I mentioned yesterday that I was going to add a fairlead for the elevator trim cable at the aft end of the skylight. This morning I welded that tube on, and while I was there, I also welded on tabs for the front and rear flood lights. Those will be LED spotlights on the battery…
Author: Jared Yates
Control Cables and Fuel Lines
In the last entry I mentioned that the lower right fuel line was going to need an extension. This morning I added that extension and made a line from the fuel valve to the gascolator. Next I routed the upper flap cables, made new rudder cables, and routed the elevator trim cable. It became immediately…
Fuel Lines
Tonight I finished the left rear fuel line and started on a remake of the right front fuel line. The latest guidance from Bob says to put the T joint as low as possible, so I moved it down a few inches. The Patrol actually uses a tab that attaches in front of this station…
Flap Cables
Today was a brief session, but I was able to drill the left flap tube up to the final 3/16″ size for both bolts. I measured the length for the upper flap cables and made both of those, and started on the latest rework of the left aft fuel line that runs from the tank…
Stratoflex 156
This afternoon we tried a little bit of family hangar time. The weather was nice, so they enjoyed the shade while I made use of some new parts. A box arrived from the Sacremento Sky Ranch with the Stratoflex 156 hose for our oil cooler and a new oil filter. The new filter fits the…
Prop Governor Gasket
Back when I was making a new bracket for the prop control, I had to remove the back of the governor to ajust the angle of the control arm. This disturbed the gasket from that area, so I tried to find a replacement. I wasn’t having much luck with Google, so I just called up…
Aileron Cable Turnbuckle
I noticed that the turnbuckles that come in the Wicks hardware kit (or at least, the ones that came in ours) are all the same. They have a pin eye on one end and a cable eye on the other. In all but one of the cases on this airplane, that’s exactly what is needed….
Manifold Pressure Tap
In the last episode we left off with a failed attempt to get the manifold pressure from the engine to the sensor. Today was more successful, thanks to some inventory from hangar neighbor Danny. He had one of these fancy restrictor fittings that will go in there nicely: The idea behind using a restrictor here…
Flap Shackle Bushings
Today I welded more on the oil cooler support tube. I made a nice little foot on the end that should help distribute the force and vibration. As I mentioned in an earlier entry, the flap cable terminates at the torque tube in an interesting way. Bob specified a shackle with a 1/4″ hole, but…
Drilling the Flap Tube
Yesterday I installed the oil filter adapter, but didn’t have a socket big enough for the vernatherm. Today I have the socket, so I torqued it to specs and installed safety wire. I welded the aft end of the brace tube for the oil cooler, which will go between the engine case above the number…
Oil Filter Adapter
Back in September I wrote about our oil filter adapter. Today I installed it, which required removing each of the mags in order to get to the nuts. While I had the right mag off I also put a drilled rivet into the fitting to act as a restriction. I also drilled the firewall for…
Prop Control Support
The baby is running behind schedule, which is a good thing. It means that I’m in town with a clear schedule, which translates to getting lots of things done. I started with deburring the prop control support bracket that I started making yesterday. The new bracket is very similar to the old one, with a…
Baby Building
Tabitha came out today and worked on deburring the window frames. While she did that I started making a new bracket for the prop control at the governor end. Our used governor came with a used bracket, but it looked fairly well abused. It made a good template for the new bracket, which will support…
Planning for Prop Control
Today I reinstalled the horizontal stabilizer. The strategy at this phase of construction is to add as many of the existing parts as possible onto the airplane to try and fix any interference issues that may have crept up. I spent some time planning for the routing of the propeller control and prop governor oil…
Install Prop Governor
This afternoon I installed the propeller governor for hopefully the last time. I used star lock washers and plain nuts. The documentation that I’ve found calls for 200 inch pounds of torque, which seems very tight. I set up the wrench and started tightening and felt like I should probably stop long before I got…
Rudder Cable Decisions
This morning I spent a while organizing and cleaning up. I connected the rudder cables again, and found a slightly better way to connect the return spring. Instead of having it attach in line with the rudder cable, I drilled an extra hole in the pedal arm and moved the aft attach point down. In…
