hammdo Posted January 16, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 16, 2023 Flew her yesterday and fuel flow is working well. Was able to confirm flow per cylinder - which is real nice. I removed the pilots side trim and will be doing triage on those - looks like many attempts to fix but none have been good. I’m taking pics as I go… Already starting the cleanup ;o) -Don 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Some progress report on trim panel repairs. I'm following this guide from Jaeger: https://www.jaegeraviation.com/ckfinder/userfiles/files/DIY-Plastic-Repair-Kit-2021.pdf As I noted, the fiberglass was not very well done. I literally removed it by hand (see pics and video). As such, I had to do a lot of cleaning in prep work to get it ready. Using the EZ Sand epoxy ref'd in the instructions, I was able to get the product at Advanced Auto -- not cheap but it was there. After some cleanup and cracks prepped, I followed the instructions and started the EZ Sand epoxy and was able to fix about 9 cracks and 1 broken piece -- all shown in the pic. The pics below show the fiberglass removed (by hand mind you) and the excess epoxy. Excess fiberglass epoxy does nothing but add weight. The EZ Sand epoxy however, needs to be put on kinda thick (1/8") and about an 1" or 1 1/2" from the 'opening' to be filled. More to come... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Next was prepping all the cracks and openings (using a Dremel) -- to get ready for the EZ Sand epoxy (note the sanding on the front piece). You can see the previous patches done but none of them opened the cracks: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 Once the cracks are prepped, we use masking tape to create a 'holder' for the EZ Sand epoxy -- note: where necessary I used aluminum tape to create a support area for the crack opening. BTW make sure the 'sticky' side of the masking tape is on the side where EZ Sand epoxy is filled: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 20, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 20, 2023 After applying and letting the EZ Sand epoxy cure, cracks are looking a lot better. I'm also using a hollow aluminum dowel to put the 'bump' back in that was sanded away. Note how I fixed the 'broken' piece. I had to grind it out a bit, support it with masking and aluminum tape, then EZ Sand epoxyed the back. The 3rd pic shows the fix and the aluminum dowel rod. Next will be the poly-flex on the facing to clean things up a bit and get it ready for painting: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 So, yesterday and today used polyflex and did a 'leveling' and final sanding to get the surfaces ready for paint. PolyFlex is just that - a filler used for 'bumpers' that need to 'give'. Final sanding (50 grit, 120, then 220) then a light sanding on the surface to prepare it for the 'bulldog' spray. Once that is done, then I'll use the Dupli-Color Trunk paint to give it a 'texture' (see the Jaeger instructions). I decided NOT to use the aluminum dowel rod as the final leveling/sanding looked really nice -- and it will give me more room for my elbow to work ;o) You can see the after and before: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 OK, final sanding, cleaning (water, alcohol, tac-free cloth). Then sprayed the whole surface with bulldog clear -- 2 coats to get it ready for final panting... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 Now sprayed with bulldog and then the trunk paint from Duplicolor (just enough for texture): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 Now the 2x Almond painting (4 light coats): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 Clear Coat (4 light coats) -- the elbow area really shows nice! I'll need to give it 48 hours before I can install it but she looks a lot better! Video: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fly Boomer Posted January 22, 2023 Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 2 minutes ago, hammdo said: Now the 2x Almond painting: Fantastic write-up. Thank you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 Anytime! Video is processing should be ready soon (YouTube)... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 This is why I did the fix: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fly Boomer Posted January 22, 2023 Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 8 minutes ago, hammdo said: This is why I did the fix: It's going to look better than new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 22, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2023 Well, closer to new anyway ;o) -Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 25, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2023 Updated the upper trim -- getting it ready for paint. main pilot panel is ready to install! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 27, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2023 Upper trim is complete: Next will be to re-install everything ;o) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 28, 2023 Finally installed! There are a couple of things I learned after install: don't need as may screws the patches take up more room so screw holes may not line up need to trim areas to make sure they fit after doing the fixes I'll address these later but for now, looks much better. I did add a 3M rubber barrier to prevent the rear passenger head set from grounding on the aluminum insulation. Outside of that, updated the placard and put it all together. Flying tomorrow (all of the updates took me some time so while a great IFR day, rather be fresh): 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2023 You can tell the difference with this shot (if you zoom in): Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EricJ Posted January 29, 2023 Report Share Posted January 29, 2023 13 hours ago, hammdo said: You can tell the difference with this shot (if you zoom in): Looks great! Nice work. