Chapter6

Chapter 6 Building Log

 2/10/09 - I started planning for this chapter tonight. The materials list is accurate that ACS provides online. I have enough 1/4" foam to build the seat back support / heat duct and have laid it out in cad to best use my material. I am trying to spend my time in the shop without sacraficing family time. It sure helps that my family is supporting, but they all still expect me to be around and I am trying to balance everything. I am still married and my kids don't hate me, so so far so good.

 

3/14-21/09 - Officially started this chapter by tearing down my work table and lowering its deck to the floor and leveling it up with blocks epoxied to the 4 corners. Drew centerline and placed 2x4 supports for F22 & the Firewall as per plans. Since I am using the deck top as my WL-0 reference I avoided the problem of using a long 2x10 that would be hard to find straight and true.

 

3/28-29/09 - Fitted F22 and the temporary firewall. Though I fixed my temp firewall by removing the bracing I had on the fwd face and laminating another layer of 1/4 inch ply on it to keep it true and then re-installed the fwd bracing. Fitted my side panels into the firewall slots.

 

4/1-11/09 - fitted the seat back, IP and F22 into the side panels. Then checked that everything was true and level, these steps took awhile to check as I was constantly juggling every alignment and finally got it all right and ready to be floxed into place permanently.

 

 

4/12/09 - Floxed the Seatback, IP and F22 into place and double checked that everything was still lined up (which just makes me think that I missed something). It looks good and I warned the family (after disconnecting the garage door opener) that any trips into the garage would be met with a disgruntled husband and father until the next evening. I will be holding my breath tomorrow at work until I can come home and verify that all is still well in the world. I still have not been able to place my order for the rest of the stuff for this chapter (budget is a 4 letter dirty word!), but I hope to be able to mid week and am praying that they will have everything that I need so that it will not be back ordered and slow down my progress. I have enough left over for the heat duck and seatback support, but thats it.

 

 

4/17/09 - Got the 2 ply bid corners on the IP and aft face of F22. I also found out that it is possible to be concentrating so much on doing one thing, like bending over to stipple in the corner, that you simultaneously pour epoxy from the cup you are holding in your other hand on your arm. Not only that, I managed to do it twice.

 

4/18/09 - Did Seat Back corner tapes. I peel plied all tapes that can be seen from the cockpit, but forward of the IP I don't much care. Also laid in the 4 bid layup between F22 and the sides.

 

4/19/09 - Floxed F28 in place at 6.25 inches aft of F22 instead of the plans specified 5.9". I did this since the suggestion from Marc Z. and lots of other builders have had trouble with the canard installation at 5.9". And even if thats to far aft it is lots easier to correct for having too much space than not enough.

 

4/22/09 - Floxed the aft landing gear bulkhead in place. You can see the jig I built to keep the 5" spacing off the firewall. I found that it goes quicker if you install the corner tapes in the same work session.

 

4/23/09 - Floxed the lower forward landing gear bulkhead in place. (Sorry these pics are so small, they came from my cell before I realized I had the resolution set low after I had removed the spacers/drill guide).

 

 

4/24/09 - Floxed the upper forward landing gear bulkhead in place. Glassed the 2 bid layup of the seat back support.

 

 

4/25/09 - Glassed both forward landing gear bhd 3 vertical uni plies. As well as the horizontal tape between the upper and lower forward landing gear bulkhead. Glassed the 2 uni plies onto the head duct. Tomorrow I get to take the fuselage off the table and build my saw horses to support it upside down for the bottom work.

 

4/26,27&28/09 - Pulled the fuselage off the deck, disassembled the deck and started building a few horses to support it upside down. Its nice to be making good progress for a change. These two pics show that process and I have it leveled up and ready to go.

 

 

4/29/09 - Cut out seat back support and heat duct pieces. Glassed 1 bid to rear side of seat back support spacers. Floxed heat duct together. Removed the temporary firewall after marking it to transfer the longeron cuts to the permanent firewall.

