Misc.

Over the last two days, my dad and I worked on solving two problems with the control sticks. 1. shortening the control sticks to prevent contact with the panel when full forward, and 2. modifying the passenger-side wiring to avoid interference with the structure around the stick.

When I first installed the sticks I didn’t have the panel installed, and wasn’t sure how much clearance they would have. With the panel installed, the stick grips were hitting the bevel on the bottom edge of the screens, and the flap switch. We took the sticks out, removed the grips, cut away the sleeve, shortened the stick about 1.5 inches, installed a new sleeve, then reinstalled the sticks. Of course we started with just the passenger side, got the dimensions just right, then copied for the pilot side.

On the passenger side wiring, we removed the bulky connector I had fabricated, and just went with d-sub pins isolated with heat-shrink tubing. This is the same approach as the pilot side. There is a risk of the connectors pulling apart over time, but the multiple layers of tubing will help. I’ll also be zip-tying each side of the connectors to the stick to reduce strain.

Removing the stick will still be possible, but not recommended except for maintenance.

I plan to install a switch on the passenger side ground wire so I can deactivate the stick buttons and switches as needed.

Tonight I torqued up 4 bolts that had been installed as part of the quick build but not torqued. This had been on the to-do list for a while, but I decided to do it now so I could install the seat ramps.

Bigger picture, I’m gearing up for a first power-up of the instrument panel. For the next few tasks I’ll be in and out of the cockpit, so I want the seat ramps installed to reduce risk of bending or dinging any of the internal structure.

Once the bolts were torqued I installed the seat ramps. There’s a slight alignment issue with one of the screw holes near the seatbelt, so I’ll have to look at that at some point. These ramps will be coming out again at least a few more times, to install the seatbelts, to connect wing systems, and to troubleshoot problems.

Tonight I only had a few minutes to work on the plane, so I bolted the flap door assembly to the tunnel cover. It was fun to play with the flap door mechanism, and once again admire the precision of these pre-punched parts.

With guidance from Vans, I trimmed about 1/16th off the leading edge of the cable clamp bracket, then primed it., match drilled it, and riveted into place.

Tonight I fixed the two challenging nut plates, and then cleaned and installed tape on the sides of the exit door. I tried to install the cable support assembly, but ran into an interference issue with the engine mount.

I ended up not replacing the nut plates. I was able to eventually work a screw into one hole, which seemed to clear it, and subsequent screw installations were fine. In the other hole I used a tap to just start a thread, maybe 2-3 rotations, and that was sufficient to allow the screw to go in.

The tape on the exit door was trivial to install, although I found it harder to cut cleanly than I would have liked. I may have to finesse it a little when the time comes to install it for the final time.

The problem that stumped me was the interference between the engine mount and the cable support assembly. I emailed Vans to see if I can safely trim the support to create some clearance between the two. The holes are pre-punched, and the parts are all pre-formed at the factory, so it’s weird that they don’t fit well together. I would need to remove about 1/32 or 1/16 to allow the cable support bracket to clear the engine mount.

Today I countersunk the cowl flap and riveted together the flap unit. Everything was straightforward except one rivet that was repeatedly problematic. The rivet tipped 3 times, and each time I removed it, before I was finally able to set it. Even the last time I set the rivet it tipped over, but I decided it was good enough.

Tonight I primed the various aluminum parts that make up the cowl flap. It’s been a while since I painted with my gun, so everything felt a little strange. I spilled most of the paint right before I started painting, making quite a mess, but mostly contained to the cardboard I was painting on. I had forgotten to fasten the screw cap, and the top of the plastic paint container just popped off and spilled everywhere. Ah well, I still had enough paint to finish the job.

Tonight I started deburring the parts for the cowl flap, which is a modification for the EXP119 engine I am going to install.

The cowl flap has a door that can be rotated into an open position to help cool the engine. The door mounts onto a sheet of thick aluminum that covers up the original exhaust channel. The exhaust is re-routed so it comes out of the engine compartment forward of the channel. At least, I think that’s how it works, we’ll find out.