Joshua's RV-9A Project

Terminated the lighting wires that emerge from the underside of the canopy structure in a mating plug to the one installed on the subpanel the other day, and covered the loop with nylon sleeving for chafe protection.  Drilled a hole in the center of the glareshield to pass the GPS cable through.  Unpinned the  puck GPS cable from the DB9 connector, so it can be passed through the canopy hole when ready, and put a snap bushing on the cable. Two cables will come from the canopy, the panel floodlight and the GPS, both of which have a disconnect on the subpanel.

Also removed the magnets from the bottom of the GPS puck, and filled the holes with RTV to re-seal the casing, since with the magnets removed, you can see the sensor board and wires inside the unit.  Temporarily reconnected the GPS to the EFIS to verify that nothing was damaged during magnet removal; all appears functional.

Soldered a 3.5mm jack on the end of the cable that’s connected to the passenger phones line of the audio panel, and installed that jack into the bottom flange of the instrument panel, over on the passenger side.  I wired this up to provide a convenient place to tap into the intercom/radio audio with an audio or video recorder.  All audio wiring is now complete.

Worked with the block of black Delrin I ordered to fabricate and install the canopy closure guides.  The idea is that these low-friction guideblocks will capture the latch fingers as the canopy lowers, then align them properly with the holes they must pass through.  By providing a mechanical means for alignment (rather than relying on a human to guide it), the hope is that the possibility of cracked canopy corners or beat-up latch plates will be reduced.  This is a fairly common addition, it seems.

I started with a block of Delrin from McMaster, 1/2″ thick, 1″ wide, and 12″ long.  Measured and marked some guide lines, cut on the bandsaw, shaped on the disc sander, and cleaned up with a razor blade and scotchbrite, ending up with a pair of symmetrical guide blocks that look decent and should do the job.  To secure them, I decided to use #6 hex-head screws.  I drilled the holes, 3 per block, with #27 for the screws, then counterbored a 3/8″ flat-bottomed hole (start with a regular 3/8″, finish with the forstner bit again) about halfway through the block, then pressed in a 3/8″ OD  #6 black stainless washer, which will spread out the screw force, but you can’t tell it’s in there, since the color matches that of the Delrin.  Used the blocks to match-drill the rollbar, then tapped the holes, since getting nuts and wrenches that far up in the hollow rollbar would be nearly impossible.  These blocks are not structural, and they’re plenty solid with the tapped holes.  I think the install turned out well, though I’ll have to wait awhile until canopy installation to see how they actually work.

Used some newspaper taped together to make a pattern for the glareshield covering, then transferred that pattern to the material, and cut.  I’m using a big piece of industrial fabric which is the loop-side of hook-and-loop fasteners.  Essentially, it’s a giant piece of female Velcro.  The GPS puck will be fastened to it by sticking dots of male velcro on the bottom, and any other items that would be handily secured there can be fastened in the same way: wrap a strip around pens, flashlights, and so on.  I left the aft end of the cut fabric long, then fit the piece to the forward edge curve (the inside of the canopy bubble), and wrapped the aft end over the glareshield edge.  Using the pinch welt I got from Classic Aero, I secured the aft edge in place, then cut with a razor blade along the edge of the pinch welt on the bottom side to remove the excess length.  Poked a  hole matching the hole drilled in the glareshield earlier, where the snap bushing will go.  Finally, I flipped the entire piece out, over the pinch welt.  I’ll find some adhesive material to apply to the glareshield, then roll the fabric down over the top of it, to bond it securely in place.

Some days, checking off little tasks can give a good feeling…today was one of those days.  Not much got done, really, but it was nice to call a couple things finished.

The major victory for today was the installation of the secondary canopy latch with spring modification.  I’ve mentioned a bit about this before; today I headed to the hardware store to dig around and come up with some springs that would work.  A found a 5/8″ by 1 9/16″ compression spring that was a perfect slip fit on the 1/2″ shaft of the latch, and had a good strong spring force.  To accommodate the length of the spring (it needs to be long enough to allow the latch to pull down far enough to clear the canopy frame), I chose not to cut the UHMW block down to capture only 2 of the mounting bolts, but rather to counterbore the block for the spring.  Since the 1/2″ hole is already drilled, I used a Unibit to enlarge it to the 5/8″ step, followed by a 5/8″ forstner bit in the drill press to bore the hole to the required depth (I went almost 3/4″ here).  Cleaned up the hole so the shaft slid freely, installed the spring into the hole, and capped with washer and cotter pin.  Pretty slick, I think.  I bolted the latch to the canopy frame, with the latch block spaced out from the frame by placing an AN960 washer on each mounting bolt, between block and frame.  This provided just enough space that the washer and cotter pin have clearance from the frame.  I did find a smaller diameter piece that could be used in place of the washer (sold as a 1/2″ ID x 1/8″ spacer), but the head of the cotter pin still needed clearance.  It’s easy enough to change if needed, but I don’t forsee a need to replace it; the latch arm has plenty of reach to the aft side of the canopy frame, to engage the rear window bow.

