July 1- 8... We took a trip up to X-Diamond Ranch over the 4th weekend. Nice cool weather. Recent completions on the
plane include cooling system in and the lower cowl is in place.
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8
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.June 20-28...Update on the last week includes getting the engine back in place, re-clocking the water pump, more panel
work, installing the throttle cable using special order grommets.
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June 19...Finished up securing the break metal floorboard, trimmed off screw ends & sealed them on the engine side. Also
attached eye-bolts in floorboard for the rudder springs. Next up...engine back in place
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3
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June 15... Bent some break metal at the school metal shop to fit the kick area of the firewall...came out good.
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5
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June 14... Wendy and I took a 3 day weekend in Cottonwood / Sedona. Nice time away and out of the heat. Back at it today
after a few business things...finished securing the blanket and fired up my panel as I installed the D-100 backup battery.
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4
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June 10... Actually took the engine off to apply the firewall blanket.
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5
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June 6-7...Started some wiring, a little engine work, chasing parts and materials.
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7
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June 1-5...Working on panel as I decided it was time to see that thing in the plane.
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May 29-31...More work on the engine. Attached the spider tank and secured the coils.
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6
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May 22... Steve Kellander made it over and we hung the engine after the starter box was installed. Thanks for the help and
expertise Steve!
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5
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May 1...Time to build a box
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3
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April 24... Hung the engine today.
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April 20... Ring mount is secure. A big thanks to Dave Hansen with the assist.
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2
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April 10 & 17...Working the power plant.
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April 3-4... Got the cherry picker assembled and had the unveiling of the engine
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March 14...Got the nose wheel assembly anchored / installed.
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Jan 1-2... Re-painted the rudder (don't ask)... back to solid yellow now. Will wait a few days to let paint cure a bit b-4
masking. Dimpled and riveted flaperons.
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December 29-31...Worked on the brakes, got the rudder cable swaged. Lots of running around looking for parts, etc
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October 16... Still at it on the fairings
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4
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October 15... Worked the day at Bill Prokes shop. Learning alot about fiberglass, etc...
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October 3...Steve Kellander was over for the day and helped with several tasks. Spent quite a bit of time tweeking the
brakes and getting things so they would work well.
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8
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Sept 14-16...Showing a picture with the decal on the fuselage. Working on the brakes and a few odds and ends.
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5
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Sept 10 - 13... Returned back from the Kitfox Factory Flyin...got some ideas and best of all... inspiration. Installed Fuse
decals, attached the rudder, tried to set the rudder pedals but found I need different master cylinders. Mine hit the firewall :>(
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5
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July 30 - Aug 5... The paint booth is down and The main gear is on.
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July 25... I sprayed the parts with Aerothane.
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4
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July 20-21... Time to prime. I used the epoxy primer to hit many of my aluminum parts. Pulled down the flapperons and
started to work with them. Trying to get the plastic film off of them.
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7
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July 13-14...Sprayed the fuselage with the color coat. Un-masked everything, tried out the rudder
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4
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July 11... Finished masking rudder then sprayed it with yellow first. The trick here is if the tape allows a bleed, it will bleed the
same color. After waiting a few hours, then I did a couple coats of red. I only waited 15 minutes in this heat b-4 peeling the
tapes.
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July 6-10...Continuing with painting. Rudder taking considerable time to mask.
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14
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June 29 & 30...Color coat going onto the tail feathers. This has taken some time due to spraying the sections on a table. I
needed to allow one side to dry before I could flip it over and paint the other side. I know this the hard way to do it, but I have
much better success with the finish when I can wet the surface. If I were to spray it hanging (or vertical) I would not be able to
spray as much...The PolyTone turns out with a better gloss this way.
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8
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June 25 & 26... Poly Spray is complete for fuselage
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5
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June 23...Poly Brush spraying is complete for fuselage.
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5
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June 20... Wendy and I went on vacation to San Diego for a week. Was a nice time...did the Sea World thing and I got in
some diving.
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June 5...Remember I said that there was no damage to the wing when it fell, well, that was the 2nd time it happened. i went
to pull out the first wing I thought was finished and noticed where it landed on the trailing edge (when the PVC stand gave
way the first time)...there was damage to it. I didn't notice it right away as it was slight, but it was enough to buckle the fabric.
