Rudder Pedals Part 4

I trust that everyone had a good Christmas.  It is a great time to gather with family and reflect on how we are all truely blessed.  It is not, however, a good time for progress on an airplane build even with the extra time off work.  One highlight of my holiday was that my 91 year old grandmother came to visit and I got to show her my project.  Now I know most grandmothers wouldn't have much interest in such a thing but mine listened intently as I gave a rough overview and then she asked a whole bunch of questions and made some observations showing that she doesn't miss a thing.  Her mind is as sharp as a tack even though her hearing isn't.  After dinner, I heard her talking with my wife's grandmother and she asked her "Have you seen the airplane that Justin is building?  It really is quite the thing."  Ok, so I'm bragging a little bit, I know.  It feels good that after all these years I can do something that makes my grandma proud.

Saturday night I laid out the holes for the rudder cable mounts and the lightening holes on the side of the rudder pedals.  Tonight I changed my mind and cut big slots instead of the series of holes.  It was probably a dumb decision this late in the game as they didn't machine out as nicely as if I had done them earlier in the process.

I am thinking about mounting the fuel tank at the top of the fuselage just ahead of the pilot.  I would love to hear anyone's opinions on this or suggestions on how to accomplish the support structure.

Number of hours:  3.3
Total hours:  140.3

Rudder Pedals Part 3

I got home late from work so I didn't get a lot done tonight.  I cut and glued the last gusset on the right cockpit longeron tonight then I noticed that the side longerons were starting to cusp a little bit so I cut two spacers and put them between the upper seat back cross member and F2.  Then I laid out and drilled 5 lightening holes in the front of each rudder pedal.

Number of hours:  1.3
Total hours:  139.7

Rudder Pedals Part 2

I cut and glued two more gussets for the cockpit longerons tonight, one on the left and one on the right.  Then I roughed out the left rudder pedal with my jigsaw and finished milling it to match the right rudder pedal.  I finished my night by filing and sanding the edges smooth on both pedals.  I still have my laundry list of operations to complete on both pedals, but they are coming along nicely.  It was nice to end the night with a matching set.

Number of hours:  2.7
Total hours:  138.4

Rudder Pedals Part 1

The left side cockpit longeron broke apart the other day so I glued it back together tonight.  I built one gusset for the longeron and will be building more tomorrow to help transfer some of the load over a larger area.

I had a couple of hours stuck in a plane last week while traveling from MSP to DEN and back in the same day, so I took advantage of that time and finalized my rudder pedal plans.  I started machining the pedals tonight and have the right pedal almost done (it still needs lightning holes, bearing hole, cable mount, and rounded end).  The left pedal is roughed out but still has quite a bit of work left to go.

I updated the "Plans Questions" and "Modifications" pages today.  One special note, only about 3 gallons of fuel will fit under the seat so the fuel tank issue is still unresolved.

Number of hours:  3.8
Total hours:  135.7

Left Cockpit Longeron

I finally understand why a lot of homebuilt aircraft projects are never completed, life gets in the way!  I fully expected that deer hunting would interfere with my build but what a couple of weeks!  The night before we were supposed to leave for hunting last week my father-in-law slipped on some ice, breaking his leg is 3 places which required reconstructive surgery and a 4 day stay in the hospital meaning that I have been hunting solo and taking care of chores up North for the past two weekends.  I ended up coming home on Saturday night both weekends due to severe weather advisories on the following Sunday.   I figured that I would be able to get some build time in this Sunday but instead I spent the largess of my day arranging for a new motor to be installed in my truck because it spun a connecting rod bearing on the trip home from the cabin.  This is not a wonderful thing to happen, especially around Christmastime when things get a little tight for us financially.   The remainder of my Sunday was spent clearing the 2 feet of snow out of the driveway.  I hope that nobody sees this as complaining or a bunch of excuses.  I love winter and snow, it is a chance for us to justify our 4 wheel drive vehicles, use the hot tub, snowmobile, hunt, and it's just plain beautiful.   Life is an adventure, anyone who knows my background would agree that I have had my share of challenges and obstacles but I always try to keep a positive attitude and, most importantly,  F.R.O.G.

Back to the topic of this blog!  With baited breath I pulled the clamps off of the right side cockpit longeron and...nothing broke loose; and there was much rejoicing.  Tonight I cut the braces for the left side cockpit longeron and glued it all in place.

I was contacted by a fellow Onyx builder stateside recently.  In my contacts with various builders, researchers, and fans I keep adding to my cache of Onyx information.  He sent me the picture below of a wood Onyx with strut braced wings.  I don't know if this is the original wingspan or the longer wingspan version like my project.  The other thing that sticks in my mind? is that the fiberglass version of the Onyx has the fuel tank under the seat.  I am intrigued by the possibilities that this tank location could afford so stay tuned for another possible addition to the modifications page.

Number of hours:  0.7
Total hours:  131.9

Right Cockpit Longeron

I came home from work today to find the pieces of my progress yesterday broken and on the floor.  Before I left this morning, I had put the longerons in the bent position and this, coupled with the glue not being fully cured (24 - 48 hours duh), was too much stress on the glue joints.  So tonight I glued the parts back in place along with the braces for the right cockpit longeron and I won't touch it for 48 hours this time!

Number of hours:  0.8
Total hours:  131.2

Cockpit Gusset Blocks

I machined the cockpit gusset blocks and used a belt sander to remove the stand offs that I left during the machining process at work today.  At the end of the day I called our EAA chapter's tech counselor and set up an appointment for next Tuesday night for him to come out and look over my work.

When I got home, I glued the two blocks in place and cut the old cockpit front edge to allow the cockpit longerons to pass through to the new front edge cross member.  My order of 4130 from Aircraft Spruce arrived today so I spent some time checking the items to the packing list.  I then realized that I was missing the control rods for the canard because I had forgotten to order them.  I will have to order the 2 pieces of 5/8" diameter X 0.04" wall X 48" long tube from Aircraft Spruce when I place my next order.  Probably when I order my hinge material.

As I was writing this post, my doctor called and said that I can pick up the results of my psych testing on Thursday so I will be able to send them off to the FAA finally!

Number of hours:  1.2
Total hours:  130.4

Cockpit Longerons

My 4 point harness came via UPS today.  It is much nicer than I expected.  I cut and glued 2 gusset blocks for the new forward cockpit cross member tonight then glued the 2 upper seat back supports in place along with another 2 gusset blocks behind the upper support.  Then I glued the rear edges of the 2 cockpit longerons to the upper fuselage longerons at the point where they meet the seat back.  I finished the night by laying out the two gusset blocks that make up the rounded rear corners of the cockpit opening.  Hopefully I can get them machined at work tomorrow.

Number of hours:  1.6
Total hours:  129.2

Cockpit Mods

Ok, back to work.  I started the cockpit modifications tonight by cutting and gluing a cross member at the new forward edge of the cockpit.  It is 140mm back from the next forward cross member.  Then I cut and glued 3 more cross members to support the seat bottom plywood and seat back plywood.  I will glue the 2 upper seat back supports in place tomorrow night.

Number of hours:  1.0
Total hours:  127.6