12/16/2014 Chapter 14 Step 4

Cut templates out for spar.    Cleaned and rearranged the shop.

12/15/2014 Chapter 14 Step 4

CS4 microed on.  Storage room is at 70 degrees.   Used fast hardener in the micro and baggies with corners cut out to apply the micro and then spread it evenly on the foam.   Weighed down with books, boxes of ammo and various items in the 5 .lb range.

12/14/2014 Chapter 14 Step 4

Conduit holes were cut in CS6, 7 and center bulkheads.  The holes will be in the bottom corner rather than right through the center so cables will lay flatter.   The holes are large enough that I microed some 1" long 1" NEMA conduit into the holes.   Added about one ounce total for the 3 conduit bushings.  

The CS4 panels were ready to put on but I spent literally hours going over Figure 4 and measurements on pages 5,6 & 7.   I pinged another builder regarding my apprehension about where exactly the CS5 & 8 bulkheads mount.   It appears on some builders pages, they attached the end bulkheads onto the end of CS1,2 & 3 without trimming 1/4" to mount CS5 & 8 flush with the jig.


I held off on microing the CS4 parts on since its supposed to get cold again.   I'd like to get better ventilation in the room where I'm working as I've noticed the smell of the hardener accumulates.   I'll plan on relocating the pump to an enclosed/heated station.  

We'll have guests soon for the Christmas, so I'll concentrate on some tasks that need to be done in the shop that will help with project construction later.

12/6-8, 2014 Chapter 14

Chapter 14 Step 3 is complete.  Knife trim of edges is complete.   Will make conduit holes when the bulkheads are cured more.   Used slow hardener so it took awhile to cure at 65-70 degrees.

12/5/2014 Chapter 14

Redid the CS4 piece that wasn't quite right.  The BID is marked up and ready to be cut for the inside spar lay ups..   Also moved the cutting station and increased the cutting surface area.    Decided to move some tool chests and vacuum system too which will make the shop more efficient.

I enjoyed looking at some local planes for sale this past weekend.   There's a LongEZ and a Cozy III for sale relatively close by.   There's another LEZ I'd like to look at but it's a 13 hour drive.  I guess I'll keep renting for now.

The weather looks like its going to warm up this weekend, so I should be able to get this inside lay up done.   It needs to cure for awhile, so I'll finish up some other shop projects in the mean time and see what else I can get done. 

11/24/2014 Chapter 14 update

The storage room is working pretty good at keeping the temperature more stable and within working temps of the epoxy.    Looks like this is going to be my winter time working space unless I partition the shop area off.   The shop and hangar had gotten down to about 57 when it was freezing/blowing outside.   Comfortable enough to work in but colder than the recommended temp for epoxy curing.

I worked until about 3 AM Sunday morning and encountered a few moments of frustration.  CS5 & 8 are on, CS 6 & 7 and center bulkhead are cut.  Since I was waiting for the macro to cure holding CS5 & 8 on, I did the first parts of Step 4.    I ran out of peel ply tape so made due by cutting some strips off wide rolls.  When doing a BID layup on one of the CS-4 boards, I miss handled the lay up.   When I tried to lift it off, it pulled the super sticky micro up in spots.   I quickly mixed up some more micro, fixed the spots missing micro and put a new cloth down.   The glass had a tendency to bubble where the micro had been patched.   Stippling and heating with a gun helped take care of that.  Temp in the room was right at 75 or warmer and I was using fast hardener so that added to the challenge.


A few things need to be improved on the cutting station.   It is on wheels and the height matches the work benches, but when the work benches are covered with a spar or wings,  that space isn't available for cutting.  The small cutting surface works fine for cutting pieces for small lay ups, but the longer ones require more surface.   There's a couple of places that fiberglass can snag on that need to be taken care of too.    I don't see how people build these planes in small spaces, but they do.   Passion is a great motivator.

Today I  trimmed the CS4 pieces using the band saw after removing the peel ply. One of the end pieces needs some more attention but the rest fits good.  Later, I cleaned the epoxy pump and put the expired epoxy/hardener back into the original containers so I can use it on non-aviation projects.   The old epoxy still seems to be good other than the hardener stinks a little and seems to get waxy when exposed to air.    I'd been using a scale and pouring but when working alone and using fast hardener, the pump will be better.    It seems like I probably wasted more when pouring by hand.   It's easy enough to check the pump calibration before each session.  I'll put the slow hardener in the pump for now since there's some big layups coming up.

  The vacuum system is working nicely and kept the dust to a minimum when trimming CS4.  But needs moved, more hose added and a few more tweaks.  That can wait until one of the next curing  periods. 

11/09/2014 - Chapter 14 & 19

Aircraft Spruce threw me a curve and mixed parts up between Chapter 13 & 14.   03-47300 is used in Chapter 13 but was sent in the Chapter 14 parts.  Chapter 14 uses a 03-43700.   I was trying to figure out where that angled aluminum was at in the spar.  Took a little while digging through stuff to figure out what happened.