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 29, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 29, 2023 Thanks! Its a lot of work for sure. I went down today to fly (no go Icing Airmets) but did take a 'profile' similar to the one using the Bose holder: -Don Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted January 30, 2023 Author Report Share Posted January 30, 2023 Blackstone report in! Very happy with it. Had to correct hours on engine - not sure where it got off but the last # is right: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted February 13, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 13, 2023 So, I had a bit of excitement on Thursday. After getting the AD for the elevator done, I was heading back to Mesquite via the Fingr.Fingr8 arrival and RNAV 18. About 15 miles out I was cleared direct to HUDIL (IF) and allowed to descend from 4000 to 3000. During my decent check list, I found the amp meter showing a discharge, looked at the G2 Insight and sure enough, Volts @ 11.7 - I lost the alternator. Check the circuit breakers, check for burning wiring nothing was obvious so, at that point, I told Regional I was declaring an emergency that I lost the alternator. Said I want a direct to Mesquite and I'd figure what happened on the ground. Since I have a SureFly and it requires an operational charging system, I didn't want to be a test pilot. Fortunately, I was in VMC but, there were A TON of training flights going on. I was getting all kinds of alerts from ATC and that is very distracting. Getting past all that, I decided to load up the RNAV 18 on my ForeFlight. Well, as LUCK would have it, when I loaded the procedure with the maps view and a STAR active, it crashed. Tried it 2 more times, crashed. Pulled out my backup (iPhone) and IT crashed. This is why I markup my charts, print them and use a satin laminating pouch (which I can write on with a pencil). I've since found out it is a KNOWN ISSUE in ForeFlight from support -- great. With that, I pulled out the marked up chart and I was set. I setup the GNC 355 to get a track to the point on the RNAV and set the plane to that direction. Regional and I discussed light gun signals so I had that ready also. I was fortunate enough to not lose power (I was already looking for what I could turn off) but concentrated on flying the plane. Landing was uneventful and I was sorry to hold up flights but I didn't want to take any chances. I got the plane back to the hanger, took off the cowling and let the AP know what happened. I went down to the hanger today just to see if I could find something that may have knocked loose (either from the last annual or rattled loose). Well, I found the issue: A #14 ring terminal for the grounding wire to the alternator was not crimped enough and the wire was barely in the terminal. So, I had some #14 ring terminals and crimped on a new one -- reinstalled the grounded wires and you guessed it, charging and working again! One never knows what may be the issue but, after all the training I had for IFR, I just didn't want to mess around, I wanted to get on the ground. I've had 4 emergencies in the last 3 years (Engine out/lost power in my B, Broken Mixture cable in IMC on an IFR Flight, Lost Governor on flight from OK, and now the Alternator issue). I let the AP know I found the issue and fixed it -- glad it was simple but one never knows... I guess I'm being tested.... Anyway pics below: 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T. Peterson Posted February 13, 2023 Report Share Posted February 13, 2023 17 hours ago, hammdo said: So, I had a bit of excitement on Thursday. After getting the AD for the elevator done, I was heading back to Mesquite via the Fingr.Fingr8 arrival and RNAV 18. About 15 miles out I was cleared direct to HUDI (IF) and allowed to descend from 4000 to 3000. During my decent check list, I found the amp meter showing a discharge, looked at the G2 Insight and sure enough, Volts @ 11.7 - I lost the alternator. Check the circuit breakers, check for burning wiring nothing was obvious so, at that point, I told Regional I was declaring an emergency that I lost the alternator. Said I want a direct to Mesquite and I'd figure what happened on the ground. Since I have a SureFly and it requires an operational charging system, I didn't want to be a test pilot. Fortunately, I was in VMC but, there were A TON of training flights going on. I was getting all kinds of alerts from ATC and that is very distracting. Getting past all that, I decided to load up the RNAV 18 on my ForeFlight. Well, as LUCK would have it, when I loaded the procedure with the maps view and a STAR active, it crashed. Tried it 2 more times, crashed. Pulled out my backup (iPhone) and IT crashed. This is why I markup my charts, print them and use a satin laminating pouch (which I can write on with a pencil). I've since found out it is a KNOWN ISSUE in ForeFlight from support -- great. With that, I pulled out the marked up chart and I was set. I setup the GNC 355 to get a track to the point on the RNAV and set the plane to that direction. Regional and I discussed light gun signals so I had that ready also. I was fortunate enough to not lose power (I was already looking for what I could turn off) but concentrated on flying the plane. Landing was uneventful and I was sorry to hold up flights but I didn't want to take any chances. I got the plane back to the hanger, took off the cowling and let the AP know what happened. I went down to the hanger today just to see if I could find something that may have knocked loose (either from the last annual or rattled loose). Well, I found the issue: A #14 ring terminal for the grounding wire to the alternator was not crimped enough and the wire was barely in the terminal. So, I had some #14 ring terminals and crimped on a new one -- reinstalled the grounded wires and you guessed it, charging and working again! One never knows what may be the issue but, after all the training I had for IFR, I just didn't want to mess around, I wanted to get on the ground. I've had 4 emergencies in the last 3 years (Engine out/lost power in my B, Broken Mixture cable in IMC on an IFR Flight, Lost Governor on flight from OK, and now the Alternator issue). I let the AP know I found the issue and fixed it -- glad it was simple but one never knows... I guess I'm being tested.... Anyway pics below: Well done! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hammdo Posted February 28, 2023 Author Report Share Posted February 28, 2023 More trim fixing and painting -- did get some actual for IFR -- keeping that going every month so far! Anyway, did the hat rack trim -- seems the royalite is very brittle so figured I'd remove some screw to make it last longer. Interior is now about an 8: -Don 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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