Today focuses on finalising some of the work I had already started but was waiting on parts.
First up is to rivet the throttle into place.
A view of the throttle installation from the top.
Next is to replace the 5/16″ bolts that were found to be damaged.
Once tightened the nuts are marked with torque seal to indicate any movement in service.
The canopy latch striker plates are riveted into place.
And the spring return plate is riveted into place and the spring connected.
The trim motors are normally riveted into place but I’ve decided to use an M3 bolt and nyloc bolt as it will be easier to change should there be a problem.
The wiring needs to be done next but I’ll leave that for another day.
A number of jobs today including some to finalise previously started installations.
The throttle quadrant was cleco’d in position temporarily to allow the cables to be run. This needs to be riveted with 4mm x 15mm rivets which I need to purchase.
The temporary holes were 3.2mm so I’ll open them out ready for riveting tomorrow.
The throttle and choke cables need to be adjusted, tightened and cut to length.
A small piece of heat shrink is put on the end to stop it fraying in service before it is cut to size.
The drip trays are held in position by a bracket at one end and a piece of wire lock at the other. A small hole is drilled in the drip tray to facilitate.
The right hand tray is quite close to the fuel line so a small modification was made to the tray itself and a small piece of plastic tubing secured on the top of the tray to stop it rubbing on the pipe.
View of the final installation.
One of the jobs on my ‘todo’ list was to torque the brake disks so the wheel is jacked using a simple wooded jack.
The bolts are torqued…
and marked with torque seal. This will allow me to see if there is any movement in the bolts whilst in service.
Next job to do fit the canopy locks and striker plates.
Once cut to size, holes countersunk and smoothed off they can be painted.
The striker plate in place ready to be riveted into place tomorrow.
The canopy lock and release are installed and tightened.
The actuating wire is cut to size and fed through the operating arm and finally the installation is sealed with silicone sealer.
Chris came down today to visit, see the plane and help me do some of the jobs that require two people.
First job today was to check the undercarriage bolts for tightness. Unfortunately two of the four bolts did not tighten so were removed for inspection and were found to have damaged threads. These will need to be replaced.
Chris making some wing stands .
Our next job was to install the Aileron and Elevator trim servos.
First job is to cut two threaded rods one 85mm for the elevator and one 65mm for the aileron.
The clevis is added and secured with a split pin.
The servos need to be moved to mid position which can be done with the aid of a 12 volt battery. The white and grey leads can be connected to the battery in either polarity to move the servo in or out.
The servo is positioned in the recess and cleco’d in place so the control rods can be adjusted correctly.
Once adjustments are done the locking nuts are secured using Loctite 243.
Today plan is to finish off some tasks that will see the completion of the oil system, exhaust system, NACA duct, and installing the rest of throttle cables ready for the throttle quadrant install.
The hose clamp are added to the oil return line…
and the oil bottle. I’ve tried to position the clamps to make sure they are easier to get to for maintenance but out the way so someone working on in the engine bay won’t snag their hands or clothing on them.
The oil pump to oil radiator pipe is clamped and fire sleeving is added as the pipe runs very close to the exhaust down pipe.
Fire sleeving should protect the oil hose but I will be adding some exhaust wrap to further protect the pipe. The oil system is now complete.
To finish the exhaust system install I need to apply some copper ease to the pipes to enable them to move slightly in service.
and also on the exhaust connection pipe.
After checking the run of the pipes the nuts are tightened to complete the exhaust install.
One of the jobs I can do between other jobs is to paint the rudder pedals. Two coats are needed leaving then to dry for about an hour between coats.
Last coat applied and drying off in the sun.
I had already drilled the NACA ducts but the mastic to seal them was too cold to apply so I had to warm it up slightly to apply it.
When I riveted the right side NACA duct I slipped twice and scratched the paintwork slightly which will need touching up and polishing out at some point. To stop this happening again I applied some asking tape around the rivet.
Right side duct. As you can see a slight scratch on the left rivet.
and the lefthand duct. A better job on this side. The duct install is now complete but still needs the Scat hose to be added for the cabin air vents.
The throttle cables have to be cut and made up. A few drops of oil down the outer will allow the cable to run smoothly and operate better in service.
