April 2002

4/30/2002: This morning I drilled the holes in the ribs for the slosh door bolts, and for the nut plate rivets. I cut the slosh door fuel pass through tunnels. I also had started squeezing the rivets that hold the nutplates to the rib. Here is where I learned one of those "real life lessons". I figured out at least one reason why it is important to avoid cutting the countersink bevel even slightly too deep. Visually, the flat surface of the rivet looked like it was acceptably flush with the surface of the rib skin. As soon as I started to squeeze the first rivet, it was first pushed pack out of the hole by the amount that the countersink bevel was cut too deep. This left a very small gap between the head of the rivet, and the sides of the countersink bevel. Properly squeezing these rivets become very tedious and difficult. I had to squeeze the rivet by a very small amount, then put down the rivet squeezer, push the rivet back in all the way, make sure the nutplate was firmly against the rib skin, and then squeeze the rivet a very little bit more, and itteritively keep repeating the process. You can rest assured, I will never make that mistake again. It seemed to take FOREVER to squeeze those rivets. Ultimately I was able to squeeze them correctly

4/29/2002: I had never gotten around to getting a microstop countersink tool and rivet squeezer. Unfortunately, those tools are needed when it comes to building and installing the fuel tank slosh doors. Today I was to the point where I needed those tools. So... I worked on the left wing fuel drain instead. That evening, I borrowed both tools from Jim Nordin. We countersunk the holes, and squeezed the rivet attaching the slosh doors to the hinges. Jim spent some time with me that evening showing me how to do this task correctly. When countersinking the holes that the rivet heads would drop into, he stressed that it was important that the countersunk bevel be neither too deep, nor too shallow. At the time, I wondered why, but did not get around to asking. [I would figure out the answer to that question through one of those "real life lessons" within a couple of days.] When Jim showed me how to countersink the rivet holes, we tested the depth using a scrap piece of 1/8" PVC plastic. He started cutting the countersink bevel too shallow, and kept readjusting and testing until it was acceptably deep enough. His test method was to drop the rivet into the hole, and run his finger across the head of the rivet. As long as our finger would get caught on the edge of the rivet head, pulling the rivet partially out of the hole, the countersink bevel was too shallow. After each failed test, he adjusted the countersink cutter to go slightly deeper, and then test again. As soon as we could run our finger over the rivet head without catching on it or picking it up, the countersink bevel was deep enough, and we could start doing the production countersink cutting. Using this test criteria, starting shallow, and progressing deeper is essential.

4/27/2002 - 4/28/2002: This weekend I attended an airshow at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Galveston Tx. There was a Columbia 300 there. I spent quite a bit of time scrutinizing the plane looking to see how Lancair had done various things, or finished things off. I also took a lot of pictures. The Lancair dealer representatives that had brought the plane there were Ron Krumland & Liz Roberson from Lancair of Texas, Inc. They were very accommodating, allowing me to crawl all around and under their plane to study all sorts of details and get digital pictures. I am most thankful to them for their hospitality. Ron also took some time to show me pictures he had taken of Columbia construction at the Lancair factory. It became apparent that there are far more differences between an ES and a Columbia than I had realized. I think the list of differences is significantly greater than the list of similarities. Some of the differences are there to simplify mass production construction. Others seem to make these aircraft easier to service for general A&Ps. There were several major differences that were due to the fact that the places would not have to be shipped to builders, and they did not have to be designed to be built in a typical residential garage. It was all very interesting.

4/26/2002: Well now it is official... I am "on a roll". With my new project work schedule, I will be able to consistently log about 12 work hours per week on the project, and that does not count what I will be able to do on most weekends. That could add from 4 to 6 more hours on average. I should be able to make some progress.

This morning I worked on drilling all of the holes in the metal components for the slosh doors. Now I have to countersink the rivet holes, and then place and squeeze the rivets. Then I can start working on the steps for mounting the slosh doors inside the wing.

