Kit #7 arrived

[Utah-Jay]

Yesterday was a lot of finishing up on projects like filling in the holes on the trim tabs with epoxy, taking the sky light frames off the fuselage and upsizing the holes for permanent attachment. The sky light frames are now cleco’ed back in the cockpit. I also did my first few rivets to secure the two sides to the three sky light frames. I also made progress on the stringers, got several cleco’ed in and got rid of those pesky clamps

I have been putting off the fuel system as it is a bit intimidating to me.

[Utah-Jay]

7 1/2 hours today, and got a lot accomplished.

All the stringers are now set, only the bottom two need to be drilled and cleco’ed as I was not sure of the exact position of the very front. I have decided to flush match the bottom of the stringer to the bottom of the bracket.


Here is a good look at the stringers. The upward bend at the back end of the bottom two took a bit of time to get right. The went on and off at least 5 times each.
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Finally got around to putting the toe brakes on the rudders and clamped them in. I will clamp in the firewall tomorrow and then permanently attach the rudders with the required setback from the firewall.

Also did a bit of tweaking to the seat locking handle to get them just right

[Utah-Jay]

After yesterday’s frustration of not feeling like I got much done, today was a GREAT day at the Heber Bearhawk Factory

I had been fretting about the fuel lines and the unique bend required around the backside of the door former/frame. I had seen a few videos with lots of bent tubing wasted trying to get the bend. Well I nailed it today, here was my waste pile after doing both sides from the top to under the middle of the door former.
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Yep, only one mess up and then it was smooth sailing.

Here is what transpired, keeping in mind I only went to the middle of the door as I am waiting on the bulkhead T-junction to get here. I did not work on the front down either as I want the to have the proper angles to work with once the bulkhead T is in place
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All 4 grommets are drilled and set in place like these two 08AFF689-26FE-4481-A65E-B4EDE6DF701D.jpegEBDBC978-8894-4CCE-ACCF-249951613629.jpeg HAPPY DAYS

Edited to add, the grip ties are only to hold it in place temporarily

[Nev]

Great progress!

[Utah-Jay]

Thanks Nev, I have had it for two weeks now, and worked on it 13 of the 14 days. Tomorrow is another day off, playing golf with my wife Next week will be finalizing the fuel lines to the fuel selector and starting on the tail wire rigging

[Utah-Jay]

I am thinking I am getting close to making airplane noises

Yesterday I worked on the fuel selector and the plate it goes on as well as getting all the holes drilled for the gascolator under the plate. 5925BBD8-238A-4F6F-BFAD-33EA3B30AEFE.jpeg

Yesterday I also finalized the position and mounted the rudder pedals
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Today I cut off the left side support for the Flap actuator as the rod end from the elevator bell crank was making contact in the elevator up position.

I also mounted the rudder, which took some sanding to get the attach point up to the correct level. You can see the grey primer I sprayed to protect the rudder after the sanding
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So… what the heck are those chartreuse lines? I mocked up my control surface cables with some parachute cord to check everything out.
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The trim tabs are back on after priming them from the grinding, epoxy and sanding
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I got a lot of AN drilled shank bolts and the rest of my AN hose fittings in the mail today, so I can finish up the fuel system all the way to the fuel selector tomorrow

[Utah-Jay]

Every morning have my coffee and plan for the day’s build projects…. This morning I nearly pit my coffee out while planning the finish of my fuel lines. Why??? Because of this photo… I was really proud of my work too
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Yep, you guessed it, I riveted in the stand for the fuel selector, which was pretty bad, but made worse by the fact that IF I had gone with this installation it would have been a MASSIVE square whole needed in the floorboard.

So I spent two hours un-messing (not my first word choice btw) it up.

The whole in the floorboard was not tough, but took some time to slowly creep up on the correct size
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Only then did I get to work on finishing the fuel lines to the fuel selector.

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I had been concerned about the rudder cables in the cargo area being exposed, so I got some clear tubing to fit in the fairleads and protect the cables (still mocked up at this point with chartreuse parachute cord) in the cargo area. Really happy with this and I will permanently attach it in the next couple of days. Now I will be able to put baggage in without worrying about the rudder cables being pushed around.

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Tomorrow will be more work on floorboards and cable line mockups.

[Utah-Jay]

Worked on finishing up the fuel lines, go them fitted and flared all the way down to the fuel selector, I will likely do the balloon test in the next few days to check for leaks to this point.

I got all the floorboards fit today, but need to use the metal brake tomorrow to bend the floorboards under the seats to allow for the cable from the top of the elevator bell crank to have clear passage to the pulley under the cargo area.
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[Utah-Jay]

Today was spent upsizing holes for both the floorboards and the tabs for the floorboards. I also installed the clickbond attach mechanisms for the floorboards. GREAT system, but I had to use acetone several times to remove the adhesive from my hands.

The clickbonds pulled through from the bottom using the pink silicone things you can see sticking up

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Floorboards are all ready to be installed tomorrow with the exception of the under seat floorboards as they need to be bent to allow the elevator bell crank to pass through.

I also riveted in the front and rear door formers, the bottom former will be riveted in tomorrow then the fuel lines will be permasealed and be done down to and including the fuel selector.

Riveting/bucking is interesting, especially when I needed to hold the rivet gun in my left hand. Only had to drill out one, not bad for a beginner I reckon/

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Still waiting on the adel clamp pliers to arrive, maybe tomorrow, so I can permanently install the ELT plate you can see in the above photo.

I finished the elevator cable mock up, so all the tail surfaces now move appropriately
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[Nev]

Those Clickbonds are the business ! Definitely could have used some on my build.

