We’ve been working on installing the Hull SIde Rail – Section 47.1 in the 2018 docs. Worked 3.5 hours on 9/8/22.
Prep Tail Surfaces
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7/12/22 – Getting the tail feathers ready for priming. Needed to do final assembly on them, make cross pieces fit better and put epoxy on the joints. We decided to use the supplied foam strips to supplement the thinner cross pieces. Worked 4 hours.
Interesting new Viking 90 Engine
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I got an email from Viking Aircraft Engines announcing their new Viking 90 engine. It sounded interesting because it makes 90HP and weighs only 10lbs more than the Rotax 912. I like the affordability concept of using automotive engines for aircraft and I probably would have bought a Viking but the Viking 110 and 130…
Landing Gear Microswitches and testing – January 2018
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Here are some pictures of when we worked on the landing gear microswitches. When you tell the gear to go up, you turn on a switch that applies power to the linear actuators. The actuators need to stop without you turning the power off. They stop because the gear hits a limit switch that is…
Frise Aileron Shaping – 2/11/2018
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Our Ailerons are built and we just sent them to our Searey distributor, Recreational Mobility, for adjustment. Specifically there are some sheet metal airfoil parts that need to be correctly shaped in a jig. This only applies to the new Frise ailerons which we have. Ideally you would do this step after the ailerons were…
Propeller notes – January 2018
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Here are the 3 propellers we are considering: 1. Warp Drive 68 inchPropeller, 3 Blade 68-Right turning, CF/Nickel LE/Taper Tips/HPL-R Hub/912-914 Pattern 2. DUC 3-Blade Hydro Inconel Flash-2 Propeller, LH, Pusher, 67 inch or 1700mm Diameter 3. Luga R83-HP 67 inch prop high horsepower prop (not shown on their website, appropriate for 117HP engines) Anecdotally it…
Installing Keelguard – 1/25/18
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Today we installed the keel guard on the bottom of the hull. We thought it would be easier to do this without the fuselage in the hull. We ordered the 8 foot Megaware Keelguard in white for $158. We marked where the edges with masking tape, roughed up the surface with a scotchbrite pad, applied…
AM15 Fuel Pump Notes – January 2018
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Our AM15 engine came with two Bosch-044 clone fuel pumps. They are from China and don’t have a manufacturer or part number. They are labeled MFS for Manta Flight Systems. We would like to upgrade those fuel pumps and design a redundant system that is safe and effective. Here are some of our notes: We’ll…
Aeromomentum Engine Notes – January 2018
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We talked to Mark Kettering from Aeromomentum at Oshkosh this summer. He did a great job of answering all our questions and we bought an engine from him. We chose the AM15 upright 117hp engine. The higher HP options can be achieved by modifying the 117HP engine without turbocharging and using higher octane fuel. Since…
Dismantle rudder pedals, install bilge pumps – 11/5/17
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We took our rudder pedals apart to replace the defective rudder control blocks. They were not made with enough material and several people have reported that the center block is cracking and failing during taxi or flight. Then the rudder controls don’t work properly. Not catastrophic but still dangerous. Here’s a picture comparing the old…