough edges and find that the layup on the inner upper surface is debonding while I am sanding the edge and can quite easily be pulled right off! The mating surfaces are a bit tacky and it must be that I didn't manage to remove all the residue from the faulty layup. As the lower layup was also made after removing a faulty one, check it carefully and it appears perfectly secure with no sign of debonding despite significant pressure along the edge. |
2271.4 |
| 23 |
As a test, try cleaning the tacky area on the removed layup with acetone, but it has little effect. Next try petrol, which seems to take it off a bit better. With starboard flap upside-down and tilted outboard end down, squirt some petrol into the upper inside of flap extension area and scrub it with an old toothbrush. Mop out with tissues then rinse with acetone and wipe dry. Definitely better than it was, but still slightly tacky. Try some Comma Manista hand cleaner and rub it vigourously over the whole area, using both hand to spread and toothbrush to scrub. Leave it to soak in for a while. Mark out 2 trapezoids on BID and one on polyethylene sheet. Cut out the BID pieces and lay them on the polyethylene sheet. Mop up flap extension with paper towels, rinse it out with water and dry as much as possible before rinsing again with acetone and wiping dry with paper towels. After leaving it to dry for a while, no tackiness evident any more. |
2272.7 |
| 25 |
Fetch bungee cord out of box 9 in trailer. Abrade bonding area inside starboard flap extension and degrease with acetone. Mix a peg-1 (30g) batch of standard epoxy. Wet out the prepared BID and lay it onto the upper inside surface of the flap extension. Remove the polyethylene sheet, stipple down layup, and apply peel-ply. Put flap in car (21C, 44% RH) to cure as I want to work with the garage door open. Although not sunny, inside of car soon reaches 22C, 38% RH. Roll fuselage out onto drive to make room for work on undercarriage parts. Get all the relevant parts out of storage. Run a 0.5" drill bit through the lugs of LG07 lower reaction plate and degrease the bores with acetone-soaked tissue. Degrease AIC060816 bushes in acetone and dry off with tissue. Apply Loctite 638 to bushes and bores and insert bushes, tapping them home flush with outer faces of lugs using a plastic mallet. Once installed, check if LG02A will fit between them - no, the inner ends of the bushes need to be shortened. Cut the AIC060820 bush in half. The lug bushes in the LG05 upper reaction plate are about 12.4mm long. Chuck each half-bush in turn in the lathe and clean up the cut end, facing it down to 12.4mm long. Clean out LG05 bush bores with 0.5" drill bit. Degrease bushes and bores, fit bushes with Loctite 638. File down the AIC060816 bushes in LG07, trying to take equal amounts off each, until LG02A fits between them. Fit the LG06 suspension block between LG05 & LG07 with M8 bolts, washers & stiffnuts. Use a G-clamp to compress the assembly enough for the nuts to get a start on the bolt threads. Tighten nuts evenly each side to achieve the required 133mm between the bush centres. Assemble dampers to LG05 with EURO26 bolt and EURO33 washers. Before fitting EURO27 stiffnut, check bolt length and mark where 2 threads clear of the nut will be. Dismantle and cut the bolt at the mark, file end smooth and run die along it to clean threads. Re-assemble EURO26, 4 off EURO33 & EURO27 to dampers. Do a trial assembly of LG14 support, pushing (with some effort) LG04 pin right through bushes, damper ends and LG14 holes. Mark outline of LG14 on LG07. Remove LG04 by gently tapping it out with a drift. Scrape paint off LG07 inside outline of LG14 and wipe clean with acetone-soaked tissue. Scuff-sand face of LG14 and degrease with acetone. Mix 10g + 4g Araldite 420 (Redux) and add a small amount of flox. Apply it to LG14 and offer up to check if that's enough. Needs a bit more as there is a slight space between LG14 & LG07. Remove LG14 and spread more Redux on LG07. Re-assemble LG14, again taking care not to get Redux on the dampers. Insert LG04 pin to secure. Put the assembly in the boiler cupboard to cure overnight. The flap layup is cured (18C, 45% RH) so bring it back into the garage. Tidy all the remaining landing gear parts together. Roll fuselage back into the garage. |
2278.5 |
| 26 |
Redux cured on LG14/LG07 assembly. Bring it down from the boiler cupboard to the garage. Remove upper bolt holding starboard LG03 bearings to LG02. Clamp it to a VEE-block on the bench drill table. Drill through the head 1.5mm. Quite slow going and bolt seems to be harder to penetrate in the middle. Deburr ends of hole with hand-held 4mm drill bit. Replace bolt in its position and take out the lower starboard one. Start to drill as before but but seems very reluctant to make much progress. Switch to a 1.4mm bit that might be sharper but it seems little better, and about half-way it breaks in the hole. Try to drill from the other side to meet it (and thus perhaps be able to drive it out) but the bit seems to make very heavy weather of it from that side also. Phone