Part 1

Part 2

My first idea was to place the RV at a distance from the wall, that represents the Datum. Turns out that is irrelevant.

Both determining the Arms (distances from Datum) and the Weights, must be done with the plane at level. This means the longerons must be level with the floor. I now (from building) that with two apple crates I’m very close.

I just need a few blocks, while my Dad checks the level.

Now I can check the distance from botch wings, to be sure that the plane is parallel to the wall, so all other measurements are ‘in sync’.

Now we use the laser measure tool to measure the distance from the tailwheel to the Datum. Since the laser is in an angle, I need to calculate the distance (the laser is the hypotenuse).

With all the distances, we can now put the plane on the scales. The right scale is on rollers, so side loading is not influencing the weighing.

Setting it level again with the scales under the main gears and the tail wheel.
RTFW

Closing the canopy (because it should be in flight-mode) and all the fuel is drained, only the ‘unusable fuel is still in there.

And there you have it! I didn’t initialize the scales and now my measurement is invalid. RTFM man, every time when I think ‘I got this’ I screw up!

So we can remove the plane and initialize the scales (1 minute of work, 30 minutes wasted). I take a picture of the initialization process (as evidence).

After positioning the plane on the scales again, we level it again both longitudinal and latitudinal.

Yes I know, my stickers are created by a dyslectic, so that will be corrected later.

The right main gear is nicely on the scale and the scale is blinking.

Same for the left main gear

and the tailwheel.

So this is the position for the weight.

And there you have it. 227kg left main, 221kg right main and 32kg on the tailwheel, total of 480kg. That’s what you get if you install a ULPower engine, it’s really light.

Now we are adding fuel to calibrate the fuel senders. We had to do this twice, because I don’t RTFM on how to calibrate.

Also I need to calibrate both the EMS and EFIS, because the fuel level indicators are each other backup. Every time we pour a few liters in and then we calibrate the instruments.

So now also for the left wing and we are done.

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-10-20)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-10-24)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-10-27)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-10-31)

Video

This engineer will check all the technical aspects as well as the rules described by the Dutch Government in the laws regarding Experimental airplanes.

Still a lot of work to do, the flaps and ailerons need to be installed and all inspection area’s need to be open.

I start by installing the ailerons and set the pushrods in such position that the ailerons are level and in line with the wing tips. Later I found I had to fine tune the settings, once the flaps were installed. Further adjustments were necessary when I installed the interior.

It turns out the center console (I created) prevents full aileron deflection to the right, because the stick is pushing against my leg which is between the stick and center console. I set both sticks just very slightly outboard to enable full aileron deflection to both sides.

The paint-job had deviated ever so slightly from the paint-scheme fortunately Cees could add the missing black outline with special wrap tape.

Next is the lights in the wing (tips). I have installed FlyLeds with a prebuild wiring harness.

The left (Red) side was ok, the right (Green) side, two leds were not working. Found a loose contact and fixed it.

Now both Navigation lights are working correctly. I left the excess of the wiring harness in the wing tip and rudder horn.

Installing the flaps was harder than it should be. The flaps were installed before and I tested them. This time it looked like the eye-bolt actuating the flap didn’t fit nice in the hole in the fuselage.

I needed to use the Unibit drill to gently reem the hole, in order to make the flaps fully retract. So now I can use the full range of the flaps. This is the night before the inspection.

After a careful inspection the next day, I had a few changes to make before receiving my approval. The inspector didn’t like the fact I had a glass cockpit with non TSO’ed equipment. So to comply I installed two ‘steam gauges’, a standard UMA Altimeter and Airspeed indicator from Van’s webshop. Also I had to change my dual battery setup.

In the end I had the inspection completed and now the last step is to install all the fairings and perform a mass and balance measurement. After that step I can send my 15 document Airworthiness application to ILenT (Dutch FAA).

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-10-06)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-10-10)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-10-13)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-10-17)

I’m working on the Radio Antenna and the Transponder Antenna, while my dad is finishing the Empennage. With the Antenna’s installed we can start working on the Canopy.

