Keep on truckin...

First thing will be to see how the window 'dressing' looks...

Turned out OK.  Few spots could be better.  Overall I'm happy.

Exhaust shield aft bolts in place and tightened.

Started integrating in the ELT wire into the bundles from the back.

On Sat, Sept 13 we are having an Air Fair at CYNJ, and the Sportsman will be on display (minus wings...).  To add a bit of 'wow' factor, my buddy said we should put the big tires on.  So we did.

For comical reference, the last time the bush wheels were mounted was April 2021.

Hoping to have the hatch covers, doors, elevator tips and rudder base fairing back in time.  

Fuselage door hinges installed.  ELT wire run up front and panel installed (covered in ELT post).

Elevator counterweights... going to build these out of tungsten shot rather than lead.  I have 6 lbs of tungsten.  Going to encase it in epoxy.  Looking for something at the dollar store I can make a mold out of.

Glareshield installed temporarily.  Pain in the ass to get in correctly with the window in...

Thursday night installed the rudder base fairing and elevator tips, and cleaned the inside floor of the cabin of 'sworf'.

I think it looks really good.  Very pleased.  The elevator tips are interfering with the stab slightly.  The fairings are not quite aligned correctly.  Will be an easy fix... just order of insertion I believe.

Progress... getting on a roll.

Tuesday evening... (Sept 2, 2025)

Pin keepers installed in the stab / elevator / trim.  THAT was a challenge solo.  Thank god for the body work stand.  I use that thing ALL THE TIME.

I was flying solo tonight, so had to get inventive on how to hold the elevator up.  Tape worked!

Peeled a lot of tape off the front window... looks reasonable, but not perfect.  I think I can fix the problem areas.  Also got some silpruf on the interior, but it is coming off with a bit of effort.  Forgot to take a pic.  2 days until the clecos come out.

On the last engine run the pipe off the turbo had a shake.  It was only supported with 1 mount, and its a long pipe.  Added a second mount at 90 degrees (roughly).  I think this will work.  It is definitely less 'shakey' just wiggling it.

That was a 3.5 hour evening.  But it was definitely progress.

Front window came out of the clamps!

Looks pretty good.

Put lock nuts on the new exhaust clamp... I found some.

Installed Deutsch connector under the tail cone for the rudder trim.  The bulkhead connector finally arrived from China.

Seriously impressed with these connectors.  The elevator side has been converted (from molex) as well.

OK, well my trim connector upgrade did not go as planned.  I temporarily assembled everything to test the wiring, and nothing worked.  Very quickly I found that the thin 26 gauge wires were either broken, or about to break.  I have spliced on larger gauge aviation wire on both sides and am testing again.  The ray allen 5 conductor wire is very thin and weak.

The strange / weird thing... I attempted to use solder sleeves to graft on new wires.  The solder in the sleve would not stick to the ray allen wire.  I ended up tinning them first with solder and an iron first, and then using a solder sleeve.  I did a sample piece first (finally learned my lesson) and it is a strong joint now.

I put everything together, and nothing would work.  Zero.  Took it all apart and realized that on the socket side I did not have the pins fully engaged.  It seems like there are two 'clicks' when you push the pin / socket into the connector.  I only got past the first 'click' the first time.  Once fully engaging the pins everything worked as intended.

Checking the elevator travel.  Manual calls for +23 and -20 (+/- 1 degree).  I am getting the -20, but not the +23... about 2 degrees short.  Filing the stop plate through the belly inspection panel.  After an afternoon of filing and checking, I gained a degree.  One more to go.

Sunday... Sept 7

Put the prop on.  3 times :-)

The manual says to pack the cavity between the thrust bearing and threads with grease... it says to use a spatula.  So I did... the blades were not fully seating.  The ferrule was lose... and it was visible.  Later the manual says too much grease will cause exactly this.  So I took it apart and cleaned out the grease and reinserted the blade.  Was better, but not correct.  So did it again.. on each blade.  Finally they were all seating correctly and torqued per spec.

Next was the bead of silpruf between the window and fuselage.  Lots of cleaning of crap out first... my theory is to get all the leftover crap out.  The 'dressing' needs to stick on all 3 sides.  So lots of pulling out the leftover bits (I could have done a better job during the insertion of the window... being honest).  Then taping the gap... 

Then cutting the gap...

Then filling the gap and smoothing it...

That was a 10 hour day... Monday will be seeing what I have... fingers crossed.

Progress... and going backwards.

Positives and negatives this week.

Clear was shot on a ton of parts yesterday.  Struts, flaps, right wing, elevator, spinner, etc.  Most of it looks good, but the wing does not look good.  One side is flat and orange peel.  Not sure what the plan is at this point.

So I got to work on the fuselage.  I have the rudder and stab, so getting everything in the fin and aft fuselage ready.  Everything is torqued, torque sealed, cotter pinned, etc.  Elevator bell crank, rudder hinge bolts, tailwheel, etc.  And I cleaned... and cleaned.

The front window looks like its going to be good.  Peeled a bit of tape away to peek.

Rudder installed, all cables connected with correct hardware, etc.

Prepping the stab and elevator for install.

