Posts by Dave Berenholtz

Dave Berenholtz
1304 posts
http://www.alongwayroundtheworld.com

The Panel Lettering Saga 1

Date:  01-17-2021
Number of Hours:  40
Manual Reference:  22

This Panel lettering has been an epic over a couple of months after literally years of thinking about it. I fielded a lot of ideas, tried various methods and came up with Futura fonts and the concept of dry transfer rub-on letters.

I found a company in Canada that you could send a pdf to and back would come a sheet of whatever you gave them. I thought I had all the wording sorted out so I went ahead.

Most of the letters went on ‘OK’. Maybe because they were small there was very little adhesive on the back so the transfer was challenging.

I had to press really hard to get the lettering off the plastic sheet. That sheet was really quite thick so it tended to distort and that meant some letters were crooked and had to be saved from breaking up all together. They weren’t exactly straight either.

I’d give my work here 6/10 at best.

It’s a little boring too and after a chat with my electrical installer, Simon, he pointed out a number of things that could have been better in the lettering department at explaining switch functions.

Sometimes you just have to bite the bullet and go again. Into the sand blaster went my finished panel!  I then again painted with the grey primer and did a 2K matt finish on top.

Here’s the next draft. A sketch was required for proper screen printers to now do the work. They do the artwork and I took the panel down to them explained the job and got an acceptable quote. You can see I’ve put washers around the holes. Maybe I should have outline the bezels too as I did for the G5 instrument.

I did yet another sketch as I’m now going with a side metal panel face plate for the nose gear switches.

Simon then gave more excellent input. You can see things are better grouped here. The printers use Arial Narrow which was indistinguishable from my Futura HV BT in the small sizes. I went with that. NASA use the Futura which is fun but it is not enough reason to make life harder.

This came back from the printers for approval. They did a great job. Its in CorelDraw. However there were issues. Because the panel is so tight allowances need to be made for the size of washers around the switches. I did draw that in my sketch but it got lost in translation.

Another critical thing is that the bezels from the instruments extend well past the cutouts so you could not do what is in that first draft. Much of the lettering and borders would be covered up! I could have made that clearer with my instructions although I did supply the above picture and others

Luckily they sent me these transparency’s against the panel for approval. Its a great way to check out how it will look.  If you check out the previous picture you might see that the word ‘POWER’ would be completely covered. ‘ECU1’ would have been partly covered by the switch washer too. We are talking very small tolerances.

Here again the bottom of the G3X would cover the ‘LIGHTS’ word and bump into the top border bracket. The left side border would be completely covered by the audio panel.

The printers did a great job, I’m pointing out how very tricky a tight panel can be in case YOU are doing one. You also probably need to be an avionics installer to pick all the possible problems.

I was worried about setting up the initial file to be the exact right size. Particularly if I had to buy and learn a software package just for this one job. That’s why I went the dry transfer route initially. In the end tweaking the printers work myself in the software they use was the perfect solution.

I downloaded an evaluation copy of CorelDraw which is good for 14 days. Corel seem quite OK with doing this for a one time project. The package was easy to work just to change things. The hard part being the initial setup which the printers had done. I just altered the existing ,cdr file they gave me.

The version pictured above I think is AOK. I spent several days tweaking versions. You can convert the .cdr file to a pdf to print out actual size so I could check with switch washers. I guessed with the bezels using photos. The differences are small but I hope it will all work. Another chat with Simon had yet again a few minor changes right at the end of the process. Other things were done with the words and switch positions just to make it all fit. I stuck my logo in as well.

For now I’m waiting to hear that the job is done. If I stuffed up its off to the sandblasting cabinet again.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Static Vents 1

Date:  12-02-2020
Number of Hours:  2
Manual Reference:  13-10

This plane will have two static vents as well as an alternative cockpit static. The plans method static port is not adjustable in any way and same say it is prone to leaking. I have aluminium plug vents from ACS with a 1/8″ NPT thread. An issue is that you drill a hole in the side for them and they sit slightly proud of the fuselage. I’ve read online that for our birds a flush mount MIGHT be needed.

Using the plans finding where to put the ports is straight forward. My issue is if I install these ports before the paint job, if they in fact do need to be flush it will be a mess at the edges. If its slightly proud then I’d be OK. How to do it for both scenarios? Fellow builder and pilot, Darren had a good idea.

