Post First Engine Start - Review

The day after the first engine start I took a detailed look at everything firewall forward to see what I could see.  Overall, results were positive.

• Slight fuel leak on the banjo fittings going into the pre filters (before the fuel pumps).  This leak has soaked the firesleeve on the line between the inlet and the firewall.  Will replace that firesleeve.
• Everything prop related looks good.  Nothing untoward on the slip ring.
• No chaffing on any wires
• 3D printed inlets attached to the plenum show no signs of heat distortion.
• Exhaust looks good
• The engine puked its preservative.  This primarily came out of the slip joints on the exhaust and appears easily cleanable.
• Oil level is good, and no discolouration at all.
• Oil cooler appears good
• Overall, everything survived AOK.
• Downloaded the logs from the EFIS and loaded into Savvy.  EGT's 2, 3, 5 and 6 show 0.  Need to check configuration and/or wiring connections.  CHT's 3 and 5 also show 0.  Same check.
• Note:  Advanced has added functionality that every engine parameter can be picked up off the CANBUS or discrete sensors.  Everything in my configuration is coming off the CANBUS EXCEPT the EGT's and CHT's.  I may have not flipped the ones showing 0 to discrete sensors through the EMS.
• Talked to Tracy who has the same engine / prop and is flying.  He noted my MP is higher than his.  I had some of his logs and checked, and yes - about 2" higher.  But it was far colder (density altitude -980 feet the day the engine was fired) and very close to sea level.  This is something to watch.
• Fuel flow at idle 1.6 GPH.  Fuel flow at 1500 RPM 4.1 GPH.
• Weeping at the fuel drains on the main tanks.  Not surprised as I did not seal them as they are coming out for paint.
• The header tank has 2 ultrasonic sensors to show fuel level.  The 1/3rd sensor warning goes off when the pumps are running.  Guessing this is due to turbulence at the tank due to suction from the pumps.  The 2/3rds is rock solid.  Tested this with the engine not running and behavior is the same as when the engine is running.
• Fuel pressure consistent in the mid 30's.
• I have two current sensors.  One shunt that shows everything to / from the batteries, and one on the engine bus (hall effect sensor).  At idle, the engine bus (ECU, coils, pumps, etc) was pulling 9 amps.  At 1500 RPM, 11 amps.

Overall, the only thing that needs to be 'fixed' is the leak, and the problematic EGT's and CHT's.

Battery box cooling

I am running 2x EarthX ETX900's located on the firewall.  With the amount of air that will be circulating under the cowl I do not expect excess heat... and the batteries are as far away from the turbo as I can make it.  However I am still planning on cooling the batteries.  I have put a 1" flange on the port side cylinder plenum, and a 1" on the battery box.

The battery box was last installed before the engine mount went on... and oh boy it was a challenge to get out.  Not impossible, but not as easy as I had planned.

Took everything apart, and riveted the flange in.  Flush on the inside of the box.  There is a 1/2" gap between the batteries.

Need to take the box off again as I have to mount the cowl fasteners on that side and it will be far easier to do that with the battery box out.

This is probably overkill, but easier to do now than later.

You can see the corresponding flange on the rear plenum below.

I am not going to route the SCAT tubes until I know where the plug wires are going to run...

Finishing / installing the firewall, rehanging the engine (for the last time fingers crossed)

 This has been a long journey.  The build overall has been long, but the 'engine' journey from idea, to fuel system design and fabrication, engine mount, electronics placement, firewall decisions, firewall construction, engine on and off, etc has been 2 years.  But, to see parts made 1 and 2 years ago come together is pretty darn cool.

While I am waiting for parts (more Ocrotek tape and 1 fitting), tidying up the wires, and adding a few more for later use.  Might as well do it now while it is somewhat 'easy' to get to.  Plus, tightening down and torque sealing all the bolts, brake fittings, etc.

Firewall went into today... hopefully for good!  Was relatively easy... just a bit of prodding here and there to get it to seat into the fuselage.

