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Jabiru J400 Builder Log - October 2005
10/30/2005 3:55pm-11:36pm
1) removed the elevator and trimmed the glasswork between elevator
and elevator end cap
2) elevator has free movement with all 6 hinges on and travels the
full length up and down per deflection templates
3) removed the wood board off of the aileron stips... right wing
strip looks better than left strip which is not quite flush behind
the aileron cable access hole... i guess some smoothing and filling
may fix the problem...it's mostly cosmetic from what I can see
4) fitted the hinges to the ailerons as instructed... but it seems
that I'm short about 17 TAPK 6-6 rivets?... i know i drilled about
3-4 since they weren't flush but how come am I short so many?...
according to the paper sheet on the rivet box there were a total
120 6-6 rivets... but there's 15 hinges at 8 rivets each which is
at least 120?...so...mmm.. why?... now i will have to figure out
what a TAPK rivet really is and what it is equivelant to since the
aircraft shops online such as aircraft spruce don't carry TAPK...
what a pain in the ass.. at minimum it should come with at least
the amount needed to finish the job...a few extra would be nice
too
5) to fit the aileron hinges and get full aileron travel, I had
to cut the top and bottom edge of the wing as instructed...not able
to epoxy the hinges since i'm short on rivets...will wait till i
get the remaining
10/28/2005 9:17pm-1:45am
1) checked the work from last night.still looks good
2) flocked the last 2 hinges to the elevator and horizontal stabilizer
and then riveted them..
3) with the leftover epoxy, Tricia and i glassed the joint between
the elevator and the elevator end cap and then peel-ply'd it...
this isn't required in the manual but i think it'll be stronger
and look nicer... the end plugs didn't quite fit inside the elevator
well because of the end cap on the horizontal stabilizer ...total
4oz of epoxy...current temp 71F
10/27/2005 3:40pm-4:05am
1) checked the flap arm work from the other day... peeled the peelply
and it all seems... flaps didn't stick to the wing much with the
use of the sheet of paper and tape at the end in between... movement
is smooth
2) prepared the aileron area for flocking and glassing the the aileron
glass plate
3) used double sided tape to hold the glass plate onto a fiber board...double
sided tape seems easier to use than the 5minute epoxy
4) glassed the reinforcements to the wing and wing glass plate as
instructed ... current temp is 72F...took 8oz, 8oz, 6oz, 2oz of
epoxy to glass and flock to finish...overnight the temp was 65-72F
10/25/2005 4:08pm-1:13am
1) continued the prep for glassing the flaps on the wing
2) cut the premarked glass cloth into the pieces that will hold
the arms against the wing
3) glassed all the pieces onto the flap handles into place... 3
layers of the cloth on each flap arm and then peel ply on top..
made a batch of 8oz of epoxy and came close to enough but was just
short so i made another 2oz of epoxy in the end.... current temp
is 67F
4) since the back seat seatbelt hardware arrived last week, Tricia
and i installed the anchors... 3-10a bolts didn't work for the bottom
anchors so I had to dig for others... since she's small she can
squeeze in the tail behind the backseat to hold the wrench
10/23/2005 5:05pm-1:04am
1) picked up where i left off yesterday..
2) sanded the wing trailing edges to a point (well...almost a point)
3) broke my Dremel pen shaft while i was cutting the flap arms so
I had to go buy another and then sanded the edges for a nice flat
surface
4) so another problem with confusion in the manual... manual says
8 spacers for the flap arms...there's only 6 total so I presume
it's old version.. but then it says the width of the spacer is determined
by the flap arm... and the spacer should be 1/8 wider on each side
than the flap steel collar... it doesn't seem possible with the
width of the arms... so do they mean the spacer goes through the
flap arm? going through would prevent overtightening for sure...
or does it just fit between the walls of the arm on the inside?
