Friday night we got just a little done. We deburred, corrosion protected and riveted the L angles to the left wing.

Saturday night was very productive. Not only did we drill the L angles for the right wing, corrosion protect and rivet, but also got the tip ribs drilled into place for the right wing.

The tip ribs were just a bit of a problem due to the length of the spar and our need to keep the garage door closed for warmth.

We also had a bit of confusion over which spar was the right spar and which was the left. Luckily the builder's manual and some other drawings cleared everything up.

Project Status:
Wings: 5h ( 1h, 1h, 0.5h, 2.5h )
Flaperons: ( DONE! ) 23.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1h, 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h, 3h, 4h, 1h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~106.5 hours

We spent about an hour working on left wing spar. Nothing much, just drilling some L angle to the spar. This is the last progress until after Christmas... until then I'm on dipsolucious vacation.

Project Status:
Wings: 2h ( 1h, 1h )
Flaperons: ( DONE! ) 23.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1h, 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h, 3h, 4h, 1h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~104 hours

We spent about an hour reviewing the first steps on the wing skeleton, the plans and cutting the L angle required for the spar.

Joe told me that he spent about 100 hours each on his 601XL's wings. I believe that this estimate is probably high for the 701 kit based on several assumptions. First, the flaperons are not part of the wing. This greatly reduces the complexity. Second, more parts come pre-drilled then when Joe built. Third, I believe the overall structure of the 701's wings has fewer parts.

Project Status:
Wings: 1h ( 1h )
Flaperons: ( DONE! ) 23.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1h, 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h, 3h, 4h, 1h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~103 hours

Workbench 2.0 was finished tonight. There is a big difference in the sturdiness and look from the old workbench. Overall the height of the new bench is better ( slightly lower ).

The bench is also much flatter, as confirmed with the level ( made from 6061-T6! ).

Underneath the spars and skins can be kept safe, so we even gained additional room in the garage.

It only took two of us, an hour, a plywood plank and some cinder blocks to lift the frame onto the new base. Shimming, leveling, and attaching the table top took a few more hours.

Here is the first iteration of the old bench, followed by the second iteration:


v1.0:

v1.5:

Once again work is keeping me from the project. The workbench was a forbidding project for some reason, but we now have a plan, materials, and most of the work finished. We are going to use the wing crate as a base ( as mentioned previously ), but the question of how to add legs has been perplexing.

We finally settled on the simplest, most stable, and most ghetto idea: cinder blocks. The crate's frame rails will sit on slats which will rest on the cinder blocks, kinda like a mattress and a box spring. The only problem is lifting the crate... a problem that should be easily overcome with the help of a few people.

Using the crate has many advantages. It's better built than I could do. It already exists. It's about the right size. The wing skins and spars can be safely stored inside, yet easily retrieved. It's easy to make.

We bought 16 cinder blocks. The idea is to have four "legs" per side, with each "leg" two cinder block high. Each cinder block "leg" will have a footprint of 16"x8" and will be 6" high. .

Tuesday night we spent one hour closing the two remaining flaperon halves. Deburring, corrosion protecting and riveting are all activities I can now do in my sleep.

The fuel system and wing crate arrived on Wednesday just before Thanksgiving, and Saturday evening the inventory was done.

The fuel caps do not look like they are vented, nor do the tanks look like ten gallons capacity.

Before work on the wing can begin, the workshop needs to be redone. The table I built is not perfectly flat for it's 8 foot length AND it needs to be extended an additional four feet. My plan is to use the crate the wings came in as a workbench frame. All I need to do is raise the crate an additional two feet and provide for an adjustable shim method to keep everything level. I'm going to use the MDF from the current bench as the table top.

Project Status:
Wings: Inventory complete
Flaperons: ( DONE! ) 23.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1h, 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h, 3h, 4h, 1h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~102 hours

Surprisingly, the light at the end of the tunnel was not a train.

After a nearly month long break, work is ready to continue on the CH701. The wing and fuel tanks kits were ordered in early October and should be shipping any day now.

The slats are lamentably still untouched, but Tuesday should resolve that.

We spent about 30 minutes Saturday morning drilling the bottom skin to the spar and ribs, went and had breakfast and then I spent about 2.5hs deburring, riveting, corrosion protecting and then repeating the steps for the top of the skin.

I found that by using a 2x2 and some silver clecos on the trailing edge of the pre-drilled skin that I was able to ratchet down the top skin and drill it by myself.

The question is how to proceed with the "root" rib. I'm thinking that I should just drill it into place now.

