Jabiru J400 Builder Log

Jabiru J400 Builder Log - September 2005

9/30/2005 12:41pm-11:38pm
1) because the 3 holes in the center console for the header tank didn't quite line up properly with the header tank in place, I drilled the holes to 1 1/8 which left nice circles with space around the header tank fittings. I'm not sure what the grommets are for but i'm guessing it's to prevent rubbing the fuel lines against the fiberglass hole cuts... since the cuts are significantly large, I don't think there will be any rubbing problems... maybe I'll get some larger grommets that fit these holes or place some sort of rubber/silicone around the holes. I think the tough part is that it's not easy centering those holes because the tank is in the way...there's practically no space there to align all 4 holes (including the drain sump)
2) with new holes, tank fits in there nicely... actually, i think it'll also be easier to remove the header tank with these larger holes
3) fit the instrument panel base to fuselage...went in ok..no problems and seems mostly straight
4) fit the door hinges to the fuselage..not sure if there's supposed to be 3 machines screws as there are 3 holes on it... however, manual indicates only 2 machine screws...hmmmm
5) cut the door latches and fit them to doors...

9/27/2005 4:11pm -10:12pm
1) continued with the flap fit... the 3rd notch on the flaps won't engage because of the door frame... so i made a small notch in the door frame and will re-glass the plate at this notch on the next epoxy run
2) drilled fuel drain sumps into wings, sanded, and flocked them to wings as indicated.. current temp is 72F and 46% humidity
3) with remaining flock and epoxy i glassed a few strip to the flap handle door frame. I also stuck some flock behind the gussets to prevent any inward collapse
4) fitted and drilled the header tank into the passenger seat..also sanded the header drain area of the fuselage
5) fitted the header tank with drain valve, hosetails, and finger filter

9/26/2005 1:50pm-11:06
1) after thinking about the errant cut on the left wing from last night and speaking with Doug at Jabiru in Australia, I'm not sure that this is too serious of a problem... the most important part seems to be that the spar was not cut. After examining the area, it seems like it may have only been nicked... measuring the nick is a bit tough but it's not even 1mm deep from what i can tell...my best estimate this that it may be 0.75mm deep.
2) cut the fueling hole on the right wing without a problem. I managed to include the errant pilot hole within the 2 inch hole...the 2 inch plug however did have a 1 inch circle without sloshing compound which makes me think that both wings are probably not 'perfectly' sloshed...
3) spoke to Doug again... he was on the cautious side and said i should fix it... i'm really not fond of the idea of cutting it up as i could possibly just errantly cut the spar further.. i would much rather fix it as is... according to him i need a 4inch by 30mm strip along the spar forward (towards leading edge) of the cut.. one layer should do according to him... btw Unitape 1000 is 1000g/m2 according to him...not sure where i'd find this but i'll look online somewhere
... i'm still leaning on fixing it in place... seeing the cut i really don't think it's serious and if that little nick is serious than i think there's other things to worry about...i understand erring on the safe side is good...and i will fix it somehow but not sure that i'm going to cut up the wing further... i have some samples of kevlar, carbon fiber, and glass at home.. i guess i'll do some research and find out which will provide the most strength
4) trimmed the edges on the door gussets, flap plate, and flap handle...made it as smooth as possible without cutting much
5) cut the left wing fuel fill hole.. i cut it in a way that will minimize any need to cap the fuel tank with a 3 layer plate before glassing... there's only 2 narrow gouges in it that will need to be glassed over with 3 layers of glass
6) drilled holes in flap handle as indicated and fitted the the flap handle and metal plate to fiberglass plate on fuselage..
7) connect the flap push rod to the installed crossbar and then connected rod to flap handle.. flap handle seems smooth on plate but the 3rd notch doesn't engage...will have to make a small cut on the door frame so that flap handle engages to 3rd notch..otherwise it looks good

9/25/2005 4pm - 9pm
1) walked around the airport looking at other plane's upholstry jobs
2) talked about the instrument panel layout... looking to install an efis maybe from GRTAvionics and possibly a very large lcd touchscreen panel run off of a laptop for real vfr and weather maps from flightprep and/or teletype
3) instpected the gussets on the doors... they look ok...but i did remember that i forgot to flock the inside joints of the gussets...probably not a bad idea to do that...the manual is a bit confusing as it uses the word 'either'...instead of 'both'... kind of odd that it would be a bit vague like that
4) measured and drilled the 2 inch fuel tank filling hole in the wrong place apparently.. cutting this day short to call Jabiru in Australia...big bummer!