The hardest part was fishing the wires through correctly.  This wasnt that big a deal, except the EarthX battery jumper cables have to go through the opposite way because of the fusible link.

Next step is the fire barrier on the edges.  I am taping everything off in stages so hopefully I can just let it gel, then pull the tape and have a nice line.  I went with the 'gray' 3M Fire Barrier 2000+.  Hopefully it looks OK.

Clecos in (for positioning, not that it was a problem - it all lined up perfectly after some gentle persuasion with a fist or two) and 2 or 3 lines of tape all around.

Fire barrier inserted between the firewall flanges and fuselage shell.  I clamped in a couple areas where the clecos were not enough to snug it up enough.

Air deflector riveted and screwed in place (very thankful it still fit, as I drilled it over a year ago).  Also all gooped up with fire barrier.

Next is riveting the flanges to the fuselage shell.

I set somewhere around half the rivets on the flanges / shell, and replaced the hardware on the gascolator mount and safety wired the screws.  Working on hardware selection to permanently bolt the firewall frame up to the cage tabs.  Its starting to get 'real'.

Once the frame is bolted in, then I can (re)do all the power wires, place the batteries, etc.

Progress.  A couple of evenings and I have a lot of stuff bolted in, and wires (hopefully) run for the last time.

Its starting to look like something.  Lots more to do... but the weekend is here!  Hoping to get everything alive by end of day Sunday.

My inspector is really big on silicon boots (aka nipples) on all power wires... and of course I just ran out.  2 short.

Almost there.  Everything is functional at this point again (but only one battery).  Pumps work, new starter relay works, everything through the firewall, etc.  Lots of little things to do.  Some fasteners to install, couple holes to drill, some rivets, etc.  The interior of the panel can be reassembled as well.  All of the fittings on the aft side of the firewall are populated.  My goal is to get as much done as possible before the engine mount goes on.

Small issue with battery cables.

For my electrical configuration, the output of the main relays are bridged - IE they go onto a common bus.  Because I want to be able to start off of either battery, the cable between then is a 2 gauge.  Plus I have to tie in the engine bus, ACM, and fuse panel, plus the UL smoothing capacitor. Bottom line, there is a lot of stuff on the output side of the relays... and I have to add one more for the starter, and I just don't have enough threads left.  

The thought:  2 terminal distribution block that I can tie in the big 2 gauge lugs, and then split off to the starter.  All this means is the problem will not get worse.  Need to find one that can handle a couple hundred amps.  Then there is the issue of mounting location... I am out of room in that area, so it will probable have to be mounted to the engine mount with adel clamps.

Ready to re-hang the engine...

I took the opportunity to weight the beast before and after using racecar scales.

It wasnt quite perfectly level, but very close.  Doesnt really matter for these purposes... what I wanted to know was the engine weight.

And the numbers are....

268 lbs for engine, exhaust, induction, starter, alternator / generator, etc.  No baffles, intercooler, oil cooler, etc.  An IO-390 weighs 310 lbs bare (no exhaust, no alternator, no starter, etc).  Note:  I forgot to take off the front travel plate (that mounts to the floor of the crate) when i weighed it.  Its at least 2 lbs with hardware.

Couple points for anyone looking at UL:

• Turbo:  You need to adjust the angle of the turbo outlet before mounting the engine.  In my case, it was pointed straight up.  Also, you have to remove the oil return line in order to spin in.  Dont forget to tighten it back up (note to self).
• The main oil return line to the sump interferes with the right lower engine mount.  I need to 'finesse' it a little.  

Back in the garage, ready for the next steps.

Next steps are:

1. Engine umbilical to ECU, firesleeve, etc.  Retest wiring.
2. Oil cooler mount, cooler, plumbing, etc
3. Baffles / plenum / intercooler ducting
4. Intercooler plenum and hoses
5. Cowl (oil cooler opening), reshape cowl for larger spinner
6. Exhaust extensions
7. CHT / EGT lines
8. Plug wires
9. Fuel delivery and return lines

That's enough.  My head hurts.

