Europa #435 G-RODO Build Journal - 2017 01

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day	notes	hours
9	Setup one of the short (forward) door bolt pushrods in the milling vise at 33.7 degrees using the new small digital level, and aligning the slot by lowering the 4mm end mill into it. With a bit of fiddling, get both the Y position and the angle correct and clamp it up. With paraffin oil (kerosene) applied with an old toothbrush as lubricant, extend the slot with cuts of about 0.9mm deep (18 vertical-feed divisions) until it reaches the marked position 39mm from the end of the pushrod. Check that the angled cut extends fully to the underside of the pushrod at the original distance of 24mm from the end, then remove from vise and clean up with a needle file as before. Repeat the setup and angle milling on the 2nd short pushrod. Set up one long (aft) pushrod in the milling vise and cut a straight 24mm slot as initially done for short pushrods. Repeat for 2nd long pushrod. Using a 4mm drill bit in the slot to check alignment of slot to vertical, clamp opposite end of one long pushrod in milling vise. Change cutter to 10mm end mill (more rigid) and locate side and end of workpiece with it. Create a tang, milling a flat on each side with cuts of 0.5mm (20 divs Y-feed) to a total of 1.825mm (73 div) each side. Tang now measures 6.7mm so take another 0.2mm (8 div) off each side. Now measures 6.28mm and slips nicely into DL06 shoot bolt slot. Repeat the milling of the tang on the 2nd long pushrod. First try with feed of 73 div each side gives a tang of 7.2mm so need to take 0.425mm (17 divs) off each side. Re-measure after first cut and it seems to have taken off more than expected so only need 7 divs feed on other side. After that smaller cut, it's fine. Start to set up the short (forward) pushrod in the milling vise and realise the cutter is long enough to do both at once. Set both pushrods in vise, line up with 4mm drill bit through both slots and clamp up. Mill the tangs, taking 2mm (80 div) off each side. Not quite slim enough yet but another 5 divs off each side gives a perfect fit for the DL06 shoot bolt slot. Fettle up with needle file as usual.	2743.3
10	Clamp one short (forward) door latch pushrod in the milling vise, setting slot horizontal with 4mm drill bit in it. Locate back side and end with Starrett edge finder then swap to drill chuck and fit 4.8mm bit. Centre drill on workpiece with Y feed and feed in 7mm from end on X and drill through. Initially using full speed causes a bit of chatter so reduce speed to near minimum and that allows things to proceed more satisfactorily. Wind X feed 66 turns + 40 divs (133mm) and drill the slotted end. This is more flexible and needs support, so fill the slot with a 4mm hex key and wedge some offcuts underneath to support the end. In hindsight, it might have been better to drill the cross holes before doing the other machining. Remove from vise and open up hole at tang end to 5mm. Still too small for the EURO07 Spirol pin to enter, but opening it to 5.1mm and then 5.2mm allows the pin to rotate freely. Tap pin into place with DL06 shoot bolt assembled to pushrod. Grind off protruding ends of pin with bench grinder. Apply grease (should have greased hole before driving pin). Repeat drilling and assembly operation on 2nd short pushrod, this time applying the grease before fitting the pin, and rounding the ends slightly before assembly. The ends of the first pushrod can be rounded a little in-situ; that allows the same degree of swivel on both DL06. Check overall length of long pushrods. Both are about 0.5mm longer than specified. Scribe lines on each, 7.5mm in from slotted end. Set up each long pushrod in turn at the tang end as for the short pushrods and drill 4.8mm at 7mm from end. Set up each slotted end in turn and drill at the marked line. Deburr and round ends slightly.	2745.4
11	Drill out tangs of both long pushrods to 5.2mm. Grease holes then fit shoot bolts DL06 to each with EURO07 Spirol pins.	2745.7
12	Check fit of a long pushrod on DL03S handle. One corner needs rounding off a bit more with a file to clear the bush on DL02S mounting plate. Check fit of a short pushrod on DL03S. Corner needs filing as for long pushrod. The angle on the slot is not nearly long enough to allow the pushrod to lie parallel to the long axis of DL02S when the handle is in the closed position. File the slot back a bit (with the side of the specially-purchased 4mm thick file) and try again. Needs filing and checking several more times before it's satisfactory. Fig 2 on manual page 33-2 calls for the long end of the slot to be 32mm in from the pivot axis, but in practice my slot needed to extend to about 41mm. Remove DL03S and DL05 etc from DL02S and slide DL02S inside F11S door moulding. The stud on which DL05 slides is hidden within the moulding and there is not enough clearance to fit DL05 onto it in-situ. Either DL05 (and the DL09 spring etc) will need to be fitted to DL02 before DL02 is bonded to the door, or the aperture will need to be enlarged to allow access to the stud after bonding DL02. The manual calls for bonding to be done with DL05 etc fitted to DL02 - that will be tricky to do, and it will be difficult to keep moving parts free of Redux. Also, the movement (sliding aft and then forward again) required to get DL02 into the aperture is likely to get Redux where it's not wanted (such as inside the bush). An attempt to insert DL02S with DL05 & DL03 assembled to it shows that the present aperture is too small to allow that anyway. So, the aperture will need to be enlarged and it's a question of how. It seems better to make it big enough to let DL02 enter in a single movement, and allow access to the stud for fitting DL05 after bonding. The F33 cover is the same thickness at the door moulding so it will restore strength over the whole area.	2746.9