[Utah-Jay]

Agreed, way better than tinnerman clips and a ton less work than nutplates.

[Utah-Jay]

It was a very productive day. I riveted in the bottom door formers which was a challenge with the fuel line in the way at times. Luckily I had several different shaped bucking bars to get the job done
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Then there is the upper attach for the windscreen. The angle of the tabs made for some very difficult bucking, so after doing three and not being happy with the results, I drilled them out and used flush pop rivets
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Then it was on to floorboards as I wanted to get them all set before I put in the fuel sector and seal the threads on the fuel connectors

Had to bend the under seat floorboards to accommodate the elevator bell crank
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And then there is the cover area for the flap area. The white cardboard is the last bit that will be fabricated tomorrow. I will likely use clickbonds to install this, and my current plan is to install the cover below the floorboards. I am using a pretty thick piece of aluminum to also act as a stiffener.
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[Utah-Jay]

Wrapped up a lot of stuff that I had been working on and preparing to be finished. No big stuff today.

Finished up the fuel system and all the connections are sealed, the line under the door former is held in place by a double adel clamp.
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Yep, there are scratches. I am looking into laying 0.060 Kydex down on all the floorboards. Will know next week.

I installed a cover for the open area around the flap handle. Still not sure what I am going to do around the back of it.
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ELT tray got final install. A lot of this was due to the Adel clamp pliers finally arriving
ED0EF88F-C15C-42D2-A096-914E01326CC0.jpeg I put a spacer in the connection of the upper turnbuckle and the elevator bell crank.
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There was not much sexy about today, here is a look at the tools and stuff on the floor where I spent a good portion of the day. B16E1311-8D51-423F-B3CE-F6A4FCECDE8E.jpeg I am getting close to attacking the control surface permanent wires/cables.

At this point I am waiting on stuff that is stuck in the supply chain delays which is no fun. I need to get the plane on gear so I can mount the firewall and start in on the boot cowl. I could mount the axles on wood blocks, but that would then require removal when the brakes and wheels arrive. If I have to I will, but still waiting it out doing other tasks.

[robcaldwell]

Jay, it appears that you are using thread sealant on your 37 degree flared fuel line fittings. Thread sealant should not be used except on NPT fittings. Only then very sparingly. You do not want that stuff getting into your fuel system. You may need to remove those lines and rinse out the sealant.

[Utah-Jay]

Yikes, thanks Rob

[robcaldwell]

Sure thing, Jay. Here is more on the subject: https://bearhawkforums.com/forum/bea...t-for-fittings

[Utah-Jay]

She has legs
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Not a particularly easy job to do solo.

Took me the whole day

[Utah-Jay]

Firewall all mounted, another job not easy doing solo
1968F53F-6044-4A2A-9173-B193372A90F1.jpeg Now that I have it all drilled and mounted, I will attached the fabric to the front and back for heat and sound reduction.

[Utah-Jay]

Worked the firewall’s heat shield and sound dampening today, had to make a template for both the front and the back of the firewall.
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103B5AE9-5545-41D7-8B9A-ED57C84761D8.jpeg And then the spray adhesive and clamping. This is the inside the cockpit sound dampening material is from ACS: https://www.aircraftspruce.com/catal...es/koolmat.php

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The heat shield is from Amazon and will be put on in tomorrow:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B017A1TA3E/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o05_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Tomorrow the panel and boot cowl project begins

[Ejs014]

Jay, what adhesive are you using? Does it need to be rated for a certain temp?

[Utah-Jay]

Ejs014
It’s the one on the right in this photo.
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[Ejs014]

Thanks. After I asked I started reading about koolmat on the ACS link you had in the post. FWIW they recommended a 3M fireproof 2000 sealant for installation. I'm not sure if the 3M 77 will hold up to any substantial temperature but I suspect for the engine side the mechanical fastening of the firewall to the frame and anything else you add to it will hold the mat in place. Maybe it will on the interior as well? I do know it will be hard to redo after the engine is installed so I would be sure it is going to stay in place. I think if you look at most certified installations you will find mechanical clips with no adhesive.

This really got me thinking and I probably couldn't sleep knowing I didn't at least mention this so here are some points to consider.

It's hard to say how hot a firewall gets in normal operation and I am not sure of the heat differential from the hot face to the cold face of the material you are using. A firewall is typically rated for 2000 degrees for 15 minutes per FAA standards. You can think of that as a direct flame on the firewall at a set distance. Aluminum melts at 1220 for comparison. If you put anything on the firewall that can't stand up to that temperature without melting, smoking or catching fire you have essentially derated the firewall capability. It's a bad situation if you ever have a engine compartment fire and it will be even worse if the firewall keeps the flames out but the cockpit fills with smoke or flames from something else at a lower temp. In normal situations this will not ever come into play but it certainly has the potential to make a bad situation worse.

You could do a test with the scraps and adhesive to see if it produces smoke or lets loose. You don't want it falling into your pedals either.

You may already know all of this and have thought through it, so just ignore me thinking out loud if that's the case. It will not be the first or the last time I overthink something! LOL

Keep up the good work and happy building!

[Light&Sweet]

Dark Aero video on firewall materials and construction: https://youtu.be/R25bl-EgW1k

[Utah-Jay]

Ejs014
My “mentor” has used this method on both his Rocket and currently Carbon Cub, he claims that between the adhesive, engine mounting bolts and all the pass through items on the firewall it is all fine. It has been used and done successfully before. The Koolmat is on the backside (cockpit side) of the firewall.

[spinningwrench]

Did you verify your predrilled firewall bolt holes were at the correct location. Mine were off from the factory on my Quickbuild and I had to replace the first firewall.