Started the installation of the engine mount and slider canopy frame - 2 hours

Two big pieces taking up a large amount of space in my basement bedroom is the engine mount and the slider canopy. I am motivated to get these set into place so they are “out of the way”. Also installing the engine mount is fairly important as I need it in place so I can install the Grove Brake Reservoir. The reservoir is slightly larger than the Vans stock unit so I will need to make some adjustments. Only way to sort that is to get the engine mount on.

The engine mount went on (initially) a tad easier than I thought it would. I though long and heard about how I was going to hold the engine frame onto the fuselage. I thought of clamps, or using an elaborate setup with threaded rods through the firewall recess. At the end of the day, none of this is needed. 

With some help..I found that the top two mounting holes lined up extremely well with the factory pre-drilled holes in the bulkhead/engine mounts. Only one hole (along the top) needs to be drilled as a pilot hole. This is easily done without the engine mount on the plane.

Now I can temporarily install the engine mount sliding it into the correct location. With some help from another person securely holding the frame. I was able to accurately locate the next top hole.

So I slowly started to open those two holes to #19 to allow the installation of a couple small #8 bolts that I have. Next I upsized them to AN3. I will hold off doing any more until I can finish drilling the rest of the bolts along the bottom. 

Next I want to start in on the slider guide and spacer. The plans have you bend the tab at the top of the fuselage to allow the slider guide to sit properly. Gezzz its painful to bend a perfectly nice piece of the shiny fuse. 

I began to mark out the guide and spacer positioning. This allows me to then note rivet positions on the canopy slider spacer. I want to ensure that the mounting holes are going to be centered 

 

Completed rough-in of roll bar - 2.5 hours

 Well…Today I took no prisoners. I used the ratchet strap method again to squeeze the roll bar. I went past the 2 1/2” mark….Now there is considerable stress on the roll bar. I worked all the way up to squeezing the roll bar a total of 4 1/4”. That did it…I was now starting to see permanent movement of the roll bar. 

I am using towels and an old hoodie to lay across the straps in case they snap. It gives some protection to things flying. 

I finally managed to get the roll bar set to the proper width. Now with things set correctly. I could back drill all 3 remaining holes #40 and cleco the roll bar into place on the canopy deck. I resisted the urge to cut and drill the center windscreen support bar as I’ve heard reports that adjustments might be needed to the angle of the roll bar to suit the slider canopy frame once it gets installed. 

Another item I wanted to look at was setting the engine mount in place. It takes up soo much room in the bedroom, I really want to get it mounted to the plane. I decided to test fit it to see what it looks like. 

 

Setting the roll bar into position - 4 hours

 The plans have the rear of the roll bar set at a specific position. I used tape to mark out the 7/32” offset to the inside. Using a piece of aluminum angle I then set the forward/aft position of the roll bar. After checking correct positioning a number of times…I was ready to drill.

 

Using the 90deg pneumatic drill…I back drilled the #40 pilot hole on the pilots side to mark the roll bar. Done and Done.

Now…The roll bar is slightly wider than the required dimension. I need to squeeze it in about 1/4” to get the fit right. Well I leaned on it. Nothing. More and more leaning. Get my belly/weight right into it. Nothing. Now this is concerning….I’m a solid 220 right now. Not even a budge. I decided that I will have to use a ratchet strap on it. 

It’s very easy to start squeezing it together. I started at 1” and then basically went up at 1/4” increments checking at various milestones. Think I squeezed up to 2 1/2” and absolutely no change. I finally threw in the towel. I think I am going to have to get more aggressive with it. 

Drilling the roll bar spacers - 3 hours

 Well, it has been quite a long time since I have worked on the build. Work has been quite busy in January/February. Then in march I had to start designing and drafting our new office. I’ve never produced a set of architectural drawings for a Commercial Office before. Well for the month of March and April….I do now. With that out of the way. Back on the build. 

I continued on with the fitting of the roll bar spacers. A decent amount of work is needed to file the fillet/radius better so they nest properly into the longeron. This is close, but it needs more work. Both the inside radius and outside radius need work so that the spacer sits properly.

  I have the first one in really good shape. I marked the #40 pilot hole and used the drill press to open up the hole for an AN3 bolt. Got the next one done…But the third one I messed up a bit. I will need to redo that one. I will need to order a new spacer piece. Good grief. 

 

Started positioning the roll bar - 4 hours

 The placement of the mounting holes on the roll bar is fairly critical. You want to locate the forward AN3 bolt, and aft AN4 bolt as close to the longeron as possible without biting into the longeron material. There is also distances based on the existing canopy deck rivets. 

It took me a little time to figure how best I was going to get this work done accurately. Ultimately I thought is best to 1 - Drawing out all the positioning on AutoCad. Then 2 - Use the AutoCad design to make a drilling template.  

With the template made and #40 pilot holes drilled, I compared that with the Autocad template and found everything appears to be good. 

 Now its time to clamp the drilling template to the actual canopy deck. You will note how I made a #30 reference hole on the most forward part of the Template. This allows me to locate that hole directly above the center of the required rivet on canopy deck. 

 Now, After careful positioning and checking. I drilled the two pilot holes for the mounting bolts to #40. Before I go too far I want to ensure that the holes are in the correct location. I have the ability to "Walk" the pilot hole over if needed. Prior to drilling, there is not an easy way to check this. Once the pilot holes are drilled I can then access the underside and see exactly where we are.To do this...I made two center guides that I can slip underneath the canopy deck and see with easy how centered the pilot hole is. 

We are in really good shape! I am very happy with the location of these holes. Now I need to begin fitting the mounting spacers. These are a bit of a pain as they need quite an amount of work to fit properly. To make things more difficult, accessibility for the trial fit is terrible. Before any pilot holes are made. We need to make sure the spacers are cut down and that the inside edge has a fillet for proper nesting in the canopy deck. 

  

Designing panel vents - 4 hours

 I’ve been giving a lot of thought to how I need to plan out the fresh air vents and the headset jacks. Out of all the various examples if searched out on the net. I tend to like the headset jacks being adjacent or just below the air vent. 

So I spent a bunch of time taking measurements of the plane and then drafting a few different options in AutoCAD. I finally worked out the design and printed it out on paper. Using this as a template, I can mock it up in the cockpit. One item I was concerned with is if the design would interfere with my knees… After all, I am 6’-3”. Leg and Knee space will be very important.

Well…As far as fitment. Things are looking good. Oh my the SteinAir vents look big though. Lots of fresh air will be coming my way eventually. 

Now the real test….How does it fit with my knee? Well I call it a win....for now! Hopefully with the upholstery/seats in place things stay about the same.

 

Fabricating the remaining front deck attach angles - 3 hours

I need to get the F-721C and & D attach angles fabricated and fit to the canopy deck. So I spent a little time fabricating the 4 angles. To fit them to the canopy deck properly will take a little bit of time. I will need the instrument panel sent into place and then this will dictate the proper placement of the attach angles.

I installed the F-7103B angles onto the instrument panel and then installed the instrument panel into place. Now...Next is the important part. I then clecoes the entire top skin back on the front deck, this sets the instrument panel in the correct location. I can then carefully mark out reference lines on the tape.

Removing the top skin...I now can working from the reference lines with good access. I then can set and drill the F-721C & D angles to the canopy deck. I am very happy with the result.