3RD QTR 2006           •   •   • 
DATE HRS TTD ACTION IMAGES
07/14/06 1.5 896.5 I got my NACA duct and parts from Van's. I also originally got the plastic "whisperflow" vents from Aircraft Spruce, but I didn't like them because they could not close and be airtight. I opted for more expensive aluminum ones from Affordable Panels in black anodize because they close all the way off. To me that's essential in the cold weather! I especially liked the big alum vents I got for the front panel and decided to cut up a Van's SV-1 and SV-2 to see if I could use a big eyeball vent in the rear cockpit. That is when I discovered that my rear throttle lever hits the NACA duct!  My side panels and formers must not be outboard as much as a Kimball fuselage. To fix the problem, I'll just make another throttle lever that is bent differently to clear the NACA scoop. Test fit NACA Side panels are in closer than normal I guess!
Black pen shows position that doesn't hit Example of Aluminum Vent
08/02/06 4.5 901.0 Finally got my 4130 sheet and tube needed to make a new throttle arm. Went over to Ken's and roughed it out on the bandsaw, then sanded it to shape on a really great metal beltsander he has. Ken bent it up for me in his power brake. He got got the tube perch in exactly the same position as the original one by eyeballing it in the brake, I guess that's what 20 years of sheetmetal fabrication will do for you. I went home and welded the tube onto it. New throttle arm parts New arm works well
08/03/06 1.5 902.5 I epoxied the SV-1 and SV-2 together, waited for the it to set then used a die grinder to clean up the inner part where the vent will swivel around in. I then test fit it on the fuselage side panels to see if it gets in the way in the cockpit. I sat in there for quite awhile testing the big vent and little vent against each other. The big vent doesn't seem to get in the way so far so good. I'm going to think about it for awhile. Testing big vents in rear cockpit
08/15/06 1.0 903.5 I decided to proceed with the big vents in the back so I bought a couple more Van's SV1 & 2's to work with and two more big aluminum vents. I cut and glued together another SV combo. I still need to add some fiberglass reinforcement to them, and trim the rectangular flanges off the SV's and the vents.
09/03/06 3.0 906.5 I got an idea for a good place to mount my 7lb Fireade extinguisher bottle. After fitting the bottom sheetmetal tunnel in to check clearances I roughed out a couple of aluminum mounting blocks to hang the bottle under the header tank. The mount hangs under the aft header tank bushings and will also use two more bushings I'll add to the FS 24.9 crossmember. I'll have to cut and shorten the torque tube a bit so it doesn't hit the bottle where it extends past the crossmember, but that will remove a little weight too. Drilling a mounting bar Fireade bottle located under header tank
Aft view of bottle test fitted Detail of bottle mounting
09/05/06 3.5 907.0 Welded up the new bushings on the FS 24.9 crossmember. Over at Kens I trimmed and rounded the corners on the mounting blocks using is sanding belt. I also used it to take the square flanges off and make two of the black aluminum vents round for the rear cockpit. We then punched the 2.5" diameter holes in the front instrument panel for the vents that go there. Later that night I marked where to drill the holes to mount the vents and SV-2's in the panel. Additional bushing tacked in place Bushing welded
Fireade bottle mounting plate cut to shape Aluminum vent in front panel
09/14/06 1.8 908.8 Made a new header tank plate from 1/8" aluminum to replace the plywood one I made back in March of 2004. I plan to mount the 5lb. halon fire extinguisher to the bottom of the plate. Here is the rivet pattern I'll use for the bottle mounts. Aluminum Header Tank Plate
09/16/06 2.0 910.8 Printed out my rivet patterns and then drilled #40 pilot holes in the bottle brackets. I also located and drilled matching holes in the mounts for the fireade bottle. Rivet patterns marked Fireade bottle mount clecoed in place
09/19/06 2.2 913.0 Drilled out the #40 holes bigger for 5/32 rivets. I discovered I didn't have a 5/32 counter bit for my microstop countersink so I set up a plain countersink in my drill press. I then adjusted the table height until I was able to make perfect countersinks in the plates. I reinstalled the torque tube and marked where to cut it to make clearance for the fire bottle. Halon bottle mounts on header tank plate Countersinking header tank plate
Countersinking the Fireade mounting plates Torque tube marked for cutting
09/20/06 1.0 914.0 Used my air powered cutoff wheel to first cut off the cap that was welded on the torque tube, then trimmed the main tube back. I used a few pieces of masking tape to hold the cap on for tackwelding. I then removed the tape and welded the cap all around. Before taking the aluminum parts over to the platers to be anodized red, Ken punched some lightening holes in the header tank plate for me on the punch press. Torque tube section cut Cap welded back on shorter tube
09/21/06 0.9 914.9 Using T-88 and some strips of fiberglass cloth I had laying around from an old model airplane project, I reinforced the glue joints of the rear cockpit NACA vents where I had added the SV-2 vent sockets.  NACA vents fiberglassed
09/22/06 1.7 916.6 In the morning I spent some time sanding down the fiberglassed joints in NACA vents so they are good enough to paint. The contours aren't perfect but shouldn't be too noticeable.  I got the parts back from the platers and squeezed the rivets in, AN426AD-5-8 for the small bottle and -9's for the big bottle. I had to use an extension on the handle for more power. I then test mounted the bottles.  Parts anodized Squeezing rivets
Header tank plate riveted Bottle test mounted
QTR TOTAL 24.6  
 3RD QTR 2006           •   •   •