Wings

Today I started out by laying the Plexiglas over the opening that I had cut in the wing. Next I traced out the opening with the recommended 3/4" on each side and 5/8" at the top and bottom. That was pretty easy to accomplish and by using the retainer strips I was able to 'round' the corners.
I drove out to the airport to see Craig Easter at Precision Airmotive and again got access to his bandsaw. Once I got back home I finished the edges with my belt sander and then used some fine sandpaper to finish the edges.
My next task was to fit the Plexi Lens. I used the same strapping tape I had from the other wing. I got Donna to help me out this time. We fitted the Plexi Lens inside the opening and adjusted it to center it up. She held it tight with the strapping tape handle and I drilled the six holes by using the previous holes I had drilled in the edges of the opening as a guide. I first drilled with a #40 bit and then changed over and drilled it with a #30. With that done we took the Lens out of the wing.
With the Lens out of the wing I enlarged the six holes with a 5/32 bit and then used the deburring countersink bit to countersink the Plexi just enough for the dimples in the skin to fit. After that I took the retainer strips and countersunk the rivet holes for the AN426 flush rivets. Next step was to rivet the 6-32 nut-plates to the retainer strips. I attached the retainer strips to the Plexi Lens by using the 2-sided tape that came with the light kit.
I next moved back to the wing and deburred the holes using the countersink style deburring bit. The instructions say a slight bevel on the insides of the holes help to prevent splitting during dimpling. Then I used my pneumatic squeezer with the #30 dimple-die to dimple the attach holes. I also put a small strip of adhesive-backed foam on the inside of lens opening as a mositure barrier.
My next step was to install the Lamp/Reflector in the Mount. That was a simple task of inserting the reflector in the mount and securing it with two 10/32 screws and aluminum washers. The instructions say to be careful to center the reflector in the hole, but there's not much give one way or the other once it's in the Mount.
All that was left was to install the lens in place and secure it with the stainless screws. That was a little tricky since there wasn't a way to hold it from behind now with the lamp mounted. I used a couple of small 'picks' to center the offset top and bottom screw holes so I could start the center screws in the top and bottom. When I got them started I left them loose so I had a little 'wiggle' room to get the rest of the screws started. When all the screws were started I tightened them up and Voila - The rught wing now has a light!

5 Hours

Wings - 65 Hrs

Empennage - 195 Hrs

Total hours on project = 260

Wings

Today I started the landing light on the right wing. With the experience gained from the left wing it seems quite a bit easier so far. I used the template to mark off the cutout and then drilled a 7/8" hole with the Unibit and again used the nibbler to cut the hole in the wing. I left about 1/4" all the way around and then used my files to trim it to the proper size. When I got it cut and trimmed to the proper lines I put the template on again to check the size. This time it turned out to be practically perfect. I used fine sandpaper and a scotchbrite pad to deburr and smooth the edges all the way around.

3 Hours

Wings - 60 Hrs

Empennage - 195 Hrs

Total hours on project=255

Wings

Today I moved on to one of the intimidating parts of this project, cutting and drilling the Plexiglas Lens. I started out by laying the Plexiglas over the opening that I had cut in the wing. Next I traced out the opening with a generous overlap, the instructions recommend 3/4" on each side and 5/8" at the top and bottom. That was pretty easy to accomplish and by using the retainer strips I was able to 'round' the corners.

The instructions say it's easiest to cut by using a bandsaw. Since I don't have one of those I drove out to the airport to see Craig Easter at Precision Airmotive to see if he had any good ideas about cutting Plexiglas. He had just finished up doing some of that type work and gave me access to his bandsaw. It turned out to be a lot easier than I though it would. It cut and trimmed like a hot knife through butter. Once I got back home I finished the edges with my belt sander and then used some fine sandpaper to finish the edges.

My next task was to fit the Plexi Lens. I accomplished that by following the instructions and used some strapping tape that I formed into a 'handle'. I got my son Jim to help me out with this step as it was much easier with more than two hands. We fitted the Plexi Lens inside the opening and adjusted it to center it up. Jim held it tight with the strapping tape handle and I drilled the six holes by using the previous holes I had drilled in the edges of the opening as a guide. I first drilled with a #40 bit and then changed over and drilled it with a #30. With that done we took the Lens out of the wing.

With the Lens out of the wing I enlarged the six holes with a 5/32 bit and then used the deburring countersink bit to countersink the Plexi just enough for the dimples in the skin to fit. After that I took the retainer strips and countersunk the rivet holes for the AN426 flush rivets. Next step was to rivet the 6-32 nut-plates to the retainer strips. I attached the retainer strips to the Plexi Lens by using the 2-sided tape that came with the light kit.

I next moved back to the wing and deburred the holes using the countersink style deburring bit. The instructions say a slight bevel on the insides of the holes help to prevent splitting during dimpling. Then I used my pneumatic squeezer with the #30 dimple-die to dimple the attach holes. I also put a small strip of adhesive-backed foam on the inside of lens opening as a mositure barrier.

My next step was to install the Lamp/Reflector in the Mount. That was a simple task of inserting the reflector in the mount and securing it with two 10/32 screws and aluminum washers. The instructions say to be careful to center the reflector in the hole, but there's not much give one way or the other once it's in the Mount.

All that was left was to install the lens in place and secure it with the stainless screws. That was a little tricky since there wasn't a way to hold it from behind now with the lamp mounted. I used a couple of small 'picks' to center the offset top and bottom screw holes so I could start the center screws in the top and bottom. When I got them started I left them loose so I had a little 'wiggle' room to get the rest of the screws started. When all the screws were started I tightened them up and Voila - The left wing now has a light!

5 Hours

Wings - 57 Hrs

Empennage - 195 Hrs

Total hours on project = 252 Hrs.

Wings

Today I mounted the reflector mount in the leading edge of the left wing. I started out by deburring the edges of the mount and then riveted the plate-nuts on that will hold the actual light assembly. the Reflector Mount is held in the wing with 4 screws that mount in the plate-nuts that I installed during the last work session.

1 Hour

Wings - 52 Hrs

Empennage - 195 Hrs

Total hours on project = 247

Wings

Yesterday afternoon the UPS man dropped off a package from Van's Aricraft for me. The box contained the leading edge landing light kits for both wings. It was too late to start anything yesterday so about all I did was open up the box and look at everything.

Today I got in the garage and made a start on the left wing. The first step was to do an inventory of the parts to make sure I had everything that I needed. Once I was sure that I had everything I prepared the leading edge and wing cutout template. Following the directions provided I measured and then taped the template in place and then traced out the cutout on the leading edge of the wing.

Next came the nerve wracking task of cutting the big hole in the perfectly fine wing. I used a Unibit to make a 7/8" hole and then used my nibbler to cut out the aluminum. I left about 1/4" of material next to the line as I didn't want to get to close and possibly distort the metal. When I had the cutout made I spent considerable time with a set of files to trim the hole to final size. With the hole cut to size I deburred the edges and then used fine sandpaper and a scotchbrite pad to make a really smooth edge.

I taped the template back over the hole and drilled the six holes that were marked. I used the small retainer strips as a drill guide and made sure it aligned properly.

The next step was to fit the rib shaped template in the leading edge and mark the 4 locations to drill for the plate-nuts that will hold the reflector mount. With the holes drilled I was able to hold the plate-nuts in place with clecos and then drilled the rivet holes for them. It was close quartered inside the wing and took a little bit of contortion to hold and drill. Once I had the holes finished I had to deburr and then I riveted the 4 plate-nuts in position.

6 Hours

Wings - 51 hrs

Empennage - 195 hrs

Total hours on project = 246