EFWD Build

[efwd]

Thanks Bruce

[airlina]

Eddie, I found a few shots of my A/P servo mountings and attach points. There are a variety of ways to attack this as you will see from this installations by other guys. In my case , because I have an IO-240 up front (read heavy engine) , I needed as much weight aft as possible, so my servos had to go behind my seat as you can see. Pictures 1 & 2 are the roll servo, 3 and 4 are my pitch servo. Roll servo is behind pilot, pitch servo is attached with a homemade bracket to underside of my baggage floor , aircraft center. A couple of points for the installation-make absolutely sure you have no overcenter situations with the A/P arm as this will cause bad things to happen- as in locked controls with no hope to recover! I am sure the Garmin installation manual will cover this with big red letters. And from a operational standpoint, there should be no flex in the servo installation as this will cause the A/P to hunt when you are flying. Bruce N199CL

[DesertFox4]

Nice sturdy looking mounts Bruce. Good installation job.

[airlina]

Thanks Steve , I am a firm believer in the "Dutchman clamps" that you see in the photos, very strong and easy to make. Bruce

[efwd]

All Right, lets see if I can get my question asked without confusing you all.
When covering the Rudder with Fabric (Im using Oratex but it should apply to everyone in all likelyhood) when the fabric covers the fiberglass leading edge how is the fabric dealt with with regard to the holes that accommodate the hinges. Do I cover then trim the holes out entirely or do I make cuts and fold the fabric into the inside of the fiberglass leading edge. Again, with Oratex I will be using heat activated glue and Im not able the use an iron on the inside to press it down. I believe the heat gun will need to be used and then I quickly fold over the fabric and press it down with my gloved fingers. Im betting John will be able to advise me.
Eddie

[jrevens]

All Right, lets see if I can get my question asked without confusing you all.
When covering the Rudder with Fabric (Im using Oratex but it should apply to everyone in all likelyhood) when the fabric covers the fiberglass leading edge how is the fabric dealt with with regard to the holes that accommodate the hinges. Do I cover then trim the holes out entirely or do I make cuts and fold the fabric into the inside of the fiberglass leading edge. Again, with Oratex I will be using heat activated glue and Im not able the use an iron on the inside to press it down. I believe the heat gun will need to be used and then I quickly fold over the fabric and press it down with my gloved fingers. Im betting John will be able to advise me.
Eddie

Eddie,
The way I did it was to cover the surface & then cut out the openings with an Exacto blade. There is plenty of glued-down surface area around the cutouts, so it's not a structural consideration really. To secure & clean up edges like that, I took a small brush & applied some matching paint right on the edges of the cutout... not necessary at all, but it made me feel good.

[efwd]

Thank You John.

[Cherrybark]

Taking notes because covering with Oratex is my plan as well.

[jiott]

Oratex or Polyfiber, I think john's advice is good.

[efwd]

Thought I could share a few things I did the past few days in the shop in addition to waiting for glue on the Oratex to dry. Used the Dremel tool with the hole cutter to cut out the holes for the vents. Worked well after I filled the first bit with Aluminum as it was the wrong kind. Bought the $4.50 bit for Aluminum and whipped right through it.
After fussing with the two part structural adhesive and popsicle sticks to apply on the foam stabilzer tips I discovered that the two part syringe product seems to be much smoother. I reapplied more product on what I had already allowed to dry then used a scrap piece of Oratex fabric to fold around and pull like a squeegee. It worked so well that I will barely have to do any touch up to have it ready for fabric. Its shinny smooth.
I also figured I could just cut some 1/8 plywood and fill in the butt ribs. Although it looks pretty cool as a two tone wood rib, I have painted it flat black like the rest of the airframe. Had I known it was going to look that nice I would have made sure the wood was free of any discoloring. I had planned on it being black so I didn't find the the cleanest pieces of wood.