Fuselage Move to Airport!

I am pretty much out of tasks to do in the garage on the fuselage, so it's time to take it to the airport!  I rented a trailer and got some dudes from work to help, so it was real easy.

Fuel Tank Strap Service Bulletin (3)

 3 hours

Sonex put out a service bulletin to replace the single piece fuel tank straps with new two-piece straps that can be adjusted to avoid over-constraining the tank in case it expands slightly over time.

Anyway, I found it pretty easy to replace the aft strap, but the forward strap was not fun!  Pretty much all the wires go right past the two fasteners that I had to remove and replace, and also the ADAHRS box on the right side was in the way.  I struggled with it for quite a while, and finally gave up and got my wife to help me remove the ADAHRS so I could get at it, and then it wasn't too bad.  Still, hanging out crammed in the footwell was not comfortable!

Miscellaneous Engine Chores (3)

3 hours

Here's some more stuff I should have done on the engine a while ago but finally got around to.

Anyway I had read something somewhere about an engine having some oil troubles due to a blocked pushrod not allowing oil to flow through it.  When I built the engine I hadn't even realized that oil was supposed to travel through the pushrods, so I had no idea if I had checked that there were all clear before I installed them.  So, out of paranoia I removed each one and made sure there was nothing lodged inside that could block oil.  Sure enough, I found one that was totally blocked up, probably with a chunk of the plastic mallet I had used to hammer the tips on.  I couldn't figure out any way to clear it, so I ended up having to buy some more pushrods so I could cut a new one to replace it.  This time I put the tip in the freezer overnight, and that made it a lot easier to install.  Much less hammering required!

While I had the top end apart, I figured out exactly where TDC was and marked it on the prop hub, so now I can easily figure out where TDC for each cylinder is without taking anything apart.  After that I put the valvetrain back together and adjusted all the valves again.

Next, I found after I first cranked the engine that a decent amount of oil leaked between the bottom of the turbo bearing block and the little sump that attaches to it.  I found with the tail raised, no oil sits there, so I could pull the sump off, clean everything, and reinstall it without making much of a mess.  This time I used the Permatex Aviation Form-a-Gasket that I used on the engine case to seal it, instead of the RTV that the plans called for.  We'll see if it leaks this time!

I also re-checked the clearance between the magnatrons and the trigger magnet on the flywheel, since I had loosened one of the mounting nuts on each one, so I wanted to make sure nothing had moved.

Finally, I put the heat shield back on the turbo, and found that I had to cut a little clearance in the upper left edge for the thermostat.  Now I think the engine is ready to go!

Redid magnetron clearance

Turbo heat shield clearance for t-stat & coolant line

Gear Fairings Fixes (1)

1 hour

I noticed had two adjustments to make on the gear leg fairings and wheel pants.

On the wheel pants, when I fit them I did it with the tail raised so the plane was level.  When I set the tail back on the ground, I couldn't rotate the wheel pants back far enough to clear the axles and brakes before the back edge hit the ground.  So I just had to remove a little more fiberglass so they can be installed and removed with the plane on the ground.

On the gear leg fairings, I realized that the right one blocked the lower cowl hinge pin, so I had to cut a little half circle through it so I'd be able to get the cowl on and off with the gear leg fairings on.

Hangar!

 I finally have a hangar!  It took two years on the waiting list but I finally got one of the small hangars at KABI, which are owned by the city and leased to the local EAA chapter 471.  It's nothing fancy but it's cheap!  And the timing is pretty much perfect!

I added a bunch of lights

I got this cabinet from a coworker/hangar neighbor, and brought the old garage beer fridge over too

Secondary Ignition Static Timing (0.5)

 0.5 hours

I should have done this before I even mounted the engine on the plane but I guess I forgot!

The secondary (coil) ignition has adjustable timing, that you adjust by rotating the little cylinder on the back of the engine.  The cylinder rotates with the flywheel, and it has a magnet embedded on the outside that triggers the upper and lower coils when it passes by.

With the turbo behind the engine, you can't really get a straight look at the trigger to see exactly where it is.  I ended up removing it completely and filing a little mark on the outside edge so I could see where the magnet was pointing from the side.

Here's where the manual says to position the magnet.  Kind of hard to see, but I'm sure it's going to take some adjusting later anyway so whatever.

Here's my best attempt, and the most direct view I could get of the magnet's position by jamming my phone between the turbo and the accessory plate!

Turbo Coolant Troubleshooting (4)

 4 hours

I needed to revisit the turbo cooling system because the last time I tried to fill it, there was almost no flow from the pump and I couldn't really figure out what the problem was.

Sonex put out a message saying that the thermostat could protrude too far into the "T" fitting on the front of the turbo, which could block some of the coolant flow.  Seemed reasonable to me, so I ordered a new T fitting and a bushing to move the thermostat up from the T somewhat.

Here's the old setup:

I removed the original T fitting, but I found that the thermostat didn't protrude into it at all anyway.

As far as I could tell nothing was blocking any flow at the turbo either.

I installed the new parts anyway since I had them, and at least now the thermostat is a lot easier to access if I ever have to replace it.

I don't think there was any blockage, so the problem must be trapped air in the system somewhere, probably the radiator.  I decided what I needed to do was try filling the coolant again and force the air out somehow.  I went and got a little hand pump for transferring fluid, and I tried disconnecting one of the lines at the radiator and forcibly pumping coolant through, and that forced a lot of air out.  However, I had no real good way to disconnect the pump and reconnect the lines without air getting sucked right back in.

Finally what I ended up doing was just adding a little T at the radiator outlet, to act as a bleed port.  Then I was finally able to fill the system, and the air was able to travel out of the radiator and escape out the top of the T.  When it was full I just clamped a cap on the T.  I had to reroute one of the lines from the T around the right side of the engine mount to get to the coolant pump, but that was it.  I can't really tell for sure if it's finally working properly or not now, so we'll have to see how it cools the turbo once the engine is running!