So I just finished a repair on a wing that has never been off the ground. I decided to document this repair as I had never
seen or heard of how this is done. I ended up calling and talking to a few people to get an idea of how to do it. It came out ok,
but I would never wish it on anyone. One step forward...two steps back.
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April 18... I got some free time (forgot what that was) today and sprayed the second wing with white. I certainly can't believe
how difficult of a time I have had with painting. The wing stand I was using decided to break and collapse on me a couple
weeks ago. Luckily, there was no damage to the wing as it landed on the leading edge. Stan at Thunder Ridge was kind
enough to loan me some welded wing stands. When I went to lay down the white, my spray gun still gave me problems. It is
spraying heavy on the outside of the fan and leaving a light streak in the center. I addressed this problem with an "expert"
and he indicated that my pressure was too strong. Problem is, when I start turning down the pressure (about 15psi) I get
orange peel. I'm thinking my gun might need a new air cap & or tip. Since that will cost about $150 for my Binks, I just went to
harbor Freight and bought their HVLP for $40. Unbelievable...
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2
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March 18...It's been a while since my last post no doubt, Things being busy with school as well as the shower door business
has kept things hopping around here...and sometimes I just get burned out and something has to give. This week is Spring
Break (not to mention our 6the anniversary) and Wendy and I made our way to Flagstaff. We stayed at a nice bed and
breakfast and did a nice hike at Walnut Canyon. Attached are a few pictures. Plan to use some of this week to do some
painting on the plane.
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December 26-27... The last few days have been raining and a bit cool to paint, but I was able to do a little ironing and
getting things ready. Today I was able to warm the shop up to 60 and got the first cross-coat of PolySpray down. Had a little
ironing to do after it dried. The best way I found to iron PolySpray is to use a release paper (you can find it at sign shops)
and use the hobby iron with it...it works great
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3
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December 22-23... Off for Christmas break :>) Just going through the same steps for the second wing. Completed the
PolyBrush, set the drain grommets and the gas cap fairing, completed the cross-coats for the PolyBrush. Things are going
much smoother and quicker the second time around.
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4
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December 13... Swapped out the first wing for the second. Had to get the Christmas boxes out of the attic and spent the
rest of the day doing the getting ready for Christmas ritual :>) The lights are up!
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1
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December 10 & 11... Things are very busy lately hence delays. The tiger striping left over from the first time I applied white
was still showing through. I decided to go back to white and do the cross coat i missed. Today I went over it with yellow and
I'm pleased with the way it is looking. I only did north south today as I applied it fairly heavy. Tomorrow will be the cross coat
and I believe the last yellow coat for this wing.
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4
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December 2... First cross coat of yellow...put on your sunglasses :>)
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2
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November 28-29... Had a rough day in the shop the 28th...several things went wrong while trying to paint. The good that
came out of it was learning my spray rig a little better. I found a good sanding system for the second coat of Poly Spray and
was able to spray the white Poly Tone in preparation for the yellow top coat.
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6
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November 27... Happy Thanksgiving! I jumped at the opportunity to do a little work on the plane today. The humidity got up
to a little over 70%, so I opted to do the sanding (instead of painting) and got a few things in order. I mixed up all 5 gallons of
yellow to keep the color constant. The paint shaker came in handy and did a great job. Hopefully paint will fly tomorrow. Also
messed around writing a poem.
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2
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November 13... Second cross-coat done today after work. Next to lightly sand, clean and apply last coat of PolySpray.
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3
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November 11... Was finally able to make it back into the shop today as it was Veterans Day... I had the day off from school.
Last weekend was full of shower door installations on Saturday and church events on Sunday. Today was the first silver day
as I laid down the first cross-coat of PolySpray. I spent quite a bit of time ironing first as the tape pinking came up a little after
the PolyBrush.
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4
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November 6... I have been 90% certain of how I planned to do my paint scheme. It wasn't until last night that I think I closed
in on the final touches. I had been using printed out drawings with colored pencils...but I started messing around with the
paint program and it worked well enough for me to try several things.
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November 4 & 5... The two spray coats of Poly Brush are on. Time to shake up some PolySpray.
