Mike hostage's Pioneer Builders log
1992
Time spent here consulting with John Whistler, local machine shop owner and
metal aircraft builder. He ordered me a #5 tapered reamer, to help get the
misalignment out of the spar fitting holes.
16 Feb 3.0 Ream top right spar pin 95% complete. Alternated with undersize to full size
bit. Under size (new #5 bit) seems sharper.
17 Feb 3.5 Finish reaming top right, reamed bottom right. Front hole on bottom forward
fining is not true. It looks ovall May have to make new spar fittings!!
20 Feb 1.0 John Whistler (838-1288) looked at lower right fitting. First choice to correct
is to ream out for #7 size pin. Next choice is to weld extra metal onto forward
fitting and re-ream. This would require removing spar fitting. Drawback to #7
pin is, if it doesn't work, will have to re-do the carry through structure as well!
Decision is to use #7 pin
22 Feb 1.5 Reamed top left pin. Decided to remove forward lower right spar fitting and
repair or replace. Based on conversation with Jim Markse. He indicated you
could drill out the pins to 1/8" form their ends, but no further. To use a #7 pin
would thin out the knuckle more than the thickness of the 1/8" end of the #6
pin
0.5 Trim back nose rib 3A, to clear spar fitting bolt. Removed and replaced
(reverse position) four of ten bolts. Not too hard!
23 Feb 1.5 90% complete on reaming lower left pin
29 Mar 2.0 Ream lower left pin. Not going very fast. Bits dull, hole not straight. Need to
order new #6 reamer
4 Apr 2.3 Finished reaming left lower spar fitting (bought new #6 bit). Reamed upper
left, lower left and upper right so pins protrude 1/8" to 1/4". Fitted elevators to
wing, ground washers for inside of elevators, attached all hinges. Must move
elevator torque tube so it fits with elevator horns. The mis-alignment of the
rear carry through bar affected the positioning of the brackets which hold the
elevator torque tube
5 Apr 2.0 Cut elevator torque tube loose. Ground elevator horns to fit wing-to-aileron
gap, drilled mounting holes in elevator for horns, put elevators on to check fit
with torque tube in place. Made ply jigs to mark new torque tube position.
7 Apr 0.3 Initial hand grinding of hole, in right lower spar fitting, back to round, after
weld added. Welding done by Mike Spangler of Ace Welding (off of Rte 17,
on Green St). He also re-welded the elevator torque tube brackets.
11 Apr 2.3 Re-attach right lower spar fitting, ream to fit pin. All reaming complete! New
position of elevator torque tube is perfect. Re-hung elevators and ailerons.
Test fit swing bar (hold fuselage belcrank for ailerons and connects elevator
torque tube to stick assembly) with fuselage belcrank in place. Hooked up
aileron push tubes, need to relieve guide holes and mount PVC guides. Need
to order end fittings for fuselage end of aileron push tubes.
1.0 Put new flat head sheet metal nut/bolts into right spoilers (upper and lower)
12 Apr 3.0 Trim spoiler horns (right upper and lower) for clearance (cut 1/4" from tips).
Mount left and right upper and lower spoilers in wing cutouts. Fit and drill
right and left spoiler pulley bars to spar/drag spar. cut four pieces of 3/32
cable for spoiler actuation, approximately 14" long. Need to find 3/32 swaging
tool to put loops on end of each. Will then use 1/8" swage (loaned by Lou
Robinson, local EAA chapter vice president) to swage 1/8" cable + both upper
and lower 3/32" cables. Already swaged loop plus turnbuckle} at fuselage end
of 1/8" cable.
16 Apr 0.2 Borrowed 3/32 swage tool from Lee Persons (NASA Flt Test Branch, a fellow
Brainbuster). Swaged 4 14" 3/32 lines with loops at the end, for spoilers.
18 Apr $7.40 2 x 5" springs + 2 x 6" springs for spoilers.
19 Apr 0.7 Block fuselage spoiler arm to the full closed position. Swaged right spoiler
cable to correct length. Springs 5" top, 6" bottom, too long. Won't even begin
to close bottom spoiler.
20 Apr 2.5 Measure and swage left spoiler cables. Trim rear #6 ribs (both wings)
to clear spoiler cables. Assemble ailerons, control horns, push-pull tubes,
center belcrank, fork end rods and short inner aileron push rod extensions.
