Twisted: Week 118

Hours to date: 1200.5

Well Pete has still not made up the canopy parts I need so I've moved onto other jobs.

Kind of a blessing in disguise actually as I am now doing all the little jobs that I've not got around to previously.

The baggage tray is finished - I'm pleased with the way it turned out.

I discussed the throttle/brake assembly with Pete and he agreed it needed more than just flock to hold it in place so I'll put a couple of bolts through there. More worryingly the throttle cable in it's current position would have to go through the spar tunnel (indeed Pete says that what people end up doing - drilling a hole through the spar tunnel). Obviously I am not keen on this idea.

I see the French Twister had the assembly round the other way - so that the throttle is on the outside - this puts the cable in a better position so I will most likely follow suit here.

For such a critical component it seems to have not been thought out properly in the design stage. I'll be spending a bit of time on this as for me the throttle action (and security) must be perfect.

Another thing that Johan pointed out to me is that the throttle friction cannot be adjusted in flight - in fact the access to the friction is only through the bottom of the aircraft via an inspection panel.

For these reasons you can understand why Pete has switched to a vernier type throttle.

Another couple of jobs I did are: Reinforcing the rest of the main gear posts - I'd only done one side before as that was what the manual indicated but I noticed that the French Twister had the whole post reinforced. This doesn't add any weight really so I've done the same. The manual can also be interpreted this way to do this. The other job is making an access panel for the connection of my cowl flap - where access is very limited so it's a bit of a necessity.

I've also installed the radio and transponder antenna cables - these follow the route of the rudder cable guides. This job is great way to take all the skin off your knuckles!

I determined the position of the flap drive 'box' and have used the composite fasteners I got from Germany to put in some mounting posts for this. They are stuck on with flock and I put a single layer of glass over the top as Pete does (although the fastener manufacturer says that flock alone is enough).

Next up is the ammeter shunt - see photo below for location. I'm making a cover for this as well - the ammeter shunt carries the same charge as the terminals of the battery so it must never come into contact with anything else. Given this - it's a wonder that they don't supply a cover with them.

Finally I've installed 3 warning lights (red LEDs) into the panel. These are for 1. Starter operating (a UK CAA requirement), 2. ECU fault and 3. Low volts warning (both of which are required for the UL Power engine setup.)

Next up I will work on the main gear and wheels and brakes I think. I'm having a new spacer made up for the hub that is missing one (!) by my friend in New Zealand - Peter Boettcher - Thanks Peter!