Wendell Folks RV-8 Project - Page 56.

June 30, 2007:  This is the first Saturday I have spent some time with Wendell since June 16th!  Since that was the day of my biennial flight review, we did not do much on the airplane that day.  I posted the following paragraph on my page 244.

"When we returned from the (BFR) flight Saturday afternoon, I worked with Wendell on his RV-8 empennage fairing.  Wendell wanted to add a small amount of fiberglass to the fairing where it goes around the leading edge of the horizontal stabilizer.  The first four layers looked good when I returned on Sunday morning to pick up a few tools I wanted to take with me on my Florida trip."

Here is a look at what Wendell did with the fiberglass work while I was gone.   He learned the trick with the "peel ply" Dacron sheet and had sanded the resulting surfaces with fine sand paper.  He still has a bit more work to do to get this curve to its final shape.

The other area now getting his attention is the baggage door latch blocks and their correct placement on the bulkhead and inside the firewall.

Two items with the fuel system have been getting Wendell's attention.  The fuel sump from the gascolator has been extended to the bottom of the firewall.  The engine-driven fuel pump overflow pipe has been extended to the bottom edge of the firewall also.  Those two nut plates will secure the bottom edge of the cowl on the LEFT side of the fuselage.

Wendell is preparing the surfaces before the oil sump heater strips are installed.  He is getting more excited as the list of things to do on the fuselage are getting fewer in numbers.

Wendell Sells his Cessna 182!

The big news this year is not about a trip to Oshkosh 2007 for either of us.   Wendell has sold his Cessna 182 to a young pilot from Alaska.  The money transfer is complete, and all that remains is a trip up the Alacan Highway via Montana, Calgary, etc.  The trip will begin on July 20th with our friend and commercial pilot CFI Terry McDowell going along to insure an extra level of safety in the flight.  Terry has made the trip before and was a long-time resident in Alaska.  He is a veteran military pilot from the Viet Nam era and is the CFI that gave me my BFR two weeks ago.

Their trip will have a number of survival gear items aboard including a shotgun, food, water, and a tent just in case.  The plan is to fly the Alcan Highway in the more remote areas of the route in case they need to land on the highway.  The airplane has a fresh annual inspection, so mechanical issues should not be a problem.   To say they are getting excited about this trip is an understatement.  I made him promise to take plenty of photos along the way to Anchorage.

July 4, 2007:  It is a holiday in the USA.  I spent much of the day working with Wendell on his airplane.   It was finally time to rivet the other half of the baggage door hinge to the fuselage forward top skin.  We worked on the final fit of the baggage door trying to get the last pop rivets in the correct locations to no avail.  The best way to get a "perfect" fit is to make the last inside door connections using the same adhesive that will seal the plexiglass canopy to the steel canopy frame.  When the time comes, the adhesive will be applied and the baggage door strapped down securely until the adhesive is fully cured.

Wendell worked on the oil door when I was away and the result is seen below.   It is the same oil door latch as seen on his Cessna 182.

July 5, 2007:  Another evening session since I did not have the day off from my day job.  I used my soldering iron to make the connections to the microphone and headphone jacks which are now installed in the bulkheads on the right side of the fuselage between the seats.  Wendell's assignment is to secure the wires as he routes them along the required path below the floor plates.

I also connected the green LED light indicating the MASTER switch is turned ON.   The master switch and the alternator field current switch/breaker were also re-installed.  All of these items were removed to allow bucking bar access when the forward top skin was riveted on to the fuselage.  The Hobbs meter is still wired up, but not yet returned to its place in the panel.  I left that chore for Wendell since he is not comfortable doing the wiring.

July 7, 2007:  A Saturday session again with some minor wiring to complete in the aft passenger area.  The white LED night lights and the toggle switch for them are the focus of this afternoon's work session.  The other thing done today was the "final" installation of the canopy slide rails with #8 screws and nylok nuts.  The static air line had to be cut and partially removed to get the aft screw installed in the rail on the left side.  The wires to the LED lights are soldered with heat shrink applied.  Wendell has to clean the wall with alcohol where he plans to install the lights with double-sided foam tape.  The wires will then be dressed up with the static air line under the canopy deck and below the rail.  We found two tubing barbs to join the static air line back together, but they proved to be just a bit too large to fit in the 1/4-inch tubing.  Wendell will go to "ACE aircraft supply" to find the correct size to splice the tubing.

The other thing to note in the photo above is the flap motor assembly.  It is now bolted securely to the fuselage at its upper end with the correct bolts.  An electrical ground lug is also under one of the bolts on the back side of the bulkhead to complete the circuit for the LED interior lighting.

Wendell and Terry spent part of the morning at a local Army-Navy surplus store to buy some of the supplies needed for the trip to Alaska.  They did not get any MRE's since the local store was out of them.  Terry knows a place in Atlanta to purchase the "meals ready to eat" before they begin the trip to Alaska.   They are getting excited about the upcoming trip!  I showed Wendell about how to use a lower resolution on his digital camera.  That will allow him to take a larger quantity of photos per memory chip.