Justin's Raven

[justin.schoeman]

More progress, but it is surprisingly slow. Somehow (as usual) it seems like every task snowballs into a million smaller tasks - at least half of which require parts that I don't have and aren't easily available. But some things are happening.

Firstly - the new instrument panel is taking shape:

This is the main sub-frame. This contains the main electrical panel, engine controls (dual throttle mechanism, choke and carb heat controls), and supports the main instrument panel and radio panel. Should be a huge improvement in accessibility and maintainability. I hope.

The engine is now mounted on a mock firewall/stand. Difficult to see, but all firewall attachments are marked to make it easier to lay out the firewall forward kit at home.

I was hoping that the stock Jabiru air box would fit - but it is just too long to fit anywhere on the firewall.

Fortunately, non-structural composite work is easy - simply cut-and paste. First, cut the carb heat box off the main filter box, and patch up the gaps. I had a carbon fibre sheet that I laid up previously for a test, so I just cut this up, and used this and some 5-minute flox to put it all together.

Now I can play with the positioning of the two:

This looks good. Best possible alignment with the carb inlet, straight shot to the muffler for carb heat, and the cowl for a fresh air inlet. Just want to take it to airfield and check it out there - unfortunately, I did not mark the fuel tank position on the mock-up, so I am not sure where I will have access for the carb heat cable.

The main problem, is that no way how I do this, there just isn't enough space for the airbox with the gascolator on that side - so that means the gascolator, stiffener, and exit baffles must all move - which will cost another day at the airfield .

I hope to put in some leave this week, and see how far I can get.

[Jean Crous]

Justin I am sure you will MAKE it work ! This is also a good thread for folks that have an aircraft built by a company as mine, reading here they will soon see why things are not always what they seem in aircraft building
Good luck
Jean.

[justin.schoeman]

Justin I am sure you will MAKE it work ! This is also a good thread for folks that have an aircraft built by a company as mine, reading here they will soon see why things are not always what they seem in aircraft building
Good luck
Jean.

You can either save time (by, for example, ordering the full FWF kit from the US, or you can save money by buying what is available locally, and making it work. At least with composites, you only need to do it once. Once you have something that works, it is easy to pull a mould and do it again .

[justin.schoeman]

I really need to get to the airfield to do the final fitting of the instrument panel and airbox, so that I can finish those off. Also need to strip off the gascolator and stiffener so I can start moving them. With any luck, I will be able to take leave on Wednesday to do this, and start making real progress again.

Until then, I have just been finishing off some small bits on the instrument panel.

Mechanically pretty much complete now. Just need to do the final trim and fit so I can finish it off. Seems to be working quite well so far. And those wooden cabinet knobs seem to make quite good looking throttle knobs .

[avgas]

Well done
That is the way I remember the EAA and Homebuilding fraternity. We spent hours tinkering and improving our planes

[bobthebuilder]

Wonderful Justin.
A natural born tinkerer!

As a matter of interest, have you weighed the instrument panel?

[justin.schoeman]

Wonderful Justin.
A natural born tinkerer!

Personally, I would prefer to be flying - but the VW experiment did not turn out as I would have hoped...

As a matter of interest, have you weighed the instrument panel?

1.7kg with all sub panels, and the throttle mechanism included. Pretty much the same weight as the original equipment, but much easier to maintain (and prettier ).

Note that it is not carbon fibre - there is a single layer of carbon on the outer surface as an (failed) attempt to make it look pretty. I was originally planning to make it completely out of carbon (much lighter), but an aeronautical engineer friend got a very startled look and said 'You can't do that!' when I mentioned it... CF in front of the pilot is a very bad idea, as it shatters with very sharp edges in an accident. So it is mainly glass fibre, with the one decorative carbon layer (and now a layer of CF look vinyl over it).

[bobthebuilder]

It looks really nice.
I'm sure that wasn't a one week job.

[justin.schoeman]

Even though I have done it before, it still got me... The seemingly endless number of small tasks involved in even a 'simple' change like this.

So far, I have most of the FWF bits and pieces finished, and ready to install.

