November 2001

11/26/01 - 11/30/01: This has not been a very productive week. There were too many other things going on this week to be able to work more than 2 evenings on the project. This is another benefit to publishing this journal on the web as I go. If I am not able to get much done for a period of time, I have to report it to the world. This gives me further reason to make sure I consistently make progress. This week’s lack of productivity was not due to motivation problems, but each day I was not able to do something, it did occur to me that I was going to have to report it.

There were a few items worth reporting though. One evening Jim Nordin came over to look at my Vision Microsystems fuel probes. When I received them from CF, the tube they were shipped in was somewhat crushed at one end. When they came, I immediately inspected the probes looking for any signs that the probes were crushed or bent. They looked fine. As Jim was closely inspecting the probes this week, he noticed that the lead wires coming out of the inboard end of one of the probes has been crushed to the point that the teflon wire insulation has been cut open on all 3 wires. The cuts are too close to the base of the fuel probe to be able to just cut them shorter. I am going to take close-up digital pictures, and send them to Lancair to come up with a solution to address this problem.

Also, I came up with some ways to improve some of the issues I don’t care for with the glass cutting table. I reduced the length of the folding sides by several inches. This goes a long way toward helping several issues.

If I had more available space, and I were redoing the glass cutting table, I would prefer mounting the glass cutting table on the wall. It would make most the problems I have had go away.

11/24/01 - 11/25/01: I worked on the fiberglass cutting table. I wanted to design a table that could be rolled around, so I have it on casters. I also wanted most of the workspace on the table to fold down so it would not take a lot of space in my garage when I was not using it.

I am not totally pleased with how the table is turning out. The table is taller than I would like, but I had to do this to accommodate the folding sides. The folding sides I fear will be too heavy for the hinges. I used 4 hinges for each side, and I believe the hinges can hold the weight fine, its the screws in the wood I worry about. I will go to Home Depot to get longer screws than what came with the hinges. The casters are heavy duty enough, but I should have used the same casters I used for the dollies. They would roll smother on the rough concrete I have in my driveway just outside the garage.

Also, I mixed a small batch of micro to fill in the open Nomex gap in each fuel tunnel I created in in rib BL 97. It worked out fine, but I felt it should have been easier. The problem was the the micro slurry would run out of the two lower tunnels due to gravity. The other two worked fine. Jim Nordin said I should have probably mixed the slurry to a thicker consistency. He also suggested a trick that he has used that I believe would have worked great. He said that I could inflate a balloon in each of those tunnels after the slurry is in place. Once the resin has set up, pop the balloons, and peel away the balloon material. Just goes to show it is good to have experienced builders come over and visit fairly often.

Jim and I also talked about another little trick. Once you have put resin in place, there is a period of time during the curing process where it is solid to the touch, and is no longer tacky, but it cuts with a sharp utility knife. You can trim the resin in that stage and substantially reduce the amount of grinding that needs to be done later when the resin is fully cured. Not only does this reduce work grinding, it also cuts down on the amount of dust that you create.

Jim also told me about a product he uses. Most of the ES builders I have talked to have put 1/8” polyethylene plastic on the work surface of the glass cutting table. The only problem is that the rotary blade cuts into the plastic and with time mars up the surface. Jim found that there is a material you can purchase as a drafting supply shop that you spread out on the top of the table. It comes in wide enough rolls that it can cover our glass cutting tables. This material is about 1/8” thick, and cuts “self-heal”. So, you always have a nice smooth surface. I am going to go with this. My wife has something similar for her quilting. The largest size those mats come is about 24” by 36”, which is too small. They are also pretty expensive. The product found at the drafting supply store is basically the same thing, but does not have the measurement guides printed in the mat like you will find on a quilting mat.

11/19/01 - 11/23/01: It is Thanksgiving week. I had hoped to at least be able to get some work done Monday, Tuesday, and Friday. It is not looking good. I may have to do what I can to make up for it over the weekend.

I have made a decision to only extend my fuel tanks by 1 fuel bay. Most of the work was done for me anyways. I will not turn the space in between ribs BL 120 and BL 139.5 into fuel bays. With the intermediate extension I am going with, I should have about a 92 gallon fuel capacity. With a 14 gph fuel burn, I will be able to stay in the air for longer than my body will know what to do with. It would be pointless to go to the extra work to add the #6 fuel bays. I go into more detail in the Fuel Tank Extensions page.

11/17/01 - 11/18/01: I was able to get 3/4th of the work done toward building my glass cutting table. I did not get further because I ran out of a few needed supplies after Home Depot would have closed, so I called it a weekend. I need to get this done in short order because this is becoming a critical path item for starting some of the glassing I am ready to do.

In my list of things I would have done different, I would definitely include completing the glass table, and cradles before delivery day. Although I know I am working on the project, I don’t feel like I am working as much as I would like on the plane itself.

