Travel Struts, Folding Wings, Trim Connector

Now that we have complete wings that are attached, we found a problem when we went to fold the wings.  There was some interference with the back of the root rib.  This was fixed by trimming the edge of the butt ribs and also trimming a little bit of the plexiglass sunroof.  The wings fold very nicely now.

Butt rib and plexi trimmed

Wings folded after interference fixed

Two rear travel struts were fabricated.  When the wings are folded, these struts pin the wings to the tail to prevent them from moving while towing.  Work has aslo begun on two additional front travel struts.  Brackets were made from angle steel that will attach to landing gear bolts and will be the lower attach point for those struts.

Rear travel struts (gray)

A 4-wire connector, located at the bottom of the tail, was installed on the power and control wires for the trim motor. It was secured with cable ties, which was not a trivial task due to the limited access.  Function was tested and the trim motor moves as expected when the trim buttons are pressed. 

Hours: 18

N-Numbers, Aileron cables Regulator heatsink

We finally put our N-number (N371EM) on the airplane.  These were vinyl letters that are the same color as the green stripe.  We also added the Just Aircraft logo to the tail, which was a decal supplied by the factory

Michael adding N-Number and Just logo on right side

Ed adding N-number to left side

Tail with N-number and "Just" logo

After waiting a few months, we finally received a new (optional) heatsink kit for our Rotax voltage regulators which we installed.  Several builders have issues with high temperatures from these regulators which can cause damage to the regulator connectors, and this retrofit (approved and sold by Rotax) helps with this issue.  We expect that this will solve any issues, but we also have the option of ducting cool air to the regulators if early testing indicates they are getting too warm.

New heatsink attached to voltage regulator

We assembled the aileron cables, using nicopress sleeves and thimbles at the attachment points.  A turnbuckle was installed on both the right and left cables behind the seats.  This is where the cables running from the wings attach to the cables running to the controls.

Turnbuckle connection for the ailerons

We also installed a turnbuckle for the aileron pass-thru cable that attaches the two down-aileron cables from each wing.  Hours: 15

Aileron pass-thru cable with turnbuckle

Turtledeck slots, Green striping

Slots were carefully cut into both sides of the the turtledeck at the location where the aileron and flap cables exit the fuselage.   The slot was cut thin at first, and then widened as needed after several trial fittings until we had decent clearance on all sides of the cables.

Slot cut into turtledeck

Cables passing through slot in turtledeck

More green vinyl striping was added, this tie along the side kick panels and the rudder.  Also, some anti-chafe tape was added to a few locations where panels overlap to prevent abrading the paint.  Hours: 3

Green stripe added to side kick panels

Green stripe on tail

Aileron, ELT, Pitot, Jury Struts, and Turtledeck

Michael installed the green vinyl strips on on the wings.  This allowed us to then install both of the ailerons.  Once that was done the control cables were re-attached at each of the control horns on the flaps and ailerons.

We had to obtain a new battery for our ELT since the original had exceeded it's expiration date.  A new battery was obtained and the ELT was re-installed into its cradle in the tail of the airplane.

New ELT Battery

Ed started working on the turtledeck modifications that are needed to allow the control cables to enter the cabin area.  A lot of precise measurements needed to be made before determining the location of the holes.

The pitot/AOA probe was installed onto its mounting stalk.  This required cutting down and deburring the probe tubes and trimming the hoses to the required length before connecting with air-tight push-on connectors.  The green hose is for pitot ram air and the blue hose is for the AOA probe.

Connecting the pitot/AOA probe

Pitot/AOA probe installed

The jury strut to main strut attach brackets needed to drilled and painted.  Once that was complete the jury struts were installed.  Michael tried various ways to  install the jury struts but found that installing them on the main strut first and then attaching them to the wing was the easiest method.  The jury struts were moved around until the main strut was straight (i.e. no bowing up or down) and then the bolts were torqued to their final value.

Left side jury strut installed

Right side jury strut installed

Starting to look like an airplane!

Hours: 8

Flaps, elevators, and jury strut

We brought more parts to the airport, and started working on various things.  The window on one door was trimmed a bit in one corner to eliminate some interference.  Green striping tape was installed on most of the control surfaces where the orange paint borders white paint.  We still need to apply the tape to the cowl and rudder.  The flaps were installed on the wings which was a nice accomplishment.

Flap installed on right wing (no aileron yet)

Michael spent a bit of time adjusting the jury struts and their brackets.  The brackets didn't fit our lift strut very well, so took some bending and persuading to fit better.  These brackets were then removed so that they could be painted white.

Michael working on the lift struts

The elevators were attached to the tail.  The two elevators are bolted together inside the tail, and are installed on their hinges with clevis pins that are held in place with cotter pins.  It felt good to get another control surface attached to the plane.  Hours: 20

Ed installing a cotter pin for the elevators

Wings attached!

We achieved another milestone by getting both wings attached to the airplane.  Rain was pouring down when we were about to hang the second wing.  We had to wait until the rain let up because the rain pelting the metal roof created so much noise that we couldn't hear each other speak.  But in the end we got both wings installed successfully. 

Wings installed.  Happy Builders.

We then installed an aluminum cap strip across the gap between the windshield and sunroof.  We had attached some thin neoprene gasket to the underside of the strip before installing to help keep it weather tight.