Trim short extensions to proper length, drill 3/16 holes to mate fork end rods
and short tubes. Operate aileron belcrank assembly, moves both surfaces OK,
lots of friction. Trimmed outermost hole in number 12 ribs (both wings) for
push pull tube, didn't help much.
21 Apr 1.3 Print out tip airfoils for station 21, tip, root of vertical tip and tip of vertical tip.
Cut out (1/4 ply) station 21 rib. Had to trim approximately 1/4" from profile.
Will cut down tip airfoil same amount.
1.0 Fit adjusting plywood pads to inner two left aileron hinges to free up
movement. Worked right aileron, still some friction.
22 Apr 1.3 Grind out aileron push tube holes in left wing ribs, to fit PVC. Cut and
trimmed 8 more PVC pieces. PVC seems to provide less friction. Grind out
holes on right wing.
23 Apr 2.5 Fit ailerons one last time. Pad on inner right aileron hinge, and second from
inside. Pads on middle two hinges of left aileron. Glue 4 hinge pads. Glue
nose rib 2A (cut away to remove spar fitting). Glue in aileron push tube guides
(PVC)- Bought more springs for spoilers. Looks like correct ones this time.
1.0 Seal nose rib bays 12A through 21 with Stitts UV-865.
24 Apr 1.5 Drill 3/16 holes for spoiler retraction spring anchors. Mount all 4 springs, test
operation, works fine.
0.5 Begin to remove hardware from left wing, to prep for sealing interior.
25 Apr 1.5 Lou Robinson (local EAA chapter VP) stopped by to see project. Will give
numbers for Ray Hart (built foam and fiberglass A/C) and Charles Collier
(built a trailer for his homebuilt ultralight). Remove last of hardware from
both wings. Second coat of sealer on nose bays 12A-21.
26 Apr 0.7 Glue trailing edge mounting blocks for wingtip pins. Glue ply pads to main
spar at spoiler spring attach holes.
0.7 Cut aluminum tubes for tip foils ( got tubes from scrap yard). Begin grinding
1/4 washers for wing tie down fittings. Mark tie down holes in right wing.
0.2 Vacuum nose rib bays, root to 12, of left wing, and trailing edge are of right
wing.
2.0 Varnish left wing root, rib bay 12 (forward of spar, in nose bays) plus trailing
edge root box of right wing and rear drag spar of right wing. Tried to use sour
cream jars. Varnish melted plastic Spilleft into bay 3 of right wing. Had to
disperse varnish from there.
27 Apr 1.0 Trying to figure correct hardware sizes for different fittings.
2.0 Mapped out hardware on hand versus required. Prepared list for Lee Persons.
1.5 Second coat of sealer on root through bay 12 (nose ribs) of left wing, and
trailing edge box and rear spar of right wing.
29 Apr 0.7 Cut foam templates for tipfoils out of 1/4" ply.
2 May 0.7 Assemble wheel/tire, fit onto carry though structure.
2.0 Seal rear left wing, rear right wing (first coat).
3 May 3.0 Seal (second coat) rear half of both wings.
10 May 1.0 cut block pieces for leading edge pins for tipfoil. Glue blocks.
17 May 2.5 Seal leading edge ribs (first coat) on right wing. Sealed holes, both wings,
using pipe cleaners.
19 May 2.0 Second coat on leading edge of right wing.
21 May 3.0 Went to Ray Hart's house (207 Holly Rd. Williamsburg, VA). He used left
over foam from his COZY to help me cut out both tipfoils and wingtips. Also
cut corner pieces to tie airfoils together.
22 May Received hardware for mounting internal wing components from Lee Persons.
7 Jun 3.0 Fabricate wingtip dolly/box for trailer. (After taking Saturday, 6 Jun. to drive
to Tidewater Soaring site to look at trailers) My tip box is too tight, using
carpet remnant for lining. Need thinner material, or shorter nap carpet. Also,
box is too heavy!
8 Jun 0.3 Removed sides and center section of wing box. Much lighter Will put 1/4"
panels on it, should be plenty strong enough.
13 Jun 0.5 Cut pieces for main wing dollies.
15 Jun 0.5 Put together box for main wing dolly.
18 Jun 1.5 Test fit wing into two saddle boxes. Looks OK! Add 3rd wheel to tip box.
19 Jun 2.0 Cut parts, assemble tip and main dollies for left wing. cut 2X4s into 3/4 x 1s
for floor guides.
20 Jun 2.0 Put felt (ordered from company in Chicago?) onto right wing saddles, test
mounted wing in trailer. Will allow me to mark channel location.