Aileron Control Cables
This morning I finished replacing the last of the hinge bolts for rivets. I made the aft aileron cable, which goes across the back of the cabin. When I made it, I put the turnbuckle right in the middle. This turned out to be a mistake- I should have put it off to one side…
Improving the Nicopress Crimpers
After some consultation with more experienced builders, I found what part of the problem with my cheap nicopress tool is. If you look at this picture, you’ll probably see it too: The outermost contact point on the inside of the jaws is too big. That’s making an air gap between the contact points at the…
Checking the Wings
Last time I set the big rivets in one of the aileron hinges. I started out today by polishing the faces of my hammers so that I could do the same job without leaving any marks on the shop heads of the rivets. I started at the belt sander, removing enough material to get a…
Aileron Hinges
The aileron and flap hinges are made from rod ends that are attached to steel tube structures, which are bolted to the wings. Eagle-eyed John Wigney was visiting our hangar last spring and pointed out that the plans call for 5/23″ rivets in that joint, but our previous builder had 3/16″ installed bolts instead. After…
Patrol Doors
Today Tabitha joined me to work more on the doors and windows. We worked specifically on the lower front door skins, which will be mostly cut out to make room for windows. Some folks call these “patrol doors,” which makes for some especially confusing terminology, since there is a 2-place airplane called the Bearhawk Patrol…
Aft Wing Root Fairing
As I mentioned yesterday, the aft portion of the wing root fairing is the most difficult to make. One challenge is that the must intersect the fabric, which isn’t on the airplane yet. I used contact paper to simulate the fabric: This allowed me to mark and trim the inboard side of that fairing and…
Wing Root Fairings
2012 is going to be the year of fairings. And hopefully the year that we fly this airplane! Today was a step in the right direction, with a few advances in the nebulous realm of “90% to go.” Fairings are some of the little parts that have to be made, but yet standing next to…
Dynon Remote Compass Sensors
Today I spent a few hours of my birthday doing one of my favorite things, building airplanes. While I had the airplane leveled for wing measurements, I installed the Dynon compass sensors. The Dynon instructions say that the compass sensors and the D100-series units should be aligned within one degree or better. I’m using two…
Checking Wing Alignment
I started off with what has become a bit of a hangar ritual, sanding the fiberglass parts and adding more filler. It’s looking better, but still needs more work. We didn’t drill our wing attachment points, since our project’s previous owner already had. I wanted to be sure that the wings were lined up correctly-…
Window Lock
I only had an hour to work today, but I was able to get the right window lock structure cleaned and primed.
Priming Left Window Frame
This afternoon I cleaned up and primed the left window frame. It looks much better now! I also welded on the support structure for the front right window lock.
Cargo Door Planning
This afternoon Tabitha came out and we spent a while working out the plans for the right rear windows and for the lock on the cargo door. The challenge with the cargo door lock is trying to work out a few conflicting goals. The most important goal is to be sure that the door will…
Left Rear Window Continued
This morning I finished welding the top track for the aft window. The more difficult section is the aft side of the window. I started that section by moving the stringer attach points. THe lower stringer is going to be out a little bit further, while the upper stringer is going to be in a…
New Aft Left Window
I started welding the aft window frames this morning. The bottom was easy, so I did that one first. I trimmed the top to length, but found that I needed more oxygen. I took a break to drive into town and then came back and tacked the top piece in place.
Bending at the Brake
This afternoon I stopped by Brad’s place and used his brake to bend the steel pieces for the aft window. Wasn’t it nice of him to let me do that? While I was there I also bent the aluminum pieces that will go on the windshield posts to help support the aft edge of the…
Testing the D100
In another stressful moment of truth, today I powered up the D100 for the first time. I started by verifying each pin in the wiring again. Here’s the unit that I found on eBay. It’s slightly used but in great shape: Here’s where the backup battery hatch is. I was surprised to see a battery…
Patrick Visit
Today our friend Patrick stopped by for a visit. He’s building an RV-7A.