The installation is simple, just insert the two Canopy rollers on the front and attach the rear to the slider block. The hard part is the seal block that slides after the slider block.

Removel af the paint paper needs to be done with care, since it could rip the paint.

The painters-tape is everywhere, to prevent the inside of the cockpit being painted. But now we have to remove all the painters-tape.

Done, the Canopy is installed. Here’s a nice top view. Next up is the Airmaster Propeller.

Ok, this one could have been done after the Wings, but the bottom side of the left Wing requires a registration number and that is easier to install while in the cradle.

There are 6 bolts with Drive Lugs that connect the Propeller to the Flange. Airmaster does NOT use Bolts that require safety wiring, but NordLock Washers instead. You have to be careful, it turns out NordLock washers can only be used twice, before you have to buy new ones.

When everything is installed, I can install the Spinner.

The Propeller Pitch Control brushes needs to be close to the Slipring on the Prop.

Now we can prepare the Wings. First thing is installing the Aileron Pushrods. Once the Aileron Pushrods are installed, we can install the connecting Pushrod to the Aileron.

The default setting of the Pushrods can be set with the Aileron template in the Van’s kit. This piece of Aluminum is easily overlooked as useful, because it is not a piece of the Aircraft, but a measuring template.

Yes, here is Cees, who did the paint job on the Plane. He also created the decals for all plackards and registration signs.

I still think the registration is too big and useless considering the Transponder, but it’s regulation so ….

Damn, I’m really proud and it feels we are getting there.

This is why we didn’t install the Wings yet. This is the bottom of the left Wing and it’s much easier to stick the registration decals on it while standing up than laying on the ground.

Check it out, PH-MNX, it looks great.

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-09-15)

Video

The Wind Screen is the part that is left after cutting the ‘bubble’ in two parts. The aft part is for the Canopy, while the front part is the basis for the Wind Screen.

These two parts should almost touch when the Canopy closes. To make this work, some care must be taken to make it fit. I thought cutting it in two parts would make a perfect fit.

Turns out you still need to make small adjustments. This probably is due to the fact that the Canopy and Wind Screen bases are not level. Maybe you can do that with trimming the Wind Screen on the forward bottom side.

But I found this hard and giving an unpredictable result, so I decided to trim the top aft side (the part that connects to the canopy).

To clean the edges I tried the air grinder and although it works, it usese way too much air (or my compressor tank is too small). Almost all tools that have an air pressure motor are unfit for my compressor. The squeezer and rivet gun are fine, but the grinder, drill and also the paint gun use a lot of air.

Just as with the Canopy, I’m going to use SikaFlex to bond the Wind Screen to the Fuselage and Cockpit bar. To prevent the nasty SikaFlex primer to touch anything else than the parts that should bond, we tape the metal and the Plexi-Glass.

First we apply one layer of fine tape to make the edges sharp. Than we use painters tape to protect the rest of the part. We use a second layer of fine tape, that will be removed after applying the primer.

The function is that if you slightly touch the tape with primer it will stick to the SikaFlex kit and makes it hard to remove later.

With all the parts prepared we can now start with the three SikaFlex components. The first part is the Aktivator 205, which is Isopropanol and it really ‘bites’ into the plexi-glass. So We have to be careful not to touch any unprotected Wind Screen surface.

After a few minutes we can start applying the Primer 207, which is very fluid, but dries really fast and it ‘eats’ your brushes.

You have 20 – 30 minutes after applying the primer before using the final SikaFlex 295 UV, kit.

As soon as the primer is a little dry, we remove the second layer of tape, This reveals the first layer of tape that is no clean and won’t stick to the kit.

I apply the kit in a (reverse) V shape. On several points on the bar we have spacers to compensate for different expansion behaviors of the bar and wind screen.

We decided to apply the kit on the bar and top skin instead of the wind screen. You can probably also do it the other way around, but we thought this to be easier.