This idea needs a ring inserted into the plane. A ring with a 19mm ID to be precise.

This picture should make it clear. With the ring installed I can add the static port later and the paint will still be good to the edges of the ring.  I can hot glue the port in place for flight testing and move it very slightly in or out if needed.

Here’s the ring installed. I’ll add the port post paint job.

Ninth Year Summary

Date:  12-01-2020
Number of Hours:  0
Manual Reference:  no ref

Build start DEC 1 2011
Today is DEC 1 2020

Nine years building.

My build log now shows 11,839 hours. OK I thought I’d be done by this time in 2020. Wrong. Still no engine delivery date although I think the AC-Aero power plant is going to happen.

I’ve been at the hangar nearly every day since the last summary less four full months of ‘delays’.

It doesn’t look finished.

The avionics are physically fitted into the plane along with endless boxes.

The rack configuration included a composite frame and a few months work getting it all to fit.

This is a test panel that will be used for wiring up the looms. That has yet to start.

The interior is painted after lots of goodies were mounted. I’ve been working on getting all surfaces on the outside to 220 grit standard ready for painting.

The leading edge and trailing edge wing fences are done.

I lost 2 months being at home with a Covid 19 lock down. Remember that? The flight manual, test flight and maintenance documents were completed while I kept my fish company. I also have my weight and balance authority valid for two years so I can weigh the plane myself.

Another two months went on getting my IFR rating. That was tough and all that remains are baby steps to get out there on my own now.

Its got to happen in 2021 right?

 

Canopy, Light and Window Edge Treatment

Date:  11-26-2020
Number of Hours:  28
Manual Reference:  25

The canopy outside edges, the front headlight edges, the side window edges and the side light lens all need this edge treatment. I thought I’d be OK with just painting up to them but really, push has come to shove and that won’t work.

I started on the canopy back edge. First up is really careful removal of old tape and cleaning up the edges right at the canopy surface. I used WD40 and a microfiber cloth for the gunk. Works a treat although getting oil on my bare fiberglass wasn’t ideal. I did the necessary cleanup.

Once my exposed perspex was good using razor blades and a sharpened 4mm tip chisel super carefully, I had an edge of canopy to canopy frame. The issue is that it is not straight and that’s what this procedure is all about.

Next comes plastic tape. I like the Nitto brand which we used to use in gliding for tapping wing joins. Once I had the tape right on the edge I wanted the next step is to apply another tape right on top in the same place. Yes, seems weird.

Time for some sandpaper to ensure a good surface for the filler AND to scuff up any exposed perspex that filler has to adhere to. If the tapes get damaged from sanding they need replacing.

One the 410 and West filler is applied the tape has to come off straight away. No waiting for it to get a little stiff.

The idea of the two plies of tape? I slowly remove the top one at a 45 degree angle to the job. This gets rid of most of the excess filler sitting on the tape. Now the last ply can be removed at the same angle slowly and you get the razor sharp line you can see above. Now it can be left to cure.  I’ll show the clean up on some other parts.

The big job is not shown. That’s cleaning up the edge before the tape. You need a chair, some good tunes in the headset and a determination not to scratch the canopy anywhere. Here we have the two plies of tape and filler applied.

First layer of tape removed and we almost have a good edge.

Second ply gone and our edge shows. That blue tape is on the inside. You can see I’ve had to remove some protective plastic form the canopy to do this job.

Same thing on the other side and the front of the canopy too for that matter. Here we have the tape removed and waiting for the filler to cure.

After cure I re-tape the edges and very carefully sand to be flush at the side. I’m just using painters tape for this part as it will stay on for a while. There is not too much residue when you remove it. During sanding I had to renew it in a couple of places. It’s slow careful work.

Here’s a side window after a big clean up. Not so pretty eh.

Close up of the ugly. You can see I’ve had to peel away protective tape and really had to be careful at the edge. .

Fortunately the oval windows have a definite boarder where a step was cut making the process of taping easier. I’m using thin green tape I got from a specialist spray paint shop. It can deal OK with the cures.

Again the two ply of tape. It doesn’t have to be perfect although I could have done better with the top layer. Regular blue tape goes on after that. Again careful sanding is next.

This is after the tape removal while the filler is still very wet.

One mistake I seemed to keep making is having too much filler so that as it cures it drops a little at the top. Gravity. Who knew? After sanding it seemed to go away and I got clean edges once down to the tape.

