January - February 2000

Paint:

The first wing panel has been painted. Overall the finish is acceptable.

For the other panel a coat of polyester filler will be applied and sanded off to get those pinholes that never seem to go away no matter how many thousands of times you fill and sand.

Interior:

The side panels required some modifications (especially on the pilot side) to clear the cables, controls, latches and air inlet.

A rear cabin panel was cut from 1.5mm birch ply and will be covered with fabric to match the seats. It will be held in place with the handyman's permanent secret weapon, Velcro.

Avionics:

The COM radio is a VAL 760 purchased from Aircraft Spruce for $599US (roughly 1.6 million CDN at current exchange rates thank you very much Jean (NOW I want to buy some helicopters) Cretien). You can buy this unit with or without a wiring harness. I saved the $100 US and fabricated my own by purchasing a Waldom HT 1919 hand crimper for about $25 CDN. You need this tool to make a harness for the transponder/encoder anyway and it can also do the pins on the back of your Westach gauges. The actual wiring of the harness is straightforward. Just do one termination at a time, check it off on the wiring diagram and label everything.

This radio is a cool unit. The power output is much higher than the handhelds for about the same money. With a decent antenna communications should never be a problem.

The VAL does not take much panel space but it is a deep unit. Fortunately the cut out in the Rand Robinson header tank is just the right size.

I have installed a used Collins TDR950 transponder and new ACK encoder. Transponder/Encoder systems add a lot of expense however if you want to do a lot of cross-country flying they are almost essential.

The main power bus is a 1/8" copper bar approximately 1/2" x 10". I know this is overkill on an order of magnitude but its done. The bar is secured to the fixed tab on the fuses with a twisted length of safety wire and soldered using a mini torch. Place a putty knife under the tab (and behind as well) to keep the flame off the fuse holder.

All of the panel connections are eye terminals or quick disconnects allowing the panel to be removed with a minimum of expletives (431 at last count).

The transponder antenna is internal with a circular groundplane of 5 1/2" diameter. A small shield will be placed to protect the crew from its radiation.

Here we are getting to the middle of February and I'm getting that feeling again. You know, like you've forgotten something?

The main panel is mounted over thin felt. Note the header tank auxiliary supply tube is in place. This runs to a check valve near the electric fuel pump under the pilot's seat. Note also the cables/tubing are finally being cleaned up out of the way.

The ACK encoder is mounted to the front of the main spar on the passenger side. The pitot and static lines enter the cockpit here and a T fitting with a cap is used as a moisture trap.

The main panel is positioned and held 3-4" out for wiring, then slid into place.

A new Revmaster Anti-Revisionary exhaust system was purchased after sandblasting of the old system exposed some holes. This comes in five pieces (4 pipes and a collector/tail pipe). The tail pipe needs to be bent to direct the exit gasses aft and then the number 1 pipe is welded into the collector to position the entire assembly. The remaining pipes are slip fit into the collector but not welded (it would not be possible to remove the exhaust if you did). Unfortunately the design of the collector seems to preclude the use of clamps as well. This means there will be some leakage here no matter how good the slip fit is. Indeed this appeared to be the case upon initial examination of the engine when purchased. In an effort to address this I have used a liberal amount of Permatex Ultra Copper sealant in the assembly of the pipes to the collector. This is the highest temperature sealant (which will remain flexible enough to withstand the vibration) that I could think of. If anyone has any other suggestions...

Note the last photo is from the left cylinder bank showing the proximity of the collector to the cylinders. The ignition leads have been secured to prevent contact with the exhaust.

The battery cables were cut, the terminals crimped and then soldered. The wire is 4 ga and total run from battery to starter is less than two feet (the starter really swings the engine over well).

Prop was bolted on and checked for track (within 3/64"). Seats were temporarily installed and the engine was carefully checked. The Gadget was then pushed into the driveway where the tail was tied down, wheels chocked and the neighbors terrified by the ear splitting rumble of the mighty 2100cc VW powerhouse.

OK...it was actually quite disappointing. The engine started quickly, ran smoothly and very quietly at 1000 RPM. No one other than the 2 helpers I drafted to act as safety/fire watch even noticed. The noise level seems lower than the C150.

After approximately 2 minutes the idle became rough. The engine was shut down for inspection. No significant leaks, loose parts or anything unusual was noted. Fuel flow to the carb was checked and is quite strong. Oil was found to be 1 litre low due to the new filter and cooler however the oil pressure during the run remained at 60psi. All four cylinders seemed equally warm to the touch after the run.