E Cutting the slots for the canopy release was easy enough.  Cut the full size template out of the drawing, tape it on the side of the airplane, center punch the holes, drill and cut.  I am not a big fan of using a Dremel but this was a great application for it.  (5/1/06)

F A lot of work has been accomplished since my last post.  The canopy frame is fitted and riveted together.  Nothing difficult here, just follow the directions.  Next up will be to remove the wings and fit the canopy aka "The Big Cut".  Over Memorial Day weekend I helped a friend cut his canopy, ok I really just watched, and it doesn't look that difficult.  If you hear me scream, you know the thing cracked while cutting mine.  You will also notice that the canopy release has been cut, fitted, and installed.  Once again, nothing difficult, just follow the instructions.   (5/31/06)

E This is a shot of where I placed the Outside Air Temperature (OAT) probe for the Dynon EFIS.  This will be protected under the empennage fairing.  (6/3/06)

F The access plate under the HS is very limited.  Jeff Bordelon came up with the idea of extending the access cover upward and cutting the fiberglass faring short.  There are some detailed pictures on Jeff's site.  The picture on the left are the cover plates and the right picture is the right cover plate installed.  (6/3/06)

E After hearing how poorly the fairings from Van's fit, I was expecting a good bit of trouble.  Once they were trimmed along the very faint part line, they fit surprisingly well.  (6/3/06)

F I called Tad Sargent at work around 3pm to talk RV's and mentioned I was ready to make "The BIG Cut".  He was kind enough to go home, change, and come back with his son and riveting partner TJ.  After measuring and marking the canopy we took it outside to warm in the sun.  An hour after he arrived we were sipping some bourbon and admiring the canopy.  I owe Tad a big thanks for the help!  (6/6/06)

E The evening was spent trimming the canopy, as will the next several nights.  However, I peeled the empennage faring off and set it aside.  Now that it has been fitted I will sand off the excess epoxy to obtain a custom fit.  (6/7/06)

F The empennage fairing will be completed tomorrow after I sand it with some extra fine sand paper, probably around 220 grit.  To keep the epoxy / micro-balloon mix from sticking to the clecos I dipped them in vaseline.  The aluminum was protected by layers of clear packing tape.  I found out after starting this that the trick is to make the epxoy / micro-balloon mix as thick as peanut butter and then smear it between the aluminum and fiberglass faring with your finger.  Once this is done, sanding it is straight forward.  Using 100 grit and a rubber sanding block made it go very fast.  Of course the block was not used when sanding the compound curves.

Once the edges were fitted it was time to fill all the "pin holes" in the fiberglass.  In checking with our EAA chapter's plastic plane builders and some of the RV builder's forums I came up with the following ways to accomplish this.

1. Do nothing and just paint the thing.  Let the paint shop fix it.

2. Squeegee on pure epoxy mix and sand off the high points

3. Squeegee on a mix of epoxy & micro balloons and sand of the high points

4. Spray on "sandable primer", sand off, repeat until holes are filled.

5. Mix epoxy 50/50 with Acetone, brush on and paint over it.  Some light sanding may be required.

6. Fill all the holes with lightweight aircraft dent filler.

There are advantages and disadvantages to each of those methods.  It will be up to you to research what will work best for you.  Being the loggerhead that I am, I started with #2 and moved up to #3 and may progress to #5.

I skipped #4 because of my fear of compatibility issues with my final paint, whatever that may be.

So far I have not found working with fiberglass to be difficult and the best part is if you mess something up, you can patch it and move on.  In that regard, it is kind of like working with drywall.

Check out the rudder page for some more tips on working with fiberglass.  Note, there are some very good RV web sites out there that detail what fiberglass supplies will be required, thus I found no need to duplicate such lists.  (6/24/06)

E The empennage fairing is finished!  Or so I think.  Man, there are a lot of plate nuts holding this thing in place.  The red strap you see is to keep the fuselage from tilting forward in its cradle.  (7/1/06)

F While very carefully drilling the canopy I managed to create a small stress crack, much to my dismay.  You can see the 1/8" stop drill hole just above the right cleco.  I used Cyanoacralate to glue the crack and epoxy to fill the stop drill hole.  Both of these I found at Hobby Town.

I believe the reason the canopy cracked was that I was using my halogen lights to heat the canopy while drilling it and the lights may have heated it unevenly, thus causing some stress.  The drill bit I was using was the correct Plexiglas drill bit.  Next up will be enlarging the holes and countersinking them.  If that goes bad, it will be time to open my wallet for a new canopy.   (7/12/06)

E I have no idea who came up with this idea but my friend Radomir passed it along to me.  The plans call for two small nuts to hold the lift strut ball in place.  Well, I don't know about you but my hands will not fit up under the rail to start the nuts, not to mention there is no way I could ever get a wrench on those nuts.  Radomir's suggestion was to put two plate nuts on a piece of aluminum and use that in place of the nuts.  (See the picture on the left.)

