Yesterday I had my first “official” airframe technical inspection. It was very nice to hear the comments about the good quality of work that I’m doing. He didn’t find anything alarming. I tried to fess up to as many mistakes as I could think of. It went well and I get a thumbs up “keep building”.
Well, shortly after I sent my order to Jan for my Subaru engine, he called and said that he had one still available from a previous production batch. It would be ready for delivery in July of this year. He asked if I wanted it. I decided to take it as opposed to risking not having an engine when I’m ready for it. So, off went my money. I should have the engine package in July (minus the propeller which I will order later). Now Tanya is trying to figure out where she is going to put it for the next 9+ months. It is looking like the engine, in its crate, is going to make for a big square coffee table in the living room :). We’ll see.
…And two more end tank ribs sealed completes all of the tank ribs. I also riveted on the second tank attach bracket on the inboard rib. Those AN470AD4-8 rivets are a bear to shoot. I still don’t quite have that down right. I tried every bucking bar and air pressure I could think of. I ended up just cranking up the air pressure (about 50-60lbs at the regulator) and beating the crap out of the rivets. They aren’t the prettiest, but they’ll be fine.
Hopefully we’ll get the tanks sealed up with the rear baffles this weekend (update, didn’t happen).
A bunch of pictures that look repetative, but I’m going to want some of them if I ever have to service these tanks. I had to work up a bit of a service procedure on removing the access plates with the plumbing attached. The fuel return line (for injected Subaru) presented a bit of a dis-assembly challenge. It is kind of a puzzle such that things have to be oriented just so, reach into the tank, loosen the pickup tube, then it can be taken apart.
