Music: Various
Andy has come to visit for a couple of days and give me a hand on some of the items that need 2 people, like lifting and turning the wings. One of the jobs that would be good for us to start on was carrying out the final fit of the lower cowl that needs modification to gain access to the fuel check valve and ensure that there is sufficient clearance around the radiators and exhaust is service.
Once the cowl is fitted the ‘tight’ spots need to be marked.
Also the position of the hole for the gasocolator fuel check valve is marked.
The cowl is made from carbon fibre so the tight spots are filed with a course file to start and finished off with wet and dry.
The cowl is also adjusted for the exhaust downpipe.
Next a hole needs to be drilled in the cowl for the drain valve.
and opened out with a step drill.
Plenty of room now so no chance of rubbing against the exhaust…
… or the water radiator.
The hole is in a perfect position but will need to be opened up further.
The Rotax installation involves running hoses and tubes from everywhere, to everywhere. One of the last tube runs are the drains from the carb drip trays and the air box plenum.
They need to be run to exit underneath the fuselage but miss all the hot spots like the oil, water and exhaust pipes. it’s not straightforward.
But Andy has done a good job.
Meanwhile, I finish off designing and installing the equipment tray retention system which will be rubber mounted to dampen vibration and protect the avionics units mounted on it.
One down and one to go tomorrow…
Andy taking the captains seat as usual after a very productive day.
G-MLSY 