Next, we adjusted the newly vented fuel caps so that they fit snugly in the tanks, and inserted them into the empty fuel ports at the top of each wing.  Hours: 8

Vented fuel caps inserted

Tank cleanout, Windscreen work, Stripe, Fuel cap

To clean out the fiberglass fuel tanks and also ensure there is no uncured resin, we used the clean-out method recommended by the factory.  Basically,  add 1 gallon of lacquer thinner to the tank (ensuring all openings are sealed), swish around in the wing while turning and tilting it to ensure all surfaces of the tank get wet (about 30-40 seconds), then remove cap to release pressure as it builds quickly.  Drain and repeat with 2nd gallon.  Drained fluid should be clearer.  Drain and repeat with 3rd gallon.  This 3rd gallon comes out clear, so it is saved for use on the 2nd wing.  This process was then repeated on the 2nd wing.  A total of 5 gallons of lacquer thinner was required using this method. 

Michael sealing fuel port in prep for fuel tank cleanout

During a final test fit of the windshield, we found that some of the attachment screws could catch the sides of the holes in the windscreen.  Since this could lead to eventual cracking of the windshield, we carefully enlargened the holes for better clearance by using a Dremel tool with a cylindrical bit.

A few holes in plastic windscreen enlargened

A green stripe (3M light green material) was applied to the side of the fuselage between the white and orange paint.  We like the look and plan on adding this stripe material to the wings, cowl, and control surfaces that have both orange and white.

Green stripe added to sides of fuselage

The fuel caps need to be vented, so we disassembled the fuel cap and drilled a 3/16" hole in the top and bottom sections of each fuel cap.  We then upsized the hole to 1/4" in the upper fuel cap, but only to half the depth.  The fuel vent tubes were cleaned and epoxied into the 1/4 inch holes.

Hole drilled in top of fuel cap

Vent tubes epoxied into the fuel caps

We decided to spray black Plasti-dip on the seat position latch handles.  After masking off most of the base, the T-handles were sprayed with about 6 coats.  Hours: 13

Plasti-dip on seat position latch handles

Orange Paint, Horiz Stabilizer, Boot Cowl, Windscreen, Gear Leg covers

We painted some more parts Ocala orange in our paint booth, including two side fuselage foot-well panels, 1 inspection cover, and 2 aluminum gear leg covers.

Orange paint sprayed on 5 parts

The horizontal stabilizers were inserted into horizontal tubes in the tail and bolted in place.  The flying wires for the horiz. stabilizers were also installed and all bolts torqued as required.

Installing a horiz. stabilizer

Flying wires attached

The boot cowl was installed, and the windshield was set in place.  Next screws were installed along the front through the boot cowl and holds the lower edge of the windshield in place.

Boot cowl installed; Line of screws along bottom of windscreen

We attached the (orange) gear leg covers on the bottom of the fuselage.   

Attaching gear leg covers

Right gear leg cover. Finish is nice and shiny.

The front and rear windshield brackets were installed with stainless rivets. 

Rear windshield bracket installed (with "Experimental" lettering)

Finally, we temporarily attached the footwell panels so that we could see how the overall paint scheme looks and make sure everything lines up right. Here is a nice shot of the airplane with the cowling and panels in place.  We still have some blue protective tape on some parts, and are likely adding a stripe at the border between the orange and white.  Very happy with how it's looking so far.  Hours: 21

Nice side shot of airplane with painted parts in place

Painting updates

We continued with the priming and painting of misc parts.  Several access plates were primed and are now ready for paint

Access plates primed

Orange paint was applied to the lower cowl.  Once dry, we sanded it lightly and then shot another coat.  The finish came out shiny and smooth, so we're happy with how this came out. 

Lower cowl painted orange

We took all the pieces of cowling to the airport where we have the fuselage stored and attached them temporarily.  We did this so that we could determine exactly where to position the orange/white border on the footwell side panels. In the picture below, those side panels are aluminum panels that cover the remaining visible openings in the fuselage.  

Lastly, we applied the "experimental" lettering to the back of the headrack (rear windshield bracket).  This will be very visible behind above and behind the seats as soon as you open the door, and meets the requirements of the FAA (minimum 2 inch lettering).  Hours: 19

"Experimental" lettering applied to rear bracket

Misc Parts Painting

The painting continues.  The main struts were previously painted, but we found the coat was light in a few places with gray showing through along the leading edge of the struts, so another coat was applied to both struts. 

Another coat of white on the main struts

The flap-gap seals are long aluminum strips that cover the gap between the wing and the flaps.  These were painted vestal white to match the wings.  There were some imperfections after painting, so these were then sanded with 2000 and 3000 grit, and buffed.

Setup for painting the flap-gap seals

A couple of front windshield angle brackets were painted, along with the pitot tube fairing.

Pitot tube fairing and windshield brackets painted white

We also hung and painted the oil door and a couple of inspection cover plates.  We plan on lightly sanding and buffing the oil door so it will be smooth and shiny to match the cowling.  Hours: 18

Oil door and cover plates painted

More priming and painting

 We continued the priming and painting of several different parts.  The lower cowl will have a little bit of white at the top, so this was masked and painted (most of it will be painted orange later).  

Vestal white paint on top bit of lower cowl

Several other door and windshield brackets and trim pieces were primed and painted:

Center door trim, windshield cap strip, and
rear windshield bracket primed

Door side brackets and front windshield bracket primed

Flight sticks and seat position pins primed 

The door frames were painted black.  Once dry, the doors were assembled and riveted. The Lexan windows and center trim pieces were attached with aluminum rivets that had black heads to match the paint.

The door frames were painted black

The front and rear trim pieces were painted vestal white.  The windshield front angle brackets were also (attempted to be) painted vestal white, but we had an issue with wrinkling in the paint along the edges.  I believe this was due to too heavy an initial coat of paint.  This was sanded down and the parts will be repainted. Hours: 24

Windshield front angle brackets painted