5th July 2016 - Left wing intersection fairing - day 5

For the last few days I've been building the intersection fairing for the left wing. As at today the structure is complete and the next jobs are to fill/finish the outside surface and install plate nuts to the fuselage side and screw-in inserts into the wing root. I'm using screw-in inserts to take a M3 screw. These only need a 5mm hole so will easily install into the 12.5mm wide root rib. These will be glued into place so there will be no impact on the rib's strength.
The intersection fairing is made from 0.032" aluminium sheet with fibreglass laid up round the curves. A slurry of resin and microballoons on top of the glass cloth was used to create the leading edge shape.

1st July 2016 - Starting on the wing root fairings

The intersection fairings to the wheel spats and leg fairings are complete other than final painting and screwed into place. I used rivnuts into the cowling, wheel spats and outer floor of the aircraft to provide the anchorage points.  I'll wait to complete the painting until all the other new bits are complete.
Next job is to create wing root fairings to fill the gap between the wings and the fuselage. To get ready to start this I installed the left wing to the fuselage - it still fits!
Then it started raining - typical.

26th June 2016: Intersection fairings day 5

I've been slowly getting the intersection fairings to the point where they are now all made and finished to the point of priming. This has been a big job as expected. The approach of laying up the fibreglass over the clay works well but leaves the outside surface very rough. So it has been a process of filling and sanding repeatedly until a good shape and finish was achieved. The fairings are now looking pretty good and the next job is to fit some sort of captive nuts to the fuselage and cowling to allow them to be fastened into place but able to be removed for maintenance. Once this is done I'll finish preparing the surface and topcoat them.

16th June 2016 - Intersection fairings: day 2

The first picture shows the clay used to create the former for laying up the intersection fairings on the right gear leg. The film is used to stop the clay drying out and cracking.

The film was removed from the left leg and wax applied to the area to ensure the layup of fibreglass would release without damaging the paintwork. Note the shim of aluminium at the rear to separate the two sides and allow the fairings to be removed and re-installed.

Three layers of fibreglass were applied using vinyl-ester resin. Once this had partially hardened the fairing was removed and the clay cleaned up. The fairings were then match drilled to the air-frame and will be allowed to fully harden overnight. This should ensure they are a good fit. Once I have done the fairing for the right leg it will then be a case of lots of filling and sanding to get a good surface before painting. I estimate this is going to be a full week's work.

16th June 2016 - The design

No sun today but at least that means it isn't in the wrong place for taking pictures.

15th June 2016 - installing the graphics and starting on the intersection fairings

It has been a very busy day!

My wife's best friend Bonnie is a highly accomplished ceramic artist. However, on this occasion she had her arm twisted to apply her skills to create aerodynamic intersection fairings in clay between the wheel spats and leg fairings and between the leg fairings and fuselage - hardly the most glamorous task and certainly not the best working conditions!
I will then be able to lay up fibreglass over the clay to create then actual fairings. You can just see in the picture (click to expand) sections of aluminium sheet let into the clay which will create a gap in the back of the fairings allowing them to be slotted over the legs. Many thanks Bonnie!

Just when this was underway the gentlemen from thesign and graphics company arrived with the pre-cut vinyl for the aircraft registration lettering and the graphics. This has completely transformed the look of the aircraft however by the time they had finished the sun was in the wrong place to photograph the aircraft properly so pictures will have to wait until tomorrow.

31st May 2016 - Graphics design

Over the last few days I have been communicating with Paul at thesign and graphics company. This is a local firm (Wimbish) who do all sorts of graphics designs and have the machinery to cut vinyl under computer control. Following my confession that artistic flair was not my strong point Paul came up with the pictured design for the aircraft. The sweeping curves should break up the rather boxy shape of the tailwind nicely.

thesign and graphics company also do the installation so no risk of me leaving lots of bubbles under the plastic.

They will also be supplying the registration marks for under the wings - not pictured.

