Transition Training and Paint Photos

On Sunday, April 27^th, I flew to Dallas, TX.  I previously made arrangements to get some transition training from John Albury.  John built an RV-12 a couple of years ago and offers transition training to new RV-12 owners.  John is well qualified and has been given authorization to do transition training from the FAA.  He is an American Airlines 737 Captain.  He has been flying for American for 28 years and also holds a CFII.  I met John at his hangar at 9:00 am on Monday the 28^th at Propwash, an airport community west of Justin, TX.  We spent the first 2 ½ hours getting to know each other and going over the ground school presentation on the RV-12.  It was very informative and a great preparation for flying the airplane.  As part of the prep we did the pre-flight, fueled the airplane and proceeded to go flying.  We fired up the airplane and took off at 11:30 am.  We flew up to Gainesville, about 35 miles north of Propwash.  Along the way John had me do normal turns, steep turns and some power on and power off stalls.  The wind was blowing at 15 knots and when we got to Gainesville I had to contend with a cross wind.  John talked me through the landings and all went well.  We stopped for lunch about 1:00 pm and took the courtesy car to a local restaurant.  We returned to the airport did some more take offs and landings before heading back to Propwash.  All in all I flew 2.4 hours the first day. 

That evening Dave Wissinger sent me some photos of the airplane.  The white paint had been applied and he was laying out the red.   My impression is it is going to look great!

AREOLEDs

Today I went to the hangar to see if Dave had picked up any of the parts to start painting.  I was there about 2:00 pm.  Everything was still there.  I looked at the AREOLEDs Nav/Strobe lights.  The O Ring gasket on the left (red) light fixture is broken.  

I took a picture.  I called the support line in Boise, ID and spoke to a technician.  I told him the O Ring was broken and asked how I could go about buying new rings from them.  He told me they have not included the O Rings with the light fixtures for a long time.  He asked when I had purchased the fixtures.  I got them from Vans more than 2-years ago.  He said they are not needed and to reinstall the fixtures without the O Rings.  It thanked him for his help. I guess I don't need the O Rings afterall.

More Stuff

I returned to the hangar this morning and put together the wheel pant assemblies as requested by Dave Wissinger.  That purpose is to allow them to layout the colors on the pants.  I assembled the front pant and then the main gear pants.

After assembling the pants I decided to work on the tension on the nose wheel fork.  The original drawings called out for the force to turn the front fork should be 28 lbs.  I checked my front fork by using my hydraulic jack to lift the nose wheel off of the floor.  I put a 1x4 under the fuselage at the step bulkhead and lifted the nose wheel about 1" off of the slab.  Using my digital fish scale I tested the pulling force.  It turned out to be around 32 lbs.  I also realized I had not drilled the nose wheel strut to install the cotter pin on the castle nut.  I loosed the nut and checked the pulling force.  I finally got the force to between 18-20 lbs as directed by the new plans.  I drilled the strut and installed the cotter pin.  I also checked the tire pressure.  According to the new information the pressure should be 22 psi.  I reduced the pressure from 25 psi to 22 psi.  

I went to Pep Boys and purchased a small funnel.  Using the funnel I put Evans coolant in the cooling system.  I topped of the coolant reservoir and put coolant in the expansion tank.  I used about 3 quarts of coolant.  Next I put oil in the engine.  I disconnected the oil return line and pulled it out and dropped it down to an oil container below the engine.  I went to AutoZone and purchased some rubber caps and band clamps to seal the fitting on top of the tank.  I used a little bit of plumbing I used when pressure testing the fuel system to put some air pressure in the tank.  I removed a spark plug from each cylinder.  I filled the tank with oil, introduced some pressure and turned on the SkyView.  It took about 25-30 turns of the prop until the oil pressure gauge began to register pressure.  As I turned the prop I was able to develop 15 psi on the oil pressure gauge.  I thought that was pretty good. I put everything back together and burped the tank.  I checked the oil and it was a little below the min mark on the dip stick.  I added enough oil to raise the level to just below the max mark on the stick.  I am getting closer to first engine start.

Continuing Getting Ready For Paint

Today Tim and I went to the hangar to remove the wings.  The wind was howling today.  South winds in excess of 20 mph with gusts in excess of 30 mph.  We rolled the airplane out of the hangar just so the main gear was outside on the apron.  The tailcone was still inside.  We put the wing rack just inside the door and removed the left wing and put it on the rack.  Then the right wing.  All went well and we were able to get the wings off without any incident.  We rolled the airplane back into the hangar and removed the flaperons from the wings.