We then spent about 4 hours in the evening making the port inboard flaperon section. The skeleton is made, the bottom skin riveted and the top skin drilled.

Project Status:
Flaperons: ( right outboard, left outboard DONE! ) 22.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1h, 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h, 3h, 4h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~102 hours

We spent about three hours measuring and drilling the right inboard flaperon skeleton. The skeleton is now riveted, minus the splice rib.

Project Status:
Flaperons: ( right outboard, left outboard DONE! ) 15.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1h, 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~95 hours

The air compressor came back from the shop... and since it was still crammed into the back of a Jeep we decided to use the hand riveter to finish the flaperon half. A nail got stuck in the riveter and all attempts to get it out have failed.

We started the right inboard half and got as far as getting the pieces out and placing them on the pre-drilled skin.

Project Status:
Flaperons: ( right outboard, left outboard DONE! ) 12.5 hours spent ( 1h, 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~92 hours

We spent about 1.5 hours building Saturday... a grill that is. The building experience of the CH701 is much easier compared to a Char-Broiled grill. Seriously.

In my never-ending campaign to justify the expense of the Garmin 496 a little bit of aerial recon was performed... on pumpkin patches. We flew up and down the surrounding farm lands looking for patches, and when we found one that looked good we marked the location. The plan is to simply use to GPS to navigate us there in a few weeks. In 1.5 hours of flying we covered the same amount of ground that a whole day's worth of driving would take.

We spent another hour on the left outboard flaperon. The splice rib and associated bracket were drilled into place, the whole assembly was deburred and then protected from corrosion. The splice rib and bracket were riveted into place using the hand riveter.

After some exploration the electric drill does not differ from the air drill in regards to producing burrs. The electric drill is less ideal than the air drill in three main ways. 1) The chuck area is larger and thus much harder to get into tight spaces. 2) The drill is MUCH heavier so when it punches through the metal the chuck hits the metal skin with more force, and thus the protective rubber washers much faster and it is much easier to damage the skin. 3) The drill takes a long time to spool down after use making several seconds of delay required before moving onto the next hole. On the upside the drill generates much less noise.

Project Status:
Flaperons: ( right outboard DONE! ) 11.5 hours spent ( 1h, 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~91 hours

Slow progress this week due to outside issues including a weekend drive to Eugene.

The bottom of of the left outboard flaperon is riveted. The top was drilled using the new electric drill. The new drill has a very different feel in it's operation. The drill spools up, sits on the metal for a second and then instantly sinks into the metal. The time to spool down the drill takes much longer than the air drill. I haven't deburred yet, so I will not know how using a high RPM / low torque drill will vary in respect to the high torque . lower RPM air drill. My guess is that the holes will be cleaner.

Another building tip about the flaperons: The trailing edges are pre-drilled. The builder's manual says that the top edge of the flaperon may not reach the trailing edge, and just to trim the extra off. The problem is that the pre-drilled holes prevent this and trimming would ruin the skin!

So besides exercising extreme caution in the measuring of the ribs to make the bottom skin match up, I found an interesting technique to make the top skin "work".

After ratcheting down the skin with 2x2's, I slowly used some silver clecos in the trailing edge to "pull" the pre-drilled holes together. Initially it was hard to find holes close enough to start the process and it took another person to help pull and push the skin.

Project Status:
Flaperons: ( right outboard DONE! ) 10.5 hours spent ( 1h, 1.5h, 3h, 6h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~90 hours

The compressor is in the shop. For future reference: Do not buy an "oil less" air compressor. They are loud and light duty.

We bought a 2500RPM VSR drill for about $60 to hold us over. Unfortunately using the hand riveter takes about 10x longer than the pneumatic riveter.

The Matronics Kitfox list has been abuzz about LED lighting, and I am convinced this is the way to go, and I will probably follow this guys instructions: http://www.itsys3.com/kitfox/discover.shtml The current plan is still to use a Dynon Flightdek D180, the Garmin 496, a single com and a transponder. Light, sleek, modern.

We spent about 6 hours today on the flaperons..

One major build tip for these is when riveting the skeleton, rivet the hinge extrusions last so you have some extra play to sneek the rivet gun to the hole.

Another major tip is to wait to drill and place the splice rib and associated angle. We placed and drilled the angle first and then got major "beer canning" when ratcheting over the top of the skin.

The fiberglass tips fit somewhat poorly. You can even see this is the builder's manual. I played with them for a while and did my best. There is a little gap between the bend in the skin, but it shouldn't matter.