So now we can place the wind screen on the SikaFlex. We have marked the wind screen and top skin, to enable lining it up correctly.

If all the preparations are done correctly it will fit. During preparations we had to bent the corners of the Wind Screen a little to make it fit better. This is done by heating them up with a heat gun (BE CAREFUL).

Use some clamps to make the corners stick in place. According to the plans of Van’s, we have created several small brackets to ‘clamp’ the Wind Screen to the skin.

Nice and now we have to wait a few days until the SikaFlex has fully cured.

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-02-24)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets: 40/0  (2021-02-28)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-03-03)

Video

That’s it, at least for now. The two empty spaces are going to be filled with two ‘standard’ 10″ Android tablets. The right one will be used for navigation, running EasyVFR. The left tablet will run a Pyxis avionics system. That’s avionics that I develop myself.

I tried not to drop stuff in my cockpit, while the floor panels are partly open. However I failed and dropped parts twice in there. Since it’s a tailwheel the parts immediately roll towards the seat bulkhead (under the floor panels. The only way to get these parts out is lifting the tail and knock gently on the bottom.

The Co-Pilot stick is detachable, with the help of a DB9 plug, the switches on top of the stick are connected.

Routing the wires from the sticks to the Console hardware is a challange. Also I installed the Flyleds main board right under the floor panels.

Now that the Wind shield bar is installed, the Canopy can be final fitted. Note the holes in the Forward Top skin. I’ve inserted them in case I need de-fog air flow.

As part of the aircraft registration in the Netherlands, a fire-resistant identification plate is required. I’ve taken the liberty to also add the main aircraft information on the plate.

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-02-07)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-02-10)

Time: 3 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-02-12)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  4/0  (2021-02-13)

This must be done very carefully, as small misalignment of the Gear Leg Fairings will result in more drag and even worse if it’s done asymmetrically, it will result in a yaw.

The Gear Leg fairing itself consists of a piece of glass-fiber, with a piano hige riveted in the back. This way you can detach the Fairing by removing the hinge pin.

With just the piano hinge it can still move around the gear leg, so on the top there is also a hose clamp fastening the Fairing into a fixed position, relative to the Gear Leg.

We need to remove the Wheel Pants, so we can insert the piano hinge pin from the bottom up.

We probably made the piano hinge too tight, because it took some effort to get the hinge pin in. I wanted a tight fit, but maybe I’ve overdone it.

We used the Endoscope to check where the pin was going, so we could apply local pressure on the Fairing to align the piano hinge segments.
With some oil and pressure we succeeded in inserting the pin all the way to the top.

Now we can align the marks we made earlier during measurements, position the Fairing and fasten the hose clamp to fix the Fairing to the Gear Leg.

With the experience we gained on the right Gear Leg Fairing, the left one went much easier. We used the endoscope, some oil and voila, Fairing is in place.

Positioning it with the marks and clamping the Fairing to the Gear Leg.

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-12-06)

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-12-12)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets: 60/0  (2020-12-16)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-12-19)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets: 74/0  (2020-12-23)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-12-27)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-01-03)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2021-01-10)

Video

The space between the Rear Skirt and the Fuselage was almost half an Inch on some places, especially where the Rear Skirt meets the Side Skirt. In several video’s I found that some RV builders just left the space as is, which is probably not an issue, but it just looks crappy. I decided I had to solve this.

I didn’t find many useful tips on how to create a better fit. Some builders just created fiberglass skirts from scratch, but besides the extra work, I like Aluminum.
I tried fluting strips of Aluminum and filling the ridges with resin, but it didn’t look good ad it creates a thick border layer with the Fuselage.

In the end I decided to cut the Rear Skirt into pieces, so I can individually bend them accordingly to the Fuselage. I first drill holes about two inches apart and almost three inches from the edge. This will prevent the cuts from cracking. This will probably not happen, because there is no stress on the Skirt, but … whatever.

