Do. (then undo, redo, reundo, etc....)

There have been reports of the plastic stick and rudder supports breaking, and a very talented SeaRey builder machined some replacements. On a day I didn't feel like working on the electrical I removed the stick mounts and replaced them. This also gave me an opportunity to replace the seat brackets I had weakened with rivnuts. Replacing the rudder blocks will require undoing the front cockpit, so we'll do that after the electrical is organized and the avionics tray is sent out for anti-corrosion treatment,

 Progress is being made on the wiring. I've been taking my time, going through and reorgainzing them so I can easily repair them after the nose deck is assembled. I've also been working on the documentation so I'll know what does what in case I have to repair things 5-10 years from now.
 

Take a wire, trace it, zip tie it with others. Take another wire, unthread it, take the first bundle apart since they're tangled together, sort them out, Ziptie them. Start on the next bundle. Step back, think about what you're doing. Make some notes. Take a break.  Ask Syd a dumb question and get a "You can figure that out yourself, Luke. You'll learn more that way." look.Go for a walk around the airport for exercise and think about it. Jump back in. On a good day, it's almost a Zen state of grace after a while.

During the hibernation....

It's been a long winter and I've stayed away from both the blog and my SeaRey project for a while. You'll recall that the frame-hull mating did not go very well, and I was frustrated with both the kit and my build so I decided it was time to take a break.

During the winter I finally was able to settle on the seat material. At the time I bought OspRey PA was only offering a vinyl for the seats and I didn't want that, I wanted something a bit warmer plus made to aircraft flammability standards, etc. After a long search it was suggested I contact Abby at Flightline Interiors. Abby does great work for the RV-series of aircraft, but she also worked with me to find a nice fabric.The fabric was shipped to PA, and 6 weeks later......

 

In July 2010 John  Spratt flew his 2006 SeaRey N48CJ to the Arlington Airshow, and kindly took me for a ride. 

I very much liked his non-standard throttle setup and am working on duplicating it on my aircraft. The throttle quadrant is from Aircraft Spruce, I've machined (uhhhh.... more than once) the bracket, and had a local machine shop conform a hunk of nylon for a saddle.

 

 

The thing I really like about the new setup is instead of having my shoulder hunched up to reach the throttle, it's perfectly placed to be under my hand when my arm is resting on my leg. Oh, the loverly advantages of building your own airplane.

The boom tube bracket mystery was also solved when PA shipped me new brackets that fit perfectly.

Rivnuts: a concern

Before any other SeaRey builders decide to emulate me and install their seatpans with Rivnut, I want to advise you that a debate about their strength in this application is taking place on the private SeaRey builder's forum. If you are considering this idea please refrain from doing so, and get on the forum to read the thread.

Steve

Rivnuts

NOTE: The Rivnuts have been removed  from the aircraft. DO NOT make this modification!!


The seat pans are supposed to be riveted in place, which blocks off an area of the cockpit floor. I wanted to be able to access this area to store a backup battery, or for whatever reason. Rivnuts are simply a rivet with a threaded insert and I decided to give them a try.

A little paranoia goes a long way to making sure you don't drill in the wrong place. I used #8 screw sized rivnuts.

I used the "keyed" version, which requires a small notch to be filed in each hole. 

I also added a bit of Permatex sleeve retainer to lock the rivnut in place.

 By the time I got to the seatbacks I tried something different. First I drilled and clecoed it with a 1/8" bit, then removed the seatback and enlarged the hole in the tube for the rivnut. This worked fine for one of the seatbacks...

But the left seatback did not fit correctly. In a fit of common sense I put the frame in place, then drilled the pilot holes and installed the rivuts. It takes overnight for the Permatex to dry, tomorrow I'll enlarge the holes in the seatback to fit. I should have done this to start with instead of trying to do the full size hole in one shot.

By the way, here's the winch...

And the SeaRey gets airborne for the first time. 

Tonight I started machining the new throttle bracket, using 1/4" x 4" 6061. I was going to try to eliminate the backplate but realized it was beyond my abilities. Instead I'll just use some AN3 bolts through the existing holes.

Imitation: the sincerest form of flattery

"One of the worst kept secrets in tap dancing is that we steal each other's steps. And that's what we do we just... rip off each other's steps. Anytime you see someone make a really great step you take it and shape it and try to make it a little different." -Gregory Hines, Great Performances: Tap in America

But first, take 5:28 and watch this clip, and consider that 5 of these 6 gentlemen have Gone West.

I sure don't want anyone to get the idea that I'm building this on my own. Most of the aftermarket mods to the SeaRey are not my ideas. I've been fortunate to meet and read about and be influenced by some incredible builders. I'd like to name them but know that somehow I will leave a name off the list, or miscredit an idea and disrespect them, which is the last thing I would want to do. So please remember that as you read this build, few of them are my own.

Here's one idea I stole and worked on this week: bumpers/standoffs for the back of the seats. I took some leftover 1" nylon rod and cut an angle on them, countersunk them for #8 x 1" screws and located them on the bulkhead. I then covered them with some felt made to cushion/protect hardware floors from furniture legs

 

The resin was also dry on the bilge pump mounts and I sanded them down, painted them and mounted the bilge pump.

I fitted some carpet to the side of the hull and found you could see the difference between the unpainted and painted parts of the hull through it. Leftover paint for one coat took care of that. 

More fun: Scott loaned us his scissors-lift, and Einar helped install an electric winch in the rafters overhead.