Number two: installed a newly-purchased screw to complete the installation of the pitot-static manifolds.

Number three: riveted in the magnetometer mount, and mounted the EFIS 1 magnetometer.  Also slid the elevator pushrod into the tailcone.

And, finally cleaned up the shop, including the massive nest of short wire bits that had collected on the bench…

Received a couple supply orders this morning, from SteinAir and McMaster, so parts were on hand to complete a few tasks.

Installed the intake gaskets and bolted the fuel servo and spacer/bracket to the sump.  I bought some all-metal steel locknuts in 5/16-18, which is the thread on the long studs AeroSport sent to me.  I’ve installed the standard-height ones, but even with a thin washer, the threads are only flush with the bottom of the nut, rather than the usual 1-or-2-thread protrusion we want (though they do appear to be fully engaged; there’s just no excess).  I installed them for now, torqued and sealed, but will ask around to see if this is a real problem; if so, whether using shorter nuts (which I also bought) would be acceptable here, or if I’ll need to locate and install longer intake studs (ugh).  In other FWF news, torqued the engine mount bolts and installed cotter pins.

Installed the quick-connect fittings on EFIS 1, into which were installed the pitot and static tubes.  Blowing lightly in the pitot line at the wing root caused the airspeed to come alive, and capping the tube off cause it to hold steady, so the system within the fuselage appears to be tight.  Sucking lightly on a static port indicated a climb, so that’s good too, though that one isn’t guaranteed leak-free, as I wasn’t able to plug the opposite port and hold suction; that test will come later.

Moving toward finishing the ELT install, I drilled a hole in the aft top skin for the antenna, and fabricated a circular doubler to go inside, per the installation guide.  Routed a coax from the ELT to the antenna, secured and terminated.  Hint: a BNC connector doesn’t fit through the 1/2″ hole for the antenna, and if you install it with the coax pulled to the outside because it’s easier, you’ll have to cut it off and do it again, the hard way…don’t ask how I know.  Routed and secured most of the wiring around the ELT itself, though the wiring is not done yet.  Some fiddly soldering on a 4-pin DIN needs to be done to hook up the power and GPS signal (why they chose that awful connector, I don’t know…).  And, I need to terminate the RJ-11 ends, and of course my RJ crimper is in my toolbag at the office.

In the same area, installed a nutsert for the APRS box, and secured that along with it’s wiring.  Placed a couple ziptie bases along the wire run to the RS-232 service port and status indicator light and secured those wires, as well.  Still haven’t seen any pings from the APRS show up on the internet, though that’s not surprising as it’s been in the garage the entire time.  I might push it out someday and see if it’ll ping, but with the bottom-mounted antenna, I don’t really expect to see anything until she’s airborne.

And as long as I was working in the tailcone, I finished securing the wires that run along the floor, including the addition of a few ziptie bases.  Also removed the test-fit magnetometer mount, deburred and primed it so it can be riveted in place.  I see at least a couple more trips into the tailcone (mag/mount install, finish the ELT, install the elevator pushrod) in my future, but hopefully I’ll be done with that soon, at least for awhile.  Once you’ve got camp set up in there, it’s not so bad, but getting in and out is a bear…and even more fun when you get yourself inserted and then realize the tool you need is still on the bench.

In keeping with the tailcone theme, but on the outside, I installed the rudder cable fairings that were prepped yeterday.  The night’s last act was to install the nutplates on the elevator horn inspection holes, then prep & prime the cover plates.

Checked the FAA registry tonight and saw that my N number is now showing as assigned, with the proper details of my airplane.  So, it appears my registration has been received.  I’ll laugh if the state tax people call up in the middle of the current government shutdown to ask for their pound of flesh…

Trimmed the UHMW block for the top canopy latch, and drilled the holes which bolt it to the canopy frame.  Found a washer that fits the shaft of the latch, and drilled the shaft for a cotter pin, but discovered that the washer’s OD is too large to fit on it; it hits the canopy frame.  I’ll have to dig deeper in the bags, as I must have pulled the wrong washer.  I’m also planning to install the spring modification that others have done, which allows the latch to tuck up parallel to the canopy frame, eliminating the possibility of locking oneself out of the plane if the latch were to slip.

Installed plugs in the open ports of the pitot & static manifolds.  I installed these manifolds to allow for easy expansion in the future, to run lines to a second/third EFIS, autopilot, and whatever new gadget comes along that needs it.  I haven’t found the second long screw I bought to secure these, though…looking like a fresh one from Menard’s.