Countersink, drill and fasten 8' of track channel in forward end of trailer, right
side, right wing.
21 Jun 3.0 Fasten felt to left wing saddles. Drill holes for wheels on tip saddle (left
wing). Cut end panels for trailer wall, cut panels for ceiling (to mount swing
down trailing edge restraints) Bolt fittings to left tip saddle. Countersink and
install 8' of rails for left wing.
2 Jul 3.0 Put wheels on both main dollies. Install remaining guide rails and end
panels. Mark box area to fit tip boxes.
2 Jul 1.5 Made box area for right wing tip dolly. Fits well!
3 Jul 6.0 Took trailer to Ace Welding (Mike Spangler). He welded attach plate for
forward wheel, and angle iron for rear spar fitting brackets, onto trailer.
Brought trailer home, fashioned spar fitting brackets, reamed to fit spar pins. Finished left front saddle fixture on left end plate. Made both stop blocks for holding forward boxes in position.
Ended up finishing trailer. Did not install ceiling panels, were not necessary
because of the rigidity of the tip box and the root attach fittings in the trailer.
Will still have to use control locks on the elevators when the finished wing is
carried in the trailer. Loaded both wings, fuselage (on its dolly), canopy, and
as much wood as I could squeeze in, into trailer. Pulled the trailer with
new Ford, to Montgomery. The welds on the trailer fenders did not survive the
road vibration. Had to stop and remove them about 2 hours into the trip.
Trailer towed very well behind the Ford. Gas mileage was poor, about 12.5
mpg.
Montgomery, Alabama
30 Aug Set up work shop in garage, emptied trailer.
1.5 Drilled hole in end of tip rib to fit aluminum tube for tip extension.
2 Sep 0.7 Drill front and rear pin holes, and bearing holes for left wingtip. Used "P" size
drill for pins, could have used "O" for tighter fit. Used "7/16" bit to ream
bearing holes. Cut both main spar tube and tip pin to shorter lengths.
4 Sep 0.5 Cut slot in wingtip tube, to follow bolts in end rib tube. Glue blocks to ply rib
to seat fore and aft pins.
5 Sep 0.5 Cut blocks off of left ply rib (glued them on wrong side!). Glued them on
correct side. Cut slots in right wing tube for wingtip.
7 Sep 1.5 Cut relief holes in foam tip for pin blocks. Cut out foam section to fit tube and
ply spar. cut all wood pieces to glue in main aluminum tubes. Mount left
aileron to check trailing edge alignment of foam tip.
0.5 Glue ply shear web to tip rib and aluminum tube. Glue in filler blocks and
female tubes (pin receptacles) to wing tip.
11 Sep 0.7 Attach spoiler belcrank tube, tiedown block and aileron belcrank tube, left
wing.
12 Sep 1.5 Cut out upper wing skins for both wings.
1.0 Rasp glue surfaces aft of main spar, left wing. Ugh!
13 Sep 0.7 Rasp forward ribs and top of spar, left wing.
15 Sep 1.0 Fabricate clamp board for holding leading edge upper skins in place during
gluing.
Back from Russia/Ukraine trip
1 Oct 1.5 Scarf top inner leading edge piece. Mark varnish areas, then varnished them.
3 Oct 2.0 Glued top skin, inner leading edge.
4 Oct 1.0 Remove clamps and staples from inner top sheet. Scarf, fit, and mark for
varnish, the middle upper sheet. Vacuum out leading edge.
1.5 Scarf inner rear tip panel, fit in place. Varnish middle leading edge and rear
inner pieces.
6 Oct 2.0 Attach rear spar fitting, elevator hinges. Glue middle leading edge sheet.
8 Oct 1.5 Got fenders re-welded. Got 2 new rear spar fittings cut Pip pin holes did not
line up correctly when bolted in place. Not sure why. Re drilled mounting
holes in new fitting. Will have to rejig carry through structure before drilling
new pip pin hole.
10 Oct 2.0 Mount fenders back on trailer. Jigged up both wings to carry through
structure, drilled pip pin hole in left rear spar carry through piece (forward
fitting)
11 Oct 0.2 Filed edges and painted new left rear spar fitting piece.
1.5 Varnish right elevator interior and small outer surface panel of left wing.
Attach new forward rear spar fitting.
12 Oct 1.5 Glue outer leading edge panel of left wing.
13 Oct 1.2 Glue rear inner to sheeting. Remove clamps and staples from top outer leading
edge piece.