Cargo Door Gas Strut
I cleaned up and primed the fuel line support that I welded on last time: Then I made one just like it and installed it on the right. While I had the primer out I sprayed a coat on the intake scoop to see how my fiberglass work was coming along. Sometimes it’s hard to…
Fuel Line Tabs
I came out for little while today to sand the last layer of filler and add another. AC 43.13 says that fuel lines should be supported every 16 inches. I can’t see how it’s possible to span the distance from the aft side of the front door to the clamp on the diagonal tube under…
Adding Filler
In replacing the engine mount bolts, I found that I needed a second washer to get the castle nut in the right place. I installed those washers on each one, but I didn’t put any cotter pins in yet. Odds are good that I’ll have to take the engine off again before we fly. I…
Nosebowl Light Preparations
Today I continued work on the front baffles, including deburring the edges of the thick brackets. I think Vans cuts them out with an axe, or perhaps they hire that Jaws fellow from the James Bond movies. I started working on the layout for the landing light, which will go in the nose bowl. The…
Riveting Baffles
Today I continued with the front baffles. First I drilled the angle support that connects the side baffle to the front. I also spent some time working on the steel structure that will support the new back left window. I needed to have a track for the bottom, so I tried bending some steel strips…
Front Baffles
Today my friend Hari stopped by from the other side of the state. He is scratch building and had an extra sheet of .020″ aluminum. He stayed for a little while and we had a good visit. The front area of the engine baffles are pretty complicated. I started by setting the angle of the…
Oil Cooler Continued
I added the first layer of superfil on the windshield fairing, and another layer on the intake scoop. It will take several layers and lots of sanding to make them look reasonable. The oil cooler support will attach at the crankcase bolt just above the number 2 cylinder. I removed the original case bolt and…
Still More Fiberglass
This evening I worked on trimming the windshield fairing. I wanted to have an equal distance above and below the fold point, so I started by drawing a line along the the fold point. I used a square and a sharpie to mark a line along the fiberglass and used the belt sander to trim…
More Fiberglass
Today was a quick session. I added two more layers of fiberglass on the windshield and one more layer on the intake scoop.
Fiberglass Windshield Fairing
This morning I started on the fiberglass windshield fairing. First I applied contact paper to the windshield and boot cowl so that the epoxy wouldn’t stick to the expensive bits. Then I put a nice coat of automotive wax on the contact paper to make sure the epoxy didn’t stick to the inexpensive bits either….
Oil Cooler Support
This morning I started by finishing the rest of the lightening holes for the headrest parts. Next I made a few doublers for the oil cooler area on the back left baffle. I’m really guessing here with how much support I’ll need. I’ve studied a few other airplanes and copied what I have seen. I’ll…
Sanding Filler
I started today by sanding the filler from yesterday. This fiberglass work is a lot like drywall- one layer at a time makes it smooth in the end. While we were at the picnic I asked Bob about how he makes the mating surface of the exhaust flanges flat. He said he uses the belt…
Smurf Extract
The fiberglass from yesterday was cured well, so I used the belt sander to trim the outer edge further. To fix those problems I mixed up a batch of superfil, aka smurf extract. To spread the filler evenly in the corner, I used another hotel key. These have turned out to be quite handy and…
Exhaust Welding
We just got back from Bob’s annual picnic up in Fincastle. It was great to see a few new Bearhawks, at least new to us. Roy Glenn and Philip Johnson were there, and we got some great ideas from both. I took my first exhaust pipe to show Bob and get his input. He said…
Fiberglass Scoop Flange
Yesterday I prepared the cowling for the fiberglass work on the scoop. Today I used a few adjustable rolling stands to hold the scoop in place while I applied the first strips. While the epoxy was setting up I made a few more pieces for the oil cooler attachment. I needed for that angle to…
Engine Intake Scoop
Since the first headrest turned out well enough, I bent the parts for the other 3. I made some measurements for what type of support I’ll need to make for the oil cooler also. Since the intake scoop is going to need a fiberglass flange to attach to the cowl, I’m going to construct it…
Oil Cooler Screws
When I got to the hangar together this lady was there to help: I realized that the oil cooler bolts weren’t going to work as I had planned. Since the left rear baffle sits right up against the cooling fins on the back of the number 4 cylinder, I would not have any room for…
Headrest Structure
Yesterday I located the oil cooler on the left rear baffle. Today I cut out some aluminum tubes to use as the supports that will keep the flanges from bending together when I tighten the bolts. Unfortunately, I ordered the wrong size of tube! It’s too small and the bolts won’t fit through. I finished…
Locating the Oil Cooler
While I was thinking about the aileron control cables, I realized that my previous location for headset jacks wasn’t going to work. I cut the old bracket off and this is what was left: I used the die grinder and files to clean off the weld bead. It’s always frustrating when I end up making…
Landing Light Bracket
This morning I sprayed the last coat of polyspray on the flaps, ailerons, and rudder. I came back to the hangar after lunch to debur the left door skin and start making the landing light bracket. For a while I wasn’t sure if I was even going to install a landing light. It certainly isn’t…
Covering Continued
I only had a few minutes to work today, but I was able to finish preparing the control surfaces for their next coat of Polyspray.