The compressor decided to die today while we were making major progress. At first it wouldn't stop the compressor when it reached 150 psi. Then it wouldn't compress past 120 psi, then 100 psi. Finally we heard a very loud "pop"/"bang" like a firecracker from the compressor followed by a doubling of it's pitch. I shut it off, unplugged it and then drained it's air pressure by using it. I got about half of the bottom of the left outboard flaperon riveted. Luckily we have the hand riveter, but no electric drill.






Project Status:
Flaperons: ( right outboard DONE! ) 10.5 hours spent ( 1.5h, 3h, 6h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~89 hours

We finally found some time to get back on the project. Between work, friends and the trip to Eugene something had to give.

The right outboard flaperon is coming along quickly. We almost made a deadly mistake a SECOND time... drilling mounting brackets upside down. The holes for the brackets already existed in the skin and cause me to double check my measurements and positions.

My guess is that we have maybe two hours more work on the piece. The left outboard flaperon should take less time, and the inboards seem to be a similar process.

If I can get part of Labor day, one night during the week and one day next weekend, all four pieces should be done by Sept 17. The slats shouldn't take much time, so the wings and tanks need to be ordered soon.




Project Status:
Flaperons: 4.5 hours spent ( 1.5h, 3h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~83 hours

The only word that can describe the H4 "Hercules" is ginormous.

8.6 hours in a C150. That is a long time. Highlights of the trip included visiting the Hughes H4- Hercules and attempting STOL operations that I decided were impossible at gross weight at high density altitude with wind shear in a tight mountain ravine airport.

The entire trip was done over two days. The first day was 4.8 hours and went from Seattle to Portland, fuel in McMinnville, over Eugene, attempted landing at Oakridge and the back to Eugene.

The return was 3.8 hours and was from Eugene, fuel in McMinnville, over Portland and then to Seattle.

Enough good things can not be said about the Garmin 496... especially the XM radio part. Listening to some music on the long legs really helped. The PMA audio panel would automagicaly mute the input audio when talking or receiving transmission. There are a few things that would change about the unit, but a full reviewing post will come later.

I'm spending most of my time in the office. So, I've had to stick to the builder's equivilent of "hangar flying". I've decided to buy a Garmin 496 for the CH701. In fact, I almost bought one this week for an upcoming cross-country trip to Eugene. In the end I couldn't justify the cost, but I don't want to settle for a 296, so I'm going to wait until Garmin releases a 596 and let the price drop.

Just for fun:

Hiatus:

Etymology

Derives from Latin “hiatus”, -us, m.: gap; cf. hiare, hio, hiavi (hisco); (χαίνω) έ-χαν-ον, κέχηνα; Old High German ginēn; German 'gähnen' -> "yawn")

Pronunciation

• Audio (US)^{?, file}

  Rhymes: -eɪtəs

Noun

hiatus (plural hiatus or hiatuses)

Singular hiatus

Plural hiatus or hiatuses

1. A break or pause.
2. A gap in a series, making it incomplete.
3. (linguistics)
   1. A syllable break between two vowels, without an intervening consonant. (Compare diphthong.)
   2. The condition of having such a break.

      Words like reality and naïve contain vowels in hiatus.

4. A gap in geological strata.
5. A fissure in a bone.
6. A small difference in pitch between two musical tones.
7. A vacation.

Synonyms

• break (1)

After a small break we took a final inventory of all the parts in the latest shipment from Zenith. Immediately I was struck by how heavy the skins are for the flaperons and the slats. The skins for the flaperons seems to be almost as heavy as the elevator and the stabilizer combined!

We will be making the flaperons first. I went ahead and cut the 26mm angle off the mounting brackets and pre-drilled the holes into the brackets per the plans.

About one hour was spent on the inventory, and another 1.5 hours spent cutting those angles.

Project Status:
Flaperons: 1.5 hours spent ( 1.5h )
Paint Design: 2 hours spent ( 1h, 1h )
Elevator DONE!: ~31.5 hours spent ( 3h, 1.5h, 3h, .5h, 3.5h, 2h, 4h, 1.5h, 2h, 4.5h, 1h, 6h )
Horizontal Stabilizer DONE!: ~28 hours spent, 3 pieces replaced ( 3h, 2h, 2h, 2h, .5h, 1.5h, 3.5h, 1.5h, 5, 4.5, 2h, .5h )
Rudder DONE!, minus horn : ~16 hours spent, ( ~8h, ~8h )
-----------------------
Total Done: ~80 hours