Today was supposed to be the day of the airworthiness inspection, but the FSDO had to cancel it. I spent a few minutes working on a few minor things, such as installing the new Dynon backup battery that arrived, and replacing the GPS data card with a new database. I also adjusted the prop governor…
Category: Firewall Forward
Firewall Forward
Engine Adjustments
It has been really helpful having my dad in town to help with these final preparations. Today we drilled holes in the outboard aft corner of each fuel bay hatch. These holes will allow the fuel to drain more readily if the tanks begin to vent like they did yesterday. I also added the labels…
Filling the Fuel Tanks
This morning dad came out to help again, and we finished up the wing root fairings. I used pliobond to attach velcro to the fuselage tubes in the area where the back cabin bulkhead attaches. I noticed a very small oil leak around the prop governor control head, and a few days ago I ordered…
Final Tech Counselor Visit
Today my dad and I worked on shortening the list of final things to do. We started with installing the top wing root fairings, which I designed to use nuts. Nutplates would have made the work a one-person job, but since these will only come off when the wings come off, I figured that the…
Fuel Flow Test and Engine Run
Much of the work lately has been sequential. I have a list of tasks that can’t really be done out of order. Today I was finally to the point on the list where it is was time to test the fuel flow. I did it in almost the same way that Eric Newton did, although…
Timing the Mags
With finally having all of the right tools in place, I was able to time the mags this afternoon. I started with the right. When I got to the left, I found that I didn’t really have enough adjustment. I could get the light on the timing box to change only when I was right…
Adding Oil to the Engine
While I wait for the new aileron cable to come in, I removed the old cables and used one of the front cables to make a replacement for the left rear. This will allow me to get the flaps on. Doing more things like this helps increase the odds that I’ll find unforeseen errors. Fortunately…
Final Wing Bolt Torque
Today an order came in from Aircraft Spruce. When I ordered the new aileron cable, I ordered 3/32″ diameter instead of 1/8″. This was a frustrating mistake, but fortunately they are going to accept a return on the 3/32″. I installed the wing tiedown rings at the top of the wing strut, which required removing…
Installing the Wings
The timing of this whole relocation effort has worked out pretty well. Tonight was the EAA meeting, so we made it a project visit. Before the meeting, I spent a few minutes checking out the cowl clearance problem, and installing the rigid tube portion of the engine breather line. Lots of folks came out to…
Moving the Fuselage to HKY
Our little airport is going to be a great place to base our Bearhawk, in part because it is really close to the house. It’s a small airport though, and not really well suited for a safe first flight. As such, the plan has been to move the airplane to the municipal airport about 5…
Installing the Landing Light
The only trouble with those fancy firewall pass-throughs that I made yesterday is that it’s hard to install them this late in the process. If I had installed them back when the boot cowl was still off, I would have been able to do it by myself. Since that’s not the case, it’s a two-person…
Doors and Locks
I made a little bit more progress this morning on the rubber seals for the front baffles. I decided to make an attachment for the horizontal portion of the front baffles that starts on the nosebowl, allowing the rubber to extend to the aluminum portion of the baffle and float freely there. So far I…
Pulling Off Tapes
This morning I stopped by to pull off the blue tapes and make sure that I didn’t have any problems to clear up. I had a few spots to clean up, but since the paint is so fresh, it was not entirely crosslinked and MEK wiped it off well.
Spraying Blue
This morning I finished the masking work on the cowling. With the cowling in place I found that I needed to trim my new extended front baffles just a little, so I did. I added the rubber seals onto the front of the side and rear baffles, and installed the new 45-degree breather fitting that…
Stripes on the Cowl
At this stage of the building process I’m tying up lots of loose ends and checking things off of the to-do list. I started by making a length of coax that will go where I had intended to put the balun in the previous antenna arrangement. I mounted the cabin heat box in the hole…
More Baffling Accessories
Today I started by finishing the front baffle work. I installed the flange for the blast tube that will help cool the alternator. Next I reconnected the oil pressure wire and started to install the breather tube at the engine. The fitting that Bob supplied for this purpose routes the hose too close to the…
Removing Tapes
Today I made a quick visit to remove the masking tapes from the door and window frames. I wanted to be sure that there weren’t any other peeling problems with those parts, and to minimize the time that the masking tape and papers were on the polycarbonate. Everything looks good.