Window Planning
Tabitha came out to the hangar today, so I took a break from the stinky covering. We worked together to create a cardboard template for the new left rear window. We also marked and cut the left lower front door skin, which we’ll replace with something transparent. Tabitha wants bigger windows, and having windows does…
Spraying Silver
This morning I sprayed the last coat of Polybrush on the parts. I cleaned up the fuel flow sensor that I wrote about in the last entry: This evening I sprayed the first coats of the silver poly-spray on the parts.
Spraying Continued
I’ve been on the fence about wanting to install a fuel flow sensor. Eric Newton found that he wasn’t able to get the required fuel flow when he had the sensor installed. I asked him for more details about that while we were at Oshkosh, and he said that when he took the sensor out…
Covering Spray
Our seats are at the upholsterer, so I need to hurry up and finish the headrests. I cut out some 8×8 .032 aluminum squares to use as the face and top. I used the bench grinder to remove some of the larger bits of the weld bead from the exhaust pipe. Since the temperature has…
EMT Conduit Exhaust
Today I used the technique from the last entry to add a few more curves to the number 1 exhaust pipe. I worked until I ran out of oxygen, or rather until my welding oxygen tank became empty. Welding on this EMT sure is easy. If all else fails I’ll weld these up into some…
Back Seat Seatbelt Tabs
With the lower cowl in place I started preparing the outer fiberglass scoop that will cover the FAB and direct the intake air to the inlet. I found an RV builder who had a scrap scoop, which was quite affordable. I only needed a very small piece of the original, so any defects or mistakes…
Child Labor
Windshield Installation Since today was a nice warm day in the hangar, I started working with the windshield. I took it out of the box, set it in place, and it fit just as it was supposed to. I don’t think it is going to need very much trimming at all. I did spend a…
Making Exhaust Pipes
Making Exhaust Pipes This morning I finished the heat smoothing on the last flap, so now those parts are ready to spray. While I was thinking about it, I also made a couple of cable guards for the flap cable pulleys. These are the final pulleys before the flap cable ends at the torque tube….
Finish FAB Assembly
I attached the steel (alloy?) reinforcing ring on the bottom of the FAB, and used a little bit of high-temp silicone to make an airtight seal. The weather was nice so I also did a bit more covering work. I brushed the tapes on the right aileron, whch gave the RTV a little time to…
FAB Assembly Continued
When I incorrectly oriented the FAB top during the first assembly, I drilled holes that will need to be filled with the correct orientation. Many of those holes were close to where the filter retainer angles go, so I just made a few adjustments to help them serve double-duty. This wouldn’t be necessary for someone…
FAB Assembly
Today started with a few new parts arrivals. As I mentioned in the entry from a few days ago, I drilled the top oval plate for the filtered air box incorrectly. I wrote about much of today’s work back in that entry, but I’ll include pictures here. The folks at Pegasus Auto Racing have an…
Taping Right Aileron
This morning I applied the tapes to the right aileron.
Right Aileron Stitching
This morning I layed out the rib stitches for the right aileron, applied them, and drew the layout lines for the reinforcing tapes.