Onward and upward...

Firewall penetrations, Final Firewall, Engine back in the crate

Need to go backward to move forward.  

Because I used a plexiglass firewall for mock up, it needs to come out.  Which means the engine, engine mount, firewall frame, coils, regulator, pumps filters, batteries, ground block, relays, shunt, etc, etc all has to come off.  The good news, this is the last time (fingers crossed - hopefully I didnt just jinx myself).

Couple things to do before it all comes apart.

• Determine final location of fuel return line through firewall, and make hose back to top of header.
• Cabin heat pass through
• Alternate air pass through
• Throttle pass through

Ready for removal

Few things to do, then the firewall gets completely disassembled.

One of the challenges is how to cut the big 2" holes (one for the umbilical, and one for the cabin heat duct).  Cutting holes is easy, as long as its not stainless.  My hole saws are of a fine 'Princess Auto' variety (think Harbor Freight).

Looking at the Glasair forum, there are so many opinions on how to cut them.  The TWTT instructions say use a hole saw over 1", and a unibit under 1".  My el cheapo hole saws made a lot of smoke and just dinted the material.

After consulting the forum, I decided to try a carbide tip hole saw and a punch.

Pretty much immediately, the punch started to warp the stainless - and it never fully went all the way through.  So those are going back to the store...

As a side note, I bought a new unibit... Millwaukee 'no jam' unibit.  Cuts stainless like butter.

Piece of cake.  Cut the 2" hole in about 4 seconds.

From there I used a drum sander to clean it up a bit.  The carbide hole saw is the solution...

Firewall disassembly begins...

Completely naked... I had to pull all the wires / hoses, etc back through the firewall.  This will be an awesome opportunity to clean up the wires, etc I could not reach.

Firewall in place (thanks John!).  I just hope it will fit once the blanket is adhered to it.  Fingers crossed.

Firewall blank with the plexi kinda laying in front of it.  I need to finish disassembling everything on the plexi.

Next is drilling.  As a test I tried the carbide bit with a hand drill today on a test piece.  Oh no, bad idea.  On the flip side, I did some 1" holes with the Millwaukee unibit in the drill press.  Super nice.  I think I have it all worked out now (fingers crossed).

The small holes - less than 1" were pretty simple.  the 2 big 2" holes were a bit more challenging.  The engine umbilical (which is up high on the firewall) was pretty easy, as I could do it in the drill press.  The 2" cabin heat hole was more challenging, as it would not fit in the drill press.  So I ended up essentially scoring it with the 2" hole saw with a hand drill, and then drilling a series of 1/8" holes around the perimiter, joining them with the dremmel and a cut off wheel, then smoothing them out with a carbide bit in a die grinder, then finishing with a drum sander.

Next problem(s)...

• I had planned on using the cable safe and cable safe II fittings for cabin heat, alternate air, and throttle.  Well, they are aluminum and won't pass inspection.  Need another solution.  However, after talking to my inspector the cable safe fittings are acceptable.... so..???

The above is the firewall closeout for the UL umbilical (described in previous post).  I ended up making an aluminum ring for the back that will be riveted to the firewall.  The stainless C shaped disks will be screwed through the firewall to the aluminum disk (with captive fasteners).  Hopefully this all works out.

Firewall flanges riveted.

The rivets supplied with the kit are Monel (aka stainless), and are SUPER HARD.  Definitely a 2 man bucking requirement.  Of the 54 rivets for the firewall, we had 2 bad ones that needed to be drilled / replaced, and 1 smiley.

Finishing up all the firewall aft brackets for the relays, cabin heat box, and engine umbilical pass through.  Then I can finish them (IE clean, alodyne, paint, rivet fasteners).  Then its onto the firewall blanket.

Test fit of the frame.  There was a couple holes I forgot to drill in the stainless and needed the pattern.

Then I had a nightmare... I could not remember if I had fit the air deflector with the frame and gascolator on.

Thankfully it fits.