9/23/2005 3:33pm-10:22pm
1) inspected the flocked and glassed parts from yesterday...they all look fine
2) cut the door compression gussetts using the 15 layer plate, 5 minute epoxied them into place
3) fiberglassed 3 layers on the compression gussetts with LC3600...epoxy mixture of 2.4oz total... 1.8oz epoxy and 0.6oz hardner...current temperature is 73F at 41% humidity

9/22/2005 12:36pm-10:59pm
1) continued assembling and installing flap plate and handle
2) 5 minute epoxied the plate into position... made 4oz total of epoxy...3oz resin, 1oz hardener...current temp 72F at 41% humitidy
3) with two seperate batches of 5 minute flock, i flocked the handle together... could use a bit more in some gaps between the handle plate and handle shell...will get it filled on the next batch of 5minute flock
4) drilled holes and mount plate for the flap bar at the back seat... sanded the fuselage surfaces and am ready to flock mount plates into position. Tinnerman washers where countersunk on fuselage
5) located the position for the front seat belts and drilled holes
6) fitted the reinforcement plates behind the seats. sanded surface areas and drilled holes for self-tapping screws to hold plates in place after flocking
7) mixed 4.5 oz of resin and 1.5 oz of hardener for a total of 6 oz for flocking seatbelt reinforcements and flap crossbar holding bush
8) flocked the seat belt reinforcement plates and tapped with screws to hold in position
9) flocked the flap crossbar bushes into position.. current temperature is 72F and 43% humidity

9/20/2005 3:51pm-8:28pm
1) checked the flock on the one undercarriage plate that was reflocked last night...looks ok
2) drilled nose wheel plate to fuselage and installed nosewheel... used loctite 242 on nosewheel bushes that hold the shaft to the ball bearings
3) drilled and riveted the rudder peddal stops
4) prefitted the flap handle ...still wondering whether to go with manual flaps or electric...both have their advantages...the handle does seem solid so it may work well and has an local builder pointed out it is instant unlike the electric... of course it's also lighter and less electrical power draw...will call it a night and do some research on it at home to decide

9/19/2005 1:25pm-12:04pm
1) checked the flocked throttle seat reinforcement...looks ok
2) fitted the rudder pedals into the fuselage
3) building at the airport has its distractions...most are quite pleasant though...went up for a ride on a kitfox by the builder...quite a nifty little plane... it's good to fly again after nearly 3 years...
4) drilled one hole for the nose gear plate to be attached to the fuselage...couldn't quite determined what was level so i decided to bolt the main landing gear first so that i can level it and drill the remaining holes at the nose gear
5) bolted the main landing gear to the fuselage... the rear outer right side undercarriage plate came off with the impact of the bolt coming in from the underside...had to reflock it to the fuselage and then bolt it on... looks good... mixture may have been a bit dry though... current temp is 73F and 33% humidity

9/18/2005 5:06pm-8:02pm
1) continued throttle assembly...cut 3 inch hole in seat pan to install throttle backing plate...
2) 5 minute epoxied the throttle reinforcement and will LC3600 flock it now
3) tricia sanded some of the edges of the fuselage with sand sponge

9/17/2005 12:36pm-6:02pm
1) checked the flocked parts from yesterday... they look fine..continuing onto other parts of the construction
2) fit the aileron control stops and the aileron cable anchors to the backseats... also riveted the anchors with TLRs and 5 minute epoxied it
3) prefit the throttle and will continue the remaining tomorrow

9/16/2005 12:50pm-11:10pm
1) continued fitting the trim system by flocking the parts... 5 minute on the washers, trim lever stop, and trim cable holder... will flock with LC3600 all parts other than washers
2) fitted the control stick and flocked the 2 the two white bushes into place...
3) with the remaining LC3600 i flocked the brake lever stop, trim lever stops, and the control stick elevator control stop
4) current temperature in hangar is 74F and 30% humidity

9/15/2005 1:21pm-4:30pm
1) i realized last night that i used 5 minute flock instead of LC3600 on the brake lever stop...not sure if this is a problem or not but will have to route some of the 5 minute and flock with LC3600 on the next batch... checked all the flocked parts and they look good though
2) routed some of the 5minute off of the brake lever stop...ready to flock with LC3600 when available
3) fitted the trim control lever....sanded all the parts and cut the aluminum center console spacer to fit...ready to flock washer parts into place and trim lever stops...

9/14/2005 6:05pm-12:04am
1) checked the glassed backseat work from yesterday...also checked the flocked nosegear bushes and both look good...
2) worked on the braking system... the cylinder has been assembled and riveted to the center console... also.. the brake lever has been assembled, fitted, and flocked behind the spacer...also..the brake lever stop has been flocked... 5 minute flock used in both cases...boy that stuff sets quick!