The second picture is my canopy frame being held open by the lift struts for the first time.  Next will be to add the stiffeners to the underside of the canopy frame.  Once that is finished I will install the canopy.   (7/22/06)

F Made a lot of progress today.  Fitted, matched drilled, alodined, painted, and rived the tip-up stiffeners in place.  Then started fitting the canopy.  This is the first time the tip-up frame has been opened with the canopy installed.  In a day or two I might actually get to start fiberglassing that thing in place.  (7/23/06)

E Boy do I ever feel like I'm making progress now!  I messed up the left canopy skirt and had to order a replacement.  No big deal, at this point I have a growing pile of dead parts so what's one more.  The plans calls out hole spacing for the skirt but they were useless since I had already drilled the canopy to the tip-up frame.  What I did was put a screw w/ a tenaman (sp?) washer in every other hole to hold the canopy in place.  Then the side skirt was taped in place.  Reaching in from the back side, I drilled through the existing screw holes in the frame side and canopy to the skirt.  After drilling two holes I removed the skirt, deburred and dimpled the holes and then screwed them in place.  This allowed me to finish drilling the every other hole.  When that was finished I once again removed the side skirt, deburred and dimped the holes, removed the screws and tenaman washers, and screwed the thing back in place.  Once again I reached in from the baggage compartment and match drilled the remaining holes.  After that the skirt was removed once more and the pattern for the rivet holes was laid out and drilled.  It was then reinstalled and the rivet holes were matched drilled through the canopy frame.  A lot of installing and removing but the results were well worth the effort.  (7/24/06)

F In two hours I measure, cut, and sanded the aft canopy.  The results were very close to the final cut.  The 1/3 sheet Black & Decker vibrating sander with 100 grit paper worked very well for removing any cut marks on the plexi.  Once the thing is fit to its final size, I will work down to some very fine sand paper but for now, 100 grit will work.  The pictures from left to right are: Aft canopy set in place and marked for cutting, the canopy being cut (note the tape to hold it together and the blocks on the table to keep it from spreading.), Aft canopy being sanded, and finally the aft canopy section set in place.  (7/25/06)

E The aft skin was drilled with 1/8" holes where the screws will go through the aft canopy.  The aft canopy required some minor trimming from Van's rough dimensions but all-in-all it came out great.  Some minor sanding is required before drilling it to the roll bar and aft skin but I felt so lucky to have a straight line and generally great fitting aft canopy that I felt it was time to call it a day.  (7/26/06)

Helpful update: When I did this I elected to use #6 stainless steel tenamen (sp?) washers on all the screws.  My thinking was that these will help distribute the stress of the screws a little bit better than just a screw head in Plexiglas.  Aircraft Spruce sells the washers under part number 04-00397.  (10/8/06)

F The aft canopy was match drilled with the help of my wonderful wife.  Didn't have much time to work on the plane, spent the morning helping a fellow RV'er hang his hanger door, then off to another RV'er house to help him sort through some painting issues.  Match drilling this took 1 1/2 hours, not bad.  Next I will need to countersink the plexi, dimple the aluminum skin, and drill and tap the roll bar.  Then it will be time to rivet on that aft skin!  (7/29/06)

E Spent the better of the morning countersinking and "dressing" the edges of the aft canopy.  The aft canopy was already drilled with a 1/8" Plexiglas drill bit.  The DeWalt drill held the countersink with a number 40 CS bit.  The strip of .32 aluminum had a #6 dimple in it.  I set the CS to match the #6 dimple and checked every hole.  Immediately after CS'ing a hole I would enlarge it with a 5/16" Plexiglas drill bit and then deburr the back side with the blue handled crank tool.  This made for some very nice holes.  The rest of the day was spent wiring up the strobe power pack, position and landing lights.  Next week we will rivet on the aft skin and bolt in the aft window.  (7/30/06)

F It has been a busy couple of weeks.  The 774 top skin has been riveted in place and looks great!  Before that could be done, I had to finish running the wires to the strobe power supply under the left side of the baggage compartment floor and then rivet all four floor panels into place.  Since I'm going use some electroluminescent strips under the roll bar to use as a cabin / courtesy light I had to mount the little transformers under the side flap cover plates.  Pictures to follow.   (8/7/06)