For the rivets, I had to cut 3 holes in each slosh door assembly. To make sure that the holes I had to drill in each hinge and the slosh door plate matched up perfectly, I tack-glued each slosh door plate to each hinge as it would ultimately be positioned. I used the Insta-Cure+ glue that came with the kit. This allowed me to drill the holes in the hinge and the door plate at the same time. I had worried somewhat that I might not be able to easily break the bond to clean out the Insta-Cure+ when I was finished drilling. I was not sure if Insta-Cure+ would dissolve in 100LL fuel and cause problems in the fuel line. This was not a problem. I discovered that I actually had to handle each part very delicately because the bond could be broken very easily. I also discovered that acetone is a good solvent for Insta-Cure+. I removed it completely and easily when I was done. I was able to batch drill the holes on the drill press using a stop block to quickly position and hold each piece. When I was done drilling, I had to debur the holes.

When it came to drilling the two holes in the other half of each hinge, I had to drill holes that matched up to holes that Lancair had drilled in the slosh door stops. I was able to set things up for batch drilling for this too, but I had to do a fair amount more measuring to make sure I had it right. Once I was set up, I drilled the quickly, and they all matched up perfectly.

4/25/2002: This morning I completed the right wing fuel assembly installation. All I really had to do was grind away the BID that covered the threaded hole at the base of the assembly, and remove the modeling clay I used to protect the threads from epoxy resin.

Then I started on making the slosh doors. Today I cut the 2" hinge segments for all 4 slosh doors (right & left wings). After I cut the hinges, I had to debur the new cut edges. I used a miter saw (usually referred to as a chop saw) with a metal cutting blade to cut the hinges. I clamped a stop block in place so it only took minutes to cut all of them to the same length. They say "measure twice, and cut once". My goal is measure twice, and batch cut many. I folded the hinge over on it self so I could cut the top and bottom half of each hinge segment at once. The construction manual states in Chapter 7, Step N1 that "It is much easier to cut the hinge if you remove the hinge pin." For me, keeping the pin in place made it easier to keep the top and bottom halves of the hinge together. I pulled the pin out of the hinge just far enough to prevent cutting the pin in each cut. I still did not want to cut the pin in Step N1 because in Step N2 you are told to cut the pin .5" longer than the hinge segment cut in Step N1. Just before cutting each 2" segment of hinge, I pulled the pin out again far enough to excluded it from the next cut. I cut the pin segments next. Another option might have been to pull the pin out on the opposite end by .5" and include it in the cut. This would only be desirable if you are using some form of power saw such as a chop saw, or band saw. Those that are using some form of hand tool would not want to do it this way.

4/24/2002: Day 2 of getting up at 3:00 AM to work on the project. Today I needed the alarm. That made a big difference. Today was not quite as easy, but within 10 minutes, I was fine. Within a week or two, this should be my new normal wake-up time. I still think this is the way to go for me living in a hot place like Houston. Once again, the temperature in my garage was 75 degrees the entire time. The outside temperature was 70 degrees.

After doing the necessary preparation for a good secondary bond, I put the 3 BID in place called for over the flange on the right wing fuel return assembly, on the outside of the inboard wing rib. I did not place the 2 BID that goes on the inside of the wing rib around the fuel return assembly tube because I want to talk to Lancair support regarding the recommended technique for doing this very small, but somewhat tricky lay-up. Lancair support isn't exactly available at 4:00 AM CT, and I don't think any of my Lancair building buddies would have appreciated a call at that particular moment either. ;-) There are a few drawbacks to working on the project at those hours. [ NOTE: I called Lancair Builder Support, and Mark Manke indicated that applying the 2 BID called for in Chapter 7, Step M8 was not needed. He said to bond the fuel return assembly in place with Hysol/flox, and put the 3 BID called for in Chapter 7, Step M9 in place, and it would be fine. I will say that this would be easier. ]

I used the modeling clay to plug the threaded hole at the base of the fuel return assembly. My next step will be to remove the 3 BID that covers the clay plug, and of course remove the plug too.

4/23/2002: Today was my first time to try going to bed the night before at 9:00 PM, and waking up at 3:00 AM to work on my project until 6:00 AM, which is when I need to start getting ready for work. This worked out great. I actually turned off my alarm just before it started to go off. The garage was a perfect 75 degrees F the entire time. There were no distractions or interruptions. I was able to get some productive work done. This was a much nicer temperature to work in, and the epoxy was much easier to deal with. This made it worth getting up at such a ridiculous hour. I think I will spend a little time the night before setting things up so I can get right into construction tasks when I start in the morning. Then all I will need to do in the morning is carry the epoxy pump, and the other items that need to be stored in a cool place (I collectively refer to them as "my party favors"), to the garage, and just start working.