Ferrules are added to the outers before fitting.
Wire locking is added and a piece of heat shrink tubing is slipped over the assembly to ensure is doesn’t undo.
The throttle quadrant is complete and will be installed when I come back this evening.
After fitting the fuel, oil and hose systems it’s time to see if the cowls fit properly around the radiators. It’s a two person job so Karen has come to help me this morning.
Exhaust pipe is very close but the clearance should be ok.
However the water radiator is too tight so the position and cowl will need to altered.
I will need to drill a hole for the fuel drain so I can check the fuel before each flight.
From the front the water radiator looks fine.
From the rear, the radiator brackets disconnected to allow movement for the trial fit.
The cowls fit but again only with the radiator brackets disconnected
Underneath looks fine.
The oil radiator fits fine with a slight adjustment to its position.
All seems to be centrally located.
Need to measure the front of the cowl for the spinner size.
And the distance from the engine flange plate to the cowl. This allows a calculation to be done for the prop extension that needs to be fitted.
The fuel pipes each need to be bent 45 degrees to accept the connection pipes from the fuel selector.
I had a number of things planned to do tonight which included installing the reducing connector on the return line, bending the fuel pipes in the cockpit to accept the pipes from the fuel selector, applying Loctite to the oil radiator bracket and mount bolts and fitting the NACA air ducts.
First up is bend the fuel pipes using a pipe bender. Got to be careful that I don’t bend the pipes too far as it’ll be virtually impossible to bend them back. Luckily it has an angle guide to help.
All three pipes now bent as required. It was easier than I expected apart from the pipe on the right which was impeded by the adjacent bracket.
Onto the the fuel return line. First job is to cut the pipe and insert the reducer.
The return line is 6mm i.d. so the reducer converts from 6mm to 8mm so it can be connected to the 8mm aluminium return line.
Clamps and a new section of fire sleeving is slid over the pipe and wire locked together and at the end.
Loctite 243 is applied to the oil radiator threads and the bolts are tightened immediately.
Loctite is also added to the threads of the oil radiator bolts that hold it to the engine.
The carburettor banjo bolts are tightened not the fuel piping is complete.
The NACA ducts are positioned and 4 x 2.5mm hole drilled to take the rivets to hold it into place.
The NACA duct in place secured by 4 temporary rivets (Clecos). The last job on this will be to add some silicon sealer to the face of the duct and rivet into place but its getting late, so time to go.
Today’s tasks included finalising the oil tank pipe run, prototyping the water radiator return hose, installing the fuel pressure sensor Tee and the ‘stand-offs’ to ensure adjacent pipes don’t rub against each other.
The water return hose requires a 22mm elbow to enable it to fit the installation. I’ve used an ordinary copper solder ring plumbing elbow. The solder ring gives a raised ring that allows the clamp to hold the fitting securely.
After running the hoses most need stand offs to make sure they don’t rub on adjacent pipes
A view from the top showing the fuel pressure switch just behind the gearbox and the top oil hose on the left.
Today was set out to redo some piping that I wasn’t happy with, re site the water radiator support bracket that seemed to be straining then continue the fuel system and oil system install.
I wasn’t happy with this pipework so I changed the angle of the carburettor banjo and shortened the fuel pipe.
The change resulted in a much neater installation.
The aluminium water radiator brackets were moved to underneath the black bracket which seems to work much better than the original fit.
The oil system is next. Most of the time taken to install the piping is working out the the route to make sure that it doesn’t rest or rub on other parts of the engine and it has a natural route which doesn’t lead to kinking of the pipe.
The oil supply hose is fairly easy to route but still requires careful positioning and ‘stand-offs’ to make sure nothing rubs.
There’s not a lot of space as you can see here.
Last job for today is to make the tee for the fuel pressure sensor. This will be fitted in the fuel line between the mechanical fuel pump and the cross connector that has the restrictor installed. This will ensure that the sensor reads the correct pressure.
The Tee must also have fire sleeving and secured in place with wire wrap.
Progress so far – right side view
Left side view
Following the build of my Bristell NG5 Kit No. 382 Registration G-MLSY
G-MLSY 