Powerplant
Cowl Fitment – Part 7
Continued to sand lower edge of upper cowling in preparation of lengthening the lower edge using hand and orbital sander with 60 grit. Finished rough sanding with 120 grit discs; should now be ready for fiberglass work. Cleaned upper edge of lower cowl with paint prep solution and applied packing tape to overlap area. Covered…
Cowl Fitment – Part 6
Began prepping upper cowl for fiberglass work by removing prop and spinner from engine then reinstalling lower cowl and cowl alignment spacer. Placed upper cowl into approximate position and secured to spacer. Traced 1.5″ line along upper cowl to mark limits of new fiberglass. Removed upper cowl and began to feather lower edge in preparation…
First Engine Run Prep
Began preparing engine for first run by draining preservation oil from engine and replacing 3.7 quarts of Shell 15W-50 oil. Replaced oil filter with NAPA 1394 Gold oil filter. Removed and replaced all 12 NGK D9EA spark plugs and set gap at 0.023″. Torqued rocker cover bolts to spec. Installed Sonex exhaust pipes onto engine…
Fuel Leak Testing and Vent Installation
Added fuel to tank in order to test firewall forward side of fuel system. Upon opening fuel shutoff valve, discovered that hardline to system drain was leaking from both AN fittings. Upon removing the line, discovered that the flare fittings were not made properly. Remade hard line and installed new fittings. Leak checked firewall forward…
Initial Prop Installation
Began initial prop installation by enlarging holes in Jabiru prop bushings from 1/4″ to 3/8″ using drill press. Verified holes in prop did not need any reaming but needed to ream holes in spinner slightly to allow for smooth bolt installation. Bolted prop and spinner to prop flange using AN6 hardware and AN363 lock nuts.…
Engine Sensor Installation
Installed rubber baffle material onto oil cooler duct. Installed EGT and CHT sensors onto engine and completed FWF wiring harness routing (other than oil pan heater). Verified temp probe operation with SkyView system then secured wires and routing in engine compartment. Secured throttle and mixture cables to engine mount using Adel clamps and started mapping…
Engine Baffles – Part 2
Installed rubber baffle sections onto engine cylinder baffles with AAP rivets. Test fit baffles back onto engine and checked clearances. Installed spark plug wire grommets onto spark plug harnesses. Hours Worked: 2.27
Cowl Fitment – Part 5
Continued to trim upper cowl to reach alignment with lower cowl. Removed lower cowl to clearance prop opening a little more. Used the bandfile belt sander for the last few passes which resulted in a slightly cleaner edge on the backside of the upper cowl. Once fit was close, reinstalled prop alignment hub and secured…
Cowl Fitment – Part 4
Began fitting upper cowl by placing onto lower cowl and notating baffling interference. Trimmed front of baffles by about half an inch and rechecked clearances. Made the determination that tucking upper cowl under the windshield skirt will likely make removing the upper cowl difficult with prop in place. Began process of making a shelf for…
Cowl Fitment – Part 3
Aligned the cowl into its final place then pilot drilled side hinges to cowl. Initially only pilot drilled a few holes due to space constraints. Pilot drilled a few holes in the bottom cowl hinge half by using flashlight method to locate holes through the fiberglass. Removed cowl and hinges from the airframe then finished…
Cowl Fitment – Part 2
Decided to solve oil cooler clearance issue by moving oil cooler up by about 5/8″. Removed oil cooler bracket from bottom of engine and remade bracket from 1.5″ x 1.5″ aluminum angle stock with shorter leg. Installed new bracket on bottom of engine with Loctite 242 then reinstalled oil cooler to new bracket. Reinstalled lower…
Cowl Fitment – Part 1
Began fitment of lower cowl by marking out locations for gear legs and fuel drain. Slid lower cowl into place and measured front face of cowl offset by approximately 1″. Trimmed back edges of cowl 1/2″ at a time while moving cutouts forward at the same time. Refit cowl and determined that proper forward alignment…