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4
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November 2... First spray day with the new gun. Bill Prokes helped point me in the right direction. The gun works great
...thanks Bill!
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4
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November 1... Oops! Almost forgot to put in the drain holes at the trailing edges. Ordered the seaplane grommets from ACS
and got em put on today. I have been waiting on the weather to cool down...STILL! I think I see it turning the corner next
week. I need at least 75 degrees in the afternoon when I get off of work.
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1
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October 20... Went to Harbor Freight after work today and may have purchased the best tool for my shop yet.
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October 13-18... Did a little work most nights after work on the paint booth, then finished it off on Saturday. Hard to believe
how much time went into the thing, but it should serve well for the time I will put in on painting. I have three doors, two filters,
and a bank of six, four foot fluorescent lights.
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7
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October 11... Spent most of the day working shower doors but got a little done on the paint booth. I have come to a
realization that building a plane is really a piece of cake. If it weren't for things like getting ready to build...setting up the work
environment...buying the tools needed...running to Homer for a whatzit or a thingamabob...and assembling them when I get
home I truely believe I would be flying by now :>)
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2
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October 9... I had a couple days for Fall break at school, so Wendy and I decided to go up to Sedona and Flagstaff to
spend a little time. Wendy took off at noon and we headed up to a cooler climate. We stayed at Sky Ranch Lodge which is
located next to the USS Sedona (ie...Sedona airport). Stayed the night and had breakfast at the airport restaurant. Drove up
through Oak Creek Canyon, and continued up into Flagstaff. We decided to drive up to Heart's Prairie (Located about 10
miles past the Snow Bowl turn-off). We were fortunate to catch the Fall colors and had a nice time running around with the
dog Kadie. Lunch was served at Macy's Coffee House where I spent a lot of time during my NAU days. They have great
sandwiches and soups. We finished off our trip taking the scenic route home going by Lake Mary, Clint Wells and Payson.
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October 9... Got a start on the paint booth
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4
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October 5... Remembered I needed to get the fuel cap fairing on before I started spraying paint. Did a little more work on
getting the shop ready for the booth. No church today as LDS Conference was on TV throughout the day, so Wendy and I
spent most of it watching the talks. Kept it a light day in the shop :>)
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2
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October 4 .. I had a lot of shop cleaning to make ready for the paint booth. I needed to get rid of a table and cut down the
wing stands so I could generate a minimum of 8' for the width fo my booth. I will be painting the parts in stages beginning with
Poly Spray It would be nice to rotate things through in the order of paint, but it will be too cumbersome. So I will paint each
part thru color-coat, let it dry, then bring in another section of the plane.
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4
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Sept 27 & 28...Wing # 2 now has all tapes in place and is ready to spray the first coat of Poly-Brush. I had an interesting
experience with the wing building static electricity. After John McBean told me to ground the spar, it took care of the problem.
Now it's time to build my paint booth again. The weather (heat) should begin to taper off in the next couple weeks. Should be
just in time for the color coat. I hope to be getting my new computer soon so I can once again work with photos.
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6
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Sept 25... The nice thing about having your build project in the garage at home is walking out and working on it when you
get the time...Like this morning for instance...I woke up at 2:30 AM, couldn't sleep, so went out and worked on taping and
Poly Brushing for 2 hours...somebody shoot me...please!
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2
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Sept 20... All tapes on underside of wing #2
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4
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Sept 15 &16... Wing #2 has first coat of PolyBrush on it.
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3
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Sept 14... Finished up the rib lacing and got a start on PolyBrush
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4
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Sept 6... I attached the tool boxes under each seat. These have been found to be great for holding tools and all manner of
things needed for working on the plane.
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4
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Sept 4... Worked on the console. Have that in place & plan on making a carbon fiber top for it. Did a few other odds and
ends.
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3
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August 29 - Sept 1... Attended the 2nd annual Kitfox Aircraft Factory Fly-in at Homedale, Idaho with Steve Kellander. We
flew his KF-IV N-275K (the yellow one on this sites home page) and were wheels up at 0600 Friday. It was a great trip with
fortune of having tailwinds up and back. Several pictures to follow as soon as I get my computer fixed. It may be dieing a slow
death and will not process pictures at this time. :>(
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August 24... Sealed up the holes in the firewall.