Europa factory and no-one is answering so leave a message requesting availability of a spare bolt or two. Check online for availability of cobalt drill bits in 1.5mm size, and it appears the local Toolstation have some in stock. Check also for suppliers of HT UNC bolts but can't find any plated ones in the right size. Returning to garage, remove remove peel-ply from starboard flap extension layup and sand down the edges of the inner layups to match the outer ones. Remove peel-ply from the last layups on the port flap extension and start to sand back the rough edges. Get several packs of 1.5mm cobalt drill bits from Toolstation. Try drilling through the bolt head with the broken bit in it from a different flat but can't get past the broken piece of drill bit, and break another bit while trying. Tackle the other 2 bolts in turn with one of the new bits. Take small advances with frequent retracts to lubricate & clear swarf and all goes easily and well. Look for a piece of 3/8" rod to use as a temporary alignment tool for damper eyes. Find a piece of 10mm steel rod that could be turned down to size, but then a length of 3/8" silver steel turns up. Try drifting LG04 out of LG07/LG14 assembly with the silver steel but it binds in the bush in LG07 - obviously too near the top end of tolerance. Finally settle on a piece of 8mm AF steel hexagon which is not a tight fit but should provide adequate alignment. Cut it to the specified 4.5" then see that it should be shorter, flush with the damper eyes, so as to admit LG02A. Cut the length of hex steel down to 100mm long. Apply Duralac to LG02B bungee anchor tube and work it in and out of LG02A to coat mating surfaces, then leave central. Check fit of LG02A against LG02 with LG04 pin inserted - slight gap exists. Coat back of LG02A liberally with Duralac. Paint attaching bolts and washers with Duralac and assemble LG02A to LG02. Insert LG04 pin through both. Tighten stiffnuts until just gripping LG02A, but not hard enough to distort LG04. Clean up excess Duralac with white spirit. Later in the evening, find that Westfield Fasteners stock BZP 5/16" UNC HT bolts in the required 2.25" length, so that's the fall-back position if the Europa factory can't supply them in a reasonable timescale. Also do some online research on removing broken drills and the popular suggestion is to drill it out with a solid carbide spade drill or slot drill. Find UK suppliers for both in 1.5mm diameter. Send an e-mail message to Karen at the Europa factory re-stating my phone message and asking what alternatives might be acceptable if they can't supply soon. |
2282.4 |
| 27 |
Receive e-mail from Karen saying that the bolt I need is EURO29 and they have them in stock at £1.15 + delivery & VAT; reply asking her to send one. |
|
| 28 |
Speedflow hose and fittings order received. Remove temporary split pin and clevis pin holding LG11 to LG08P. Offer up suspension assembly to LG08S/LG08P and push clevis pins in part-way to support. Despite having shortened the EURO26 bolt on the top of the dampers, it is just about brushing against the side of LG08S. Remove suspension unit and file a bit more off the end of EURO26 bolt, leaving 2 threads still visible beyond nut. Offer up the suspension unit again and insert the clevis pins with their EURO21 washers. Everything looks fine now, with obvious clearance between EURO26 and LG08S. Push clevis pins fully home (starboard one needs encouragement). Add washer to end of starboard clevis pin and insert both split pins. Open and bend back split pin legs. Clean up LG01 bottom tube where LG03 will fit. Apply a small amount of general-purpose grease to LG01 and LG03. Remove LG04 pin from LG02, remove 5/16" UNC bolts (now known to be EURO29) securing LG03 and set aside the top/forward halves. Offer up LG02 to LG01, holding the LG03 halves in place. Fit LG03 top/forward halves, taking care to maintain orientation, and insert EURO29 bolts to retain, doing up just beyond finger-tight. Lift LG02 and swing suspension assembly to align, then insert LG04 pin. Quite stiff, needs to be tapped in with a hard plastic mallet. A trial retraction seems to go OK, although it looks as though the port outer top corner of LG02 is just touching LG01 - needs to be relieved slightly. |
2283.5 |
| 29 |
EURO29 bolt received from the Europa factory. It's different from the originals - the head is already drilled and it's BZP rather than yellow. Start to drive out LG04 pin with a plastic mallet and the 8mm hex rod and then use a long M8 bolt to take it the rest of the way. Re-position the hex rod centrally to allow the suspension unit and LG02 swinging arm to separate. Swing arm up & down to check top port corner interference with LG01. Chamfer that area of LG02 until positive clearance obtained at all angles. Remove starboard lower EURO29 bolt (with faulty head drilling) and replace with the new one. Tighten all EURO29 bolts to 1.6Nm (~1.6kgf-m) with torque wrench and LG02 is still swinging freely. Lift LG02 and re-insert LG04 pin, tapping it through with a plastic mallet as before. Fit the washers that were