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Europa #435 G-RODO Build Journal - 2022 10

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17 Dismantle the port door lock hook/spacer/tang assembly and file down the aft top corner of the outboard hook plate until it is flush with the edge of the fixing screw. Re-assemble the hook plate stack. Climb into baggage bay and offer up the assembly to the lock barrel. It now seems to go fully home onto the square boss. With some fiddling fit the circlip. The lock will operate, but the inboard hook is rubbing on the milled face of the pushrod and needs help to engage. At the very least, it would need a chamfer on the leading edge of that hook. However, increasing the spacer thickness would be better. Remove hook assembly from lock.

Currently there are 2-off 3mm spacer plates, making 6mm. I've got both 2.5mm and 5mm stock offcuts, so could increase the spacing to 7.5mm. Dismantle the hook assembly and trace the existing spacer outlines onto the 2.5mm & 5mm offcuts. Cut out, drill using originals clamped to them as drill guides and deburr. Re-assemble the hook plate stack with the new spacers. Re-fit assembly to the lock barrel. Operation now acceptably smooth, although a slight chamfer on the leading edge of the inboard hook might still be useful.

Mark the profile of the hook plate onto the pushrod with a superfine felt-tip pen. Remove pushrod from door. Mark 1.5mm aft and up from the centre curve of the marked line and centre-pop. Drill 2mm, 2.5mm, 3mm with the milled section of the pushrod held in the soft jaws of the vise. Tap in a 3mm x 12mm roll pin. Re-fit pushrod. Alas, with the handle in the closed position, the roll pin is some distance away from the hook - I must have failed to check that the handle was fully closed before marking for the pin location.

Fortunately (!) the error is so large that there is room for a new pin location. Close handle fully and re-mark pushrod as above. Remove pushrod. The binding that I have previously experienced when extracting the shoot bolt from its housing seems less if the forward end of the pushrod is kept high. Centre-pop 1.5mm in from new mark and drill out to 3mm as before. Tap in a new roll pin, leaving the first one in place.		 3670.5
18 Climb into the baggage bay. Insert port aft shoot-bolt pushrod into door. Check lock operation. Hook is now close to the new pin in the locked position and possible movement of the pushrod is minimal. Remove the pushrod and the hook assembly. Dismantle the hook stack. Degrease all parts with acetone. Mix a small batch of 5-minute Araldite and assemble hook plates, spacers and lock tang with thin smear of epoxy between all parts, including screw threads. Wipe off excess epoxy with acetone. Had forgotten to chamfer the point of the inboard hook so file it now. Offer up hook assembly to lock barrel and re-fit circlip - goes on easily first time!

Select an offcut of pre-preg that looks suitable for making a cover plate.		 3671.6
20 From the selected offcut of pre-preg, mark out and cut, with the diamond blade in the MiniTool jigsaw, a piece of roughly ovoid shape to act as a cover plate for the port door lock access hole (which has finished up distinctly non-circular). Offer it up, and am not satisfied that the cover overlaps the edges of the hole enough for the screws and anchor nuts to be securely fitted. Look through the pre-preg offcuts again and find a slightly wider piece (in fact it's what the starboard cover plate was made from). Cut an ovoid shape out of that and it has a more comfortable overlap all around the hole. 3672.1
22 Dig out the aircraft log books (airframe, engine, propeller all in 1 binder) from one of the filing cabinets and fill in some details in preparation for countersigning by inspector.