I have also stripped most of the old FWF stuff, and blanked of the old holes in the firewall. Most of the new stiffeners are fitted, as well as the gascolator and air guides. Most of the fuel plumbing is done, but I still need to remake one pipe for the new gascolator position. Still need to fit the air box, battery and relays.

Here are some pics of the progress so far.

Finished (hopefully) airbox (serious cut-and-paste hob here):

Engine with oil cooler fitted, rivet flange for oil cooler duct and nearly complete ram-air ducts:

Instrument panel with all mechanical bits, and avionics powered up. Still need to add 3 airframe connectors and radio panel:

The disaster zone behind the panel. Using a sub-frame for the main electrical connections is probably a good idea - but it does get a bit busy. Decided to do away with all the steam guages - so it also has a backup battery and charger. Xtreme is on a separate electrical bus with battery backup.

[justin.schoeman]

Last night I was trying to work out where all the time goes. Each evening, I work 2-3 hours in the garage (engine and fitment), and another 2-3 hours inside (instrument panel). And yet, I don't really see much progress.

So I made some notes last night. Got into the workshop at 19h30, and worked there until 22h10 (2 hours and 40 minutes). Started by finishing the fit (trimming internal baffles) on the right air duct. Then marked and drilled the mounting holes. Discovered that two of the holes were extremely close to the edge, even with the ducts flush against the tappet covers, so decided to add some reinforcing tabs to make sure they can't tear loose. Measured up, cut, drilled, filed and sanded 6 tabs, as well as 2 spring brackets. Floxed and riveted all 8 in place.

Total time 2 hours and 40 minutes, and I covered exactly one page from a 83 page installation manual...

[JvTonder]

Nicely done Justin. You know what they say when one's plane is 90%complete then 90% remains, now we know why

[justin.schoeman]

Some belated updates. Slow (but steady) progress being made.

Just about done with all the goodies that go on the firewall behind the engine. All of the old holes plugged, and new fittings in place:

Test fitting panel - mainly for cable lengths and routings. All still looking good.

Busy with AVDALSR085 - I hate the CHT sensors under the plugs... Unfortunately, my mains powered Dremel packed up, and my battery powered one only has enough juice to do two heads at a time...

First remove plugs and head bolt, and (thoroughly) cover the holes:

Now viciously assault it with the Dremel, until the CHT probe fits snug against the head. Tap and drill the hole, and presto:

Finished product:

Testing the CHT probes by heating the bolt, to see how accurately/reliably these little lugs conduct heat to the thermocouples:

While heating them, you can see a little lag. The sensor closest to the flame picks up quickest, and the ones at the other end also pick up quicker (direct contact with the head of the bolt), but the heat does conduct fairly well through the entire stack:

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Wait a few seconds after removing the flame, and all six senders match exactly:

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Basically, I would say the sensors all work perfectly, and track the actual bolt (soon to be cylinder head) temperature within seconds.

[justin.schoeman]

OK - Installing the engine tomorrow! I think everything is pretty much done. All the cables are made up, and tested. Probes and senders fitted. Exhaust (almost) fitted. Wiring (mostly) complete.

There will still be a bit of work to do once the engine is in, but at least it will be on the plane...

Cowl jigs made up to space and align cowl to prop/spinner:

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I noticed a mismatch between the ASI on the Ultra and Xtreme, so I converted a table leg to a water manometer to do the calibration:

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Turns out the Ultra was spot on, but the Xtreme was off. Seems someone did a factory reset on the Xtreme, and wiped the calibration. Calibration now set, and both agree with the water manometer from 0-100kts.

[justin.schoeman]

No pictures from Saturday - I was way too busy, but a friend did get some, and I will add them when I get a chance. The engine is on the airframe now, and mostly hooked up. Everything is looking good, except for the top cowl, which is 50mm too short (Raven front fuselage-firewall intersection is different from the 601).

Will be ready soon!

[justin.schoeman]

Wow - I have been very lax in posting updates recently. Between customers baying for my blood (or at least for my work-product) at work, working 3-4 hours every evening on plane parts and 8+ hours every Saturday and Sunday, I have not had much time.

Fortunately, tonight I am absolutely stuffed from squash training, and don't actually have much to do on the plane, so I will spend some time posting the updates.

As usual with this sort of work though, there is a lot of work, with very little to show for it, but here it goes anyway...