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2
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August 7... Set the fuselage to the side and pulled out a wing.
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3
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June 12... Finished up on taping the fuselage. Ironed down the tapes and got it ready to spray as soon as the weather cools
down.
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5
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March 30...Still trying to get all of the tapes on. Was able to get most of the starboard side complete today.
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4
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March 16... Got the tapes on the bottom.
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4
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Feb 21... Pink is a nice color
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3
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YEAR 2 Jan 10-25...A little here a little there. Work at both jobs has been demanding so the plane has taken a back seat.
The fabric is finally on and ironed. It looks like a flippin plane!
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8
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Dec 30 - Jan 1...It's getting there.
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6
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December 23-25... Well it's Christmas and I'm finally out of school for a few days... A break only a teacher can appreciate
and understand. I have been able to turn the plane over and start covering the bottom of the fuselage.
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4
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Nov 5 & 6... Cut the EIS into the panel and riveted the firewall box into place.
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3
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Nov 4... Did some work on the panel.
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3
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Nov 2...Worked a little stainless into a box for the firewall
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3
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Oct. 25, 26... I received the brake line kit and made short work of building them. Also went to Copperstate Fly-In Friday.
Wendy and I enjoyed the day and saw several friends.
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3
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Oct 13 &14...Wendy and I went up to Sedona to play for the weekend. This was part of her birthday present in picking out a
bed & breakfast. It was a good time
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Oct 12... Worked on fitting the firewall. This firewall is an upgrade as it is one piece that will flow to the underside of the
floorboard.
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2
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Oct 10...Prior to covering the fuselage, I needed to attach the nose gear assembly to the weldment. Had to drill the
floorboard out to get some nuts in there so I need to get some plugs to cover.
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2
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Oct 5...Fabricated and installed a bracket to carry the Transponder antenna. Also drilled out and or reamed out the seat
belt attach holes. Got the seatbelt bolts in place as they may be tough to place after covering.
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2
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Sept. 21... Attached the plumbing to the bottom of the header tank.
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1
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Sept 19... I was able to install the header tank. It took a little longer than I thought it would as I needed to place it just right,
drill holes, and cut spacer shims to snug it in there.
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2
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Sept 14...I received the stainless 3/32 rudder cable from Spruce and commenced upon swaging the ends for the first time. I
think it came out ok.
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2
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Sept 11... Hard to believe that it has been 6 years since our Nation was attacked. Many memorial services today...That We
May Never Forget
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Sept 9...fabricated the L-angle that is set on a vertical stab rib. This angle allows for a place to attach the faring that is
placed around the horizontal stab. I also finished up some wiring in the tail hooking up the comm 2 antenna and finding
grounds for all the circuits.
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4
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Sept 8... I set the plane on the Main gears for the first time. Looks kinda cool as it sits up a bit higher.
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2.
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Sept 3... Guess it's been a bit since the last time I posted, yet it has been a busy month or so. The shower door business
has done well over the summer for keeping me out of trouble while school was out...Now...school has been back in session
for a month and things are starting to settle down just a bit. I was fortunate enough to be able to make it to the Kitfox Fly-In
this year in Homedale, Idaho. What a great time as Steve Kellander flew his plane and let me fly co-pilot. Here are a few
pictures.
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July 29...I took my own advice and packed up the paint booth until the weather decides to settle down. Trying to control
Temps and humidity when both are extreme just isn't a smart thing to do if I'm going to get a decent paint job. So I have my
hanger back and can once again get to the plane. I have been doing several small things such as re-enforcing the zip-ties
on the gun case and fishing rod holders with velcro, re-routing my com antenna wires, running the wires up through the top
of the Vertical Stab for the beacon and setting the Hz Stab & elevator back in place to make sure they miss the wires and
antenna mounts.
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4
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July 9... Here are some of the pictures we took in Yellowstone Park.