the later might work too but I wonder if it is too susceptible to
overtightening as the spacer may dig into the arm on both sides
(inside)?... so i decided to do the spacer that fits on the inside
of the arm only against the walls...if this doesn't work well i
can still drill through and cut out longer spacer
5) the flap arms where attached to the flaps and sanded to match
the wing contour...all surfaces have been prepared and are ready
for flocking and glassing
10/22/2005 5:45pm-12:58am
1) flocked the prefitted end plugs (elevator and horizontal stabilizer)
into place
2) glassed the inside of the elevator end plug to the elevator with
3 layers of AF303... there was actually only 2 layers of AF303 in
the bag precut so I had to cut another layer of AF303 off of the
extras for each side... the biggest complaint i have of this project
yet is that it seems that just about on every chapter there is something
that doesn't really match the actual kit ... this could be a serious
problem I think and definitely one the manufacturer should work
on... the wording of the manual itself also needs a lot of work...
it's almost as if this manual has been worked on over and over and
remnants from older versions were left off here and there.. sometimes
a part drawing will call for one size rivet or bolt while the line
wording says another... which do you believe? do you call them every
time this comes up? on the flip side, I'm sure that this kit is
like software where you find a 'bug' and then you need to fix it
in future versions so I'm sure there's probably a lot of tweeking...
but maybe a 'version update' sheet that tells you all the changes
that have been made recently might help supplement the manual since
it hasn't been updated properly.. this way you can read the update
sheet and look out for any changes made that may be a bit confusing...
service bulletins apparently don't cover all the discrepencies in
the manual... btw, 4oz total epoxy was used... current temp is 67F
3) i prepared the wings as instructed.. removed the peel cloth...
i think the manufacturer needs to use thicker cloth... i had no
problem with tears in the peel cloth on previous chapters however
on the wings it was a royal pain.. i took a picture of it...it's
almost like chiseling paint... took a long time too
4) i cut the inspection hole and the 38mm hole as instructed...
not sure what it is with wings and me but it seems that i nicked
the rib or at least part of it... it seems that the manufacturer
didn't measure the marks properly this time... luckily i felt it
with the dremel and didn't force it... will take a look at it but
it doesn't look serious...it seems to be the glassword for the plate
that I'll be working on actually... a little strip of cloth and
some flock should do the trick...probably doesn't even need it but
will think about it... a tip for those who are using a hand saw
like the manual illustrates... a dremel with the right burr with
cut through fiberglass like butter... i've been using this all along
and it makes it a snap and can be very detailed...
10/21/2005 5:02pm-1:08am
1) worked on refitting the rudder...a real pain in the ass since
it doesn't really fit well... it may work better if one side of
the bottom hinge is actually flipped
2) i sanded the rudder in a few key spots that allowed me to squeeze
the rudder in there with decent movement but the bottom hinge will
definitely need flipping or a shim
3) so i went with 3 thin shims for the bottom hinge and the top
two didn't need any... there's a small amount of friction in the
movement but nothing too serious...some more fine sanding and the
problem should be resolved hopefully... with 2 oz of flock all hinges
were riveted to the vertical stabilizer and rudder...current temp
is 65F
4) prefit the horizontal stabilizer end caps and the elevator end
caps with self tapping screws
10/19/2005 7:29pm-10:12pm
1) checked the elevator for free movement... after a brief stick
it moves just fine
2) cleaned up the glassed edges from the vertical fin so that I
can fit the rudder
3) fitted the hinges to the rudder...it seems that the hinge side
of the rudder isn't flush with the vertical stabilizer so i will
need to shim it as the instructions indicate...the question is where
is this shim? i don't have anything quite this thickness that would
work well?
10/17/2005 7:09pm-12:46am
1) continued fitting the elevator... with 4 most-inner hinges it
seems to swing fine
2) riveted/flocked 4 most inner hinges into place.. elevator is
quite smooth in movement with 2oz of flock...
3) was going to flock and rivet the elevator trim tabs but seem
to be missing the tapk 4-6 rivets...