E There is an outlet store in Lincolnton, NC that sells bulk fabric and leather.  I picked up three hides that exactly match the dark gray of my panel.  I had no idea the skins are that large, this picture shows them laying on our queen size bed.  I figure only two skins will be required but bought the third just in case I want to do the interior at some point in the future.  I have also picked up some sheep skins that will be cut to fit over the gray leather to keep our backsides cool during the hot summer and warm in the cold winters.  The wool will not be stitched to the leather as I want to be able to replace them when they get warn.  (8/11/06)

F The break assembly reminds me of one of those puzzles where you are giving a bunch of wood blocks in different shapes and you have to arrange them in the shape of a letter, usually "T".  Here are the gear legs with the brake bracket installed but w/o the brake and wheel pants bracket installed.  (8/26/06)

E Radomir came by to help install assemble the wheels and rivet the firewall recess in place.  Notice how he brought his wheels along as well.  This worked out great until we got to his 2nd gear leg, the shaft was just a little bit oversized and the bearings would not fit over it.  What a disappointment    .  Tad also showed up to give us a hand putting the bearings on, install the engine mount and gear legs.  (8/26/06)

F Radomir had no idea how much we where going to get done when he came over at noon.  By the time we knocked off at 7:30 PM the engine mount was on, the left gear leg was bolted in place, and the right gear leg was just about in place.  Looks like I might have to remove that right leg to inspect it and find out why it is not sliding into place.  I had no idea the -9 tail draggers were so tall.  With the engine and wings installed, it should be a little lower.  (8/27/06)

E (Today, October 1, 2006, I tried to install the throttle bracket under the engine and found that my "great idea" of running the brake lines straight out and across the engine mount will not work as the line interferes with the throttle - mixture bracket.  So...  It looks like I will be rerunning the right brake line.  Thus do not follow my example.)  Running the brake lines was easy enough.  The right brake line runs forward of the engine mount, thus keeping it away from the exhaust and the future cowling fasteners.  It also provides a simple place to clamp it to, note the Adel clamps waiting to be bolted together.  1/4" aluminum tubing run down each gear leg, per the plans but in place of making a stress loop around the brake the lines are cut short and a 12" section of braided stainless steel Teflon brake line run between the gear leg and brake caliper.  Vinyl hose is wrapped around the union to protect the gear leg.   (9/15/06)

F (Brake update #2:  After going through all the trouble to install these brake lines, fill the system with fluid, etc I think this may not work either.  The union fitting looks like it might be too wide for the leg fairing to fit over.  The solution will be to use flex line all the way down the gear leg.  On the left side, the line will run from the bulkhead fitting and on the right side I suspect it will run from just inside the cowling.)  After installing the carburetor and the throttle-mixture bracket I re-bent the right brake line.  This wasn't a big deal.  More so since I figured out that if you use safety wire to hold the Adel clamps closed, they are actually very easy to install.

In the current issue of the RVator they mentioned that some brake squeal can be stopped by installing a fourth section of clear tubing and tape to the brake line, where it runs down the gear leg.  I elected to go ahead and do this now, rather than later.   (10/14/06)

E  It was my intention to fill and test the brake system prior to riveting the top skin on.  If any leaks were discovered, they would be easier to fix now rather than later.  Today was the day the brake lines were filled.  Or, I should say, finished getting filled.  There are a lot of tricks to doing this, like the rest of the building process, there nothing difficult to do once you get the proper tools.  The brake lines work very similar to those on a car with the difference being that it is best to push the fluid into the system from the caliper rather than to let gravity and brake pumping do the job.  Also, and this is VERY important, do not use automotive brake fluid.  It is not compatible with aircraft brake systems.  To push the fluid into the system a pressurized "tool" is required.  Here is my $10 chemical sprayer from the aviation section at Lowe's.  I cut the tip off the wand, inserted a 3/16" barb x 3/16" barb splicer (Lowe's part number A-95), and then inserted a 1/4" clear hose on the other end of the barb.  Loosen the nipple on the caliper, this is requires a 1/4" socket.  Pressurize the tank and let enough fluid out to get as many air bubbles out of the tank's line as possible.  Push the clear hose over the nipple on the caliper.      (10/24/06)

F Before you go to Lowe's, remove the cap from the brake reservoir and take it with you.  After selecting the sprayer of choice, move on to the aviation plumping section and pick up a 1/4" threaded section, a 1/4" x 1/8" tube to female pipe coupling with insert (Lowe's part number A-15), and about six feet of 1/8" clear vinyl hose.  On the way home, stop by an automotive parts store and pick up the self bleeder bottle pictured above.  The advantage to using this bottle is that it has a straw that runs to the bottom so once it has some fluid in it, you can's suck air back into the system.  Also, the bottle has a round magnet on it that worked great for holding it to the engine mount.