Installed the center bearing block for the rudder pedals.

Shaped the upper body of the Gretz pitot tube slightly as needed to fit into the pitot mast, put the nutplates on the mast, and installed it to the wing.  Then, installed the pitot tube to the mast after trimming the pressure line and wires as needed, and wired/plumbed it.  I decided to try using a straight quick-connect union to join the 1/4″ copper line from the pitot tube to the nylon tubing which runs through the wing, since they’re supposed to be OK for all types of tubing.  If it doesn’t work, there’s plenty of room and remaining length on the tubes to do it a different way.  With the pitot installed, I rolled the wing cart over to the fuselage and plugged the left wing in, to verify operation of the heater.  Cooling it off with a cupful of ice water caused the heater to kick on, and the indicators indicated appropriately.  Check.

Drilled attachment holes in the rudder cable fairings, then match-drilled them to the fuselage.  I went with one hole in each corner for a total of three; if this proves not enough, it’ll be easy to add two more holes halfway along the sides.  I plan to attach these with blind rivets; easy, and easy enough to remove with a drill if needed later.  Primed the inside surface of the fairings and left to dry.

When testing the pitot heater, I had all three of the annunciator lights lit up on the panel, and grabbed a couple photos.  I really like how these LED indicators worked out, even though they were a bit pricey.  They may end up being too bright at night, but with the way they’re wired, it would be simple to add a bright/dim switch, or even a dimmer pot.  And, they should be dark in the normal condition, so it may be a non-issue.  (The camera makes them look brighter than they actually are, too; the hotspots in the photo aren’t apparent to the naked eye.)  I’m still very happy with the panel design & layout; putting that together was, as expected, one of the highlights of the project.

Just a bit of time in the shop after working 9 hours during the day on other things…what vacation?  Riveted in the panel brace, reinstalled EFIS 1 and connected the AOA tubing, mounted the ELT bracket, and clipped some wireties from a previous session, along with the usual staring at the project to see what’s next.

Spent a good portion of time in the shop today, but didn’t accomplish a great deal, it seems.  I started the day with a list of what seemed like easy quick tasks, but in reality, I only checked off one thing.

The main order of business for the day was finishing the EGT/CHT wiring FWF.  Having installed or test-fit essentially everything in the area, I finished running the wire harness and sorted out which wire was which.  After creating service loops and trimming to length, the wires needed to be terminated, using the recommended method (crimp, flux, solder, heatshrink) from AFS.  I put heatshrink on each terminal, as they’re uninsulated; once the terminals were joined together, heatshrink went over that, then a larger piece of heatshrink to bundle the pair of wires for each probe together.  It should be secure and well-protected, yet still easy enough to cut away when a probe needs to be replaced.  Once everything was hooked up, I used a heat gun to check that the proper probe is wired to the proper location — the EGT’s are, but I wasn’t able to get the CHT’s to show on the display; not sure what’s going on there, although the EGT’s disappear below a certain point as well (100*, I think), so the CHT’s probably have similar logic and I just wasn’t able to heat them far enough given the larger thermal mass of the cylinders.

Other more minor tasks accomplished:

• Fabricated, fit, and painted an angle brace to go between the panel and the subpanel, to eliminate a slight flex in the left side of the panel.  The brace ties into the EFIS 2 tray with a countersunk screw, and is fixed to the subpanel with a riveted clip.  Will install this tomorrow once the paint is dry.
• Installed the ELT remote to the panel, and attached the audio alert box to the subpanel.  The audio alert can be serviced without removal, since the cover unscrews from the base, but the remote will need to be removed again for installation of the battery.  There are actually three batteries in the ELT system — one in the ELT itself, one in the remote, and another in the audio alert box.  All except the ELT have to be procured by the builder.  I haven’t looked yet to see if they’re all good for 5 years like the ELT battery, or if more frequent replacement is required.
• Since EFIS 1 was removed for access to fit the panel brace, I took the opportunity to enlarge the wiring hole behind it.  My initial hole was large enough for the requisite wires, but the bigger, oblong hole will remove the tight bend that a few of the wires had to take, and give more space for the pitot/static/AOA tubing.  Speaking of which, I found that I never ordered the fittings for the pitot/static connections to the EFIS.
• Ran switched/dimmed power and ground to a plug at the subpanel, where the panel flood lights will connect.  These lights are mounted to the underside of the glareshield, which is part of the canopy, hence the need for a disconnect to allow canopy removal.