10/16/2005 4:30pm-12:15am
1) checked glassed tail work from yesterday...looks ok ...temp overnight
65F-72F
2) started the elevator fit... drilled the stainless steel hinges...
what a pain to drill..broke three small Skill bits and then decided
to try the Black & Decker bits...B&D are tough bits and
drilled like it was butter!... i got the elevator to travel up and
down the specified amount of degrees without a problem... the gap
between the elevator and the horizontal stabilizer is 1.5 the width
of the hinge pin according to the caliper... it's probably not a
problem...i could force it closer but then i would have to sand
the elevator edge in some places such as where the tail glassing
over the styrofoam bent around and inside the channel... probably
won't look good this way and i could always tape the edges but i
don't think it's a problem anyway... the top surfaces are flush
and i think this is most important
10/15/2005 2:45pm-9:54pm
1) finished sanding the vertical fin and ready for glassing
2) glassed the vertical stabilizer in all places indicated... current
temp is 72F 33% humidity... AT313 tape missing for vertical fin...not
sure if the manual is old..used AF303 from extra cloth...also there
seems to be 3 AF303 by 1.5m for each side of the fin instead of
two..so there's 3 AF303 1.5m plus the 2 layers of AF303 replacing
the AF313 requested at the rear..tricia actually did one side of
the fin while i did the other.. good job Tricia! :)
3) glassed the back part of the fin to the horizontal stabilizer
as indicated...
10/14/2005 4:22pm-6pm
1) checked the rudder...looks ok
2) peeled off the peelply on all sides and sanded all surfaces where
necessary for glass work
10/13/2005 4:52pm-10:30pm
1) checked the horizontal stabilizer work from yesterday...looks
fine
2) also checked the bullet shaped flocked part on the static tube
on the vertical stabilizer...also looks good...some sanding to round
off some parts might be required though
3) prepared the vertical stabilizer for flocking
4) flocked vertical stabilizer with 6oz of epoxy mixture and used
aluminum channel to hold vertical stab flanges against the fuselage...
used plastic tape to hold stab in place and used level and measuring
tape to tips of horizontal stabilizer to check for squareness...looks
good...overnight temp 66-72F 40% humidity
5) with a tube of silicone, i sealed the paint booth further...
10/12/2005 3:08pm-12:29am
1) tested out the heat/paint booth...seems to heat nicely...there's
a 5 degree difference (digital thermometer) in just 10 minutes and
the doors aren't sealed yet...will seal the layers of plastic with
some silicone too
2) sanded and prepared the horizontal stabilizer for glassing...
prepared a 6oz mixture of resin.. 4.5oz of resin and 1.5 oz of hardner...
this mixture wasn't enough so i made another 6oz mixture followed
by a 4.4 oz mixture (3.3 resin and 1.1 hardner).. the horizontal
stabilizer was completely glassed including the styrofoam tail end...current
temp 65F and 40% humidity...heater set to 68F
3) touched up the static tube 'bullet' on the vertical stabilizer
and peelclothed it too
4) injected the remaining flock mixture into the inside radius of
the fuselage at the horizontal stabilize
10/11/2005 3:22pm-12:09pm
1) removed the peel ply off of the 'bullet' shaped flocked static
tube...peel ply did a nice job but will need some more flock at
the tip...it sort of left a volcano looking tip and needs to be
filled in with some more flock on the next batch
2) assembled the trim control assembly
3) finished the paint-booth assembly which will also serve as a
warm room to work in...might have to duct tape along the sides for
a better seal
10/8/2005 3:47pm-1:32am
1) designed a paint-booth/ sanding-booth which will also serve as
my heated room during the colder days already here...furthermore
it is a heated room for the fuselage for glasswork to be above the
15C recommended... didn't quite finish covering it... will do so
next time
10/7/2005 3:29pm- 1:20am
1) installed compression nuts on fuel vent aluminum tube
2) fed the vhf coax cable through the logitudinal beam to the cockpit
3) moved the tail end of the rudder cable to it's final position...
it was a real bitch to bend it enough to get it between the two
layers at the tail..
4) fit the static air assembly and hose through the vertical stabilizer
and flocked it into a 'bullet' shape as instructed... current temp
is 65F... total of 3.2 oz epoxy...0.8 hardner and 2.4oz resin
10/6/2005 2:52pm-10:57pm
1) inspected and remeasured the horizontal stabilizer...looks good
and the measurement is the same as last night
2) fit the vertical stabilizer... cut the rudder cable hole...still
need to cut the 1" hole which will probably wait till tomorrow
when I can get the 1" hole saw
3) assembled and fit the complete fuel tap... attached the complete
assembly to the center console...