14	Slide DL02S into place in F11S door moulding and mark where further clearance is needed to let it slide in without so much jiggling back and forth, and for access to stud. Cut and file away marked areas. Try fit again & it goes in easily but more clearance needed for access to nut on stud. Open that up a bit and try again - much better. Offer up DL05/DL03 assembly but it won't go in - the bolt connecting the two fouls the edge of the cutout. Mark problem area, dismantle and file. Re-fit everything and now just about fits but nut is rubbing slightly on edge of cutout. DL03 rubbing on edge of cutout when DL01 outer handle fitted. Mark rubbing areas, dismantle & file. Re-assemble and now everything looks OK. The temporary nut is still just touching the edge but as the stiffnut is much smaller it will be clear.	2748.3
16	Offer up F33S to F11S door and mark where trimming is needed. The drawing on p 34-8 of the issue 5 PDF manual shows only a tiny overlap beyond the edge of the cutout, but I will use the 25mm overlap called out in the paper manual (which refers to a builder-made splash moulding). Using hacksaw blade in padsaw handle and Minitool jigsaw with diamond blade, trim off excess around edges of F33S. Offer up again, check and mark where handle slot should be. Cut away F33S in that area just enough for the thickness of the handle, leaving final trimming until DL02S is bonded in. Abrade outer face of DL02S and bonding area inside door moulding with power file and degrease with acetone. Mix 10g + 4g Redux and add 2 small doses of flox to stiffen it. Spread on outer face of DL02S and slip it into position, taking care to avoid getting Redux on pivot tube, stud or handle stop. Clamp in place, with polyethylene sheet on inside to prevent clamp sticking and wooden softening on outside, ensuring that DL02S is parallel to the door edges. Take the door in to the boiler cupboard to cure overnight (shows 24C, 46% RH shortly after putting sensor in cupboard). Highlight hairlines for outline of cutout and centres of holes on F11P port door with fine felt-tip pen. With padsaw and jigsaw cut out aperture for mechanism. Start holes for pivot and shoot bolt guide with centre drill, then drill out 16mm with holesaw. Check fit of DL02P in cutout - goes in easier than on starboard one with just a little easing of edges. Enlarge cutout at forward end for access to stud. Looks as though it could be slipped in for bonding without further enlargement of cutout.	2751.1
17	Boiler cupboard now shows 25C, 30% RH; Redux cured on DL02S bonding. Take F11S door back to garage. Fetch door glazing panels in from trailer to garage. Assemble DL01S and DL03/DL05 to DL02S. Fits OK and DL03 is clear of cutout throughout its travel. DL01S is just touching surface of door at aft end, although when previously assembled it was pretty much parallel to the door surface and nicely clear all along. Perhaps clamping DL02S to the inner surface of the door has put a slight curve in the metal and so angled the pivot bush by a tiny amount. Dismantle and file the inner face of DL01S enough to clear the door. It occurs to me while doing this that it will not be easy to paint the doors with DL01 in-situ, and so F33 should not be bonded on until after the doors have been painted, so that DL01 can be removed. With mechanism installed, offer up F33S. Just rubbing on DL03 but also the end of the bolt connecting DL03 & DL05 is rubbing on the inner face of F33S in the door-closed position. Re-assemble with an extra AN960-10L washer under the head of the bolt and that seems to fix the problem. The bolt head is now rubbing on some of the lumps of Redux squeezed through the holes in DL02S, so take them down with the powerfile. Apply some etch-primer where the powerfile scratched the surface of DL02S. File F33S a little where it was touching DL03, until it is clear throughout the travel. Remove F12S starboard door transparency from its polyethylene bag. Set door on fuselage aperture and offer up transparency. It is a bit warped (curved too much) and needs some persuasion to fit into the door rebate but eventually it goes in. While holding it in place, operate door handle carefully, watching end of DL03 to see if it touches the transparency. No, it's well clear throughout its travel, and even in the fully open position I can press the transparency in quite a bit without it touching. The (excessive?) curve of the transparency may be responsible for the