Finally warm enough to start with some fiberglass

It is fun to be out at the hangar now that it is warming up a little.  I have numerous sub-projects that need warmth to cure the epoxy in the composites.

But first, I ran some aluminum conduit aft to the empennage to carry wires for the ELT, nav/strobe for the tail lights, the nav/vor antennae and the two OAT sensors.  I rigged up a way to do the passage from just aft of the baggage compartment, to the empennage, to make it easier if I had to pull any other wires back there in the future.  Also shown is the place I chose for the ELT itself.  The antennae for the ELT is just forward of the vertical stabilizer, on the turtle deck.

bracket for the conduit

ELT

Wires to GPS signal and remote test switch for ELT

View of conduit coming back from baggage area

Conduit shown on pilot side (right side in this photo)

Next, I did a small project that required some fiberglass layup.  The back of the scoop on the lower cowl needs an extension to conduct air to the front of the filter air box.  You are supposed to jam a foam block in between the scoop and the FAB, then bondo it in place, carve out the middle for the tunnel you are making out of fiberglass, then chip away all the bondo and foam.

Foamed and bondo'ed; starting to tunnel

View from inside the cowl bottom

After fiberglass set, chipping away the foam and bondo

Smoothing the surface with fairing filler

John Stahr (RV painter extraordinaire) and my hangar neighbor Rob B. came over to check out the progress.  They insisted in having me pose in the cockpit.  Too bad you can't hear me making the engine sounds

Fits pretty well!

Making airplane noises...

Finally, I decided that even though it's a little out of order, I would test fit the wheel pants and gear leg fairing, just to see what it is going to look like in hopefully, just a few more months...

I built two small jigs to keep the wheel pant level and oriented with the tire's outward angulation from vertical

Looks faster already

Filter air box (FAB)

It was cold and rainy and miserable today.  And I ran out of propane in the little heater in my hangar.  However, I was reasonably productive, and I am beginning to see just a little bit of light at the end of the tunnel.


Today I worked on cleaning up some of the tangled web of wiring behind the panel, and I started work on the filter air box.  What makes this a little bit harder is that the fuel injection induction is offset slightly from midline and therefore doesn't line up with the scoop at the bottom of the cowl.  You must rotate the FAB slightly, and also account for vertical differences.  Once lined up, there will be an extension built backwards from the scoop to intersect with the FAB to form a seal and direct all of the incoming air into the filter, minimizing air loss and drag.

Also, in the unlikely event that the filter becomes clogged (if I fly too close to an erupting Icelandic  (Eyjafjallajokull) volcano, or, more likely, fly into a snowstorm), I can open a gate at the bottom of the FAB and allow air to flow directly into the fuel induction without filtering.

The emergency air bypass gate

Gate in open position (Bowden cable not installed yet)

Riveting the box to the mount plate

In position on the fuel induction

PERFECTLY CENTERED!!

Close up; I haven't done the fiberglass transition yet

Are those lights at the end of the tunnel?