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...

Tail 'stuff'... and other 'stuff'.

While waiting for my PFD and prop motor to come back (prop motor hasnt even shipped yet...), working on the tail.

Tailcone fasteners are riveted in.  Elevator fairings are on, minus a few fasteners I am waiting for.  Rudder fairing is on.  Rudder base fairing is in process... I am over thinking this one.

Horizontal stab fairing fasteners are on, still need to bond the two pieces together.

Need to make the tabs for the pins.

Another builder is going to machine me a new rudder hinge that is offset.  Need to rivet the stop to the yoke of the rudder.  Hinge is complete as of Jan 20, 2025... just waiting for it to arrive.

PFD is back and installed.  Funny story... there was a USB stick in the rear USB port on the display... and I think to myself, someone forgot to take it out.  So I take it out and put it in my pocket to return.  THEN I read this instructions that came in the box... they upgraded the software, and I need to upgrade the OTHER display and all the devices on the skyview network.  OK - will do that tomorrow I tell myself.  Then I couldnt remember where I put the USB stick.  Finally found it... all upgraded and done.

Pitch change motor has arrived in New Zealand.  Hoping for a week turn around.

Cut the holes in the fuselage for the flap tracks to go... that was fun!  NOT.  The fiberglass there is REALLY thick.

Installed the eyebolts in the wings, and drilled the rivets, installed the doublers, and the eyebolt on the vertical fin.  Wings are now properly stowed.  Having the wings swung back makes the tail REALLY heavy.  The T3 suspension certainly felt it.

Next is fuel lines from the wings to the fuselage!

Turned the engine over with 1 set of plugs out.  Took a good 60 seconds to see any oil pressure.  But it came up to 80 PSI on the starter alone.  Still need to install and clamp the breather exit.  Hose procured.

Horizontal Stab, Elevator Fairings, Tail Cone, Elevator Trim

The Sportsman has been in the hangar for a couple months... progress has been slooooow.  But finally starting to pick up some speed.

There is so much to do... almost an overwhelming amount.  So I finally decided to focus on the tail.

Elevator fairings:

Initially I fitted the elevator fairings.  Followed the manual, got everything trimmed and drilled.  And THEN I mounted the elevator and tried to align the horizontal stab portion of the fairing.  Well.... they HS portion is not long enough... or more accurately the elevator portion is too wide!

The problem... I already drilled the holes.  However, I only drilled them with #40 bits (not #19 as specified in the manual).  I had to cut 0.75" off each side in order to get them to align, and then carefully mark and redrill the holes.  

Then I figured I would just do EVERYTHING on the tail.  So onto the tailcone.

I had to cut a slot in the bottom for the tailwheel cable lock (not a steerable tailwheel - but a fully castering, lockable, not steerable tailwheel).  The slot has weakened the tailcone... so planning on 2 additional fasteners at the bottom in addition to the standard 4.  I still need to make the slot slightly longer, and put a grommet on the cable.

While I had everything apart, I put in the elevator pushrod and temporarily connected it.  Man, the elevator is HEAVY without any counterweights.

Then reassembly to start on the rudder base fairing.

That sucker is going to need a lot of trimming.

PROBLEM... my lower rudder hinge is not in the right spot for my rudder.  The lower rudder hinge and vertical stab spar was installed by another builder.  I will need to offset my hinge 0.2" to port.  Will have to get a new bracket machined...  Need to disassemble to do so.

Time for a lot of fasteners!

Wrap vs Paint - Wrap Test

I love wrap, and would like to use it to finish my Sportsman.  However, there are a few challenges that I want to experiment with to see if wrap is viable - specifically control surfaces (ailerons, flaps, elevator, trim tabs).  The challenge is the rivets along the trailing edge:  The shop heads are square, and how will the wrap cling to them.  I have asked multiple people that have wrapped their airplanes about this, and have never received a response.  I think most people do not wrap the wings and control surfaces...

Paint is expensive.  Lead times at shops are long.  I am an average painter at best.  Plus, best case is multiple months to get an aircraft painted.

I had some silver (White Aluminum) 3M 1080 wrap, and used that on my elevator trim tab as a test.  The trim tab has been completed for years.  All components were alodyned, and primed with zinc chromate.  My plan is to wrap right on top of the primer.

The elevator trim tab is big enough to get an idea of how this will work, but small enough I can work on it solo.

Based on my wrap experience to date, I had the following expectations:

• Material would lay down easily.
• Dome head rivets should be minimal effort to get the wrap to conform
• Rivet tails will be the challenge on the trailing edges
• Protruding arms / tabs will be a challenge and require a separate operation, or paint.
• Corners / edges should be very doable

My first attempt was aborted as I messed up on the placement, and the wrap folded on top of itself - plus some stray fiberglass was on the table and got stuck to the wrap.  The wrap came off no issues, and did not visibly disturb the primer.  4 hands is better than 2 during initial placement of the wrap.

The seam is on the forward side of the tab, top and bottom of the hinge.  I layed the trailed edge down directly on the wrap and slowly worked forward on the top.  Same process for the bottom, but I needed to slit the wrap around the arm.