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July 7... The Jackson Hole vacation was a good one and I have a bunch of pictures to post at a later time. Today, I wanted to
get back to Poly Spraying the tail feathers but I had a few problems. I first started to wipe the elevator down with 2210 solvent
as instructed in the book, however, I was getting a bunch of static electrical poping as I did. I got the elevator wiped (did it
slow) and applied the #2 coat of Poly Spray. With all the static built up the elevator acted like a magnet and now has a bunch
of little particles on it...(even in a booth) guess I will be doing some sanding .A quick e-mail to the Maltronics group gave me
a few ideas. One was to spray Static Guard around the area so I will be trying that tomorrow morning. It hit 106 today. I'm
tempted to tear down the paint booth and wait to paint things till cooler weather comes back around. I'm finding this to be
quite a fight.
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2
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June 20... I have been working a few days in the mornings getting the Poly Brush sprayed on. (turns out I needed one more
coat on all parts) Today is the first time to spray on the Poly Spray. Waiting for the coats to dry and turn them over takes up
the time. The Poly Spray is the silvering coat which actually has particles of silver in it to give the fabric in the plane a UV
protection. Without this coat of silver, the fabric would be destroyed from the sun's UV rays in just a couple years.
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8
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June 11...I applied the last Spray coats of Poly Brush onto the Hz Stab and the Elevator today. Tomorrow will be the first
Poly Spray application. The guys at Home Depot were good enough to shake the Poly Spray for me today. Getting closer to
that color coat!
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2
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June 9...Woke up early today to take advantage of cooler temps for spraying. I was happy with the results as I got a good
coat of Poly Brush on the elevator. I also brushed the 2nd coat of PB on to the HZ Stab.
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3
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June 8...I received the Binks spray gun today and spent some time cleaning it. I picked it up on E-Bay for a good price and
I'm looking forward to trying it out
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2
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June 3... Finished the Spray booth and tried spraying Poly Brush. Had a few problems with it though. Also attached the
faring on the elevator.
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4
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May 30... I found myself needing to do some spraying and decided to build a make-shift paint booth. I ended up getting PVC
and 4 mill plastic from Lowe's. It went together faster than I thought it would.
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2
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May 3... I needed a faring for the elevator trim area so I played with a thermal plastic vacuum machine at school.
.
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1
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April 28...Continuing the elevator...Poly Brushed and taped
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4
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April 23...Took the panel out of the vacuum bag and trimmed it to fit.
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2
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April 21... Rib stitching the elevator.
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2
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April 20... Today at school I was able to lay up my carbon fiber panel. This was quite an experience!
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2
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April 7... I am currently taking night classes over at Williams Gateway MWF from 4 to 9pm. It's an A&P class on aircraft
structures...so my time is really tight this month. The cool thing is the credits will count towards salary advancement .Today I
was able to work a little more on covering the elevator.
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3
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March 2...A little here a little there... got the shelves painted yesterday with some color and installed them today.
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2
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March 1...Yep, still here (at least in spirit). I pet the plane every day I leave for work and once again when I get home at
night. I've been waiting for a lull in the shower door installations and so far I haven't seen one in two months. I'm measuring
after the teaching job, installing on the weekends and doing paperwork on average till about 8:00 every night. Jason is now
getting good enough to install the sliders and simple pivot doors, so he is out a couple times a week keeping things
rolling...It's great to have business thriving, but it hampers the building time a bunch! Last weekend I was able to prime the
electric shelves. Spring break is just around the corner and I hope to put a dent in the building then.
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1
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Feb 8&9... Got a couple more hours in after work with a couple of Super Fill applications to the vertical stab beacon mount.
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2
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Feb 5...The shower door business has been demanding most of my time the last week. Today I was able to spend a couple
hours getting the beacon fabricated.
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2
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Jan 30... Took a few measurements to school today along with some aluminum sheet. I was able to make the shelves that
hold the electrical buses.
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1
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Jan 28...Got a start on covering the elevator.
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3
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Jan 20... I seemed to tie up several little things today. The most time was spent on getting the elevator ready to cover as I
fabbed a plate to allow me to put a faring over the servo push rod. The little things I did was install the ELT antenna and
epoxy a few areas on the fueslage.
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5
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Jan 15... Was able to cover the baggage area today. This was my first experience with Poly Fiber and it went well.
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4
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YEAR 1 Jan 6... Well, the trusty digital camera I had for the last 3 years went south over the Holidays, so my picture taking
was postponed for a while. I found that the technology in cameras have certainly been advancing and driving the prices
down. I was able to get a 6 mega pixel camera for the same price as what I paid for a 3 mega pixel camera three years ago.