Door seals installed.

Sheerwebs in the tailcone... these have been on the shelf for years.... What should I have been an easy job took hours.  The issue:  The SB that adds the reinforcing plate to the vertical fine (upside down pitchfork) moved the attach tabs back slightly.  So nothing fit correctly.  Had to open up the holes in the angle brackets on bulkhead C to adjust the alignment.  Lots of cursing involved in this one.

Mated up the stab, elevator and trim tab.  The pins went missing (again), but luckily had enough material left to make new ones.  I think this is the 3rd set I have made.

Still need to put the pin keepers in.  Then the whole assembly can be installed.

Should be getting more parts back this week.  The marathon continues...

Window 'dressing'

I don't know the offical term, but I call it window 'dressing'.  Filling the gap between the edge of the joggle and the window edge.  That gap that us builders take so much time to get right.

I received the fuselage back from the paint shop first.... so the starboard side window and two top deck windows were 'dressed'.

Standard process.  Clean out the joggle, tape, cut with fresh blade (use thick tape... easier to cut), squirt in the silpruf, smooth out with tongue depressor.

3 done... 4 more to go.  Front window went in today, so that job is a week away at least.  Doors should be back next week.  My back hurts just thinking about this.

Oh, and I silprufed around the lift points too...

Windows - Part III: The big one...

As the title says, onto the big one.

I've had it home for a couple days and have been looking at it, moving it around, and thinking a lot.

My first realization is the window was not fitting in the top joggle, which is bringing the window up and the front.  Lots of overhang on the pilots side, but little to none on the copilot side.

So I called the master for advice.  Bottom line, there is no one size all solution... you have to look at what you have and what you want to achieve.  My first thought was get the top joggle to fit, but Zach said not necessarily.  I know I need to bring the window to starboard, so work the top joggle on that side first.  Then start the front to get it to fit.

The window keeps wanting to slide forward.  So I am going to make some blocks that can be clamped on to hold the front in place temporarily.

I finally decided to jump in and start trimming.  I trimmed the edges on the top joggle to get the window to fit.  Trimmed more on the copilot side as that is where I had less overlap on the lower side of the window.

It must have been 12 iterations of on/off/on/off.  I really dont want to have to buy a new window.

So now I am trying to get the front to JUST fit into the joggle.

It was at least 20 trim cycles to get it in.  Once I had the top fitting, i focused on the center of the lower edge and then worked my way out.  The goal was just enough gap that I could get a cleco in.  Next is the sides, and then finally I can start working on a consistent 3/16 gap all around.

After consulting (again) with Zach, the process on the front window differs from all the other windows.

• Place silpruf standoffs every 6".
• Place clecos where you need them to get the window to sit right.

So after many more trim cycles, I have the window now in the joggle all the way around.

I need top open up the top seam on the top deck enough to get clecos in, and I need to refine some of the standoffs a hair.

The problem with this window fitting from a high level is if you chance something in one area, everything else moves around a bit.  I took the slow and steady approach.

OK - fast forward almost 2 years (from December 2023 to August 2025.  Fuselage is painted, and the window is going in!

I was working on removing any small scratches, and used a polisher WAY TO FAST and crazed the hell out of a corner of the front window.  I wanted to cry... all that work and time, and I just destroyed by window.  BUT... a fellow builder at the airport trundles around the corner of the hangar building to see the progress... and I am just devastated.  "No problem" he says... "I have what you need".  He returned with 800, 1000, 1500 and 2000 grit sandpaper, and I spent the next day and a half getting the crazing out.

I had also somehow put a good ding in the middle of the outside of the window.  That is now gone too.

Then I got back to prepping the window to go in.  Standard front window progress.  Mark the goggle on the outside, 1/4" tape offset from the line, then the 2 fine line tapes, sand with 200 grit, apply the 'beautification layer', let sit for 12 to 24 hours.  Had problems with the fine line tape in the corners by the wing root.

And the window went in today (August 28).

Now the 7 day wait begins.... fingers crossed.

Getting parts back from paint...

After just over 4 months, starting to get parts back.  The fuselage was towed back across the airport yesterday.

Safe and sound in the hangar.

Back to work!

Things underway:

1. ELT tray going in.
2. Static ports
3. Door hinge fasteners
4. Exhaust install
5. Exhaust shield
6. Rudder hinge rework

So much to do... just gotta get started.

Post paint temporary assembly and fitting...

Started assembling a bit to check for fit post paint, and to line up some components for the stripes / swoops.

Looks SO GOOD.  The blue is amazing.

Some minor issues with the cowl fitting that will require a bit of tweaking.  Very pleased with the lines on the cowl.  Very pleased overall!

Not across the finish line yet, but definitely getting closer.

And still more paint....

Wow... that's all I can say.  Shaun and crew are doing a great job.

Super cool.

And even more paint...

More paint pics.  Progressing slowly, yet progressing all the same.

Flaps, ailerons, etc painted.

Cowling and rudder installed temporarily to mask off for the 'swoops'.

Same again for the stab and elevator.  The yellow goes through the rudder base fairing, so needed to assemble so everything lines up correctly.

Another couple weeks, and then reassembly begins!