clearance - when I sighted across the door before fitting the transparency, the end of DL03 was almost in line with the rebates. Anyway, it appears for now that no joggle is needed on the starboard DL03, but I'll want to re-check after the transparency is bonded in. Return transparency to storage bag. Do a trial assembly of DL02P on the F11P port door with DL03/DL05. Needs more removed from the aperture to let DL03 operate. Trim it back to about the same line as on the starboard door with the Minitool jigsaw and file smooth. Re-assemble and now plenty of clearance (almost too much) for DL03. Abrade outer face of DL02P and the bonding area inside the door, and degrease with acetone. Mix 5g + 2g Redux and add a small dose of flox to stiffen. Spread onto DL02P and slip it into place, taking care to avoid getting Redux in pivot bush. Clamp up as before with wooden softening outside and scrap of polyethylene sheet inside. Take in to boiler cupboard to cure overnight. 25C, 36% RH shortly after placing sensor in cupboard.	2753.6
18	26C, 28% RH in boiler cupboard, Redux cured. Take door back to garage.
28	Remove clamp from DL02P door mechanism mounting plate. Check operation of DL01P outer handle - all fine, no interference. Fit DL03/DL05 inner handle assembly and check operation - all clear including end of bolt joining DL03 & DL05 (which is assembled with an extra AN960-10L washer under the head as for the starboard side). Remove mechanism to offer up F33P cover for check of fit. Mark ends of DL03 slot out to edge of door. Mark up F33P for trimming and cut off the aft section. Mark on door where new aft end of F33P lies, then trim flanges of F33P. Re-fit mechanism to check how deep the slot for DL03P should be in F33P - about 12mm from inner face of door flange. Remove mechanism and mark F33P for DL03P clearance. Cut rebate with Minitool jigsaw. The jigsaw is getting a bit temperamental and on examination this is because the bush in which the shaft of the blade carrier slides is getting loose in the plastic body, and the shaft is also rather a sloppy fit in the bush. May have to do some serious repairs there soon, but as I can't readily see how to dismantle the relevant bits I will ignore it for the moment! Re-fit mechanism and offer up F33P to check DL03P clearance. File a bit more and recheck until satisfied. I note that F33P needs more pressure to get it down firmly against the door profile than did F33S; will need some careful clamping when bonding it on. Slide forward shoot-bolt with short pushrod into place from hole at forward end of door, with DL07 guide in position. Temporarily secure pushrod to DL03P with 10-32 screw. Operate handle - seems OK, but in the open position the bolt is significantly inside the surface of the door. The paper manual calls for the guide, when bonding, to be inserted until it is flush with the end of the bolt, but that will require it to be sunk into the door a bit. The illustrations show the flange of the guide protruding from the door, so will need to check what is right. The manual also quotes 952mm from tip to tip of bolt when retracted, but on an initial measurement of the fuselage aperture that seems to put the bolts rather close to the fuselage door frame. To check on how much room there is for the flanges of the guides, decide to take an impression. Don't seem to have any plasticene so mix some Isopon P38 filler and apply to inner face of starboard door frame at forward and aft bottom corners, then cover with small pieces of polyethylene sheet and place door in position, squishing filler to fit. Clamp door lightly in position & leave to cure. Start to fit aft shoot-bolt with long pushrod but the curve of the door prevents it going in far enough, so take it out and bend it slightly across my knee. Now it goes in and can be pushed into place on DL03 and screw added. However, the bolt folds over and refuses to flip straight to come out of the hole again. After some time trying, give up and remove it from DL03, swing bolt towards hole with the end of a long Allen key then tilt door to get it out. Wonder if it might be easier to keep guides aligned while bonding them in by using a longer dummy bolt such as a length of 12mm rod stock. Thinking about assembly of the door latch mechanism, once the Spirol pins are in to secure the pushrods on DL03, I don't think it will be possible to remove the assembly - eg to put a crank in DL03 if found to be needed after the glazing is fitted. Also, it will not be possible to fit the handle on DL03 once the glazing it fitted as I think there won't be room to insert or turn the screw from the outboard side. So, some forethought is needed prior to driving those pins!	2756.0