After putting it all together you are ready to start pumping fluid into your brake system.

Two things, remember to check to make sure all of your fittings are tight before you start pumping fluid and tighten the nipple on the brake caliper before trying the brakes.  Please don't ask why I know these things.

In case you were wondering, yes, I had a leak.  One of the fittings on the braided stainless steel line that runs from the pilot's side right brake peddle to the parking brake valve was defective.  The line was removed, the offending fitting cut off, and replaced, and the line was reinstalled.  Another reason to do this before riveting the top skin on.

One advantage to the plastic brake lines Van's spec's in the kit is that you can see the air bubbles moving through the system.  (10/24/06)

E Ah, the joys of home building.  When the parking brake valve was first installed, it was my understanding that the valve would be open (parking brake off) if the lever was vertical, either up or down, based on the orientation in my installation, and the valve would be closed (parking brake on) when the lever is horizontal.  After filling the brake lines, I found this was not the case.

The first picture is how the parking brake cable was originally installed.  This was supposed to be "Off" and the middle picture was the position when the brakes are set or "On".  This is wrong.  The middle picture in fact is where the valve needs to be in the "Off" position and the photo on the right is the valve in the set or "On" position.

It was easy enough to make this change now, before the top skin is riveted in place.  (10/24/06)

F My wife pointed out I had not yet posted a picture of the plane with the engine and gear on.  (11/2/06)

E The ELT tray had a loop to hold the emergency antenna but when I mounted the tray in the floor I had to cut it off.  When I did this I wasn't sure where to mount the antenna until the other day.  I used some shrink tubing around the antenna to keep it from sliding out of the adel clamp and the screw holding the clamp in place is used to keep the right flap lever cover in place.  (11/2/06)

F Last week was a great week here at Bill's Aircraft Factory!  On Thursday I picked up my seats from the upholsterer.  Mr. Leon Brown did an outstanding job and I can highly recommend him.  He isn't cheep but I don't mind paying for quality.  All the cushions and boot covers are in dark gray and he made some sheepskin slip covers for the seats.  It may look a little bling, as the kids would say, but they will be cool in the summer and warm in the winter.  The best part is they can be easily replaced should they get trashed as they are held in place by elastic straps.    (11/2/06)

E Fiber glassing in the canopy wasn't that big of a deal.  Unfortunately, I didn't take any picture of the process because my hands were a bit messy.  The instructions in the manual worked great.  and after a short working session, it was time to walk away and let it harden.  The only way I strayed from the instructions was in using some tooling dough (epoxy and  micro balloons) to fill the gap between the canopy and top skin.  After that, I laid progressively wider strips of cloth, starting at 1/2" and finishing with 2" strips.  Each layer of strips was 1/4" wider than the previous.  The strips were laid with the ends butting up against one another and the butt joints were offset from one another.  The first being in the center, the second on the right side, the third on the left, then back to the center, right, left, etc. until all the cloth was used up.  That is a hint, cut all your cloth before you start and lay it out in the order in which it will be used.   (12/3/06)

F After the fiber glass hardened I realized that the tabs where the Plexiglas passed through the skin did not look very good.  The aluminum tabs were sticking out and it looked like my plane had ears.  Very carefully the tabs were cut off with a Dremel and using bidirectional cloth I found at a hobby shop the holes were covered and filled.  Once it was completed, you could not tell I performed minor surgery on this area.   (12/8/06)

E (Brake update #3:  Sure enough, the union fitting on the brake line was too wide for the gear leg fairings.)  Finally the brake lines are in to stay!  I special ordered stainless steel brake lines to run from the firewall penetration and down the gear legs.  The right side line took some extra supports but not a big deal.  Now I'm ready to fit the cowling.  (12/10/06)

F What can I say?  I do make some mistakes when building but as someone once said, it is not the mistakes you make but how you fix them that counts.  Extreme caution was used to fit the tip-up canopy to my fuselage and it fit perfect right up until I riveted it together.  Apparently after the tip-up frame was riveted together, I never clecoed on the top forward skin to see if it still lined up.  After friber glassing the canopy on I was ready to begin fitting the cowling, which required putting that skin in place.  That was when I noticed the left and right sides lifted up and out.  The first picture shows the gap on the right side.  The left side was even larger.  The middle picture shows the shims I made to go under the skin at the rivet line.  The third picture shows the skin after the shims are clecoed in place.  I suspect this will pull down some once they are riveted in place.  If this happens, I will build up that skin some fiber glass and tooling dough.  Not a big deal and easy enough to fix.   (12/30/06)

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