Painting the Last White
Before painting time I worked on two dangling firewall forward tasks. The firs twas to make a support for the tailpipe where it passes under the firewall. This is totally made up by me, so it may not work. I started with a few inches of angle aluminum. Two holes are matched to the holes…
Preparing for White Paint
The primed parts are still in the booth from the last session, but I have a few that are due for white paint but not primer. Today I prepped those so that I’ll be ready to paint in one batch. These parts included the front door and window assemblies that peeled due to inadequate abrasion…
Last Round of Primer
Today was a long run to get the last round of parts into the paint booth for priming. I say the last round, but I actually mean the last round before the first flight. There are still a few bonus parts like fairings that we’ll paint later, after the plane is flying. I started with…
Nose Light
The cowl work continues. I drilled holes for attaching the new fiberglass bump. I installed yesterday’s nose bowl backing strips with a little bit of JB weld to hold them when the screws are out. I returned to the nose light bracket. I made a lens out of spare window polycarbonate, but didn’t like how…
Cowl Fasteners
Update from the Future: April 2018- It seems that I probably should have put a fastener on the vertical section of the cowl door also, not just the horizontal section below. Here is more detail: https://bearhawk.tips/3308 To update the parts list, the wing camlock studs are 2600-3w along the bottom, and 2600-5w going through the…
Cowl Reinforcements
In some areas of the cowl, the exhaust clearance holes have caused some pretty narrow sections. I can see that those might be potential crack areas, so I made some doublers to help them out. The first is for the area between the scoop and the exhaust tailpipe. The second is between the scoop and…
Fiberglass Surface Work
Tonight I sanded the filler that I applied yesterday to the new fiberglass cowl bump and the windshield fairing. The windshield fairing is ready to go, and the bump only needs a little bit more. The amount of work required to finish the bump was much less than on previous parts. I would definitely recommend…
Cowl Work Continued
This morning I made it to the hangar well before sunrise. It’s a nice time to work, on occasions when I would not rather be sleeping. I removed yesterday’s fiberglass handiwork and started with the finishing process. I used the belt sander to trim the edges clean, and applied the first round of filler. While…
Fiberglass Bubble
This morning the foam was well-cured so I did a bit more shaping. I covered the foam with masking tape so that the final fiberglass part will not show where the voids are in the foam. Another option would have been to fill the voids with filler, but since this is a small part and…
Preparing for Fiberglass
The exhaust clearance problem is going to require a little bit of fiberglass work. My strategy is to build up some foam on the pipes so that I’ll have a safe gap, then lay the fiberglass up right on that foam. To help make sure that the gap is a consistent 3/4″, I made up…
Skylight and Cowling
I had some help today from Tabitha and her dad. They started making the plates that will go on either side of the new VHF nav antenna. These plates are basically the same as round inspection covers, except that they have a slot in the middle to clear the antenna puck. While they did that,…
Installing the Exhaust
On the day that I was planning to leave to drive to Oshkosh, we got a huge amount of rain, and part of our driveway washed away. We had a big mess in the yard and lots of things to clean up, so I’ve lost a few weeks worth of building time. Today I was…
Reinstalling the Tail Pieces
Today was a fantastic productive day in the hangar. I started by applying a little bit of superfil to yesterday’s wingtip extension. That is really some great stuff. The jig holes in the nose ribs on the left wing were 1/4 inch. This was just enough room for the AOA lines to fit through the…
Wing Rotisserie Removal
Today I started early in the morning by rearranging things in the hangar. I made a pair of large saw horses to support one of my temporary work tables, which will free up the plastic factory-made saw horses for paint booth duty, and more immediately, support the left wing. With the rotisserie parts out of…
Nutplates and White Paint
Several days ago I ran out of number 6 nutplates, so I ordered more. They arrived today, and I spent a while dimpling their lugs and installing them on various parts, including the belly sheet metal, the boot cowl, and the wing root. I riveted together the inspection covers that I had previously disassembled for…
Priming Wingtips and More
Today I prepared for a big round of priming, which meant more fabrication on boot cowl parts. I drilled for nutplates, which I’ll rivet on after priming. I made a support ring for the rubber gasket that will seal the shock strut. On the left side, I extended that support forward several inches. This hatch…
Finishing the Exhaust Mockup
Today I finished the PVC version of the exhaust and sent it off. Now I’ll be able to get back to all of the other stuff that needs to be done.
Exhaust System Mockup
Today I was finally able to start on the exhaust system mock up. As you can see in much earlier entries, I started with making an exhaust system out of EMT conduit, like Bob and others have. I wasn’t too pleased with how it was turning out, and I was especially concerned about excess noise…
Fairlead Pliers
I started re-installing the control cables today, and after a little bit of trying it became obvious that I was going to need to be able to get the fairlead clips on with the limited access that I had in the fuselage. I came up with the idea of modifying my snap ring pliers so…
Making Windows
Today I continued work on the lower right door, and assembled the frame to the skin with the Makrolon in between. I cut out the blanks for the skylights and drilled holes in those pieces. I mentioned last time that I needed to get another bolt for the carb/airbox attachment, and today I brought the…
Straggling Wires
Today was a day of rounding up loose ends. I finished bundling the wires aft of the firewall, and made a few more connections forward of the firewall. I installed the weather pack connector in the landing light wires that will allow for easier removal of the cowl. I also connected the oil pressure wire….