9/13/2005 4:50pm-1:15am
1) continued assembly of the nosewheel
2) spoke to Ben at US Jabiru regarding a few things...turns out that the backseat belts are missing including the hardware...also.. will have to buy expanding foam for the seat. the 2inch tape called for in the backseat is actually 2inch strips of fiberglass from the extras pile
3) finished assembling the nosewheel including the shock absorber.... also flocked the white bushes as indicated...now waiting to dry and then will install the leg to the fuselage
4) glassed two layers of 2 inch fiberglass to the lower backseat as instructed...current temp is 72F about 30% humidity

9/12/2005 1:50pm-11:57pm
1) checked the flocked undercarriage plates and backseat from yesterday...also checked the firewall...all looks good... temperature inside hangar was 79F initially
2) continued assembling the main wheels... pressed bearings...etc.
3) completely assembled main landing gear with breaks onto the landing legs
4) started assembling the nose gear... the nose wheel and hub are assembled... need loctite so will finish up for today and continue tomorrow

9/11/2005 1:30pm - 11:35pm
1) found out accidentally on Jaba Chat that the undercarriage bolts have been switched from 5/16 to 3/8 and hence i got 3/8 but the manual reflects 5/16 still... the newsletter actually redirected me to the service bulletin on Jabiru that has the details and it seems that the plates and the fuselage need to be drilled to 3/8... so off i go to buy a 3/8 drill since i don't have that size at the moment
2) drilled the undercarriage plates and fuselage to 3/8
3) hand sanded the bottom backseat for flock...will flock both the undercarriage plates and bottom seat together
4) flocked the undercarriage plates and the bottom backseat.. mixted a flock mixture of 6oz for the first batch and then about 1.33oz for the second... it was short on the backseat...the sides of the seat didn't quite touch the fuselage and had to be filled in... temperature is 81 F and dropping slowly (hangar door open)
5) fitted, sealed with silicone and riveted the firewall... pneumatic riveter definitelly made it possible for one person to do it...its hard to reach the washers on the back and hold in place
6) started pulling main wheel parts to assemble

9/9/2005 4pm-1:52am
1) worked on fitting plates for undercarriage... 5/16 x 2 bolts are missing...i seem to have 3/8 bolts? home depot was out of grade 8 bolts too?..bummer...bought some replacement ones and will use them till i get the right ones...
2) fitted the back seat and seat back... sanded all joints and now ready to flock the undercarriage plates and the back seats at the same time... just wondering if i should do the bottom part of the seat first and then do the seat belts so that i can reach around the back and bottom on the other side for belt nuts?

9/8/2005 7:00pm-12am
1) picked up where i left off yesterday
2) drilled and riveted the lugs for the other spat so now both have lugs with removable screws to take the pieces appart for servicing
3) drilled and riveted the lugs for the front wheel spat...there's 2 new pieces that go on top of the front spat but the manual doesn't have any directions...not sure if it's lugs and flock or just lugs all the way around

9/7/2005 9:20pm-1:13am
1) Bought some more tools such as air riveter, torque wrench, etc. and now back in hangar
2) continuing the work from yesterday... riveting the lugs to the fuselage where the rear ventral fin part attaches
3) checked thermometer history... temp range 73-79F since yesterday... glass work from yesterday looks good
4) started drilling and riveting lugs to wheel spats... manual is very different and doesn't make any sense since the spats i got were flocked together already... spat pattern does not match manual at the strut either

9/6/2005 5:30pm - 4:20 AM
1) Bought masking, electrical, clear tape, various sandpapers, laser level
2) riveted lug nuts on ventral fin from yesterday's work
3) tacked trim horn to fuselage with 5 min epoxy
4) made a batch of epoxy... 4.5 oz resin/1.5 hardner.. took 2/3 of this and added flock
5) flocked trim horn on both sides then glassed trim horn with 3 layers of glass on either side
6) flocked front ventral fin to fuselage with self-tapping screws
7) temperature in hangar at 4:20am is 76F and 40% humidity

9/5/2005 6-12:30am
1) Cut Static hose, trim, elevator cable holes with dremel
2) Pre-fit ventral fin and and drilled holes for lug nut and rivets
3) Pre-fit trim horn. Sanded on angle so that it sits vertical on off-center fuselage
4) bought a ton of stuff such as digital thermometer with hygrometer, chisels, drills, vise, hand riveter

9/4/05 2:30pm-8:00pm
1) Inventory - it's a 2 person task! I can see why this process can take up to 11 hrs! Checked to make sure everything listed in the inventory checklist is received, made sure that the backordered items checklist is accurate. Found out that we are missing the fairings for the bottom strut even though the inventory sheet claims that we should have it. Found some minor inconsistencies in the inventory checklist which took some deciphering.

9/3/05 1:00pm-4:00pm
1) Unpacking - Tricia and I removed everything from wooden crate and set them aside for inventory checking, enlisted the help of John, our hanger mate, to help remove the fuselage from wooden crate on truck