Oh I’m sure something will pop up but this morning I finished the wiring behind the panel and was happy to see the autopilot servos were detected, firmware automatically updated, and the looked good. I may have accidentally run the aux fuel tank pumps for a second, so I know those work too. I still need to wire the wing tip lights but that is in the tunnel under the seats and can come later.
Next up was connecting the flap interconnect and interconnect between the control sticks and the aileron bell crank. That went together pretty smooth so it was time to move on to the long push/pull tube for the ailerons. This wasn’t too bad either but I upgraded the bearings at the end to ensure there is no way they can back up should the jam nut come loose. Also necessary was grinding the proper gap between the flaps and the fuselage. The left side didn’t take a lot of work but about 1/4″ had to come off the right side. It wasn’t too bad. Just a bit of time as I took it slow to ensure I didn’t remove too much material and that I kept the curve to match the fuselage.
Next up was another layer of fiberglass on the windshield. It is going down nice and smooth with minimal sanding between layers. Sweet.
Last big project of the day was getting the flap motor installed. A long time ago I fabricated custom brackets for the PH Aviation actuator. Now can the time to install them. It turned into a bigger project than I expected, or maybe no. I expected it to be a pain and it was slightly better than expected. The installation required drilling out two nutplates, fabricating a doubler, installing two new nutplates, riveting old holes and then drilling blind holes for the other bracket. Riveting that bracket and then figure out which washers and how many were needed. Oh I’m not done yet… Still had to drill the bolt for a cotter pin, clean up the tunnel, bolt the end of the actuator, and test. Whew. My suggestion, don’t go off the rails fully custom. It will take you a lot, a lot, a lot more time and effort.
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