Worked on various things today, all generally related to FWF…

• Measured for, built, and installed an angle brace for the oil cooler.  To avoid interference with injector lines, ignition wires, and purge valve cable, I tied it into the clip that was fabricated earlier for the purge valve cable.  This, as promised, stiffened up the oil cooler quite well.
• Made up the tubing spacers which go between the flanges of the oil cooler to keep it from being deformed by the mounting bolts.  Installed spacers and cooler, after removing/reinstalling the aft left baffle to drill the bolt hole for the brace.
• Worked through the engine control linkages FWF.  Drilled the mounting brackets for bolts and installed, torqued rod ends, and replaced temp fit bolts with proper length ones, torqued and sealed all fasteners.  Was going to install the fuel servo & bracket, but it seems I never ordered the proper nuts (5/16 coarse thread all-metal locknuts) to do so.
• Unbolted the purge control cable and threaded it back into the cabin in order to install the eyeball passthru in the firewall.  Re-ran the cable, installed final bolts, torqued & sealed fasteners.
• Riveted the left side heater air takeoff and screen to the baffle ramp.
• Torqued and sealed the brake lines which run from the fuselage to the caliper.  At this point, the brake system is completely installed (except for fluid).
• Looked at the exhaust system hanger clamps; it appeared that these could be adjusted on the pipe, but they are fixed in place with a welded pin.  I don’t understand how the hangers mount and where they run to, so will need to do some research.  The brackets seem to me like they’re facing the opposite direction of where they should (with the side ear facing outboard instead of in).
• Worked on refitting the top cowling, which means trimming the baffles.  On this initial trim, the goal was to get them trimmed just far enough that the cowling can be fixed in place, not to get them to the final cut line.  It took several initial trims, then I spaced the top cowl up by clamping some wooden shims across both cowls, setting the top-to-bottom spacing consistent all around.  Then, cut a block and drilled a hole the same distance from one end as the space between the cowls.  Reaching inside with a sharpie through the hole in the block, I was able to slide it around and mark the contour of the cowl on the baffles, to establish a trim line.  (This method stolen from a VAF post)  Removed the top cowl and trimmed to the line, then a couple more re-fits to tweak, and it’s fitting well.  There will be more trimming ahead, for sure, but this was a good start.
• In order to fit the top cowling, the camloc strips were reinstalled to the firewall edge, after having excess width trimmed from them (1/2″ trim, for a 2″ total width).  These are not yet drilled for the camlocs, so that 1/8″ clecoes can be used to secure the cowling to the strip.  The camlocs won’t be installed until the strips are installed, which isn’t until after the top skin is installed.  Chicken-and egg, yes…and there must come a point where the easy access under the top skin needs to be sacrificed in the name of getting the skin on so progress can be made, but not yet.
• Neighbor Jeff and his brother stopped in to check out the progress.

And, crossed the 1400-hour mark tonight.

Worked on various little projects around the plane:

• Finished install of cabin brake lines.  Torqued and marked.
• Bolted rudder pedals in place.  Tried the middle holes, but with the seat put in, they’re too close for me, so moved them to the forward holes.
• Messed with ignition leads to see how much too long they are (some are just right, others are several inches too long).
• Cut pieces of screen for the second heater air takeoff, and the cabin fresh air vents.  Installed the vent screens between the scoop and the duct.  RTV’d the heater takeoff screen and clecoed the flange in place to cure; this’ll get riveted next time.
• Played with routing for the left heater feed, which comes off the baffle inlet ramp.  Discovered that there is enough room between engine and cowling to run the SCAT along the bottom of the valve covers with adel clamps.  Will need longer screws to allow attachment of things like these clamps, and ignition wires, to the valve cover screws.
• Fabricated and installed a bracket for the purge valve cable.
• Installed new lockwashers, torqued and marked the engine case bolts along the top that were removed for installation of baffles & brackets.
• Figured out how to install the Reiff preheater power harness along the top of the engine, and did so.  Ran the cable to the sump heaters through the same grommet as the fuel supply to the spider.
• Installed clamps to secure the transducer-spider fuel hose.
• Started work on finishing up the engine side of the thermocouple wiring.  I’m planning to leave these wires long and double them back, leaving plenty of extra length, as they would be a pain to replace in the event that one needed to be trimmed and no extra length available.

Started installing brake lines tonight; put in the elbows at the calipers and fit those lines, along with the right-side cabin elbows, lines, and reservoir tee.

More work on FWF stuff today…routing the purge return line behind the baffles, then re-routing it to clear the oil filler tube.  Reworked the CHT/EGT wires on both sides to clear other items like the purge line, purge control, and oil cooler hoses.  Fit the oil cooler hoses to make sure everything had clearance.  Installed another fistful of adel clamps. Ran the purge control cable through the firewall and baffles.

Updated the FWF to-do list, but most of the components are in place now; much will be removed & reinstalled, but at least things are fitting together.

Brake lines and harnesses have arrived.