 

5/2/09 - Installed 6 uni layups to the aft side of the forward landing gear bulkhead. I found out as everyone has suggested that the plans electrical channel thru the sides do not match the cutouts in the firewall. I should have angled them down in the rear. As of now they are only about 1/2 the plans area. This is also going to create a few problems down the road when I go to install the rudder cables and wiring.

 

5/3/09 - Installed permanent lower firewall. Though I did not apply corner tapes and I will have to check the archive to see if they are needed. (added corner tapes to permanent lower firewall on 5/24/09)

 

 

5/5/09 - Layed out and fit the seat back spacers to the cutout in the seat for the map pocket. The plans dimensions are not exact and are falling into the area of 'guidelines'. I also am not installing the manual brake system so I did not install the pivot tube for it.

 

5/7/09 - Drilled the fuel valve bracket for rivnuts and rivets after smoothing out the rough edges of the cuts. I don't have a brake, countersink cutter or rivet squeezer and will have figure buy or borrow them before I can finish up the seat back support. I should have planned this better as its keeping me from continuing.

 

5/9/09 - glassed the heat duct with 2 bid over the 7 uni seat belt reinforcment layup. I also promised my wife that I would not work in the shop on Mothersday, which is tomorrow. Maybe I can spend it figuring out how to rivet and just how little tooling I can get away with. See entry on 5/21/09 for details on my screwup.

 

5/11/09 - Spent the evening shortening a custom break press, from96" to 18", that I had partially built back when I was starting the Zodiac 601XL project. It got sold off when I decided it was not enough airplane for my needs. My first effort at bending the fuel valve bracket ending up cracking one of the corners as I over bent them. I am going to have to figure out a way to measure the angle as I press a part.

 

5/16/09 - Redid the fuel valve bracket I broke and floxed it in place after riveting the rivnuts on. The last week has been fairly unproductive with lots of family stuff going on in the evening, but I have been trying to do little things everyday.

 

5/17/09 - prepared the seat back brace for layups.

 

5/21/09 - I noticed that the heat duct layup did not pass musturd. It lifted on both sides just below the 90 degree bend. The radius is large enough, but either it lifted during cure or I missed it during the inspection. I belt sanded the bad areas out (most of the length on both sides) and aplied a 2 bid repair. When I made the repair I laid down and wet out each ply seperately, which made it easy. I tried to do them both in a single layup the first time and that may have been my problem.

 

5/23/09 - Glassed the sides of the seat back reinforcement and will get the back in another session. Hopefully this will allow me to get the corners right without having a repair to do.

 

5/24/09 - Finished up the heat duct and seat back support.

5/26/09 - Prepped the fuselage for the install of the heat duct and seat back support.

 

5/27/09 - Installed heat duct/seat back support.

5/29/09 - Contoured rear of seat back support bottom to follow the curvature of the bottom of the fuselage (above). Cut 3/8" foam for bottom, marked out bottom structure and built frame to support it (below).

6/1-4/09 - Cut, fit & microed in place the 3/4" foam spacers to the bottom. You can see that I am using the fuselage as my work table after covering it up with plastic. I checked the fit of the bottom and it looks good, now I just have to plan enough time to allow the bottom glass work and installation on the fuselage.

6/5/09 - Taped the seatback support to the seatback and did the prep sanding for the glassing.

 

6/6/09 - Microed the bottom radiuses and filled all imperfections. I was able to start the glass work, but its to large for one session with only me and 105/209 doing the work. So you can see from the picture that I was able to finish the front half and have it peel ply'ed ready for the install. I figure that I can glass the rear and get it installed in one session tomorrow. One spot on the right side by the heat duct refused to sit down in 3 spots and I will have to repair it.

6/7/09 - Glassed the rear of the bottom and after a couple hours of cooking time for everything to set up (as per plans) my son and I floxed up everything and set the bottom in place. You can see the bottom weighed down, clamped and screwed in place for cure below.

 

6/11/09 - Plugged and filled most of the damage on the bottom due to removal of the wooden supports.