Summer/Autumn/Winter 2015/Spring 2016 - Painting the cowls and wheel and leg spats

For various reasons (laziness?)  the last 12 months have passed with little or no progress on the aircraft. I did get some painting done: the cowls were top-coated and the leg and wheel spats primed and top coated. The spinner was re-painted in a nice bright red.

This gets all the big painting jobs done, my least favourite activity, so with the arrival of some decent weather, the time has come to get the aircraft finished.

24th April 2015 - Priming the cowl

The last few days have been an endless round of spray, sand, fill, re-sand, respray but finally the cowls are ready for top-coating - not perfect but perfectly acceptable. Hopefully the top-coat will go on OK without too many embedded insects!

15th April 2015 - Finishing painting and re-installing the engine

The extra paint arrived this morning so I could complete the painting of the engine. Then I started to re-install the ancillaries doing as much as possible before re-mounting the engine to make access easy.
The engine hoist was then positioned to allow the engine to be bolted back onto the mount. Parallel mount engines are so much easier than dynafocal!
Once back on the airframe the baffles were re-installed and the rest of the plumbing started. I've still got the exhausts and carburettor to go back but things are looking good so far.
That is one more line in the final to-do list ticked off - only took 3 days of solid work!

14th April 2015 - Painting the engine

Massoud at MK Aero Support kindly loaned me his engine hoist so once the engine was disconnected from all the plumbing I could remove it and start the process of masking, cleaning, and spraying. It is amazing how many things there are to disconnect and remove:
Baffles
Magnetos
Vacuum pump
Carburettor
EGT sender
CHT sender
Carburettor temperature sender
Starter motor
Alternator
Primer lines
Exhaust system
Flywheel
Propeller extension
RPM sender
Oil pressure takeoff
Earth strap
Fuel overflow
Fuel inlet
Fuel pump outlet
Engine breather
Heater scat tube
Multiple cables fastened to the sump attach bolts
and finally - the engine mount bolts

With the engine removed I could touch up the accumulated scratches and chips on the engine mount paint. The engine itself is substantially finished but 2 rattle cans is not enough so further progress is on hold waiting for an extra can.

10th April 2015 - It is officially spring, let work on G-CIJY recommence

Finally some warm dry weather to get going again on the build.

First job was to refit the propeller and do an engine run to check the compressions. The Odyssey PC680 battery showed no signs of deterioration despite being left untouched  for 5 months. The same couldn't be said of the left magneto which needed the points drying before it felt like starting the engine. However, once it was cleaned and re-timed the engine started immediately and ran smoothly.
I borrowed a calibrated differential compression tester from my local aircraft engineering company and with the engine warm checked the compressions:

1. 73/80
2. 73/70
3. 75/80
4. 74/80

For an engine that hasn't been run in anger for over 8 years those are definitely OK with no evidence of any serious problem. I did de-glaze the cylinders before installing them so I expect these figures should improve further as the engine is run over the next 50 or so hours.

I also used the engine runs to tweak the vacuum regulator. This put the vacuum nicely into the green arc so the DI and AI should work well. It also proved that the vacuum pump is operating properly.

Next the transponder was re-installed after repair and this time its Mode S code could be configured as the aircraft is now registered with the CAA!

G-CIJY may not be the most interesting call sign but by choosing an in-sequence registration it saved a significant chunk of money compared to a "personalised" registration.

Much of the remaining work on the aircraft is now in the category "finishing" and the next job is to remove the engine, touch up the mount, paint the engine, and refit it ready for flight.

