While the pilot door was curing, I started on the copilot door hinges. The hinge pins are made by removing the threaded portion of AN3-21A bolts. I also choose to round the hex head for a cleaner look. I then… Read More »Copilot Door Hinges
The copilot door fitting is going well so Amber I decided to proceed with bonding the pilot door. We followed the same procedure as last time so there isn’t much more to say about it.
I made a tool to help scribe a trim line on the door flange. This was close to the scribe line in some areas but significantly different in others. The guide on the tool follows the edge of the door… Read More »Copilot Door Initial Fit
I had previously fitted and tested the door hardware and we were ready to bond the door halves. I decided to bond and fit the copilot door first to make sure there were no surprises before bonding the other door.… Read More »Copilot Door Bonding
I took the opportunity to attend the Avionics Installation for Experimental Aircraft course at the Aircraft Electronics Association (AEA) headquarters in Lee’s Summit, Missouri. This is a 3-day course that focuses on the Garmin G3X system. I arrived Sunday afternoon… Read More »Course Review: Avionics Installation for Experimental Aircraft
I’m ready to bond the doors but I decided to fit the Aerosport interior panels first. I have previously fitted the forward interior panels. Fitting the panels is straight forward and requires minimal trimming. I used #6 nut plates to… Read More »Aerosport Interior Panels
I had a few final things left to do before bonding the door halves. First up was preparing the stiffeners for the door struts. I chose to alodine these for corrosion resistance. This gave me a raw metal surface to… Read More »Door Bonding Prep
The door pin guide blocks that come with the PlaneAround kit are larger than the Van’s blocks and include guide extensions for the pins. I shaped these on a belt sander to fit in the respective recesses. I positioned them… Read More »Door Blocks and Pins
I finally received a small box of back ordered parts that include the gear mechanisms for the door handles. I am installing the PlaneAround third latch kit and the Aerosport Low-Profile Door Handle so I have three sets of plans… Read More »Door Handles
I have been working on the design of my instrument panel while waiting for various kit parts that are on backorder. I have also been working on diagramming my electrical system in KiCad. Van’s provides a CAD model of the… Read More »Instrument Panel Design