This is after the edge clean up. I’ll do some close ups on the next item. Trust me, the windows are OK with an edge ready for painting. Still the nose and side lights to go.

Quite a lot of clean up to get to these edges. The lens might need a polish too. I wasn’t careful enough during construction with keeping it tapped. It’s not too bad.

You can just see the border flange I glued onto the lens to make it secure for installation.

I have used the tape to get the light lens border I want. This covers the flange and I have a bit of sanding to ensure good adhesion on the perspex.

This is the inside where the light get to be mounted.

The usual mess with filler.

Tape removed and I have a good border.

Post sanding and you can’t really see the edges. They are there! I again had a bit of sag in the filler but once it was flush with the fuselage and flat I got away with it.

I’d made the side light lens a long time ago when I did the nose lens. These came from camera security domes I bought online. I didn’t see bending flat perspex into a compound curve being quicker or easier.

I’ve floxed the lens in place and then held then for the cure with hot glue. Even these lens have a curve which is pretty close to the slight fuselage curve in this area.

The edges of the light opening need to match the light itself. I don’t need to show off the flange gluing area. A bit of cardboard makes a template to draw around so I have a line for the tape to follow.

Again the thin green tape works well even in these tight curves. You might see how I’ve sandpapered the lens where filler is going.

I admit it, too much filler and you know its going to sag. Maybe a smarter person would have done two fills, but have you seen how many hours I’m into this build for?

Tape off and we have a roundish light hole.

Sanding got my sharp edges back. Lucky eh?

The lights and window edges done I can get on with final prep for the primer paint. We are at around 80 grit on the upper fuselage and I need the big scratches out, some minor detailing and down to 220 grit. I did final sand on the lower part when the fuselage was last upside down. It might never be again.

 

 

 

Wing Fences

Date:  11-17-2020
Number of Hours:  50
Manual Reference:  no ref

These wing fences are a mod designed by Klaus Savier, a racing pilot and owner of Light Speed Engineering. Klaus originally had these on his Varieze as pictured below. He has since recommend larger ones for the Long-EZ and Cozy IV. People who have installed them report better control at lower landing speeds, decreased takeoff run and increase climb. If they had a hit on the top end speed they would not be on Klaus’s plane, thats for sure. Kudos and thanks to Klaus.

Here are the suggested numbers.  If you draw a triangle to represent the side view of the fence as installed, mark a chord line representing the wing chord ending before the trailing edge. The length of the upper edge is: 7.8″, 10″, 12″. The lower edge length is 6.0″, 6.8″, 10″. The length that extends past the TE is: 1.0″, 1.5″, 1.8″. The height of the fence that is above the wing TE is 2.5″, 3.0″ and 3.3″. The height that is below the wing TE is 1.5″, 1.8″ and 2.2″.

The first number is for the smallest fence which is mounted about 60% out between the outboard end of the aileron and the winglet. On my LE build that was 22″ from the outboard aileron or 15″ from the winglet. The second number is for the fence at the outboard end of the aileron (as close to it as possible) The third number is for the fence at the inboard end of the aileron. The outer two are most important.

OK, the construction method, materials and the fact I made them a bit bigger again with a slight aesthetic change is all on me.

First up I wanted to place then fence positions on the wings. Some guys have found the angle of the relative wind, given our wings are swept, by stringing a line between the winglets and using a square.

I went to the plans, Chapter 19-10. There is a view of the wing that includes angles. With a little trigonometry or Professor Google the angles given can be converted to an angle from the back of the wing.  The inboard fence is 77.51 degrees and 78.64 degrees for the two outboard. Get back to me if I have it wrong.

I then made some cardboard fences so I could get the approximate sizes and the cutout angles.

Using my cardboard templates, I made some MDF templates pretty close to the right cutout sizes.

Pretty close got better with some bog and grey duct ‘release’ tape.

I now had a set of three correct cutout template I could use on both wings. A bit convoluted but it didn’t take that long.

I am trying to keep these fences lightweight and straight. I went for the green Garolite G10, a high pressure fiberglass laminate. It is super straight and I just used .8mm thickness. I could have gone to 1mm maybe. The final result is however stiff enough.  My next construction step was to add a ply of BID to each side.

This is how I kept the BID very flat on the G10 while curing.

Yes it came of nice and straight. I used 4 pieces and that will be enough for the six fences.

