Tonight I installed the Aircraft Specialty glare shield, wired up the canopy defrost fans and canopy lock micro switch, and prepared for the LED light switch.
I had to uninstall the fans, test them, then install the leather glare shield. Both of the fans ran fine with a 9-volt battery. The glare shield fit is absolutely perfect, including the Velcro that holds the aft edge in place. Reinstalling the fans was slightly more challenging as the screws pass through the leather, but I was able to get it done without much trouble.
Wiring up the fans, I decided to use d-sub pins to connect them, in case they ever fail and need replacement. The pins are insulated with heat shrink, so replacing them would just require carefully cutting the heat shrink, then in-pinning the fan and installing a new one.
Everything is wired into a molex connector that came with the canopy wiring kit from Vans.
The LED lighting strip isn’t here yet, but once it arrives I can install it and wrap up the canopy wiring.
Testing the fans.The d-sub pins and corresponding sockets for the fansNot a lot of space to operate, but enough to get the job done
Tonight I riveted the two pieces of the spinner mounting plate together. I was able to squeeze all of the rivets.
I then started back on the canopy. I have a few canopy jobs to complete; wiring, leather glare shield install, canopy fairing final sanding and painting, and then the guide pins.
I started with the canopy lock micro switch. When closed and locked, the micro switch is depressed, closing the circuit and sending a signal to the panel. In the event the canopy is not locked, a warning appears on the panel.
The wiring should have been easy, just check the switch, install two spade terminals, and it’s done. Unfortunately I the process I found that one of the wires is caught somewhere in the channel inside the canopy rail. Luckily the wire is still making a good connection, but I couldn’t feed the excess wire into the channel. I ended up shortening up the wire and messing around, but it worked out in the end. Anyway, the black wire is the one that is jammed somewhere.
Today I unboxed the propeller, which has been sitting in its original shipping box for about a year. I wanted to verify I had everything, and to see how it all fits together. I also decided not to install it right now, as my panel is coming soon, and I’ll be working on that next. Once I’m done with the panel, and all associated wiring, I’ll come back to the engine, prop, and the cowling.
I started working on the spinner mounting plate, which needs some match drilling and cutting to get the two pieces aligned. I managed to get all the shaping done, and to spray a coat of primer on it.
Propeller unboxedThe two parts of the spinner mounting plate, before drilling and trimmingMatch-drilling the two pieces
Today I installed the “red cube” (fuel flow transducer), various cushion clamps, the wiring for the starter, and the alternator.
The red cube was installed per the plans on top of the exhaust. Some people have reported issues with the heat effecting the transducer, relocating to the engine mount. I decided to stick with the vans plans and hope for the best.
There are many cushion clamps needed in the engine compartment, and I installed a bunch of them. Most of the clamps are arranged in a pair, where one clamps to the engine mount, and the other attaches to the wiring that needs supporting. They are joined together with a bolt. others mount to the engine itself, and these require removing a bolt or screw, and then reinstalling with the clamp in the washer stack. In two places on either side of the crank case, the bolts are too short to install the clamp, and I’ll need to buy some longer bolts. I’ve put a reminder on the engine so I can buy some later.
Then I moved onto the wiring for the starter, which was simply installing the wires into some of the clamps, connecting them to the starter motor, and installing some boots.
With that done I installed the alternator. This was fairly easy, but I couldn’t find my .041 stainless safety wire so I couldn’t finish the job. Everything is finger tight right now, and I’ll torque it down and safely wire once my shipment comes in.
Red cube installed in the standard locationSome of the cushion clampsA safety label for the starterWiring the starter motorStarter wired, torqued, and boots installedThe alternator installed temporarily for now
Last night and tonight I worked on installing various engine fittings, and made the bracket for the fuel flow transducer bracket.
I had been exchanging emails with Vans over the fuel pump overflow fitting. The brass sleeve they sent me didn’t fit, so I ordered a nylon one from Aircraft Spruce and that worked nicely.
Tonight I torqued the engine mount bolts to 43 foot pounds, installed the ground strap, and replaced the cotter pins in the rudder pedals after bleeding the brakes. I torque sealed all of the engine bolts.
Cotter pins installed on these bolts holding the bottom of the brake cylinders onto the pedals. In hindsight, I would have gone with a third party pedal setup where the cylinders can be installed with the ports facing forward.Top engine mount, left side. I really hope I got the hardware right, I checked it many times, but still feel paranoidBottom left engine mount.Ground strap installed
Today my friend Simon came over and we hung the engine on the airplane! It was a big day, and it all went according to plan.
I borrowed an engine hoist from my neighbor, and it worked out well. The engine was still encased in its foam shipping crate, and was sitting on a 4×8 foot dolly I had built with wheels. That allowed us to roll everything around and position things easily. Before we started, I printed and studied the document here which is very helpful. I copied the Vans diagram from the plans and taped it to the side of the plane. I arranged the hardware in a cardboard box to ensure we had the right bolts, washers, and orientation on the rubber mounts for each bolt.
I also leveled the plane by raising the tail and resting on a saw-horse. To make sure we didn’t have a balance issue, I slung 40 pounds of weight below the saw-horse, and strapped the plane down onto the horse. Then I chocked the main wheels to keep it all steady.
We started by lifting the engine clear of the packaging, then carefully rolling the engine into position. A little adjustment in height and some side-to-side movement and we had it in the right spot. Following the instructions, we started with the top right bolt, which was fairly easy. The second bolt was the top left, and also fairly easy, as the engine could still be moved around a little. The third bolt was bottom right, and took some more manipulation than the others. The final bolt took the most effort. We tried all options of changing the torque on other bolts, and lifting and lowering the engine, to arrive at the optimal alignment. We were able to get it started into the hole by hand, but had to screw it into the hole to get all the way through. It didn’t take much torque, perhaps a couple of foot pounds at most.
Once all four bolts were in, we torqued up all of the bolts to 40 inch pounds, then disconnected the hoist. I need to check my math on the torque values to get it right, but the hard part is done! It feels like a huge step forward to have the engine on, and that much closer to being a real airplane.
Update, after doing some research, I’m going to torque the bolts to 42 foot pounds. This allows for a couple foot-pounds of torque drag (I measured between 1 and 4 foot-pounds when rotating the bolts), and still being in the target 37.5 to 41.7 range.
The Vans diagramSecuring the tailLifting the engine clear of the packaging. First view of the whole thingAligning using the hoistWorking on the second boltThe final result
Tonight I bled the brake system. Following the video from Berringer, everything went fairly smoothly. I had unbolted the bottom of each cylinder so I could keep them horizontal through the process. I started with the pilot side (furthest away from the reservoir), then once the overflow bottle was about half full, I switched to the passenger side. Throughout the process I was raising and lowering the cylinders, and pumping them to purge air. I ended up doing the whole thing twice, being careful not to introduce air when reconnecting the pump, to try to get all the air out. The end result feels about right, there’s good pressure on both sides, on both pedals, and it feels pretty even. I’ll let it sit overnight and see how it feels in the morning.
Setting everything up to start the processPressurized and pushing fluid into the left brakeThe satisfying view of fluid coming out the top of the reservoir
