Month: November 2018

Center console and master cyl.

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Made progress on the console, detent for flaps and rudder pedals hysoled and riveted in place. Still need to add the parking brake valve, fuel shut off valve and possibly a throttle to the center console.
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Fitted the right side panel. Still need to drill mounting holes on this side then work on the left side.
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Also completed the master cylinder(s) so all of the pedal work is complete except for rudder cables.

Adjustable pedals and more

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A little side project in the shop was to upgrade the lighting. Originally there were ten eight foot dual high output fluorescent lights. They worked well but buzzed pretty loud on cold days and sucked power. Converted the same fixtures to LED, bypassing the ballast. Result no buzz, 30% more light and 65% less power!
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Next problem to solve was to figure out a way to drill a 1/16” hole in a 1/4 x 1” piece of round stock. Pictured is a halfback inch plate with a 1/16” hole drilled in it. All I was trying to do was drill straight on one axis. It took me three try’s with a cordless drill to get it right.
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Then I scribbled a line down the side of the plate and drilled a hole intersecting the 1/16 “ hole dead center. That hole is the same diameter as the 1/4 stock.
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Then I centered the 1/4 “ stock and drilled the 1/16” hole.
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Perfecto! Two pieces with perfectly centered holes.
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These parts are for the adjustable pedal levers. The pins fit into detents and hold the rudder pedals at the desired position.

More rudder

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A very sad moment today. My Craftsman 1/4 inch drive ratchet breathed its last today. As near as I can recall I bought this tool in 1984 shortly after we moved to Portland OR.
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This was an easy task. Installed the four rudder cable pulleys located just behind where the seat is.
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Managed to get the right side rudder pedal assembly installed with pedals. All of the assembly is bolted down and torqued to spec.
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This is a close up of the cable guides/pulleys and a master cylinder. Need to finish installing the other three master cylinders next.

Rudder controls cont.

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This pic shows the rudder pedal assembly being mounted in the fuselage. Figuring out where the mounting holes need to be drilled.
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Here is the left side rudder pedals mounted with the floorboards installed.
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Glad to see all of the floorboards in place now.
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Was contacted by John McBean today via email. He believes that the problem with the right side rudder assembly was due to weld pull wish is common in a manufacturing process. I think that this is true but also think that the tube was slightly bent to start with. Regardless what needed to be done was to remove all of the powder coat and continue to fit the bearings. It took a lot of work but i am happy with the result.
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Here is the right assembly almost finished. Just need to fit the pedals and install in the fuselage.

Rudder controls

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First off I hade to modify the rudder pedals by cutting off the upper portion of the control horns, see the tabs on the bench, then reshape the remaining portion and paint.
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This will be the left side of the rudder pedal assembly. This portion is three pieces. A torque tube and left and right pedal arms. Shown clecoed together.
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Here it is riveted and ready for the pedals to be installed.
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This is a crude but effective fixture l made to fabricate four straps that will fit over a pulley. It’s function is to keep the rudder pedal control cable from coming off the pulley.
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Here it is bent around to make the correct shape.
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This pic shows one installed on a control horn pulley.
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Ran into a rare quality control issue. This was going to be the right side-right rudder pedal. As you can see the tube is bent. Can not be assembled at all in this condition. Will need a new one.
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Another view.
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This is a look at an almost completed assembly.
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Another look. Once this is complete I will be able to set it into the fuselage and drill the mounting holes. Then remove it, install the floorboards and center console. Then fit the detent brackets for the adjustable rudder pedals. More on that in the future.

Update and some revision

From time to time it is a good idea to take a step back and review the work that has been done.  I decided that I was not satisfied with the control column in that it was a little stiff in the forward position.  Also the right control column bracket needed some refining and paint.  So I removed the control column and reworked, painted and reinstalled.  Also painted the rudder pedal mounting brackets.
One other item that needed to be done was to give the floorboards a third coat of varnish.  So they were sanded smooth and coated again.

Here is a pic of the reworked mounting bracket.  Much better!6393F0E1-27B6-4F78-AE8A-4D68D0351D4E

I will install the floorboards after the rudder pedal assembly is complete and the mounting holes are drilled.  More on that later.

 

Floorboards

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Not much build time today but I did manage to fit the five floorboards.
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A little trimming here and there.
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Tomorrow I will clamp them in place and back drill the mounting holes, using cleco’s as I go. Then remove, sand and apply two coats of epoxy varnish.

Controls continued

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Had a productive day, finishing all of the control assembly and installations. Fun stuff!
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First up was assembling and installing the flap handle
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Next was fitting and installing the mixer assembly. There is some light resistance felt at the mixer assembly but I think it will break in with no problem. Not shown is the flap connect tube and the aileron connect tube.
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Then on to the elevator idler and connect tubes.
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This shows the attach point at the elevator. So that is all for the controls for now. Later on everything will be adjusted to spec. Time to change gears and install the floorboards.

Controls

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Attached control column bracket to control column.
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Installed control column in fuselage.
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Attached aileron idler bellcrank to control column.
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Attached elevator idler bellcrank.
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Attached link between control column and elevator idler.
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Assembled aileron bellcrank to flap bellcrank.