The Long Home Stretch

One of the really annoying things about building is the fact that you have to keep taking things back apart. The good news is that you get really familiar with how they go together. I swear I'm going to wear some of the hardware out. I had the entire plane assembled and painted. Now it seems I'm taking it completely apart. I have to fix some things I wasn't quite satisfied with and take the controls off after painting to balance them. Once it gets close to flying, it is time to get every detail checked and double checked. If something seems like it might not be quite right, trust me - it will get you at some point. I learned that lesson the hard (expensive ) way on the first plane. This time I am taking the time to get everything just so. Here are a few of the things I've been working on to get things finished up.

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My paint scheme will incorporate 12 inch N numbers since we want to fly to the islands. I don't want to shell out the dollars to put them on the primer for first flight. I opted for vinyl mailbox lettters from the hardware. As you'll see, they look surprisingly decent on the green hornet.

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Even though they are cheap mailbox letters, it feels like a step forward to see N numbers.

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Although I painted the inside of the cowl with epoxy to seal it against oil leaks, I wanted to paint it a light color so as to better seal it, make it easier to spot leaks and to clean them up if they occur. I chose this 500 degree engine enamel paint.

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Here is the painted top cowl. It is nice and sealed and will be easy to clean up if any oil leaks. (hopefully not) It will also make it easy to inspect for leaks by looking in the back of the cowl.

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I wanted to add some thermal protection for the nylaflow as it passes the brake disc. I found this fiberglass and mylar heat shield in the racing section of the NAPA store. It is large enough in diameter to fit over the end fittings, so I'll slid it over the fittings, fold it tight around the nylaflow and hold it tight with some Mil Spec metal tape.

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Here is the Thermosleeve installed.It looks nice and tight and protective.

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I installed flanges forward and aft of the canard cover. I really don't want rain dripping in on the fancy new autopilot servo, much less the Grand Rapids EFIS units. I also put in a baffle that seals off the nose gear well. You can just see the flange in the top left of the photo forward of the canard cover flange.

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I completely rebuilt the pitch trim mount and a new spring. I had everything working, but when I actually hooked up the push pull tube to the elevators, the top of the spring would rub on the top of the doghouse. Can't have that. I also had only one inch of trailing edge up trim at maximum trim and wanted more. Now everything works better and I can remount the canard.

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I finished the brake lines for the toe brakes. This was some serious plumbing. I also fished the nylaflow lines down the copilot side duct to the space behind the gear bulkhead. I need to make the final connection to the brake lines running up the gear legs and I'm ready for brake fluid.

I also adjusted and repaired the nose gear doors. Here's a helpful hint. If you're going to be working around the gear leg, put a tie wrap on the over center linkage. It is hypothetically possible to bump the overcenter linkage just a tiny bit and cause the front of your airplane to crash loudly down on said nose gear doors. Take my word for it.

I still have to mass balance the ailerons and elevators, re-install everything and do the weight and balance. I also have to calibrate the fuel probes and re- adjust the alignment of one of the magnetometers. Then, I need to fill all the fluids for the hydraulics and brakes. Once I do that its taxi time. I figure I have 5 or 6 days of work before it is ready for inspection. The question is how long it will take me to find those days. In the meantime, I'm enjoying finishing up and will REALLY enjoy putting everything together for the second to last time. (Remember, I'm flying it a bit in this awful green primer before the final paint job)

Stay tuned- videos of engine start and taxi should be coming soon.

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