Sweet! The best way to purchase a camera is on line as prices vary quite a bit.
Dec 26... Day after Christmas and we had a nice time over at the in-laws. Today worked on installing the rudder cable
assembly. Also cut in and bonded the wood stringer braces on each side.
Dec 27... Ran the wiring for the elevator servo, vertical stab beacon and the rear light from the back to the front of the
fuselage. Also screwed down the baggage floor.
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2
4
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Dec 16... After toying with several LED's along with resistors and 555 flashers (which was fun but led to frustration), I was
able to locate a source for some nice 18-LED strobes. These come in red and white and have a quick 4-flash strobe...and
yes, they are bright! I found a red lens that fit the unit at an auto parts store and it should work great as a beacon on the top
of the vertical stab. I plan to also get a white one for the belly of the plane. The best part...I have $27 tied up in each unit. Eat
that Whellen! I spent a little time fabricating the lens unit and the top of the stab. Still need to form the lens unit into the stab
with Superfill.
Dec 16.... Also spent some time working on the elevator trim. I decided to use the Ray Allen Servo in stead of the sleek unit
that most are using now. It took a little more time fabricating the area, however, this unit should work a little faster and it also
has a lighted position indicator I can place on the panel.
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5
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Dec 15...Let's see there was something I was trying to remember about today...Oh yea, I turn 1/2 Century today <g>. I really
need to get this plane in the air before I forget how to fly! Wendy took me to a movie and got me an awesome WWII
mechanics sweater from Orvis (one I had been eyeing for a while). Also got several electrical tools and wire from
Spruce.Yup, I'm spoiled :>)
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Dec 14... I took advantage of the shear and break I have at work today and was able to fabricate a bracket that will hold my
Garmin 295.
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1
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Nov 30... I got the Nav antennas from Spruce this week and was able to get them installed in the vertical Stab. Also fit the
Stab fairing.
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2
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Nov 27... Epoxied the ribs in place.
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2
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Nov 25.... Black Friday...While most people were out shopping for the latest electronic gadget or a new pair of shoes, my
sites were set on finding a gas mask. I found a great one at the local surplus store which did the trick as I later epoxy
varnished all of the tail ribs.
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3
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Nov 24... Happy Turkey Day! Jason made it over and Wendy made an excellent dinner. I'm sure we will be eating turkey for
a week. I was able to slip out and work a bit on the plane later in the day. I did a lot of cutting, fitting & trimming on the panel.
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2
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Nov 14... Working on the panel. After trying to decide whether I wanted to build the traditional Kitfox panel or use the
custom Laker frame, I'm getting close to a layout that I like with the Laker panel. Pictures to follow.
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2
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Nov 4...Worked on getting the ribs ready to epoxy varnish. Also cut and fit the fuselage side ribs so they are ready to
include in the varnishing party. Finished forming and smoothing the top of the vertical stab with Superfill.
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3
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Oct 21... More work on gluing up the rib stiffeners as well as fitting the rudder cable pulley assembly to the frame.
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2
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Oct 17... It's been a while since I have felt good enough to do anything after getting home from work. Being sick sucks...or
should I tell how I really feel? 8>0 I was able to epoxy a few rib stiffeners on today and discovered a better way to apply
hysol to tight areas.
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1
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Oct 1... Got a lot done today laying out, cutting and fitting all of the ribs for the vertical Stab.
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5
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Sept 29...Something old, something new, something salvaged that already flew. No, I'm not getting married...as I have an
awesome wife! I took a trip over to Murle Williams today with plans to salvage Mike Gibbs rudder pulley assembly. I not only
got the pulley, but I scored on the whole flippin rudder. It's in perfect condition (as the plane was wrecked) and I figure this
find will save me 20 or more hours. Thanks Mike...Your plane continues to live through this transplant. :>)
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3
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Sept 24... I took Wendy to Sedona this last weekend for her birthday. Bummer, we didn't fly up but we stayed at Skyview
Lodge which is a stones throw from the airport. There was an experimental plane and hot rod show Saturday which was
purdy good. Yes, I know it was Wendy's birthday so she got to do all the shopping she could stand. Sat. evening we took a
Pink Jeep tour which was quite a bit of fun. We took the Broken Arrow trail which is said to be the best up there. The 5:00 or
sunset tour is also said to be the best with the sunset and sometimes wildlife.