We removed the flaperons and put them on a work table. 

We also stacked all of the parts of the airplane on moving pads.  We left the hangar so Tim could go back home and get ready for work this afternoon.  I dropped Tim off at work and returned to the hangar to meet Dave Wissinger.  I met with Dave and we went over the color scheme.  He made several notes and marked the wings, stabilator, flaperons and many of the small parts with tape to indicate how it is to be painted.  The paint scheme is going to be somewhat retro.  It is patterned after my Dad's 1960's Piper Comanche.  It is straight lines and angles, very unlike the sweeping curves and swooping lines of today's aircraft paint schemes.  That suits me just fine.  I need to do a few more things to get everything ready for paint.  I need to assemble the wheel pants so the color stripes can be laid out on them correctly.  When they get ready to layout the Piper color scheme on the fuselage Dave will give me a call to have me look it over to make sure it is the way I want it.  Dave said he would start picking up portions of the airplane on Thursday and take them to his shop for painting.  His son works with him and they think they can have the painting completed in a couple of weeks.  Since I have not heard anything from the FAA Title Company on the status of my registration I decided to move ahead with the paint.  Dave is going to prepare a color coupon with the red paint so I can have Sign*A*Rama do the new N numbers.

Getting Ready For Paint

I am back from a 2-week hiatus.  Arlene and I took a trip to Pennsylvania to visit Wade, Sarah and the kids.  It was a lot of fun.  On Wednesday, April 9^th we flew to Buffalo, NY where Wade met us and drove us to their home in Erie.  We worked on a few projects for a couple of days and then on Saturday we left to drive to Washington, DC.  We were the until Thursday the 17^th when we drove back to Erie.  We flew home on the 18^th.  Today I went to the hangar and worked on a few simple things while waiting to meet with Dave Wissinger.  I installed the fuel pump fuse and checked the cooling fans on the instrument shelf.  They work.  

I sanded the inside edge of the canopy fiberglass.  It will make it look better when it is painted and will give me a smoother surface to install the canopy seals.  I also removed the masking installed when I touched up the inside of the canopy and I think it looks pretty good.  Hopefully I will be  the only one who will see it because I know it is there.

I met with Dave and he is going to start painting the airplane this week.  I decided to go ahead with the paint while waiting for the FAA to issue my registration papers.  I removed the struts on the canopy and put some masking tape along the edge of the area I want the painter to paint.  I have decided I want the inside front portion of the canopy to match the paint on the upper fuselage skin.  I think it will look better that way when the canopy is open.

I meet with Dave Wissinger at noon.  I gave him a check for 50% down on the paint.  I also selected a deep red color for the upper fuselage and wing tips.  I decided against a maroon, which turned out to be too purple for my taste.  I will get a sample of the color to take to Sign*A*Rama so they can prepare some new N numbers in the right color.  I then started to disassemble the airplane.  Dave is going to pick-up the pieces in his van truck and transport them to the shop then return them and pick-up a new batch.  He asked me to remove the empennage and disassemble the pieces.  Also, remove the flaperons from the wings, remove the canopy (which is already off) and the engine cowl and spinner.  The poor airplane looks pretty forlorn in its new condition.

I also decided it would be good to mark the flaperons where they need to be trimmed to clear the fuselage.  Right now when fully deflected in the up position the skin scrapes on the head of a rivet.  This occurs on both sides.  I used  a straight edge and a marker to mark both the right and left flaperon so I can trim the ends after I remove them from the wings.

I continued to remove parts and pieces and stack them on the work table, stand and on the floor.  Tomorrow afternoon  Tim and I will go to the hangar and remove the wings and take the flaperons off so I can trim them.

SkyView Battery and Canopy

Yesterday while Tom Driscoll was at the hangar he noticed that when I turn of the master switch the SkyView shuts down immediately.  Tom told me it should stay on for 30 seconds on backup battery power.  I checked the SkyView install manual and it says if the battery icon has a red X through it there is a fault.  I checked the screen today and sure enough there is a red X over the battery icon.  I went into the hardware setup and turned set the BATTERY CONNECTED to yes.  I also called Dynon Tech Support to inform them of what is happening.  I was told the battery is probably not charged and that it will charge when the aircraft is flying.  He said it will take about 3-hours to fully charge the backup battery.  The tech told me to call back if the condition continues to exist after flying the airplane for 3-hours of flying.  Part of the process to check the backup battery was to remove the upper fuselage skin.  I removed the screws on the top of the instrument panel and then removed the screws holding the upper skin in place. 