I also worked on the Wing Tie Down brackets, and have taken pictures of what I have done so far.

Jim Nordin stopped by to see how I was doing. He also noted that I could be less precise in cutting out my wing cradles given the extent to which my wings came to me completed. I am sure this brings up the question of how accurate am I trying to be. My target is to cut the airfoil out leaving only the slightest outer edge of the line defining the airfoil shape. Jim pointed out that the critical parts are the leading edge and the trailing edge. Then it is important that parts of the airfoil outline in between need to be correct. It is OK to go a little outside the line for short runs, but it isn’t OK to go too short of the airfoil shape line. He pointed out that if I was not building the Fastbuild wings, it would be more critical. I did finish cutting the BL 25.5 cradles this weekend.

11/14/10 - 11/16/01: Unfortunately I was not able to work on the ES project these evenings because of other things going on. However, one of the evenings was an EAA chapter meeting where the speaker was ES builders Lon and Pam Kelley. It was interesting to hear them talk about their building experience. Now that I am so intimately familiar with the ES, I am sure I did get more out of the presentation than most everyone there.

There were other benefits to the evening. I brought the internal bellcrank rudder assembly with me to show a few people I thought would be interested. There was one nylock nut that I had not fully torqued into place, but had gone beyond finger tightening. The important point here is that the bolt had gone completely through the nylon locking disk. The locking mechanism is the nylon disk built into the nut ( see the green band at the top of the AN365 nylock nut pictured here ). Fortunately Jim Nordin pointed out to me that once you tighten down one of those nuts, it should not be used again. If you remove the nut, you need to discard the nut and use a brand new one. This is because the washers ability to lock the nut in place has been compromised if it is reused. Now I know that I have to replace about a half dozen nylock nuts that came with the kit. I had wondered about that before, but had not gotten a definitive answer. Now I know. Just goes to show the importance of letting other knowledgeable people look over your work. I plan on doing this a lot throughout the project.

11/13/01: Tonight I cut the high density foam piece that will be used in sealing the Wing Attach Bracket Bolts ( Ch. 7, Pg. 24 ). I first cut a template for the piece out of Brown Builders Paper that I purchased from the paint department at Home Depot. This paper is easier to fold then poster board, but a lot more rigid than newspaper. I first shaped the template by folding it in place against the forward shear web. I then used a straight edge and a utility knife to cut the template to the exact shape. I performed the cutting on a workbench, not in place in the wing. I then put the template in place in the wing, holding it in place with regular scotch tape. I used a small flashlight with a Nite Ize Fiber Optic Adapter to insert in the bolt holes from the opposite side, to show through the builders paper. When I pressed against the paper so that it was firmly against the shear web wall, the light would show me exactly where the hole was through the paper. I then used a Ultra Fine Point Sanford Sharpie Marker to mark the center of each bolt hole. From there I positioned the template on the high density foam core, using the Sharpie to mark the 4 corners on the foam, and to mark the center of the bolt holes by punching the tip of the marker through the paper at each point. Then I used a straight edge and utility knife to cut the foam. When I test fit the piece in place, it fit perfect.

To cut the bolt holes in the foam, I tried a few different things. A normal 1/2” drill bit made a very rough cut. I used a diamond grinding bit in a Dremel, and it worked ok. I then put a 3/4'' Diamond Hole Saw that I had gotten from Harbor Freight. This worked wonderfully. I could cut the holes quickly and easily. Each hole was a perfect smooth circle. When I put the foam back in place in the wing, all of the holes were perfectly placed. A drill press would have made it a little easier to start each hole, but the hand drill worked just fine.

Now that I fugured this little process out, I will be able to complete the second one in no time.

11/12/01: I have decided that cutting the cradles outside my garage in daylight is much better than either cutting them inside the garage or outside in the dark with a trouble light. It occurred to me that there are many tasks that have to be completed on the wings that don’t need the cradles, and actually are easier to reach with the wings just laying on top of the tables. So, I am saving the cradle cutting for the weekend, and working on the wings during weekday evenings.

Tonight I actually got a fair amount done. I drilled all of the of the vent holes for the right wing. The plans ( Ch. 7, Pg. 87 ) call for 1/8” holes, I drilled 3/16” holes. I also cut the capstrip hole to accommodate the wing tie down plate ( Ch. 7, Pg. 79 ). Using the depth measurement end of a set of calipers I have, I determined that I had to grind more than just the circular hole in the capstrip to allow the threaded hole for the tie down plate to extend through the wing skin enough to be flush with the outter surface. This is because of the weld joint on the plate was pressing against the perimeter of the initial hole in the capstip. Once I ground out a place for the weld joint, the plate was able to move another 3/32” higher where I needed it.