14 Oct 0.5 Remove staples and clamps from rear inner ply piece.
16 Oct 1.0 Scarf then glue root spar juncture ply piece and traiing edge ply pieces.
0.5 Cut spoiler box ply pieces.
17 Oct 1.0 Scarf and glue box around upper left spoiler
18 Oct 3.0 Cut 1/2" cap strips, glue to top of left wing. Made and glued shelf for ply
covering to aileron drive arm hole. Marked radii for trimming top of wing.
Planed leading edge for gluing of 3/4" nose piece. Glue last two cap strips and
ply covering for aileron drive tube top wing exit.
19 Oct 1.0 Jig saw trim cut outs from top of left wing.
$37.88 Bought basswood for leading edges.
21 Oct 0.3 Sanded and trimmed upper wing cutouts.
0.5 Glue filler to ply covering in forward edge of top spoiler cutout. Need to build
up the radius.
0.6 Trim all remaining cutouts.
23 Oct 1.0 Fit left aileron and elevator to check surface throws for required deflection.
Needed to trim aileron hinges for last 3 degrees of up deflection. Will need to
grind aileron hinges to ease fit.
24 Oct 3.0 Trim tip rib for wingtip extension. Grind aileron hinges, now have proper
angular movement. Glue foam to removable tip assembly. Fashion filler piece
that will be next to the aileron, glued it to the removable tip. cut leading edge
boards to width, and length. Scarfed left leading edge pieces. Drilled 1/4"
dowel holes to align leading edge pieces.
25 Oct 1.0 Glue leading edge to left wing.
0.5 Remove pipe clamps and temporary screws from leading edge plank. Began
planing to match angles of ply sheeting, where it meets with the basswood
leading edge.
26 Oct 0.4 Plane part of upper part of leading edge spar.
27 Oct 0.6 Plane more of top of leading edge spar. Plugged with dowels, the screw holes
used to tighten up the glue edge of leading edge spar.
1.0 Plane bottom of left wing leading edge. Sand dowel pins flush. Begin to carve
leading edge radius.
28 Oct 1.0 2/3 done planing radius on leading edge.
29 Oct 1.0 Finished planing leading edge spar. Started sanding with finish sander.
Cleaned up garage.
30 Oct 0.7 Finish sanding top of left wing leading edge.
31 Oct 0.5 Glue repair splice to root end ply lip. Also inject glue on leading edge rib #5 to
glue a creaky spot.
1.0 Cut pieces of ply to build up area around aileron push rod exit.
1.5 Glue ply pieces in area around aileron pushrod exit. Sand lower leading edge
surface. Sand off varnish run-off on lower wing surface.
1 Nov 0.3 Remove staples, sand and trim radii cuts on second aileron pushrod panel.
2.5 Complete hole cutout for left aileron push rod. Varnish upper ply inside
surfaces; varnish insides of both ailerons.
2 Nov 1.5 Second coat of varnish on inside of left wing (upper ply surfaces) and inside of
ailerons.
0.5 Mix micro sphere filler, filled areas on lower half of wing.
4 Nov 0.6 Flush sanded all microsphere areas. Weighed wing with spoilers, elevator and
aileron (no drive tubes or cables) at 95 Ibs.
0.6 Apply microspheres to top of left wing. Bondo 11 degree corner block to
horizontal foam part of wing tip extension. Matched wingtip top surface slope.
6 Nov 1.5 Talked to man at Stits Co., he said to wait on the Poly-Brush because it will
pick up all kinds of dust and dirt. Glued tipfoil on at 3 degrees angle. Cleaned
up table, switched wings to begin skinning right wing.
0.6 Drill 3/16 hole for bolt in tube that holds wingtip foil tube. Glue pin blocks to
wood rib of tipfoil, right wing.
7 Nov 1.4 Glue ply shear web to spar tube for right wingtip extension. Drill pin holes,
insert and glue pins, pin tubes in end and tipfoil rib. Glue filler blocks to
shear web for tip rib and tipfoil.
8 Nov 1.1 Rasp top of right wing, all surfaces.
11 Nov 1.5 Bolt aileron and spoiler support tubes to right wing. Bolt spoiler spring clips
and tie-down fitting to wing. Scarf, notch and mark for varnish the right
inboard top piece of ply. Bolted all aileron and elevator hinges to right wing.