supplied with the assembly, which I note are AN960-616 (as on manual page 29M-9) not EURO21 (as on manual page 29M-7). Try to fit new SP90F8 (MS24665-306) split pins but they will not enter the holes in LG04. So, revert to the pins supplied. They are a bit longer than SP90F8 so clip the legs shorter before inserting and bend the ends round. Fit lockwire to heads of EURO29 bolts in pairs. Get out rest of brake fittings from box 4. Remove central M6 socket-head screw & nut holding LG25 & LG26 on wheel. Can't fit wheel to LG02 yet as cross-piece of sub-dolly will foul it, although could perhaps manage it with LG02 part-retracted. Wheel fuselage out onto drive and jack dolly up to maximum height. Now room to insert wheel with LG02 extended. Offer up wheel and after a slight struggle to get the tyre between the forks, the axle won't go in readily. Think about how I might wedge the arms of LG02 apart, then find on trying again that they will open just enough to admit LG18 axle by hand. With wheel in position, resting against edge of sub-dolly, try to insert LG25 & LG26 stub axles but they won't go into the holes in LG02 more than a millimetre or so. Remove wheel again. Work on LG02 holes with bearing scraper until the sub axles go in easily. Insert wheel again and prop up on wooden blocks to line up LG18 with LG02 holes. Insert stub axles and then realise I've left the LG21 torque plate off. Mark rough outline of tyre on aft cross-piece of sub-dolly. Remove wheel again. With jigsaw, cut around marked lines to make clearance for wheel when lowered with dolly lowered. Fit LG21 and re-position wheel into LG02 forks. Do fine adjustment of wheel position with a wooden wedge on top of the blocks. Push in stub axles. Rotate various parts to align the 3 holes on the starboard side, insert the AN5H-12A bolts and tighten. Fit the AN5-5A bolt and lock washer on the port side. Fit and tighten the central M6x150mm socket-head screw between LG25 & LG26 and tighten the stiffnut. Lower fuselage dolly with undercarriage in down position until the wheel touches the ground and the wheel clears the sub-dolly nicely. Jack dolly up until wheel just clear of the ground and roll fuselage back into garage. |
2287.3 |
| 30 |
Undo AN4-15A bolts holding brake back plate to slave cylinder. Offer up slave cylinder to torque plate but sub-dolly aft cross-piece fouls it - didn't make the cut-out wide enough. Decide to remove the cross-piece completely, so run jigsaw right across it close to each side member. Assemble slave cylinder and backplate to torque plate and fit AN4H-15A bolts with the original washers (which look like stainless rather than the AN960-416 called out in the manual). Get brake pipe out of box 5 and elbow connector from small wall storage units. Look without immediate success for a flexible tube to fit the bleed nipple. Originally thought BS116 (not mentioned in manual) might be it, but it would need a lot of enlarging to go on and as it's quite rigid plastic, it probably wouldn't grip well. Eventually find that the 5mm bore silicon hose in box 26 is a reasonable fit - will need to check if it is really liquid-tight. Fit elbow connector to slave cylinder with Loctite 577. Should have done that before fitting cylinder as I have to loosen it off a bit for the end of the elbow to clear the disc as it turns. Fit flexible brake pipe to elbow and route along LG02 and around LG01. While removing sealing tape from connector on master cylinder, notice that the peel-ply is still on the patch over the flox at the aft side of the spar hole, so remove that and smooth down the inner edge of the layup. Connect brake pipe to master cylinder and tighten up. Seems to be no way to stop the pipe rotating as the nut is tightened, so it forms into a slight corkscrew shape. Check possible position of P-clips along LG02, and clearance of brake pipe from rudder cable - all looks OK. Wheel fuselage back into garage.
Send e-mail to Karen at the Europa factory ordering a monowheel brake bleeding kit. Send e-mail to Ray to make arrangements for return of engine crane.
Try assembling one 06 size hose end for practice. Red socket won't go on hose end as supplied so wrap masking tape around and re-cut hose. Junior hacksaw makes little impression so switch to Dremel cut-off wheel. Still some whiskers of wire protruding after masking tape removed. Cut off worst offenders with wire cutters and try inserting the hose in the socket again. Hand pressure is no use but with hose gripped in the vise soft jaws I can get it started. However it won't go fully home into the socket. Remove again and stop for thought. Look at some online tutorials for ideas about what I might be doing wrong. Thoughts include: leave the masking tape on; offer hose at a slight angle and use a small screwdriver to persuade the other side in; twist anti-clockwise to get it home (that might only apply to one brand of hose-end). Several demos use angle-grinder to cut hose; might try that to see if it gives a neater finish than the Dremel cut-off wheel. |
2290.3 |
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