Right Aileron Covering
Right Aileron Covering Today was a good covering day, so that’s what I did. The first step, as with the other primed control surfaces, was to wet-sand the outer surfaces to smooth the paint. Then I carefully cleaned off two years (at least) worth of dust and spider webs. Next I applied reinforcing tape to…
Vans FAB
I picked up where we left off last night , attaching the lower right cowl sheet metal. I took a few pictures of it all together, just because it looks so much more like an airplane. From there I reinstalled the carburetor so that I could start cutting the hole for the airbox. Note that…
Cowling Continued Again
This evening Tabitha came out and we worked together on the cowl sheet metal. One of the challenges in trimming the leading edge of the cowl is that the edge needs to match the fiberglass nose bowl, which is hidden underneath the aluminum, and the aluminum isn’t transparent. Tabitha came up with the idea of…
Dynon Compass Module
I had to start by removing the carburetor this morning. This will give me plenty of room to work on the lower cowling pieces. I started preparing the sheets for the bottom. I think I’m going to start from the top and wrap them around, making the middle cut last. I took a break from…
Cowling Continued
Today I kept working on the cowling. I marked the left door for the holes that will become the quarter turn fasteners, and drilled the right door for it’s hinge. This allowed me to position the right bottom channel, and drill small holes for the quarter-turn fasteners on that side. I’m using four per side,…
Russ Erb Visit
Today I had a special hangar visit from fellow Bearhawker Russ Erb. He lives in the desert but happened to be in town on his way to Oshkosh. That’s not a very direct route, but if I had an airplane like his I probably wouldn’t take the most direct route all of the time either….
Left Cowl Door
I used the top cowl piece as a reference to position the left cowl door. I installed its hinge and left it a little bit long in the front so that I can trim it to match the fiberglass. The trailing edge has an even overlap.
Trimming Baffles
I woke up early this morning to try and beat the heat. I made a few more rough cuts to get the baffles clear of the cowling pieces, then positioned the nose bowl as accurately as possible. I aimed for 1/4″ clearance and 1/4″ of additional engine sag. I started the cowl work with the…
Covering and Baffles
Tabitha came out today and resumed work on the left aileron. She finished up the tapes and applied the top coat of polybrush. We both worked on that for a while, then I started trimming the baffles to clear the cowling pieces.
Initial Prop Install
Today I connected the blue LED that will become the parking brake annunciator. Since the parking brake valve is just a check valve, it could be especially troublesome to land with it in the closed position. The brakes would apply normally, but they wouldn’t release! I’m planning to make this blue light come on any…
Parking Brake Switch Wiring
This morning I made my first attempt at a parking brake indication switch. It didn’t turn out very well. I’d like to be able to adjust it so that it accurately indicates the valve status. It may take a bit more head scratching.
Parking Brake Control Bracket
I needed to make a new bracket to support the control cable in the new configuration. I removed the old brake lines, and while I was in the area, I replaced the remaining firewall tab clecos with bolts.
Reversing the Matco Parking Brake
Our spinner came with it’s original white paint, which matched the Husky that it came off of. I knew that we were going to have to repaint it one way or another, but we’ve both always preferred to have a polished spinner. I figured that I didn’t have anything to lose by stripping off the…
Antenna Mounting
6/21 1015 ground shields, drill left com antenna, add tab to tail post 1235 2.4 hours This morning I connected the rest of the audio shields to each other. I didn’t have any of the one-ended crimp-on terminals so I just used one half of a yellow crimp-on splice. I found a good spot for…
Window Re-design
This evening Tabitha came out and we worked more on the left rear window design. We are making a cardboard template that will be the same size as the final lexan piece. This will give me something around which to fabricate a steel structure. The new window will be much larger than the original, on…
Troubleshooting the Audio Amp.
After some email help from Bob Nuckolls I was able to get the audio amplifier circuit working. I tested it by listening to music on the audio input. I’ll have to wait until everything is up and running before I can fine tune the volume resistors.