31	Look for substitute for shoot bolt to hold guide in alignment while bonding. Bolt measures 12.7mm, but the only 1/2" OD tube I can find won't enter the guide. However a length of 12mm OD tube with some masking tape wrapped around it seems to be OK. Not sure about the location of the hole for the aft bolt. I drilled it on the marked cross-hairs in the moulding, but that leaves the rim of the guide protruding a long way at the bend even when the top edge is flush to the door. The manual calls for it to be centred in line with the straight portion of the window aperture. Sighting along the length of the door shows that location could be almost a full hole-diameter higher, and should solve the issue of the protruding rim as it's on a much straighter part of the door edge. Tap the edges of the Isopon P38 splash mouldings on the fuselage door aperture. They come away very easily and cleanly; I had been worrying that I should have waxed the areas before applying the filler but apparently there was enough mould release left over from manufacture. Set aside port door and get out starboard door to check measurements. Set outside caliper on the aft filler moulding. Comparing that measurement with the protrusion of the guide, there is not going to be room for the guide of the upper part of the rim is flush to the door. Either it will have to be recessed, or the hole will need to be higher up, on a flatter area. The thickness of the filler moulding is just slightly more than the thickness of 2 DL07 guide rims. Insert guides in port door and try to measure the distance over the outer rims; about 942mm. The distance between the vertical faces of the fuselage door aperture at the bottom is 952mm - the same as the manual calls out for the overall length of the bolts when retracted. The illustrations show the guide rims proud of the door frames, so the 952mm specification must be wrong as there would be interference between the bolts and the fixed guides. Check fit of door in fuselage aperture. The hinges are some distance away from the flat areas in the recess where they are supposed to fit. Try a piece of 1/8" aluminium and that fills the gap almost perfectly. The bottom edge of the door is scraping on the fuselage when I try to push it closed. Rub a little off the bottom edge with the long Perma-Grit block, and chamfer the inner edge slightly with the shorter block. That improves things, but now there is a little tightness evident around the forward edge of the door, near the bottom corner. Rub that area back a bit and there is further improvement. However, a check of how it looks at the top shows a couple of tight spots near the rear hinge, so rub them down a bit. Check again, rub top edge a bit more, check again, rub various tight spots until there is a more equal gap at forward and aft edges of door, and no rubbing along bottom edge when it is pushed home flush with the fuselage. Will need to leave a small clearance for paint along the top edge so insert card spacers there and check again. Rub off more high spots top and bottom until satisfied. Check that all shoot bolts will enter DL07 guide smoothly and lightly file a couple that stick slightly around the pin area. Slide forward shoot bolt (short pushrod) into place with a DL07 guide and secure to DL03 with a 10-32 x 1/2" screw. Check operation - seems OK, but the bolt retracts a long way within the door and with it extended there is only a short length of the parallel part of the bolt exposed beyond the guide. Doesn't look enough to provide good engagement with the fixed guide in the fuselage. I think if the guide rim were recessed at the top until the bottom of the rim butts against the door, it would be much better. Check bend of long pushrod on aft bolt against shape of door and adjust it slightly to conform. With handle in closed position, carefully slide in pushrod, aft bolt & guide. Guide slotted end of pushrod onto DL03 with the end of a small Allen key & insert screw. The process seemed much easier than when I tried to insert the one in the port door, but maybe I was being more careful, as well as being aware of how it could go wrong. Operate handle. Aft bolt retracts to just about flush with door. When extended, the bolt tends to tilt downward, but this may be because the guide needs to be better fitted. There is certainly plenty of length clear of the guide to engage the fixed guide, so moving the guide up (and thus further out) would not be a problem in that respect. When extended the bolts measure about 980mm from tip to tip. The pivot ends of the pushrods in DL03 are 27mm apart with the handle in the closed position and 19mm apart in the opposite direction when the handle is in the open position. Thus when retracted the bolt tips are finishing up 980 - (27 + 19) = 934mm apart - quite a difference from the 952mm in the manual! With a straight-edge held horizontal between the rebates for the door transparency, check again the clearance for the DL03 handle. It is just about clear at the full-open position, but touching as it passes through the vertical. The head of the knob fixing screw will need a little more clearance, unless I countersink it. There was much more clearance from the actual transparency, but it had considerably more curve than the door itself and I couldn't be sure I was holding it firmly and correctly enough in position. Of course, once it is bonded in, there will be much less freedom to adjust the door handle, so a decision has to be taken before that. I'd like to do some more checks once the doors are hinged to the fuselage.	2759.1

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