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Sept. 17... I made an addition to the shop this week. The Rodman Nibbler is going to prove to be an invaluable tool. I first
learned about the Rodman company when I was in OshKosh this last summer. I bought a drill bit kit from them which was also
a good investment.
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Sept 15... I took the elevator pushrod out and trimmed it down an inch.
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Sept 2... I needed to determine where my controls would fall once the elevator push rod was connected. I was able to get
this done today after mounting the horizontal stab and elevator.
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Sept. 1... Finished varnishing the baggage floorboard and set it in.
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August 31... Today I epoxy varnished the 3rd coat on to the baggage compartment floorboard. Also finished framing in the
rod and gun case as well as tied up everything good at the top of the fuselage.
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August 27... Worked more on the baggage compartment. The floor board is cut out and will be varnished soon. We also
made progress on the shotgun case support frame.
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August 20... Finally, after several months of heat, the air conditioner in the garage is operating. This will make it bearable to
work when it's over 100 outside. I literally went through 4 AC companies before I was successful in getting someone that
wasn't afraid of a little work.
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July 30... My first trip to OshKosh was great! It was also a first to fly in an RV...what a fast little plane. Check out the pictures
by clicking on the date to the left.
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July 11... Update...Wendy and I spent the week of the 4th in Ft. Worth TX. visiting my Mom. Nice area and was able to visit
the folks at Avery Tools. Catching up on shower door installs has sapped most of my time. The AC is still not hooked up in
the garage so working on the plane in the afternoon is out. OshKosh is a couple weeks away and I look forward to flying back
in a buddies RV-6A.
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June 27 & 28...More work on the baggage compartment.
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June 26... The tools are all back in place and I was finally able to get some work done on the plane. This morning I cut and
laid up the base for the baggage area. Next to the wide body, this is one of the best modifications that can be done to the IV.
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June 21... The garage wall is complete and Wendy added an artists touch.
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June 13...Update...Last week, three buddies from high school and I went up to X-Diamond Ranch near Greer. We had a
great time fishing and running around. Here are a few pics. I am currently catching up with the business (shower doors) and
working on getting the garage finished. I am almost ready to texture the wall. I now have my condenser unit for the air
handler sitting outside. I hope to have it hooked up soon...it's getting hot out there! As soon as the wall is textured and
painted I can move everything back in place and be able to get at the plane again. At this rate, gas will be $5.00/gal by the
time I am ready to fly. :>)
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June 3...Taped the walls. Looks like the texturing will have to wait until the end of the week. Fly fishing in the White
Mountains calls.
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May 29,30...Drywall went up just working mornings.
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May 27... Well, it's been a while since the last post. The end of the year for a school teacher always proves to be a
challenge. Yesterday was my last day of school and it's a great feeling to know I can now breathe a little. Today I started to fir
out the west wall of the garage and throw up 1 inch of insulating foam board. My HVAC buddy still hasn't got my AC going
yet, but I'm going to get this taken care of.
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April 25...I connected the hydraulic cylinders to the rudder pedals. Lots of little washers.
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April 22... I had a good day in the hanger.. uh..garage. I was able to get the rudder/brake pedals installed, needed to trim
the fiberglass seats to fit (due to the wide body maneuver), and an HVAC buddy ( Frankie Eylicio) came over and started my
air conditioning install for those hot days to come. Yes, I'm spoiled. :>) Here are the first official pictures of sitting in the
plane and making airplane noises.
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April 20... Tonight I was able to concentrate on a couple things. First, I operated a little on the bell crank that connects
directly to the control assembly. After setting the floorboard it was evident that the bell crank was going to rub the top of it. I
cut about 3/16 off the top of the crank and shimmed up the bottom with a couple washers...that did the trick. The second task
I wanted to get out of the way was set the control column.
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April 17... Set finished floorboard. Looks cool!
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April 15... Applied third and last coat of varnish to floorboards.
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April 11& 13...Applied two coats of varnish to the floorboards.