After a full two day cure I cut the slots first. My reasoning was to allow a bit of wiggle by finalising the cutout before the outer edges.

Despite my excellent templates, I still had to file a little to get the fit I wanted.

A few more hours of fun getting all six sitting happily.

Once the cutouts were good I could go for the outer edges. I have put a bit of a curve in the tops and a little at the trailing edges too. The lines you can see drawn near the tops are the ‘straight’ dimension. Try not to judge me, OK they do look like elongated pacmen if you are old enough to remember what they looked like.

Here they are in place. One issue is that there is no way they are going to stay there without some help.

So how to keep the fences, straight and in place while I add some tapes to make flanges?

Who doesn’t like playing with hot glue?

A few sticks, the glue and meticulous attention to the square had these guys upright and firm.

I went for 2 plies of BID so thats 8 separate plies per fence or 48 pieces of glass 1.4″ wide by the required length. I did put a little flox in the corners to ease the glass transition.

While I did the usual layups on foil and plastic my idea was to do each ply separately with a small step of about .3″. Wow that was really dumb.

After the first 16 pieces I went with a straight 2 ply layup for the next. The glass was too tricky as a one ply to get in place and then add another on top. You think I’d know better at this stage of the build? Enough to say I am still trying variations on ideas in an attempt to improve. This time the penalty was about 4 pieces of glass the next day to clean up some imperfections. This was a 5 hour layup. Going faster isn’t faster.

Did you think getting these things off the wings undamaged was going to be easy?

Lots of patience require as usual when doing a tape release.

They are looking pretty ugly now.

Another big clean up for a fitting.

They sit very well in position as they should after excessive prep with the templates.

They are still not pretty close up. The flanges are .4″ wide.

More fitting to make me feel good about all the work.

They are quite big, they should be functional and put scars on my back when I crawl under the wings.

Now to make them nice with a little 410 filler. I want a clean transition from the side tapes to the fence main body.

A full afternoon of sanding was required to make these nice again.

I think I need one more fill just in a few places per fence and then I can go to finer sandpaper to finish off and be ready for the undercoat.

Weights? 14.91ozs or just under a pound.  Given it’s a proven mod with big advantages, I’ll take the hit. I went for the minimum material and I’m satisfied this will be strong enough.

Right fences 3.37oz, 2.47oz, 1.75oz,
Left fences 3.32oz, 2.30oz, 1.70oz.

Assume I will add a few more hours to fine tune the finish but overall this mod is DONE!

 

 

 

Canopy Interior Paint

Date:  11-05-2020
Number of Hours:  5
Manual Reference:  18

After all the prep, time for painting the canopy interior. I’ve put this under ‘canopy’ on this site, maybe it should be under Paint? Maybe no one will ever read this.  Its not all that exciting, just another required step along the way.

With the edges between the clear canopy insides and the frame now good I carefully re-masked the edges.

To get these edges clear I’ve used 3mm wide special line tape from an automotive paint supplier. Then some low residue, I hope, painters tape.

Here’s the grey primer. Of course it shows up every little fault now. Given I’m going for the speckle finish I just didn’t get too fussy and spend another week or two for perfection that wasn’t needed here.

The undercoat grey always looks a little dark.

Once the texture goes on with the white flex in it, everything seems to lighten up.

OK, probably too much paint here. It will work out.

After a day to dry I’ve gone with multiple coats of the satin clear from a rattle can. You can see a bit of shine in the pics. Yes I will be having quite thick foam on the canopy edges. I will sand as required for adhesion. My thoughts were to just get an even finish on for now.

After the satin clear dried I’ve gone hard with the scotchbrite pads to get the shine as dull as possible. This gives a flat even finish and removes some of the roughness.

I have off course removed the line and painters tape, checked the edges which were pretty good and then re-taped for protection. Lets call the canopy interior good and move on.

 

 

Canopy Interior Edge Clean Up

Date:  11-01-2020
Number of Hours:  12
Manual Reference:  18

The canopy interior is getting a prep before paint. I’ve peeled back the tape and have a bit of a job on my hands.

First up was to clean up the canopy edges around the two ends. That was only a couple of hours.

Next I had to make some enhancements to my holding device. Pretty rough for sure and I like to make use of any scraps of timber lying around.

Someone who will remain unnamed didn’t really take enough care with the canopy edge to frame intersection. Some gummy tape is at the edge but far worse, epoxy has leaked over the top of the tapes from when the inner rails were glassed.

