Flying since Thanksgiving day 2020
We worked on the two small offsets that are used to attach the wheel pant to the nose gear fork. The plans call for cutting these from solid blocks of aluminum. Much harder to do than you might think. The bandsaw struggled to cut through the blocks. I probably need to get another band saw blade.
Van’s sent an e-mail asking for the rest of the money for the engine. This means it should be here in the next 30 days. Woo hoo!
2 hours (2 people x 1 hour)
Dad and I did some cutting, sanding and fitting on the nose wheel pant last night. It looks pretty good. It’s clear that the instructions were lifted from an older plane design because they have several steps that are largely unnecessary (again thanks to the high quality of the RV-14A kit).
We also did the alumi-prep and alodine processes on several more pieces that we will be using soon.
The paint booth is delayed by a few more days. The fans I ordered on Amazon were supposed to arrive yesterday, but now look like they will get here on Sunday. Not a big deal since we have other small tasks we can work on.
Lycoming says they are starting assembly of the engine. My best guess is that it will be ready to ship by early to mid May.
2 hours (2 people x 1 hour)
We worked on the flap actuator cover and the center arm rest / map box. I put some of the seat pan panels in place but only used a couple screws to secure them since i will have to remove them to paint.
We put the seat cushions in just to see what they look like (they look good!).
Meanwhile, we built most of the paint booth on the back patio. Still waiting on the fans and filters.
I also spoke to Steinair today. In normal times we would get the panel in about 3 weeks, but of course this is not a normal time (Covid-19) so I am thinking it will be 5 weeks (mid-May). I have several things i can still work on including the canopy and more fairings.
10 hours ( 2 people x 5hours)
Continued sanding the two parts on the left wheel pant. I cut the hole for the gear leg and final sanded it. I thought that would be more difficult than it turned out to be. I really can’t do much more on this wheel pant until the airplane is on the gear.
2 hours (2 people x 1 hour)
Kind of bouncing around a bit. Waiting for a part, or the paint booth etc. Today my father and I worked on the wheel pants and did some prep work on the miscellanea section.
I will get the interior paint and primer from Jon tomorrow. My friend Dave (who is an experienced fiberglass and paint guy) is going to help me paint many of the interior parts.
8 hours (2 people x 4 hours).
My father and I installed the engine mount. Six bolts (three different lengths). Only a small amount of reaming necessary to get the bolts in. Had to search for the AN1149FO632P washers called out for the top two bolts. Had a slight interference issue with one firewall item.
Began fabrication of the main gear leg components.
Two hours (Two people x 1 hour).
I decided to redo one part on the pilot’s seat because i enlarged a couple of rivet holes when i drilled out a handful of rivets. I re-ordered the part from Van’s. I can work on the canopy some more and also start on the wheelpants while waiting for the part.
I used the wrong size hinge for the seat base on the first seat back. Thus the reason for the re-do.
Meanwhile, Josh from SteinAir says they are starting the panel now and think it will take 30 to 45 days to complete.
Lycoming is still working during the virus shutdown, and think they are on track for early May.
Eight hours (2 people x 4 hours over two work sessions).
Two hours (2 people x 1 hour)
I mentioned this before, but I realized that I wouldn’t be able to install two rivets near the canopy aft frame because I had already installed the canopy latch mechanism. I certainly was not looking forward to uninstalling the latch mechanism just to put in two rivets on each side. Last night, my father and I decided to do it. It probably took about 2.5 hours to uninstall, rivet and reinstall everything. Very frustrating!
Funny story, I very nearly managed to get a closed end ratcheting wrench stuck in such a way that I would not be able to get it out. I was tightening a bolt for part of the latch mechanism when I realized that the wrench on the nut side was trapped between that bolt and another nearby bolt. I couldn’t back the bolt out because my wrench would just ratchet when I turned the bolt. I yanked, pried and cursed. I seriously thought I was going to have to leave the wrench where it was forever. I finally managed to get a second skinny open end wrench on to the nut so I could back the bolt out. Man, that was close!
We began riveting together the forward canopy assembly. Lots and lots of rivets most of which needed to be bucked rather than squeezed.
Also put the rear window in place for measurement and cutting. It turns out that the only cutting required was the two notches for the roll bar brace brackets. The Dremel tool worked well for the cuts. I did realize that I will have to disassemble some of the canopy latch mechanism to get to two rivets that need to be squeezed. My fault because I did the latch mechanism out of order. Probably 1 hour of extra work. BTW, cutting the plexiglass is messy and requires wearing a mask.
10 hours (2 people x 5 hours each).