15th November 2014 - Rain stops play

It has been a slow week as it hasn't stopped raining for more than a few hours at a time. However, I have got a little bit done. The new oil temperature sender was received and fitted so the engine could be ground run again.
The ground runs showed that, now the left magneto was working nicely,  the right magneto was probably also in need of some TLC. My engineers looked at it and established the points were badly pitted and needed replacement. With this done and the magneto re-timed the engine ran much better but #4 cylinder was still showing little compression when hand turning the propeller even with the engine warm, so I pulled the cylinder and had it looked at.
The bore, piston and rings all looked good. The exhaust valve was checked, usually the cause of valve leakage, but it was like new so all that was left was the inlet port. Once the inlet valve was removed, it was evident that both the valve and valve seat were covered with carbon. It looks like the cylinder has been run previously with inadequate valve clearance on the inlet valve. The valve was gently lapped and both it and the seat cleaned up nicely with no evidence of wear or damage. The cylinder was refitted and the head bolts torqued using my engineers borrowed socket extension. This has a curved shape and very thin ring to fit round the cylinders and allow the torque wrench to be applied - 25-ft pounds for the 3/8" bolts on the O-235 engine. All the valve clearances were checked and adjusted where required - a tight 5 thou clearance with the engine cold.
Then the engine was re-run and on checking afterwards the compression on cylinder #4 was much improved. This week, weather permitting, I hope to do a further engine run and then do a proper compression check with the differential tester.
I received the transponder back from Funkewerk this week. It had a display fault and although it was unused it was out of warranty - how many homebuilders suffer from things going out of warranty before they are ever used? Such are the timescales of homebuilding!
However, the service from Funkewerk was excellent, I received the transponder back within two weeks of sending it to Germany with a new release certificate and nothing to pay.
If the weather doesn't improve then the next job will be to upholster the seats - something that I can do inside in the warm.

3rd November 2014 - Seat belts and centre console

I only managed to get a bit of work done today before heavy rain brought an end to proceedings. I modified the panel at the bottom of the right hand door and eased the holes where the seat-backs fit over the fuselage structure and managed to get the seat-backs to fit slightly closer to the sides of the fuselage. Together these changes have made just enough room for the centre console to slide over the flap lever and between the seats. I only needed about 3/16" and the alternative was completely remaking the console. Before the console was screwed into position the lap-belts were fed through it and bolted to the central mounting point. The shoulder belts were then attached to the cables coming through the bulkhead at the back of the luggage compartment. The only things now left to complete the interior of the aircraft are  to screw into place the rear windows, make a "boot" for the bottom of the control column, and upholster the seat cushions.

2nd November 2014 - Seat backs painted and installed

Over the last few days I've painted the seat-backs and these have been test installed. Unfortunately the thickness of the fabric wrapping round the rear door post has removed the tolerance I had in the seat position and the centre console won't now fit between the seat-backs. This will require some "fettling" to solve but, as can be seen in the picture, darkness is coming early now that the clocks have changed so that will have to be a job for another day.

20th October 2014 - Door handles fabricated, doors installed

I made the internal door handles today. Using the ball turning attachment on the lathe I rounded both ends of two pieces of 8mm aluminium rod and one end of two pieces of 12mm aluminium rod. The 12mm rod was then cross-drilled and reamed to 8mm and drilled axially from the flat end with a 1/4" drill to match the latch spindle on the door. The 8mm rods were then pressed into the holes in the 12mm rod.
With the handles installed on the door spindles they were then cross-drilled with a 3/32" drill to take 12mm long 3/32" spring cotter pins (also sometimes called slotted spring tension pins). Then backing plates were "printed" to fit on the door and over the end of the 12mm rod. These were secured to the doors with double sided tape. The handles were then fitted and the cotter pins tapped in to hold them in place. Finally the doors were hung on the fuselage.
The second picture, taken through the passenger window, shows the pilot door shut. The handle lifts up to open to avoid it being opened accidentally.
Overall I'm quite pleased with the look of the cockpit and the way the doors fit into the framing.

29th October 2014 - Doors glazed

After superb weather over the last few days when I have been working in the garden, today it's raining so now the door paint is fully dry I completed glazing the doors. Like the rear windows, I'm just screwing and gluing the window to the frame. For the doors I'm using 5mm thick polycarbonate to add some structural stiffness. I've stuck some P-seal round the top, rear, and bottom of the door to seal it to the fuselage when closed. I've also applied P-seal to the fuselage along the front of the door jamb. Next job is to make some internal handles. As these will be used to pull the door in against the seal my original idea of printing them won't work so I'll get some aluminium rod and turn some up on the lathe - another item to add to the to-do list.

