Every experimental aircraft needs an annual condition inspection to remain airworthy (and legal).
As the manufacturer, I obtained a Repairman's Authorization from the FAA that allows me to do the inspections. Everything needs to be taken apart, inspected and checked. It typically takes me several days. As usual, I found some things that needed fixing.
Legal requirements aside, I will be flying 500 miles to Kalamazoo to visit Andy and Theresa Millin in two weeks, then flying 90 miles over Lake Michigan to get into Oshkosh for Airventure. The inspection effort is worth the peace of mind. I like knowing that everything is just so before heading out on a trip like that.
I started out by removing the cowlings and draining the oil. Yes, Andy, the screwless cowl would be nice right now. Thank God for electric screwdrivers.
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Out with the old, in with the new. Here is a view of the cooling plenums that bring air in to cool the engine cylinders.
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I took some time to clean up the cowlings really well. They are painted white inside to better show any leaks.They get pretty grimy in a year.
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The oil from my breather tube is slowly forming a stain on my nice white cowl. I couldn't seem to get it off this year. Any suggestions are welcome.
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The large air filter is removed and inspected.
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The two big squawks this year were the starter and the alternator. The starter case was actually coming apart at the seam. Some tightened fastenters and Loktite solved the starter issue.
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The alternator wiggled when pushed on - not good. I pulled it and found that the U bracket mounting it to the engine had one sheared bolt in the case and one loose bolt. Great. Luckily, I was able to get the sheared off portion of the bolt off. I reinstalled, tightened and safetied everything.
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Nancy stops by with Molly for a visit to check on my progress.
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On to the interior. One by one, I remove the vanity panels and check the mechanicals. I put new batteries in the ELT.
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Way back in June 2010, during the fly off in Sebastian, the mounting point for the gas spring that holds up the door debonded. The factory, not wanting to waste time or reupholster, remounted it with a rough piece of aluminum angle and two sheet metal screws. At Oshkosh last year, a gawker tried to force the door up higher to look inside, breaking the attachment. It has been just barely hanging on since then, all loose and floppy. I didn't want to have the wind take the door off at Oshkosh this year so I finally decided to fix it.
The question was how to attach it. The original attach method is to bond a square piece of aluminum to the corner of the hollow carbon fiber rollover beam, then glass over it, drill and tap it for the mounting ball, then upholster over it. I really don't want to do that, but I need to have something behind the carbon beam to attach to.
I decided to inject a mixture of epoxy and milled fiber slurry into the cavity, then drill and tap it to accept countersunk 10-32 screws. The problem was that the mixture would simply run down to the bottom of the beam unless I somehow dammed it up right below the holes.
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Here is the method I came up with and it worked great. I cut 1inch by 4 inch rectangles of foam, then twisted them down into the hole. They then untwisted themselves and formed a nice tight barrier right below the mounting holes.
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Next, I mixed up the slurry and loaded the syringe.
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I rounded the corners on the angle, countersunk the holes and buffed it to a nice shine. I reinstalled it and it looks great. Nice and tight with no play. I'm good to go.
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Next, I reinstalled the cowlings, then put the plane up on jacks to check the landing gear.
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Factory made aircraft jacks cost a FORTUNE. I made these beauties for about $25 each and they have served me well for years.
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I checked the emergency gear extension system. As you will see, the nose gear starts to come down, then pauses while the main gear go down and lock. The drop test passed.
The video is awkward because I had to reach way inside to pull the emergency gear extension handle.
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One of the great (and truly maddening) things about fiberglass is that it is able to change shape.
If you leave your doors open on a hot day at Oshkosh, they flex slightly and "take a set". Then, when you try to close them, they can be stubborn to latch.
My gear doors had taken a set so that they stuck out about 1/8 inch past flush into the slipstream. This was likely causing drag and slowing me down. Using a heat gun, I carefully heated the parts until they were just too hot to touch. I then propped them into the desired position until they cooled.
Voila! They now fit perfectly flush again.
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In the previous photos, you will notice big puddles on my hangar floor. That's because on Sunday night when I pulled the plane out onto the ramp to run the engine before closing up the cowling as seen above. It was very threatening and I pulled the plane back in as soon as I was done. A huge storm then passed over as I worked on the plane.
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After the rain stopped pounding on the hangar roof, I opened the door - to a beautiful rainbow.
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All safe and serviced, tucked back in the hangar.
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I inspected the life preservers, tie down kit, aircraft cover, spare oil and cleaning supplies, then loaded them in the plane. All I need now is to give it a fresh wash and I'm ready for Oshkosh.
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| Sean, Katie, Mark and Nancy at Airventure 2012 |
18 days to go until we leave for Andy's house. We will be at the show from Monday night until Thursday or Friday. Stop by and say hello if you see the plane. It's always fun to meet people who have been following the blog.
If you are a fellow Velocity driver, I look forward to seeing you at the Velocity Cookout on Wednesday night!
Next post will be Airventure pictures!
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