4) going home to do more research on cockpit painting, hapolstry,
and fuel line vents (a bit confused with the manual...will need
to re-read it)
10/5/2005 5:22pm-1:31am
1) tried out the template instrument panel to see if it is laid
out well... still debating on the instruments and such... there's
really a lot of research being done on it not logged in the builder
log... am leaning towards a bluemountain sport/ dynon engine combination
with maybe a touch screen lcd run off of a laptop for internet,
prepflight, weather, etc.... there seems to be an 8-10 week waiting
period for any of the efis out there... so deciding it now may prevent
delays later..... decisions decisions
2) drilled and bolted the front upper seat belt gussets
3) installed the pitot and the static lines
4) fitted the horizontal stabilizer as instructed with 4.3 oz of
epoxy...3.2 oz of resin and 1.1 oz of hardner... stabilizer may
be off by 1mm from cockpit... kind of tricky to measure and fiberglass
parts aren't necessarily exact anyway... current temp 66F and 33%
humidity... temp overnight 68F max and 57F min
5) assembled the filler cap and attached it to the filler body...also
attached the vent tube to filler body however it doesn't seem to
tighten enough to prevent the vent tube from sliding?...
10/3/2005 6:10pm-12:25am
1) checked the fuel tank filler bodies... both look good but the
botched up left wing filler looks better because of the peelply...
peelply does do a great job at smoothening things out... definitely
looks nicer aesthetically.. had i known this, i'd use it on both
tanks
2) took the tape off of the doors and checked movement...after a
bit of sanding they swung fully and smoothly and fit flush..
3) fed the trim cable through the trim cable hole in the tail...i
should have checked to see if the hole was big enough for the cable
to go through in the beginning...was a bit tricky to enlarge the
hole but with the dremel it wasn't too bad
4) fed the elevator cable and anchored it to the fuselage... good
thing i remembered before glassing the horizontal stabilizer on...
tricky tricky...hope i didn't forget anything in this area...
5) drilled the fuselage base of where the rudder attaches and fed
the rudder through the fuselage as instructed
10/2/2005 3:56pm-10:04pm
1) bought some plasti grip which is a liquid used to dip things
such as tools into to give a rubber handle for example...plan on
using it on the door latches...they seem a bit rough to handle..the
spring seems too strong
2) fixed the botched fuel tank fill body & spar... because the
nick on the spar was 1mm or less, i decided not to rip up the skin
on top of the spar and risk more damage... instead I applied 4 layers
(2 strips of 4 inch length folded over) of 22oz/yd unidirection
glass tape to the edge and under the spar... the whole cavity between
the spar and gas tank was filled with glass, flock, and epoxy...
the tank was also glassed,flocked... current temperature 76F, two
batches of epoxy made... the first was 2.4oz total, the second was
0.8oz (needed some more for the outside layers covering the coremat...
peel cloth was used on top for a smooth surface
10/1/2005 2:16pm-12:58am
1) continued fitting the doors to the fuselage... doors actually
go inside the frame.. a dremel with a fiberglass bit really makes
this job a lot easier... i guess a grinder as recommended in the
manual would work too but probably not as accurate or as quick...maybe...
2) attached the doors to the hinges and found out that some hinges
don't rotate all the way (open the door wide)... so i had to reshape
the hinges a bit...nothing too drastic...also found out that some
of the 1/4 cap screws were too long and also prevented opening the
door wide as the screws rubbed against the door frame...had to cut
the screws shorter so that they sit flush against the backside of
the hinge... also, back door had space between hinge and door so
i used a bit leftover from the gussets (made spacer from it)
3) taped the doors to the frame and flocked the hinges per directions...
tightened cap screws a bit... total of 2.4oz... 1.8 resin, 0.6 hardener..current
temp 74F and 31% humidity
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