February 2002

2/21/02: I attend a local EAA monthly chapter meeting tonight after work. Afterwards I gave Jim Nordin (the Lancair 360 builder that lives 2 blocks from me) a ride to his home. He showed me some of the things he has been working on lately. I was only there for about 20 minutes, but I learned about half a dozen things that will help me in my project. One example is that there are several places in the aircraft where I need to bond metal parts into place in the airframe that have a pre-drilled threaded hole. I then need to fiberglass over the part being very careful not to get any resin inside the hole, and more importantly in the threads. Jim Nordin showed me how you can pour melted paraffin wax into the hole and let it cool in place. Any extra paraffin protruding out of the hole can be sliced off with a sharp razor. When the time comes to glass around the hole, I don't need to be nearly as careful about avoiding the hole, and accidents are easily remedied. Once glassing is done there, you just punch out the paraffin.

2/20/02: On February 11 Lancair announced a new Wing Fastbuild Kit for the Lancair ES. They also announced the new Builder's Workshop for the ES. This workshop option has been available for Lancair IV and Legacy 2000 builders. I have already gotten some e-mails from people asking what I think of these new options. According to the announcement on the Lancair.com website (http://www.lancair.com/flash/news/es.htm), the added value of the new Wing Fastbuild Kit is that Lancair delivers that part of the kit with more of the construction tasks completed than ever before. The new completed tasks include:

The wing tie downs have been installed.
The fuel caps have been installed.
The fuel return and fuel pickup fittings have been installed.
The fuel vents have been installed.
The fuel tanks sealer has been applied.
The ailerons and flaps are finished.

Items that were not mentioned in the announcement, but I have reason to believe are being included from scrutinizing the photo on the Lancair website:

The wing mount bracket has been installed.
(if the fuel tanks has been completely sealed, it must have been completed)
The 5 bay fuel tank extension has been completed. This should give the aircraft approximately 92 gallon fuel capacity.
(This is visible in the picture posted for the announcement)
The flap and aileron hinge hardware seems to have been installed.

The announcement states that "the wing skin is ready to be bonded on". Actually, there are a few tasks that appear to still need to be completed before wing closure. The fuel probes have not been installed (probably because they don't know which ones you want). If you wish to have an Angle of Attack system in the aircraft, part of the sensor is installed inside the wing before it is closed. The aileron control tubes and bellcranks appear to still be up to the builder to complete. These remaining tasks really are not a lot of work. For most intents and purposes, it is fair to say the wings are almost completed. All I can say about that is... this is one of those rare cases where it might have been nice to have procrastinated before ordering my kit. Most of the items that now are complete are not difficult tasks. However, it sure would be nice to receive the completed ailerons and flaps. I do not know how this all effects the Wing Fastbuild Kit price. There would be a limit to how much I would want to pay for those time savers.

Those that wish to have the 5 bay per wing extended wing tanks, the extra work for the modification appears to have been done. Those that wish to have the extension that gives an even greater fuel capacity may not have the option. The fact that the fuel caps have been installed will likely prevent you from implementing this modification. Also, it appears that the rib configuration where the 6th fuel bay would be has changed in a way that would make it more difficult to make this modification. Those are my thoughts and observations regarding the new wing fastbuild kit.

As far as the ES Builder's Workshop... the option did not exist for ES kits when I ordered mine. Those that have been through the Workshop for the IV and Legacy 2000 have spoken very highly of the experience. Those that I know that have completed substantial portions of their Lancair kits without the Workshop don't seem to be able to imagine why someone would want to pay $4000 or so for such an option. Here are the advantages & disadvantages that I see.

Workshop Advantages

Workshop Disadvantages

The builder receives qualified construction instruction from the kit manufacturer.
A substantial amount of construction time is saved for the tasks that are completed in the workshop. Subsequent tasks can be completed more efficiently due to the upfront training.
Since the wing closure is completed in the Workshop, the time that is otherwise dedicated to building the jig tables, and cutting the wing cradles is saved.
People that have limited space to build (such as a 2 car garage), will be able to build the kit more easily in the available space.
This type of assistance fits well within the requirements of the FAA "51% Rule".

Increased cost from the Workshop fee.
The time and cost needed to travel to attend the Workshop.

When it comes to deciding on getting some of these time savings features, I think it comes down to each person's goals, priorities, and available resources. Some people get more enjoyment from building the aircraft than flying it. For those individuals, these features are counter productive. Others want to strike some balance between building and getting up in the air. Those individuals, if they can afford the time saving options, will likely be happy that they paid the extra money.

2/16/02 - 2/17/02: I finally finished the glass cutting table. Most of the table I am pleased with. There are a few details about the table that I am not satisfied with, but this is about building an airplane, not a fiberglass cutting table. I did make a modification this weekend that made a significant difference. I had put casters on the table that I had gotten from Home Depot. The wheels were made of a hard plastic. They worked very poorly on the concrete in my garage and driveway. I went to Harbor Freight, and got a set of casters like the ones I had used for the dollies I had constructed earlier. They worked far better. The rubber wheels move across the concrete much smoother.

This weekend I also purchased an electronic scale. I purchased the scale for a few reasons. The first is that the epoxy pump that I purchased from Lancair can only be used for the Jeffco 1307LV epoxy and either of the Jeffco epoxy hardeners I am using. The pump does not address getting the resin to hardener ratios correct for any of the other resins or adhesives I am using. The second is that I need to be able to check the ratio calibration of the epoxy pump frequently. Using an electronic scale is a good and simple way of verifying that the pump is still delivering the proper ratios. The scale can be easily re-calibrated with calibrating weights.

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