25th October 2014 - Rear windows and baggage compartment

It has been a superb autumn day today so I was able to get lots done working outside. The first picture shows a last view of the inside of the fuselage before the baggage compartment panelling is installed.
The first job was to cut out a pair of rear windows from 2mm thick polycarbonate sheet. These were drilled and countersunk to match the cut-out in the fuselage.
I don't want to use any sort of frame which just adds unnecessary weight so the windows are going to be bonded and screwed to the aluminium panels.
In order to make sure that the join stays flat I drilled some scrap pieces of aluminium angle to match the holes in the fuselage and then applied a bead of Dow Corning 738 adhesive/sealant to the inside of the frame. The window sheeting was then clecoed through the window frame and into the aluminium angles. I'm going to leave it like this for at least a week for the silicon sealant to fully set. Then the aluminium and clecoes can be removed and replaced with #6 stainless screws.
With the windows in their final location I could then re-install the baggage compartment panelling. The aircraft looks very different and much closer to finished once the inside of the fabric is hidden.

24th October 2014 - Rework and a few more "to-do" items

The first job today was to check out/fix the problems from the engine run.
A battery charger was attached to the alternator "B" lead and turned on. This confirmed that the ammeter sender was the wrong way round so it was then just a case of unbolting the two connections and reversing them. A repeat test with the charger confirmed this was now correct.
The CHT/EGT gauge was unscrewed from the panel and the connections of the two thermocouples reversed. Looking at the Westach instructions I can easily see why I got this wrong - the pinout in the instruction sheet doesn't really match my version of the instrument. The change was then tested successfully by using a heatgun on the two thermocouples.
The oil temperature sender was removed from the engine and the heatgun used directly on it - nothing. A 1K ohm rheostat was then connected in its place and the gauge responded as expected (low temperature=high resistance and visa-versa). Checking the sender with a multimeter showed it was open circuit so a new one has been ordered. This will take a week to arrive.
The intermittent fault with the fuel gauge was more of a problem. I had fitted a co-pilot PTT switch to the panel a few days ago. This required removing the KMD150 GPS and then reaching though the side of its rack to get to the back of the extreme left of the P2 side of the panel. I suspected that I must have disturbed a connection in doing this. The only way to find it was to remove all the instruments and the radio from the right side of the panel. In each case they had to come out through the side of the GPS rack. Once they were out I was able to establish that the problem was the positive voltage supply to the fuel gauge so this connection was re-made and the gauge started working again. Then everything had to be refitted. I just hope I haven't disturbed anything else! Next time the engine is run I will see if the vibration causes any more problems.
Once everything was back together I could get on with some new jobs. The lower cowl was test fit with the spinner and propeller in place. In no way would it go on because of the way the baffles fit under the lower edge of the airduct and into the spaces either side of it. I'll think about this some more but at the moment it looks like the propeller will have to come off any time I want to remove the lower cowl. This is less than convenient but certainly not a "show-stopper".
Then a hole was drilled in the cowl, just visible in the bottom right in the picture, to allow a fuel tester to be applied to the gascolator drain.
Pieces of baffle material were pop-riveted to the front of the airbox. These will fit over the internal extension to the port I made in the front of the lower cowl airscoop to roughly seal it and create a small ram-air effect.
Finally, pieces of heat resistant material were glued to the cowl using high temperature tank sealant where the exhaust pipes are closest. The edges were sealed with self-adhesive aluminium tape.
The lower cowl was then fitted in place and the propeller and spinner backplate re-fitted. The backplate only has 1/8" clearance from the cowl which confirms that without a different approach to the baffles it cannot be removed and refitted with the propeller in place.
I'll next run the engine once the new temperature sender arrives in about a week, Then I'll also look to adjust the vacuum regulator and further diagnose the low compression on cylinder 4. I've decided that the rear of the exhaust pipes are short enough not to require any further support so I've removed that item from the to-do list. New items have been added in red.