First I had to devote a little time to cleaning the epoxy pump and put in a new batch of hardener. The old batch was getting too discolored for my comfort. I intend to use up the small remainder of discolored hardener on inconsequential items, and will use the scales for the correct ratios. From now on, I will not put any more hardener in the pump than what I can use up over the next two weeks. Then I won't have this problem.

I finished potting in the right wing fuel return assembly. It went very well. When I got home at the end of the day, all I had to do is remove the peel ply, and do a little touchup sanding.

4/20/2002 - 4/21/2002: This weekend I was able to get quite a bit done. It helped that Saturday I had some very motivation boosters. Saturday morning a Vari-Eze was flying over our house sticking very close to West Houston Airport. Jim Nordin had told me that there was a Veri-Eze owner at West Houston Airport that recently replaced his engine. My guess is that this was the one and he was flying off his initial test hours on the new engine. Seeing someone flying around in their homebuilt on a nice weekend day really got me excited. Later that same day, a Lancair 320/360 flew in and landed at West Houston Airport. If this was the Lancair I think it was, it was just purchased used within the last month. Both kept me excited about progressing through my project.

This weekend, I finished the right wing Fuel Intake, Fuel Drain, and Wing Tie Down installations. I started installing the Fuel Return, but I did not like how it was going. So... I pulled the Fuel Return Assembly back out, cleaned it up, and will resume this next week. The holes for mounting the assembly are cut and ready to go, so I should be able to wrap this up in short order.

It really gets exciting when you complete tasks on the project because you feel like you are getting just that much closer.

It is starting to get hotter in Houston. This weekend, the high temperatures were in the lower 90's. With a fan going, it did not feel bad at all, but I am having to prepare smaller batches of epoxy to avoid exothermic problems. I can see that I am going to have to take more deliberate action to avoid them. The cooler weather "honeymoon" is over. I have determined that it helps to have a high velocity fan blowing on the freshly mixed batch of epoxy. It helps dissipate the heat that the exothermic chemical reaction creates. There have been 3 cases where I was working on a batch that I feared would exotherm, but when I pointed the fan at the batch, it cooled right down very nicely. Also, since I am having to resort to smaller epoxy batches, I am concerned that my A to B ratios might be getting outside of the 10% or less ratio error that I am shooting for. Since small batches will be a way of life for me for the next 6 months, I have ordered a new scale that has a readability of 0.1 grams from Balances.com. This will let me keep the % error down while I am making such small batches.

During the week I think I will try working on the project early in the morning before work instead of in the evening. I think temperatures, and the lack of distractions will work more in my favor during that time.

This weekend I did spend some "quality time chasing bubbles" in the glass lay-ups I did. I am getting the hang of working them out because I did get them bubble free. I did find, from a comment that Mike Salzman made during his visit, that you can better spot bubbles by back lighting the part so that the light shines through the fiberglass. This makes them stand out much more than with frontal lighting. I use a fluorescent light that hangs from a retractable cord reel from the ceiling in my garage. I us it to light something I am inspecting closely. Holding it right up to the part, on the opposites side I am inspecting, causes the bubbles to really stand out.

I did encounter a little bit of a problem for glassing over the Fuel Intake assembly. This step involves mounting a brass square block inside of the innermost wing rib. The block has a threaded hole in the center that will hold a strainer to catch particles that may get into the fuel tank. I had poured paraffin in the threaded hole to keep resin out of the threads. It worked great, until I had put a lamp near the curing epoxy/micro to help post-cure the epoxy. I did not stop to think that the heat would also melt my paraffin plug, and it would flow right out of the hole. I went to the local crafts store to get some modeling clay to replug the hole. It worked great. When I went to get the clay, at first I was inclined to select clay that was colorless since I am not using it for decorative reasons. Then it occurred to me that the brightest possible color would be better because I would be able to easily see if any was left behind after I had cleaned it out. So, I chose the brightest day-glow pink they had. I had absolutely no problem spotting any remnants not yet removed... from across the garage. Paraffin plugs are easier to remove (just heat them up with a light), but bright colored modeling clay is easier to judge when all remnants have been removed. The clay is also easier if the area that has to be plugged is vertical because melted paraffin would pour out before it had a chance to cool and harden.

