Category Archives: Fuselage

Alternate Air Cable

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Time: 1 Hour

In the case of a rough running engine due to the air filter getting clogged and restricting the air flow there is an alternate air door on the side of the snorkel. This door can be opened to allow unfiltered air to supply the fuel injection system so the engine continues to operate normally. I had run the cable in the cockpit some time ago and fabricated the door hole per the plans. Today I measure and cut the cable and attached it to the door. I also secured the cable with adell clamps to the oil return line from the forward cylinder head. It operates smoothly when opening and is not intended to be closed again in the air as the cable has to much slack to push it closed without bending. The idea is to get you back in the ground safely they return the door to the closed position after you remedy the cause of the clogged filter.

Fuel Pump Cooling Shroud

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Time: 1 Hour

Back when I installed the engine on the engine mount I installed a cooling shroud on the engine driven fuel pump. This has a flange that allows for a 1″ duct to direct cool air to keep the pump cooler. Now that the baffles are almost done I needed to create a take off of the baffle to allow pressurized air from the inside of the baffles to be used for this cooling. I bought a 1″ flange and marked out where it would best fit so that the duct hose would not interfere with other cables. I used the my 1 1/8″ hole punch to create the hole. Then I laid out three rivet holes and match drilled them to the baffle. Using the bucking bar and gun I made quick work of attaching the flange to the baffle. I measured and cut the duct hose and trial fit it to see how it looked. I will secure the hose once the baffles are painted and back in place for good.

Prop Governor Cable

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Time: 1 Hour

Now that the cables are run through the firewall I can start the process of connecting them to the parts of the engine they control. First up was the propellor governor control. My engine will power a constant speed propellor that will adjust its blade angle via oil pressure to maintain a desired RPM. That RPM is set using the cable connected to the governor. On this end of the cable you screw a rod end onto it. This rod end has a bearing that rotates about a bolt as the arm on the governor rotates. The challenge is the bolt needs to go through one direction so that it does not interfere with the arm rotation and hit the screws on the governor. This required me to remove the safety wire and screw holding the arm in place. Then I slid the arm almost off but not all the way. This little bit of room was enough to slip the bolt, rod end and the various washers that are required into position. With the cable end attached I could secure it to the governor cable bracket and adjust the length. The cable operates smooth with a little binding at the quadrant itself. I may need to make a little bend in the arm after examining closer later.

Control Cable Bracket

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Time: 4 Hours

Since I have used an alternate throttle quadrant from DMJ and placed it aft of where the stock controls would go I have to fabricate a cable support. The cables need a anchor point so that they can function properly and not move as the controls are moved. I followed my buddy Glenn’s lead and created one similar to his. It started with some basic measurements for where I would mount it. I used one of the three cables to line up the cable end and make a measurement how far forward of the quadrant I would need to mount the bracket. Once I had these measurements I sketched these out on a piece of some aluminum angle. With the band saw, files and my 3M wheels I got it in the shape I designed. I mounting this bracket to the side wall angle that would have been used by the stock arm rest/throttle quadrant. I drilled two holes in the bracket followed by match drilling through them into the side wall angle. Two AN3 bolts secured the bracket to the angle. I ran the three cables, throttle, mixture and propellor, through the firewall openings, through the gear tower and then the bracket. I secured the cables on the bracket with the supplied nuts and star washer. The ends of the three cables have a threaded section for a clevis and jam nut to screw onto. Them the clevis gets a pin through the hole in it and the hole in the quadrants arms. I put the pins in temporally to get the fitment tested. Once I connect the other ends and test the operation I will secure the pins in the clevis with cotter pins. As the cables pass through the gear tower I will place snap bushings that I will cut a split into. These bushings will snap over the cable and then I will slide them into place. Where the cables pass through the firewall I have “eyeball” pass throughs. These needed to be drilled to a larger diameter to accept the cables. I removed the eyeball and drilled them in a vice and cleaned all the edges up before putting them on the cables and securing them to the firewall.

Wings Back On

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Time: 6 Hours

We have been busy getting all the things done in the new home to make it ours. Like ripping up old ceramic tile to make way for new hardwood. That was not a fun project but it’s all ripped up and ready for the installers. In-between that work I have been doing little projects in the hangar to get it organized. I also got my hands on the RV to start building again. One of the items I was unhappy with when I put the wings on the first time was the length of the wire bundles coming out of the wings. I found them to be a little short to work on with the tight space you end up with when the wings are on. So since I had the wings off again I decided to add 12″ to each of the bundles to give me plenty of length. I also figured that I would finish up the little bit of fiberglass tasks to the control surfaces, the rudder and elevators. I just needed to fill some pin holes and smooth the transitions out a little. A composite pro I am not and hope to get some help when it comes painting time to make these perfect. I used some filler primer to identify the holes and used Super-Fil to make the corrections. With the rudder pin holes taken care of and a coat of primer on I put the rudder on the vertical stabilizer and bolted it in place. I also put the AeroLED tail light in as well.I then spent two hours putting in the new close tolerance bolts in to secure the wings…again. The process was just the same as before, I froze the bolts and used LPS lubricant. The rivet gun at low pressure worked to drive them into position. The hardest part of the whole ordeal, as before, was to torque the bolts. I worked one bolt and then took a little break as leaning over the side wall of the fuselage even with padding was not very comfortable. So that’s a good start to being in my very own hangar that’s ten feet from my back door! I can not wait to be able to just walk out and go for a flight or a trip.