0.7 Varnish inside surface of root forward ply piece.
12 Nov 2.0 Vacuum out leading edge root area, glue ply to this section.
14 Nov 0.8 Pull staples, remove clamps from upper inboard ply piece.
1.2 Attach aileron hinges to right aileron, prop wing to remove twist. Need to
adjust aileron hinges for smooth fit. Outboard hinge is tight. Scarf and mark
middle ply section. Varnish inside surface.
1.5 Glue middle section.
15 Nov 2.0 Remove staples and clamps from middle piece. Scarf and mark for varnish
outer ply piece and rear root ply. Varnish both.
16 Nov 1.7 Glue outer forward ply piece, glue root rear ply piece.
17 Nov 0.5 Cut small rear spar juncture ply piece, trailing edge ply steps and small
connector piece. Cut forward ply piece for spoiler box, pre-cut trim cutouts for
spar box area (to leave room for cutting out radii cutouts on the spar box
piece). Scarfed all ply pieces.
19 Nov 0.8 Glue rear spar splice ply piece, trailing edge ply strips.
20 Nov 3.0 Cut ply pieces to box top right spoiler, mark and scarf, fit top right spoiler in
place, glued ply pieces around it. Cut, fit and glued all top cap strips and
aileron bay ply piece. Scarf splice for leading edge nose piece (basswood).
21 Nov 1.5 Pull staples and mark all radii and trim lines on top of right wing.
22 Nov 0.5 Cut most trim cutouts from top of right wing.
24 Nov 0.5 Begin sanding cutouts and radii.
25 Nov 0.7 Continue to trim and cut radii.
1.1 Complete trimming and sanding upper ply surface.
0.6 Trim ply on leading edge to accept leading edge spar.
26 Nov 1.0 Trim leading edge pieces to width, clamp in place and drill for dowels.
27 Nov 1.8 Glue leading edge to right wing.
28 Nov 0.5 Remove clamps and screws from leading edge. Glue in dowel fillers for all
screw holes.
0.5 Begin planing leading edge to angle of top sheeting.
29 Nov 3.0 Shape right wing leading edge. Varnish upper ply surfaces on interior of wing.
30 Nov 1.5 Sand and fill bottom of right wing. Finish contour of top side of leading edge.
Rasp high glue spots, fill low spots (top side) with micro filler.
1 Dec 1.5 Sand top of wing. Bondo horizontal part of foam tip to removable tip rib. Fit
aileron and elevator, check movement. Movement OK, aileron within 1 degree
of upper limit.
2 Dec 1.5 Trim tip dolly to fit aileron. Cut aileron drive tube hole in ply at aileron
station. Trim root end ply to 1/2" width. Stow wings in trailer for Xmas
present effort, and re-configuring of workshop. Built KTH standing curio cabinet.
12 Dec 2.5 Attempted to fit right wing to fuselage (frame inside fiberglass shell). Cut out
holes for spars to fit through shell. Had to relieve ply skin on wing (lower skin)
to let fittings go into shell enough. 1/4" as specified on plans is correct!
Vertical clearance is very tight. 7 1/8" spread between top of top fitting and
bottom of bottom one. 7 1/4" is fuselage depth at that point. Quit with right
wing almost in place. Will need to cut holes on left side to fit this verticle
measurement.
26 Dec 3.0 Fit both wings to fuselage, check measurements and drill fuselage truss
mounting holes. Had to grind spar root fittings to 7.1 " top to bottom to help fit
into fuselage. Also, had to glue up broken ply skin on right wing. Pieces
broken when wing slipped during 12 Dec work session. Cosmetic damage
only.
28 Dec 1.0 Drill stick mount bracket. Fashion stick torque tube bearing block from nylon
cutting board. Temporarily mount elevator drive tube and aileron belcrank and
drive tube. Also mounted spoiler handle and belcrank.
29 Dec 2.5 Mount release belcrank. Mount nylon bearing for stick pushtube. Mount
spoiler arm guide ring plate. Size miscellaneous bolts/pieces to order from
Aircraft Spruce. Will order parts for new drive arms for elevator, ailerons, and
aileron belcrarJk. (They need to be longer by 1/4" to 1/2") Mount rudder pedal
bracket. Drill out holes in fuselage to fit axle.
29 Dec 2.0 Mount tow releases. Ordered parts listed on KTH stationary. (kept with
notebook)
30 Dec 1.0 Sanded fuselage top and bottom, all areas where epoxy bonding will be done.