Kit #7 arrived

[Utah-Jay]

When your jet lag and work hangover are so severe you don’t trust yourself to work on the plane you do this
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Then the next day I did some of this
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Back to working on the plane today

[Utah-Jay]

Rear windows went in today for the last time. I used Butyl sealant tape to seal against water leaks. As you can see form the photos there is a bit of putty removal needed, but I want to give it a few days to really settle in before I remove the excess.

[Utah-Jay]

Over the past few days I have been securing lines and hoses in the FWF area using high temperature zip ties and silicon tubing to create standoffs so there is no rubbing or chaffing.

[rodsmith]

Where did you source the high temp zip ties?

[Utah-Jay]

rodsmith


Here ya go:

https://www.cabletiesandmore.com/tefzel-cable-ties

I got the 11.6” 50 pound ones.

[Utah-Jay]

Engine cowl final fit and holes upsized for #8 screws and nutplates as well as #4 rivets
IMG_4914.jpg IMG_4915.jpg IMG_4918.jpg Black clecos are for #8 screws, copper colored clecos are for #4 rivets. The Cowl top will be riveted to the top of the nosebowl and the cowl bottom will be riveted to the bottom cowl.

The nosebowl and engine cowl will not be painted until after phase 1. Boot cowl will be pained and riveted in “soon”

[Utah-Jay]

It was like Groundhog Day only in hours. I am on my 7th time of filling, sanding and priming. Looks like bottom cowl is now at an acceptable level to get it through Phase 1, which after Phase 1 I will paint the engine cowl. I am only chasing pinholes. I may also add fiberglass reinforcement to the inside of the bowl
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[Utah-Jay]

Somebody took my plane apart
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Kidding aside, I am preparing for painting the boot cowl. Both the boot cowl and the firewall are dimpled for flush rivets. Now it is prep for painting time.

I took the opportunity to finally trouble shoot my faulty Carb Heat sensor issue, I had a bad splice leading to the D-Sub, so redid that, this time I checked it on the ohm meter to make sure all was good.

[Utah-Jay]

Well, today was a visual day.

It was a serious milestone! I filled and sanded the nosebowl about 30 times, all be it at the end with 400 and 600 grit sandpaper. How long does a cycle of filling and sanding take? About 4 hours each time. It was like chasing a GHOST! But today it was all worth it
IMG_4942.jpg IMG_4943.jpg IMG_4940.jpg IMG_4944.jpg IMG_4939.jpg IMG_4941.jpg Tomorrow the engine cowl gets riveted to the nose bowl and will all be painted.

Happy Days

[Utah-Jay]

Just to add, yes the paint has a texture, it is by design to match my Oratex fabric

The photos of the nosebowl were taken inside the paint booth so the lighting was great for the photos, but the nosebowl looks great. Sadly it gets sanded tomorrow morning, then riveted and painted again after riveting to the respective top and bottom engine cowl

[Utah-Jay]

After spending 11 of the past 14 weeks working overseas, it is good to be back and working on the plane.

Yesterday I hooked up lights to all the wing wires to confirm everything is working, only had one hiccup and that was an easy fix once the problem was diagnosed. So wing wires are all set.

Today I fastened up all the wiring behind the panel so it is a bit more tidy looking.

I also riveted the top and bottom engine cowls to the nose bowl so I can paint them.
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You may notice the texture in my paint, it is on purpose to match the texture of my oratex fabric

[Utah-Jay]

What was once blue is no longer
IMG_5136.jpg IMG_5135.jpg IMG_5134.jpg That was not fun.


Had a poor accelerator/paint ratio and had to remove all the paint.

[jaredyates]

How did you know there was a problem, did it not fully set up? I know that repeating work can be frustrating, but it is much easier to fix now than later.

[Utah-Jay]

How did you know there was a problem, did it not fully set up? I know that repeating work can be frustrating, but it is much easier to fix now than later.

Jared
7 weeks ago when I painted I realized the paint was not drying as fast as it should on the first 2 batches of mixture. That is when I checked the labels and realized I used the epoxy primer actuator rather than the paint actuator. I figured with a 5 week work trip in the days following it would be fully cured when I got back. But sadly there were still a few tacky spots. So I figured I would not take any chances and strip it all and start over. It was tedious and messy, but the right thing to do

[Utah-Jay]

Lot of work has been done, not many photos… But here is some progress

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All of the boot cowl extension, or behind the front door frame is riveted in. I used stainless pull rivets.
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I guess some people call it orange peel, but I painted all the surfaces with a matte type finish to match my oratex fabric
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I would have finished all the riveting, but I needed CCP-32 rivets for the front of the tunnel rather than -34 as the -34 were just a tad bit too long and contacted the bottom tubing where the firewall attaches.

Spinner should be painted black tomorrow.

Floorboards are in place and just need to be secured.

Too much other stuff to remember.

[Utah-Jay]

IMG_5165.jpg IMG_5164.jpg Right side boot cowl is riveted on, left goes on tomorrow. I am two days from being done with the fuselage