Now I can attach fiberglass to the inside of the strips, close the Canopy with the strips tightly bend against the Fuselage an let the resin cure. The result is a excellent fitting Canopy. The excess of resin needs to be removed and to finish it, I used Aluminum putty.

Meanwhile in the background I’m working on the Panel. The holes for the USB chargers are already drilled and I’m now working on the holes for the EFIS.

I’m a sucker for symmetry, so the EMS (which looks identical to the EFIS is on the right side of the Panel.
In the middle at the bottom is the hole for the propeller controller.

I bought a Airmaster propeller that is specifically designed for the ULPower 520iSA engine. It’s a constant Speed propeller with a electrical governor (the ULPower engine does not support hydraulic governors).

Oh I also finished my AHARS system, which consists of an MGL SP6 Magnetometer and an SP7 Attitude sensor. I used the “standard” Van’s ADHARS bracket to install them. I can’t use the attachment holes, so I use thin rubber stickers and a Velcro ribbon (and also a tire-wrap) to secure them.

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  4/0  (2020-01-11)

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-10-18)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-10-19)

Video

There is an inner and an outer bearing and they are separate from the wheels. They are slightly tapered to allow squeezing the wheel tight.

We raised the table that holds the Fuselage, so we can slide the wheel on the axle. You have to remove one part of the brake disc to be able to insert the wheel.

Now we can fasten the wheel by tightening the main wheel nut. You have to torque it so all the play is gone, but the wheel can still run freely. It’s more like a gut feeling.

Once the nut is torqued, a hole is drilled through the thread of the axle, so a large cotter pin can be inserted te prevent the nut of turning loose.

The whole process includes removing and reinserting the wheel several times. But in the end it looks really great.

And SOW the BIG moment! PH-MNX is finally on it’s main gears. So we can remove the table that held the plane for a long time.

I’m really excited to see the plane standing on its own three wheels for the first time.

Next up are the wheel fairings and the gear leg fairings.

Here is the result of yet another great day of working on the plane. the duct tape that holds the brake lines is temporary, until the gear lag fairing will be installed.

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-23)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  2/0  (2020-09-27)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-30)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-10-04)

Time: 7 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-10-07)

Video

I’m going for a mat black and orange theme on the inside that matches the colors I choose for the interior. This combo is similar to the metallic paint I choose for the outside.

Next job is the Engine Mount. I use the ‘standard’ Lycoming Engine Mount with dynafocal attachment. This will later hold the extension mount I need for my UL Power 520iSA.
I have also installed the Firewall bulkheads for the Fuel and Return lines.

I don’t use the ‘standard’ Facet full pump, but two Bosch Fuel Pumps. However I already installed the Firewall doubler for the Facet pump including the nutplates. The bottom left nutplate will be sealed with Tank Sealant and a bolt. The top right nutplate is reused as the bulkhead for the Throttle cable.

I picked up the extended Cowl, created by Ray Lawrence of Kaolin Aviation, at the UL Power factory in Belgium. Of course it’ll take another few months before it is fitted to the fuselage, however I felt the urge to see how it would look.
EPIC!
Patrick Denorme Managing Director of UL Power, proudly showed me the new endurance test facility for the new 520iST. It provides 10% more horse power, but more important it can do that at a lower rpm (2800).

The 520 runs sweet for almost 180 hours testing. The engine sounds great and I can’t wait for my 520 to make first engine start. Unfortunately I have the normal aspirated version and not the Turbo. You can clearly see the Turbo Charger in the middle of the photo.

Attaching the Gear Legs was really hard. It turns out the powder coating is too thick and makes inserting the Gear Legs into the Engine Mount really hard.
In the end I succeeded, but in hind-sight I should have used some sand paper to remove the powder coat.

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-09)

Time: 4 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-11)

Time: 8 Hours, Rivets: 2212  (2020-09-12)

Time: 6 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-14)

Time: 5 Hours, Rivets:  0/0  (2020-09-15)