Cut the 1/8 and 1/2 Chapter 14 metal parts (also used in Chapter 19).  They still need radiused, dulled and cleaned.  Internal bulkheads and endcaps CS5 & CS8 are cut.   Should be ready to do Ch 14 Step 3 (inside lay ups next).  Weather and work permitting.

11/5/2014

Weather is getting cooler so moved the epoxy system into a storage room where the temp is more stable.

Set the spar foam out to check how it fits.  Need to cut the bulkheads out of 1/4 foam and reread the plans.  Enjoying the T5HO lights with the shorter days.

 Wing core foam arrived with a few dings.

Did some more work on the shop vacuum system.   The cyclonic dust separator is getting some final touches and will move to the work bench area soon. 

This is how the hangar looked a few days ago.   The fiberglass cutting station is complete now, the plywood sheets are put away, wing core foam moved.

Chapter 13, 14 back ordered items arrived. Also recieved the wing foam from Eurika.

My neighbor called me when I was at work to let me know "There are 7 BIG boxes in front of your hangar door!"    These are the CNC cut wing foam.    Also, the Aircraft Spruce back ordered items arrived.   I had the order changed from out of stock Cleveland master cylinders ($500) to Matco MC4's (~$200).    I've been working on the shop and equipment.    Photos coming soon...I promise!

Partial order arrived from Aircraft Spruce

Chapter 13 & 14 orders have arrived with the exception of some foam, brake cylinders, rivets and a few other metal items.

Chapter 3 - 10 x 16 practice lay up.

6 plys of 12 1/2" x 18" BID

After curing, trimmed to 10" x 16".   Weight should be between 10.5 and 12.5 oz.  9.35 is pretty good!   No flaws indicating not enough epoxy was used.

Oct. 7th 2014 update

Ordered Chapter 13 Nose Gear hardware from Aircraft Spruce today.   Also submitted builder registration transfer for plans 1675.  Submitted the release form for the purchase of the Eureka wing core foam.

Received a new cutting mat and scale today.   I've got two scales now, one will read up to 5 .lbs and the smaller only up to 100 g.    Both are handy because the smaller one is more accurate for small quantities and the larger one can measure bigger objects that the little one can't.

Checked the epoxy pump (meters by volume) by pumping hardener and epoxy into separate containers.   The proper weight ratio is 100:40 versus the volume ratio is 100:50 for the MGS epoxy 235.   The weight was pretty close.  

Chapter 3 practice lay up is curing now.   It was a little warmer in the shop tonight and the wind was blowing through hard enough that the 12.5 x 18 fiberglass squares wanted to flop around a little when trying to line them up.   I'm anxious to see what the weight is going to be.   I wear cotton glove liners and powder free 6 mil nitril gloves.   They're heavy enough to reuse several times.

Scheduled some flight time on Friday at KFTW with a new FBO.   I need to stay current and get checked out in another rental plane.    One of the C172's I rent at another is down for maintenance.  The one I got instruction in keeps pretty busy so its nice to have options.  

Jump start on buildilng a Cozy Mk IV

I purchased Sean Sullivan's Cozy Mk IV project on September 19th 2014.    He'd bought a flying plane and found he'd been spending little time on his project.    Incidentally, I'd just purchased another set of plans so those will be set aside for awhile.

Sean is local and it only took me about 30 minutes to take a 16' trailer down, load the tub with wheels, canard, wheel pants, epoxy pump, fiberglass, DO pedals.   The canopy is currently a one-piece that includes the turtle back and carbon fiber top engine cowl.   The leg fairings are also on.

It took a few weeks to continue getting my hangar ready for this project.    3 Paulk workbenches have been built.   Several 6 lamp T5HO lamp fixtures are mounted above two of the workbenches.

Tonight (10/6/2014) I ordered:
 Jack Wilhelmenson's retractable nose gear ML1-12EHP, Castering nose gear assembly, EZ-RL Rotary Canopy Latch and the TQ-1 Three Lever Throttle Quadrant.

Aircraft Spruce's Chapter 14 material with fresh MGS Epoxy and hardener.

Eureka CNC cut wing foam cores from Stephan James.

Sunday night the center spar jig was laser leveled on two work benches butted together and the work lights mounted.  The epoxy pump was cleaned and o-rings replaced.   Old epoxy was used to glue scrap plywood together to be used for blocks and weights.

Most of the tools have been acquired but still need a 14" band saw and some smaller odds and ends.
A fiberglass cutting station and a wood cart for scraps remain on the need to build list.

Currently the evening temperature in the shop has been right at 75.    A few practice lay ups have been done to successfully  fix a few small non-aircraft items.

I'll start posting photos soon.