There were a few other things I noted at the crafts store. The section that had supplies for making candy had perfect pop-top squeeze bottles made of polyethylene that can be used for dispensing resin and hardener for those that are using scales. The cake decorating section had product that could be used for putting epoxy/micro in many otherwise hard to reach places. And... Rotary cutter supplies can be found in the scrapbooking section of a crafts store.

4/15/2002: Mike Salzman stopped by for the evening while he was visiting the Houston area from CA. We talked a lot about construction problems, solutions, tips and tricks. Mike helped me see where I could simplify some things I was doing. Also, Mike described how he tracks progress for his project. It sounds like he is using basic project management techniques. I have been thinking about how I might use similar techniques.

4/14/2002: Today Erik Lindbergh departed Lindbergh Field in San Diego CA. He should land at Spirit of St. Louis Airport in St. Louis, MO. From there he will fly to Republic Field in Long Island, New York. Erik is the grandson of Charles Lindbergh. He is following in his grandfather's footsteps recreating that historic flight. This time the aircraft is a Lancair Columbia 300. The official website for Erik Lindbergh's 75th Anniversary Flight is posted on the XPrize website, which is one of the project sponsors. I might add that Lancair was also a sponsor. Lancair loaned Erik the highly modified Columbia 300, and gave Erik substantial training and technical support.

4/12/2002 - 4/14/2002: I built up the epoxy/flox fillet around the wing tie down bracket for the right wing this weekend. I have determined that peel ply is my friend. Even though there is one small statement in the construction manual that you should "Throw out that peel ply and use paper towel" (Chapter 1, Page 56) to help soak up extra resin. I am choosing to use peel ply for other reasons. First of all, I have found that it makes a great dam to hold epoxy/flox or epoxy/micro in place while it is curing. You can continue to shape the part when it would be too sticky to use anything you would directly touch the material with such as a squeegee, or tongue depressor.

I do use paper towel to soak up extra resin, but if I am also going to put peel ply over the area, I do not soak as much resin out with paper towel because I know that the peel ply will also draw some resin out. I don't want to leave the glass weave too dry.

4/5/2002 - 4/7/2002: I finished sealing the wing attach bracket bolt holes for the left wing. I laid up a sheet of 2 BID on the flat part of the seal that is on the shear web, and then laid up 2 BID strips 2" wide along the perimeter of the seal. It worked very well, and was much easier to do correctly without bubbles. I was very pleased with the results.

Each time I do more fiberglassing, I have been able to better perfect the technique. There is one technique I figured out this weekend. After using a roller to squeegee excess resin back out of the cloth, and work out the bubbles between the BID layers, I had been removing both external layers of 1 MIL polyethylene film (1 MIL painters drop cloth to non-aircraft builders). Then I put the sheet of fiberglass in place, and began working the bubbles out from under the sheet. I figured out that I should leave one of the layers of 1 MIL film on the outer surface of the BID layers while I am putting the fiberglass sheet in place to help keep the fiberglass cloth from stretching while I am working out the bubbles. Then I should peel the remaining 1 MIL film off, and all I have to do is remove a few more smaller bubbles introduced while I was peeling off the 1 MIL film. It works much better..

I bonded the right wing tie down bracket to the spar with Hysol 9339. I used an incandescent light bulb to post-cure the Hysol. I maintained a temperature of 115 to 120 degrees for about 4 hours to help make sure that the Hysol would cure as hard as possible. I would have post-cured for longer, but I did not want to leave the light burning throughout the night unattended. Since I will be glassing over the bracket once it is in place, I will need to build up epoxy/flox fillet on both sides of the bracket to help the glass lay over the bracket as pictured below.

I also started preparing the inner most rib (BL 27.25) for the fuel pickup line. I have cut away the 2 BID layer on the fuel tank side from the prepreg that the rib is made of, and I have removed the Nomex core. I will be able to bond in the brass plate in the next few days.

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