Powering Up the GPS
Today I brought out the Garmin 430 unit so that I could test my wiring. This is a bit of a stressful moment, since the unit is very expensive and I ran all of the wires by hand. I powered the circuit with fuses and used my meter to re-verify every single pin to be…
Intercom Testing
It has been a couple of weeks since I’ve been able to get back to work. I installed the rear audio jacks and created the d-sub connection that I wrote about last month. Since the three non-pilot jacks all share a common audio source, I had to find a way to connect several small wires…
HS34 Installation
Today was a long productive day in the hangar. I started by installing the HS34 to make sure that the bracket was in a good spot. Here’s how the instrument panel looks as of today: I finished the audio wiring for the front two jacks, and went home to escape the mid-day heat. Our windshield…
Wiring and Covering
Tabitha came out today to help with the covering. She drew the pencil lines for the right aileron tapes while I worked on more wiring stuff. I installed the bracket for the HS34, which was far more difficult than it should have been. For some reason Dynon pre-drilled the mounting holes. This means that I…
Audio Jacks
I spent a few hours heat smoothing this morning. I’ve been using the 21st Century model airplane covering iron that I’ve had for many years, but today the handle broke. I find myself applying fairly heavy pressure during the process, and it’s probably not designed for that kind of use. I mixed up a batch…
Audio Wiring Continued
One of the problems that I’ve encountered with the audio system wiring is the high number of connections. Since it is a stereo system, there are even more wires than usual. The Flightcom 403 wiring instructions show several wires that are connected before they make it to the plug that goes into the back of…
Audio Wiring
Today I took a break from covering and finished the wiring for the audio isolation amp. I took the cover off of the intercom to adjust the dip switches, which control how the intercom handles music. I prefer for it to mute the audio for incoming vhf transmissions, but not for passenger discussion. Without disabling…
Covering Ailerons
The weather is starting to get warmer, so I’m starting earlier and finishing later. Today I recoated the tapes on the right flap. Now it is ready for smoothing I added the rest of the fabric to the left aileron: And used the iron to shrink the fabric: Then applied the first coat of poly-brush…
Rib Stitching
This morning I stitched the ribs on the right flap and layed out the tapes with pencil lines. After lunch I used the iron to smooth the left flap, added tapes to the right, and started covering the left aileron by cementing the sides in place.
Parking Brake Adjustments
Today I made a bracket for the parking brake valve. This will support the end of the cable. I installed a cable control and found that I had a bit of a problem- it was backwards. I definitely want for the cable to be pushed forward when the parking brake is released, but in my…
EAA Chapter 309 Visit
This evening the EAA chapter from Charlotte came up for a project visit. I’m a member of the Charlotte chapter too, and I was glad to have so many folks drive so far to see our Bearhawk. It’s always great fun to talk about our project with other airplane builders, and of course the pizza…
Taping Wing Surfaces
Today I finished the taping on the left flap. I used the gallon can as a template for making a round patch. I brushed the first coat of polybrush on the right flap and added the rib reinforcements. Next step is stitching. I also finished the wiring for the strobe and position lights, and next…
Covering Continued
Here’s another short entry for a few hours of work. I cemented the fabric onto the right flap, finished stitching the left, laid out the lines for taping on the left, brushed on the taping precoat, and shrank the right flap. See what I mean about this being pleasantly monotonous?
Covering the Flaps
Today was almost all covering work. The great thing about covering is that I have very little “thinking” time. With wiring I work a while and think a while. With covering, I walk in, pick up where I left off, and work until something needs to dry. It’s therapeutic in the sense that it requires…
Flap and Aileron Covering
I’ve been busy with work and that sort of stuff for a little while but I was glad to get back into the shop today. I started at lunch time, took a break for dinner, and finally left at 1:10am! I covered the left flap, starting with the ends: Then the rest, all in one…
Visit with Wayne
This isn’t really a building entry, but I was in Rochester and got to visit with Wayne Massey. Wayne and I work at the same place now, though we first met back in the spring of 2008 at the Bearhawk Cookout before Sun-N-Fun. Wayne is scratch building for the purpose of scratch building, and he…
Flap Trailing Edge
This morning I used the irons to smooth the rudder and prepare it for spraying. I’ll wait until the flaps and ailerons are done before I start spraying, since that process is better suited for larger lots. Speaking of the flaps, I started on those today too. I put the left flap and aileron on…