Insulation blanket cut in half and taped both sides.  The TWTT instructions do not say much other than 'cut in half, tape the two halves together'.  The manufactured edge of the material does not have insulation (see below pic).

The solution is to overlap the manufactured edge and butt the insulation up against each other, and then tape both sides.

Insulation initially cut to fit.  Supposed to trim to 2", but I did slightly more, so need to correct.

I did the bulk of my wiring with the temporary firewall in place and the engine hung.  Now that all of that is out, now is the right time to clean up the mess and finish the last few connections.  I am actually rewiring all of the power connections through the firewall.  All of the new wires are extra long so I can route them nicely and terminate appropriately.  Its only about 10 wires... a few of them I had not done yet, but those are in progress.

Insulation adhered to the firewall, and orcotek tape in place.  I am about 4' short (ordered 10' from Glasair for $40).  The kit came with 16', but if doing 2 lines of tape from top to bottom on both sides when joining that is just not enough.  If you only do one side (which the TWTT instruction indicate), 16' would be enough.  I probably messed up about 1' of it where it folded over on me and I could not recover it.  The best method is DEFINITELY to do it in short strips and not try to wrap the entire ~12' of firewall in one piece (this tip came from the forum).

Top side...

Bottom side

There are a few puckers here and there, but once it is pressured up against the cage I am hoping they will come out.  Not that much will be visible when all is said and done done.

I've made back plates for the captive fasteners for the relays, engine umbilical, and cabin heat box.  These have all been alodyned and primed / painted.  Next is to rivet the fasteners in place, then rivet them in.  Also have large washers for the throttle pass through, UL pressure lines, main fuel line / return line.

Time to put all the fasteners in.... luckily they can all be squeezed and no bucking required.

Only 1 plate to go, then its onto ground blocks, pass through fittings, etc.

Good day today.  Everything is mounted except the -6 fuel return line and -8 fuel delivery line (ordered the wrong stupid fittings).

Everything has loctite applied to the fasteners that will be inaccessible after installation.

Rear view

There is a bit of slack in the insulation (which is a good thing).  Once it is pressed up against the cage, the slack should be taken up nicely (fingers crossed).  There are 8 cage attach points, plus 5 for the engine mount, etc.  Plus, you wont really see much of this anyway.

I think that is enough for one post...

UL Power - Turbo Pressure and Wastegate Pressure Ports

The UL Power Installation needs a couple pressure ports for sensing.

• 1 is plumbed from the throttle body to the ECU (aka turbo pressure)
• 1 is plumbed from the throttle body (which appears to be at the same point as the above point) to the boost controller (aka turbo pressure)
• 1 is plumbed from the waste gate to the boost controller, but it is T'ed in with the above line coming from the throttle body (I believe this is turbo pressure, mixed with waste gate pressure)
• The Aux box has a port that needs to be plumbed to a static source.  I am NOT plumbing this to the main static system, due to the Canadian regs requiring a 2 year pitot static test.  I will probably end up plumbing in a 2nd static system just for this line, but that is TDB currently (this one is just ambient pressure)

The bizarre part of this... the lines for the ECU and boost controller are different types.

• ECU:  Appears to be a standard AN3 fitting with stainless steel braided line.  
• Boost controller:  Silicon hose.  2 ports on the boost controller, 1 to the throttle body and the other to the waste gate.

This is the UL documentation (just one page that attempts to show it all):

The engine comes with the hose and ends, but nothing to bridge the firewall.  I used an AN-3 bulkhead fitting.  Before anyone gets all judgementy on me, my plexiglass firewall is still in place so all of this is considered mock up.

Connection to the ECU (looking down from where the forward windscreen would be).

Engine connection

For the two lines coming from the boost controller (one to the wastegate, and the other to the throttle body), since they are just 1/4" hose I use qty 2 AN-4 bulkhead fittings, with qty 4 Phenix push on fittings.  I used these on my header tank, and they are impossible to get off.  And I mean impossible.

