Prop Spinner Fit-Up

The propellor spinner dome and backing plate have been fabricated to permit the 3 Kiev propellor blades to fit.  First off, the backing plate needed new holes transfer drilled to match the hole pattern on a 1" thick spacer which mounts to the engine propellor flange.  

Here is the new bolt pattern, with one bolt present...

Here is a side-view.  From left to right: engine propellor flange, backing plate, ring insert (not shown) and propellor hub.  Note: bolts through flange are too long and hit the gear case; vendor has since supplied shorter ones.

Next, I temporarily mounted the propellor blades to construct a poster board cut-out template.  This will allow me to transfer a  cut-out onto the spinner dome. 

Here is a tool supplied with the prop which allows me to set the pitch of each blade.  I needed to get the blades pitched properly so the cut-outs in the spinner will be accurate.

So here is the first of three cut-outs to be made at each blade centerline.

I started with a Dremel cut-off wheel and then "snuck up" on the actual line with a Dremel sanding drum and then smoothed up the opening by hand with 400 grit sandpaper.

Multiple fits were required to match the the contour of the blade and leave a specified annular space around the blade.

Once the cut-outs were completed, I needed to drill holes for fasteners which attach the backing plate to the spinner dome.  In order to end up with a spinner that spins "true" and not wobble, the propellor was assembled horizontally, pitched and laid on a flat surface.  The spinner dome was then placed over it which resulted in the backing plate and dome resting on the same plane.  At this point holes were drilled.

Next, nut plates were installed at all of the hole locations.

The rivets were countersunk, so flush with the plate.

Now ready for paint...

Boot Cowl and Instrument Panel Final Install

After numerous fitup iterations (trim, retrim), the boot cowling was painted.  Here is the cowling in the paint booth before priming.

Here is the primed and painted cowl with fine line tape demarcating where the stripe will be located.

Here is masking in preparation of the gray stripe.

Here is the boot cowl painted and riveted to the fuselage.  Overall, pretty happy with the painting results.  Had some run issues on the bottom when it was hanging vertical.  Runs seem more prevalent on second pass.  Seems like 25% reducing of topcoat is optimum.  I applied high temp RTV silicone at the flange forward of the firewall to seal off engine fluid and fume leakage.

The instrument panel is fastened to the boot cowl through a dozen screws with rubber grommets to insulate instruments from vibration.

Avionics and Electrical Wiring Completion and Startup

I can't believe I've finally got a fully functional avionics instrument panel.  I put the juice to the system recently and, instead of sparks flying, all of the components operated beautifully without a hitch.  The biggest surprise was that the combination VHF radio, stick mounted controls and microphone/headphone jacks worked flawlessly: voice-activated intercom, stick-mounted PTT, frequency flip-flop and streaming music from a jack I wired in to play Pandora through my Iphone.  Still need to verify transmission quality.  Lots of micro-soldering work from a complete novice.  The Dynon Skyview required a little configuration identifying the engine sensors and took a little research to get the Garmin 496 to talk to the Skyview, but all works great.  The synthetic vision PFD is awesome.  It is with great relief that this phase of the project is done.  There was no Rans guidance to follow, therefore, independent consultation with component vendors was required.  Following are a collection of install pics over last few months, first off the as-built functioning panel.

Here is the firewall, which shows a blue capacitor I installed to filter engine electrical noise and hence reduce radio noise.  Buss bars nearly full.

I really like the DB connectors, as the crimped pins result in a really solid connection on the wire and snap into the connectors firmly and stay put.  I have used them exclusively in constructing wiring harnesses and in places where quick disconnects are required like near the wing roots where the strobe/nav lights connect.

Front headphone jack and wiring from stick harnessed into DB9 connectors; soldering jacks.  

Music jack

ELT-function tested

Dynon remote compass installed in battery compartment for primary flight display on Skyview

Radio wiring diagram

Constructing radio wiring harness with shielded wire

Transponder wiring diagram

Constructing transponder wiring harness with pins, wire and crimper

Soft start module for ease of starting in cold weather and reduce of strain on Rotax

Electrical Wiring

Been quite awhile since my last post.  I heard a rumor that the electrical part of the project can take the longest, and I'm a believer.  Seems like every operation requires a phone call, as this stuff is just so new.  I started with the battery and worked downstream from there to the starter solenoid.  The engine compartment is completely wired.  I've got the Dynon Skyview engine monitoring module installed and all of the engine sensors wired to the wiring harness provided.  I'm currently working on wiring the gps and transponder to the Dynon display.  Here are some pics of the mess of wiring...

Rotax Carb Mechanical Synch

I adjusted each carb so that each has the same power setting at high and low throttle.  This is important because each carb independently operates 2 cylinders and, if not in synch, excessive vibration will occur.  Procedure:  Advance throttle levers to full, then back off so that you can insert a snug feeler gage into one, then adjust ferrule on the other throttle cable such that the same feeler gage is snug.  Next pull throttle all the way back to idle.  Ensure that at the idle stop, no gap exists between carbs.  If so, adjust idle screw so that they are the same with no gap. 

I've got them set and will go with these settings at start up.  If excessive idle, I will back off each idle screw same amount, e.g. 1/4 turn.  If vibration still occurs, there is a way to synch carbs pneumatically by hooking up pressure gage and making sure differential pressures in intake manifolds are the same. 

Rotax Engine Mod: 2000 TBO

Found service bulletin SB-912-057UL for the engine which increases the time between overhaul (TBO) from 1,500 hours to 2,000 hours.  All it entailed was switching out an oil pump plug screw and pressure spring.  A metal ball was reused.  Following are some pics.  New unit on right. 

Control Cables Install: Throttle, Parking Brake

Here is a pic of all of the push-pull knob control cables installed.  Still have to finish up the choke cable.

 

Next pic shows the control cables behind the instrument panel.

Next pic shows the throttle control cables installed to the throttle lever.  Set screws were loctited into the lever to hold the cables.

Here is the throttle cable installed to the throttle lever on the carb.

Finally, here is the control cable configured to the parking brake assembly...