Had a bit of time home and managed a few more things.
(December 2012 note: after spending time assembling the Batterman tailwheel system, I decided to go back to the stock garage door spring retract system. I was getting away from the philosophy of KISS (Keep It Simple and Standard) for my first build, and it was pointed out that is something went wrong when I was on the road, would I have the tools and expertise to fix it? Or would I feel more comfortable having Renee FedEx me new parts for PA? So while Eric had designed an elegant system, I decided to trade the parts with another, more experienced builder. Sometimes "good enough: is enough.)
With the help of some friends we set up the Batterman tailwheel retract modification. We spent a lazy day rigging, debating, undoing and redoing it. But at the end of the day when I hooked up the battery the damn thing worked on the first try.
It's not final, I want to tweak it a little but it's a big load off my mind.
With help from my minions I rearranged the hangar and tucked the wings away until next summer, when I hope to cover them, and brought the hull up front to begin prepping it for installation of the frame.
Corrosion is the airplane's enemy, so I took the tail apart and sprayed the boom tube with zinc chromate for another layer of anticorrosion.
I also took the fuel tank home, screwed the brass fittings in with some Loctite 592, and after a few days to set I put 5 gallons of gas into it for a leak check. I'll let it sit while I'm on this trip.
****note******
Adding the reinforcing rails was another one of those times where I should not have believed everything I read on the web. DO NOT add them, they're in the way of the hull/frame mate and also totally unnecessary. I've left this entry in the blog for history, and to warn others not to repeat my mistakes.
I've been perusing another builder's blog, he suggested adding some bracing to the side of the hull where the cockpit is. Sounded good to me.
Something kept niggling at the back of my head while I was doing the glassing. The next day I went "D'oh!!!!" The railing for the canopies sits on the top and extends down into the hull Sure enough, when I measured it I found I had put the brace too high up.
The rest of the day was spent carefully using a chisel, motor tool, and sand paper to cut a notch for the railing out. No big deal, but while I was doing it I was terrified of slipping and going through the hull. Luckily I didn't. One hull repair was enough.
A fine gent named Terry Dunn works for a NASA contractor at the Johnson Space Center, and like me is a contributing writer for Fly RC magazine. He mentioned that if I was ever in Houston I should give him a call, so after my recurrent landing currency sim last week Fly RC editor Thayer Syme, his family and myself descended on Terry.
Thayer was a student of mine when I was a starving CFI back in the early '90s, and with his background he was one of those students I didn't teach so much as guide. (He loves to recollect about the times I used to fall alseep while he was doing landings.) Before going to JSC Thayer met me at the training center of the airline I work for, and it was one of those times I was able to close a circle as I showed him, his wife Ann, and young Gryffin around.
As it happened, the techs were testing the new 787 sim and we were allowed to peek in.
One of them looked back and saw Gryffin. They suddenly decided they needed to take a break from testing and the next thing I knew....
That's a long way from our Cessna 152, Thayer.
Father and son.
Of course, that was just a warmup for the next day. Terry was kind enough to take us on a tour of his workplace at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab where the astronauts train for EVAs (spacewalks) on the ISS. Yes, that's a full sized replica of the ISS inside a huge pool.
Regretfully, the full motion sims were long gone, but we were able to get to see the mockups facility where the astronauts trained.
Damn, that's small...
Inside the Shuttle mockup trainer. (image above)
I don't think the 787 was as impressive.:-)
Mom and Dad flying, Gryffin in the flight engineer seat.
Of course I'm going to sit in the left seat (and dream.). One time I was not going to be modest.
Lest we forget.
(December 2012 note: after spending time assembling the Batterman tailwheel system, I decided to go back to the stock garage door spring retract system. I was getting away from the philosophy of KISS (Keep It Simple and Standard) for my first build, and it was pointed out that is something went wrong when I was on the road, would I have the tools and expertise to fix it? Or would I feel more comfortable having Renee FedEx me new parts for PA? So while Eric had designed an elegant system, I decided to trade the parts with another, more experienced builder. Sometimes "good enough: is enough.)
With the help of some friends we set up the Batterman tailwheel retract modification. We spent a lazy day rigging, debating, undoing and redoing it. But at the end of the day when I hooked up the battery the damn thing worked on the first try.
It's not final, I want to tweak it a little but it's a big load off my mind.
With help from my minions I rearranged the hangar and tucked the wings away until next summer, when I hope to cover them, and brought the hull up front to begin prepping it for installation of the frame.
Corrosion is the airplane's enemy, so I took the tail apart and sprayed the boom tube with zinc chromate for another layer of anticorrosion.
I also took the fuel tank home, screwed the brass fittings in with some Loctite 592, and after a few days to set I put 5 gallons of gas into it for a leak check. I'll let it sit while I'm on this trip.
****note******
Adding the reinforcing rails was another one of those times where I should not have believed everything I read on the web. DO NOT add them, they're in the way of the hull/frame mate and also totally unnecessary. I've left this entry in the blog for history, and to warn others not to repeat my mistakes.
I've been perusing another builder's blog, he suggested adding some bracing to the side of the hull where the cockpit is. Sounded good to me.
Something kept niggling at the back of my head while I was doing the glassing. The next day I went "D'oh!!!!" The railing for the canopies sits on the top and extends down into the hull Sure enough, when I measured it I found I had put the brace too high up.
The rest of the day was spent carefully using a chisel, motor tool, and sand paper to cut a notch for the railing out. No big deal, but while I was doing it I was terrified of slipping and going through the hull. Luckily I didn't. One hull repair was enough.
A fine gent named Terry Dunn works for a NASA contractor at the Johnson Space Center, and like me is a contributing writer for Fly RC magazine. He mentioned that if I was ever in Houston I should give him a call, so after my recurrent landing currency sim last week Fly RC editor Thayer Syme, his family and myself descended on Terry.
Thayer was a student of mine when I was a starving CFI back in the early '90s, and with his background he was one of those students I didn't teach so much as guide. (He loves to recollect about the times I used to fall alseep while he was doing landings.) Before going to JSC Thayer met me at the training center of the airline I work for, and it was one of those times I was able to close a circle as I showed him, his wife Ann, and young Gryffin around.
As it happened, the techs were testing the new 787 sim and we were allowed to peek in.
One of them looked back and saw Gryffin. They suddenly decided they needed to take a break from testing and the next thing I knew....
That's a long way from our Cessna 152, Thayer.
Father and son.
Of course, that was just a warmup for the next day. Terry was kind enough to take us on a tour of his workplace at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab where the astronauts train for EVAs (spacewalks) on the ISS. Yes, that's a full sized replica of the ISS inside a huge pool.
Regretfully, the full motion sims were long gone, but we were able to get to see the mockups facility where the astronauts trained.
Damn, that's small...
Inside the Shuttle mockup trainer. (image above)
I don't think the 787 was as impressive.:-)
Mom and Dad flying, Gryffin in the flight engineer seat.
Of course I'm going to sit in the left seat (and dream.). One time I was not going to be modest.
The last MCC used for the Shuttle.
Lest we forget.