To remove all of the screws I had to remove the canopy.  I took it off of the airplane and put it on a work table.  Because there is a drip and run of epoxy on the roll bar part of the canopy I decided to sand it off and repaint the spot. 

I put tape around the drip and proceeded to sand it away.  I will return to the hangar this afternoon and apply a coat of spray paint on the sanded spot.  It won't be perfect but it will look better.

This afternoon I returned to the hangar and masked the sanded area on the rear canopy roll bar.  I also masked off some sections of the canopy I want to be tan.  I used some spray paint to coat these areas.  

The paint will be dry and hopefully cured to match by the time we are back from Erie, PA on the 18^th of April.

Test Pitot and Static Air Systems

Today I arrived at the hangar with the intent of testing the pitot and static air systems per the PAP.  I purchased some modeling clay on my way out so I would be ready for the test.  The first thing I did was attach a section of ¼" plastic tube to the pitot tube.  I then inserted a length of 1/8" plastic tube into the ¼" section of tubing.  I used my heat gun to soften the ¼" tubing so I could slide it over the pitot tube.

I then attached a syringe to the 1/8" tubing.  I depressed the plunger in the syringe until the airspeed indicated 10 knots on the Skyview.  I had to use a piece of tape to hold the plunger in the syringe.  Otherwise it would push out and the airspeed would drop.  I photographed the screen with the airspeed at 124 knots.

The maximum leakage allowed was a drop of 10 knots in 1-minute (60 seconds).  The range timed was from 120 knots down to 80 knots.  The average time for each 10 knot drop was 126 seconds.  

I then attached the 1/8" plastic tube to one of the static ports with modeling clay as instructed.  I also put tape over the other static port.  I attached the syringe and extracted air until the altitude shown on the SkyView was 1,200' above the current altitude.  I set the barometric pressure on the SkyView and began the test.  The allowable leak rate for the static system is 100' in 1-minute (60 seconds).  I pulled the plunger on the syringe until the altitude read 5,800 on the SkyView.  I started the stop watch.   Unfortunately the leak rate on my static system was 100' in 20 seconds.  Way to much leakage.  I tightened all of the fittings, redid the modeling clay and resecured the 1/8" tubing to the syringe.  I restarted the test with the very same results.  I decided I would have to get into the tailcone to make sure my tubing connections were good.  

I went to Lowe's and purchased a 4' piece of 1x10 pine.  I removed the seats and seat backs, upholstery and carpet and baggage compartment bulkhead cover.  The cover was just sitting in place so it was easy to remove.  I laid the 1x10 across the baggage floor and through the bulkhead.  I also put a folded moving pad over the 1x10 to make the access to the tailcone a little more comfortable.  It was a really tight squeeze through the bulkhead with the fuel tank in place but I made it.  Of course getting into and out of the baggage area was an exercise in contortionism.   When I inspected the tubing connections I found the static line connection to the ADAHRS not completely tight.  I tightened it up and tried the test again.  Same results.  100' loss in altitude in 20 seconds.  Back into the tailcone.  I pulled the static lines from the rivets through the side skins.  They came right off.  I had installed them with clear silicone.  I cleaned off all of the silicone on the tubing and the inside of the aluminum skins.  

I got some gray RVT from my tool box and reinstalled the lines, sealing them to the rivets and the sidewalls with RVT.  I tired the test again and this time it worked.  This average time for the retest was 122 seconds for each 100' drop in altitude.  

After completing the test Tom Driscoll showed up in his RV-12.  Tom flew down from the SLC airport to see my RV-12 and then offered me a ride.  Of course I was happy to accept.  We went up and flew around the south end of the valley for a short while.  Tom let me take the controls.  What a sweet airplane.  Light on the controls and very stable.  I also did a power off stall.  It got really mushy just before the drop.  It recovered really well.  

I got a picture of Tom as he was leaving.  I am going to be taking some transition training with John Albury (Jetguy on the VansAirForce forum) later this month.  I am glad to have been able to ride and fly an RV-12 before going down to Texas to fly with John.