I have been saving up several small glassing jobs for one work session where I will mix a more reasonable quantity of resin. I have worked on several small jobs to the point that I need to mix resin. All are too small to make it worth while to mix several very small resin batches. I would likely waste more resin, and the ratios are easier to get wrong. I am almost to the point where it is worthwhile to plan a resin work session.

I am leaning toward going with 5 fuel bays per wing. Adding the 6th bay won’t add that much fuel capacity considering the work that would be added. Also, as it is, I will likely be able to stay in the air ( when starting with full tanks ) longer I will probably want to from a comfort standpoint. Given this point, I am finding it hard to justify the extra work. I am holding off cutting the fuel cap holes for now because placement depends on this decision. I will be making my decision soon.

11/10/01 - 11/11/01: I was able to get some decent work done this weekend. Saturday I was able to complete the perimeter cuts for cradle BL 25.5 I still need to cut out the airfoil, and need to separate the top from the bottom. With the other cradles, I have cut the top and bottom cradles from separate pieces of MDF. This time I wanted to try initially cutting the top and bottom cradle as one piece, and separate them after I had the whole piece shaped. So far it seems that each method has certain strengths and weaknesses. I can’t say that I recommend one method over the other.

Click on Image to See Greater Detail

I also cut out the fuel flow tunnels in rib BL 97 in my right wing, as pictured above. I had to cut 4 of these tunnels ( 2 on the top of the rib, and 2 on the bottom ). This will give me 5 fuel bays instead of the standard 4 bays. These tunnels will allow fuel to flow from the #5 fuel bay down into the #4 fuel bay. I have not yet decided if I will add the #6 fuel bays for each wing. If I decide to have a #6 fuel bay in each wing, I will have to build a forward shear web to enclose that fuel bay. With #5, Lancair had already built the shear web for me. All I had to do was cut the fuel flow tunnels.

To guide me while making cuts for the tunnels, I drew a half circle outlines with a Ultra Fine Point Sanford Sharpie Marker. To create a template for drawing consistent half circles for the tunnels, I cut off a half inch segment of PVC pipe with my electric miter saw. Then I cut the PVC ring I created in half by holding the small piece between two 2”x4” scraps. This left me with 2 PVC half circles, one of which is also included in the picture. It only took me about 3 minutes to make this template. I then held one of the pieces against BL 97 in the right places, and marked the outlines. I removed the fiberglass and Nomex core material with a circular rotary saw bit in a Dremel Advantage tool. Then I used a diamond grinding bit in a Dremel MultiPro to refine the edges. Now I need to fill the tunnel edges with epoxy/micro. It was very helpful to have separate rotary motor tools with the separate bits chucked up so that I could switch back and forth as needed quickly.

While I was cutting the tunnels, I happened upon a trick that was very helpful. While cutting and grinding on the fiberglass, the dust would build up quickly obstructing my view of where I was cutting or grinding. This made it difficult to determine if I had gone far enough. Additionally, the air that came out of the tool’s vents also kicked up the dust, which sometimes was able to get into my eyes behind the goggles I was wearing. I found that I could use a Quick Grip, or a weight, to hold the end of a shop vac hose within about an inch of where I was grinding. This immediately removed the dust so I could see what I was doing better, and prevented the dust from becoming airborne and getting in my eyes. I will be using this technique regularly now that I have discovered it.

This weekend we had guests over due to a family Birthday. After had gotten everything ready, but before people started arriving, I wanted to get some things done, but could not make a big mess, and I could not get dirty, etc. That completely ruled out using any kind of power tool. However, I did not want to waste the time. I was able to fill the time by putting together some of the subassemblies that will be installed in the plane later. I assembled the outboard aileron bellcrank assemblies ( Ch. 9, Pg. 52 ), the aileron idler arm assemblies ( Ch. 9, Pg. 55 ), and the internal bellcrank rudder assembly ( technical drawing included in option package ). When completed, I put each assembly in a separate plastic zip-lock freezer bag, and labeled it. Any parts that could not be installed on the assembly yet was also included in the bag for the assembly. Getting these assembled now will save me a little time later on. This should also help me understand how the part looks assembled and how it will fit into the plane. When I am doing the preparation fiberglass work for installing into the plane, I will have a better “big picture” understanding of what I need to be doing. I hope to be able to fill small pockets of available time by working on some of these tasks, but at the rate I am going, I may get them done pretty quickly, and it will become more difficult to come up with the time filler tasks. Lon Kelley has said that building the panel is great for time filler work.

11/05/01 - 11/08/01: Each evening I have been putting in about an hour into working on the project. I am working on cutting the cradles. A number of years ago someone gave me a Black & Decker Workmate folding work bench. I have not used it much since I received it. I am using it like crazy now. It is perfect for holding the MDF material while I am cutting the cradles. I may have problems though as I get to the largest bottom cradles. I find the the saw cuts faster because the material is being held more solidly. I have also found that my cuts are smoother and more accurate while using less time because the material is being held more solidly. Additionally, I find it very helpful to hold each cradle upright in the Workmate while I sand down the airfoil edges to bring down the high points.