Climb into the baggage bay. Offer up the new cover plate to check overlap from the hole for fixings. With the bottom edge clear of the bottom of the door, the top could be trimmed a bit more. Mark a trim line on cover plate. Re-check clearance from hook assembly around hole and mark with fine felt-tip pen 2 locations on door for anchor nuts, as high as possible on each side. Mark a third spot at the bottom. Trim cover plate with MiniTool jigsaw and smooth edges. Offer up again to hole. Can't see the hole marks through the thickest part of the cover, so rotate until thick part is at the top. Now overlap is OK all round and hole marks are visible. Tape cover in place with masking tape. Mark hole positions on cover plate. Drill 2.5mm then open to 4mm, inserting M4 screw in each hole to keep aligned.		 3672.8
24 tickClimb into baggage bay. Remove alignment screws, masking tape and cover plate. Move lock to unlocked position for clearance to work. Position a M4 x 10mm screw in one of the holes from inside, using snipe-nose pliers to place it and pressing it through with a finger. Onto the exposed thread wind a M4 anchor nut as far as it will go finger-tight. Press the anchor nut against the face of the door and drill one rivet hole 2.6mm. Put a rivet in that hole to maintain alignment and drill 2nd hole 2.6mm. Carefully remove anchor nut and screw. Countersink both rivet holes with a 6mm drill bit spun in fingers. Position the anchor nut within the door and fit a screw finger-tight to retain it on place. Holding anchor nut against the inner surface of the door with a finger, insert and pull a TAPK33BS rivet, using the usual spacer to clear the screw head. Insert and pull 2nd rivet. Remove the screw. Repeat the drilling and riveting process for the other 2 fixing holes. Fit the cover plate with M4 x 8mm button-head SS screws (2.5mm AF hex key) - looks satisfactory. 3673.9
25 Do some more work on project planning and documentation, considering what to tackle most urgently.

Do some preliminary research on the cost of stick-on registration letters.
27 Export a CSV file from the GanttProject file. Re-sort by percent completed and extract those under 100% to help choose what to do next.

Send e-mails to a couple of firms about prices for registration letters.
28 As they seem to be both competent and cost-effective, send an e-mail to flugtext ordering a set of stick-on vinyl registration letters.
29 As there seems to be no regulation on the size of the "fireproof data plate" or its lettering, draw up a layout using OmniGraffle based on the 125mm x 75mm etched stainless steel labels advertised by Brunel Engraving, and place an order on their website. When confirmation e-mail received, reply attaching JPEG of my preferred layout.

Throw a webbing strap over the fuselage at the cockpit area and put a large piece of polyethylene sheet under it across the starboard door aperture. Put Perspex glazing into place and tighten webbing strap enough to hold it firmly in place. Had intended to start applying masking tape but notice that with the pressure from the webbing strap there are several places where there is no longer a 1mm gap between the edge of the glazing and the door rebate. Mark those spots with a different-coloured felt-tip pen (to differentiate from the older marks). Remove Perspex and add a thin line using a very fine black felt-tip pen along the edges to be relieved, so that I will know I've gone far enough when that line disappears. File at the marked areas in turn with the millennicut file. Re-fit Perspex to door - it is still a bit of a struggle to get it in place as it still has too much of a curve. Re-check all around edge and find some more tight spots. Also notice that there is a faint scratch near the lower forward corner in an arc adjacent to the door handle - must have done that while trying to fit it. Will need to see if I can get a scratch remover kit. Rather late, take off handle and remember to take off watch to prevent any other scratches! Mark tight spots, remove, file, re-fit several times until satisfied with gap all round. Leave Perspex strapped in place in the hope it might take a better set to fit the door.

Reply received from flugtext saying that they no longer do vinyl letters but recommending Navboys instead.		 3675.3
30 Navboys only advertise 200mm fuselage marks - not surprising as they are glider specialists. Send e-mail asking about availability & price of 300mm fuselage marks.
31 Navboys reply saying they can do 300mm fuselage marks at the same price as the 200mm so place an order.

Remove watch. Re-check all around starboard Perspex for 1mm gap; all OK except for a small tight spot at upper aft corner. Mark it for trimming. Apply masking tape, aligned with the inner edge of the door rebate, all around the Perspex. Slice tape into thin strips so it will go around the curve at lower aft. Remove Perspex. File down marked corner to line. Apply masking tape to inner face of Perspex, aligning the outside edge with the tape on the outer face. Apply several courses of tape to make a wide band all around. Cut a piece of polyethylene sheet to size and tape it to the inner face of the Perspex, to protect against Redux spills and fingerprints during bonding. Similarly cut and apply another piece of polyethylene sheet to the outer face of the Perspex. This time add a wide band of masking tape out to the edge of the glazing, and trim it off flush with a scalpel.

Look around again for ratchet straps - was sure I had another like the one in use, but can only find a 3m one which is not long enough.

After fruitless visits to Homebase and Screwfix, find that The Range has plenty of 1" x 15' ratchet straps in stock at only 2.99 so buy a couple. Try for length over fuselage - perfect!		 3677.4
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