Final fitting work on the doghouse cover - 2 hours

 So today was a small job of cleaning up all the edges of the dog house cover and rounding out the corners. This also allowed me to double check the final fit of all the internal components to make sure that I had adequate clearance. I completed drilling the doghouse cover to the tunnel and to the fuel selector cover.

The fit overall is excellent however, I notice that I will have a conflict between one of the mounting screws and the fuel selector cover. At present installation of the screw will press into the fuel line running from the gascolator to the fuel pump. I will need to make some adjustments in the line to ensure proper clearances.

Final fitting the fuel pump cover - 2 hours

Managed another quick build session tonight. I need to complete the sides of the fuel pump cover. I clamped the assembly to the table and then began marking and drilling the remaining rivet holes. The top of the cover needs to be parallel with the bottom of the flange. The forward end of the cover is basically set...as long as the front is vertical. The assembly is clamped into place and I can then start drilling rivet holes.

Once that was done, I can then trim down the sides to fit the top of the cover. All I need to do now is final fitting and drill to the center tunnel cover. This is easy to do as I still have all of my reference lines in place. I started from the rear and moved forward. Drilling all holes, 3/32" first, 1/8" and then #19 last. 

More fuel pump cover fabrication - 3.5 hours

 With the top cover position established. I now can figure out how I want the cover to fit over the pump and where I want the cover to end. I measured and marked out all of the bend points, cut relieve notches and then made all of the bends.  A simple description but it was more tedious then that, I just don't want to mess this up. By the end of it, I was really happy with how the top cover was sitting and now I just need to start fitting the side covers.

I clamped them on, and started using a level to get things straight but soon found that a level is not going to work correctly as the centre tunnel is angled slightly and I want the cover to sit parallel with the pump. I'll stop here and come back to it when I can think it over a bit more.

Fabricating the fuel pump top cover - 2 hours

 Today I need to fabricate the top cover of the fuel pump doghouse. This will basically be a c-channel shape that I will eventually shape into the final cover. To make the initial cutout. I took some measurements of the original stock cover and worked my way from there. I cut a long rectangle out of 0.020" material and then started marking out my flanges. 

The first 90deg bend is fairly straight forward. Once the flange length is set, clamp the oak bending guide, start the bend by hand, and then finish with the rubber mallet. 

 

The next part is trickier. Get the other bend the right distance apart. This is where having the stock cover is super helpful as I can use it as an exact guide. After the opposite flange is bent...I checked it against the stock cover. I'm very happy with it.

Now I am ready to make the flange bend at the aft most end of the cover. Same process....

 

With that done...I am now able to place the cover on top of the fuel pump and establish the final height of the cover. I placed spacers on the top of the pump, placed the cover on, centered it and them drilled with 3/32" holes.

Started the custom fuel pump cover - 2.5 hours

 With the FlyEFII fuel pump and the Aerolab Gascolator I just won't be able to fit everything under the stock doghouse cover. I will need to make my own custom cover. I order to do this, I'll use the stock cover that I have as a guide and make a longer (shallower) version. 

 

I cut the forward fuel access hole out in the reinforcing plate yesterday. I can now get clamps in to hold everything in the right spot. I could then start sketching out all of the lines to determine the rough dimensions of the cover. 

First, I need to make the sides of the fuel pump cover. I choose to use the same 0.020" material as the stock cover. I basically need to cut out a long rectangle and bend one edge with a 90deg flange. 

I clamped the piece to a table and then using a piece of oak with a 1/8" radius, I began the 90 degree bend for the flange. The initial bend is done by hand, with the final process being a rubber mallet. I made both the left and right side covers this way.

 

 

 

Reinforcing the fuel pump platform - 7 hours

 Immediately it becomes apparent that the F-782C tunnel cover is not going to support the fuel pump adequately.

So I will need to reinforce the mounting to allow a more sturdy installation. Since the fuel lines are all hard lines, any excessive movement is sure to invite leaks. I began to think about how I was going to do this, lots of builders have tried various methods. I settled on keeping it easy. My plan is to support the platform with 0.063" baseplate and use 3/4"x3/4x0.063"angle. Here is a mock up to help me sort out the fit and dimensions.

 I started out by cutting the 0.063" plate to the correct size. Then I used a file and slowly worked a radius edge on the plate.

  Next, I rounded the angles with a router and a 1/8" radius bit. This makes for a really great fit with the tunnel cover.

With that done. The pieces are now ready to be fitted and drilled to the center tunnel cover. 

Preliminary installaiton of control sticks and mock-up - 3 hours

 Not feeling that I want to get too in-depth on the build today, I decided to mock-up/fit the front panel area. I've fit the pieces before and things seem very tight with the F-7105 sub-panels. Everything else is spot on so I think it will be just a matter of tightening up the radius of the mounting flanges. Easy enough to do, just a matter of working at it.  As well I like pulling the project out on the driveway when the weather is good like it has been, and it looks great with the front panel on. 

I'm at a point where I can install the control stick assembly. This part can be a little tricky from other build logs and sure enough getting the WD-610 control column slipped into position isn't the easiest, however it wasn't horrible.  What is horrible is getting the AN960-10 washers fitted on the control column mounts. That is horrible and not easy to do. Using a combination of a small film of grease to get the stack of washers to stick together and some safety wire bent to hold the washers...I could get them slipped into position. 

 

For now I just temporary installed the left and right control sticks and the F-665 pushrod for looks, but I will need to remove those and finish those items properly at a later date (Prime the pushrod, drill the safety bolt in the right stick, torque everything).