As stated above, my expectation was the wrap would conform to the 3/32nd rivets no problem.  That was NOT the case.

At first I tried the fingernail trick to get the wrap to sit down on the rivet.  That kinda worked, but did not look great.  I then bought this tool for getting fine detail to lay down.  The air bubbles remained.  Some times I could push them out, but most of the time no.  Heat seemed to make it worse.... the heat would expand the air pocket and make the wrap very pliable, which made it prone to wrinkling.

At this point, the experiment is pretty much dead.  Just for shits and giggles I tried a rivet tail, and as you would expect - no go.

Honestly, I have never had so many issues getting wrap to lay down.  BUT - this is 1080 wrap, and usually we use 2080.  So I have ordered some 2080 in the white aluminum colour - and will try again.  The 1080 is definitely a no go, plus if I had to do each rivet individually I would go insane.

Pulled the wrap off in a couple minutes.  No primer removal at all.

The new white aluminum wrap that showed up was 1080 again... I tried again, and no joy.  Same result.  I ordered a similar colour in 2080 but it is backordered.

So I tried with some yellow 2080.  Rather than trying to wrap the whole thing I am just going to do some test pieces and see how this is going to work.

First 2080 test.  Bottom.

Top

Marginally better.

I think my problem is technique.  I was starting at the trailing edge and pulling the wrap forward and then working the rivet flange.  I think I just had to much tension on the vinyl and it wasnt sucking down.  So I tried another smaller piece, but worked the flange and rivets first, and then started moving forward.

Bottom

Top

I think this is approaching acceptable.

I have been searching for tools and/or techniques for wrapping rivets.  Yesterday I came across this YouTube video that talked about this product.

Essentially you place the vinyl down and squeege everything but the line of rivets... leaving a channel for the air to escape.  Heat up the line of rivets, and run over it with the RollePro and done.  But, how well will it work on rivet tails?  

Ordered.  Will see how it works.

Received a did a quick test.

The rivet heads are really good using the RolleePro.  The tails are better, but not great.  

I saw on a YouTube video someone that put a straw at the end of the air channel to stop the vinyl from collapsing (as it tends to do when heated).  That will be the next test.

Putting this exercise on hold... when I get closer will go to a pro wrap shop and get their opinion, but at this point unless they have a super awesome solution, the aircraft will be painted.

Elevator - Part III

Summer's are SLOOOOOOWWW for building progress - BUT, I am getting a bit done.

- Top skins are riveted
- Bottom skins cleecoed 
- Control horns cleecoed
- First trailing edge skin epoxied

Bottom skins are finally on!  And they won't be coming off...

Center section - including control horns - ready for riveting.  Waiting for an offset / bent 1/8" snap to show up from Aircraft Spruce.

See - there really are two skins!

Trailing edge epoxied and clamped with aluminum L brackets and cleecos

Another view of the same - trailing edge clamped.

Todo list:
- Exoxy left hand trailing edge
- Rivet control horn
- Pull rivets on aft skin holes, hard rivets on fore holes
- Then onto the trim tab!

Elevator - Part II

It's been a month since the last post, and the elevator is moving along well, and it will hopefully be completed (ready for inspection status) in the next week or so.  Summer is busy with family stuff, but I have still managed to make progress.

So I **THINK** my method for raising the elevator to leave the clecos in place worked.

I cut up some sections of 2x4 and clamped them to the front of the bench, then put additional blocks along the ribs and rear spar to lift the whole thing up.  Used the level method, same as the Horizontal Stabilizer to check for level along the entire structure.  It should be perfectly flat.

Elevator control horns...

Control horn placement, ready for drilling. 

Getting ready for the top skins.  You can see my method to raise up the elevator to leave the top skins and clecos in place for drilling the other side.

Cutting the hole for the trim servo.  NOTE:  This is done per the manual, but the slot does not line up with the wiring harness coming out of the servo assembly.  But, you an line it up, drop it in, and then slide it into place.

Disassembly and alodining, ready for primer. 

Primed.  I ws tired of hanging the parts and having to hold them while priming.  The ribs are so light that they fly around under the spray, so I figured I would try a board.  This is all parts of the wing crate chopped up.  Worked OK - much better than hanging them from a wire, but still not ideal. 

Riveting the doublers in place.  A friend loaned me his pneumatic rivet squeezer.  Wow... I squeezed all 88 rivets in less than 1 hour.  I can't say enough about properly clamping all the parts in place prior to riveting.  Sure makes a nice job. 

End doubler on the main spar, all done.  Turned out quite nice. 

Rib A / B, with doublers in place. 

Center section ribs riveted to the aft partial spar. 

Top skins clecoed to the structure, ready to rivet.

What's next:
- Rivet top skins
- Place counterweight ribs and rivet
- Flip over, rivet control horns in place, rivet bottom skins

At that point, the elevator will be put aside awaiting inspection before riveting skins to spar, and spar to ribs.  Will get the trim tab assembled, but I anticipate that will be quick.  Will be submitting the inspection paperwork in the next couple days.