I have started test fitting the BL 204 cradles on the end of the wing. The fit is looking good. I had to grind down some very slight high points, but that did not take long. I was very close.

I have also figured out how I can speed up parts of the process of cutting the cradles. The perimeter cuts on the cradles sides on both top and bottom cradles, and the top edge of the top cradle do not effect the accuracy of the wing shape or position in any way. I have stopped clamping straight edges in place to insure I make those cuts straight. Instead, I am doing those cuts freehand with the jigsaw. With the B&D Workmate, I can make those cuts straighter than I can with a circular saw and a straight edge.

I gained yet another lesson learned... A good way to turn an aluminum ruler into a plain piece of flat aluminum stock is to clean it with acetone. If I want the measurement marks and the numbers to remain on that tool, I need to find something else to clean adhesives I get on that straight edge. Better yet... I can be more careful to not get the adhesives on the ruler in the first place. :-)

11/03/01 - 11/04/01: I started cutting the Wing Cradles this weekend. First I purchased a 12” x 6’ precut shelf board of 3/4” MDF to perform some test cuts. Through the test cuts, I was able to determine which type of saw & blade would work best, and what cutting procedures would give me the most accurate cuts. I have chosen to make the cuts with an electric hand-held jigsaw. For straight cuts, I am clamping a straight edge into place to guide me. For the curved cuts I have to make along the airfoil outline, I am doing those freehand. Since I am doing both wings at one time, I have to make two of everything. To make the second copy of each part, I will use a flush cutting router bit, screw the original part to a new piece of MDF material, and use the first part as the template for the second. This will help insure that the cradles for the second wing are exactly like the cradles for the first. This will help insure that both wings are as perfectly symmetrical as possible.

From there I sat down to determine how much material I would need to purchase. I am cutting the cradle tops from ten 12” x 6’ x 2/3” MDF precut shelf boards. I am also using these boards for the cradle bottoms for cradle BL 204. I am cutting the remaining the cradle bottoms from three 4’ x 8’ x 3/4” MDF sheets.

I started by cutting the BL 204 cradles. I figured cutting the smallest cradles would make it easier to get the process down before I progressed into the larger cradles, which would be more difficult anyways due to their large size.

While I was working on cutting the first BL 204 Lon Kelley ( Lon & Pam Kelley built Super ES N123PK ) stopped by my workshop. As a matter of personality trait, or personality flaw ( depending on how you view it ), I tend to put a great deal of effort into doing things with a great deal of precision. Lon diplomatically pointed out that with the Fastbuild wings, the shape and twist is already built into the wings at the factory. At this point, the cradles will help me make the flaps and ailerons correctly, and help insure that the wing is held in the correct position when I close them with Hysol. However, the degree to which I am trying to be precise may not be necessary. In other words, I could afford to tone it down a bit. Getting me to lighten up on precision is kind of like trying to talk an acrophobic person out of being afraid of heights. As I am cutting the cradles, I am thinking of Lon’s comments, trying to strike a balance between time and precision, but I must admit that I think I am siding more toward precision. I believe Lon is correct, but some things are tough to let go of.

Sunday evening I also loaded up my epoxy pump ( Michael Engineering “Sticky Stuff” Epoxy Pump ) with Part A ( Jeffco 1307LV Epoxy Resin ) and Part B ( Jeffco 3102 Hardener ) material. I have primed the pump and have done a test run of mixing a small batch of epoxy resin, and wetted out a small sample of glass. All went well, and I learned a few valuable lessons. The first is how little resin it takes to start a runaway exothermic reaction in the cup, and how little time it takes for this to happen with the fast cure Part B. I also was able to see how much of a difference it makes if you get the resin out of the cup, and get it spread out quickly. I should be able to avoid “exoterm” problems pretty easily if I keep my resin batches small. I also learned that you can somewhat delay exotherm problems by continuing to stir the resin. If the batch of resin is too large, or the ambient temperature is too hot, even stirring won’t hold exotherm off, but in most cases it helps keep the resin cooler. Now I have a good feel for what the practical limits are. I also was able to get a better feel for what it takes to extract excess resin out of the glass once I have wetted it out with resin. My test piece was fine, but I see where I could have done a little better.

Saturday morning before I got started working I read the article that Pam Kelley wrote for the January 2001 issue of Sport Aviation. I realized that one of the things she did was write a journal of what happened each day as she and Lon built N123PK. I will start recording that information, and posting it in the “What’s New” section of www.Lancair-ES.com. The “What’s New” archive will be my project journal. While things are somewhat fresh in my mind, I will go back and create the entries for the earlier dates so my journal will be complete.

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