These two fittings are outboard of the firewall accessory frame (which lines up with the cage tab mounting inboard of the engine mount.  Almost a straight shot from the boost controller sitting on the shelf, just aft of the ECU)/

All of this is just temporarily attached for overall fitment.

One more day until the engine comes off (fingers crossed, weather dependant).

What's left to do tomorrow:

1. Throttle firewall penetration
2. Cabin heat cable firewall penetration
3. Alternate air cable firewall penetration

Then I should be good to go... fingers crossed.  Then it all comes apart...

Update...

Progress is being made... albeit slowly.

The wiring on the 'Longnose' Sportsman is pretty much done.  The last bits remaining:

1. Wire fuel pumps from the switch to the pumps.
2. Alternate air switch / panel indicator
3. EarthX battery fault wires
4. UL regulator to main bus

And thats pretty much it.  Everything else is installed, wired an functions as expected.

I have the next 1.5 weeks on vacation, and have a few goals to accomplish:

1. Clean up the rats nest of wiring.  OK, its not THAT bad, but needs some TLC
2. Finish the last of the firewall penetrations and determine routing for the prop controller to prop cable, EGT's/CHT's, cabin heat cable, fuel injection return, boost controller lines, and thats about it (as if that's not enough LOL).
3. Pull the engine and put it back in the crate
4. Drill the 'real' firewall
5. Rivet the flanges on the real firewall
6. Adhere the firewall blanket
7. Install the firewall and rivet it in place.
8. Rehang all the firewall components (regulator, coils, fuel pumps, relays, batteries, etc)
9. Reinstall the engine

Is all that doable?  Maybe - we will see.  I think I can get 1 through 7 done before January 2nd, maybe more.  But you have to have goals, right?

IF I can get all of the above done, then its onto engine / firewall forward 'stuff':

1. Oil cooler mount and lines
2. Oil cooler opening in the front of the cowl
3. Intercooler mounting
4. Ducting for the intercooler
5. Air intake and filter mounting / plumbing
6. Alternate air inlet
7. Finish the exit air ramp on bottom of cowl
8. Cowl 'finishing'
9. Cowl fasteners
10. Windows (front, top deck, doors (x3), fuselage) - the front window will be last (and probably just temp bonded until after first engine run)
11. Brake lines from park brake valve to calipers
12. Throttle and engine throttle (capture) bracket

Once all that is done, its off to the airport.  Hoping for mid 2023, then its onto final wing integration (wiring, fuel lines, hatch covers, wing tips, lights) and final wiring, etc for the tail.

80% done, 80% to go.  Will be finished on Tuesday.  Just not saying which Tuesday... 

Cowling and Extension - Part III

 In part I and II, the cowling was extended ~11".  Also, I dished and reinforced the top.  Now its onto the sides.

Going to do the sides one at a time.  Left side below.

2 laminates.  ~0.5" and 1" with peel ply on top.  Didnt get all the way to the bottom... going to deal with that separately after I figured out what I am going to do with the air exit ramp.  This time I chose to do it on the airplane - partially because I could, but mainly because it is holding in in the correct shape.

Its a bit messier then I would like, and will take a bit more cleaning up.

Right side next.

First round of filler on the top.  Mixture of resin, cabosil, and glass bubbles.  The large filler areas on the sides is where the aluminum picked up.  But there are 4 layers of glass under, and 2 on top, so I am not worried.

Sanded the top down to even everything out, then a 2nd round of filler and more peel ply (good thing I bought a roll.

I got most of the low spots on the first round.  

First round of filler on the left side of the lower cowl.

The transition from the side to the bottom had the largest gap.  Planning on a single layer of glass here to stiffen it up and prevent cracking.  Doing everything on this piece on the airplane to keep it in the correct shape and not sitting on a bench.

Going to give the right side another day before sanding.

Slowly getting everything built up to look right.

Going to do a little bit more on the top and lower sides, then moving on to the exit air ramp extension.  Planning to use a similar aluminum mold.

Lots of work travel coming up in October and November, so progress will be slow for the next bit.