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April 10... Varnishing... I used an epoxy varnish that I purchased from Spruce Aviation. Looks like I need to put three coats
on. I Also set up a few more shelves in the work cabinet.
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April 8...Fitting the Floorboard... I started last night cutting one of the floorboards in and was able to finish up today on
the other one. It went well and now I need to varnish them. After they are in, time to set the rudder/brake pedals and then on
to the control linkages. It's starting to feel like I can move forward on the plane now that the painting is over. My morning was
fun as I was able to go to Falcon Field and start getting checked out in the Allegro 2000. It is a Sport plane that happens to
have a Rotax 912s hanging on the front. This may be a great transition plane for me as the Kitfox will have the same engine.
ye-ha
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April 2...Spraying the color coat on went very well. I used a urethane based paint that I had color matched to the existing
powder coat. The match looks good and I'm happy to say I can now move on to other things. My next project will be cutting,
fitting and varnishing the floorboard.
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March 26...Today was prime time for priming. I'd like to thank Dale Herseth for coming over and helping out. It's always nice
to have someone come lend a helping hand. Dale has done quite a bit of HVLP spraying and helped out a great deal with
the mixing process as well as getting the gun set. The spray gun was purchased at Harbor Freight and did a great job.
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March 12...Wow, time goes by too fast! The business has picked up and I'm training my son Jason to install. I walk past the
plane each day and either feel guilty that I haven't spent some quality time with her or irritated that I can't make time. This
last week I did take the port side rib off the fuselage. The creation of the wide body requires the side ribs to grow about an
inch. Made a scraping chisel out of walnut to help get the old epoxy off as I heat it with a heat gun. I'm still looking for a day
without wind to prime the bare metal. I'm sure I will need to re-scuff with scotch brite...I know how fast this 4130 oxidizes.
Arrggg!
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Feb 20...I was able to get the plane masked off for priming, assembled the air filter and set it up ready to spray. I already
have the Poly Fiber primer, but went to the paint store and had them color match a quart of urethane based paint to match
my powder coat. The wind picked up in the afternoon enough to put the brakes on spraying outside...I'm sure the neighbors
appreciate my decision :>)
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Feb 15... I finished the tool cabinet which turned out to be great for getting a little more organization into the shop...need
that!
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Feb 10 & 11...A little bit here, a little bit there. Thought I was going to have most of Saturday to work on the plane, but the
phone started ringing for the business and didn't quit all day. I ended up measuring 5 shower doors. I Super Filled a few
areas Friday night, so I was able to get those sanded down and ready to prime at the end of the day Sat.
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Feb 2...Over the last few days I have been sorting bolts, nuts, washers, etc and organizing them in bins. I bought a small
hardware kit for homebuilt planes from Aircraft Spruce and I know these will come in handy. I also ended up getting an air
filter for the compressor as I understand this is a must have when you spray paint. Currently building a tool cabinet to hang
on the wall w/ peg board to get various tools out of drawers.
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Jan 26...Grinding welds, scuffing metal and prepping for primer & paint. Almost ready to use some Super Fill for the first
time to smooth out a few areas.
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Jan 23...The kit comes home from the shop. See the Mods link for photos.
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Jan 17 & 18...The welding of the wide body mod, the dorsal fin, and various tabs that will be needed is completed. Thanks
again to Murle Williams of Williams Aviation for the quick turn-around on welding. Another big thanks to Steve Kellander as
he put more time in cleaning up the welds and getting it ready to prime and paint. Dang! I'm gunna owe another lunch or two
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Jan 16...Big day as Steve Kellander and I trailered the fuselage to Murle Williams shop to have the wide body modification
welded on. Many thanks to Steve for helping out and Murle for the use of his trailer.
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Jan 14...Organized and made more space for working in shop. More of this to follow as many little parts need to be put in
bins. Wanted to start on the plane, so I cut and started to fit floorboards.
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Jan 13...Added a band saw to the shop. I was able to find a 1/8 - 14 tooth per inch blade that works great on the thin birch
plywood.
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Jan 10...Putting things away and some inventory. Starting to make more space. Thinking of hanging the wings on the west
wall.
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Jan 9, 2006...The KIt Arrives in Mesa, AZ
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