Final Stage

Final Stage (1)

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Coy, Dale, Hal Lorenz and I loaded the wings, ailerons and trailing edges on Dale's trailer and moved the package to Airpark. Had planned on using 'moving blankets' from a local U-Haul on my homemade jigs, but they were out of the blankets, so we used every spare blanket and towel at my house for padding. We put a few scratches on the Polyspray moving the wings from Dale's workshop to Coy's paint shop, so we were extra careful this time. Arriving at Airpark, we assembled the wings on the fuselage, refitted the ailerons to the wings and attached the inboard trailing edges. Dale Lorenz brought the grandkids out to help us (see pics). Difficult finding the rivet holes on the wings, but the positive side of that is, we know the UV protection (Polyspray) is on right, because you can not see a glimmer of light through the fabric to find them. Coy and I had discussed whether or not we had enough of the Polyspray applied, and I think that's settled!





	It's nice having the bird home again! Thanks, guys, for all the help.

Sunday, February 1
2 hrs

Attached the horizontal stabilizers to the canard, and located and punched out the bolt holes on the vertical stabilizer/rudder assemblies. (Note: the smart thing to do when you're recovering components, is to burn out the bolt and rivet holes after the first few coats of Polybrush - while you can still see them.)

Friday, February 6
2 hrs

Took the canard to Airpark and attached it to the fuselage. (Note for future reference: used AN14A for the rear mount and AN24A for the front mount - Stop nuts for all bolts.) Probably going to have to do something to keep the paint and fabric from rubbing on the edge of the canard. Originally had a blue tape (duct?) running the whole length of the elevators, will have to get some advice about that. the fit was solid and Dale hooked up the control wires, everything worked great.

Saturday, February 7
3.5 hrs

Cold as a frog's tail! We had to repair the wingtip stabilizer mounts. The rivets had pulled loose and had to be replaced. We drilled out the rivets and replaced them with 3/16 steel with a 3/16 washer as a back plate. Sure is easier to write about than do...After that, Dale and I mounted the strut brace to the right vertical stabilizer. It was a little easier to find the holes since we could see where the left one was mounted. We braced and bolted both tailfeathers to the wings. The three and a half hours doesn't include the time spent going to get coffee to keep warm. Dale tried to fish out the control cable from the wing, (bottom right) but it's hard to fish cable when you don't have any feeling in your fingers.

Sunday, February 8
2.0 hrs

Worked on the right aileron. One of the aileron bearing braces was bent when we installed the ailerons on the wings and had to be replaced. The aileron was just a tad too close to the wing edge on the right wing, and needed to be extended about a quarter inch to have a good clearance. I pulled the braces and the inboard trailing edge off the wing. The trailing edge will need to be trimmed for the extra quarter inch as it fits quite tightly against the aileron support. Mounted the instruments in the panel. Didn't wire any of them up, but at least they're in place. Get a lot of company on Sundays at the airport.

Monday, February 9
4.0 hrs

Built the bearing brace out of 12 gauge steel plate and made it a one-piece brace that fits all the way around the bearing. (I may refit the rest of them the same way... later!) I don't think I'll have any trouble with this one bending. Put a quarter-inch spacer between the bearing and the wing edge. The ailerons clear all the way. Riveted the inboard trailing edge on the wing after modifying (again) the fit against the support.


Modified the brace for extra support	Installed a 1/4" spacer	Inboard trailing edge installed

Monday, February 23
2.0 hrs

A trip out of town and the weather have been my main excuses for not working on the bird for the last two weeks. I did do some parts scrounging for the motor installation (hopefully soon). I reworked the rear fuselage connectors for the ailerons and installed them. Discovered I had left an inboard aileron brace without the underside rivets. Had to take the wing loose to drill and rivet that prior to installing the connectors. Joyce was with me and held the wing while I did my thing. (Might make an A&P out of her. Could keep all that expense in the family..... Hmmmm) Bolted the oil tank to the custom-made mount Dale (Lorenz) made for me last summer. Mounted the tank using rubber mounts to minimize the vibration. It's made to fit over the engine on most aircraft, but the XP has absolutely no room in the engine compartment, so it will have to live outside.



The two top left panels show the aileron connectors. The rest are of the oil tank mounting.

Sunday, March 7
6 hrs

Straightened the wires we had installed some time before, built and attached the input wires to the rectifier, removed the front seat for painting, installed and wired (Dale soldered the connections) the tach, re-set the flutter tubes in the correct configuration and installed the vertical stab supports that I had constructed out of .058 steel tubing.
The rest of the time was spent in trying to figure out how to: connect and mount the throttle and choke cables; wire the EGT and CHT connections; mount the forward wing/fuselage bolt; unblock the pitot tube (from the fuselage to the pitot); fit AN bolts to a Rotax connection (it doesn't work); and finish mounting the underpanel wiring and still leave a manageable amount of wire to relocate the panel (if and when we decide to do it) a foot aft of its present configuration.
We also spend another hour watching the 'wind and bounce' show -- a few brave souls practicing landings in the gusty winds at Air Park. One-wheel landings are much more fun to watch than do. You know you've got a nice headwind when a C-172 can take off in 300 feet of runway.


Flutter bars finally heading in the right direction.	The rectifier is mounted in the engine nacelle, wired for input connections	Vertical stab bracing - .058 steel tubing. Quite a bit stronger than the original and very little weight gain.

Thursday, April 1
3 hrs

Dale and I mounted the throttle cable, choke cable, sleeves and connectors. Didn't have the ball?? to finish the throttle and choke levers connections. The cables are ready to connect to the carburetors and are riveted to the fuselage, so all that's left to do on the linkage is the lever connections. Decided to seriously consider bringing the panel 6" aft from its present position. More on that later. Going to try to get a full day in on Monday.

Wednesday, April 7
1 hr

We cleaned out the pitot tube and hose. Success. Tried to connect the choke cable. Failed. Walked around the bird for 45 minutes. Watched John Joye take off in an Aeronca. Walked around the bird for another 30 minutes, Watched John land the Aeronica. Removed the fuel gauge and air supply tubing. Went home.

Thursday, April 15
2.5 hrs

Finally finished the throttle and choke cables. They are both ready to hook to the carburetors and oil pump. I don't want to hook up the carbs to the engine until I'm ready to leave the engine on. I'll still have to take it off the mount when the reduction box comes from South Mississippi Light Aircraft. Ronnie told me he probably wouldn't ship it until after Sun 'N Fun, so I won't be looking for it until after next week. Dale helped me mount the brake lever to the front stick. We hooked up the brake cable and decided to do a little R&R on the rear cable. Pulled it off the brake and will soak it overnight in WD40. Dale also figured out a good spot for the center strobe. We'll have a pic of the installation a little later this month. Replaced the fuel tubing (visual fuel gauge and air supply) and mounted it to the fuselage. Decided to leave the tank uninstalled until the last minute. It crowds up the area we need to get to while installing the engine/instrument wiring. Shipped the prop blades off to Warp last week. Belt drive requires a left-hand prop and an 'E' box requires a right-hand prop. All in all, the first real productive day we've had in a month. I'll post pics after Sunday.

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