Bundling and Securing
I’ve done enough wire tying today to make the sides of my index fingers sore. I started with adding cotter pins to the brake cylinders in the cabin. Then I installed back shells on the instrument panel connectors that didn’t already have them. I added a few more nutplates to the boot cowl area. I…
Engine Installation Again
I picked up where I left off yesterday by continuing with engine preparations. I added safety wire to the bottom of the baffles, to hold the front and back curved sections inward. I also added safety wire to the oil filter, tachometer drive cap, and oil pressure relief valve. Then I reinstalled the engine and…
Engine Preparations
As I prepare to put the engine on for what will hopefully be the last time before we fly, I took advantage of the easy access of having it on the lift to finish up a few jobs. One was to install the oil line that will run from the prop governor to the fitting…
Final Wiring
Today was a short day, but I was only in town for a little while. I had to order more wire to use for the aft SAE jack and the landing light, and since those wires arrived while I was gone, I started routing them today. There are only a handful of wires left to…
Fuselage Plumbing
I was getting ready to prime the wing today, but it started raining. Instead I started routing the static line from the back of the fuselage up to the instrument panel. I also reinstalled the rest of the cabin fuel lines. I had originally planned to route the wires for the manifold pressure sender through…
Parking Brake Warning Light
Today I made a few software adjustments to try to get the EMS data to show up on the D100. I had to call Dynon for advice, and they pointed out that while the DSAB was working fine, I had to configure the default screens on the D100 to allow the EMS pages to come…
Painting White Pieces
This afternoon my Mom was in town again, so she helped by adding the masking paper to tail pieces. I use 3M fineline tape to mark the final edge, and then use regular cheap masking tape to hold masking paper onto that tape. It can be a little bit confusing sometimes to make sure that…
Firesleeve Clamp Tool
Today was a short session, but I wanted to try out my new tool for installing the steel bands on firesleeve ends. It came from Aircraft Spruce, but is branded as a CV joint band tool. This is it from Amazon. It works very well.
Last Polybrush
The pile of empty cans is getting bigger and the pile of full cans is getting smaller! Today I did a little bit of touch up ironing and sprayed what will hopefully be the last of the Polybrush on the fuselage and landing gear.
Spraying the Fuselage
This afternoon I finished the last bit of heat smoothing in the interior. I had to add a little bit more reinforcing tape to one spot on the left side of the cabin where the large window is. That’s a complicated transition and a seam in the fabric makes it more complicated than it should…
Still More Fuselage Tapes
A full day of adding fabric reinforcing tapes to the fuselage has just about finished that process. I have just a few left to do. After applying the last of the 1″ wide reinforcing tapes, this is how much I had left on the roll.
Still More Cementing
The new can of cement came in so Tabitha and I resumed our covering. While Tabitha finished the fuselage edges I started to prepare the horizontal stabilizer for a new patch. This was an area that I’ve patched before, but needed to patch again after grinding off the sharp edge on the elevator trim mechanism….
Shrinking Interior Covering
I started off by installing those two remaining triangles in the cabin area roof. Those were the last pieces of the interior, so I started shrinking those areas to make sure that it was all going to work. I didn’t shrink the ceiling pieces yet, since they aren’t stitched. Next I started cementing the belly…
More Disassembly
Today I carried on with the disassembly, in a marathon building session that would indicate that Tabitha is out of town. I took out the control sticks, elevator bellcrank, rudder pedals, headset wires, and other things like that. The wiring was going to be too much trouble to take out completely, so I just balled…
Taking it All Apart
My last session in the shop included putting almost all of the parts on the airplane, and my last entry here included flying in Dave’s Bearhawk. From those two highs, it’s time to carry on with progress and see a few lows. First I dug through my tubing scraps and was pleased to find one…
Photo Session
This morning I reinstalled all of the sheet metal on the front end, especially the tunnel and lower boot cowl. This is all part of the plan to make sure that I don’t have any interference problems. With those parts and the cowl on, I rolled the airplane outside for a few photos. It looks…
Adjust Seatbelts
I found a great deal on a set of seatbelts on eBay. These are military surplus Amsafe units that were stocked by the military for off road vehicles. These are almost the same as the ones that I use in airliners, with the only difference being that these don’t have a release option for the…
Measuring for the Seatbelts
Now that the seats are in I was able to measure how long our seatbelts will need to be. I used the form from the Aero Tuff website. A few entries ago I made the oil cooler lines. Today I applied some high-temp RTV to the ends to help keep the oil and debris out….
Oil Hose Pressure Testing
I purchased some surplus reusable hose ends from B&B Aircraft Supplies a few years ago at Oshkosh, so I figured I would use those. They were new and very inexpensive ($5 each), but I didn’t know much about them. It turns out that they were Stratoflex 676 fittings. A few hours of research turned up…
Oil Cooler Lines
A few days ago when I finally got the right oil filter installed, it became pretty obvious that the straight AN fitting that I was going to use for the oil cooler line wasn’t going to clear the filter. I swapped it out for a 45-degree nipple instead, which works much better. I made the…
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…
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…
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-…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…