Days of very, very careful work with the dremel and a tiny chisel has been necessary.

Its hard to see in the photo because the blue tape you see is on the other side of the canopy. This side now has a clean straight line.

Here’s the other side now cleaned up too. Many, many hours have gone by. All you smart people use the best tape and wipe up properly after glass work in this area OK?

There is still more prep to go before painting the interior of the frame. The lions share of the work is however done.

Panel Assembly Pre Wiring

Date:  10-27-2020
Number of Hours:  5
Manual Reference:  22

Today was populating my instrument panel with its switches and avionics. This is using one of the ‘practice panels’ and it will go to my master avionics guy, Simon, to begin making the looms.

The panel weights in at 12.5kg (27.5lbs) as pictured. There are still the looms and instruments not attached that go at this location.

The matt grey is the final colour.

The lettering is 8pt. Just white on clear Dymo labels for now.

I need to find some different knobs for the dimmers. The ejector is untested.

A couple of LED’s will indicate ferry tank filling

You can’t quite see the anti-matter.

Its is very busy at the rear.

I hope there will be enough air circulating for cooling.

I’ll weight it tomorrow. This avionics block is heavy.

Here’s where it goes.

Fuselage Parts Reassembled

Date:  10-24-2020
Number of Hours:  10
Manual Reference:  25

This step has been ongoing for some weeks. All the loose covers and internal parts have been painted separately.

Here the left console is parted and in place.

The right console.

Interior parts have been put back in now. Partly to ensure they still fit and of course in preparation for the wiring.

The back seat has quite a few panels that were separately painted and here installed temporarily.

I did the interior of the fuselage cover pieces too. Maybe unnecessary but I feel they will be protected when removed during servicing by having a little paint.

The nose is full up again.

Titanium Rollover 8

Date:  10-23-2020
Number of Hours:  4
Manual Reference:  no ref

The last part of the rollover task was to paint it. I toyed with a lot of ideas but in the end went for the finish that matches the rest of the interior. This way it becomes a part of the insides rather than a stand alone feature.

First up after the clean and prep, just rattle can primer.

Then the textured Rustoleum paint.

It has a LOT of texture.

Finally multiple spray coats of the 2K Matt finish.

After a bit of a sand to dull and smooth the exterior, the rollover fits right in with the rest of the internals.

I did do more work on the cover plate that goes under the rollover. This is access for the heat vent, external speaker and USB power.  I filled one hole so just three fasteners remain. This way the cover can come off with the rollover bolted on. No pics as it’s just not very exciting.

Cruise Angle Indicator

Date:  10-22-2020
Number of Hours:  3
Manual Reference:  no ref

This idea came from James Redmon’s excellent Berkut 13 build site.

The Long-EZ flies about 2.4 degrees nose up in cruise. A little flatter as you go faster. This indicator can give some feedback to the effects of CG changes as well as cruise, climb and descent angles. It’s also one of those low tech things like a wet compass that can help out if the electronic toys fail.

This curved spirit level is used by caravan owners and perfect for my purposes. Finally something cheap! I’ve modified one of them for the minimum footprint and a paint job to match the interior.

For the install I have leveled the longerons to zero.

Simple 5mt glue with some flox to thicken and it will stay put for sure.

A simple but useful mod. I’ll note bubble position for parallax once the seat cushions are done. The indicator is placed so I can see it in my scan without looking away from the panel. Done.

Fire Extinguisher Install

Date:  10-21-2020
Number of Hours:  6
Manual Reference:  no ref

Here’s my lightweight extinguisher solution. It requires no maintenance. There is an expiry date 5 years from manufacture.

The ‘Fire One’ comes with a plastic bracket. I did the usual click bonds and glass which is perhaps overkill.

You can see the rudder return spring at the bottom. I’ve fabricated a block of foam and glass and fitted it to the bulkhead. Next was some velcro. I had previously glassed in a retainer at the bottom of the unit but that was a fail. A few hours gone but this is the nature of mods.

Here we are fitted. The position with retaining top ring and velco will ensure this fire extinguisher will not come loose in flight. It is easily grabbed if I loosen the front seat belt, yet well out of the way for normal ops.

Historically Long-EZ haven’t had in-flight fire issues. There have been incidences of over-priming that have caused fires on the ground. This unit will handle a small fire. A big one requires that I run away or land and then run away.