23rd October 2014 - First engine run

The replacement coil for the left magneto arrived today. My local aircraft engineering company is also certified for maintenance and release of magnetos, so under their supervision the new coil was fitted and I learned how to re-assemble the magneto and time the rotor arm correctly. The magneto was then put on their test bed and a healthy spark demonstrated.
Back home the propeller was used to turn the engine until it was at top-dead-centre on cylinder one. A TDC position is marked on the flywheel but will correspond to either cylinder one or cylinder two. As my engine has conventional tappets it was easy to check which by removing cylinder one's rocker cover and ensuring that both valves were closed. The crank was then rotated until 25 degrees before TDC which is the standard firing position for this engine. The magneto was also then positioned in the firing position for cylinder one using a special pin though a hole in the top of the magneto to locate a matching hole in the rotor arm drive gear. The magneto was then inserted into its position in the accessory housing at the back of the engine.
Then the flywheel was repositioned in the 25 degree before TDC position. When timing an impulse coupled magneto it is essential that the engine is moved past the point at which the impulse coupler trips and then rotated back to the 25 degree position. Using the magneto timing device  I made a few days ago, the magneto was then turned until the points were just opening and the magneto clamped into position.
As a final check the plugs for the left magneto were removed (cylinder 1 & 3 top, cylinder 2 & 4 bottom) and the engine rotated with the propeller. A spark duly appeared at the correct plug and at the correct time allowing for the delay of the impulse coupling (this is a mechanical device that delays the spark when engine revs are low to allow for easier starting).
Then it was time to try and start the engine. First job was to secure the aircraft to ensure it couldn't run away. To do this it was chocked but also chained to the back of my car! My neighbour, Daryl, kept watch to ensure that no-one came close to the propeller. The elevator trim was moved to hold full up elevator to ensure the tail wouldn't lift.
I've fitted a conventional pump primer to the engine which feeds all 4 cylinders; 4 strokes were used. Then with the master on and then left impulse-coupled magneto on the starter button was pushed. A few coughs and splutters ensued but the engine didn't want to run. Then Daryl saw some liquid under the aircraft. This proved to be water and further inspection found that the airbox was full of it! Obviously the recent rain had somehow ended up in the airbox and the poor engine was trying to start on a fuel/air/water mixture. The airbox should have had a small hole in its lowest point - it has now! To solve the problem temporarily the airbox was disconnected and left hanging down below the carburettor. The spark plugs were removed and dried. The engine was turned over on the starter without the plugs in to ensure there was no water in the cylinders and then the plugs refitted.
Finally it was time to try again and this time the engine started perfectly. It ran for a few seconds on the prime before running out of fuel, presumably because the float chamber in the carburettor had been completely empty. However, after re-priming the engine started and with the right magneto also on began to run smoothly.
Then it was time to do some preliminary checks:

• the cylinder head temperature was registering off the scale but the exhaust gas temperature gauge was not moving - looks like the thermocouples are wired the wrong way round. 
• the bus voltage looked good but the amp meter was showing a large discharge - I had a 50:50 chance of getting the current sensor round the correct way and had guessed wrong.
• The oil pressure was good but the oil temperature seemed pegged. Either the vernatherm hasn't opened or there is a fault in the temperature gauge or sender- another thing to check
• The fuel gauge had stopped working - presumably a bad connection somewhere
• The vacuum gauge was reading a bit low but the gyros were definitely spinning up

With these basic checks completed the engine was stopped and an external inspection carried out:

• No oil leaks
• Nothing coming loose
• High cylinder head temperature confirmed as a wiring error
• Good compressions on cylinders 1, 2, and 3 but not on 4
• Crankcase still cool so oil temperature not yet confirmed as an issue

Given that there was nothing untoward the engine was restarted and run again for ten minutes. This time the engine was run up to 2000 rpm to allow for proper mag-checks which were well within limits. A very quick burst at full power saw a static RPM of 2250. Time to stop annoying the neighbours and pack up for the day.